Who’s Zoomin’ Who?
The recurring characters in the navel-gazing melodrama that is the bloggic representation of my life. Updated November, 2006!

Bree - I’m a 34 year-old dyke in San Francisco. I dig writing, biking around the city, playing with friends and lovers, and trying to live an authentic life or some shit. I’m newly a graduate student (get me!) in clinical psychology at a local hippy-dippy humanities school. I fucking love it! Yeah, yeah, I'm still bookkeeping for dough.

My pals (where/when we met in parentheses):

Agnetha (pirate radio DJs together in Santa Cruz, 1998-2000)—started hanging out for real in 2005. Why I love her: she’s fiercely political but with a sense of humor about it, she’s whip-smart, tons of fun, and she’s introduced me to one of the most bitchin’ circles of friends ever.

Astrid (internet dating site, 2005) – some of you may know her as “NG#3”. She’s a main squeeze of mine with a penchant for feminist sci-fi, philosophical discourse, indy rock, and mass quantities of sex. Can’t tell you how pleased I am to have made her acquaintance.

B (Jewish summer camp/youth group, 1987) – known the guy since he was a self-conscious, creative-but-conventional 13 year-old kid and have seen him grow into a confident, powerful, beautiful man and an airy-fairy spiritual, crystal-lovin’ astrologer.

Brenda & Eddie [Jewish summer camp/youth group, 1987(Brenda)] – met Brenda and B. that same summer at camp. Brenda’s famous for being able to impersonate all the singers on the We Are the World track, especially when she’s tanked. Eddie is a Springsteen fanatic and Chinese soup dumpling aficionado. They live in New York, and I visited them on the East Coast trip. An exciting new development, Brenda is also studying to be a therapist! She’s my new cross-country study buddy!

Bille-Jo (housemates, 2002-2005) - vivacious painter, rock star, yoga-teacher, and raw food fanatic, now living on the other side of the Bay.

Callie (through friends in Santa Cruz, 1999) – a lovely summer fling that turned into an amazing long-term friendship (sometimes with benefits, and you know how I love them benefits!) Callie and her four year-old daughter Bean live in Port Townsend, Washington.

Chauncy (through friends in Santa Cruz, 1998) – one of the smartest motherfuckers I know. He might deny this, but he’d be wrong. Turn-ons: good film, bad pop culture, and staunch rationalism. Turn offs: the Canadian winters, airy-fairy spirituality, carbs.

Dandelion Girl (through friends in San Francisco, 2005) – she’s like my new teenage phone buddy. We talk for two hours at a time on the phone, yet live ten minutes from each other. I have an epic, unrequited crush on her on account of our amazing verbal repartée, and besides, she’s dreamy.

Danny (through B., 2004) – B’s boyfriend, who is completely adorable in every way, even when pissy or freaked out. He’s an appreciator of good beer, a fellow urban biker, and has a damned fine ass. Now please read about Danny’s harrowing experience with a discarded sex toy.

Dax (through Agnetha, 2005) – Dax recently asked me how I’d describe who she is in my life. I said, “You’re a dear friend, a former lover, and possibly a future lover.” I think she was pleased with that description.

DJ (through Astrid, 2005) – DJ is Astrid’s ex-boyfriend and former housemate. I met him the second time Astrid and I hung out, and when confronted with his mumbling snarkitude, I thought, “Oh jeez, if I wanna continue bedding Astrid, I’m gonna haveta deal with this chump.” Turns out, we really like each other, and underneath the layers of bitter, therein lies the soft, chewy center of DJ.

Doob (worked together at the Peace Org, 1996-1998) – Doob is spiritually-minded, always focused on the big picture both ethically and politically, and the biggest goof ball I know. He’s got an amazing partner, Rosie, and together they have two beautiful daughters, the 4-year-old Bug and 1 1/2 - year-old Boo.

Exene & Oliver (through Raquel and Chauncy, 1998) – some of the last close friends of mine still living in Santa Cruz, E & O are just plain good folks, excellent party company, and collectively possess a dangerous level of geeky wit. Check out Exene's blog right here!

Irene (Peace Org, 1995-1996) - A shit-talkin' Jersey loud-mouthed Buddhist activist soccer-playin' wild-child. Lives in Boston; hardly ever see her, but she’s core.

Iris & Noodles (San Jose, 1990) - B. and I met Iris randomly at a café in downtown San Jose back when B. was in high school, and Iris and I were in college. A year later, Iris and I became each other’s first girlfriends and then had a sexually-charged friendship for ages until becoming girlfriends again for two more years. Now B. and I are the proud godparents to her rambunctious 3-year-old girl, Noodles. They currently live in Guatemala.

