Showing posts with label Cal Poly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cal Poly. Show all posts

Friday, November 01, 2013

Happy 29th Birthday, Jeremy Vukasinovic - November 2, 2013


Jeremy is my "baby" - all 6'4" of him.  He weighed in at birth at over 8 and a 
half pounds and I was able to deliver him without too much trouble, believe it
or not!!  He remained bald headed for a full year but many times, especially
in later years, he has sported the most wonderful curls, one batch going to
Locks for Love.

I can't seem to find any of his baby pictures here with me in India so I'll show
you some of his more recent ones.


This has always been a favorite of mine...with Alex, two years older,
at the Golden Gate Bridge


Jeremy has never lived very far from home.  He spent three years at the College
of San Mateo where he got an associates degree in Liberal Arts and his A.S.
in Fire Technology.  He always wanted to be a firefighter.  He went from San 
Mateo to Cal Poly, 250 miles away, in the beautiful area of San Luis Obispo.
There he got a degree in kinesiology.  From there he became employed in the
semiconductor field and, now, for the past two years, he's been at Genentech in
South San Francisco.  I'm afraid that job may take him away since he is being
considered for a new position outside the Bay area.  When I expressed my 
dismay at "losing" him, he laughed and reminded me that I am often seven
thousand miles away in India.


Here, on a cruise, big ( ?  brother, Shawn, is trying to teach him smooth moves


With his beer at the Locks for Lover hairdresser


I think this may well have been Jeremy's shortest haircut
ever - at brother, Alex's wedding...Shawn, big brother, sadly,
was in Germany with the Air Force and had to miss the occassion


Of all my sons, Shawn and Jeremy seem to have developed my love of 
travel.  Much of Shawn's has been compliments of Uncle Sam, via the Air
Force, but Jeremy has already seen much of Europe and Argentina ( as a 
college employee of a pharmaceutical company ) and he speaks Spanish
better than many natives.  He has a real sense of adventure and he likes
good food and wine.  He, unlike me, is very much health oriented and has
worked hard to help me develop healthier habits.


This is Jeremy and his Cal Poly buddy, Daniel...I'm 
posting this for Eileen Dryer who always puts up 
firefighter pics...I think he would have looked good
in a calendar


Jeremy is quite an achiever and he likes to remind his brothers - both of 
whom stretched college years out to over a decade - that he managed to 
graduate by the age of 24 ( making the Dean's list, no less ).  He's done
very well in the corporate world though he still would like to be a firefighter!


Mom with the three best sons any mother could have - 
Shawn ( the shorty ), Alex, and Jeremy


Jeremy with his other mother, Elmira Lopez - she came to us when
Alex and Jeremy were infants - I wanted someone who was monolingual 
Spanish so they grew up fluent in another language - and she was family to us -
and a lifesaver to me with my crazy call schedule - and what a terrific cook!!!



The all night Harper Ann vigil ( post epidural )


Mommy and baby are doing fine!!!  Proud papa and uncles


UNCLE Jeremy meets niece, Harper Ann Vukasinovic - I think it 
was love at first sight


Already, Jeremy has his niece checking out San Francisco's bridges


There is no question, I owe this young man a lot.  First of all, he almost single handedly 
moved me from my four bedroom home when I decided to come to India.  He made 
about a hundred trips to the dump, broke down furniture, loaded things into storage, and
kept me focused so I finally got to India, after changing two airline reservations.  He's
been the one to check my mail, send my medications when it's refill time, visit me in
the hospital and help me when I need it.  He's drawn the short end of the straw, poor kid,
with Alex two hours away in West Sacramento and Shawn playing Air Force.  I've
had an occasional lecture ( much needed ) from him, as well.

All this he did, after having undergone shoulder surgery at the end of his Division 1 Cal
Poly decathlon career!!!  In fact, his research into a surgeon, saved me having to do it 
and Dr. Belzer was the one who did my shoulder replacement!  Sadly, he just had
shoulder surgery again a few months ago.

So, baby boy, though I am often seven thousand miles from home, it will be very
sad for me, WHEN I AM HOME, not to have you there.  It's not that I need you to
haul things for me and all that, I love being able to enjoy a bottle of wine with you and
to have dinner from time to time.  I am well aware I'm getting on in years so, even
our brief rendevous are really precious to me.  I am prouder of you than you will
ever know and, though, I probably don't say it often enough, I am eternally grateful
for your kindnesses to me.  You are a fine young man and the lady that finally gets
to share your life, on a permanent basis, will be one lucky girl.

On this, your 29th birthday, I am so glad that you were born...and that my labor 
wasn't so bad at all.  I love you so much.

Mom







Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sexual Chocolate and Other Things - September 10, 2011

What a wonderful day I've had, quite varied, filled with laughter and too
much food.  Blame it all on Joanne Olivieri, aka Poetic Shutterbug.  We
were like raving maniacs, too, taking pictures of everything - meme mania,
you could call it.  Sort of like a game of, "I spy". 

At 9:30AM, I pulled up in front of Jo's place, shivering, still chilled by the
morning fog.  We headed toward Noe Valley, the sunniest part of San
Francisco, for breakfast at Toast Eatery.  It was a cute little spot, very
small, with tables crammed in, and filled with happy diners. 

