Waking up in Oakland

Grabbing my gym bag, lunch bag, purse, and keys, I petted Nora one last time and wound my way out of my house through two doors and two gates to E 15th Ave. As I unlocked my car, I saw amidst the fog a Latino mom down the street walking her two young children to school. Perhaps they were headed to Think College Now, an elementary school about four blocks away where children are taught to prepare for "college now" and parents are required to spend 15 minutes reading to their kids onsite in the morning.

I piled my stuff into my backseat and started the engine to defrost the windows. Heading out of E 15th, I turned left then right to end up on International Blvd and begin the three mile journey north to downtown Oakland.

Before making the usual veer toward 880N, I saw ahead the blue and red flashing and almost without a choice, changed course to head straight ahead like a bug caught in the brightness. What new violence had hit my neighborhood this morning? After a few blocks, it was clear that the street was blocked off. A white cop stood in the middle of the street and motioned with his arms for me to make a u-turn. There was no way around or outlet to turn left or right. A 180 was the only option.

To be continued...

Ants have run amok

The ants in my home have become adrenalized, ramping up from a leisurely crawl around my bathroom sink and kitchen utensils to a full force military march to the trash can. They have experimented with my cat's automatic feeder and have been only casually interested. But once it took them only three weeks to discover the trash can, it's like their first love.

My feelings lean more toward annoyance. I have now resorted to using Elmer's glue to completely seal the bottom of my bathroom floor and board. As I left this morning, they seemed stunned in their tiny tracks.

Your move, ants. Your move.