Your Mileage May Vary

There and Back Again

Background Noise: Waves and the Both of Us, Charlotte Sometimes

Last Visited: The Napa Gallery

Random Thought: Napa really is a different world; beauty pageants and all

Mood: Weekend holidays aren't for whimps

Heather and Nick dropped in saturday morning for a quick 30-ish hours this weekend; so, as we've been saying we'd do for four years, we finally went to Napa. They landed in SJC, we drove up 280, over the Golden Gate, paused in Tiburon for in-n-out and excedrin, continued up 101 north to 37, to 121 over to Silverado Trail. 

After a too brief stop at Caldwell's hilltop vineyard, we drove past our roadside inn up to Darioush for some amazing whites, a stellar red (their Duel), some entertaining drunks and some gorgeous handcrafted tin lanterns. From there, with only 45 minutes before the Napa vineyards closed for the day, we made it to Paraduxx, whose garden with it's ancient trees gently shading us and the furniture provided the picture perfect setting for a flight of amazing reds; personally, i loved the mallards (2003), Nick preferred the 2004 (i forget which duck), and Heather liked the Red Heads (2005) - we all also decided the mountain vines were better than the valley ones. So there. 

Dinner was at the lovely Don Giovanni where we had a surprising Silverado Sangiovese along with our suppers; i... ate too much. Actually, that was a theme this weekend. As we headed back to our, um, duplex for the evening we swung into this little ghetto beer-wine-bait store where we picked up another bottle - a 2005 (how can you go wrong with that year?) Beauzeaux. That's right... "Beauzeaux." 

Phonetic pronunciation? Bozo.  

Which... we totally were for (a) purchasing that bottle after the brilliant wines we had earlier and (b) drinking it anyways. I am totally blaming my pounding headache this morning on that bottle. 

 

This morning we woke up, hit up the inn's breakfast, starbucks, then the Loire-esque Domaine Carneros before heading back down to meet Steve for lunch in SF at Burgermeister in the Castro. Then, because driving the SF hills is fun, we went up, around, and down Lombard, dropped Steve off at his WW rehearsal, and headed over to Baker Beach to enjoy the warm sand for a moment or thirty before i had to drop Heather and Nick off at SFO. 

... then i drove home and pretty much collapsed. Then i edited pictures. And now? Now i'm going to bed; because there's a keynote in the morning and i want to be awake for it. 

(Oh, and, guys? Please come back soon - i'm so glad you made it out here, finally.)

Expression:  

Heat of the sun

Background Noise: Chin Up, Cheer Up

Last Visited: My Yoko race results from yesterday

Random Thought: as awesomely fun as they are, i might not be ready for a motorcycle just yet (perhaps ever); i should probably stick to car-like toys instead

Mood: sore and lovin' it

The boys, etc & I went go karting yesterday; which, um, ruled. It blew away anything a video game could come up with by an order of magnitude. 

That... is all i really need to say about that. Actually, no; props to Scott for breaking into the top 100 lap times for the week on the Yoko track (my favorite mainly because i actually did well on that track instead of stinking up the road like i did on Monza). Oh, and a side note: this is really more of a suggestion, but, if you are going go karting... make sure you have your drivers license handy. Just saying... it might be useful.

Afterwards i was sore and beat up with a plethora of new bruises, but seriously, that was just awesome fun; we'll have to go again (and again, and again). 

  

I also hiked a bit around Castle Rock yesterday morning since, well, i was awake and wanted to get a real drive in before my play driving; i met the sleeping giants, saw a bunch of guys taking a beating climbing the impossible, and had a nice walk. All in all? it was worth getting up for. Also, i was really glad i got there and left early - the place was packed by 10:15 when i started back down. 

Really, i prefer being up in the twisties and the parks when there aren't, well, people around. Once all the sunday drivers, the bikers, the cyclists, and the cub scouts come out, it's time for me to bail. 

Expression:

Sneaky Red

Background Noise: Love Song
Last Visited: reddit, etc
Random Thought: hail to the victors!
Mood: goooood morning

Holy Cow, Batman, Anne didn't post again last week! No way!

... You're all shocked, i can tell.

Well, um, not to over use my "holy crap last week became insanely busy" but, well, it's true. It became busy in the best of possible ways, and i'm thrilled, but that doesn't exactly mitigate the fact i now really don't actually have time to write this post here. But i had to say something; after all, i promised.

Also, i need to say: Happy Birthday (last week) to Heather and Mike, and Congrats to my totally awesome Brother for graduating from U of M! Here's to the parents being done paying U of M after a full decade! (lord, i should send the parents flowers or something.)

Oh, and, of course: Red Wings for the win! Go continue to destroy the Avalanche, boys, they deserve a beating.

... and one last thing: congrats to the big man Jake Long for going #1 in the draft this weekend. Go Blue!

