Semesters Start

Aidan and Zaira have arrived in Missoula; Dylan in Santa Cruz.

I'm missing them.

Today I finally did some shopping -- tonight's meal was a lamp chop, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Comfort food, you could say, for an empty nester on his own.

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Off to College Soon

New driver Dylan drove Aidan over to the neighborhood today at lunch hour, picked me up at work and we went to one of our favorites, El Matate, for a meal together.

They both leave for college on Saturday. Aidan off to Missoula; Dylan to Santa Cruz.

Both have cars now. Dylan's moving in with friends to an apartment; Aidan and Zaira will be in student housing.

I'll miss these guys, of course, but am grateful that within a week my oldest son, Peter, will be living here in the city.

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Bureaucracy

Spending way too much for my taste of yet another Monday in Room 307 of the Hall of Justice. Most people only seem to get called for jury duty every few years, but I get called every single year. Someone must really want me to serve on a jury.

Inevitably, once I make it through all the way of the grueling process to sit in a judge's room as a potential juror, I always get dismissed by the prosecution. Who on that side wants an investigative reporter/editor on the jury?

This month, there was a screwup by the court two weeks ago and I had to waste another Monday dealing with this, only to find out later that week -- Thursday -- that my reporting responsibility had been delayed until today. That was because I had requested a deferment a month earlier due to our impending trip to Seattle for Peter and Claire's wedding and the court had not responded until I had spent that Monday-Thursday checking the court website, trying to find out whether to report.

If this round turns out the way it now appears, I will have to report again in two more weeks -- Tuesday, September 6 -- for a criminal trial that will last two weeks.

Whatever, I no longer care but I hope this bureaucratic nightmare somehow comes to some sort of end.

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Reflections

You know, most people when they talk to me these years tend to compliment me on my career as a journalist, which is by any objective measure in its final years. And I thank them, because I *am* proud of the things we all have accomplished (as a team) and it is kind of them to have noticed. There are articles, books, documentaries and other artifacts to document what has happened due to our work. We've won awards, changed the world a bit, and hopefully helped lay the groundwork to improve life as we know it, even though I often doubt that, given the state of the planet.

But whatever has happened in my career is secondary and always has been because of what has occurred in my family life. Above please see my oldest son, Peter, his wife, Claire, and my daughters Laila, Sarah and Julia and sons, Aidan and Dylan.

As of today, it is official that Peter and Claire will be moving into an apartment 10 minutes from here in two weeks.

That means more to me than any journalism award.

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Success!

After we saw Aidan, Julia and Connie at Sunflower on Potrero Hill for dinner, Peter and Claire and I came back to my place where they got the news they have been selected by the owners to rent one of their top two favorite apartments of the five they visited today.

It is in Glen Park about ten minutes from my flat. From the photos it looks great -- newly renovated with a deck and a shared yard. Th apartment has two floors and an open, sunny appeal.

They move in on about September 2nd! I'm absolutely thrilled to have them soon be so close. They sign the lease tomorrow and then head back to Pasadena to get ready for the move.

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Out On Their Housing Hunt

Peter, Claire and Jack have four appointments around town today as they seek rental units to move into next month. We had breakfast at a local deli and then they headed to the Richmond neighborhood on the west side of town, followed by an appointment in Glen Canyon, which is where the market Aidan and Dylan have worked at is located.

The younger boys are set to go off to their respective campuses later this month. Meanwhile Julia is studying for the SAT and preparing her college essays and applications. This past week was her first as a high school senior.

Laila and Sarah's kids are back in school soon.

It's a cool, foggy day here in the Bay city, which suits my visitors from sweltering L.A. just fine.

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Weekend Visit

Peter and Claire (plus their poodle, Jack) arrived tonight to spend the weekend here as they search for housing in San Francisco. I made them dinner, we watched the Giants game ( a win!) and talked about our wonderful memories of their wedding and reception -- already two weeks ago!

They plan to relocate here from Pasadena in just a couple of weeks. Claire is to be working at Google's San Francisco office and Peter won a fellowship that helps post-docs find jobs in the private sector.

I feel like the luckiest man on earth to be about to have all six of my children and grandchildren nearby in this incredibly expensive area. The circumstances that have allowed this to occur are unusual and specific to us and this time.

Plus tonight is a good luck night. The Giants have just regained first place in the NL West and I got to watch that happen with my oldest son, probably the main reason that about 30 years ago I became  a Giants fan...

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