Napa Young Professionals Society

Last night I attended the first Napa Young Professionals Society event, started by two guys in Napa who saw the need and filled it. Ceja Vineyards opened their Tasting Salon in downtown Napa for us - what a great space. PS - they have salsa dancing on Saturday nights if anyone wants to come with me sometime!

Please take note - there ARE young people in Napa! Who knew!?! I'll definitely keep up with this group - I met some relaly great nice people and the opportunity for new friends and business networking is endless. Thanks to Lee and Tyler for creating this and making it happen.

Hm.

So I kind of haven't done much of anything on my list. Something I did do was join the gym on Monday, actually went to the gym on Tuesday, and thought about going today. Pretty good for me. 

I have a secret TV love: The Starter Wife. I usually talk about my love of trashy reality TV, shows like Rock of Love (how can you not love Bret Michaels' incessant references to Every Rose Has Its Thorn and the weave under his bandana?), Rock of Love Charm School (Thou Shalt Rock It With Style), American Idol bad singers (HUGE props to Julie's Journal where I found this hilarious blog entry about one of my most memorable AI 'singers' - I specifically like the "would you please harness those udders!" - awesome.), and many, many more (oh, like Bad Girls Club....shoot me now but I love it) that I truly got DVR for again.

Back to The Starter Wife. Now, I am a fan of Debra Messing (I heart Will & Grace - and I heart Mr. Durfee's site dedicated to W&G!). Her mannerisms and commentary are just so funny. I watched the miniseries when it came out, and have been watching the show religiously since it started this season. I know some of it's a little far-fetched, but have you watched Desperate Housewives lately? No? Ok, well I have, and it's pretty out there. I do not watch TV to have it mirror real life. What's the fun in that? I already live real life, and for the most part, it's not exciting at all. Throw me some chick fights, ex-hair band losers, murders in Beverly Hills, tornadoes, random health issues that only one man can solve, two business fires, and a good solid mystery and I'm game. All I ask is that no more than two good shows come on at the same time (my DVR can only handle two) and we're all good.

I swear I get off the couch sometimes. Really. I do.

Cheers to bad TV and joining the gym! Now if I could just get the two to hold hands and be a couple, we'd have a nice and tidy family here.

Words That Make You Go EW.

Almost everyone I know has a list of words that they hate. At work we now just call it The List, as in "ew don't say that, it's on the list." Some words on our list...

--Maggot: just gross in every way, shape and form. The word itself is gross sounding, maggots themselves give me the heebie jeebies, and well, ew. A certain someone thinks these are magical creatures because their secretions* heal wounds or something disgusting like that. Dude. The day I let maggots on me is the day you can send me across the street to Napa State (word).

--*Secretion: What a nasty word. It sounds like just what it is...something oozing out of something else. It starts off as such a lovely word too - secret - then goes HA IN YO FACE - and then the 'tion' hits. Changes everything.

--Panties: Call them underwear please. Please.

--Loin: And now begins the infamous "oi" words. For some reason 'pork loin' doesn't bother me as much as 'his loins' but it's a pretty icky word nonetheless.

--Moist: Ew. Ew. EWW. Everything about this word grosses me out. Can't we all just get along and say, "Wow! This cake is the most not-dry cake I've ever had! It's incredible!" Thanks.

--Ointment: Bah. Anything you have to put ointment on is probably something you wouldn't discuss with just anyone. I suggest using 'cream' or 'salve' or even flat out 'Neosporin' instead.

--Crotch: You may be seeing a pattern here but I swear that's just a coincidence. Crotch is an ugly word, I mean, why use it when there are so many others?

I know I'm forgetting some, but I'll post those when I remember. What words are on your List?

If you're reading this blog, then you use the interweb and all of its glory. To avoid using any of the words on The List, please visit www.thesaurus.com for assistance.

More Things To Do...Before I Turn 31

20: Take another swing dance lesson.

21: Find a kickboxing class I love.

22: Pay cash for 5 purchases over $30 (maybe it'll deter me from spending $50+ EVERY TIME I go to Target!)

23: See Citizen Kane

24: Master the art of the Bloody Mary

25: Shoot at least 25 photos per week

Babies

I often wonder what it will be like to be married and have kids. It'll be so different than my current life that I can hardly imagine living that far away life. I looooove babies, and I wonder sometimes what I would do if I had an ugly baby. I know it's a horrible thing to say, and I'll think my baby is adorable, blah blah blah. But seriously, what if my baby isn't cute? Is there such a thing as BABY GOGGLES - a phenomenon where parents automatically think their baby is cute even if it isn't? Think beer goggles but with no alcohol involved. You're looking at your kid and you think oh my, I created this beautiful little bundle of joy and all the while everyone else thinks, oy, that kid is uuuugggllyyy.

I just entered it into Urban Dictionary. Hopefully it'll be approved soon and I'll go down in history as the chick who made up Baby Goggles. Thank you and goodnight.

Still Reeling a Little

I'm still a tad on edge from Sunday. I guess it's more of the Law&Ordercrimespree that is bothering me....I read so much bad news all the time and so many people get shot on a daily basis and it's much easier than I thought to shoot a gun. On one hand, I must admit, it was sort of a thrill to pull the trigger. On the other, it was scary. I'm glad that I'm still scared of guns. I don't plan on ever owning one and if for some reason someone came into my life who did own them, at least I'd know that I was scared and be OVERLY sure that they were secured and safe. Ok that's all. Talk about analyzing something to bits. Sheesh.

On a lighter note, I felt like I was getting sick all day yesterday, so I made soup last night. Knowing me, you probably think this entails grabbing a Campbell's can, getting out the can opener, and voila - soup. Think again (and be surprised...) - I MADE SOUP. As in, chicken stock, carrots, celery, chicken, pasta, spices. I made chicken noodle soup! I am so shocked and proud of myself that I'm going to eat it for lunch today too. Also, there's so much I'll be eating it for dinner and for lunch tomorrow, but that's beside the point.

Cheers to being scared of guns and making chicken noodle soup!

#15: Shoot a gun - Check.

Usually my dad will call and ask if I want to go shooting with him and my brothers. I've always been too scared, but this time I went. Hey, it's on my list. 

On the drive to Petaluma, I was pretty nervous, planning on only shooting once and then being done with it. Of course, my brothers and dad wouldn't let me get away with that. I had to shoot each one and learn all about it. Earplugs in and big sound blocking ear things on, I started with the littlest one, a 38 special. Not sure why it's special. That little gun was straight out of Clue - Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the revolver. Myself in a field in Petaluma with a revolver. Crazy. The 38 had some kick, and being the wuss that I am, it actually sort of hurt my hand. Next...

I then shot the 45 revolver one - it was big and heavy and way scary. Again, the hand was hurt, and this one was WAY louder. It was a Smith & Wesson and you can now call me Clint Eastwood.

My dad has this beautiful gun (did I just say that?) that's used in Olympic shooting. The wood is carved out and fits over your hand and the trigger is extremely sensitive. Pretty cool, not difficult, and neat looking. 

Next was the 22 rifle. I had sworn that I was not going to shoot a rifle, but I was told that this had no kickback. It didn't. It was weenie. Either I was getting jaded or it was just less gun than I expected for how big it was. I had no idea weather I actually hit a target with any of these, I couldn't see that far and was WAY too stressed out to care. At the end, I shot this one again and was a pretty good shot - hit a clay pigeon (does not look like a pigeon at all and I'm not even sure it's clay) just about in the middle from 100 yards. If my dad was amazed, it must have been pretty good.

Still tense, I headed back to try the two that looked straight out of Grand Theft Auto. The kick on them was way too much for me...I guess I'm not ready to shoot drug dealers just yet, only cowboys. The clip looked like a Pez dispenser and it pretty much worked just like that. Since I had reduced a deadly weapon to a child's candy toy, I decided to head out.

I am still a bundle of nerves, wound up nice and tight. The whole experience was scary and stressful and nerve wracking for me, but I'm glad I did it. I'd do it again too, I just need some time to recover (and a massage).

Cheers to conquering a fear and crossing my first item off the 31 List!

More Things To Do...

15: Shoot a gun
16: Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge
17: Visit the Cable Car Museum
18: Learn 3 all-purpose jokes (not horrible ones like "What does a one-legged ballerina wear? A one-one.)
19: Go on a date with someone over 40 (uuuuhhh) and someone under 30. (can't this be retroactive Ngocstar? Oy.)

