Wednesday, October 22, 2008

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.

Friday, October 10, 2008

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!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

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!

Monday, October 6, 2008

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.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

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!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

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!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

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!

Monday, September 15, 2008

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!

Friday, September 12, 2008

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.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

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.

Monday, August 11, 2008

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.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

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.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

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!

Friday, May 30, 2008

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!!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

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!