Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Sent Cindy the list she requested of pre-pharmacy degrees, majors, and institutions for students of the Class of 2003. Cleared away some old and unneeded e-mails. Late lunch with Joel at Beijing on Irving. My fortune: Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. 1, 25, 28, 9, 22, 7. More fillings replaced at the dentist—no problems. Made some Web changes live: Update from the Dean, stylesheets now set a active, White Coat Ceremony, many other very small changes. Chatted with Chris De Lay today: he says just last week he decided he wants to go to grad school to study library and information science. Cool! Dinner at Pasta Pomodoro (415-558-8123, 2304 Market at Noe) with Patrick. I wasn't very hungry and just got a large minestrone soup. Patrick had pollo alla griglia, which is grilled chicken breast with orzo, olives, spinach, tomatoes. Service by Sebastian was on the slow side, but all the food was delicious. Patrick had an iced tea, but since I ate lightly this meal was a bargain: US$14.48 after tax but before a $2 tip. We also filled out a survey for them. We went to the new GLBT Center at 1800 Octavia to attend an event called "Hear it from Us: Perspectives of Youth with LGBT Parents." It was very interesting to us because we don't often hear from these voices and we both may want to raise a kid or two before we die (nothing certain just yet). We heard from 5 very smart kids, mostly in their early teens, who all gave great words of wisdom to a great turnout of about 60 adults, such as: Let your kid make first impressions and control how and when to tell teachers and friends that their family is alternative. When kids are teased about having gay dads or lesbian moms, teach them to point out to others who and what is great about gay culture: famous GLBT people, acceptance, diversity, creativity. The fear of something bad happening because you're part of an alternative family never quite entirely goes away. Being open with the truth can sometimes surprise even you. Kids can be smarter than you think or expect. Kids can sometimes find what they need on their own (e.g., role models). I wanted to hug every kid and every gay dad and every lesbian mom in the room—there was so much love, and I felt thankful and assured that they are making the world a better place. It was very worthwhile for us to attend. Bonus too that this was our first event at The Center since it opened about a year ago. The gem in today's mail was a handwritten thank you card with my favorite flower (Iceland poppies) on the front from my dentist, Dr. Natasha Anne Lee, DDS (415-731-9311, 1317-9th Av), for referring Patrick to her office, also signed by assistant Marisa and receptionist Jennifer. Included was a gift card for Jamba Juice (tho it doesn't say how much money is on it). If you missed my review a while back, I still think she's the best dentist with the best dental support team in San Francisco. Okay, I haven't visited every dentist in the city, but I've seen 3 others and they—and their staffs—were all cringeworthy, and that's enough to convince me. If you live in the area and need a new dentist, go see her and tell 'em all I sentcha! If I get another Jamba Juice card because of it, I'll even let you have it—no joke.