Your Mileage May Vary

The Power of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives

Background Noise: sportscenter
Last Visited: checking the archives re: London '06
Random Thought: to the best of our knowledge: kid's books echos my adoration of "kids" lit - not that i needed the validation, but it's kinda nice to hear Salman Rushdie talk about The Wizard of Oz in tones bordering on reverence
Mood: smiling at ponies

I took a drive this morning; down 17, from the roads of blue skies with puffy clouds into the wild rolling fog of the mountains, up and over and around and through to highway 1 north, along the gobsmacking beauty of the rugged coast, up Donny Boon and back, then finally across Pescadero to Alpine to Page Mill, out of the fog and back into the land of dry, windy, blue skies.

... and along the way, i kid you not, i listened to the stylings of the Baroque Beatles; (and no, Cogsworth, i'm not making the joke.) Yep, i said it: Baroque Beatles. Like Pachebel + Lennon; Brahms + McCartney. It was... interesting; and when running along the rugged coast with the rolling clouds, oddly appropriate.

Enjoy the pictures; there should have been more, but it took awhile to get my jaw off the ground to realize i could pull over, stop the car, and take out my camera; at times it was just that beautiful. of course, these pictures don't show that, but, well, that just proves i'm not really a photographer yet.

Oh, but trips like this? Only make me want to take that motorcycle riding class that much more. Go figure.

Expression:

It's Tradition

Background Noise: What a girl wants
Last Visited: Cascal?
Random Thought: excuse me, but i had the rather eccentric idea that we were doing the right thing
Mood: it's gonna be an early night

Happy May Day! It had become a bit of a tradition around this blog to post on May Day, and far be it for me to break a tradition that's two whole years old; now three.

I love the concept of May Day - not just the ribbons and the flowers and the pretty things (which only seem to appear in movies, nowadays we just seem to celebrate with dock closings) but the whole idea of taking a day to be outside, appreciate the sun and lovely weather, and to take a moment to breathe and appreciate life reborn is just a delicious concept.

... That is, of course, not exactly what i did today; though, i did appreciate the lovely weather at happy hour with a drink outside (in the shade with, of course, a heat lamp - it is california after all, we must all stay warm), which was lovely. Actually, i'll just leave my day with that image of a leisurely drink outside; that and the thought it's almost time to put the boat in the water. Wonderful.

Now, i'll leave you with the following yes-it's-true-good-lord-we'll-have-to-try-it announcement: Bacon is the new hot flavor in Vodka; also the hot meal replacement in xkcd. Could the love of all products pig be related to May Day and the start of BBQ season, an early backlash about the looming start of swimsuit season, or is this just a random convergence of the interwebs? One wonders.

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:

A Delicious Torment

Background Noise: what a girl wants
Last Visited: stuff I can get to on my phone
Random Thought: the leftovers were amazing, but I'm so freaking stuffed
Mood: mellow

Complete the phrase: Anne...

... reads "Proust was a Neuroscientist" while listening to "Legally Blonde the Musical."
... always seems to trip running up her parents' stairs.
... loves sitting and watching the lit Christmas tree when it's dark.
... is finally figuring out she's going to be in London soon.
... doesn't quite understand she's home.
... can't believe how few places in Michigan stock Hanger One.
... would vote for Tom Brady.
... is fully planning on eating at the max and ermas in metro airport.
... loves her orange sweater.
... finally got her snow.

Expression:

Bob the Builder

Background Noise:The Last Book of Nostradomus, the History Channel
Last Visited: updating my facebook status
Random Thought: funny, i thought Puff was whining just because he wanted treats...
Mood: heart rate slowing...

Oh, so that's what an earthquake feels like; got it. 5.6 you say? Huh. Good to know. For comparison purposes and all. Um, just a question: is your apartment supposed to feel like it was built out of matchsticks while shaking? No? Huh. Interesting. At least i was home in my comfy chair instead of say, on the freeway or at work... though, um, who knows, there are plenty of aftershocks to go. Party.

I'd like to be able to say that i was calm and cool and collected...

