Half Dome Adventure: Recap

So, as you may remember, The Boy decided that for his birthday this year, he wanted to climb Half Dome. And I agreed to it. As did 7 of his friends. So, on Friday morning, we started heading up to Yosemite for what would be a ridiculous, painful, bad-ass, totally awesome weekend. And now...the recap.

At 8:30 Friday morning, my car (carrying myself, The Boy, and one friend) left Berkeley and started driving through the crazy-nasty smoke to Yosemite. On the way there, we called the park ranger folks to find out about smoke conditions in the park, and found out that it was pretty bad at the Sweetwater Campground, where we had been planning to stay. However, they said that it was not quite as bad in the park, and that we might be able to find a campsite there, at Crane Flat. Funny, since nobody told us that information when we (and by we I mean The Boy) called for weeks asking about reservations. Apparently they hold a certain number of sites for walk-ins. But they don't tell anyone about it beforehand...I guess then too many people would just show up? Hmmm. Anyway, we got there in just over 3 hours, and miraculously found two lovely campsites next to each other at Crane Flat. We set up the tents, and headed into Yosemite Village to call the rest of our group to let them know of the change of plans, and also to eat. We were mighty hungry. I also bought a pair of shorts, because, um, well, I did not own a pair of actual shorts, and we were about to hike all day in the sun. Now I own a pair of shorts. I haven't worn shorts (as in, come above the knee, not capri pants, shorts) probably since junior high. Crazy! But enough about the shorts. Though they are awesome.

Anyway, we returned to camp and took naps in the sunshine. The Boy started a campfire without matches, and we saw both a deer and a bear (which The Boy scared away, with the support of his friend, myself, and about 30 other campers. Apparently bears don't like pots and pans banging together coupled with lots of clapping - some of us did not have pots and pans). It was very exciting, especially for the friend who had never seen a bear and really wanted to. We ate spaghetti and garlic bread and salad, and hung around the campfire waiting for the other two cars of people to arrive. The first car didn't get there until 11:30pm, at which point we were debating whether or not to just go to bed. Once we heard that the third car hadn't left Berkeley until 9pm, we decided that they could just find the campsite by themselves, and we shut down for the night somewhere around 11:45pm.

I had a hard time falling asleep, as I think did most of our group, just out of nervousness for the day ahead. A few panic-ish dreams later, I woke up with our 5:30am alarm, and we started getting ready. My stomach was in such knots that I couldn't eat...which would later prove to be, um, not beneficial to my hiking abilities. I think it was the combination of nerves and not getting enough sleep, but I just felt sort of crappy for most of the morning. The morning being 5:30-7:00am. Once we got to the trailhead at around 7:15, I was feeling a bit better, but I was still unsure about the hike. I kept going back and forth about whether or not I actually wanted to get to the top of Half Dome, whether or not I thought I could pull it off physically (or mentally), and whether or not I was going to be a collosal disappointment to myself and my group if I didn't make it. Eventually (somewhere around mile 6 I think), I decided that I wasn't doing this for anyone but myself, and that if I could just make it to the bottom of the Quarter Dome, I would be happy.

I don't know what made me think I was in the kind of shape one should be in to attempt a hike like this, but, um...it seemed like a good idea at the time? My body may not forgive me for a while, but it was an Adventure. You see, this is a very difficult hike. Listed as one of the most strenuous day-hikes around, it can be anywhere from 14-18 miles roundtrip, depending on which way you go.


And it goes a little something like this:

• Hike 0.8 miles to the base of Vernal Falls. This is all uphill, mostly switchbacks. It is more tiring than you think it will be.
  
• Then, take the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Falls. This is many, many, many steep stone steps (about 0.7 miles of them). They are slippery because of the mist, and they are very steep. And there are many of them. Lots.
  
• From the top of Vernal Falls, it's about another 1.9 miles to the top of Nevada Falls. This is more steep, steep steps. Also, more steep switchbacks. Lots of steep. You are gaining lots of altitude, and if you're like me (dehydrated, exhausted), you may lose the breakfast you didn't really eat. The view from the top is awesome though.
• From Nevada, it's around 4.8 miles to Half Dome. You go up a few more steep, stony switchbacks, and you are probably thinking that it would have been nice to just stop at Nevada. I started thinking about how far I needed to go in order to not be disappointed in myself, which I decided was the bottom. If I could just make it to the bottom, I would have succeeded.
• After the post-Nevada switchbacks, you get to walk on a nice, flat sandy road for about a mile, being lured into a false sense of comfort. Then it's back to the effing switchbacks. They are steep, and just when you're thinking you must be getting close, you see the 2 mile marker ("Are you kidding me?!?!? Two more miles!?!??!?). If you are anything like us, it has taken you an average of 1 hour to go 1 mile - so 2 miles means 2 hours. Which, when you've been hiking for 4 hours already, seems nearly impossible.
  
• But you do it. You finally make it through the redwoods, up all the switchbacks (yeah, there are more. so many more.), up to a long flat area, with lovely trees and stones for sitting. Then you see it.
• No, not Half Dome. Well, you do see it. But it's behind a giant (slightly smaller) dome, known as Quarter Dome (see picture - that beast in the front is Quarter Dome). To get to Half Dome, you have to first climb many large steps to get over the beast of a rock. Once you get over Quarter Dome, apparently it flattens out, into what is known as the Saddle. Then you are facing the famous cables. I did not do these things. I started to go up the Quarter Dome steps, and just pooped out. My knees were shaking, and my head was spinning, and I knew that if I wanted to make it down the ~10 miles back to the trailhead later, I needed to rest.
• So I rested while the rest of the crew headed up the Domes. They rocked, from what I've been told. But I've also been told that it is terrifying. And from pictures like the ones on this post, I can imagine that it would be, even without frightening weather (we had great weather, for the record).
  
• We began the hike down after everyone made it back down, starting our descent at around 7pm (we had two separate groups going up the cables, the first getting down as the second was going up). This meant that we had to hike in the dark for a few hours. Which was both awesome and scary. But my hiking buddy and I were fierce, and we felt like badasses the whole way. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we had no choice but to keep walking...after all, it was dark out, and we couldn't just stay there on the trail.
  
• We got to the trailhead at around 10:45pm, an hour after The Boy and two friends who had decided to RUN down the crazyass switchbacks in order to catch the shuttle to the parking lot. I don't know how the heck they did it, but I'm glad they did. We could hardly find my car by driving the mile-plus from the trailhead to the parking lot at Curry Village...I can't imagine walking there and wandering around the parking lot. That would have sucked. So thank you, guys, for being unbelievably rad and running down the John Muir. You rock. The last of our group was just about 10 minutes behind us, and once I got my car, the other car went to get them. Teamwork!
  

We got back to camp around 11:15 or so, and collapsed into our chairs, trying to motivate ourselves to start a fire and cook the burgers and hot dogs that our friend had brought when he arrived at around 5pm. Poor guy, we had estimated an 8pm arrival time, so he had just been sitting around hoping to hear from us. Oy. But that food was delicious, and cleanup didn't take too long. Somewhere, probably around 1am (I have no idea), we fell into our sleeping bags. I can't speak for everyone else, but I slept like a rock.

Sunday morning, we made pancakes and sausage, ate leftover birthday cake (note: making a cake and freezing it = best idea ever!!! Thanks, Jennifer and The Internet!), and got ready to pack out. We stopped by Rainbow Pool for some much needed swimming in cold water. Our muscles were sufficiently numbed, and we relaxed by the water with potato chips and Oreos. A few hours later, we started the drive home...and just over 3 hours later, we arrived.

Pulling ourselves out of the car was much more difficult than anticipated, and the muscles are still sore today (Monday). But you know what? It was a fantastic trip. I had a great time, and even though my body will probably hate me for a few more days, it was well worth it. Even though I didn't make it to the top, I still did an ~18 mile hike in 15 hours and lived to write a self-indulgent blog post about it.