Ok...we're getting there...just 12 more...

31 Flavors

In 5 months and 13 days, I turn 31. Thanks to some creative suggestions, I've updated my list... Here goes the beginning, in no particular order. Send more!

1. Learn to make Belgian waffles like my dad's

2. Visit Gabe & Jen in NY (this will probably happen after May 7, I'm thinking more like June...)

3. Visit Morgan & Bobby in Martha's Vineyard (I'm looking into make #s 2 & 3 one big trip!)

4. Run the Maui marathon with Team in Training in Sept 08 (again, after May 7, but I'll need to start training soon so I don't die)

5. Try all 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins

6. Take a picnic to the beach

7. Tahoe trip

8. EDIT: Put $10 on 31 and hope for the best (I had a good suggestion: put it on 31!)

9. Rita's for some rockin' karaoke

10. Play a practical joke on a friend

11. Drive east and shoot the whole way

12. Visit Half Moon Bay

13. Host a dinner party

14. Volunteer for a day

...That's as far as I've gotten...help!

31 Things to Do Before I Turn 31

Thanks to Jessica, a new friend from the Wine Blogger Conference, for the coolest idea. I am putting a call out to you, my faithful readers, all 3 of you, to help me compile a list of 31 things to do before I turn 31.

I haven't given it enough thought, but I'd better get on it as I only have 170 days to finish all of these things, whatever they may be.

One thing that had originally been on my list was take a random lesson at the JC, which I have already done, so it doesn't count. I guess I can always do another one...

I'll start, you send me ideas...

1. Learn how to make Belgian waffles like my dad's
2.
3.
...you get the idea.

Linked Up

I'm talking to Wenis at the moment and we are trademarking yet another word.

Blink: Blog Links (if you Urban Dictionary this one, you get some interesting things. I am not responsible for the content provided on Urban Dictionary. Viewer discretion is advised.)

I have learned that the more links you put in your blog, the more traffic you get. I've tried this but have yet to see a real upswing. I'll put random blinks in and see what happens...

--One of the coolest websites ever
--I want, need, covet, desire, drool over, passionately adore this
--I want to buy this

Cheers to etymology and all things word related, including word creation!

I (left my) HEART (in) SAN FRANCISCO

This past weeked, I took MtotheG to the city for a much needed weekend away. I took her to the non-touristy spots (like Howard and 5th) and pointed out little tidbits here and there. I was a regular tour guide. MtotheG may not have thought so, but I had fun :)

After a short shopping trip and a session at the Apple Store, we headed back to the Marina to get ready for dinner. This is a huge event because we went to Betelnut - one of my most favorite restaurants ever. Ever. Really. Ever. I heart the Hoison Pork. I heart the lettuce wraps. I heart the samosas. I heart the PomPom cocktail. I heart the chefs. Though I don't heart the freaky fish dish (looks a lot like this little bugger), I still respect the freaky fried fish.

After a night out on the town (and this time when I say "on the town" I really mean it.), I remembered how much I love it there and I sort of want to move back. I think about how much my life would have to change for that to happen, but the bustling of downtown, the people who bump into you and don't say sorry, the crazy drivers, the pricey parking, the overpriced food...I truly miss it. I miss the option of meeting new people everytime I go out, the plethora (yeah, that's right, that's a $20 word right there) of places to go and things to see, the everchanging weather, the proximity (banked another $20) to the ocean...all of it. I know that part of me is reliving my early 20s, getting all nostalgic about places that aren't there any more or aren't *the* place to go, but for the most part I think I'm just getting restless. That it's not about moving to the city at all. I'm trying to find my happy place, as lame as that sounds, and I need to keep looking. I need to realize what I have, who I have, be happy for all of it, and be content.

Cheers to finding my happy place in the most non-psycho way possible!

Why Cars Get Hit by Trains is Beyond Me.

My drive to work is about 40 minutes each way on a good day, so in the mornings I listen to all different radio stations depending on how I feel. Usually my dial (dial - HA - why is it still called a dial?) ends up on Live 105, and I listen to the randomness that is the Woody Show.

They're entertaining, someone usually laughs hysterically which we all know is contagious, and it's great chatter for my drive to work. Today in their news segment, they reported that Caltrain was late because it struck a car. It seems like there's a story like that every month at least.

Let me back up for a second. This is a train & these are train tracks.

The train cannot drive on the street and cars should not drive on the tracks. I'm not sure why this seems to be such a difficult concept for some. A train hits a car - how is that even possible? It's not like the train drove off of the tracks and was like "hey, I think I need to hit that car" or anything. I can understand a car hitting another car - two people who aren't paying attention in moving vehicles. I get it. What I don't get is how someone in a car, in the bright morning rush hour probably on the same route that they drive every day, can be sitting on the tracks of a moving train, and not move. You know you're on train tracks - it's pretty obvious. Next time you're driving, note that there may be train tracks in front of you, behind you, under you, and get out of the way. It's a train for pete's sake. Move.

Cheers to my rant.

Random Thoughts

Thought 1: I am so excited that I witnessed such a historical moment last night. I think about when I'm a grandma (hopefully I'll be one!), I'll be able to take my grandkid's history books and say, "See that? When Mr. Obama became president? I was sitting on my couch eating leftover creamy polenta and microwaved broccoli when I watched Obama's acceptance speech." They'll probably look at my like I'm crazy, but I can't wait to be the crazy grandma with all the crazy stories.

Thought 2: I'm cold. Brrrrr. I turned on my heat last night for the first time since probably April. Baby, it's cold outside. (ok, according to weather.com, it's only 55 out there. Sure feels like 35 if you ask me.)

Thought 3: Don't ever let little chicks with big heels land on your toe. Ever. My poor, broken, left big toe is all of the colors of a black, blue and purple rainbow, and I still can't wear cute heels. I hate that chick.

Thought 4: Halloween is a such a rad holiday. People are so creative (myself and my friends included) and it's so fun to people watch. It's also so heartwarming to watch the children's faces light up and smile at their discolored teeth from all the candy. (WENIS - that was just for you. Grrrrrr).

Thought 5: I know it's only 9:26pm on a Wednesday, but I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

Cheers to random thoughts! May they always be with you.

I Miss You Already, George

I have this great friend named George. He's been my friend for almost 6 years, and he's been there for me through thick and thin. Our relationship started out a little rocky, but he has forgiven me for being reckless and for mistreating him. I'm sorry to say that George is no longer with me.

George is a sympathy plant - I think - and he's supposed to grow those white flowers but he hasn't. Ever. I bought him at IKEA way back in 2003, when I got my first apartment in the city by myself. His long, dark green leaves enticed me as I walked by, as did his $5.99 price tag. I picked up him, I chose him out of all of those other plants at IKEA, and put him in my cart. I hadn't owned a houseplant before this, and I could tell that this was going to be an exciting new adventure for both of us. As I reached over to take him from the checker lady, I hit the bottom of his pot and he flew through the air like Kerry Strug (shout out to Wenis) and landed on the cement floor with a crash. His dirt spilled everywhere and I scrambled to brush it back into the pot and be on my way. The checker lady asked if I wanted to replace him, but you know how huge IKEA is, that's not a quick exchange. I said, no, that's ok, he'll be fine, and George and I went home.

Life has been great for the past almost 6 years - George can go many many many days without water, and if I forget and he looks sad and yellowy, I throw some water in there and within a couple of hours, his leaves are raised to the sky in a welcoming fan of happiness. I haven't been home much at all for the past 4 months, so George has gotten much less attention than he's used to. And, I'm sorry to say it, I went too far. I forgot to water George for WAY too long, and I don't think he'll ever be coming back to me. If anyone out there is a sympathy plant whisperer, I need your services pronto. If not, then there will be a moment of silence for George at 7:01pm tomorrow night.

I'll have to go and find a George the Second soon...wish me luck on my next long term relationship.

