Category Archive: Oakland

Saved Twice

JFK pissed me off. The lack of important signage would have been embarrassing in any international airport, and I was flabbergasted that you have to enter the US in order to change flights.… Continue reading

Interstate 580 has a secret

It’s one of those things I never noticed until someone pointed it out, and now it’s all I see. Every time I merge onto Interstate 580, where I used to only see the… Continue reading

Covid Questions

Covid, the Great Disruptor, is helping us ask questions we didn’t ask before. For example, we could ask “Wait, I keep craving a return to my old life, but how did I feel… Continue reading

Saturday night civics lesson in Oakland

“Over a dozen protesters arrested after protest turned violent Saturday night in Oakland.” A headline too routine to read, a story so familiar the news agencies barely bothered to write it, mostly posting… Continue reading

My neighborhood tonight

The signs appeared about a month ago on a corner near where I live. The work of local artists, each page had the face of someone killed by police, and their name. It… Continue reading

Dentists, razor blades, and new friends

I didn’t know yet that another layer of institutional bureaucratic chicanery was going to keep me from getting my teeth cleaned yesterday afternoon, so I sat in the waiting room with the other… Continue reading

Seeking dental advice

They were remarkably consistent. From the two receptionists who didn’t seem to know how to check me in (“Isn’t this kinda what you do all day?” I resisted asking), to the x-ray “technician”… Continue reading

Everybody hates Shimla

The expats and wealthier Indians I talked to were unanimous. From a bewildered “Shimla? Why are you going there? Just on your way to someplace better, right?” to the more succinct “Shimla sucks”… Continue reading

I miss my friends

Well, the good news is, almost everybody got a job. I’m trying to focus on that. The woman in her early 40s with the big smile, and the shy younger woman (who swears… Continue reading

Friends

Tall and dark, their food was spiced differently and they spoke of a place called Yugoslavia that sounded exotic and sad. But it was all just texture for the aunt, uncle, and two… Continue reading