Puggy

Hailey “Puggy” or “Hai Hai” was born during the Summer of 2000.  My brother Danny, who was turning twelve that summer had been asking my mom for a German Shepard puppy for a long time.  We already had one other dog at home, Bailey a sweet Golden Retriever so she kept telling him no.  He had been working on my mom for a while and unbeknown to him, she arranged to surprise him with a puppy while he was visiting me  in San Diego.  When Danny would get off the plane and drive home, a sweet little guy, to be named Hailey, would be home waiting for him.

Hailey was a beautiful, perfect puppy, full of energy, curiosity, and love for my brother Danny.  I remember Danny telling me how smart Hailey was and sweet, but that he was also a big baby.  He’d sleep with my brother and would puppy cry with excitement and love when you’d pet him, and he learned his signature move; to take his paws and cross them over his eyes while howling when you would lean down to pet him or give him a hug or kiss.

Hailey was well loved in my family, most of all by Danny, but he went away to college in the Fall of 2006.  At that time, Hailey was six years old and had suffered a really bad accident the year before.  One night, Hailey was awake in the middle of the night, barking and howling at something he could hear outside.  My mom let him out, thinking he had to go to the bathroom, but it turned out, he went out to protect my family from a mountain lion!  Though Hailey was a great protector and very tough, he was no match for a bad cat that weighed twice as much as him… that night, the mountain lion took off Hailey’s entire hind leg.  When my siblings and I all heard of the accident, we for sure thought he was a goner, but Hailey persevered… he made it through the night, though having lost a ton of blood and a limb.  He was as good as new in only a few months, romping and chasing around his playmates at home and the deer that roamed my parent’s fields like he had all four legs.

Hailey relaxing in the shade

Hailey passed away, on November 11, 2010 a little over ten years after he was adopted into my family.  He will always be remembered for being a sweet, good-natured, loyal, and loving family member.  He’s survived by his human family: Danny Jr, Amy, Danny Sr, Christina, Diana, Sonya, and me (Jenny).  He’s also survived by his immediate four legged family: his best buds and soul mates, Riley and Izzy, and his newest family members – Chloe, Rowdy, and Luke.

Hailey and Ri Ri

Every time someone’s dog passes away, I think of this poem:

30 Minutes

I am sitting in my office with 3o minutes to spare.  I am thinking about all the things I have to do over the next 9 days before I move back to New York City.  And I am getting excited…actually, VERY excited!  Although my “to do” list seems really overwhelming.

If you know me in person or just read my blog from time to time, you know that I have an affinity towards New York City.  I just love it and it’s inexplicable.  I moved there originally in September 2002 to go to NYU for grad school.  I remember saying goodbye to my parents and siblings at the airport and thinking, “whoa, I’m really doing this!” I sat by a nice man on the flight and chatted with him the whole way there on the red eye.  When I arrived in NYC, I had 2 suitcases, was 22 years old and felt like I was the youngest person in the world.  Coming from California, NYC naturally felt scary and overwhelming and it took me a while to settle in properly.  I had major homesickness and felt grossly under dressed and poor wherever I went.  The first night I went out in the big city, I actually only withdrew $40 from the ATM and felt like that was a lot of money… I spent twice that amount that night alone!  That first year was tough, but it was Spring (my favorite time of year in NYC) and it clicked for me that I LOVED New York.  I would stay in NYC for the summer, work and enjoy the city.

That love affair was not a short stint.  It lasted a long time, but 4 years after I moved to New York, I felt a pull home to California.  I missed my parents and family…. and I would actually get jealous when my sisters would call me and say they spent the weekend together.  It wasn’t fair, I was so far away!  So, after a bunch of volleying in my head, I decided one night when I was laying in bed and on the phone with my boyfriend (at the time) that I would go home, get a new job, save money and be close to family.  That was the “right” decision.  Stop being selfish and move home already.  My parent’s were ecstatic!  But the decision brought me to tears.  I don’t know if it was because I was happy or excited, or what.  It was a really emotional decision for me.

