Weekend of man things

This weekend I was a pretty good woman. I did all of the man things Brandon wanted to do, and even had fun doing them. Next weekend I will make Brandon go to the Pumpkin Festival and our ward pie party to make up for it. 

Friday we got takeout pizza and watched the BYU game. For some reason I get excited for BYU games more now than I did in Utah. Maybe because I feel like it's a connection to home.

On Saturday night, Brandon finally convinced me to go on a motorcycle ride with him. The reason it has taken me so long is because when we were dating, Brandon would take me out on his dad's dirtbike and go crazy. He did wheelies with me down University Avenue, we chased deer through the park at 45 mph, went off jumps and down dark bumpy mountain trails in the middle of the night. As fun as that was four years ago.....I have been a little more...hesitant this time. However, I ended up having a blast. We rode through the Marin Headlands. The air was fresh and cool, and we saw tons of wildlife with our headlights: deer, skunks, coyotes, and a gray fox. 

Today after conference, we went to go see the Navy Airshow and the Blue Angels. They were so cool! The jets would get together in really tight formation, then go straight up and dive, barrel roll, and come back to formation. We saw WWII planes and my favorite, the stealth bomber which looks exactly like a UFO.

After that we hiked around Land's End and the ruins of the Sutro Baths. Pretty good weekend! 

 And here is the little project I made listening to conference. Wishing for winter!

Today I am mourning my return to the crowded city of San Francisco. My feelings right now can be summed up by two quotes from Edward Abbey, author of one of my favorite books, Desert Solitaire.

1. "Wilderness. The word itself is music."

I took this picture last weekend on a hike in Cedar Breaks.


2. "There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California."

Four years of birthdays

Last week was Brandon's birthday. This was the fourth year that he and I have been together on his birthday, and every year I have made him a cheesy cake. Luckily I have kept pictures of all of them!

Birthday 1:

Birthday 2:

 Birthday 3: Noticing a trend here?

This year I kind of dropped the ball, but here it is: a tooth!

He had a lame birthday party: watching the awful BYU/Utah football game and studying for finals.

Last week I hiked Mt. Tamalpais with Louise. 2500 ft above sea level!  It was so beautiful, and as always, so great to get out of the fog.

On Monday Louise invited me to the Jewish Rosh Hashanah ceremony on Baker Beach. A group of around two or three hundred people gathered to listen to a group of Rabbis sing some Jewish folk songs (which were really beautiful!) and explain the ceremony. We were to think of sins or vices we wanted to get rid of from this past year and write them down with our fingers in the sand. We each brought bread to break apart and throw in the ocean to symbolize throwing them all away. What a beautiful tradition!


(Phone picture)

Still moving along

Time is passing surprisingly fast here in SF. When we first came out here just under three months ago, I thought September would never come. Now we will be going back to Utah for eight days in two weeks! Brandon's first quarter is almost over, and next week he has finals. His first semester has gone great and he is really loving dental school. And, just as I thought would happen but he was worried about, Brandon is a natural at all of the stuff he is doing; making wax-ups, learning biochem, and assisting with patients.

We had a nice little break last weekend. Brandon aced his test on Friday so we took all of Labor Day weekend (our anniversary) off and he didn't study once. We drove up to Northstar resort at Lake Tahoe and rode the lift accessed downhill and freeride trails all day. Northstar is definitely one of my favorite places to ride! Fun was had, fine lodgings were stayed at (La Quinta Inn) and gourmet food was enjoyed by all (at Panda Express and Carl's Junior). What a classy and relaxing weekend.

                Nothing makes Brandon happier than anniversary buffalo wings

Classes officially started Thursday of this week. The day before class started I was able to go sea kayaking with Louise, who is a family friend of the Nakkens and moved out here a year before we did. It was so fun! We got to see a few harbor seals and one even swam behind us as we paddled away. After that I met up with the Luna Chix mountain bike group for a beautiful ride at China Camp.

Here's the little guy that followed us:

So, at least so far, I seriously love my job. This semester I am teaching three online classes. It's kind of a bummer that I don't have any real life interaction with my students, but for someone with no teaching experience, it's a great way to start out. Next semester they expect that I will do half of my teaching in class and half online.

The way our online classes are set up, the students are assigned pages to read from the textbook, then they watch a video presentation, and read the other information that I have posted. Each week, or module, they have to participate in a class discussion, complete a written assignment, and take a quiz. Then they have a midterm, a final project, and a final exam. So far I have been able to participate in class discussions and grade a few assignments. I get really excited being able to give feedback and participate in these discussions. Although so far it's been all of the overachievers who turn in work early that I've dealt with. Maybe I won't be as excited if I have to push and prod some of the less enthusiastic students.