Yeah!

The view from the top of Nevada Falls

[note: two of these pictures are not mine - my camera started dying about halfway, so I don't have any pictures from the hike up. The pictures that are not mine are the 2.0 mile marker and the view of Quarter/Half Dome, and if you click them, it will take you to the websites from which they came. I'll be getting some pictures from a friend, and will maybe post some more pictures then.]

Window Box Fun Time!

I have been a very bad blogger lately, but I wanted to post to share the pictures of my glorious new window box. My dad got it for me for my birthday, and Kristen helped me to install (read: she installed) it this weekend while she was in town. I didn't just stand and watch; I was trimming (hacking away at) the wisteria. Anyway, it looks lovely, and has Basil, Lemon Verbena, and Oragano plants sitting in it in pots - don't have any dirt yet to re-plant them, but hopefully once I'm back from the big Yosemite trip I'll get to that. Pictures below!

Shot of the window box from the landing at the top of the back stairs.


Oregano, Lemon Verbena, Basil. In that order.

I found a purse!!!

I can't find it online to show you, but I found a fantastic purse today at Brass Plum (at Nordstrom)!!! Finally!! After searching and searching (and searching some more after that), I finally found it! It's a soft, brown leather, with two braided straps, pockets on the inside, and just a little oversized. Love it. Love it. And it was only $30!!! Yeah!

Here's a really poor-quality picture of it...yay (it looks kind of blotchy - it's not really blotchy. really, it's a smooth buttery leather...mmmm)!

NY Wrapup

So. I'm back from NY. What a crazy trip! Day-by-day, here's how it all went down (with a slideshow at the end for those of you who like pictures).

I arrived Friday night around midnight, and got to my apartment around 1:45am. I spent about half an hour debating whether to shower or go to bed. I chose shower (traveling makes me feel gross), and didn't get in bed until around 2:30am. Didn't fall asleep till after 3. Then, at 6, the alarm in the other (vacant) bedroom went off. It took me a while to figure out what that beeping was, but I finally stumbled over to it and got it to shut off. Or, um, snooze. Around 20 minutes later, it started up again. That was fun. I finally got it to shut off and went back to sleep. Until my alarm went off at 8:30. Reluctantly, I got out of bed and got out the door - had to get to the Belasco by 10 to get rush tickets for Passing Strange!

My journey to the theatre started off...not quite right. I had looked up directions on HopStop from my place to E44th St instead of W44th St...so I ended up taking the wrong train for a while and found myself walking around Grand Central Station and the streets nearby. Once I realized I wasn't quite in the right area, I pulled out my BlackBerry, Googled the theatre, and clicked the link to Google Maps. I realized where I needed to go, and got there (though I did ask several people along the way, just to make sure I could do things like cut through Grand Central Station). Tickets purchased, I headed into Times Square and naiively figured I would just wander around a bit until meeting up with Elon to see the show. I didn't realize it would A) be so hot, B) be so humid, and C) be so crowded. In hindsight, yeah. Times Square in the middle of summer. Duh. What was I thinking? I ended getting an iced mocha and sitting in the lobby of the building next to the we-have-no-seating Starbucks, I called my friend Ryan. He suggested I head down to a bookstore a few blocks away, but I got distracted by a Starbucks that had seating, and I was so damn hot that I couldn't resist. Yes, I went to a 2nd Starbucks. I wrote in my journal, sipping my iced coffee, and felt quite like a hipster. But I was cooling off, so I didn't mind.

I met up with Elon and saw the show, which was quite different from the Berkeley Rep production in many ways, but was still great fun. After chatting with Stew for about an hour, we decided to head up to Elon's office for a bit. Oh, did I mention it was pouring outside? And my poor beautiful yellow satin ballet flats are ruined? Sad. After hanging out at his office and dealing with some Major Broadway Drama (they don't have their tickets! oh no! let's get them tickets! ...ah, the life of a press rep), we went back out to the theatre. He saw August: Osage County (which one about a billion Tonys), and I, November (David Mamet, Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, Awesome). Twas a good night, even though I had to end it early and skip karaoke with Jessica - too tired!!! I ended up falling asleep around 3am...not quite early, but naturally once I got to the apartment I wasn't quite tired enough to fall asleep.

Sunday, I slept in until around 10:30am. Luxurious! Still less than 8 hours of sleep! I met Mikey for a delicious brunch (complete with peach bellini...mmm), and we walked over to Central Park. She showed me the sights, from Turtle Pond, to canoe-ing on the lake, to the Alice in Wonderland statue, to the Upper East Side (not in the park, but we had to wander for a while to find an ATM), and it was quite lovely indeed. After stopping by a local market to pick up food, I was ready to have people over for the Tonys! Rachel and Peter came over, and we ate and watched what I thought was a pretty great show. Too bad ratings are at an all time low...where are all the theatre loving TV watchers!?!?! Sigh.

Monday, I went to work at the NY office, and felt like I was going to fall asleep most of the day - guess I was still not adjusted to the time and crazy lifestyle of being on a trip like this. Monday night, I met up with Elon again, and he walked me down through The Village (West? East? I don't remember. Both?) and we met my (other) friend Rachel at her bookstore, the Super Way Awesome Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. It's in SoHo, and it is really great. I wish I could have spent more time hanging out there. If you're anywhere near the area, check it out! We went to a fun little bar, Tom & Jerrys. Apparently they sometimes show movies there sometimes, though there weren't any that night. I got a little lost on the way home, or I almost got lost anyway...thanks to two very nice young gentlemen, I figured out where to go. Yay!

Tuesday, I had another crazy day at work, and after many many missed connections due to his lack of a cell phone, met up with Sterling for some fantastic burritos, margaritas, and "we haven't seen each other in two years?!?!??!" conversation.

Wednesday, I worked from the apartment for a bit, had brunch with Rachel (not bookstore Rachel) at the amazing Popover Cafe, and worked some more. Elon came over for a little bit, and I grabbed a cab to the airport at around 2:15pm (eastern time). By the time I got back to my apartment in Berkeley, it was after 10pm (pacific time), and I was wiped. I didn't actually unpack until tonight, and I'm finally starting to feel back on track. I'm looking forward to this relaxing weekend...the first time I've had to pick up my apartment in over a month! Phew!

All in all, a great trip. It was crazy, yes. Absolutely crazy. But quite fun. I got to see a lot of people I hardly ever get to see, reunions were had and new friendships were formed. In writing this, I've realized how many of my friends have websites, so I've linked to them all when appropriate. They are awesome, and deserve recognition for their awesomeness.

I'm too tired and hot to edit this, so I hope you liked it and it wasn't too monotonous. Happy 1st Day Of Summer. The end.

Big Girl Adventure

I'm writing this from the San Francisco International Airport (called "SFO," though I have no idea why), with about 30 minutes until my plane to NY boards. I've been a little big nervous all day, and I'm not sure that it's really hit me yet that I'm going to New York. I haven't been there since my senior year of high school, and that 4-day, check-out-NYU trip is somewhat of a blur. I didn't like the city much; too loud and dirty and confusing with it's tall buildings and lack of sky, but I'm giving it another chance. I have a fairly packed schedule, or at least I have something to do every day while I'm there. So why am I nervous?

I very rarely travel alone, with the exception of going home to LA, which is a trip I could practically do in my sleep. Bart to AirBART to OAK to SW Terminals, easy peasy (also, this is almost 6 hours, and the flight to LA is barely an hour - this is being up in the air for a LOT longer, and I don't really love flying). This trip involved taking BART to SFO, an airport to which I'd never been, and then finding my way to the Virgin America area (helpful that it's in the International Terminal, which doesn't involve taking a little shuttle somewhere else; though I was confused that a domestic flight was leaving from an international terminal). I was a bit anxious that it would be hard to figure out where I was going, but guess what? It wasn't all that confusing! And even when it was, I figured it out. Because I am a Big Girl and I can figure things out. I don't know why I doubt myself, but I somehow always end up surprised when things work out. I did wander around the Duty Free souvenir shop debating whether or not to buy some chocolate for the flight (I decided not to, for the record. I don't want to buy overpriced calories, no matter how delicious. Let's see how that works in NY, where apparently food costs more than a new car), and I did have a little trouble at the ATM (tried to use the international-money one instead of the USD one first, oops), but other than that, it's been rather low key. I even have time to get some work done and blog before we board. Now how about that!