Things That Are Rad, Chapter 3

Pickles
Halloween costumes
Candy pumpkins
Cool work projects
Lasagna
Pillbox hats
Unibrows (unless they're on me)
Dr. Pepper
HGTV
Cable & DVR goodness
Soft sheets
Cute shoes

Sitting in Mendo

I have learned today that Bed & Breakfasts are for couples and couples alone. I have a nice room and no one to share it with except my Macbook Pro. Good thing Mr. Pro isn't threatened by the TV because there is no TV. No TV. No TV. Not exactly sure what I'm going to do all weekend in Mendocino without a TV but I can make do. I think. I get a smidge of internet in the room, if I sit in the wingback chair that faces the view of the ocean. Given that smidge of internet access from Abalone Airport wireless, I still decided to head to downtown Mendo and hit up the coffee shop that has wireless. So here I sit, blogging on the coast, relaxing, and happy drinking my uber-strong latte made by two hippies.

Well, I was until 7 tweens walked in....well they could be high schoolers for all I know.....I'm old. Not sure why they're in here...I guess it's a place to hang out where parents don't exist. I'm hearing such wise tidbits like "WOW! CAFE has the same letters as FACE!" and "How do you make an upside down 'O'?" Moms are calling, tweens/high school freshman are running around eating Kettle chips and someone has major BO. "Oh I lie to my mom all the time to get money" "Oh you poor child with an iPhone." "Ew those are like prostitute's underwear." "Or YOUR underwear" Teen laughter ensues. Guess what, Orion and Lucy are dating. Orion? Who names their kid Orion? I really am in Mendocino.

Cheers to random weekends and strangers' conversations!

Diary of the Pink House, Chapter 1.5

A quick note on the Pink House. It's no longer pink. It's a creamy, yellow-y, off-white with dark brown trim. I will still always refer to this house as the Pink House. The goings on over there has not changed, only the color of the house. Oh and of the swamp-cooler-with-wine-barrel-stand: that too is creamy yellow-y off-white. I mean, you can't paint a house and not include the items that are hanging off of it. I get it.

Cheers to the source of eternal stories: the Pink House!

New Things

I have a very long list of things I want to do in my life....more of a very long short term list if you will. This list includes things like learn bass guitar, get forklift certified, visit a new city every year (at least), etc. Things that are on the long-time-life list are see a building implode, drive a big rig, go to Europe...things of that nature.

Not on my short list, but I'm adding it now, is to take random Community Ed classes. Once, a long time ago, Kellogg took me to a surprise event: a balloon making class at SRJC. It was AWESOME. That's right folks, for a small fee, I can come to your birthday party and make balloon animals (like a snake, I'm good at that one) and maybe even a sword. This class was a few years ago so I'm a little rusty, and funny enough, that's my clown name, Rusty. Anyway, we learned how to make a ton of animals actually, and it was pretty fun. It was also extremely perverted and hilarious. The blower-upper thing was very um....long and skinny, and the balloons, well, you get the picture. The commentary from our instructor, a clown in real life of course, was hysterical, and we could barely keep it together.

Fast forward a few years, and tonight was a bit of the same. For her birthday, I gave Wenis a Beginning Blues Harmonica class through the JC. It was awesome, but again, extremely perverted. We learned:
--trills (not perverted)
--chords (not perverted)
--Hohner Pocket Pal (name of the harmonica) (perverted)
--tongueing (perverted)
--blow (perverted)
--tongue slapping (perverted)
--covering 4 holes with your mouth (perverted)
and a ton of other things - it was a rad, crazy, shotgun class - as in, playmesomeharmonicabluesrightnow kind of class.

Wenis and I were cracking up - a lot - to the annoyance of the instructor, who even said "there's no laughing in the blues" or something to that effect. (I actually think that particular sentence is "there's no crying in baseball" but it's the same thing really.) Even now, hours and hours later, "tongueing" and "tongue slapping the holes" are just way. too. funny. Or we're just twelve-year-old boys. The class was filled with some interesting folk...one dude who looked like he was in an 80s hair band, in the 80s, and had bleached his hair, in the 80s, and it was just now growing out. I guess this dude has also taken this particular instructor's class a ton of times, causing the instructor to say "I think he's stalking me." An older woman, probably in her 70s, who couldn't really hear and kept "noodling" with her harmonica when the instructor told us to knock it off (essentially). A lady next to me who was blowing too hard on her harp (that's what we musicians call a harmonica) and it was squeaking so badly...and she blamed it on me.

In all seriousness, it was a super fun class, the two hours flew by, and I really want to learn how to play this thing. It's REALLY difficult. Really, really, really difficult - not what I expected at all. I'm going to find another class and keep this up - I hope to anyway. Hey, invite me over. I'll bust out my C harmonica and play you some blues. It'll be especially helpful if you could provide a back up band and if the guitar player could only play in the key of A, D, or G, you see, those are the only keys where my C harp will sound good. I ain't buyin' another one.

Cheers to learning new things!

Vices

I get cable back on October 17. Yay.

Pathetic, I know, but more than anything, I just want the DVR again...so sick of commercials and bad TV. Oh, and I miss HD.

Tonight, in lieu of bad Monday night TV (I have no ESPN, hence, no MNF), I rented Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I loved it! I don't feel like it got much play, a lot like Thelma on Scooby Doo (what movie does that reference...? Anyone...?), it came and went a lot like movies do these days.

Back in the day when I was young I'm not a kid anymore, I worked at Video Droid. I know I've mentioned this before, but that was one great job. I remember when Laserdiscs came out (remember how I'm old?) and we'd all fight to take home the player because it was "so much better than tapes." And it probably was! I worked there up to when DVDs started arriving...then off I went into corporateland for the next seven years, forgetting all I knew about movies - all I knew about "you know that movie, with that guy, remember that one?" I used to be good at that game.

I also used to be good at Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Good Times, Random Times

Thursday was the Chandon Pink Party and a good time was had by all. That is, until some stupid chick landed on my big left toe with all her weight channeled through a thin, black stilletto heel. Granted, I still had a great time (pics coming...) - champagne, while bad for the brain, is good for getting one through extreme pain in the toe area.

Because of my new injury (I'm a klutz, I have random injuries all the time), I was unable to walk the Bridge to Bridge this morning as planned. Kellogg and I went into the city yesterday morning to help out at the Walk for Hope. We then bummed around all day, checked into the hotel around 5:30, and headed to dinner at Nob Hill Grille, owned by a friend of mine. Yum. Yum. Yum. We shared a bad-for-us-but-super-delicious flatbread topped with mounds of carmelized onions, arugula, and gorgonzola, as well as a bottle of Horseplay red wine from Sonoma. A fantastic combo. The wine lasted us through our entrees - Kellogg with the rreeeeeiiibs smothered in chipotle bbq sauce, homemade mac n cheese, and swiss chard. I relished in my flatiron steak in some sort of yummy reduction, potato croquettes, and sauteed greens. Holy mouth-watering, Batman. Topping it off with a lava cake for fun, we had a great time. My friend was there to make sure all was well and it was all perfecto! Can't wait to head back.

We walked (ok, Kellogg walked, I hobbled) down to Russian Hill-ish area for some fun-times-on-Polk. We hit up S.N.O.B. wine bar first, had a glass, then walked/hobbled around until we ended up in Hamhock (it's really called Hemlock, but I so prefer Hamhock). The crowd was a little punk for our comfort-zone, so we went to Encore which was more our style - karaoke. We didn't take any pics the whole night because we're lame.

All in all, a great weekend, even though it didn't go as planned. Nothing ever really does though, does it?

Cheers to fun times in SF with Kellogg!

2008 - Wow So Far!

This year has been utterly insane. By insane, I mean so busy with cool stuff that I now feel insane.

I celebrated my 30th birthday with a weekend in Tahoe (dodgeball tourney, remember), Meggie's 30th with a weekend in Portland, Kellogg's (30th for the 2nd time) with a weekend of Sonoma County goodness, Wenis' 30th with a weekend in Napa (sounds like a vacation but uh we live here), Swheel's 30th (+/-a few) at Ceja Winery in Carneros, have done speed dating, Match.com dating, gone camping, been a bridesmaid twice, attending one other wedding as a guest and have another in a week and a half, hosted a co-ed wedding shower (brown chicken brown cow), did an engagement shoot for my friend at work, went to Twin Pines casino and showed my brother how to pay blackjack, hosted a Labor Day BBQ, done the 5:30 Bootcamp which I never thought I'd do, vowed to run a 7k this Sunday but I'll be the one walking, and so much more I can't even think of it all.

