Week in the Life: HUMP Day

I wish.....lol!!

This morning I woke up with my little cuddle bug.  AKA Kodi.  I sleep pretty hard throughout the night so I don't notice the movement of the kids in the middle of the night.  Sometimes I wake up with Kodi in my arms, sometimes he's at my side or nestled against my back.  Marli is in her bed though sometimes on the couch with me when I sleep on the couch.  Hey, the couch is ten times more comfortable than the cheap bed I got in the divorce.  Someday I'll get caught up and get myself a nice multi thousand dollar dream bed but for now, I alternate between couch and bed sleeps.

And up and at 'em today.  Pee, shower, dress, make up, hair, Marli, and head to BART.  Music and pondering.

One of the things I super loved about working at the Embarcadero earlier this year was the view.  Being in the city and walking around.  I didn't think I could get that from Oakland.  And then I started here.  And I love being able to compare the culture from Oakland to SF and the other places I've lived.  Oakland truly feels like home.  Like my people.  A place where you can be yourself and not feel judged.  I mean, not meanly anyway.  Where as in SF you need to be a certain way, look a certain way.  You need to come from a certain place and have a certain amount of established money.  I know you San Franciscans are saying NO, that's not true.  But as an outsider, trust that it is.  Oakland feels like my kind of misfitted, cozy people.  People who work for the things they have.  But still has this city vibe to it.  It's a little slower paced.  A little more room to breathe.  More people saying hello and smiling at one another while still trying to get from one place to the next.  AND, there is architecture that's photo worthy.  And we know that's most important to me.

I took the above photo while headed to Max's.  I had no idea that there was a Max's Opera Cafe in Oakland and I've lived here for three years.  But there it is.  Got myself a chicken avocado melt and fries and enjoyed it in our employee lounge.  Om nom nom.

So on the way to my appointment tonight I came across a couple of homeless people napping outside a building on Hegenburger.  The shop has been closed for a long time as have most of it's neighboring businesses.  I imagine a day where the mall cleans up and the shops across the street from it thrive.  But I think it's going to take some time and effort from the community.  And faith.  that's important.  So anyway I see this chick with red hair and chuckle to myself thinking it looks like my ex fiance's girlfriend.  And yea, the hater took over a little.  But I'll keep those comments private.

 So I continued on what I consider a pretty scenic drive.  I love the caldacott tunnel.  It's dirty, grimy, filled with texture and clean lines and light sources.  I always wish that I could be adventurous and actually walk in it to take some long exposures.  But knowing me I'd trip off the curb into oncoming traffic and die.  Ok maybe I wouldn't die but I'm pretty sure I'd get hurt....hahaha.  Well anyway today traffic was especially heavy so I was able to take a few shots inside the tunnel.  And coming out.

I noticed this week that I seem to be feeling the PicTapGo black and white filters.  So a lot of my pictures are conversions of color to black and white.  I like it that way.  I made some pretty good observations about some of the things I've been feeling lately.  How I've been feeling them and why.  I've embarked on a new photography project (long term) that will be exploring the places I've been and the people that I've known.  More of that to come at a later time.  I was pretty excited as I got to head home at 7 tonight.  I feel bad for poor Marli having to jump back into her old routine.  I'm used to spending the days with her and after day one of being back on a work routine I missed her tons.  I'm thankful for the shorter commute though, and being able to spend more time with her and less time on the road.

I struggled on the way home deciding if I should cook or not.  Eventually I caved in to temptation and  the easy way and detoured to Burger King.  Where I consumed 5 chicken nuggets and 10 french fries before feeling full and (gasp) feeding the rest to Marli.  Don't tell!  I worked a little on my Week in the Life album and watched five episodes of season five's Drop Dead Diva.  It's like my secret little guilty pleasure.

Tonight, I sleep in my bed.  Night guard and all.  What a difference that thing has made.....