[... turning off the History Channel... sorry, i can't stand to listen to this anymore... sigh....]

... but who am i kidding. I froze in my chair, stared at the ceiling hearing the shimmy shaking of whatever (aparently heavy) things my upstairs neighbor has, Puff and i kinda looked at eachother, he bolted for under the bed, i got up and moved to my doorway which seriously felt like it was no longer at an appropriate angle, then... it stopped. And my heart? Didn't - far from it, it was going a million miles an hour. I looked at my phone, tried to make some calls, which obviously didn't go through... then... well, i sat down. Because really? what do you do then? Nothing fell, nothing broke, I was fine, and, well, that was that.

An hour and a half later i can honestly say my heart rate is basically back to normal. Basically.

But! More importantly! I found a Halloween costume! You're thrilled, i can tell. Actually, isn't as much a costume as it is... a hat. With a sticker.

See, when i went into the Halloween store down the street earlier tonight i had it in my head that i should be an Angel because a) Barb is being the Devil in Desguise, b) i'm usually either an Angel, a Hobo, or a Puffer, and c) I figured i should be able to find a halo on a headband that i could stand wearing to work all day. But apparently being an Angel has gone out of style because there wasn't *one* halo like device in the entire store; there was a lovely set of wings for $7.99, but chances of them surviving a day of me at my desk were coming in at slim to none.

So there i was, searching the madness that was this store, digging through hats and wigs and props and bumping into people every time i moved, and i was half convinced i should either be a Princess with a tiara or a Cowgirl with a Hat and "gun" when i stumbled on this... yellow hat. With the sticker. The sticker was a bit worn, a bit torn, and quite simple, white background, blue border with blue and red writing, and a price tag of $1.99. I took the tiara, the cowboy hat, and the yellow hat to a mirror (saying "excuse me", and "pardon me", and "don't worry about it" left right and center) and decided that amazingly enough that yellow hat? Looks freaking adorable on.

So for Halloween? I'm going to be an Engineer. And I have the hat to prove it.

Expression:

Twirling

Background Noise: my iphone is quiet
Last Visited: perspective
Random Thought: TRs really do like TDs to follow them and to close themselves properly
Mood: guess who's back in the top 25?! (ok, it's not really a mood; sue me)

Ok, is anyone looking? No? All clear? Excellent.

Oh... well, i don't actually have anything particularly secret or secrative to say. Sorry. A while ago i was watching something on the history channel where they were searching for God's Gold - the treasure from the second Temple of Solomon, which, for the record was quite fun; and i have to admit, it put me in a bit of an Indiana Jones gotta-watch-out-who-might-be-listening kinda mood. Which was broken as soon as the waltzing started on Dancing with the Stars. But that's besides the point.

... assuming i have a point. Which, honestly, might be a really big assumption right now.

[For the record, Puff has been trying to commandeer this post - he seems quite convinced he can write something a fair bit more interesting than i can. Perhaps he's right, but i'm just not inclined to let him try. At least not tonight.]

Anyways, it is a rather tantalizing thought that the wealth of the Second Temple might be stashed away in a monestary outside of Bethlehem - in the West Bank, in a war zone, hidden from the world for the past, oh, fourteen hundered years. This treasure, God's Gold, is said to be cursed; that only death and destruction lies in it's wake; that it felled Rome and Constantinople; that it brought the plague; that it's presence away from it's home and proper keepers brings only destruction. And in theory, there it sits, in the West Bank; admist the fighting that has been going on since perhaps the time of the Second Temple itself.

History - or rather, Historians and those they tell their stories to - like clean causational paths; x and x alone leads to y which along with n create the basis for z, etc. Perhaps the story of God's Gold as postulated is too simple to paint an accurate picture of what really happened. Then again, perhaps that simplification of causality simply allows us to remember just how deliciously, maddeningly, and disasterously intertwined the peoples and religions of the land of milk and honey are; how men's greed often leads to consequences far greater than one could have imagined; how long a memory the Desert has; and how much we still have to learn.

