Devastation

Sadly, we had to give up Beaker this morning. The short of it, is that from whatever his past trauma that he suffered before we adopted him, he has significant emotional and behavioral needs that we can't help him with. He's a perfect dog when we're around. Well mannered, playful, house trained, crate trained, and affectionate. However, when we're not around, he's a terror and becomes a danger to himself and his environment. So, sadly, Beaker is now at a shelter looking for a new home - hopefully a wonderful family that will have someone home most of the day to work with him on his anxiety. The Humane Society said that they don't doubt he'll find a good home very quickly. We hope so too.

We'll miss you, Beaks! Be a good dog and learn to trust that your new owners will always come home. Keep being your playful, wonderful self.

And.....makes 3!

Meet the newest member of our family! Introducing Beaker!

A little bit about Beaker...he's a one-year-old Border Terrier (we think mix). He was found wandering the streets of San Jose a couple weeks ago. He loves his chew toys and can chew through anything stuffed. He's a little nervous about being left alone, but loves company and attention!

Feel free to come by and if you have a dog, once he's a little bit more settled, he'd love to have a playdate!

Photos removed because they make me sad.

This blog is essentially dead. But, since Charis poked me to post again, I will obediently do so. Maybe after the work madness ends and our vacation, I’ll have more posts. I like this tag

What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had unlimited time, money, and tools?

1. Baking. I would love to be the queen of cakes! That would be so much fun to bake awesome cakes for every friend’s birthday, baby shower, bridal shower, baby’s birthdays. Cake decorating would be awesome too. The cake I ordered for Jason’s groom’s cakes from Jen’s Cakes in Los Gatos was so awesome. Jason Yip ate 3 pieces of the cake.

2. Sing. I would love to take voice lessons and learn how to play piano and sing. Related to that, I think I have singer/songwriter dreams if I had time to just fiddle with melodies and lyrics. Maybe I could sing with Damien Rice or The Swell Season.

3. Start my own business. I would love to run my own business…which I guess isn’t a skill or hobby. A flower shop? Bakery? Wedding planning? Now, if there were no risk or capital involved and if I had a real craft, I’d love to be my own boss!

Now I tag Karen, Eva, and Jessica.

A little bit about me and the things I care about.
People often ask me what I do at work. I run public health programs for medical students. I teach about population health, disparities in health, health policy, and advocating for change.

If you want a great glimpse into the things I'm passionate about at work, I encourage you to watch Unnatural Causes - a 4-part PBS documentary airing Thursdays at 10-11pm on PBS, starting tomorrow, March 27.

more info at: www.unnaturalcauses.org

It's a fascinating look at injustices, poverty, racism, classism, and their effects on health. I've spent all my public health education studying this, I teach it now, and I work on projects to create change. It's hard work to create change like this. It takes more than just public health people, more than medical people, it takes all of us to change how decisions are made that affect income and wealth, educational access, and economic mobility.

Let me know if you end up watching it! It's a great documentary, and I know you'll enjoy it!

Funny Pages

At a dinner plagued by strangeness, too much heat, and looniness, there were some seriously bizarre moments.

Incident 1 (Eating at a japanese restaurant)
Waitress (with thick japanese accent): hot tea?
T: Hello? Yes! I'm happy! How are you?
Waitress: Hot tea?

Incident 2 (While talking about the upcoming moving Made of Honor)
T: Have you heard about that new movie "Made of Honor" about a guy being the "maid of honor." But, it's "Made" like M-A-D-E.
J: huh?..like mad?
E: No....made...M-A-D-EEEEEE!!

Incident 3 (While T was calculating his approximate value if he were frozen yogurt toppings sold by weight).
Looking at his calculator that said $811.
T: Dude, if i were a topping, I'd be worth Eight hundred eleven-eleven dollars!
Everyone: Eleven-eleven?!
T: Hahaha! I saw the two 1's and read "eleven-eleven!"