One benefit of online classes is that I can login from anywhere, so when Brandon has his break, we can go back to Utah and I can still do my job and get paid! Awesome.

Just call me Professor Nakken

Ok so maybe that's a little bit or a lot bit of a stretch. I don't call myself professor....all I know is that my friends think so. (Disclaimer: that's an Emma quote.....pretty sure none of my friends would call me that)  I think I'll stick with instructor and just have the class call me Heather, but I still feel like a student.

Yesterday was my first day on the payroll. Class doesn't start until next week but we had a faculty meeting and teaching expo. I had to get up super early to take the free Presidio bus downtown. Free transportation? Thanks National Park Service.




We had a day full of seminars and a faculty meeting. It was really great to meet other instructors and eat some delicious food catered by Whole Foods. I was able to get trained and learn how my classes are set up with quizzes, assignments, and tests. I am really excited about the material and really excited to be putting my education to use. I have been having some severe career envy with Brandon in dental school. This helps.

Things I learned:

The math and science department is tiny. I know it's an art school and all, but come on! The good new is, the class I am teaching is pretty new. Currently there are three sections. They expect it to grow a lot and may add as many as three new sections next semester. More work and more pay for me!

I don't look like a professor. This is ok for this semester because I am teaching online, but next semester, I need some professional clothes. It's funny because I never felt out of place among science professionals even  at conferences away from BYU, but here my lack of fashion sense sticks out like a sore thumb.

There are some really talented students at Academy of Art. It was really fun to walk by some of the student displays. It would be really fun to be an art major.



Next post I'll talk more about Brandon. All I have been posting about is myself lately. He is doing way cooler stuff than I.

Heather's Homeless Day

Today our apartment was painted, and we weren't allowed to be there from 8-4. I don't start work for another week, so I had an awesome day exploring.

I started the morning out at Angelina's Cafe and Deli. I drive by it every time I drop Brandon off and have been eager to try it. I wasn't disappointed! I had a sweet morning bun, hot chocolate, and a fruit cup. It felt so European. The pastries are on display in a case, the doors are open, and everyone stops by on their way to work to grab coffee and a pastry.



Next I stopped at Sport's Basement to buy some pepper spray to assuage my fears about cougar attacks. Turns out, according to the guy I talked to, pepper spray won't really work. He suggested I get a knife. Hmmm, not so sure I would be able to stab a mountain lion. So I bought a cute shirt from the sale rack instead. Sport's Basement is seriously awesome.

I drove 30 minutes north out of the dreary fog in SF to  sunny Fairfax, a quaint little town below Mt. Tamalpais. It was so beautiful! I had to park in town and ride my bike up to Camp Tamarancho to explore some of the touted "best singletrack in NorCal."  All I have to say is "Amazing". It was like a combination of Clark's Trail and Ridge 157 Trails. Sometimes flowy, sometimes technical singletrack and beautiful views. I was in heaven. Until I came upon this sign posted to a tree. Yep my nightmare was coming true. At which point I went into panic mode and zoomed down the rest of the trail, singing at the top of my lungs to warn any mt. lion of my presence.

I only saw one other person on this whole 11 mile ride, which was kind of creepy. He probably thought the only creepy part was that a weirdo girl was singing at the top of her lungs before she saw him and stopped. Embarrassed, I said, "Don't worry, I scared all the mountain lions for you." He smiled and I felt better.


Before I saw the sign:

After I saw the sign:

Right as I finished. I look good! Or relieved.

I finished the ride a bit hammered (see previous pic). It was hot and I only stopped twice for a quick second to snap a picture so I wouldn't get eaten. I stopped at a streetside cafe on the way back in Fairfax. Most mt bikers go for beers after rides. I go for oreo milkshakes. (Weird pic because I didn't want anyone to see the weirdo eating by herself and taking pictures of herself)

By now it was one o clock and I still had three hours to kill. I got a free pass from our housing complex to go to the Exploratorium at the Fine Arts Palace in SF. It was pretty cool. They had exhibits on physics, math, social science/psychology and biology. 


Back to gloomy SF.

My face as it would look if it were two right sides or two left sides. I have read that beauty in a face is the result of symmetry. I don't think my face is symmetrical.  You can make whatever assumptions you want from that. Also, apparently one of my eyes is twice the size of the other.

Fun Day!

I am lame.

For the past hour I have been occupying myself laughing at animal memes. I must be really immature because I think they are hilarious. I laughed at this for a whole ten minutes. I'm still laughing. I am lame.