I am actually getting hungry (gee, maybe because I barely ate anything this morning), so I hope there's good food on the flight - I didn't want to battle the crowds for airport food. The website makes the whole flight-situation out to be pretty spectacular, so I'd assume the food is good, even if it is overpriced - this review seems to think it's ok. Expect a full review once I'm in the Big Apple.

This trip is a real Big Girl Adventure for me - as I mentioned, I'm traveling alone, but also I'm staying alone, and I don't have every minute planned out. Going alone with that whole spontaneity thing, many of my plans are "play it by ear" plans. My first big thing to do tomorrow is to find my way to the Belasco Theatre (alone, probably) to buy rush tickets to Passing Strange. Being a complete stranger to the NY Subway System, this might be confusing, but hey, I made it to SFO, right? ;-) I think this trip will instill a renewed sense of confidence in myself, at least I hope so. Like I said, I don't usually travel alone, especially without set plans, but in an effort to prove to myself that at age 24, I Can Do It, here I go. I know it's not that big of a deal for most people, but it's totally new ground for me.

Updates to follow.

This is apparently what it looks like inside the cabin.
It reminds me of Space Mountain. I'm kind of excited.

Raining Jane Makes People Happy

A friend of mine at work is having a bad day. In her words, "[she] is pms'ing her head off crying over a boy and no converse slip ons in her size." It happens to the best of us. And when we have days like this, we all need a little help getting through them. This is why we have friends who don't care if we whine to them over IM/phone/a bowl of ice cream. And mantras.

In addition to my mantras, I have been using music to get me through my afternoon. I started off with the usual Sara Bareilles (yeah, I know Love Song is everywhere, but it still makes me tap my fingers and shake my shoulders to emphasize the rhythm), since she always seems to get stuck in my head when I want something to listen to to make scheduling meetings more pleasant. Today, I also decided to make a little pit stop at the myspace page of the lovely ladies known as Raining Jane. And man, is their music making me happy. So happy, that I demanded that my friend go to their myspace page and listen to Incline and Pinball, which I think are guaranteed to make you bop around a little in your seat.

These girls just make me happy. Their songs are very good, and they are incredibly talented musicians. Just see them live if you don't believe me - they are one of those bands that has a great recorded sound and then just blows it out of the water when they are live.

I just found out that they're going to be in Berkeley in September, and I am definitely going to be there.

Now, if you're having a rough day, go listen to some RJ and feel better!

Adam Fisher -- 6/9/08 at the NCT in Hollywood, CA

Adam did stand up too. He is also very funny. Man, I have some funny friends.

New(ish) Life Mantras

So, I've been adopting some Life Mantras lately. Not to go all New Agey or anything, and it's not like I sit in silence repeating them to myself as I meditate in yoga poses...not that there's anything wrong with that. These are just a few phrases that I like to remind myself of when I'm getting stressed out, upset, or feeling defeated. Enjoy.

• "I cannot control how others act; I can only control how I react to others." - This one has been especially important lately, and I think is incredibly valuable to anyone who ever has to deal with difficult people. I try to remind myself of this every day, to avoid that feeling of anxiousness combined with loathing you (or at least I) get when you see someone getting what you don't think they deserve, or when you are treated unfairly, or when something happens to really make you mad. I think it's about rising above it, remembering that you can only control yourself and your own actions, and that just has to be enough. Take a deep breath, and remind yourself that there is more to life, and that you don't need to waste precious moments being angry at something that is out of your control.
  
• "Do it yourself, because no one will do it for you." - I got this exact wording this morning from The Simple Dollar, but it's something I have really been trying to remind myself of lately. Nobody is going to hold your hand and offer you opportunities. I have been very fortunate in the past in that I have nearly always gone out for a job and gotten it; I have not tried and failed very often. However, I am at a point in my life now where I am having to put myself out there more - the stakes are higher, I am more invested, and I want more out of my life than just sitting back and taking the easy road (because let's be honest, it's easy not to fail when you stay complacent). So, I'm making a promise to myself to get out there and do things for myself. Go for what I want without questioning myself.
• "Chill the F*** out!" - Along the same lines as #1, I tell this to myself (and others) when I am (or they are) getting worked up about something; usually this thing is out of my/their hands. I am a very emotional person, always have been, but I think this has really been helping me to stay calm, or at least come down off of a crazy-emotional-whine-session. If I'm feeling overwhelmed, I take a deep breath and try to remind myself of the bigger picture. Yeah, I'm upset/angry/worked up right now, but maybe I don't need to be. Get the frustration out, and then breathe. Don't let it linger; it's not healthy.

Anyway, those are the three things I'm trying to remember to tell myself these days. Very Zen. Most of the time.

Half Dome. An Adventure Forthcoming.

So, for The Boy's birthday, he has decided he wants to hike Half Dome. For those who don't know anything about Half Dome, click here. It is approximately a 14 mile hike roundtrip, and involves climbing (using cables) a very steep slope of a very tall rock. I am a little bit intimidated. It was always one of those things I thought I'd never actually do, and now I might actually do it. The 7 miles to and 7 miles from the Dome are intimidating enough, nevermind the actual rock itself. I was just reading this guy's post about hiking it in a day (thanks, Google), and I'm still a little intimidated. But I'm going for it. It will be an Adventure.

Does anyone out there have experience doing it? Tips? Am I nuts?

Danny Ricker -- 6/9/08 at the NCT in Hollywood, CA

My old buddy Danny doing stand-up. He's pretty hilarious. Check him out!

The Bad Blogger

I know that not posting for a week isn't the end of the world, but I still feel bad when I post out of order or late or whatever (ie: finishing the weekend roundup a week after I started writing it). To my loyal tens of readers, I do apologize.

I am feeling very unlike myself. Forgetting things, having a messy apartment, not cleaning the bathroom, not having food in the house. Scattered and headachy and just generally un-me. I think it's the stress of traveling so much coupled with general work stress and the anxiety I always feel when things start changing. I don't do very well with adapting to change, and I'm trying to be better about it, being more spontaneous and all that. And I have gotten better about making last-minute plans and not stressing the small stuff etc etc etc...but what I am not better about is approaching large decisions without trepidation. I'm such a planner by nature, that the thought that something might change without my controlling the outcome is just terrifying. I think I've always been that way. I'm almost positive that I've blogged about it before.

The point is, I tend to be fantastic at managing my time until something throws me off, whether it be lots of traveling or a surprise amount of tasks to finish at work or anything really. And then I get overwhelmed by all that I need to do, and I have to separate my brain into to-do list items and write it all down on paper (not computer, only paper). I need to hold a physical list that I have written in my own writing so that I can regain control over my life - which sounds more dramatic than it should. I did this last week, and I think I need to re-do it a little. My brain is just sort of a mess right now, and I need to make sense of some of it. I think that after I clean up my apartment a bit I will feel better (the bathroom sink and the toilet in particular just annoy me every time I look at them), and as much as I hate to say it, when my NY trip is over I will relax a bit.

Not that I'm not looking forward to it, because I absolutely am. It's just the planning, and the sort of haphazard way I'm throwing the trip together with a lot of "play it by ear" and "we'll see" plans is making me feel more stressed out than freed of the burden of a schedule. And I'm leaving on Friday afternoon. But when I get back, I'll go to the grocery store and fill my house with food (it is currently quite barren) and will get back to a semi-normal routine of going to work and hanging out after work, which I honestly like quite a bit.

