November 14, 2026

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I wanted to show the readership my new advocacy dress! It’s not really a new dress, but new to me. It’s actually my daughter’s dress, that she never really wore because it looks too middle-aged. She did wear it to be ivy league interviews – which makes a lot of sense now. It’s very flattering and she said I could have it, since it was just in her closet and I have shoes that work with it. The pictures from yesterday are very flattering because I made sure to wear moisturizer and I wore primer! Its primer my daughter gave me, and I’m running out – so I have to buy more. I ONLY wear primer when I have to do something for climate. I honestly am not that superficial, but when you are trying to get your issue or agenda addressed – being presentable does make a difference.

Anyway, I think the one of me on the balcony with the amazing view – is the only flattering picture Mr. Plastic Picker has EVER TAKEN OF ME! I will treasure this picture because of it. Usually he does not take good pictures of me. I know he loves me, but he has other things to think about and has a really stressful job being chief of the radioactive doctors department. I don’t really like that he has this job, but he wants this title and this experience – and it’s my job to support him.

But because of our intersecting professional lives, since we are both in the same HMO. We both went to the regional government relationships meeting! It was super interesting! We are both so happy we went!

The resort/hotel was SUPER FANCY. And the views were phenomenal. I had a similar feeling when I was at Versaille, France with our daughter. In the back of my mind, I did think to myself that perhaps this area was wetlands at some point. But I enjoyed the view nonetheless, and we are thinking we might go back to the super fancy resort. It’s definitely pricey but it’s such a quick drive from San Diego, and it was like a whole different world. It was definitely LA-fancy! The bathrobes were LUXURIOUS!!!

So we went to the government relations meeting, but Mr. Plastic Picker cancelled his attendance last minute because he had a work emergency he had to deal with and worked remotely in FANCY hotel room and the FANCY Sea Bean Coffee shop while I smoozed and met people.

I’m really proud of myself! I really am an introvert but I was really happy to be there on the periphery of things, introducing myself to a few key people. They actually already knew who I was, but I had never met them in person. I introduced myself to Dr. Diana Shiba, and she was wonderful. I met the government relations lead of Orange County and of the Pacific Northwest, and we are connected now in case I need to ask them about something. I met finally the head of government relations from Riverside, and I’ve been on calls with her – so it was great to finally meet. She has a teenage daughter as well. I also had facetime with San Diego government relations team so that was good.

That’s it! It was a great meeting and I met some important people. It was fascinating to hear the presentation after the blue tsunami. I was actually mostly interesting. But when the AI part started, I snuck out before the catered lunch. We left a bit early so we could get home and then I vegged on Netflix. I’m watching a new Kdrama that I also recommended to one of my patient’s father that had a recently successful heart transplant. It will be fun to catch up with him and see what he thinks about the kdrama.

Other than that, I wanted to show you my picture on this blogpost because I’m exerting a lot of mature control – and not really showing pictures of our daughter anymore. She’s doing really well up in college and has beautiful pictures. But she’s an adult now and living her life, and I realize the world is really small and I don’t want her college friends to think her mom is still blogging about her.

That’s it! Our adventures continue but I’m trying to find more balance because the climate work is endless. I went to the gym the other day, and I might go again today since I’ve already paid for the membership! Or I might jog to my mom’s house. It’s El Nino, and it’s raining a lot though?