An Oaklandish Weekend

Robb and I both agree that we are very lucky to be living in Oakland. Sure the cost of real estate is astronomical, but overall the Bay Area is a very easy place for us get around in. If we were still living in Maryland, I can't imagine what Robb's half-inch-thick plastic armor would be like in the summer humidity. Or what walking with an unsteady gait, and poor balance would be like on Connecticut's icy sidewalks. All things considered, we're in a good place.

So, what do we do on our weekends?

On Saturday, we bottled the beer that Robb brewed a while back. And we took another walk at the Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, and did a little letterboxing. Robb has been pushing himself to walk and exercise as much as possible, which is admirable and also really exhausting for him. After our walk in the park, he came home and collapsed on the couch. When he gets really tired, the quality of his walking really deteriorates, and he shuffles along, hardly bending or lifting his knees at all. I find this a bit distressing, but I also believe that the exercise that tires him out has to be of value.

Sunday was a rough day, with a happy ending. Despite the astonishing California sunshine, I was in a black, bleak mood. I think I've been able to keep a good attitude throughout the past five months, and today that good attitude temporarily abandoned me. I have actually scheduled an appointment with a mental health counselor because I feel that I could use some advice with stress management and handling the gigantic changes that our lives have undergone. We'll see how this works out.


However, the day was redeemed by the picnic we went on with our friends Ashley (above), Rachel (red shirted photographer) and Becca (blonde hair). All of us have at one time or another worked in the props shop at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and with Ashley's recent purchase of a condominium, we'll all be Oakland residents.




The art collective Oaklandish was throwing an event called the Lake Merritt Radio Regatta. All the boat rental places were operating at half-cost and dj's* were broadcasting a live shortwave FM radio feed lakeside. They were sending radios out on the boats, and screening vintage films about Oakland inside the boathouse. We found a picnic table on the pier by the Gondola service, and had a lovely afternoon in the sun.


Yes, that's right. There are Venetian Gondolas wending the waterways of our own Lake Merritt. Another reason we love living in Oakland.

And on Monday?

Robb is meeting with a representative of a wheelchair company, and will be getting measured for a wheelchair fitting. Let's hope this offers more freedom in getting around. I really hate the wheelchair he's got now, and we never use it. At the moment, Robb really is only walking very short distances, with lots of breaks in between.


* Neither Robb nor I could find a "good" way to punctuate the word dj's and settled for what we call Grocers' Punctuation.