Oakland

I got up around 10:30 and called W. I told him some things I needed to say and he said that we would talk tomorrow between 2 and 3 his time. I then began to prepare for the activities today. I washed my hair and got dressed. I also prepared my 'bar wallet' and put stuff in my black purse, including Confederates in the Attic but NOT my digital camera. I realized that it was also St. Patrick's day, but I wasn't wearing any green. Instead of changing my shirt, I decided to wear a green head scarf. I finally left my apartment at like 12:30, 6 minutes before the BART train from the Dublin/Pleasanton station that would get me to Berkley on time left the station.

I had to go to the FedEx/Kinkos to print out my ticket to the Obama rally. This is the third time I used the internet at a FedEx/Kinkos. The first time was in Washington DC in April 2005 and the second time was in Chicago in May 2006. When I was done, I wanted my reciept for the time on the computer and for the print-out. It said to obtain it from the 'Self-Service Kiosk' but I didn't see a self-service kiosk anywhere. So, I flagged down some help, after standing at the desk for a few seconds. The guy that was going to help me was at first called back to talk with a colleague, but I put my foot down and told them that I was in a hurry. For once, I didn't have to wait to get what I needed. It was a good feeling because I got what I needed but no one could say that I acted 'bitchy'.

I got on the highway and drove a little like a bat out of hell [my favorite way to drive], then exited at the Dublin Blvd exit. I knew it wasn't the exact right exit for the BART station, but I couldn't remember if that station was the Hopyard exit in the 580/680 interchange or a different exit on 680. As soon as I got off the exit, I realized how bad my decision was. See, there is a reason they call it Dublin. Dublin contains the largest population of Irish people in the Bay Area, and today they had the largest St. Patrick's Day celebration at the Dublin Civic Center, which I would need to pass before I got to Hopyard. I honked my horn a couple of times, but got to Hopyard and then did some bat out of hell driving over the interstate to the left turn before turning into the BART station. There was no parking, so I drove to the edge of where most of the cars were and parked. I then began walking to the station, quickly.

I made the 1:18 train and E called, telling me they were still on the road. I let them know how late I would be by letting them know where I was. Then I settled in and read my book. There were some teenage boys on the train in front of me. A woman was trying to get on the train by knocking on the door. Rather than, you know, helping her, the boys commented that it was a silly thing to do. The feminist adult in me wanted to snap at the boys, but the passive adult in me won because I didn't say anything. It is hard to know when I should teach people lessons or not.

This was also my first BART ride that necessitated a transfer. I got off at the Bay Fair station and couldn't figure out what train I needed to be on to get to Berkley. After I was rude to two people because I couldn't see a map on the platform - apparently, advertisement is more important than information - I got on the Orange Line to Richmond. On that train, I finished the third chapter of my book, which was really fascinating. I got off at the Berkley station and went to the street. I found my way to Jupiter['s] and called E. She was there with her baby, her husband [J], and two friends [another J and B]. The cafe smelled wonderful - like fresh mozzerella, basil, etc. I shared pizza with everyone and got a glass of Pinot Noir. I also got to hold the adorable, if fussy, 6-month-old. I learned that these four people knew the guy that invented Bittorrent and discussed many things.

Eventually, we paid for the food and went to travel to the Obama rally in downtown Oakland. There were tons of people there, some on the tops of buildings. I really enjoyed the speech, even if i never actually got to see Barak. I did see a couple of cute signs, including one that reminded me of an MST3k riff. I also bought an Obama/St. Patrick's Day t-shirt as a souvenier of the event (like the regular shirts, but green with a shamrock as an apostrophe between the O and the b in his name)

After the event, I wandered about the area, but everything was closed. I was seduced by a good looking guy named Damien into taking some LaRouche literature. Fortunately, I didn't give him my number. At about 5:30 or so, I began the trek home. I settled into the Fremont BART train and rode it to Bay Fair, where i then waited for the Dublin/Pleasanton train. It was getting colder out. I walked to my car and got in. I drove to the place and got wax strips, then walked to Target. After being unable to find oven mitts after asking two people, I was really upset to see that there were no choices for dishwashing gloves. Just one, and it was antibacterial to boot. I left before I got the white board that I had originally intended to get. I bought my stuff then went to the bathroom. After that, I walked to my car.

I then walked to Whole Foods, or rather WHOLE FOODS. I got chips, chocolate, and then went to the deli. A guy that reminded me of Stephan, but better looking, took care of me. I felt very attracted to him, and fought my natural timidity to smile at him warmly as he gave me my last box of food, two eggplant rolatinis. I then drove home and unpacked and debriefed, getting to bed around 11 or midnight or something.