Not much spare time these days

Between work and coaching high school volleyball, I don't have much time left over. For the hour or two that I have each night (the time really depends on when I start to fall asleep on the couch), I catch up on the backlog of fall shows that I have recorded on the TiVo. Here's what I got waiting for me:

Sunday - Keeping up with the Kardashians (b/c my dad is really in to it), Dexter

Monday - House, Chuck, Lie to Me, Hawaii Five-O (giving it a try...Alex O'Loughlin is nice to look at)

Tuesday - The Good Wife

Wednesday - Terriers, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Los Angeles (new show and I'm so pumped for it!)

Thursday is busy - Bones, 30 Rock, The Office, CSI, The Mentalist

Friday - Smallville (I've been a loyal viewer all along; naturally, I'll be there for this 10th and FINAL season!)

I love my TV shows. I wish I could narrow it down, but when it comes down to it, I'm a slave to the TV during the fall. Once high school volleyball is over, I'll have some more time; I'll start reading like a freak again, but until then...you'll find me on the couch either watching TV or falling asleep.

P.S. Watching the latest episode of 30 Rock while I type this. Alec Baldwin is perfect!

My Ballsy Friend

I'm just looking to give a shout out to an ex-player, current friend, and one of the most random/creative people I know - Carly - who is jetting off to Paris to be an Au Pair in France for a year. An Au Pair is like a nanny. At first glance, this seems like a pretty daunting task to undertake, especially for a girl who only graduated high school last spring. But Carly isn't your ordinary recent grad. If anyone can mail themselves to a foreign country to take care of someone else's kids for a year, it would be Carly.

I personally couldn't do it...the whole taking-care-of-kids thing is enough to make me run away screaming. But I have no doubt that Carly's engaging personality and crazy imagination will win the hearts of French men and women all over the country.

Here's three cheers and a slap on the back for Carly! Good luck and have fun, Car.

If you want to follow Carly's blog, you can check it out here: www.aupairing-carly.blogspot.com

Being a Doggie Foster

Since working at ARF (Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek), I have had a couple opportunities to provide a foster home for some of the dogs. If it was left up to me, I would foster dogs all the time. However, I'm living at my parents' house, and I have to respect their wishes first-and-foremost. There is always the risk that the foster dogs won't be potty trained or will chew on everything, so I try not to burden my parents with these worries too often.

But when there is a particular dog who is either in need of time away from the shelter to recover from an illness or in need of some extra socialization, then I start the "kissing up" process with my parents. My mom is usually an easy sell; a cute picture of the dog is all she really needs to convince her. My dad is a more difficult target; on the exterior he is very resistant and stubborn, but I've spent 26 years with this man so I have a pretty good idea when he is about to crack. As a result, we've been able to foster a couple dogs over the last 2 years...some easier than others, but all of them found a special place in all of our hearts.

If you are interested in fostering dogs, cats, puppies, or kittens, contact your local shelter or rescue group. ARF has an excellent Foster Program headed by a good friend, Erika Kleoni. Check out the ARF website if you want more information: http://arf.net/how-you-can-help/foster/

Here are some recaps of the dogs that we have welcomed in to our house:

Radcliffe - needed a foster home while some of the rooms at ARF were being repainted. She loved the water, and she eventually started playing with Lincoln. We nicknamed her Snaggle-tooth because of her glorious underbite.

Suze - needed a foster home because she had been at ARF for a long time (a few months) and was in need of a break. The shelter can be monotonous and stressful for many dogs, and Suze is a busy terrier who thrives on adventure and diversity.

Caboose - needed a foster home while she recovered from leg surgery. She came back and forth to work with me, and she would sit on my desk while I worked. She LOVED Lincoln, and Lincoln loved her! She was the hardest one to say goodbye to.

Golf - needed a foster home to get some extra puppy socialization. He was easily startled by new things and people. He was my toughest foster because he need around-the-clock management of his fear; he never got fully comfortable around my parents, and as a result, he was only able to stay a couple days. Lincoln had a good time teaching him how to play and wrestle. Videos on YouTube: 4 month old Golf; 5 month old Golf

Alcatraz Trip

Monica and friend, Kelsey, were in town from LA, so we took the opportunity to round up the family and have a field trip.

Destination: ALCATRAZ!

I haven't been there since elementary school, so I was pumped for another visit. It's not like anything has changed on "The Rock", but it was good to freshen up on my Alcatraz IQ. The award winning Audio Tour is now free (I recall having to pay for it last time), and I highly recommend it...It’s FREE; why not?!

