Hey California! You Can Forget My Taxes!

Last night I was talking to one of my friends about Proposition 8 and the fallout the gay community is experiencing as a result of its passing. I said that I was considering not paying State taxes until I had the same rights as all of the other California minority groups who pay taxes. I get equal rights -- the State of California can have my tax contribution. Seems like a fair trade to me.

Apparently, I'm not alone in my thinking. Today I found this blog post from Melissa Etheridge. Here's a snippet:

Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.

You can find the full post here:

http://thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-06/you-can-forget-my-taxes

Rock on Melissa! Great minds think alike  :)

Bridge School Benefit 2008

Alas, another Shoreline season has come to an end. On October 25th and 26th we hosted the Bridge School Benefit shows. They were fun shows as usual however this year some of the usual Bridge magic was missing. I'm chalking it up to the impending election -- everyone was feeling anxious -- not to mention the fact that most of the acts on the line-up already play acoustic shows (meaning no surprises like Metallica playing acoustic). 

Sarah McLachlan delivered the most outstanding set at Saturday's show. She accompanied herself on piano as well as guitar. Sarah played some old favorites like Possession and Ice Cream, as well as some new tunes like U Want Me 2. Her voice was clear and strong and the audience rewarded her with the only standing ovation of the night.

The highlight of Sunday's show was Josh Groban singing a song with the Smashing Pumpkins. That was indeed a magical moment and definitely one I never thought I'd witness in my lifetime!

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins and Josh Grobin singing 'Disarm'

Photo by my friend Tim Mosenfelder

the first of many halloween parties this year

Natalya attended her first Halloween party of the "season" last Friday. Miss Muffet has a couple more parties on her schedule. She took her Rock Star outfit but ended up wearing this Sully costume instead. Pretty cute :)

first day of first grade

natalya and andrea walking to school on the first day

Natalya started first grade last month. So far she's been really excited about going to school. Aside from recess, her favorite part of the day is Writing Workshop -- she's becoming quite the little story teller. 

natalya and her back to school pie

My parents were in town when school started so my mom made Natalya a back to school pie otherwise known as Lemon Meringue (made with lemons from the tree in our backyard). Thanks Grandma Elaine!

there's a snake in my boots!

Natalya has a talking Woody doll (Woody is the cowboy from the Toy Story movies). Last week she told me that Woody was talking to her in the middle of the night. She wanted to throw him away because he was broken. I rescued Woody from the trash and put him in our closet. Around 2:30 in the morning I awoke to a voice saying "Howdy Partner!" I chuckled to myself and went back to sleep. Then at 5 a.m. I heard "There's a snake in my boots!"

That was the last straw -- I wasn't going to let Woody wake me up again. I took him downstairs and stuck him on top of Natalya's toy box.

We didn't hear from Woody again for at least three days and then suddenly one evening Woody exclaimed once again, "There's a snake in my boots!"

Currently, Woody is perched on a chair in the garage. Every once in awhile we hear him say hello and complain about the snake in his boots. Now we think that Woody is trying to worm his way back into the house. Lately the only thing we've heard him say is, "You're my favorite Deputy!"

That's really nice Woody -- but you're still not coming back inside! :)

RIP Miyake June 1994 - August 2008

when's dinner?

noble hunter

happiness is a warm ironing board

natalya meets the jonas brothers!

The Jonas Brothers were at Shoreline on Tuesday night. They happen to be one of Natalya's favorites groups. We -- uh -- I mean "she" listens to them all the time. So I used my Shoreline connections and status and got Miss Muffet backstage to meet them. I thought that she might be star-struck, but Natalya did very well. She marched right up when it was her turn and gave Joe, Nick and Kevin a hug before posing for the picture with them.

I wish I had a photo of the look on Natalya's face after she met the guys. Sheer joy. She put her hands up on each side of her head and screamed "I just met the Jonas Brothers!" And then she just stood there dumbfounded.

joe, natalya, nick and kevin

I was able to get front row seats for Natalya and her "boyfriend" Jackson for the concert. They both ended up standing against the rail in front of the stage for the entire show (two hours).

natalya and jack standing at the edge of the stage

If this doesn't get me a nomination for Mom of the Year I don't know what will!

signed, sealed, delivered

Saturday night Stevie Wonder was at Shoreline and I got to meet him! I was backstage with his publicist and we strolled past Stevie who was sitting outside on the hospitality deck. She stopped to chat for a minute and he asked "who's with you?" And she said, "This is Kaari. She's the Media Coordinator for the venue."