Two short months later, after Craig’s Lister’s bought all my furniture, I was packed and ready to move “home” to California.  Two suitcases later and a flight later when I arrived in San Francisco it didn’t feel right.  This didn’t feel like home.

So, I’ve been here in San Francisco ever since.  I’ve had two jobs… one with the State and one with a major consultancy.   I’ve lived in 3 different apartments and have re-furnished twice.  I’ve traveled all over the world and have almost tripled my first starting salary.  I’ve been close to home and have rekindled friendships with friends from middle school, high school, and college.   I’ve also met new friends and had romantic relationships, happy, sad, good and bad.

And just as abruptly as I decided to move back to California in 2006, almost 4 years later, I’ve come full circle and am moving back to New York.  I won’t feel like the youngest girl in NYC anymore, I’ll be an experienced woman this time moving back as a newly minted 30 year old.  I do have another new job… one that requires less travel and will allow me to be home in NYC most of the time.   I’ll be going home to my old hood – the Upper West Side in a new apartment.

The past 3 years in San Fran were not wasted though… it was a great time, I had some great experiences and made a lot of wonderful memories.   And now I know SF and the Golden State will always be my second home.

A Year in Review…

I’ve sadly taken an unreasonably long hiatus from my blog.  I’m not sure why, God knows I spend enough time on the internet to spend 15-20 minutes to update this thing from time to time!  As we usher in the new decade that starts with the year 2010, I’m going to use this as an opportunity to renew my commitment to blogging and sharing some of my life, thoughts, insights, and just plain silliness with you in the New Year.

So to end this year, I think I’ll just sort of recap 2009…

I don’t think 2009 was unreasonably good or bad.  I can think of some years that were amazing… 2003-2006 were definitely Peaks in my life… I was living in NYC, feeling like I was the youngest and most carefree girl in the world, in an amazing city and hopelessly in love (with two different boyfriends during that period). In 2007, I went through a bit of a Valley of despair (it’s ok to be dramatic, right?) when I left my friends and job to move to SF, got a new, shittier job, and had to deal with a sad break up.  I rallied though… and came out strong in early 2008. New job, awesome apartment, new outlook on life, no new love, but lots of loves for “now”.  Now life is just good.  Nothing to complain about at all, but nothing to get all crazy excited and happy about either!

I did go on some amazing trips this past year… January, I spent some time in Vail with some good friends, re-connected with old friends and made new ones.  It was beautiful there (my first time) and I’m so excited to go back again in four weeks!

In April, some friends and I ran my second half marathon in Central Park.  It was hotter than hell, but I finished it!  And it prepared me for my third (and best time ever) during the SF half in July that I ran with my sister Christina.

Finishers! Tracy, Me, Yasmin, and Aileen

In May, I got to see the Alamo, while doing a brief stint for work in San Antonio, TX and got to work with my good friend and homie, Will.

E-Girl

First Project 365 post in a long time.  At the rate I’m going, maybe it should just be Project 100?

Anyway, meet Emmie.  Sammy’s Cousin.  Emmie is about 1.5 years old and is a mix that my sister Diana rescued from Wonder Dog Rescue when she was  just a little baby.  Emmie is a lover, and thinks she’s a lap dog, but she’s got a wild streak in her.  Emmie loves to play with her toys, growl, and bark and she also likes to go to Dolores Park.

Little Lovebug

A Going Away

My sister and part-time roomate Diana left for Germany last week.  She’ll be gone for 3.5 months and I’ll have our Mission apartment all to myself (and 3 dogs) for the entire summer.  I missed her going away party at the Phoenix since I was in NYC, but flew back to SF a couple of days before she left.  One of the things Diana is weary about for her trip to Germany is the food.  She typically eats pretty healthfully, and is not a major fan of heavy food we stereotypically think of when we think of Germany.

To send her off properly, Christina and I took Diana out to a going away dinner at Delfina.  Listed as one of the top 100 resturants in 2008 in the Bay Area, I’m surprised I’d never been there, since I live on the same street and enjoy good food.  We showed up for our  5:30 reservation (My NY readers / friends, please don’t judge – my sister goes to bed at 10 pm every night for work at 6 AM).  The place was already lively and packed, as Californians like to eat early.