Julicle (Jewish youth group, 1986ish) - Jul and I have ended up on somewhat divergent life paths, but in recent years, we have been reacquainting ourselves to our friendship, and she’s an avid reader of the blog. She lives in the East Bay with her husband and their three kiddlets.

Magna (worked together, 1999-2000) - A sex kitten with a mind both empirical and silly, I’ve all but lost her to med school—harumph! We met wage-slaving at a natural foods store back in Santa Cruz, and we both consider our having met as the only possible explanation as to why either us would have worked there at all.

Marty & Elvira (Peace Org, 1998-1999) - Marty was my assistant director when I ran the Santa Cruz office for The Org back in 1998 and 1999. He’s one of the goddamned smartest and wittiest people I know. He’s studying for the BAR out in Baltimore, last I checked. Elvira is his sweetie, one fierce and fiery school teacher. I was in their wedding in 2003.

Mrs. and Mr. C and Baby Pez [Jewish youth group, 1986(Mrs.)] – Mrs. C. is a feisty gal with a proclivity for social networking. Mr. C. is just the right amount of mellow to balance out Mrs. C’s big personality, and we all love him for it. Baby Pez came along in December, 2005, making B. and I godparents twice over.

Natasha (through Iris, 1997) – Nat and I were girlfriends from 2000 to 2005. We met at her wedding to her previous partner, an ex-housemate of Iris’s (there was no impropriety, I swear). Read about how we met, fell in love, and broke up here.

Pookie (Peace Org, 1995-1997) - I interviewed Pookie for the job at the Peace Org; she impressed me with her freshly-shorn schoolgirl bob and her gray smart-casual slacks. Then I realized what a potty-mouthed slag she really was, and that cinched it. She moved away (sniff!) and I visited her in Minneapolis last year.

Raquel (through friends in Santa Cruz, 1998) – Raquel is one of the most thoughtful, amazing friends I’ve ever had. She’s soft spoken in approach, but rip-roaring fun when any of the following elements are added: marijuana, 70s rock, good food and good company, cowbell.

Sebastian (through B., 1997) – B. and Sebastian were together for six years, and since they’ve broken up, he and I have developed a lovely renewed friendship. With his special brand of brainy-critical-sass, he’s the perfect companion for any type of cultural consumption. Sometimes shows up in the blog comments as Magningning, his livejournal moniker.

Spider (housemates in Santa Cruz, 1993-1995) - Pretty much my smartest friend. Maybe it’s because her dad’s in Mensa, or maybe it’s in spite of that—it’s hard to know. We lived together during the angsty early-20’s, and now we’re both pretty much adults, whether we like it or not. Catch her obsessions about nutrition, technology, sex, politics, and oh, so much more at her livejournal.

Uberdrivel (Jewish youth group, 1986) - Ube, B. and I all lived together in an apartment in Santa Cruz in the summer of 1993, and, between puffs on the bong, managed to work on creative writing projects together. Ube got me to start this here blog, actually. She’s fucking hilarious, and one of the most sincere people I know.

The Family:

Mom - Mom is an old school mom in a lot of ways—she still knows a bit of Yiddish, listens to Sinatra, smokes menthol lights. But she’s also a very modern woman—she’s always made a living for herself in many different careers over the years (business owner, restauranteur, real estate agent). She’s had her share of male suitors, and even a naughty illicit liaison. She’s on her third marriage now, to a man who had been a friend of the family’s since the ‘60s, but her real passion: bridge and mah jong.

Dad - Dad died in 1974 at the age of 43. His heart was weakened by a case of rheumatic fever he’d had as a child, and he died about a year and a half after having had a valve replacement. As I was just turning two years old at the time he died, I never really got a chance to know him and don’t have any (conscious) memory of him. He was reportedly a very funny man, a left wing politico, and a big ol’ softy—I’m quite sure I would’ve really liked the guy if he stuck around.

My sister, C. - My eldest sister, fifteen years my senior. She directs and teaches preschool and is mom-extraordinaire to my two brilliant and amazing nephews (Joey and Zach) and one of my brilliant and amazing nieces (Halina). Very political and super active in the community. An inspiring woman, she is.

My sister, J. (aka “Schmend”) - J. is just 15 months younger than C., but she was always the baby of the family, til I arrived on the scene, fourteen years later—heh heh. She and C. really have a much more “sibling” kind of relationship, whereas I sort of escaped all the drama. J. is really my primary conduit to the emotional life and history of our family. I’ve very much valued her emotional acuity in my life. She’s also a phenomenal writer, and a sick weirdo, which is a trait I’m proud to say I happily emulate. She’s the fabulous mom to my other brilliant and amazing niece (Ursula).

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