I have the greatest, silliest, most fun friends ever and I'm so happy to have experienced all of this with you. I don't see my family enough, but I dig them too :)

Cheers to an eventful 2008 - 10 months in!

PS - Some Portland photos...

Light Stalking

Finding other people's information online can be fun, detrimental (emphasis on mental), or fascinating. I google myself and everyone I know just to see what comes up. Sometimes I should just let it be...leave it alone. If I knew what was good for me...

Greenie

I try to live greenly...but I don't feel like I'm making a difference. I have always recycled (the product of hippie parents who drilled that into our brains at a young age) and are annoyed by people who don't. I would like to get rid of my too-big-for-me car, but haven't had any takers (I'm trying though, k?) I try to use a kitchen towel instead of paper towels, cloth napkins instead of paper napkins (besides, cloth napkins for a dinner looks quite fancy. I'm not usually fancy, so I'll take it where I can get it), and will try (emphasis on try) to use cloth diapers instead of disposable when I have kids. I know I should do a lot more...any ideas that you've incorporated that are easy no-brainers?

If someone could now just use the Wine Train tracks for a couple of commuter cars in the mornings and evenings, I'd be set!

The Dating Life...

...why is it so weird?

Saturday, a few friends and I went speed dating. Knowing that it was going to be nothing like the scene in Hitch (good looking, normal, nice, YOUNG people), we all mentally prepared. This particular speed dating company offered 2 age ranges - 30-45 and 45+. When I signed up, and I didn't really think "maybe this isn't the speed dating we should go to" for some reason. Mistake.

I logged into the site, read the FAQ ("how do you make sure there's a gender balance?"), and paid my $27. All I kept thinking for the next 2 weeks was - they're going to be George Costanza. All of them.

It was held in a Community Center, and as you know, this is as far away from ambiance as you can get. Harsh lighting, awkward setup, echoy and loud....not exactly nerve-calming or "romantic" per se. The four of us sit, waiting for an eligible bachelor to sit across from each of us. I was the last to get a guy across from me. I watched the door in anticipation, thinking, "my old coworker's new boss met her husband at speed dating...my old coworker's new boss met her husband at speed dating...my old coworker's new boss met her husband at speed dating..." Lo and behold, my new husband did NOT walk through that door. Nor did any potential matches.

I remember when I was 21, and going to the bars in Cotati for the first time: the 8-Ball, the Yacht Club, the Inn of the Beginning (which is now Friar Tuck's, how weird is that!), Spanky's...and being the YOUNGEST person there and how awesome that was. Being the youngest person at speed dating was not that fun. Not even close. It's actually the worst thing ever. The men (and I call them men because, hey, they were almost as close to my dad's age as mine) were almost all 40+. Now I'm not saying this was a horrible experience...they were actually really cool for the most part. Super easy to talk to and really nice men. Just way way way too old for me. Now I can say I've done it, and would do it again if the age range ended at 37. I'll scope one out and let you know how that one goes :)

NOTE: there was one jerk guy who said that I seemed like I was 24 (I reminded him that the minimum age was 30. Idiot.) and that I seem like the type that doesn't like to leave the house and doesn't like to do new things and doesn't like to take risks. Interesting how he's telling me about me (uh tell me about you, dude, this is speed dating)...and obviously he doesn't know me at all! UPDATE: I had forgotten to mention that he said I was picky. Ugh. Yeah, not pickin' you. Bye now.

I did receive an email from the speed dating company with my "matches." I thought that was odd when I saw the subject line because I said NO to everyone which automatically means I'll get no matches. I opened the email...2 women's names from the 45+ group with phone numbers. Really? This was followed by a "freakout" email - their systems had a glitch and please do not contact those matches. No problem there. Not really interested in women 45+. Figures, doesn't it?

Cheers to dating stories!

Wild & Crazy Guys (and Gals)

This weekend was pretty funny - nothing crazy happened, it was just the culmination of a bunch of little things that keep my life interesting and entertaining.

Some highlights:

FRIDAY
--A pre-dinner Corona with a lime with Wenis at the Napa Bowl (coincidentally enough, I tried to find a Google image of the Napa Bowl to share with you here, and my own blog came up. Time to bring my camera to the Napa Bowl)

--A cozy dinner with a friend turned into sushi at Sushi Mambo, where the food is good but the service is SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

--Some beer at Bounty Hunter, where I ran into some coworkers and our group of four turned into a group of 9

--Closed down BH - go figure

--What's next? Why liar's dice at Henry's (pronounced "Ahn-rees" en le francais) of course!

--Closed down Ahn-rees

--Headed to Denny's, home of Elvis, the world's coolest late-night Denny's server!

--Brought the crew to their respective homes and called it a night. Time check? 4:07am.

SATURDAY

--Woke up late, headed to the Napa Wine & Craft Fair, got some sun, fell asleep on the couch for two hours (being the old lady that I am), and then Wenis came over to work on our identities. I'm going to be Batman and she's going to be Superman.

--Ended up not working, I lied in that above bullet point, and went over to JH's for some bocce, bbq, and boisterous laughter. He and SH have some cool friends!! Had a blast with them! Tasted some awesome wines too - couldn't have been better.

--Went back home with Wenis to work again, chatted about our identities, (I have a cool phone, she can fly) and then decided to meet JH and his posse out at Trancas Skankhouse for some karaoke! (note: I missed JH's rendition of Ice Ice Baby on Friday night, a sight that I could only dream of witnessing again sometime in the future.)

Where the magic happens (above)....I DID get to see a little Humpty Dance which was just rad.

--Where do people go when they need a full course breakfast at 3 in the morning? Denny's of course!!

--Once again, we stepped into the glorious world of eggs & bacon, spending $3 on the claw machine trying to get a Hillary Clinton doll, then some dude spending probably another $5, then we ate. Again, had the pleasure of Elvis as my waiter. It was something that dreams are made of.
--After the French Toast Complete for only $6.99, we headed towards that claw machine again, for one last dollar. Wenis ALMOST got her out, then we needed another last dollar to get her all the way through the hole. Lo and behold, the Hillary Clinton doll came into our lives!



--After a run in with an old friend (WHY DON'T YOU LOVE MEEEEE) and some silly cab-driver talk, we headed home, arriving at about 4:12am, then slept peacefully with Hillary between us. She's quite cozy I hear.

--Spent all of Sunday in my jammies, talking identities with Wenis - about how it's so cool she gets to wear a red cape and mine is always black. I'm so dark and mysterious and she's so adored and revered. This is why we're working on those identities. At least I have a cave and a rad car.

Cheers to long weekends and wacky, fun-filled randomness!

Silly Stuff

One thing I like to say often is "if such-and-such had a baby" to describe something to someone else. Example 1: What is Facebook like? It's sort of like if MySpace and LinkedIn had a baby. I'll add more examples, better examples, as I think of them.

HA

In an article discussing Obama's acceptance speech in a stadium in Colorado, I found this quote:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio also sounded a confident note about the political impact of the forum, asserting it will prove Obama’s message has wide resonance. 

“Would you want to play the Super Bowl in a Little League park?” he asked.

Now I say to you, good Americans, doesn't Little League = baseball? I believe he meant to ask,"Would you want to play the the World Series in a Little League park?' or possibly, "Would you want to play the Super Bowl on a Pop Warner field?" 

My point: Don't use sports references if you don't know what you're talking about. The end.

Odd.

Yep, I finally decided to post something. It ain't much, but here we go.

Returning home from a long weekend getaway makes me reassess where I am, what I'm doing, and where I'm going. It also makes me anxious to check email/Facebook/email/sfgate/email/otherpeople'sblogs/email. I just checked Match.com even though I'm not a member and not sure if I really want to be again. Having been on that site for most of last year, I know that if you sign up, you can't cancel, and if you forget to cancel before your expiration date, they WILL auto-renew you. Given all of that, I was still stunned to see this:

"In the event that you die before the end of your subscription period, your estate shall be entitled to a refund of that portion of any payment you had made for your subscription which is allocable to the period after your death. "

Really? Really? So let's say that today, August 11, 2008, I decide that Match is something I truly need to do again, and then I die tonight, my parents (aka the beneficiaries of my "estate") will be refunded the $34.99+tax that my month of Match cost me. In a way that's good, considering that I owe so many people so much money, that $34.99+tax could be put right to my credit card and pay off a compulsive clothing purchase. At least my folks would have one for the credit line.

