The GGA Project -- Day #129 "The Graduates"

Well, tonight was the last of my 6-session co-parenting class at Kids' Turn.  I have to say I was disappointed with the class on the whole.  It wasn't really much about co-parenting at all.  We spent two entire weeks covering the concept of emotional intelligence, as spelled out by Daniel Goleman and a good amount of time covering concepts as basic as how to show your child you love him.  For the first time today (aside from off-the-curriculum side-conversations peppered throughout the sessions), we actually talked about navigating the challenges and sometimes the conflict that comes with working together as two separated parents.  It was a very helpful session, and there was consensus that if the entirety of the class had been spent covering this topic, it would have been very beneficial indeed.


Nevertheless, it was my aim to get something positive out of the class, and I did.  And one of the somethings positive I got was the benefit of new friendships with people who are busily and sometimes painfully trying to weather this same stormy bit of weather, also with young kids in tow.


It seemed necessary to seal these new friendships and celebrate graduation from the program over a beer.


Like I mentioned before, it was really nice that the class took place at a neighborhood center in the North Beach area of San Francisco.  I can scarcely imagine a more lively and colorful setting, or one with better food options nearby.  One of the participants ordered a pizza tonight that was walked straight to our little meeting place.


When the last session ended tonight, some of my classmates and I headed to a microbrewery called Rogue.  I just realized in looking for that link that it's actually a large, Oregon-based company (of course...why does it seem that all the cool stuff I hear about lately is coming out of Oregon?) and we were at just one of what they call their "meeting halls" (and the only one in California).  That makes sense because I'd been wondering how that mid-sized bar managed to pull off two full chalkboards' worth of ale and cider options.


In honor of the occasion, I felt the following was in order:


Today's New Activity: A Pint of "Love and Happiness Wedding Pilsner"


Which, by the way, I ordered and consumed without a hint of sarcasm.  Really.  No, really.


One thing being in the company of my classmates has reminded me of is that we are all just a bunch of faulted humans doing the best we can, sometimes falling into love, sometimes falling out, sometimes confused and sometimes experiencing great joy, great pain, big sweeping highs, sad, floundering lows.  Love is there.  Happiness is there.  There will be dozens more weddings to celebrate in my lifetime, and I will celebrate them happily, wishing the new couple the best and holding onto every sincere belief that they will traverse the terrain just fine, and in good spirits throughout.

The GGA Project -- Day #101 "The Romina Experience"

Today was a big, full day that started to get good in the early afternoon, when Monkey and I went to get my taxes done.  Turns out I was able to file as head of household, since I lived apart from my spouse for more than half the year, resulting in a decent refund that was totally unexpected.  It's very refreshing because now I can afford to finish getting divorced :P


In the evening I headed to SF for week #2 of the Sad Sack Club, officially taking place at the location where the instructor, and nobody else, went last week.  It was held at the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, a beautiful and interesting building and veritable labyrinth of classrooms and activity areas.

Looks like somebody has been hard at work Square Foot Gardening in the the courtyard there (an interesting concept--check out the link--that my Aunt Janet has mastered and swears by and which Kelsi was just talking about trying out last Sunday)

Anyway I managed to find parking and make it to the meeting on time, and while it wasn't mindblowingly educational or even really focused on co-parenting this session, it was nice to again be among people going through the exact same process I'm currently navigating.  There is an instant, rare camaraderie there.

The nice thing about this new location is that it's in North Beach (sometimes thought of as the Little Italy of San Francisco), which is just bustling with cute restaurants, coffee shops, and attractions (probably the largest concentration of XXX theaters left in the country).  When we got to the meeting, somebody asked the facilitator to recommend a good place for pizza, and for the next two hours--while yes, I was listening and participating in the class--one part of my mind remained firmly rooted in the singular goal of hunting down a yummy slice when the whole thing was over.

Rain couldn't stop me.  Or darkness.  Or lack of a solid tip on where to venture.  The GGA Project was made for such moments.  I walked a couple of blocks and wandered into the first promising, welcoming place I saw, which happened to be Cinecitta Ristorante & Bar.

Today's New Activity: Wonderful Restaurant, Wonderful Pizza, AMAZING Hostess

I decided to sit at the bar; it just seemed less lonely than facing the other solo diner at a two-top table across from him.  Plus, the Lakers v. Suns game was on the t.v. behind the bar (which ended up going into triple overtime and ending with a Lakers win.  Nice.)

Cinecitta's menu offered so many vegetarian pizza options I was a little overwhelmed at first.  It was a very nice change from the typical Margherita, pesto, or artichoke hearts supreme choices.  I went with the "Bianca," which contained Brie, Gorgonzola, and Mozzarella cheeses, along with pecans.

Oof.  It was sooo tasty.  I'm not normally a big fan of very thin crusts, but this was just perfect.  I don't know how to describe what was different about it, but it was just the right ratio of sauce-to-crust.  And the pecans were an awesome surprise.  Even the leftovers were better than most pizza is the first time around.  I was so happy with what seemed to be the perfect ending to a pretty great day.

But it turned out the best was yet-to-come.  The best came in the form of Romina, one of Cinecitta's two owner/partners, a bona fide Italian woman from Rome (leading me to suspect "Romina" was actually a nickname, as in, "woman from Rome"), complete with a super charming accent and exaggerated hand gestures.  She was the warmest, funniest, full-of-good stories hostess I've ever met.  It's not often that I would refer to the simple meeting of somebody as an "experience," but tonight's meeting definitely qualified.  There was another man sitting at the bar--a regular customer from the neighborhood and good friend of Romina's--and the three of us were there swapping stories and laughing until way longer than I'd planned to stay in the city.  It was such a nice surprise, especially for a spur-of-the-moment Tuesday night meal that was really just meant to satisfy a craving and nothing more.

When I left the restaurant I was full of happiness, with this question on my mind: Have I mentioned here how much I love, love, LOVE this project?!  If not, I'm doing so now.

I love, love, LOVE this project.

It's all about nights like tonight...the unexpected, the random connection, the excellent new restaurant discovery to be tucked away in my back pocket for when this year is over and I start revisiting all these new places.  Sometimes, I feel like this year is going by way too fast.  Good thing a formal project isn't a necessary factor when it comes to the habit of trying new things...