Expression:

Some Enchanted Evening, aka, Friday

Background Noise: Midnight Coward, Stars
Last Visited: StubHub!
Random Thought: where did this headache come from?
Mood: i don't really care that Survivor will now be in HD

All hail the powers of the interwebs! They have delivered (relatively) cheap(ish) decent tickets to South Pacific at Lincoln Center friday night at 8!

So, B, you have to forgive me for up and committing us to that show, but see, they were available (a start), we can pick them up in NYC (better than sweating over them being delivered here), they were available, I'm actually getting a refund from the government which i must spend on something fabulous, and, well, i figure that the extra cost is the price i pay for not having to wait on line on friday for tickets after a redeye the night before; and believe me, that is something I'm very very willing to pay for - especially with my current headache (yowza, it's a doozy.)

Plus, you know how much i love getting the ungettable ticket. Besides, if some how we've been screwed, StubHub has us covered, so it's mostly a no-harm-no-foul situation.

Besides, it looks like saturday is the day to spend outside - so that'll be perfect for being on line forSunday in the Park with George tickets, which there seem to be plenty of; those tickets also start at $36, so, i'm sure they somehow slightly balance out the others. Or something like that.

Yeay NYC!

... Now i just have to work, shop, play poker, run, pick up Dave from the airport, work, pack, clean my apartment, and hitch a ride to the airport. No sweat. Er, um... something like that.

But we have tickets! All will be well.

Expression:

Honest to Blog?

Background Noise: red socks v. yankees
Last Visited: Windy Hill Open Space Preserve
Random Thought: note to self: wear higher socks when hiking
Mood: resting between outings

There's an odd sense of foreboding when at the head of a hiking trail there are clear, detailed instructions about what you do if attacked by a mountain lion.

Now, on the one hand, i'm grateful for the step by step procedures because really the only thing that comes to mind about scaring off mountain lions comes from the first The Parent Trap movie, i have that a feeling that particular advice wouldn't really cut it.

... On the other hand, i have to admit i thought twice before stepping out alone onto that trail knowing that if I really did come across one of those majestic (and probably hungry) creatures, I'd be pretty screwed. And here i thought i liked hiking / taking pictures by myself. Oh well, while my heart might have skipped a few beats more than once at some odd sounds I still went and Im pretty happy with the pictures that came out of the hike, so yeay.

In other news, I'm thrilled to say that Christian has weighed in on this pseudo-debate going around about how best to improve my running speed / distance; so that makes 3.5 former / current runners giving me completely conflicting advice. Excellent. I suppose i'll just have to continue to follow what i hear, fail miserably, laugh it off, and keep working... which is pretty much my current plan.

Christian's best advice was to remind me that at the end of the day, regardless of the training program i'm on, the point of my running is me; not John, or Nic, or Christian, or Will or any of those boys who can run faster / longer than i can; the point is how much i've improved, where i'm headed, and not killing myself in the process; nothing more, nothing less.

Obviously I need to hang out with Christian more; good thing he's discovered the train.

And now, my Sunday continues. Later.

(Good thing I'm a screamer - step 2b in How to Protect Yourself From A Mountain Lion is "Be Loud.")

Expression:

Some Enchanted Evening

Background Noise: restarting imacs, iphones; waiting for the icalbridge to sync for the first time
Last Visited: Dave & Liz's Engagement Pictures + Party Gallery
Random Thought: hello South Pacific - um, Emile is... unreal - gorgeous, with a voice to bring women to their knees... is it warm in here or is that just me?
Mood: happy half birthday to me...

So saturday was the big Dave and Liz's Engagement extravaganza - a photo shoot in the morning, and the party in the evening. I think everything turned out well; the party was fun, everyone got along, and i think we ended up with some nice pictures:

with one or two pictures from the party:

from left to right, this is Helena, JR, Me, Debbi, Louis, and Steve C. Just in case. (Don't Debbi and I look related in this picture?).

In other news, largely due to a piece on npr this weekend about Herbert von Karajan, I'm now the pleased owner of the complete Beethoven Symphonies and selections of Turandot by the Berlin Philharmonic. Excellent.

Expression:

Apparently i (still) have a super-sonic sneeze

Background Noise: Waltz for Debby, Bill Evans
Last Visited: Speak like a Michigander
Random Thought: so, um, if you link to your myspace page from your facebook page, i'm going to see it. just for the record.
Mood: procrastinating.

Have i mentioned Behr.com lately? Great place to play with paint colors. And we all know how much i love painting (apartments).

In other news... there's no poker tonight. Again. Which is totally lame because i can't go next week. Which will mean nearly a month with no poker. Now, the thing is, while i love playing poker, the poker isn't what i miss: it's the guys i get to hang out with. So if everyone is bored with poker, might i suggest sushi night? Or movie night? Or heaven forbid, (yet another) video games night? Whatever you prefer, i'm there. Even if i (gulp) have to organize it myself. And here i thought i had gotten out of being the cruise director. Guess not.