All this after work packing and laundry and pretending to clean when I'm really just moving things around is exhausting!!!

I did have a great time this weekend though, at the Lair of the Golden Bear, with The Boy and his coworkers/bosses. Even though it was super cold at night, a couple days of hiking and hanging out in the mountain air made up for it! :-) I'm so glad it's camping season!

And with that, I leave you for today. I have an awful lot of Google Reader reading (836 unread items??? What?!?) to catch up on, and I think I've run my mouth as long as I could. I'll probably share some items as I read through it, so if you're not on Google Reader, you can check out the other little things I've posted at my Shared Items Page (or by looking at the pink sidebar item on the left) over the next few days. Enjoy!

Uro Club!

A friend tells me this is legit, but it sure feels like the premise of an SNL skit to me...

Weekend Adventures, part 2

Ah, part two. What else did I do this weekend? Well, I did a lot of sleeping, for one. I finished the book I've been reading, The Year of Living Biblically, which was interesting and funny and engaging and informational. Good combo.

I went on a friend-date with the lovely Jessie to the Awaken A Cappella concert, which was deliciously fun. Got to sing along with other Awaken Alums at the end of the show, and had some fantastically greasy food at BJ's afterwards with Matti and Mikey (of Lady Danville), Ting Ting and Brooke, thanks to Mikey's aunt and uncle who refused to let us pay.

My dad gave me my belated bday present, a super-awesome window box, with a piece of wood he drilled so that the box won't fall off my warpy-angled window ledge. I'll post pictures once I get it installed...likely not until after NY.

Sorry this post is so late in being posted (even though it says I posted it a week ago, muah ha ha ). More on that in a bit.

Weekend Adventures, part 1

Well, I know it's been a while since I've posted something other than videos, so I won't feel too bad about writing a nice, long entry today. This serves as your warning, though, this entry will not be brief! [note: I'm writing/posting my weekend-in-review in sections, since this first one is so long already, and I'm not even done covering SATC]

Sex And The City
[there may be spoilers ahead, so read at your own discretion]

On Saturday night, I saw Sex And The City. As promised, here is a review of sorts. I'll start off saying that I liked it. I really did. It was pretty much all I expected it to be, if not a little disappointing. I'm pretty sure the reviewers giving it such negative feedback were additionally not fans of the TV show, because I thought it really did stay true to the feeling and characters. And honestly, that's why I like the show. It's why I think a lot of smart women like the show. Yes, it's totally silly. No, the writing isn't very good. However, there is something about the exaggerated stereotypes and ridiculous outfits (and the fact that a columnist can afford several pairs of $600 + shoes) that is very appealing. And I think it's because within this crazy hyper-fantastic New York World they inhabit they have a really strong friendship - the kind we all wish we had, or remember from our childhoods, or even have now if we're lucky. It's the same reason I teared up at The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (all the books, the first movie, and the preview for the second movie...oy) and the same reason I watch stupid romantic comedies when I'm sick and spending the day on the couch. And the same reason I occasionally get pedicures and read trashy gossip magazines. There's just something really fun about indulging in that ultra-girly side of myself that I don't often remember is there.

What was disappointing? Well, if you didn't know, this movie picks up 4 years after the end of the TV series. It opens with a sort of "where are they now" montage during the credits, which sort of sets you up for a movie about how the girls' lives have changed, blah blah blah. Which it is...for a while. For most of the movie, you get the sense that they're older and a maybe little bit wiser, if not just different. They still make mistakes, they're still human (and a teensy bit less archetypal); they are now sassy women in their 40s. However, at the end of the movie, they are pretty much back to their old routine. Yes, Charlotte has babies and Miranda is in Brooklyn (and Carrie marries dumb old Big - I've always hated him. He is just so sleazy-looking!), but Samantha moves back to NY (ok, maybe LA wasn't for her; I can buy that I guess...), and the four girls are going out for cosmos once again. Which I found more annoying than nostalgic. I'm pretty sure what they were going for was "they've been through so much, and they're still just four friends," and I get that, and I kind of like it, but it just didn't feel right. It seemed forced and unrealistic, I guess. Their fights seem sort of real, and sort of contrived as plot points. The whole movie was like that I guess. I'm doing a terrible job of putting my thoughts out there on this, but I think that's part of my point about it overall (Emily did a much better job, and I swear I wrote this before I read hers - obviously, or mine would have been better). I sort of hated it and sort of loved it, which is how I've always felt about SATC. I also didn't like that every time Samantha mad an entrance, it was over-the-top-grand. She makes that big doors opening, coat swinging, arms extended "hello world! i'm back!" entrance like, 3 or 4 times (at least) in the movie. Annoying. I did, however, love Steve (I always have). And the clothes weren't SO ridiculous that they were distracting (mostly). And it was great fun.

As I think I mentioned, I saw it with my college roomie, who is pretty much the reason I started watching the show - we would rent DVDs and watch the series out of order, which it turned out didn't *really* matter that much. As we waited in line to get in (an hour beforehand!), we caught up on our lives (she's getting married in November, so I got to hear all the wedding planning updates), and marveled at the diversity in the SATC crowd. There were women of all ages, of course (some dressed to the nines, some in jeans like us), but there were some old ladies and some even older men, as well as more couples than I ever expected. I would never think about bringing The Boy with me to this movie! Katie said she would never thinking of bringing her fiancee - while they are great guys...SATC is a girlfriend thing (in our opinion, anyway). That would just be weird. The weirdest thing was that these guys didn't look like they were dragged against their wills. Most just looked like they were out for another Saturday night movie date. And there were some guys there all on their own. Maybe they were just hoping for some nudity [note: there wasn't that much].

More on this weekend to follow, but that's enough typing for now.

Obsessed With Obama

In true all-star comedy fashion, Jessie and her crew have come up with a superb parody of the videos I just posted. [disclaimer: video made out of love; they are only slightly kidding. they love obama too] [but really, who doesn't?]

Go for Good

I don't really know why we made this video (we being Google - I had nothing to do with it), but it has something to do with Google Health. Anyway, I like the message, and the pictures are nice.

The Valley Girl: Trailer

The trailer for Jesse's new web-series - includes appearances from Silicon Valley's finest. Including a one Mr. Eric Schmidt. Love it.

Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video

I am not ashamed to admit that this made me get a little teary, and I am still feeling the chills.

I don't talk about politics on my blog very often, but I don't think it's a secret that I'm a big fan of Obama. I haven't felt this excited and inspired by a political candidate, well, ever. And I think that's the point.

Thanks to Mark Morford's column for leading me to this video, and just for reminding me that...I don't know...that there are lots of people out there being inspired I guess.

We Are The Ones Song by will.i.am - Obama

I just found this on YouTube - pretty good.

Video Games

This is kind of what I look like playing video games...only probably not half as funny.

How To Clean Jewelry

This girl is adorable, and I am totally going to try out her technique on my tarnished silver at home!

Scrubs: Guy Love

I think this is my favorite song from one of my favorite Scrubs episodes.

Makes me smile.

Clips from SNL with Steve Carell

I am a big fan of Steve Carell, and watched most of the episode of SNL he hosted this weekend. Here are a few of my favorite videos, in case you need a break from Monday too.
Bless This Child. This song will get stuck in your head.


Not Steve Carell, but it's pretty clever, I thought.


And the best of all, The Japanese Office.

Does Bush use Google ?

Yes. Yes he does. I like that he uses it to look at the maps, but he can't remember the name of the program. Um...Google Maps, perhaps? Thanks to Brittany for sharing.

Passing Strange Cast Album

The cast of Passing Strange has recorded an Original Cast Album, and they did it live on-stage at the Belasco Theatre (where the show is currently running). Admission was a $20 donation to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Click here to read more about it.

