October 1st

My youngest son, the only kid staying with me this fall, applied for a job today. He said the interview made him incredibly nervous but he thinks it went pretty well. It is a retail job, doesn't start until November, and will involve being really busy during the holiday period, when he finally once again will have friends in the city.

I think all of us can understand how a young person feels going in for his first job interview. Hell, until I got my current job, during the many years I was jobless, I lost most of the confidence acquired over a lifetime when applying for jobs. After a long career of success.

In those interviews, it's impossible to feel that you are not being judged, and especially in today's American culture, you really are being judged and evaluated.

Plus he is an especially good, sensitive, sweet and brilliant individual. But none of those qualities necessarily gets you a job. I gently suggested that when you do get jobs you have to compromise on a lot of levels. So if he is too busy at Christmas to see his friends as often as he would like he will at least have enough money to have fun when he does.

All I could think of to relax him after the stressful interview was for us to go by El Matate, and get one of his favorite burritos. Tomorrow night we will order pizza. Later tonight, when his brother in Missoula gets online, they will play video games.

Thus is my life as a parent.

(Don't even get me started what it is like at work.)

One of My Readers

Yesterday my youngest son slept in while I fiddled around doing the usual weekend chores -- paying bills, doing the laundry, washing dishes, cleaning...

When he woke up we went to our favorite hamburger place -- Whizburger -- for lunch. Then he watched an exciting Giants game on TV with me. (They won, 14-10.)

In between, he played video games long-distance with his brother in Missoula, who talked to us both over an Internet connection.

In ;ate afternoon, he went off with his Mom to practice driving. He has his license; he just needs to improve his driving skills.

He talked with me about getting nervous in job interviews. This is relevant because he has two coming up. He told me a story that I'd never heard before about an interview two years ago for an internship -- that he got.

In his letter, he addressed the hiring officer as Mister because they had a male-sounding name. When he got to the interview the person appeared to be a female, so he nervously apologized for addressing her as a man.

She then told him that she identified as a man, making the entire exchange even more awkward for him.

That's like in San Francisco for a young guy trying to find his way.

I just love our talks. He is such an impressive young man, even as he takes a gap year from college. He is reading six books -- all of them impressive works. He loves to read, a rarity for his generation.

Young Artists in the City

This is a photo from Sunday morning. I took Julia and her three friends to breakfast at the Moonlight Cafe and then we drove over to 24th Street and a tour of Balmy Alley. This a place for as long as I can remember that features murals on buildings.

It was fascinating to see these four young art students study the murals and make comments.

Soon after, they headed back up to their school in Napa.

Connecting This Way and That

Dylan and I got him a new iPhone today; his old one has been failing for a while. Then we got pizza at Escape From New York, a chain he and his siblings discovered back when I worked at Predictify in downtown Redwood City.

He got his contacts and photos transferred but thought that he had lost his music playlist (2,000 songs). Nope, eventually he located them.

Now he is playing video games and talking with Aidan in Missoula. We talked about how this kind of experience -- connecting with your brother when he is so far away via technology -- was never possible back when I was his age or for many decades afterward.

They can play together because we have xboxes in both locations.

These devices -- iPhones, xboxes -- cost money but to me the cost is not what matters. They are investments in family, in keeping siblings in touch with each other.

I had a long talk with Aidan who thinks he is doing well in his classes. The one he worries about, Chemistry, has a test on Tuesday.

Julia and her friends went to a movie last night and she apparently took them to one of favorite local diners, Whiz Burger, as part of squiring them around the city.

I hope to take them all to lunch tomorrow before they head back up to Napa.

These small domestic details may seem trivial, but to me, they are the essence of what life is about. When I was younger, I thought what mattered most were big ideas and accomplishments. Not that those are unimportant but now, for me at least, it is being connected to those in your circle of family and friends that matters most.

Home for the Weekend

I drove up Napa today to pick her up plus three other girls (from Georgia, Arizona and Washington) who all seem nice. When I arrived at her school, Julia ran out to see me, gave me a big hug and said,
"Dad, it is great to see you!" 

She obviously loves it up there. The kids are given a lot of freedom to set their own schedules and pick creative projects. The place is so small that everyone knows everyone else.

I didn't get to see any of her art projects but the dorm suite she shares with six others is very nice. This is obviously the right place for her to be at this point.

Dylan got back from the east coast today, too, so we all got Mexican food from El matate and he is spending the night here at my place; the girls at Connie's.

It was very hot in Napa and on the route home and traffic was heavy. the A-C in my old car is not working well and I felt bad for the girls, but they were gracious about it. As we arrived next to the Bay we opened the windows, noticed the fog entering SF and all breathed a sigh of comfortable relief.

As we came over the bridge Julia started pointing out the landmarks for her guests. She was obviously so proud and excited to tell them about her city. They were amazed by the many murals on buildings here in the Mission, as well as by the narrow, hilly streets of Bernal.

They plan to go to a movie, shop, and sight see all weekend. I will (happily) foot the bill. It is such a relief to see my 16-year-old back to her cheerful self and seeing her easily make new friends!

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Visit to Dad's Office

Before moving away to her boarding school, my youngest dropped by my office a couple of times and these images and messages are what she left on the whiteboard.

I am set to drive up to Napa and bring her and three friends back to San Francisco on Thursday.

Meanwhile my staffers up north of Napa have driven through the devastated fire zone from the Valley Fire, which has been the fastest growing fire most firefighters have ever witnessed.

Later tonight or tomorrow we should have  avideo to post on News Fix.

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Fire Season

Wakened early Sunday morning by phone calls from colleagues, I rushed to the office to lead our online coverage of the monster Valley Fire north of here. First blogging at work I have done lately.

Today we continued covering and tomorrow I am planning on sending two reporters up there to interview the people affected.

Meanwhile, scientists have determined that the California snowpack is at its lowest level since the 1500s. The drought continues, and conditions are potentially disastrous from a wildfire perspective, all over the state.

Ironically, and helpfully, a small drizzle of rain dusted the north state (and this city) today.

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