Hello again,
Turns out my computer was fine all along, no battery recall like I thought. I’m relieved! So I'm back. And I've got to say that I love my old Dell. I used to hate, hate how big and ugly it is. But you know, it's dam sturdy and pleasant to use even.
This new year finds me still in San Francisco, still at my work but with a new job title that I worry I haven't been living up to. But I think things will all fall into place now.
I'm still in the same house. This time around we have been having wonderful potlucks every Wednesday. Last night brought my new friends from the weekend. And we drank a giant bottle of champagne that was purported to taste faintly of pencil shavings.

I’ve got a lot of San Francisco in my future but we’re making the best of it, trying to visit New York when we can and enjoy this city for what it has. We were in New York a few weeks ago for Joyce Leslie’s birthday. We swam in a lovely pool right in the middle of a bar!

We’ve got to find something like that here.

Back in SF, enjoying my sweet secretary job only three blocks from my house. I went to the movies last night and am in general living the life. There's nothing like two months on the road to make you totally love being at home. I love America. It's so gosh darn cheap!
I've been back a week and I'm still sorting out everything. And I love to sort. Except for the part where I screamed at some condescending jerk at UCLA on the phone. I'm still dealing with that shit hole. Ai ai ay.
We spent the night on Mt. Tam the other day. It smelled great. The view through the trees and clouds of the ocean was magnificent. I realized that I live near one of the most beautiful places on earth. And I might just be loving hills. The part of Europe where we spent the most time was also the most flat.

Now we're in Ghent, recovering from Ghentfest, an annual ten day party where Ghent citizens of all ages stay up all night drinking and dancing to U2 cover bands and Cuban music. Fortunately it rained last night, otherwise the town would smell more heavily of urine.

We've been really punking it up here in Belgium, staying in squats, exploring abandoned buildings, and table diving. Last night at 1 am I even bathed in a shower I discovered above a bakery. Refreshing. Meanwhile Damian enjoyed a €3 Chimay at the sidewalk cafe downstairs.

The squat we're sleeping at used to be the service yard for Ghent's street sweepers. It's the biggest squat I have ever seen with 25 residents but no shower for us guests.

Belgium has been wonderful. The biking infrastructure isn't as blatant as in the Netherlands but it's still about one million years ahead of America. We've been hitting points all over Flanders visiting the breweries. The other night we were in some tiny village swimming in a canal with local teenagers and they were like, "Why they hell would you come here?" Everyone is happy when we tell them for biking and the beer.

Damian never found his camera so we'll just have to tell you all about what we saw in Germany and the Netherlands. If we skip the Delirium Tremens brewery, our next stop is Bruges where will take our fourth canal boat tour of the trip. I just can't get enough of these things!

I am in a tiny little library in a tiny little town in Belgium. Damian just realized that he didn't have his camera. He is currently biking up to the actual highest point in Holland (which is actually pretty high) to see if he can find it. Yikes! It has almost all out pictures so I certainly hope he does.

This highest point in Holland also happens to be by the Dreilande Punkt, or the place where Holland, Germany, and Belgium meet. It's like a mini amusement park there. The only other people our age there were the wives of American solidiers, chaperoning a field trip of American army brats. We met these other Americans while trying to get through a hedge labrynth. So much fun. I really hope we get the pictures from that.

Last night we slept in the Aachenwald (Aachen Woods) near some dog poo that smelled of sausage.

Yesterday we finally got out of Holland to go to Aachen where we toured the Cathedral built for Charlemagne. Ser gut. But otherwise we weren't so won-over by Germany and we turned back west to Begium.

The trip has been super fun. Lots of canals, bikes, windmills, and farm animals.

A few nights ago we were setting up camp in a park surrounded by farms when some cows started to approach us. Damian was scared an started to hop up onto a log. I pretended I was a cowboy and told them "NO! You go that way!" I pointed to the left and sure enough they went left. It was as though they understood exactly what I was saying. We must have been on the tallest peak in Holland. On the horizon we could see the Haag, hear the freeway, and smell the cows.

Biking here is super easy. There are seperated bike paths and lots of signage. The ride Monday from Schipol Airport to Amsterdam was particularly impressive. The moment we exited the terminal there we signs pointing us to a bike path all the way to the city. We didn't have to look at a map once!

We spent the fourth at the Anne Frank house and paddle boating around the canals of Amsterdam. Then we had dinner at a squat. In Amsterdam we stayed with a friend of a friend. It was a former squat in a cute neighborhood. Or so I thought until some little kid pegged me with a pebble with a home made slingshot. It really hurt and left a bruise. I was pissed so I yelled at the kid as though he understood English. Damian through his slingshot into a canal. Later we fantasized throwing the kid himself into that canal. Still, I think we did the right thing.

Friday we had breakfast in Haarlem and Damian talked to an old Turkish man who was a ``kirkemaaker,`` a churchmaker. Then we biked to a trashy beach town on the North Sea and ate lunch in the dunes. I insisted that we go to the Tulip Park which I imagined would be a botanical garden with only tulips. It wasn´t. but it was closed anyway. We missed tulip season by months.

After biking 76 miles yesterday and still being nowhere near Germany, we decided to cheat and take the train. Tomorrow we will be in Achen.

She dead.

We damned the rain Tuesday night and rode to Sausalito in the middle of a storm. There's not such thing as bad weather, just bad gear. And when it rains every fucking day you just can't stop living.
We visited our friend and roommate who was docked on a fake pirate ship. The crew of the ship reminded me a bit of engineering students.
Today, the day before I depart for Hawaii, the weather is amazing. My boss lady and I took a nap in the sun. It pays (occasionally) to work in a park.