Bay to Breakers

While I didn't attend this year's Bay to Breakers, some friends of mine did...and you can watch some of them going crazy on the news by clicking here. They're the Olympic Torch Relay guards about 50 seconds in.

One year, I'll probably go...but the crazy drunken party race isn't totally my scene. Maybe next year...

Oh, Sterling

A friend from college posted something on Facebook about watching Sterling on YouTube, so I couldn't resist searching for him.

Check out this classic clip from All My Children. Oh, Sterling. Such a cad.

2+2=4

Reasons Why I Am A Dork:
(part 2? part 3? who knows how many of these posts I've written...I am a dork)

I kind of want the cookie popsicle pan. I think it would be really, really fun to make cookies-on-a-stick. I wonder if the pan could be used to make mini-cakes as well, or if it would be too narrow at the top (forming a wedge-like cake). Then again, maybe a wedge-like cake would be kind of cool. I could stack the mini-wedges on top of each other, layered with whipped cream, jam, fruit or frosting in between...making a cake tower. Oooh. DORK!!!



I think these magnet-pins are really cool. Do I need magnets? No. I just think they look cool, because they look like thumbtacks/pushpins but they are magnets. And they're pretty cheap (haha kind of. 8 magnets for 5 bucks. Not *actually* cheap). Anyway, I like them, and I think they'd look cool in my cube at work (even though they're called "fridge pins"), on my metal shelf, or on my storage cabinet. People would see them and think I had used my super-strength (that I don't have) to push thumbtacks into a piece of metal. Then I would really be cool. DORK!!!


I have never played Wii, but I am seriously contemplating buying one the next time I have a sizeable chunk of cash (aka never). It looks totally fun, and now they have this crazy workout program/add-on you can buy...you know, if tennis and bowling and boxing and such aren't enough. You can run down a virtual path, or do gym (as opposed to holistic-wellness) - based yoga. Or do push-ups (which you totally can't do without a Wii, right). Or other stuff I'm not sure about. But it looks cool anyway. It seems like a good solution for people who don't have time to go to the gym (cough cough), but maybe not for people who are too lazy to go to the gym (who could that be? not I, certainly...). Maybe if I only had this video game, The Boy and I would work out in the evenings, instead of me watching him do push-ups while I brush my teeth! I'm skeptical...but I still think Wii is AWESOME. But like I said, I've never actually played. DORK!!!


Do I have 800 business cards? No. But if I did, I could store them in this awesome little filing cabinet. It's no secret that I love organizing, so this little guy would be perfect for me. If I had business cards to organize. Which I don't. So why am I still all over this little guy? So cute, with its little mini-drawers and mini-files. Adorable! But totally useless...unless I wanted to store MY business cards in here. But that would be REALLY pointless. Emphasis on the REALLY. No, really. DORK!!!




I titled this post "2+2=4" because this is post #224. DORK!!!

I added Perez Hilton to my Google Reader, and now my unread items total 248. Granted, a lot of that is the New Yorker Arts & Leisure section, to which I thought it would be a good idea to subscribe - though it turns out that I don't usually want to read it. Dork?


Also, don't forget to go to my Shared Items page to check out all the fun new things I've been looking at on the web, complete with my comments (brilliant, as always) -- and you can add it to your Google Reader (or other feed reader - or all they called feed burners?) too! Not Dork!

And, um...

I just bought my ticket to NY. It's official. I'm going. I arrive June 13th at 10:55pm and depart June 18th at 4:40pm. I've been trying to plan a trip to NY for months, it couldn't happen in May, and this just seems like the perfect opportunity.

NYC, here I come...

Breaking News!!!

Hello Readers! I'm super excited to share such exciting news here at Kim's Kitchen Sink for post #222!

What's the news?

Passing Strange has received 7 TONY NOMINATIONS!!! Yeah!


This is going to be a fantastic Tony Awards...it's being hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, and the Lifetime Achievement Award is going to Sondheim. Damn. I wish I could go. If anyone out there has extra tickets, let me know. Yeah right. But hey, worth a shot, right? (PS - thanks to Andrew for the picture)

Recently, the cast has been on The View, though they had to change the song they were set to perform due to CBS' freakout over using the word "sex." They can allude to drugs, and say "it might look like Sodom from top to bottom," but not sing a song about how it's natural to have sex. Oh, please. Anyway, Whoopi says it's her favorite musical (interesting, she loves Sara Bareilles and Passing Strange? Maybe Whoopi would love me too...le sigh). Also, side note...The View has rad sets for their visitors. Sara's was very Sara-like, and the Passing Strange one was a pretty good micro-version of the light wall in Act II. I wonder who designs the sets. That would be a cool job.


Anyway, the nominations are:

• Best Musical
• Best Book of a Musical (Stew)
• Best Original Score Written for the Theatre (Stew and Heidi)
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Stew)
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Daniel Breaker)
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (de'Adre Aziza)
• Best Orchestrations (Stew & Heidi)

To see a list of other awards the cast/crew/show has been nominated for, click here.

Sorry this post is sort of incoherent...I'm just sort of giddy.

Tony! Tony! Tony!

It's No Secret...

I love The Office. And everyone involved. Check out this video of Ed and Creed singing/playing a song for Angela's baby.




And this one, of Angela and Jenna in NY.



Don't you just want to be all of their friends? Like how my blog pretends that we're on a first-name basis?

Doodle 4 Google: Doodlers in Action

Yet another reason why I love my workplace.

Click here if you can't play the video directly from my blog.

And click here to read the original post on the Google Blog.

About Clothes.

I did laundry the other day (see suitcase full of clothes - this is how I bring my laundry to work...via suitcase), and noticed that there is a slightly disturbing trend in the colors of my clothes. That's an awful lot of blue/green over there, wouldn't you say? And that's shirts from approximately 2 weeks. Minus the white-with-grey-stripes, and the off-white-with-green-leaves shirts, which honestly still fit into this category. Oh, and there was one pink shirt.

Seriously, I need to be a little more exciting with my clothing. I bought some new shirts today (oh, H&M, with your mysteriously sized shirts that make girls feel bigger than they are), and I'm thinking that will help my cause. My cause being "don't be boring." The cause also includes "wear shirts that fit," which means I might be getting rid of some of the "babydoll" style shirts whose empire seam does not fall below my bustline. Stacy and Clinton would be very disappointed.

Anyway, I hope my new clothes don't fall into the "buy it, take it home, then return it because it doesn't look as good out of the poorly-lit dressing room" category. Wish me luck!

Me On The Internets!

So, recently I played host to Jon Carroll and Leah Garchik as part of the Authors@Google program. It was really, really fun for me, because I am a big fan of both of them, and I basically got to walk them around campus and introduce them before they spoke to a gaggle of interested Googlers. Gaggle of Googlers. Tee. Hee. Hee. You can watch the video here (note to self: never wear white fuzzy sweaters on camera. They turn you into a marshmallow. Also, stand up straight!!!), and while it says it was added on 01/05/08, it was added on May 1st. European date formatting or something.

Anyhoo, Jon was lovely enough to write up a review/column of his visit here, and as usual, it does not fail to entertain. And he even called me "kindly Kim," which may become my new moniker. Maybe not. He also called me "charming" in an email, which just made me ecstatic, because I am that much of a big dork. Tee hee, I am charming and kindly.

He also wrote a piece recently about going to a charity event in Ross, which I swear I thought was about a charity event in the cheap store and not in a wealthy community until I read it. Who knew there was a rich-people-place called Ross? Not this recent college graduate, that's for sure. Though I suppose that if the event was at the store, he would have sad "at Ross" and not "in Ross."

Sharing is Caring

Because I'm such a giver, I've decided to start Sharing. You can see everything I'm Sharing by going to this pretty website (thanks, Google Reader). I chose the "sea" theme. I love choosing themes. I can also rock a theme: theme parties, theme meetings, you name it. Give me a theme, and I will let loose.

But I digress.

