Last week's outdoor activities

Well, last week was quite the week for me as far as being outdoors and active. I not only had my weekly ultimate frisbee game (with a score and an assist!), I also went with my coworkers on a 5.5-mile run across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito (took the ferry back for beer and burgers in SF) and went with Paul on Saturday on my first long (well, long for me) bike ride, about 40 miles round trip to San Anselmo, CA. I have a brand new bike (see pic) with fancy gears and foot cages, so it took me a bit to get used to it, but once I did, I was able to cruise along with Paul and make it up some nasty hills. It's amazing what you can do with a nice bike and a cushy pair of biking shorts (made sure my pair had tons of padding in the rear but still got sore!). We had great weather (a bit windy) and wonderful views along the way, although I wasn't able to enjoy the views too much because I was so focused on the road and making sure my narrow tires didn't hit any ruts. We rewarded ourselves with a big lunch at Mexican restaurant in San Anselmo before heading back over the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco. Needless to say I was really tired later in the day and fell asleep on the way home from a housewarming party on Saturday night!

My first Bay to Breakers, wow

Well, I thought Bourbon Street in New Orleans was crazy, but this race was like Bourbon Street on wheels, a roving fraternity party complete with all kinds of crazy costumes and floats. About 5,000 people actually ran a 6-mile legitimate race in the early am, but as soon as the serious runners cleared the course, about 55,000 other people swarmed the 6-mile course during the 99th Annual Bay to Breakers race on Sunday the 16th. The race route ran just a few blocks south of our place, so we bundled up (chilly here, a lot) and walked down to join the festivities with a couple of beers (must drink to appreciate what's going on). What did we see? Well, some things I can't mention (people aren't afraid to bare it all during things like this), DJ house parties that spilled out onto the street, elaborate floats, mobile dance parties, every kind of costume you can imagine, strollers converted into rolling mini-bars, etc. A huge party to say the least, the biggest I've ever seen. It is best described by pictures: 1) Paul with a couple of thousand people swarming behind him in the background, 2) roving jousters, 3) Paul and I enjoying a beverage, 4) the gold party, and 5) a totally rockin' house party. Next year is the 100th and we plan to go all out! What to wear. . .

First 10 days at my new job!

I am employed!! I started on Wednesday, May 5 as the new Philanthropic Services Associate at the Tides Foundation (www.tidesfoundation.org) which is a part of Tides Inc. (www.tides.org). I feel so blessed and fortunate to have landed a job so soon after moving, and am so glad now that I did not start work before the wedding!! The first 3 weeks here without any commitments, except for wedding planning, were spectacular.

Tides has been in business, connecting philanthropists with organizations and nonprofits around the world, since 1976 and is committed to positive social change, promoting human rights, justice, and a healthy, sustainable environment. There is the Tides Center (acts as a fiscal sponsor for over 200 projects around the world), Tides Shared Spaces (stable and collaborative work space for nonprofits), and the Tides Foundation, which partners with individuals, foundations and other institutions interested in using us as a vehicle for their grantmaking as well as donors who are interested in funding some of the Foundation's initiatives. So what do I do? In a nutshell, I am working on a team that supports individuals, foundations, and corporations interested in grantmaking internationally and domestically across a wide range of issues. Clients will come to me (when they turn me loose to contact clients, which may be several weeks yet) to facilitate their grantmaking to organizations in many different countries. So similar work to what I did at SunTrust but I will be learning lots more about making philanthropic grants around the world!

I have had a great experience so far- everyone has been so friendly, my co-workers are diverse and have incredible experience in their field, the dress is casual (which is actually a bit hard to get used to, will still probably dress up many days of the week, just no more suits :), there is awesome energy in the office, lots of people around my age, events happening all the time, etc. Everyone works hard, but there is plenty to distract you if you need to take a break. For example, tomorrow I am going to have a 15-minute chair massage sponsored by Tides HR and then going on an organized run with several of my coworkers over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito!!