Wow.

Oh TV

In an effort to change my ways, I joined bootcamp for some self-torture (oh and health and all that), and tried to get rid of cable. My intentions were to completely get rid of digital cable with my beloved DVR, HD everything, HBO and Starz.

I hate Comcast with every inch of my being, wait no, I hate AT&T more. Anyway, I hate Comcast though I have been able to punk the system every six months by threatening to cancel and move to Dish. This time around, I really did need to cancel, but it had nothing to do with Comcast, their prices, or their downtime. It had to do with the love affair I have with my couch and remote - the endless evenings spent watching BAD (but wonderful) reality TV like Flavor of Love and Rock of Love (all the seasons), many hours of Law & Order the original and SVU, and HGTV, the light of my life. I needed to break the habit of coming home from work, posting it on the couch and wasting away my life. So I needed to cancel. I called Comcast. It was $8 cheaper to keep basic cable and internet, than it was to just have internet. Being cheap, I kept basic cable. I remember the days of basic cable now. I dislike it. A lot. And there goes my vow to omit TV from my life...

Since Saturday, I have watched commercials (DVR, where art thou), I have watched Dr. Phil, I have watched the actual news, I have watched the best show ever made - WIPEOUT. I just finished watching the first episode and laughed OUT LOUD on my couch for the whole hour. I don't what it is about people falling/bouncing/slipping/crashing/slamming/smacking/spinning/smashing but IT IS FUNNY. Those big red balls - HILARIOUS! I know I'm a nerd, I mean, who watches that crap, but for real - it's a crack up.

Granted, I may be delirious from an episode of Family Feud, followed by an episode of Feud de Familia en espanol on channel 20, and half an episode of Celebrity Family Feud with Joan Riviers and Ice T. Shoot me now.

Cheers to WIPEOUT! Thank you for making me giggle. Uncontrollably.

Diary of the Pink House, Chapter 1

I live in Napa. I live in an established neighborhood. By established, I mean old. Old in every, way, shape and form. Old people, old trees, old houses, old roads. By neighborhood, I mean a place where there are houses next to each other, but by no means is anyone neighborly. Granted, I fall into that category as well. I come home, to my house on the street with no sidewalks, I go inside and I stay there. If I want to go outside, I go out back. That's the extent of my own neighborliness. I'll try to work on that. I'll ask someone for sugar someday.

I have these neighbors, and they live in a pink house across the street-without-sidewalks from me. Honestly I have not one clue who actually lives in that house. Different people, different cars, different voices every day. I'm ok with that, even though they're probably dealers...note to self - I should invite Gaylord over. Also, I probably shouldn't ask for sugar: my Intervention addiction taught me that though I think I know a lot about drugs, I actually don't, and "sugar" could mean something completely different in this case.

Today, a woman is "mowing the 'lawn'" with a weedwacker. It's an electric one, with a really, really long cord. It doesn't work that well and she restarts it constantly. In the grand scheme of things, at least she "mows" her lawn. I, on the other hand, love my forest of weeds (aka I'm too lazy to go out there and take care of my yard). For some reason, her "mowing" the lawn with that choice of gardening power tool doesn't actually surprise me. At this point, after 15 months of living here, I've seen it all. Painting windows instead of using curtains. Using a wine barrel as a stand for a massive swamp cooler. A young guy mowing the lawn (yes, with an actual mower) at 11pm, with sparks flying everywhere. Highly entertaining screaming matches. I'm really looking forward to the next 15 months...

Cheers to neighborhoods!

Cheers to My Kelly & John!!!

Last weekend, Memorial Day 2008, two of my closest friends got hitched...Kelly & John. Usually I use code names in this blog of mine, but since this is so important and such a highlight in my life, I thought I'd give it to you straight.

Kelly & John were introduced through me and Jason, way back when we dated and lived on Treasure Island. It had to be around 2001 or so. Almost 7 years later, Kelly & John are married and in Hawaii on their honeymoon!

Their wedding was the best wedding I've ever been to. I didn't think weddings could be so absolutely, incredibly fun! All of my closest buddies in the world were there to share in their special day.

--I cried
--I laughed
--I cried some more (ok, I'm tearing up right now)
--I laughed uncontrollably
--I held hair back
--I reveled in the toasts of friends and family
--I caught googly eyes from John to Kelly
--I giggled at their first dance (K-E-L-L-Y)
--I caught up with friends I haven't seen in years
--I caught up with friends I have seen recently
--I cried again
--I shared this amazing day with people I love
--I danced, I danced, I danced
--I drank delicious Rosenblum wine
--I marveled at the details that Kelly attended to in the digital camera treasure hunt and the programs and the place cards and the favors (and I'm sure John had some say...)
--I laughed again and again
--My heart was warm, my soul was fuzzy, and it was just a perfect day.
--And the potatoes were delicious.

I am so happy for you, Kelly & John, and I wish everything that is happy and wonderful comes your way in the new life you're sharing.



Cheers to my friends getting married!

Chi-Town Pics!

Here are some pics from my trip to Chicago this week. Though it was a work trip, I was fortunate enough to...

--see my cousin in a late night visit to Stanley's and Cordis Brothers
--be taken to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field
--walk to lunch where I captured some of Chicago's amazing architecture.

Ok, I admit it, I loved the hotel (The Allerton "Tip Top Tap" whatever that means...), so please bear with me while you view photos of what I want my living room to look like! I love the history this city has and I hope to go back soon for a mini-vacation.

View the slideshow or click the link below...


Photos from Chicago, May 27 -29, 2008

Cheers to Chicago!!

Chi-Town

I'm in Chicago for work, and I do have to say, this is one awesome city. It's clean, it has historic buildings, the guys are tall...all good things. The one thing that I don't like, nor do I understand - why do none of the bathrooms have toilet seat covers? Odd.

That's all from Chi-town.

Cheers to business trips!

Chapter 30

The Tahoe weekend is over. The house was gorgeous, the food delicious, and the stories hilarious. Given all that, I want to go back, drag my friends back up and over the mountain and do it all over again. A quick list of the highlights, brought to you by Corona, the official beer of the Dirty Thirties Tahoe Weekend:

• A Friday night of Cabo Wabo insanity
• A Saturday morning of bacon & eggs
• A Saturday afternoon scavenger hunt that lead to a mean game of dodgeball followed by kickball, complete with uniforms and soundtrack (Go Steffenwolves! Kick some Flying Wizzbanger!)
• A Saturday evening filled with hot tubbing, Cranium and Never Ever Have I Ever
• A lazy Sunday that concluded with a dance off in costumes

After all of that, can you understand why I'm just straight up not ready to be back to reality? Reality means catching up on work, finishing up with the house organization, and turning 30 in 2 days, 7 hours, 29 minutes.

THIRTY. How is that possible? How did the last decade go by in such a flash? So many stories surfaced this weekend, which does happen when you get friends together to rehash the past 10 years. New friends joined the party, adding a fresh perspective to the stories of debauchery. I am so happy to have friends that will organize a killer weekend like the one that just happened, and I am so thankful I get to turn this new chapter of my life, chapter 30, with those friends.

Cheers to having awesome friends and Tahoe birthday weekends!

PS - Pictures are coming...

Stuck in Clothes

Something that makes me panic immediately is when I get stuck in an article of clothing. I know it sounds like this happens frequently, and it does for some reason. Could be that my bum shoulder just doesn't bend enough to help me escape or something, but it does happen much too often.

Thursday morning I decided to wear this super cute skirt that I haven't worn since summer. Since we were heading to Chandon for Pinot Palooza and it has been REALLY nice (a gorgeous 83 degrees and rising), I thought it'd be nice to wear a skirt. Chick thoughts, I know.

I ironed the sucker, which took me much too long with all the pleats, and then put it on to decide what to wear with it. I was looking at my tops, bent over to scratch my leg, and ZZZZZZZPPP! The zipper broke...from the middle. I looked into my closet and yelled "Now what am I supposed to wear!" I spun the skirt around, and tried my hardest to get the zippy piece off the top or back down a little. Panic set in.