I am a Giver (no, not that kind of Giver). I am now officially Sharing, which is basically what this blog is all about anyway, me posting random things that I've found or thought about from all over the internets so that you can be amused at work instead of falling asleep at your desk, but now I'm doing it in an Official Way. See, Google Reader has this Sharing thing (I'm saying Sharing an awful lot), where your Friends (people from your gmail contacts who use Google Reader) can see selected posts that you have elected to Share. I had never Shared before; I had just read things that Emily and Nick had Shared with me. Now, I will Share my own items (well, not items that belong to me, but items - I mean posts from the internets - that I like). And like I said, you can find my Shared things here. If you use Google Reader, or any other Feed Reader Program Thingy, you can subscribe to my Shared Things page (yes, I've linked to it three times now). AND, because I am just so kind and into the Sharing, I also put a pretty little pink box in my left-hand sidebar (go look! now!), and it will include the most recent of my Shared Items.

Apparently, you can also Share with Notes. Or just share a Note on its own. Google is just craziness over in the Internet Department. Or Department of Internets.

Now, I will probably still post all sorts of blogs with titles like "oh, look! it's a list!" and "a long list of things because I am so creative" and things of that nature. But this Sharing thing from Google Reader is just so convenient, all I have to do is click a little "share" button when I'm done reading something and it automatically shares it with you! I don't have to copy and paste and deal with links and all that. Like I said, it is likely that I will still post link-filled lists all the time; but that will be reserved for Special things to Share. Maybe.

We'll see how this all turns out, but for now, subscribe to my Page O' Sharing!

Cinco de Mayo: List-Style

So, it's Cinco de Mayo, and while I don't really do anything to celebrate the holiday (being a whitey-jewey-american, it feels a little odd/wrong/offensive, like it's not really my holiday to celebrate. kind of like st. patrick's day; i'm not irish), I thought I'd make a little list of things. You know, so today would be exactly. like. every. other. day.

Mostly kidding.

Anyway, a list (of totally random things, in the spirit of my blog):

• The NY Times wrote an article about Jezebel, which I have been sort of on-again off-again into for the last year or so. By that I mean I read it sometimes, get really into it for about 5 minutes, and then give up.
• I kind of sort of want to watch The Paper on MTV. Am I too old for this? Apparently not.
• As usual, Jessie is really funny. Check out this week's episode of Dorm Life, and read her most recent article at 23/6.com ("some of the news, most of the time" - genius), "Eight Belle's Death Not A Blow for Feminism."
• John Altieri, who played Bob Crewe in the National Touring Company of Jersey Boys, passed away this morning. Taylor wrote a nice tribute on his tour blog. Altieri was a really great performer; I loved him in all 4 (5? 6?) performances of the show I saw - and it seems he was just as great offstage. Condolences and warm thoughts to the entire cast, crew, and Altieri's family and friends.
• English Major never lets me down - and she doesn't seem to let herself down much either, at least not recently. She successfully negotiated her way into a pay raise, rather than leaving her current position, and reminds us all that it's sometimes hard to remember that as women, we may need to push (ourselves) just a little bit more. I know I am constantly reminding myself that it's ok to want more, and it's ok to ask for it, or to work for it rather than just sitting by and doing what I'm told. As EM says, "I Will Not Get What I Do Not Ask For."
• For Holocaust Rememberance Day (which I think just happened), one of our VP's wrote a nice little article about Google's involvement with Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel which I was lucky enough to visit last summer. It's a truly spectacular, interesting and educational museum, and I encourage everyone to at least read the post and check it out online.
• Today is my little sister's birthday. She is 19. They grow up so fast.
• This post is being posted on Tuesday morning instead of Monday night because I forgot to hit "publish post" before I got off the shuttle. oops.
  

Happy Things

Thank you Emily, for this post. These pandas are awesome (video embedded below), and totally do make me smile.



When working on this the other day, I found myself thinking about the Purple People Eater (yes, the one-eyed, one-horned, flying one). Which led me to the Wikipedia article, which has some really amusing things to say about it. And I quote:

One eternal question about the song is caused by an ambiguity in the English language: is the eponymous creature a one-eyed, one-horned flying purple creature that eats people, a creature that eats one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people, or somewhere in between? The lyrics clarify matters somewhat: the creature is described as having one eye and one horn, and it comes out of the sky (presumably by flying). However, it is also stated that the creature is a "purple people eater". There are two possible conclusion to be drawn from this information: either it is either a purple creature that eats people, or, it is a one-eyed, one-horned, flying creature that eats purple people. (The exact color of the creature is therefore open to debate, but most artwork assumes that it, too, is purple.) However, the lyrics also include "I said, Mr. Purple People Eater, what's your line? He said it's eatin' purple people and it sure is fine." Thus, the creature is described as eating purple people, but may or may not itself be purple. On the other hand, at least in the version sung by Deep Purple, the singer pleads to the Purple People Eater: "Mister Purple People Eater, don't eat me!", to which the Purple People Eater responds: "Well I wouldn't eat you, since you're so tough". Since it is a widely accepted fact that the singer is not purple and the monster does not consider this to be the most important reason not to eat him, this line does provide evidence that the creature itself is (also?) purple.

Ah yes, life's great questions.


Mark Morford wrote an interesting column about Laura Bush and women-leaders in general. It's pointed and opinionated, of course, but I thought it was pretty interesting (I know, I already said interesting...my writing is...not interesting. blame the sinusitis). I'm sure Emily would have something to say about it -- Emily?

And last but not least, I don't know if you've heard, but there's this new thing with iGoogle, where you can personalize your header with brand-new designs from real, famous artists! Click here to read the full story and check out the art...it's pretty cool, really. The art is gorgeous and diverse, and I think it's a nice idea. Personalize your homepage with awesome art!

Home Sick = Hugh Grant

I don't know how, but I always end up watching some Hugh Grant movie when I'm home sick. Maybe they always show them in the morning/midday or something, but I always end up on whatever channel has this charming British guy. He's always the same in every movie, sort of bumbling and egotistical and then he turns into a sort of bumbling nice guy in the end.

Today, it's About a Boy, which I always thought was something else. From the title, it doesn't sound like a movie where a selfish playboy becomes emotionally attached to a 12 year old boy (from the description on the tv guide). It sounds like a chick flick where a girl is all in love with a boy or something.

I'm not making much sense, but I'm blaming it on being sick.

Wasn't I "tagged" another time recently?

I was tagged by Grad Girl, who centered her answers around personal finance (she's mainly a PF blogger), and I may or may not do the same. We'll see:


What was I doing 5 years ago?

In the spring of 2003, I was finishing my second quarter of my freshman year of college. I was probably going crazy. At that point, I was still into majoring in acting. I wasn't involved in 10,000 activities (yet), but I was helping to manage an independent, student-run theatre festival.

Five things on my to-do list today (or things I did today - in no particular order):
1. Picked up sinus infection medicine at Kaiser
2. Ate lunch with friends, instead of at my desk
3. Had a chair massage, in which my sinuses were massaged - weird, and good
4. Got totally distracted doing this
5. Passed out on the couch watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 (well, haven't done it yet...)

Five snacks I love, regardless of cost or nutritional value :
1. White Cheddar Soy Crisps (either TJ's or Stacy's) (no, I don't buy them on Amazon. But I could.) (The people at Trader Joe's have offered to sell me an entire case. More than once.)
2. Chocolate Pudding
3. Chocolate.
4. Cheese.
5. Pickles.

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire, assuming I had to spend it on me:
1. Live somewhere where I am near the ocean and have a view of city lights, but not too far from civilization.
2. Try a new restaurant every night (I'm stealing this from GG).
3. Travel instead of work - but do whatever kind of work I want in my off-time.
4. Buy really nice clothes.
5. Hire someone to live with me whose sole job would be getting rid of spiders/bugs so I don't have to feel guilty making The Boy do it all the time.