One more note about my new job- I work in the Thoreau City for Sustainability in the historic Presidio of San Francisco! The Presidio spans 1,491 acres at the northern tip of the San Francisco peninsula. It was once the most important military post in the United States and today is a national park site within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It's great- I can walk outside to take a break, walk about 50 feet and automatically be in a beautiful park with views of the Golden Gate Bridge! I'll post some pictures soon :)

San Francisco is a small town

Last Sunday, right after I started my new job, I was in our local laundromat chatting with Suzannah Gill about how things were going at Tides. I knew one other person was in the laundromat with me but didn't recognize him from behind, so I was chattering away. Luckily, I was saying all positive things about Tides, because I turned around to find one of my coworkers laughing at me!! It turns out that several, at least 4, of my coworkers live in my neighborhood, one right across the street, so I will have to behave and be careful what I say always!!

A few more honeymoon photos :)

1)Paul on one of the sandy streets, 2) Paul windsurfing, 3) Paul sleeping (lots of Paul), 4) view from our hotel room, and 5) me at the Split (area of the south island where it was actually split from the north island by a hurricane)

I'm back! Wedding and honeymoon

Hi! After a bit of a hiatus from blogging, during which I got married, went on an awesome honeymoon, and started a new job, I am going to try to blog a bit here and there because things are still so new to me!

Our wedding was a blast, everything we had hoped for and more. It was so amazing to have so many people we cared about and who had touched our lives in some way in one big room, eating, drinking, dancing, etc. Paul and I spent hours rehashing the wedding events on our honeymoon and still love talking about it. Everyone says your wedding day is one of the best days of your life and I would have to agree!! It rained a fair bit on our wedding day, but we were lucky that it didn't affect guest transportation and that we were still able to get many outdoor photos immediately following the ceremony, including many in the middle of 5th street on GT campus! Our photographer is pretty bold and creative, so she pulled two chairs from Tin Drum Cafe and put them in the middle of 5th Street, right on either side of the yellow line, and had us pose for several photos. That is just one of the many cool things she did with us, can't wait until she releases the photos to us! The wedding reception was incredible and just flew by- Paul and I got to eat a little in the beginning while everyone else was in line for the buffet, but after about the first 15 minutes, we were on a rollercoaster of talking, dancing, laughing, etc. I loved seeing so many people out on the dance floor! There were so many great memories made and images captured- so hard to even put into words!

Our honeymoon was a dream vacation- we stayed on an island in Belize called Caye Caulker that should be in the dictionary beside the word "chill". There were only three main streets on the island- the front, middle and back streets- and no motorized vehicles are allowed on the island with the exception of a cable truck and fire truck. The streets were sand, people walked barefoot, and most people don't wear a watch. It took us a day or so to really unwind, but once we realized that we didn't have anywhere we needed to be at any certain time, it became easy to relax. We spent the week trying out all kinds of fresh seafood, getting to know the locals and making friends (big surprise), windsurfing (I had a beginner lesson!), walking around the whole island (only about a mile long), kayaking, watching the sunset from out hotel's dock, drinking cocktails by the pool, snorkeling, etc. It was exactly what we needed and a trip we will remember forever for sure!

The attached pictures are- 1) the tiny airport shack on Caye Caulker, 2) Our feet at sunset on the hotel dock, 3) local restaurant entertainment, 4) our pool and bar at the hotel, 5) Paul in the super clear water at the Split, and 6) us on our dock again (we loved the place!).

More to come!

Dogfest!

On Saturday, the weather was beautiful, the first real pretty weekend day since I've been here, so Paul and I took advantage of it my going to the Duboce Park DogFest, a fundraiser for a local elementary school, and a friend's BBQ in the Mission District. I've posted a few pics: 1) Paul and I with Biker Babe (name was on her shirt), who was worn out after a long day at the park, 2) a self portrait where Paul was too busy looking at a passing bus (transit geek), 3) a dog up for adoption who could perform the best tricks, 4) and all of the bikes lined up at the BBQ house, such a different lifestyle here (picking up my bike from the store on May 8th!), and 5) me walking up one of the many hills here :)

Two quick things- I have not worn heels in 4 weeks, nor have I carried a regular purse. Flats and over-the-shoulder satchels are the way to go here, so when we get back from our honeymoon (yay!!), I plan to do a bit of shopping :)