A relatively uninteresting day (shelve shelve shelve, info desk info desk, shelve shelve) turned into a really great one when Seth, Michelle, and Seth's high school friends Josh and Michael showed up at Cody's this …

The Islamic Garden Story of Cinderella. I've seen retellings of fairy tales that empower the heroine, but never quite like this.

One of my coworkers has a slow, deep voice. Whenever he does the ritual closing announcements ("Cody's is closing at ten o'clock, ten minutes from now. If you have purchases to make...") some of my …

Sour note on 'American Idol' might be music to your ears, writes the Chron At Work editor in a grabby yet useful analogy. He says that the contradictory hunger and scorn of American Idol participants …

I hereby ask my Bay Area readership: who is willing to take care of two regular cats, Junie/Paul and Little Kitty, for two weeks or even just a few days? I need a breather. I'll …

I dated a gamer, Dan, for almost three years. (Ga'mer; n.: one who uses tabletop, live-action, or computer role-playing games for recreation. Connotation: usu. to excess.) His gamerness was virtually dormant for the first few …

A million years ago, back in the nineties, I applied for a job writing ads. I would have written seductive proposals that would open the wallets of corporate clients and lure them into contracting with …

Congrats Susanna from one newly inducted bike-rider to another. As per the suggestion of my neighbor and a woman at the Berkeley Farmer's Market, I have constructed a moat around the catfood dish. Also, store …

I have to wash my hands every few hours when I work the register. I guess that's what happens when you handle filthy lucre. Primary reading, about fifty pages per day: Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. …

At some point in the future, Leonard and I are going to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not this one in New Orleans. Best quotes: Ten aquarium visitors, including four children, fell into a shark …