Five bad money habits I have:
1. Splurging when I get a little extra money - even if I can technically afford it, I feel guilty.
2. Not paying enough attention to my Vanguard accounts.
3. Trying to push others to be more frugal.
4. Not going out enough - being too frugal.
5. Not carrying enough cash.

Five (four) places I have lived:
1. Los Angeles - San Fernando Valley
2. Los Angeles - Westwood
3. England (Stratford/London...for a month)
4. Berkeley
5.

Five jobs I’ve had:
1. bagel seller/preparer (bagel shop)
2. Front Desk Attendee (dormitory)
3. Archivist (music library)
4. Intern (literary management/dramaturgy)
5. Administrative Associate

Five bloggers I'm tagging (I'm going to try to tag blogs I haven't tagged before):
1. An English Major's Money
2. Now, Looks More Like Real Life
3. Seriously Jazzed
4. Mediocrity At It's Finest
5. The Actor/Composer's Notebook

I Am So Congested I Can't Name This Post

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you...The Chronic Sinusitis Sufferer. She may exhibit signs of drowsiness, grumpiness, discomfort, and child-like behavior (ie: whining, selfishness and curling up into the fetal position). This is likely caused by the feeling that her head is no longer firmly attached to her neck, but is rather floating like a heavy balloon somewhere just above it. Also, the stuffy nose, puffy sinuses, and scruffy appearance (caused by chapped nostrils, and a lack of desire to keep up appearances) do not help the cause. She is most assuredly feeling disoriented, with the inability to focus due to the swollen sinus cavities in her face. She probably also has a headache that won't quit, and has gone through several boxes of tissue in the last two days.

Please approach her with caution, as she has not yet received antibiotics [note: she HAS tried Tylenol Severe Allergy and Wal-itin, to no avail. Those are for chumps. She needs the perscription drugs.] - hopefully, for all our sakes, she will get them tonight.

grrr.

so many tabs...

• Vlogs (video blogs) from Mel, of Flight of the Conchords.
• Crazy Aunt Purl makes me laugh.
• Really bizarre story about some really psycho landlords in San Francisco.
• Cool pots and stuff, maybe I'll use something like this to plant a garden on my back steps.
• This family lives in an RV. I think I would get claustrophobic, at least when it's too cold to be outside.
• Topanga Elementary School is doing Seussical The Musical. Too cute.

And on a final note, if you click here and start playing, you will get addicted to this website. In a good way. I had forgotten about it (after having played for months last year), and now it is back in my life. Eek.

Flight of the Conchords

Yet another glorious video from Flight of the Conchords.

Such a Good Saturday

Ah, yesterday was lovely. While we somehow managed to wake up at 8:30 (why do we always wake up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on the weekend???), we stayed in bed reading for about an hour and a half. I haven't done that in a long time, and it was really, really nice. I love the book I'm reading right now, and I'm glad I'm falling back into a habit of reading on a consistent basis. We made a delicious breakfast of eggs (sunny-side-up), tomatoes, spicy italian sausage, potatoes and toast, with the remnants of our Cougar Gold cheese. Absolutely yummy.

Then we headed over to the Farmer's Market, where we purchased all sorts of things, under The Boy's suggestion that we just buy whatever looks good and figure out how to cook it later. "That's what the chefs do," he explained. A good theory, I think. Now what to do with beets, bok choi, potatoes, onions, and fresh halibut, pasta, oregano, and basil? I think I have an idea...maybe. We scarfed down two (big) scoops of Three Twins ice cream while listening to three awkward asian teenage boys sing "All I Have to Give" by the Backstreet Boys. It was awesome.


I went to get a haircut, and stopped into the most relaxing store ever. Harmony Yoga Pilates is a yoga/pilates studio + aromatherapy store all in one. They spent a lot of time trying to get the aesthetic in the store just right, and boy have they succeeded. There are a ton of different kinds/brands of soaps, lotions, oils, etc., and they are displayed beautifully. I spend about 2o minutes just wandering around the store, smelling things and feeling relaxed. The yoga/pilates studio in the back is beautiful, with hardwood and exposed brick. Mmmm I might have to check out a class or two. I am on a hunt for a pilates ball, a small one like we often use in the class I take. It's not weighted, really, and it's about 9" in diameter I think. I've found them (I think) online, but I want to buy it in a store so I can make sure it's the right one. I think I'm going to have to check out a big sporting goods store.



Picked up a few things at Walgreens, where I saw these interesting and colorful flowers, and headed home to prepare to welcome Shonelle and her friend Maya for Craft Night. We actually got some crafting done (I finally finished my scrapbook from Amsterdam/Paris/England 2005), and ate our way through an entire batch of onion dip. Not that that's unusual. The Boy came over for a few episodes of The Office, and we went to bed before midnight. All in all, a lovely Saturday.

This morning, we walked down to the Thai Temple for brunch (or "Sunday Hour," as the sign says - even though it's open from 10-1). I love that it takes less than 5 minutes to walk there from my house. Awesome. Now we're sitting on the couch in total food-coma-mode, bellies full of curry and pad thai, and mango with sticky rice. The weather has been just wonderful, and I'm looking forward to a day of lounging around and relaxing in the sun. And maybe some fresh halibut for dinner.

Happy Weekend!

San Francisco Friday

Yesterday evening, I went into San Francisco to meet up with my old buddy Sanjay, who is in town visiting from Puerto Rico, where he teaches at Princeton Review and speaks no Spanish ("I can order food REALLY well though!"). I've known him for almost 10 years, so it's nice to reunite every once in a while.

However, we have very different styles of plan-making. He is more along the lines of the rest of the population, whereas I am fairly psychotic when it comes to organizing get-togethers. I prefer to specify a time and a location, and meet up there and then. I am trying to be more open and spontaneous though, so I tried to keep my cool (and *mostly* succeeded) when plans kept changing, and things felt like they were never going to come together. But you know what? Everything worked out fine, and while it wasn't my ideal or preferred way of scheduling a night out on the town, it was fun. Yeah, I spent over an hour sitting alone at Dolores Park, but I had brought a book, and I actually enjoyed just hanging out alone, people-watching (hippies and hipsters galore! puppies! babies! hula hoops!) and reading and taking in the fresh air. Until it got cold; then I was all, "hey Sanjay, where the hell are you!??" For Reals.

For the whole evening, I was just along for the ride - a position I'm not used to being in. I am usually the planner, and I stress out (or whatever) about getting everyone coordinated, in the same place at the same time, on schedule, etc. It was kind of nice to just get in a car and follow along with wherever we were going. At one point, we were on the corner of 14th and Valencia, not sure where this restaurant was where we were supposedly meeting people (people I didn't know, mind you. check me out!). And until we walked into the restaurant, I was convinced we were going for sushi. Turns out, we were going for gourmet (aka: organic shmancy hippie) pizza. Go figure. But it was delicious (albeit overpriced), and it was even kind of fun sitting at a table with 8 strangers making semi-awkward conversation. And oh-my-god, the bathroom at this restaurant (downstairs; the upstairs one wasn't much to talk about). Worth a trip out there just to see the craziness (see below).

All in all, I really enjoyed the evening. I had a great time walking from BART to Dolores Park, taking pictures of the funky shops and interesting San Francisco architecture. Photos below:

And Oh Yeah, Some Links

I can't tell if I am repulsed or intrigued by the idea of this fake jellyfish tank. I love looking at jellyfish, but I just don't know that this would do it for me. Plus, it's expensive. Plus, it's kind of chintsy, right?

My friend Erin is a really good poet. I have forced her to email me her poems for years now, and she is currently getting her masters in poetry (well, writing in general, I think...but she's a poet). Anyway, she's really talented, and her poems always rub me just the right way, and I usually feel smarter having read them. Reading poetry is a "smart" thing, right? Just kidding. I love me some e. e. cummings like the best literary snobs. That's not the point though. The point is that Erin is a wonderful poet, and her poetry is now available online HERE - through at-large magazine. Just click on POETRY and then E.C. MESSER [Why Captain, I had no idea.] This issue is the "Jungle" issue, though I'm not sure what that refers to (even after reading the blurb on the homepage). Maybe Erin can elaborate in a comment.