Speaking of directing, apparently i have a photoshoot to direct saturday morning; my first. Heaven help me, this might be a bumpy ride. I'll have pictures on the flip side though - stay tuned.

Expression:

Thou art to me a delicious torment

Background Noise: Sneaky Red
Last Visited: comfy; miss comfy.
Random Thought: “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” -Emerson.
Mood: consult your gut and decide

Names have been changed to protect the theoretically innocent.

Micha: I'm not in the mood to watch Brazil anymore.
Grace: Good, me neither.
Micha: This is what i have...

{They scan the never ending list of movie files available on Micha's computer}

Grace: i should make you watch a chick flick
Micha: i could be down with a chick flick
Grace: you're kidding; god, i should punish you with Coyote Ugly for saying that
Micha: no, no, what's that one with Marilyn Monroe?
Grace: Some Like it Hot?
Micha: yeah, or, hmm...
Grace: well, you have An Affair to Remember - but that's so long
Micha: Oh! I've got it!
Grace: what?

Micha: Fight Club!

I heart my friends.

Expression:

I'm sorry, have we met?

Background Noise: La Traviata - scratch that, traviata is depressing and i don't need help in that department - let's go with New Found Glory; so much livelier
Last Visited: baker beach, berkeley, skyline, moss beach
Random Thought: wherefore art thou, jabber?
Mood: thursday can't come fast enough

Last week was quite odd and highly random, and honestly, coming out of it, my head is still spinning. But! I do have pictures of a fair chunk of it; in time order, may i present Wednesday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Sunday evening:

	A Random Afternoon in Berkeley Cole Coffee, Meadows Flower shop, Wood Tavern, and a random stop at a warehouse in San Francisco.
	A Saturday Adventure Baker Beach, San Francisco; Barney's in Berkeley; Ray and May's in the Berkeley Hills - the monsters belong to them, and are quite adorable. Also my first real attempt at a still life study - the light was just right and the flowers were amazing - it's good thing Ray and May's neighbor left them!
	Sunset at Moss Beach A place much more beautiful than my pictures indicate; the adorable little girls reminded me of Ellen and I when we were little - we had the same haircuts and i swear the same purple outfits.

What do these pictures miss? A lot: the office went to see Kooza thursday afternoon (my first Cirque show, and i was completely and utterly enchanted), soft serve on friday, hanging with Mike and Nic saturday night, and, well, there's more, but i don't really feel like going into it.

I adore my camera. I'm so very very glad Dave twisted my arm to get it; i find myself longing to have it with me at all times, and i get quite annoyed when the picture i thought i took did not turn out as planned. I have a lot to learn - well, maybe Heather can give me a few tips thursday afternoon at lunch :)

In other news, i need to get a new badge picture. Really.

It was cute and funny when i was an intern, but seriously? a) I don't look like that anymore and you'd be hard pressed to recognize me from it and b) it's hard to get someone to take your emails seriously when that picture is attached to them - no amount of tone can really fix that particular problem.

Besides, apparently i'm unrecognizable as it is: at the very least 4 people i have met before on multiple occasions reintroduced themselves to me this week. Then after i had assured them we had in fact met before they didn't believe me, then proceeded to say how they would never had recognized me on the street (obviously, since they just didn't, but whatever). It's... and odd thing, really, not being recognized; not quite a compliment, yet not quite an insult. They didn't really know how to react, and i have to admit, I still don't.

Anyways, hopefully step one will be a new badge picture. I'll keep you updated.

Expression:

In View

Background Noise: Walcott, Vampire Weekend
Last Visited: my gallery, again
Random Thought: my awesome little brother is my new source of music
Mood: today will not be normal

There's a lot going on right now, coming from all directions. Not that this isn't necessarily normal (at least historically looking through my archives), but i beg you to believe me that right now? Right now is different. If not only because, well, most of the "stuff" has very little to do with work (amazing, right?) (well, actually, quite a lot has to do with work, as always, but there's actually stuff outside of work too) - of course, i don't actually think i can talk any more about this stuff than i can about the work stuff.

Of course.

One might wonder why i bother to blog at all sometimes.

One might wonder what the point of writing "stuff that i can tell you about it happening, but boy is it pulling me in 8 million different directions!" is.

One might have a point.

But i'd rather post something here than not; i apologize if it's ridiculously annoying.

Switching topics, I'm going home next week! I'm beyond thrilled. I booked the flight last week clutching any and all excuses i could find, and i'm going to make the most of my layover in Minn to see Heather, then home to see the fam and Al and Cathy. It will be wonderful, and hopefully a source for more pictures. Because i have to admit, i've kindof become addicted to taking pictures. Very soothing. Now if i could only find the time to actually put up my picture shelves on the wall of my apartment so i could print some and put them up....

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