I struggled with the zipper some more, getting sweaty and flushed, freaking out that I'd be stuck in that skirt forever. Pulling, tugging, yanking...the zipper didn't budge. I didn't want to cut it because it's just so cute and I thought it might be salvagable (ok, not by me, I don't sew. You might have noticed that I am not domestic). Pulling more, yelling, panicking like crazy....nothing. I figured that somehow this thing was going to have to fit over my head. I sucked it in, wriggled like crazy, and FINALLY it was over my head and thrown on the bed with anger.

This has happens most frequently with dresses, when my arms & shoulders will get completely stuck in the dress when pulling it over my head. Usually, assistance is needed, as I stand there in my undies, arms over my head, contorted and stuck in a dress, and someone is able to help me wriggle free.

Cheers to the battle between me and c.l.o.t.h.e.s.

Update to My Worst. Date. Ever.

First of all, the fact that I changed his name to Gaylord (see blog posting about my worst date ever) caused quite a reaction - the best being:

"ARE YOU A POT HEAD, FOCKER?"

How very applicable. :)

In my Vegas travels this past weekend, I came across this restaurant, of which I am familiar, but bore a special meaning to me now:


I have yet one more update to my story. This past weekend, as I mentioned, I was in Vegas for my friend's bachelorette party. To say it was crazy is the understatement of the year, but that's not for public consumption. Well, at least not all of it. Anyway, we were getting ready to head out to the Olive Garden for some crazy breadsticks and laughter, my phone rings. Note that I had told my date story to the girls on the first leg of the drive to Vegas, and then to the other two girls on the second leg of the drive. It's Gaylord...calling me...on a Saturday night. This is a bit how the voicemail went:

"Hey Megan, it's Gaylord*. So ummm I know we only went out that one night, but ummm well I was pretty nervous. I was trying to impress you and I think that I might have talked too much about how many people I know ummmm my bad. Well umm I really liked you and would like to be your friend. So I was sort of dating someone...in between the time I met you and our date and it got more involved and I was nervous about that too...sooo uh well I think you're cool and I'd like to hang out as friends, so um give me a call."

Alrighty, let's assess.
1) He called again. HELLOOOOO! I did not call you, I did not return your text, so please take that as a no.

2) He recognized that he name dropped and bragged about driving around rich people. Good job there, Gaylord. Next time, maybe he'll recognize that offering me weed, asking me to run his errands for him, and not paying the whole bill are also causes for a bad, bad date.

3) He still wants to be friends. Having nothing in common makes for a difficult friendship, though I did start using hardcore drugs in Vegas this weekend, so maybe we could hang out and smoke a bowl. You know how Vegas is, it makes me cRaZy!

4) He started to get "more involved" with someone in the SIX DAYS between the time we met and our "date." Six days?!?! Hmmm. So did he technically cheat on that girl then by taking me out on a "date"?? Wow. I feel so lied to.

5) I have nothing else. I'm pretty stunned.


Cheers to dating stories! May they live long and prosper.

Hello 1995!

About 3 months ago, my youngest brother asked us all if we wanted to see Presidents of the United States of America, March 18, 2008, 8pm, Great American Music Hall, $18. Sure! Sounds rad.

Meggie and I headed to SF last night to witness the weirdest opening act I've ever seen in my whole entire life. Ever. I'm not sure quite what to say about Pleaseeasaur...costumes, random lyrics ("No Prob Limo"), performance art (?), crazy energy (aerobics-style), and did I mention costumes? It was like Halloween night karaoke on crack. I laughed quite a few times - not sure if it was because it was so strange or if it was because it was actually funny (in parts). Maybe it's over my head because he is signed with Comedy Central Records, but I doubt that since I have a pretty random sense of humor. I did dig the mullet.

The next act was Ludo - a band from St. Louis. Am I too old for this? They weren't that great. Their keyboard/sound effect guy was a wacko - I personally think the only person who should be singing the lyrics is the one with the mic. Don't just sing along on stage, it's distracting. Either grab a mic or focus on your one job - turning dials. He did have enough enthusiasm to get people into it though, so props to keyboard/sound effect guy.

Finally, PUSA arrived on stage. Granted, they're a lot older than I thought, but then again so am I. Kitty on my foot and I wanna touch it! Millions of peaches, peaches for me! Lump sat alone in a boggy marsh! Little blue dune buggy! There were songs that I'd never heard because I haven't listened to them much over the years, but those songs are so awesome. Sitting there, in the top of the Great American Music Hall, with all of its beautiful, ornate carvings, I was transported back to an easier time when the most important thing was what time to meet in the McDonald's parking lot or what movie to watch. The band was great - they're much more talented than I ever realized and I'm so happy I finally got to see them.

Cheers to PUSA and my youngest brother for organizing this outing!

Wow. Seriously?

Last weekend, I took a friend out for dinner as a going away evening out on the town (aka a night in Napa....not sure if it can be classified as "a night on the town" but whatever). We ended up at a certain place on Main St. that I will not name. The music was good, the scene was pretty good, so we made our way to an open spot at the bar. Sitting next to us were these two guys - friendly, cool, normal. Or so they seemed.......

Fast forward to Tuesday (the obligatory 3 day rule I guess. Should have been sign numero uno). I get a call from one of those guys, seeing if I wanted to go out on Friday night. If you know my dating history, of course I said yes. He was a cool guy, and it would be fun. Or so I thought.

Friday evening, 5:45pm. He calls. 45 minutes later than he said he would. (Should have been sign numero dos.) I left work late, he said he had too, I cut him some slack.

This next bit is paraphrased like crazy. So shoot me.

"Hi Megan, this is Gaylord*. Sorry I didn't call sooner but I got off work late. I had a pretty bad day, but I should be out of my funk soon." (Sign numero tres)
Me: "No problem - I worked later than I expected. Just driving home now."
Gaylord: "So is 7 still good for you?"
Me: "Yeah, sounds good. What do you want to do?" (The fact that I even ask this is sign numero quattro.)
Gaylord: "Well, like, I have to go to my mom's and return her key, 'cause she needs to get into her car. She, like, lives in St. Helena." (I, like, just came from there...sign numero cinco.) "And then, like, I left my jacket in my friend's car - oh yeah you know Elvis* you met him at last weekend."
Me: "Oh yeah." (Not impressed. Getting annoyed. Severly annoyed. Sign numero sies. Note: I can't count that far in Spanish, so I may go bilingual soon.)
Gaylord: "He's in St. Helena right now. So I was thinking we could just go to the brewing company and have a beer. Oh and like, my registration on my car is expired, so I was thinking that I maybe could like drive your car, or you could drive and I'll just give you gas money?" (Wow. I'm really stupid. I mean come on....I'm about to give the green light to someone who basically wants me to chauffeur them around for errands they have to run in the town I JUST came from??? It's no longer a sign. I'm just too nice and too foolish not to have said no.)
Me: "Um, well, ok that's fine." (Not fine. I'm not annoyed now, I'm angry.) "So I'll call you when I leave my house at 7 to get directions to your house." (grrrrrr.)
Gaylord: "Yeah cool ok."

I sit around for a bit and head out at 7. What can I say, I'm punctual. I call when I'm like 5 seconds down my street.

Me: "Hi, I just left. So how do I get to your house?"
Gaylord: "Oh dude I'm sorry I just got out of the shower. Dude I need like 15-20 minutes."
Me: "Oh. Uh. Ok." (WHAT IS MY PROBLEM??? Turn around and go home....! I think that but don't actually do it.)

At 7:30 I call again.

Me: "Ok, where do I go?"
Gaylord gives me directions. I'd post his address here so you could all go egg his house, but I'm just not that mean. I should bank some karma points right about now. He waves me up to his (ghetto) apartment. I step in the front door, it's dark, it's dingy, and it's 1972. Fine, whatever. So he's a guy who has no taste. Usually I'd be ok with it, but I was an unhappy datee.

Gaylord: "So which shirt should I wear? I just can't decide. I didn't, like, wanna wear that one because that's, like, the one I met you in."
Me: "It doesn't really matter...we're just going to the brewing company."
Gaylord: "So do you smoke weed?"
Me: "Nope."
Gaylord: "Oh...uh....sorry. I guess I'll just, uh, leave this here." (He takes a pipe and a bag out of his pocket and puts it on the dresser. Yes, this truly happened. I had no idea what to even say at that point. Seriously? Is this really happening? I really went out with this guy?? I'm checking myself into Napa State to check on my Napa State of Mind. [Note: I ripped that saying off from a white rapper who hails from this great land of grapes. Awesome.]) "Ok, let's go."