This might be one of the funniest twitters Dooce has ever twittered.

There is so much I want to do in San Francisco. I'm going to have to start scheduling things in, so I don't waste away my weekends puttering around the house.

Oh my lord, The Laptop Compubuddy Sleeve. Holy Crap. Trust me, you will want to click here and check this out. This is one of those "a picture's worth a thousand words" cases.

I really enjoyed this Leah Garchik column...sometimes I really wish I could go to one of these fashiony things, just to check 'em out.

California Golden Moms

The Boy writes for a rather popular Cal-Athletics-Themed Blog, The California Golden Blogs (link to change soon, once the blog is officially a part of SBN, which is apparently somewhat of a big deal. I don't know much about the sports-blogging world, but this is what I am told). Anyway, there has been some drama going on over at the Golden Blogs in the last week, which you can read a little about here, but the point of this blog post is that there was a special guest-post this week.

I would just like to provide a quotation from said recent guest-post, written by The Boy's mother, who went with him to a practice earlier this week (just what every mom wants to do when she's in town visiting her son, right? Just kidding. Well...) - it cracked me up.

"Like the brother, #19 stands about 6′7" and has the really long legs. I’m guessing he wears about a size 15 shoe, which you can only buy on-line."

It's just so very mom-like, and it just made me smile.

Earth Day!

You didn't think I would blog today without mentioning Earth Day, did you?

Three Earth-related things I love:

1. Planet Earth. Seriously. If you have never watched it, watch it immediately. It's about $60 from the Discovery Channel Store, but you can get it on Amazon for around $25! Buy the whole series. Just do it. Rent it first if you want, but trust me, this is something worth having in your collection. There's a scene from "Seasonal Forests" that I replay over and over in my head if I need a pick-me-up. Click here and go down to forests: leaps of faith, approximately 1:40 into the video. Good lord I love it.
2. Envirosax. Very cute alternatives to the reusable bags your local grocery store sells/gives away. More expensive than those, most likely (they will usually run $0.99-$2.00; the ones on this website will run you around $10 apiece).
3. If you want to send someone a card the old-school way, try sending these cute little babies. These cards come printed with instructions to moisten and bury in the ground - they come embedded with wildflower seeds! Lovely!

I hope you all had fantastic Earth Days...mine wasn't as sunny as I would have liked, but it rained a bit this evening, which is good for the planet! April showers bring May flowers, right? :-)

An English Major - Writing!

I've posted before about a personal finance blog I adore, An English Major's Money, and the writer of said blog has just launched a NEW website/blog! The Interpreted World features her musings and analysis about "arts, culture, and the semiotics of the mundane."

Two of my favorite recent posts are Aunt Sally and Cherry Tomatoes and Class in America. She has a great writing voice; easy to read, engaging, witty...I'm a fan! Plus, her webmaster/boyfriend helped with the design, which is absolutely (minimalist-ly) fabulous!

Check out The Interpreted World today!

Holy Crap, You're Out There!

I recently signed up with Google Analytics, just to track how many readers I actually have out there, where you all live (not on a personal level - it just shows how many people in each geographic location), etc. And after a few days of tracking (started on 4/17/08), I have to say...wow! There are more of you than I thought!!!

A few stats that blew my mind:

• I have readers not only in California (where most of my friends/family are), but in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and something that says "not set." And that's just the Top-10! All y'all out there from from 35 of these United States! Pretty cool!
• There are 295 "absolute unique visitors," which I think means at least 295 people have come to the site. What?! Who are you people???
• Most people spend an average of 21 seconds on the website, which makes sense, as my posts are generally short.
• Apparently people who read this blog speak not only English, but Spanish, Russian, Japanese, German and Norwegian! Go you!
  
• My reports say that 88% of the visitors are new (as opposed to returning), but I think that's mostly because I've only been tracking for a few days. I'm thinking this number will even out more over time, but we'll see.
• I hit a peak of 100 page views on Sunday, April 20 (people out there getting stoned and coming to KimsKitchenSink?), but Saturday, April 19 held a close second at 99 views (Happy Passover?) - it's a little confusing, because another section of the site reports 121 views on 4/20, but I think that's total views vs. unique views (repeat visitors in a single day vs. separate individuals visiting only once).
• Most people view 1 page (I'm guessing the homepage, or maybe the page of the newest post), and a decent number (10%) visit 2 pages - which means people are actually clicking around to previous posts and such. Neat!

So yeah. Wow. I'm glad all y'all out there are are reading! It's definitely more than the 8 or so friends and family members I had thought!

I am kind of in shock.

(click to enlarge image)

where my readers are, globally
(the darker the green, the more readers in that region)

PS: Most of my readers (80%!) come, apparently, from referrals - which means I owe a big thanks to you lovely bloggers out there who link to me either in the sidebar or in actual posts to your blog! Thanks!!!

[note: If you want to find out all sorts of interesting things about your own blog/website, it's super easy to do through Google Analytics. Just use your gmail/blogger account and sign up. If you don't have a gmail account...well...get one. What's taken you so long? As you know, I'm terrible with the technologies, and it only took me about 5 minutes to set up. You enter the name of your blog, they give you a piece of html code, which you just copy-paste onto your blog/website. Easy peasy.]

Give My Apartment Some Love

So, I entered another Apartment Therapy contest. I pretty much enter these things to offer some representation for people whose apartments don't look like they're torn from the pages of expensive design magazines. Go to the link above and vote if you want, but please do leave comments (you have to create a login, but they won't email you or anything if you don't want). People can be sort of mean (or "pretentious" as The Boy observed today), so it's always nice to have positive reactions. Not that I really care; I love my apartment, and I don't care that my couches don't match, or that my style is sort of "college" (honestly, who cares?) - as long as it makes me happy, I think that's what matters.

I have been having a lot of mixed, mostly negative, feelings about Apartment Therapy lately. On the one hand, they have a great mission of helping people make their homes comfortable and lovely, blah blah blah. But I just feel like so much of what they recommend or love or feature is expensive and often sort of sterile. Maybe that's just my taste though. It seems that a lot of people love super clean lines and a sort of museum feel. I like soft couches and colorful pillows. To each his own, right?

Anyway, check out the entry, look at the slideshow of pictures (and the oh-so-lovely floorplan), comment if you like.

I think that even though my apartment doesn't really "fit in," and it's not "inspiring" to most, it's representative of who I am; and I think there are plenty of people out there who subscribe to Apartment Therapy but don't subscribe to the belief that designer is the only way to have a "cool" home. And I love it.

The end.

Dashing off...

I'm about to dash off to LA for Passover, but I wanted to empty out the tabs in my browser before I get on the plane. There are just too many.

This post is dedicated to Jennifer, because today she told me that she likes when I do this. Yeah! Validation! Really, folks, I do this for you. (No, I do it for me. But I like when you like it.)

And here goes:

• Mary Roach came to speak at work today about her new book, Bonk. I'm really excited to read it. Here are some articles from the New York Times, NPR, and The SF Chronicle about her and the book.
  
• Dooce (aka Heather Armstrong) was written up in the Wall Street Journal. It's actually a pretty concise article about what she does and how she does it, though you can't really get the full scope of the awesomeness that is her website until you read it yourself. I haven't watched this TV interview yet, but she wrote about it, and it looks like fun.
• Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the Great San Francisco Quake - and this guy Herbert Hamrol is the last survivor, at age 105. The lovely Sara posted this interview with him today. (thanks, Sara!)
• Emily has a rather magnificent talent for posting things that I'm really interested in. Like this photo album of food.
• I'm a big fan of archiving my emails...here are some reasons why you should, from the Gmail team.