Cafe Victoria

Here I am pitting for my Dad as he races at the NCK Karting Nationals in Portland, Oregon. My Aunt Marie, and Cuzs Ryan, Danielle and Serge, who live outside of Portland, joined us and are now officially hooked on racing.

Last week, Marta and I restarted our yearly trips by making a trip to New York City. We visited our good friend Kristina, who turned us into Subway rats. I am no longer afraid of New York Subways. Highlights from the trip included walking the Brooklyn Bridge, finding the arch where Sally dropped off Harry in “When Harry Met Sally”, speeding through the MET art museum, and relaxing in Central Park. Here are photos of some New York Sites.

Here is a fun photo from Point Reyes CA.

• Just finished reading: “The Girl I left Behind a Narrative History of the Sixties” by Judith Nies. It is a great Women’s History book that is also a memoir. I felt like I was back in my Gender Studies class at Sonoma State.

• Been thinking about: Putting all our stuff together and finding the right path to go to get pre-approved for a loan to buy a house.

• Loving: all my free time. Wow… did I have a lot of homework because boy do I have lots of free time now. Last night, Matthias and I made a late night trip to the Readers Books. I found myself lost away looking for the next great book to read. I keep coming back to “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex” … but just can’t seem to buy it. Maybe it’s the taboo sex part. Will see. This week, I will be in Portland, Oregon and there is that awesome huge independent bookstore there…

• Discovering: That summer might be my new favorite season. The hot weather, naturally makes me want to slow down and relax. So far, every weekend I have spent hours on my front porch reading.

So… if you are looking for a motivation for being at work, try going on vacation. I have a two week vacation coming up and it has me working like a dog. There is that old saying that people tend to do twice as much work right before they leave for a vacation. I am right there! This week, I was tackling training my new ASB officers, staying on top of planning NVC day and updating my office forms. Next week is updating the club manual, finishing my end of the year report and cleaning out my email. In our office, we have a huge To Do list all aiming for “done by Aug. 1″ The fall semester doesn’t start until Aug. 18, but for those who work in education, summer break is often they only chance you get to reorganize and update things.

In a week, I’m taking a vacation with my dad to be his pit crew for the National Go-Karting Tournament in Portland, Oregon. We’re driving up. So, I’m looking forward to taking a road trip. Then I come home for a day and fly off to New York City with Marta for a sweet, simple, fun visit to see Kristina, who is living near Greenwich Village for the summer.