Picture on the wall

Toast Eatery has a huge menu but Jo ordered her usual - waffles which she
deemed among the top three best she has had in the bay area.   I had a
fabulous Sicilan omelette with fresh and sun dried tomatoes, pesto,
spinach, onions and feta cheese. It came with two slices of wheat toast and
hash browns.  The huge cups of French dark roast coffee were excellent,
too.  I can' believe I didn't get pictures of the food.  I guess we were just
too busy eating.
From the cafe, we went down the street to get pictures of St. Paul's Church,
where Jo's mother went to church and school.  Sadly, because of the
homeless problem in San Francico, the church is kept locked except
for services.  Jo will have a much more comprehensive series of photos
of the church which I hope she will post on her blog, "Poetic Shutterbug".




St.Paul's Church, Church Street, Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA

The Noe Valley area is one of San Francisco's nicest.  It was developed in
the years after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and many samples of
classic Victorian and Edwardian architecture - for which our area is so
famous - can be seen here.  I like them because many of them are more
modest than their Pacific Heights counterparts - though Dolores Street,
one of the Noe Valley borders has some very large Victorians.
Next to St. Paul's, we saw an interesting bush with pink flowers and
unusual fruits ( ? ).  Maybe one of you will know the name since I do not!


Good Pink Saturday post!



As we walked about the neighborhood, Jo and I encountered several
people who stopped and chatted with us.  We loved the friendliness of
the area and we decided that, after we win the lottery, we'll buy one of
those cute little Victorians and we'll open up some kind of little shop.



Blue Monday here!

Here's another Pink Saturday one!

Blue Mondy, for sure!


Ruby Tuesday!

Mellow Yellow Monday, I think.

Actually, Jo and I liked this two flat house which was for sale.  We
figured we could each have our own separate living space but still
be close together.  Now, if only we could find a rich benefactor.  And
to make thing even nicer, it's less than half a block to Cafe Noeteca
Wine Bar!

Speaking of the Cafe Noeteca Wine Bar, after driving past the place for
nearly two years, Jo and I stopped in since we were walking in the
neighborhood.  I looked at my watch, saw that it was noon and said,
"It's 5PM somewhere in the world...time for a glass of wine!"  After
all, we'd walked about five blocks.


Flower box outside - Today's Flowers, Mellow Yellow, Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tueday

Cafe Noeteca Wine Bar - has already garnered many awards

Lovely inteior

Weekend Reflectons

Everything inside Noeteca is beautifully arranged and welcoming  Here an
old dresser is set up with coffee fixings in an artful way.  Be sure to check
out its website:  http://www.noeteca.com


Cute reverse of sign from the inside




From the minute we passed this on entering, I knew what Jo was going to
order.  It didn't matter that we'd just finished a huge breakfast less than
an hour ago and she'd consumed two Belgian waffles!  We'd walked over
three blocks and the waffles weren't dessert!




The wine list at Noeteca was  excellent and had some selections that
were new to me.  I liked that there was a good choice of both California
and international wines and a few dessert choices as well.  I could get
no further, though, than one called Sexual Chocolate, a San Luis
Obispo blend of zinfandel and syrah made by Cal Poly viniculture
graduates.  In honor of my youngest son, Jeremy, who was a decathlete
there ( graduating with a BS in kinesiology ), I felt compelled to try
the Sexual Chocolate.  That was dessert enough for me ( though I did
take the tiniest taste of Jo's fabulous confection ).







Another nice thing about Noeteca ( actually, we found nothing that wasn't
nic ) is that they offer wine in a small pour  ( 3 oz ) as well as a full 6 oz
glass and, also, by the bottle.  With the small pour, you can build your
own flights.  They have weekday happy hours from 4PM and bottomless
mimosas on Saturday and Sunday from 11AM to 2PM.



Oh, yes, not only do the great guys of Noeteca think of their two legged
friends, they put a water dish outside for their four legged neighbors.  I
found this so delightful as this is, definitely, an area of well loved pets!












On our stroll back to the car, we passed a few candidates for Shadow Shot
Sunday.
Hibiscus shadows
Jasmine shadows
We also saw an interesting truck that might be good for Color Carnival.  I
am not sure what it represent.  It looks like something from San Francisco's
Museum of Modern Art.

We also passed a dahlia that must have been glorious a few weeks ago but is now
on its last legs ( like me ) though still prettyl


Ruby Tuesday
We made on last stop in the Mission District so I could show Jo the
beautiful Buddhist temple I had visited twice in the past month.  It is
a respite for the soul, an oasis of serenity in this chaotic world.  This  Buddha
is only one of several at the temple but He dominates this hall in which
He resides.
Ruby Tuesday
As we were nearing Jo's neighborhood, we passed this huge yellow trumpet
vine!  I wonder what people think as we start snapping away at their houses,
plants, pets, etc.  So far, no one has come after us with a shotgun.  There's
still time, though!
Mellow Yellow Monday

I apologize to everyone for not posting as much and for being much slower
reading blogs and replying to posts.  With my deadline fast approaching for
packing and moving out of this house ( October 15 ) and the trip to India
set for October 23rd, it is all getting away from me.  Please do understand
and know that I am not gone, just slower than usual.  Also, I am getting old!!
My 67th birthday is less than a month away.  I'll do better eventually and you
are always in my heart, even if you don't see me!
This post is quite comprehensive, covering many of my favorite memes -
Camera Critters, Sundays in My City, Mellow Yellow Monday, Pink
Pink Saturday, Color Carnival, Weekend Reflections, Ruby Tuesday, Shadow
Shot Sunday and Today's Flowers, Blue Monday, Pets Forever.