I'll spare you the horrible "conversation" we - no HE - had on the way to St. Helena. He name dropped and talked about himself the whole drive. He didn't ask me anything. He texted. "Dinner" was more of the same - boring. We have nothing in common. AT ALL. The check came...

Gaylord: "Oh man, like, I can't afford the whole check. Sorry." (It was $47.12.)
Me: "Yeah fine, I'll put half on my card." ($26 for the worst evening of my life with a stranger.) "Well, it's about 9 o'clock. I have to get going. I have to be up early."
Gaylord: "Oh ok." (What else is he going to say?? I drove him there...)

The drive home was much more of the same: more texting, more talking about himself, he even answered his phone when it rang. Bah, that was bad.

I dropped him off, made sure my body language said nothing but "please just get out" and he left. It was the worst "date" I'd ever been on. I was on match.com and yahoo personals for like 9 months. In 9 months, I didn't have anywhere near that horrible of a date. Ever. I thought - good, leave, good riddance.

Sunday evening I get a text message from him. Basically he says he had a good time and hopes I did too. He wants to hang out again "but just as friends. hope u r cool w that :)" UM does he think that I want to have a romantic relationship with him?? REALLY?

My goodness dating sucks.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the subjects.

I Don't Get It.

Why are young people into Michael Bublé? I don't understand. Most of the songs are covers of the classics...don't get me wrong, he has a great voice. I personally prefer Dean and Frank, but I'm just saying that it's just weird to me. Thank you, that's all.

One more comment

I was just about to get up from the computer and continue in my mission to clean the house. As I started to turn, the buzzer on the dryer went off. Now you may think, uh...and? Oh no, this is no ordinary dryer buzzer. Number 1, you can't shut it off. Who makes a dryer where you can't shut the buzzer off?? Who, I ask, WHO???

Number 2, that thing is LOUD. Remember the part in Dumb & Dumber when they make the most annoying sound in the world? It's like that but WAY WAY LOUDER. I'm 100% sure it wakes up the neighborhood. It always makes me jump outta my seat. I hate that thing.

Cheers to dryers without buzzers. No cheers allowed for my dryer.

(Now I'm off to eat yet another Cadbury Cream Egg. Goodness gracious make it stop.)

What the....

It's just gorgeous out! 75 degrees, cherry trees and mustard in full bloom, saturated colors that give me the worst spring fever - I went upvalley today to do some shooting.

Some days are boring - pretty routine, nothing special to note. Some days are just weird - random things that are out of place, running into people that you haven't seen in 10 years, silly moments that are worth writing about. I had the latter today.

1. I was leaving my house, turning onto Soscol when I see a Miata driving southbound. The driver was a white dude, probably mid-forties. Doesn't seem too weird, right? WRONG. He was wearing this:

I'm dead serious.

2. I'm driving down Soscol and a guy on a bike is next to me. Unfortunately I'm going really slowly which means he pretty much keeps up with me. I say "unfortunately" because this is what I saw......a guy, 45 or so, hair down to the middle of his back, psycho-mustache, horn-rimmed glasses, trucker hat placed ever so slightly on the head, slightly dirty, riding a bike like this:

(the unfortunate part....)

(NOTE: This photo was stolen from some website. This is not the actual photo of the dude I saw today on Soscol. I couldn't bring myself to take a photo of him.)

Gross.

3. The scene: Silverado Trail, the winding part before Calistoga. I'm going around a curve and there's a woman on a beach cruiser bicycle (lime green), in full on Kentucky Derby wear, or possibly going-out-for-a-sail-wear. I'm talkin' hat, dress, heels flying down Silverado Trail. Awesome.

Cheers to daily randomness!

Ups & Downs

Today was a pretty good day. No real reason why - I had my review, the sun finally shone through the high clouds, I'm trying to take control of my finances. It was a pretty good day.

My goal of getting organized is not quite happening. Between all of the photo work, my full-time job, commitments to friends and family, my house has gone downhill and I just don't have the energy or motivation to get it in shape. Usually when it gets to this point I plan a party - that way I have a goal I have to strive for. Of course, if I do that, I end up throwing everything in cute boxes or closets, never to be seen again. It's life or mess, man.

I have come to the realization that I am addicted to Cadbury Cream Eggs. Not like "oh I love those things" but more like "GIMME A CADBURY CREAM EGG NOW." I'm so addicted that I should go on Intervention for them. Actually, I should go on Intervention for being addicted to Intervention.

Back to My Vine Roots

To kick off my new blog, I thought I'd post about it on my current blog, one that might have like three readers. This one you're on now, Living the Vine Life, started because I wanted to write about my experiences in the wine industry. Since starting it however, it has become more of a story of my life, and less about wine.

In order to get back to my vine roots, I started this: Millennial Wino: The Pursuit of the Happy Grape. Sit back, relax, pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy.

A Change of Heart

2008 rolled around and though I didn't make any serious New Year's resolutions by writing them down, I told myself that I'd do a few things. Lose a couple of pounds, try new things (I have a list of those...), and get back into wine. This last one means that to be serious about it, I wanted to create a new blog that focuses solely on my wine experiences. If I never post, that means I'm not doing enough!

This blog will continue to be the story of my life - well, at least the highlights of it that are blog worthy....such as what funny T I wore to the gym yesterday. I know you're on the edge of your seat......drum roll pleeeeaaasssseee.......

Once again, cheers to the funny T! Making gym time, and anytime, so much better.

A Bit Behind

It's been a crazy few weeks, causing me to fall behind in many things. Don't feel neglected - my clean clothes who have moved from bed to couch to bed to couch to bed to couch to floor feel much worse than you do I'd bet.

Megster just sent me this awesome link: http://www.improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/ Give it a minute - it's worth waiting for. I LOVE this type of thing! It's amazing when people, especially those in a major city, can get together for 5 minutes to do something cool. I'm a sucker for the bond with other human beings... It reminds me of the annual San Francisco Valentine's Days pillow fight in Justin Herman Plaza. I don't think they do it anymore, but if they do, I'm going! It sounds like so much fun! Talk about the happiest place to be - feeling like a kid again, pillow fighting in the middle of the city. I'm in......unless I organize one in Napa......hmmmm....

Every so often I need to entertain myself (let's call it "introtainment" from now on). Since I have joined the weight loss challenge at work and will be going to the gym more often, I have decided to wear funny shirts to the gym. Last week, I wore this one:



I was cool with it (aka not embarrassed at all) until I went to get gas. For some reason the Arco on Soscol felt like the middle of a fancy mall with other shoppers staring me down for my poor choice in clothing. Sometimes I just have to dance to the beat of my own drum and enjoy my introtainment.

Cheers to funny t-shirts and stranger-bonding!

The 'Dome

I know I haven't blooged* in like 10 years, so I guess I'll blog about something that happened weeks ago. I mean, why blog about the present when you can blog about the past?

(This post was inspired by Funk Master P and his trip to the Tower in Sacto. Shout out.)
How awesome are people? A few weeks ago, at the Cinedome in Napa (yes, it's truly a dome), Saturday nights = 13-year-old-annoying-brats-and-their-teeny-boyfriends-nights. They were typical obnoxious teens with no where else to go. (I truly believe this - it's Napa. A lot like Marin where I grew up. Nothing to do. Nothing.) The 'dome is circa 1968, and since Napa spends no money on anything that locals might enjoy, only catering to tourists, it's exactly the same as it used to be, only the prices have increased tenfold. We decided to go see PS I Love You on a whim, so we got there a bit late. Late on a Saturday night at the 'dome = FIRST ROW. It sucked. The first row, as you know, is the absolute worst possible place to be in a theater. I mean why did they even make those, it's not like you can actually SEE the movie, you get seasick during any parts that are landscape-y or aerial, and your neck hurts constantly. What is the POINT? My rant means that there are no stadium seats and the movies cost a lot. Ok thank you, I'll move on. The theater was filled with Britney Spears-loving teenagers, sprinkled around the room in random empty seats. They talked on their cell phones. They got up and down up and down up and down. They talked. They shook armrests and kicked seatbacks. There was a bit of yelling at these children, though none of us took the initiative to have them kicked out. Only at the very end did my friend get her true jab in.......we're about to leave and were surrounded by teeny boppers, when my friend (whose name shall not be released for privacy purposes) says:

"When you grow up you're going to realize how STUPID you look."

