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Greetings
from the SFBS President, Sandeep Karkal
Time flies. It seems only yesterday that the San Francisco Bay Section (SFBS) had its installation dinner, and here we are already a good part of the way into summer. And in keeping with the general languor of the long hot summer days (and nights), the SFBS takes a brief hiatus from its usual program of informative monthly meetings to focus on (even more) “fun” events.
To kick things off, we have the SFBS Annual Committee Appreciation function happening Thursday, July 10th. This Section is only as good as the dedicated and hard-working volunteers on its various standing committees, and the SFBS Board wants to honor these dedicated folks who give so generously of their time and effort. The function will be held at Hs Lordships at the foot of University Avenue (sort of), in Berkeley, beginning around noon. Committee members and chairpersons, please make sure that you RSVP ASAP to Paul Louis at Central San,
paul@centralsan.dst.ca.us, or (925)229-7165 or (925)229-7155, if you haven’t done so already.
Also, the Collections System committee will be organizing the Annual Golf tournament and Section Picnic on Friday, July 18th. The golf tournament will be at the Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore, followed the same afternoon by the picnic at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Please contact Walt Lunn at Stege Sanitary District, (510) 524-4668, or
Walt@StegeSD.dst.ca.us, if your firm would like to sponsor a hole to benefit the SFBS. This event usually draws a big crowd of enthusiastic golfers, and the picnic is fun for kids of all ages!!.
In addition, the Section will be trying something a little different for this year’s
August meeting. Our program chair and first year director, Paul Louis has been scratching his head to come up with the mother of fun events, and me-thinks he might have surpassed himself. Paul has arranged a special tour of Alcatraz (aka, the ROCK, i.e. the real one) for SFBS members, for Thursday, August 7th. If that’s not all, the Alcatraz trip will be followed by a good old-fashioned San Francisco-style dinner at the Franciscan Restaurant at Pier 43-1/2. Paul plans on a noon (approximately) departure from the Fisherman’s Wharf area, so those of us unfortunate enough to have to plead for the afternoon off to examine the sewers of Alcatraz (yes, they truly exist!), better start dusting off those knee-pads now. And for those whose pleadings fall on deaf ears, don’t despair, you can still make it to the dinner if you can’t make it to the tour. So look out for the flyers on the SFBS web-site
(www.cwea.org/sfb) and get your reservation in soon, because even with the unusual noon departure we expect this event to sell out quickly.
Turning to a completely different subject… remember that its summer and school’s out. For the folks that spend a lot time on the road (whether commuting or in the course of their work), this means that kids and pets will be out and about more frequently during the day. Hope you’ll be safe and extra vigilant as you travel through your communities.
Speaking of kids, a true story on the value of a good specification. My wife and I discovered that our baby daughter loves to be read to. On a recent weekend outing with her, we forgot to pack along her usual Beatrix Potter-type reading materials. As it so happened, I had packed a set of project specifications to review in my “spare” time. Somewhere along the way, faced with a cranky baby, my wife discovered that there was no baby reading material. In desperation, she pulled out my spec. book, opened it at random, and to my surprise, proceeded to read Division 9 (Painting and Protective Coatings) out loud to our baby. Gratifyingly, baby was asleep by the time my wife got to Part 1.4 - Submittals. And an unbidden thought came to mind: wonder if she’ll be a contractor someday…….
That’s all for this month - please be sure to show up and support your local section, whether it’s at a SFBS specialty seminar, a fun event, or a monthly dinner. Hope to see you there!!
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Musing from the Editor
by Teresa Hererra
| Our Inkspot has Sprouted a New Twig!
It’s called…
“Musing from the Editor” |
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Ha! A captive audience once again! A blank slate on which to offer my jewels of wisdom and stream of drivel… what more can one ask for? All of you have probably not heard… our dear friend and Inkspot Editor, Barbara Stamatelos, has suffered a stroke and is no longer able to serve in the capacity of newsletter editor as she rehabilitates. Don’t worry, Barbara’s fine and is recovering well. If you want to get in contact with her (send a card, give her a call, etc.) you can do so at:
Valley Manor Rehabilitation Center
3806 Clayton Road
Concord, CA
In the meantime until someone steps in as our permanent editor, I will be taking on this role. Which means… if I have to work, I get to have some fun, too. And, fun to me is philosophizing… particularly when I have a nameless, faceless audience!
So… to begin.
I am struck recently by relationships. Between people, yes, and also between animals, objects, thoughts, images. The interrelatedness and dependence of one thing upon another is infinite in scope! The more I muse on this concept, the more I am amazed. I could perceive that I am separate and independent of everything around me, yet… when I see my fingers moving upon this keyboard, I know there is a relationship present. If there’s a relationship present, how can I be separate and independent? Since perceptions are so easily distorted, I know my perception of separateness is flawed.
I see an effect occur out of this contact between fingers and keyboard, and I begin to wonder at the effect of all relationships. I come to acknowledge that there is an effect emanating from all relationships, and I understand that I carry a responsibility with how I interact with… well, with everything. My actions DO carry an effect. With this realization, I am struck by the ripple effect of my actions and the weight of the choices that I make from moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day.
And, THIS, my fellow Bay Section members, causes me great pause…
Remember… for every action, there is a reaction.
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