... Speaking of lessons I still need to learn: when to go to bed when one is getting up early for a quick run and many early meetings. At least i'm a bit ahead of the game and already in bed... though, i'm sure i'm a few steps behind being that my laptop is still on and i'm still typing. So i suppose i should stop typing. Right.

Expression:

take your pictures off another wall

Background Noise: Driving Music
Last Visited: Wizard of Odds: Texas Holdem
Random Thought: Required: fine balance, a sense of proportion, and context
Mood: i might need a nap

I, I always believed in futures I hope for better in November I try the same losing lucky numbers It could be a cold night for a lifetime Hey now, you can't keeping saying endlessly My darling, how long until this affects me? Say hello to good times Trade up for the fast ride We close our eyes while the nickel and dime take the streets completely I, I always could count on futures That things would look up, and they look up Why is it so hard to find balance Between living decent and the cold and real Hey now, what is it you think you see? My darling, now's the time to disgaree Say hello to good times Trade up for the fast ride We close our eyes while the nickel and dime take the streets completely Hey now, the past is told by those who win My darling, what matters is what hasn't been Hey now, we're wide awake and we're thinking My darling, believe your voice can mean something Say hello to good times Trade up for the fast ride We close our eyes while the nickel and dime take the streets completely We close our eyes while the nickel and dime take the streets completely - Futures, Jimmy Eat World.

Expression:

So it's Friday again

Background Noise: Brandy Alexander, Feist
Last Visited: fisheye
Random Thought: none. my mind is blank.
Mood: ready for a weekend.

So it's Friday again; huh. Interesting.

Sorry i haven't posted. Been busy. Shocking, i know. And now... well, i'm exhausted and a little bit sick, so i might just have to let you go.

But i promise soon i'll put up pictures from last weekend when B was here, and maybe even wax poetic about football... that is, if Touchdown Jesus really does love Michigan more; if not... i'll probably ignore the subject. Just for the record.

Expression:

Earth Angel

Background Noise: The power of love
Last Visited: icanhascheeseburgerz
Random Thought: i wonder if B made her connection...
Mood: don't need no credit card to ride this train...

Wow, um, hi. So it's friday. Crazy. This week has been long, full of meetings, getting up early, and general discombobulation. My apologies.

Let's just say, i'm glad it's friday, and as B will be here this weekend, there is about a snowball's chance in hell i'll be working. Which is an improvement. Hopefully my boys in blue will also improve over Oregon... but i'm not sure i'm over last week enough to discuss that.

Also very randomly this week, my bank decided (with no known reason) to close my savings account. Sorry guys, that was a mistake and you know it; i'm less than thrilled that i have to find time now to walk into a bank branch and open a new account as you can't seem to a) fix the problem or b) open said new account on the phone. Oh well... so is life.

Sometime last week i finished my self review and saw Cathy up in Tiburon (heaven). I should call her to find out how the SFOpera Gala Ball went.

... I should also find out if B is arriving in a little over an hour and a half or if i have enough time to go home and clean. I suppose i should also be commenting in the million bugs that are sitting on my desk. There are many many things i should be doing... but at the moment... all i really want is a break. It can be a little one... but... there you go.

Expression:

Let Go

Background Noise: My Moon My Man
Last Visited: Starbucks?
Random Thought: can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow?
Mood: go on, jump in

Photoshopped? Sure; still a lovely concept though.

Completely off topic, i just needed to say, i'm so glad that i took this vacation, this break. For the first time since i moved to california i wasn't miserable that i was coming back. Usually when i go home, or to another city, it's very rushed, very focused, and very draining; and while i'm happy while i'm there, i'm usually torn up that i have to head back. But with this trip, though it was still rushed and packed with people and places and events, i had enough time to mush into the flow with enough sleep and rest that i actually, finally, managed to find a bit of vacation in my vacation. So getting back to work was welcome instead of, well, gut wrenching.

Go figure.

So basically i need to take trips that are a bit on the longer side. Though probably not this long again for a while, or Puff might lock me out of my apartment.

Expression: