Nonogirl Radio

Commuting

I know I'm spoiled. I live and work in San Francisco and my morning commute is about 7 minutes downhill by bicycle.

But I'm toying with the idea of moving to the East Bay: cheaper rent, backyard gardens, and parking! and I'm using a 10 day house sit in Oakland to see if the commute will kill me.

Day 1 and 2: Woke up aroun 7:00(!!!) and caught the casual carpool. Door to door in 45 minutes (but got to work much earlier than necessary)

Day 3: BARTed but rode all the way to Lake Merritt BART on the lead that they had underground parking (not true). Met a nice Chinese woman reading Freakonomics, who talked up moving to the East Bay. Hour door to door.

Day 4: Walked to 19th Street BART because of a rain forcast. On my way an older African American man with salt and pepper facial hair smiled at me. I asked how I knew him. "From KPFA! Heard your piece on Making Contact! Loved it." What a great way to start the morning.

Day 5: Here's where it went downhill. Walked to BART again (20 minutes) only to realize I left my wallet at home! I returned home and decided to drive to West Oakland BART. When I filled up with gas, I learned that the casual carpool DOES go 'til 10:00 at the Perkins/Grand stop, so I parked my car and hopped in someone else's. 1 1/2 hours door to door. :(

Day 6: Today I need my car for an evening in the City. I cruised down to the casual carpool at 8:30 and saw a line of over 10 cars waiting for people! so I decided to drive it alone. The bridge/metering lights took about 20 minutes. Did I make the right decision?

I'm ready to move back to San Francisco!

Dedicated

I rarely make it out to see live music these days. It's like something in me switched between age 29 and 30 and the rock venue stopped being my church and the show stopped being my sermon.

But on Tuesday, I did my favorite stroll from the Castro to the Mission, noting what's changed and what's stayed the same, on my way to a quick bite and then a to long needed "communion."

That's what live music used to be like for me! People (friends and some familiar faces) rejoicing in sounds that uplift the spirit, singing in unison, and letting the spirit move our dancing feet!

Scrabbel played an amazing set with their new drummer. And while I didn't feel the spirit move through me like it did in the ol' days, my bad day *did* brighten when they dedicated California Plates(mp3) to me.

Yes, the ground below me feels shaky, but maybe that means it's time to dance.

Communities

Yesterday, I was reminded how small our Bay Area Asian American arts community is. And rather than dwell on that, I'd like to share two radio features that capture the people in two different communities.

The first is produced by Molly Menschel while she was at SALT. More than a story about a beached whale, this is the story about the surrounding community and the way memory works.

The second story produced by Elizabeth Gray aired on Soundprint. It's a delicate story about Canadian Mennonites who work with pedophiles after they are released from jail.

Trapeze of Life

Yes, I do yoga. And during the winter months, my teacher spoke about the importance of hibernating and nurturing inner growth during these colder times of shortened daylight.

Two weeks ago, I told her I'm going through transition and asked, isn't that what spring is for?!

She responded with a yoga class especially for me! During meditation, she shared a passage comparing a trapeze bar to the areas of certainty in life, be it our relationships, our home, our job. An empty bar ahead may be calling for us, but we fear letting go. The passage suggests that the moments we are most alive are in those moments of transition, when we're flying between bars! And she reiterated these themes in class as we tried new poses and kept a healthy flow/transition between them.

While I'm flying, it's great to know that friends, family, and even my yoga instructor are acting as my safety net below.

No-no for the Nonogirl

I planned to be disciplined this past weekend with radio deadlines looming. However, my homebody status of late left me out of training for dinner/drinks at Puerto Alegre, the Mission restaurant known for their margaritas!

Two drinks later, I found myself at Galeria de la Raza's exciting 35th anniversary show, Weedee Peepo. The KSW crowd, along with the rest of the community arts scene, turned out to celebrate this show of portraits.

Two more drinks later, I stumbled to a party across town where I surprisingly reunited with a radio-turned-video producer acquaintance from over 5 years ago.

Two more drinks later, in the middle of the discussion about circumcision, I cut myself off and crashed on the couch, blanketed with my warm, faux-fur jacket. When my own good judgment fails me, I need to teach my girl posse how to say "No-no" to the Nonogirl.

I Believe

This morning I heard the second essay on a revived 1950's radio program called This I Believe hosted by Jay Allison, a prolific independent radio producer.

The show invites "Americans from all walks of life to write about and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives," however the first two essays are by high profile Americans: Isabelle Allende and Colin Powell.

The program introduction is a beautiful collage of people's voices, some recognizeable, some not, repeating "I believe..." The democratic medium of radio may potentially be tapped.

However what sits with me during my morning commute is not Powell's essay about his belief in America, but rather R.E.M.'s song, I Believe. I recall that passion I felt when I started falling in love with rock and roll, when I believed that everyone sang along to songs with anti-corporate messages in a united voice for liberation.

I haven't found that passion in this series, yet, and I feel like I already know what Powell and Allende believe thanks to their policies and writings. But what does the Pakistani guard at my office believe, knowing that he's on a list of over 100,000 political asylees waiting for green cards? What do the former employees of computer goods believe, knowing they've been exposed to arsenic but the company has uprooted to China?

Maybe the series believes they need the big names for a successful start. But until they do start airing beliefs from "Americans from all walks of life," I'll stay tuned to KQED's Perspective series.

It's OK to fight

What kind of cruel tortue is radio programming playing on me?!

A This American Life repeat played this weekend. The theme? Love. Well, marriage to be exact, but the first "act" is about a scientist whose research can predict whether couples' marriages will last.

The factors are not raised voices or that they fight, but HOW they fight: is there room for de-escalation, is there contempt?

Listen to this segment and it's impossible not to place your own relationship up for examination.