Thankfully I'm marrying a grup!

At the core of being a Grup is "rejecting a hand-me-down model of adulthood that asks, or even necessitates, that you let go of everything you ever felt passionate about. It’s about reimagining adulthood as a period defined by promise, rather than compromise."

Mark just posted about an article in the New York Metro - Up With Grups - which, except for the emphasis on materialism, I mostly agree with. It's a long article, but worth the read.

Mark and I definitely aren't as trendy as those described in the article. (Though he is hipper than me.) We don't have earbuds implanted or spend a lot of money on clothes. We put very little emphasis on material things. I'm woefully unsavvy about the latest anything - always have been. But, when I do catch on (thanks to Mark and Jesser on the music front), I love it! And I'm probably not going to take up skateboarding, though I'll try snowboarding probably next season and eventually get as good as Mark.

But, doing something I love and being passionate about and enjoying my life is core to who I am. And this is one fundamental differences between the boomers and the grups. I've had many conversations with my father who has trouble understanding that money is not my motivating factor. A larger paycheck is not worth my sanity or my happiness.

Grups are parents, too. The article starts talking about that on page five. We're not parents yet, but when we are, you can be sure that our offspring will know The Beatles, Beck, Franz Ferdinand and Grandaddy. And, of course, we'll do our best to model passionate lives for them - for better or worse.

Gardens

A couple of weeks ago, after a visit to the San Jose Museum of Art, I talked Mark and Jason into visiting Ulistac Natural Area. I hadn't been there for several years. When I first moved to California, I had the good fortune to canvass Chris and Jeanne. They told me about their restoration work, turning the old golf course into a native butterfly garden and oak woodlands. I then went on to spend most of my Saturdays for the next year there. Between Scott and I, we probably planted a third of the plants in that garden. On one of Dad's first visits to California to see me, we took him to the garden, where he taught the city-slickers how to use a shovel.

The garden is now approaching its sixth year. It's beautiful! So lush and full. I have a picture from the garden to post, but blogger's not working, so you'll just have to imagine something pretty.

As far as my current square of dirt, the seeds haven't come up. The bulbs are up, but it looks like something is eating off the tops of the sprouts...

Adam Grant Building

This is the view of my building from where I come up out of BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). It's the tan brick building in the middle of the picture. The 12th floor (where my office is) is the level where the corner indents.

Room with a View

This is the view from my desk, if I turn around in my chair. The Save-the-Redwoods office is in the middle of downtown San Francisco, surrounded by buildings that make up the San Francisco skyline. The triangle building in Chinatown is just a few blocks away. We're in the Adam Grant Building on the 12th floor. Don't worry, there's good evacuation plans and earthquake supports. I'll be ok.

Hi-Ho, Hi-ho!

It's off to work I go!

for the first time in 10 months!