At that point, we needed to LEAVE, so we walked out and went to Napa Bowl for a drink and some pool. We needed to be with people our own age, or at least 35 years our senior.

Cheers to the 'dome!

*I always typo "blogged" as "blooged" so I thought I'd leave it. It's a funny word.

Back to the Biz

I just got home from a wine business seminar at COPIA. It was a general overview of the industry trends, what's hot/what's not, off-premise/on-premise focus, and general industry numbers. I never thought data would interest me, but I guess it helps that the data is about something I love!

NOTE: The next part is commentary on the wine business. It'll be very worky.

Guess what one heavily covered topic was? Yep - Millenials. Almost exactly one year since I started in the wine biz, this trend of younger consumers (born 1977 - 1994) with disposable income is leading the charge in wine consumption both in dollars and in units. You would think, given this information, that there would be more wines targeted to these consumers, myself being one of them. Speaking as a consumer, there is a lack of focus in the target price point - $10-15, with wines from all over the world and wines that are a single SKU. I love trying new things, but the quality has to pull me back as a loyal-ish customer, not just the price or name.

I'm thinking I should start a winery where the focus is Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Cab. I would make a KILLING. These varietals are hot, and they are varietals that, Cab probably being the exception here, can play to the more adventurous wine drinker, the typical millenial. They can have interesting labels, fun stories, viral marketing, entertaining yet educational blogs, and engaging websites. Anyone want to play venture capitalist for me?

As much as it seems like the market is ridiculously saturated with wine (just walk into any Safeway), there are huge holes that are just begging to be filled with wines in that price point in those varietals. The big wineries capture the majority of the market in the $1-$9 segment, and the small wineries easily capture some of the $20-$100 market. Where does that leave the millenials, the folks looking for those $10-$15 wines, the ones who are adventurous and curious and willing to try new things? This powerful group of 21-30 years olds use the internet to research everything, including wine. They trust the word of mouth recommendations from their friends, funny and informative guys like Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine TV, wine blogs, and tastings. They have yet to be fully tapped as a wine consuming group, and we in the wine biz need to start cashing in on their curiosity to try new wines and eagerness to learn.

Coming from the tech world into the wine world, I knew I'd have to make adjustments. This industry is not on any cutting edge, and trying to force this industry into thinking in a new way, into considering the web as a viable place to do business or even just to reach consumers, will not happen overnight. It probably won't happen until the bubble has burst. I am hoping that this data on millenials and hot varietals, both qualitative and quantitative, will seep into the presentations to winery CEOs, retailers, and restaurants, and will creep into the vocabulary of sale forces and wine biz leaders. Just these two things - just two things! - can change the marketplace, the profitability and the direction of established wineries.

Hope that all made a little sense. Word to the millenials.

Out of curiosity - what do you buy? Are you loyal or adventurous?

Cheers to the wine biz - may it live long and prosper!

PS (you know how much I love these) - One of my New Year's resolutions, besides losing weight of course, is to try new wines. I'm sure Napa has a group of tasters but since I have yet to meet anyone, it's time for me to taste and taste, see what's out there, live up to my generation's stereotype. Bring it on.

Water is Back, Life is Good.

On Wednesday morning, after a Friday of showering at the gym, a Monday of showering at work, and a Tuesday of showering at the gym, along with trips to Target to use the little girls' room, my water was restored. Losing water is just like flipping on light switches, the TV, the radio, the microwave, and the computer when the power is out. I turned on the faucet. I almost went to the bathroom many times. I had to be creative when brushing my teeth. It was fun for an evening, felt like camping inside. Yeah, the novelty wears off pretty quickly when you need to pee.

On another note, this past weekend I took my family (aka the clan) to Bear Valley for a ski weekend! My mom hates the snow, so I was sure to get a house with a nice heater and a fireplace that she could enjoy while we hit the slopes. By "hit the slopes" I mean yellow-slow-zone-designated-bunny-slopes for me. On Friday afternoon, I brushed the two-years of dust off my board and put it in my new Yakima ski rack on the burly yet sleek Murano, Enrique. I do have to say that Enrique was pretty stoked to hit some snow, being AWD and all. We headed up in separate cars and met at the house. 1972 here we come....the decor was a tad outdated but the house was comfortable overall. We played some crazy rounds of Cranium and Taboo, hung out and talked, and played in the snow. It was a great weekend with the clan. I'll post a video tomorrow of my dad stuck in snow - it's rad.

Cheers to water and boarding! (Uncheers to the lift)

Waterless

Today I got home from work. I put on a pot of water from the kitchen faucet and fired up the stove. I boiled that water and put in pasta. I settled in a little. I threw in a load of laundry, aka I put dirty clothes into the washing machine that washes them with water. I ate my pasta. I packed some for the snow weekend. I used the ladies' room. The toilet flushed oddly. I went to wash my hands. There was a dribble of water. I ran into the kitchen. A dribble then nothing. Nothing. No water. No water! I went outside to the pump house - the needle read 1. I don't exactly know what that means technically, but I can only deduce that it means I have no water. I flipped all the circuit breakers. No water. I tried every faucet 'cause, ya know, one might have a bit of water left. No water. Now that I know I can't go to the bathroom, I really have to go.

Why is it called a WELL? I'm not WELL - I HAVE NO WATER.

There will be no Cheers today.

Word to the Blogworld.

You know you've made it when you're able to do this:



I haven't quite made it yet. I plan on practicing my newfound gang sign for blogs (provided by the Swimster) so that I can be as cool as this guy. When I perfect it, I'll be sure to show the world.

Cheers to blog representin'!

New Year's Day Adventure

After a hard night out on New Year's Eve, Meggie and I slept until 2pm on New Year's Day (hey, we're allowed), then finally got up, moved all the blankets to the couch, and posted it there all day. Around 7:30pm or so, only about 5.5 hours after getting out of bed, Meggie needed to go home and get prepped mentally to go back to work on Wednesday. I'd been off of work for a good solid eleven days, and my mental prep was pretty intense: I said bye to Meggie, locked the door, got back into my cocoon of blankets on the couch, and ate bread while watching yet another Law & Order. Around 8:30, "So Whatcha Want" was blaring out of my phone, signaling that one of my good friends was calling. Why, it was Meggie!

Me: "Hiya! Are you home?"

Meggie: {laughing hysterically}

Me: "What? I can't understand you? What's so funny!?"

Meggie: {laughing hysterically}

Me: "Wait, what?"

Meggie: "We forgot to get your car!!!!"

My heart dropped. My shoulders sank. I thought - you have got to be kidding me. Then I started laughing hysterically along with her. My first words to Meggie when we woke up were - "We have to remember to get my car." Being the planner that I am, I instantly debated what to do...I could call a cab. I could call friends. I could wait until tomorrow and just stay warm on the couch. I texted a couple of friends to no avail, then put on my new ski socks, a sweater, a beanie, and my snow jacket and just started walking. Yep, like Forrest Gump.

Here are some photos from my 4.3 mile trek from my house to Skankhouse...with commentary of course...

My new ski socks....so cute and argyle-y. It was cold out there...

This was at the walkway of an older building...not sure what the business was, I didn't see a sign. Thought this was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while though! I'll have to go back with my better camera.

Looking down Soscol. A loooooong ways to go.

I will eat breakfast here sometime.

Always wanted to shoot this building too. Another on my list to shoot with the the fancier camera.

Hm....Seventh Street. Never even noticed there was a Seventh Street.

Lookie here - Sixth Street. Only walked a block, but my ears are frozen despite the beanie and my fingers are numb.

Another awesome sign....fancier camera is missing out.

The Depot. I wish it was still a place to shake it. Now it's a Lobster Shack. Not quite as fun.

Closer, if only by a few blocks.

Ah, the First Street bridge. Hang a left, over the bridge, and right on Main

I love Christmas lights.

Someone's foot is really cold. Another New Year's Eve debacle.

"I'm almost there! Legs - keep movin! Oh no...what if they towed my car?"

TAAAA DAAAAAAHHHHH! A single light shining from above, angels singing, Enrique welcoming me.

Cheers to new adventures and getting some exercise!