Stevie held out his hand and said "pleased to meet you." And I shook his hand. I was so stoked! I had to remain calm though. Didn't want to look unprofessional at work. But when I got back to my office I jumped up and down and texted Andrea the good news :)

artist's rendering of the Stevie Wonder / Kaari meeting

can you hear me now?

Natalya just had ear surgery and it was a success! She'd lost 30-40% of her hearing due to fluid in her ears. The surgeon went in and sucked the goo out of Natalya's ears and put tubes in and now — no more loud televisions and loud talking at our house. And no more confusion — when we yell at Natalya it's because we're angry about something! :)

ready to roll to the operating room with puppy

pencils and patriotism

natalya enjoys an ice cream sundae on the last day of school

Natalya got a new pencil from the dentist this week as her "prize". It's red, white and blue with stars and stripes on it. Natalya showed the pencil to Andrea and me.

Andrea exclaimed, "what a patriotic pencil!"

Natalya: "what's patriotic mean?"

Andrea: "it means that you love your country."

Natalya: "No. I just like pencils."

live 105's BFD 2008

a body surfer
photo by skyler greene - skygreenephoto.com

We recently kicked off the first of several festivals at Shoreline this season: BFD '08. This show used to be a combination parking lot/general admission show with the last few acts playing the main stage. This year we did the entire thing in the parking lot. It was quite a scene and great for people watching as evidenced in these photos (above and below)

and the best dressed BFD couple award goes to...

Last but not least, I have to include this pic of Moby. Out of all the performers I've met during my time at Shoreline Moby is one of the most humble and gracious people I've ever encountered. Rock on Moby!

my man moby
photo by skyler greene - skygreenephoto.com

kindergarten commando

Picture this scene: Andrea and I are walking with Natalya to school. It's the night of her Kindergarten end-of-the-school-year open house... as we get closer to her classroom, Natalya announces, "and i'm not wearing any underwear!"

Yippee! First grade here we come!!!

natalya with some of her pals

dancing fools

natalya and jackson performing on the Shoreline stage -- with a special guest appearance by yours truly! (jackson's mom shot this footage quite awhile ago -- i just located it).

more unsolicited advice from natalya

wise and sweet natalya

The other day Natalya said to me, "Hey Mom! If you put American Guppies up your nose you'll stop snoring."

Where does she come up with these things?

it's about time!

a bunch of hip judges

Yippee! I never thought I'd see the day!'

In its 4-3 ruling the Republican-dominated high court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage and said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.

Let's hope that this decision sticks. If it's up to the Christian Right -- it won't. James Dobson, chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family called the ruling an "outrage".

Dude! Why don't you fight for something that truly matters?... like I don't know -- maybe peace on earth -- an end to world hunger... Gay marriage is not your problem. Intolerance is.

motown baby!

mr. wonder

I'm happy to announce that we just added a show at Shoreline that I'm actually looking forward to! Stevie Wonder is coming to my playground on July 5th. I'm so psyched about this concert! Being born and raised in the Detroit area, I grew up with the Motown Sound. And I've seen both the Temptations and the Four Tops live. I've seen Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five. I've even seen Diana Ross (remind me to tell you the story about the dirty mirror ball hanging over her stage) but I've never seen Stevie Wonder live.

Thank you to the Live Nation booking gods and godesses for making this one a reality!

huh?

The other day I visited a Starbucks in Palo Alto. I paid for my order with my official Starbucks Paul McCartney card. The young Starbucks employee behind the register asked, "Who is this guy? He's somebody famous right? Did he write something or other?"

After composing myself (I had to resist the urge to scream at the kid) I carefully said, "Paul McCartney is from The Beatles. You've heard of them right?"

Starbucks kid: Oh yeah. I think so.

Me: (Again, trying not to scream) He's one of the most prolific singer/songwriters ever.

Starbucks kid: Shrugs. Oh okay.

Me:  At this point I decided to just walk away. I thought about launching into a diatribe about the fact that Starbucks was the first place to promote and sell Paul McCartney's latest CD (Memory Almost Full) and ask Starbucks Kid if he'd ever looked around the store -- because there just happened to be McCartney CDs for sale in the rotating CD rack... 

There were a million other things I could've said. But I decided that my time would be better spent by giving Natalya a refresher course on The Beatles and their influence on music etc. 

(Later) Me talking to Natalya:  Hey Natalya -- you know Paul McCartney and The Beatles right?

