"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...

The Man

Let me tell you about this guy that I've been spending a lot of time with...

He's definitely the most handsome man I've ever met. He's shorter than me, but I don't mind. He's got black curly hair with a bunch of distinguishing gray hairs poking through. He's got a sexy beard. He won't admit it, but when we are out on the town together, he acts like such a macho man; he puffs his chest out and holds his head high. I laugh to myself when he starts strutting his stuff. So typical...right?

If left unchecked, he can get pretty lazy around the house. He would probably sleep all day if I didn't make him come with me on my adventures.

The strangest thing about him is that I can't seem to figure out what gadgets and toys he really likes. I've tried a variety of stuff that "guys like him" typically go crazy about, but nothing has caught his eye. Well...actually...he loves food. ALL kinds of food. I'm not much of a cook, but he has never complained about anything.

And unlike most people that I've met, he is such an amazing listener. He never interrupts or tries to flip my story into something that ends up being about him.

I'm not one of those people to throw around the "L word" every chance I get, but.... sigh....this guy has definitely stolen my heart.

My man, my LOVE, my DOG....LINCOLN!

2 year old German Wire-hair Pointer Mix

Rescued from ARF October 2008

Celebration!

Tonight, the family is celebrating two big events.

1. My brother got admitted to Cal and will be walking on to the basketball team starting NEXT WEEK! He seems excited to get a second chance at playing ball in college. He's always been a Cal fan, and now he'll get to see what it's like to be a Golden Bear!

2. I'm starting a new position at work tomorrow! I'll be an Intake & Behavior Specialist. This means I get to travel to the ARF's source shelters and select the dogs and cats that we'll rescue. Once these lucky friends are back at ARF, I'll help assess their behavior and prepare them for adoption. I'm nervous, but I'm SO excited to learn a new set of skills and have more direct role in saving lives and making families happy!

Here's to us!