The weather was AMAZING. It would have been annoyingly hot, but luckily, we are inside for most of the tour. Only bottled water is allowed while exploring the island, and it is a essential. Bring your own water because the water the Park Service sells will cost you an arm-and-a-leg.

I was definitely exhausted by the end...physically and mentally. I took a little cat nap on the ferry back to Pier 33 (not that surprising if you know me).

Below is the video I threw together. I've been playing around with the iMovie program on my laptop, so I'm trying out all the fun options and cheesy audio tracks. Enjoy!

"When your life isn't interesting, blog about others' lives"

Other interesting life #1: MONICA POWERS

Relation: Sister

Status: Tackling her 3rd year at UCLA as an Anthropology major, lifeguarding, and teaching children how to embrace the marine habitats we all evolved from (aka: teaching kids how to swim).

Cause for Celebration: About to start a part-time internship at PMK-BNC. From what I can tell (from looking at their website), PMK-BNC is an agency that deals with public relations and marketing for celebrities, corporate clients, and entertainment. Our cousin is a publicist for the agency and has clients like Colin Farrell, Matthew Fox, and others (but I really only remember the good looking ones). I'm not sure what kind of work Monica will be doing, but she is super excited about it!

Other interesting life #2: CAROLINE COUNTS

Relation: No relation; she is one of the players on the Xceleration 16's team that I coach.

Status: Finishing up her sophomore year at Bishop O'Dowd High School.

Cause for Celebration: May be one of the most complex 15 year-olds that I know. By "complex" I mean that I would love to live in her brain for one day...well, may be just one hour because that is all I could probably handle. With Caroline there is no shortage of energy. In fact, she could probably bottle up her excess energy and sell it as "alternative energy"; soon, our cars will be powered by C-ENERGY. But in all seriousness...Caroline has a mind that I can tell is always thinking...always connecting the dots but in the most creative/abstract way you could imagine. If you need an idea for a Halloween costume, she's the girl you go to. If you need someone to entertain your toddler for hours, she's the girl you go to. You don't need an "icebreaker" exercise to introduce a group of new people - just bring Caroline with you and everyone will be best friends in thirty minutes...probably less. She's been a treasure on the volleyball court. She brings energy that is bubbly and contagious. Her lack of coordination is refreshing, yet her ability to recovery quickly, almost spontaneously, is exceptional. She is immune to the negative/soul-sucking/"crash-&-burn" atmosphere that a team of teenage girls tends to brew up when they are losing. I occasionally catch her staring (sometimes at me) for uncomfortably long periods of time and she needs to be reminded to "center her chi" when situations get tense, but if these are my only complaints, then I consider myself very lucky. All you need is one meeting with Caroline to understand what I mean.

On a side note: Caroline reminds a lot of my dear friend, Meredith Hasson. I miss you Mere!

That is all for now!

Volunteerism

I'm not sure where or when I got the "volunteering bug"; it could be credited to my years as a Girl Scout or my community service class in high school or my mom for encouraging me to be a junior volunteer at the hospital...whatever it is, it stuck.

I've volunteered for a number of organizations over the years, and my general observation has been that most volunteers are either older/retired individuals with free time or teens/young adults who are interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at careers they might pursue when they are older. Now, I'm not saying that I never see adults between 25-45, but they are rare, especially in the East Bay Area.

So this is a call out to all my friends and family or anybody reading this. If you have a free afternoon once a week or even once a month, why not try volunteering somewhere?

Here are some suggestions around the Bay Area:

Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) (I work here!)

Oakland Zoo (I was an intern, volunteer, and paid-apprentice...I love it, and I'm still an active volunteer here.)

The Marine Mammal Center (I volunteered here during college and wish I could continue, but it's a bit of a commute from Clayton. Video below!)

John Muir Medical Center (I volunteered here during high school.)

Chabot Space and Science Center

Habitat for Humanity

East Bay Regional Parks

Contra Costa County Library

And for more Easy Bay Volunteer Opportunities...click here.

Video of the release of an Elephant Seal at Point Reyes...coordinated and carried out by volunteers:

Dog Whisperer??

Cesar Millan fan or foe?

http://beyondcesarmillan.weebly.com/andrew-luescher.html

That link will take you to an interesting blog post by renown Veterinary Behaviorist, Andrew Luescher. I have no idea who Dr. Luescher is, but National Geographic values him enough to ask him to review tape of Cesar Millan working with a handful of dogs. His reflections are refreshing and necessary in a world where television and celebrities have such an impact on aspects of our lives.

Please read...and ponder...