Natalya:  Yes Mom. The Beatles did Yellow Submarine and that's a drawing of Paul McCartney hanging upstairs in the hallway... the one you did when you were in ninth grade.

Me:  I love you Natalya. You make me so proud!

it wasn't in the Cards... Stanford 48, Tennessee 64

We lost and that sucks. What more can I say? Hmm.

How about: I'm really going to miss you Candice and I'm sorry that you didn't have a better game on Tuesday. Thanks for four years of (mostly) great memories...good luck in the WNBA!

candice is taking us to the championship!

Our girls played an AWESOME game on Sunday. They didn't let up on UConn even when the going got a little tougher. Candice was such a cool-headed leader... One more game versus the Tennessee Lady Vols on Tuesday. This just might be the year for Stanford Women's BB to go all the way!!!

our girls are going to the Final Four!!!

We did it!!! The Stanford Women's basketball team has made it to the Final Four for the first time since 1997. Yes, we did it. Andrea and I follow the Stanford teams closely year after year... we watch the players develop from Freshman to Senior level players... we get attached... and therefore what happens to our team happens to us. (Didn't someone use that line in an advertising campaign?)

Now we're preparing for our big game against UConn on Sunday, April 6th. We will be ready!!! Go Stanford!!!

springtime in chicago

we're here for our niece's bat mitzvah. needless to say, it doesn't feel much like spring! the snow is really picturesque though. i took this in front of the Hancock building.

here's a pic of Natalya getting down at the bat mitzvah party. she had an awesome time!

a fashion statement from natalya

i kept natalya home from school today because she was running a fever. i knew that i was going to be inside all day playing nurse so when i got dressed in the morning i put on some old jeans and a t-shirt. natalya took one look at me and told me she wanted me to change my clothes. she said,"i want you to dress like you're going to work mom." i asked why and natalya said, "because you just look kinda, um, lazy or something." nice one natalya.

playing in the ocean with natalya in our matching UV shirts.

while she did not approve what i wore today she did approve this 'outfit'

my Yahoo! ride comes to an end...

view of the yahoo! great america campus

on tuesday, february 12th i was one of the many Yahoo! employees who got the boot as part of a "reduction in force". needless to say, my year and a half at Yahoo! was quite a bumpy ride. i moved 3 times to 3 different campuses (including a stint at the Great America campus where i had an excellent view of the roller coasters); once i moved to a new cube for all of one week before i had to move again; i lost most of my staff and was unable to re-build my team due to a hiring freeze; and for the majority of the time i was there, my Yahoo! property was under the threat of being purchased by an outside company (not microsoft).

don't get me wrong -- like a roller coaster ride, there were some definite "highs" and good times too. mostly because of the fabulous people i worked with on the Personals team. for example, i worked with some of the best product managers i've ever encountered.

and now it's all come to and end... at least the ride is over. i was starting to feel sick to my stomach...

microhoo?

would microsoft ever do something like this?

thanks to all of you who've checked in with me regarding the big Microsoft and Yahoo! news. lots and lots of speculation over the past few days to be sure. suffice it to say that i'm tired of working at a place where there's so much uncertainty. it's exhausting! one of my biggest concerns about a Microsoft purchase of Yahoo! is the possible affects on Yahoo's culture. I was at Adobe when they acquired Macromedia a few years ago and there was a major ugly culture clash :(

fun times at yahoo! (thankfully it's not my cube)

searching for the prize inside

when i was a kid you had to dig to the bottom of a box of cereal to get to the prize inside. and -- the prize was actually in the cereal. i remember negotiating with my brother about which one of us would carefully stick our hand inside the newly opened box to dig down to the prize.

times have changed. imagine my horror upon opening a box of honey nut cheerios for natalya only to see the prize sitting on top of the sealed bag of cereal. and not only that -- the prize was sealed in plastic as well. thanks a lot general mills -- you've taken the fun out of cereal with prizes :(

natalya's words of wisdom

the other night while i was driving natalya home from school she shared this gem with me:

"Mom — i think the purpose of growing up is getting older."

...out of the mouths of babes.

natalya enjoys the snow in michigan

smile - it's a new year!

happy new year everyone! andrea, nataly and i just returned from a great trip to michigan. going 'home' for the holidays had many benefits: i saw my family; i played in the snow with natalya for the first time in our lives and i went through some old stuff of mine that my mom recently unearthed. one of the coolest finds was this toy camera. it was the first camera i ever owned. it doesn't really take pictures but i remember feeling cool and grown-up when i used it as a kid. thanks mom!

say "cheese"