(A different kind of) Ladies who lunch.

I spent a lovely day in San Francisco yesterday. I met up with three wonderful ladies for lunch at MarketBar at the Ferry Building. Well, there were four of us eventually, poor NR trekked down from Sacramento and had a bit of parking trouble before switching to BART. I indulged in a fantastic BLT and pomme frites, which will be my inspiration to keep going when I want to quit before my 30 minutes of running are up later today. Or maybe it will be the Miette cupcake I had with NR after our other two lunching ladies had to go back to work. We grabbed some coffee, having both slept in and not managed to have any before lunch and headed out back to enjoy the view. Here's a photo I found of someone having a similar experience, I've admired those cupcakes for so long, I'm pretty excited to have had one. The cake is bittersweet chocolate and the frosting is marshmallowy meringue goodness. Have I ever mentioned that although I prefer dark chocolate and hate overly sweet things, for some reason I have a soft spot (perhaps literally) for marshmallow? After undoing all the good several miles of running had done in the past couple days, we headed further into the city and managed to do just a small bit of shopping. We wound up having a drink at Zazil in the Shopping Centre and just enjoyed getting to chat in person. Something I don't get to do with certain friends nearly enough. I'm really relishing time spent like this right now. I'm so grateful for a summer full of good times with good friends.

I have to say, I know some pretty amazing women. I'm not going to discuss their personal lives on my blog, but all three of my friends at lunch yesterday have incredibly cool stuff going on in their lives right now. We met online while planning weddings but real and valuable friendships were born. Another thing I am very grateful for.

Preparations for heading to Zurich continue to go well. We keep thinking we're procrastinating or misbehaving when we run off to Davis for the night (like we did last week, pretty much just to see two friends' bands play), go on another stock-up shopping spree or take the time to watch way too many episodes of No Reservations. But really, we've done a good job planning and everything is going smoothly... so far, knock on wood. After slinking back home in the early afternoon on Saturday ("Gotta get up early and head home, sorry we can't stay longer, mom!" Sheesh!) we got to sorting out what was going into our shipping container. We had to decide what was too heavy to get to Switzerland any other way, and what could we stand to do without for most of two months. Once I started making that division in my wardrobe, it was basically all over. Reality is setting in, this is happening soon! We got through a good deal of our stuff on Saturday so Sunday became yet another shopping day. Most of the loot we brought home came from REI, I now own hiking shoes, and the rain shell I've avoided buying on the past two trips to Europe because "I'll never wear it at home." Oh, how life can change. CF is too good to me and offered to pay and not let me see how much we spent. He knows me so well! We finished our sorting easily Sunday evening and were totally ready for them when they showed up on Monday morning.

They brought the whole damn twenty-foot shipping container to our house! It filled the street! Not. Subtle. To make matters worse the postman pulled up and started asking loudly if the house was vacant, or were we moving. Not. Helping. I think the container was at least half empty when they finished. And we probably could have done without half of what we sent! We're taking a bunch of our kitchen stuff, but they are leaving most of theirs. I took more books than I've probably read in the past ten years, how many do I really think I'm going to read this year? Oh well, at least I didn't have to decide right now. So that's on it's way. The air freight will go shortly after CF does. And we'll both be packing up two suitcases, at least. Eventually we'll get everything there. Including me. I'll be there in less than a month! Eek!

The Countdown Begins!

Yesterday was the two month mark, I have a ticket booked for Zurich on September 2. We've done a lot of preparation already, but there is still an amazing amount of work to be done. I'm so grateful to be unemployed right now so I can work on all this stuff now instead of scrambling at the last minute. I have also been spending lots of time with friends and I'm having a blast. It will make it all the harder to say goodbye in 8 weeks, but lots of great memories have been forming.

I had finally decided to stay behind in the states after CF heads to Switzerland on August 16. My sister had been planning on visiting with her family at the beginning of September since before all this Europe adventure stuff came along and I wanted to be here for them. Plus the first couple weeks are going to be crazy as CF gets settled in at work and takes over for HK before he heads to Sydney. Originally my sister had asked me about our brother's birthday weekend... but somewhere along the way I had started to think we had discussed Labor Day weekend. You see, the two are usually the same. CF was itching to get airfare booked so I decided I would leave the day after Labor Day itself. He did the sweetest thing for me. Remember how I am super scared of flying? Well, at least of turbulence? The biggest drawback for me to fly to Europe after him was the thought of riding out a storm alone. I should mention, part of me deciding to stay behind two weeks was me wanting to do something that scares me. Just to see what will happen. Well, even if I'm scared to tears I will be crying much more comfortably because CF went and booked me a business class ticket. I am actually looking forward to the experience now because of that!

Ah, but here is where the "whoops!" comes in. My sister and her family were coming to stay with me because her husband bought tickets to all three concerts Dave Matthews Band is doing in Berkeley that weekend. That weekend that is my brother's birthday... NOT Labor Day weekend. I'm booked to fly out a couple of days before they will be arriving. This was so frustrating! I felt ridiculous for going and buying a ticket without confirming the plan with anyone, CF was already a little bit antsy about being alone in Europe so long and he did not want me showing up any later than already planned, but I didn't want to leave my sister hanging and miss out on a visit, and besides if I wasn't going to be here for their visit than the whole point of me staying behind was lost. ARRRRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!

Well, I've calmed down a bit now and remembered that with "opportunities of a lifetime" you have to make compromises. Moving my ticket would cost a good chunk of extra money, plus CF started suggesting that I couldn't live without him for longer than 2.5 weeks (I think he means he can't live without me, but whatever). So right now the plan is to leave that plane ticket alone and I'll go down to San Diego and visit the Life Breaking In crew after CF departs for Europe. The plan isn't perfect, but I think it will do. And yes, DS, I will give you a key and you can use the house for your Berkeley weekend. How funny to think it will be occupied so soon after I leave!

This weekend CF is actually heading over to Zurich for a week to start getting things ready. I'll be heading up to the North Bay for Mr. PZ's birthday party and then I'll drive to Davis for a little more time in my hometown, for what could be the last time for quite some time. Also in upcoming plans, a visit from my parents and grandparents (we're hoping to get out to Half Moon Bay for a visit to Sam's Chowder House), dinner at Chez Panisse with CF's side of the family (the upstairs cafe this time which did indeed look much more inviting than the downstairs restaurant turned out to be, we should have listened to the advice), CF's finally taking his scuba lessons (the last weekend of this will include a trip to Monterey so I'm going along so we can visit expecting mommy and daddy SL and BL, and also DH and family), then we're having a big going away bash for ourselves... like we needed an excuse to plan one last party before we go! So it's going to be crazy times from here on out. Hope we can keep our heads on straight.

Besides all these fabulous plans we also have to continue with our efforts to make our lives more transportable. We're in the middle of switching to an online bank and we've taken out a credit card with no foreign transaction fee and a good conversion rate. I've renewed my driver's license most of a year early as it would have expired while we were gone. My reward for being so proactive was having to take half the written test with no warning! Turns out the test is much more ridiculous than I remember and includes such passive aggressive notes as:

"Q: Driving slowly in front of traffic in the far left (fast) lane on any freeway... A: Can frustrate other drivers and make them angry."

I got 100% on the test, got to take a new photo so at least it will look more like my current self, and I got to give them a whole new lie about my weight (what it current says used to be a lie because I weighed more but for quite some time now I've weighed a good deal less than what it says).

I was about to send my passport in for early renewal as well, had new pictures taken and everything, but CF is applying for our visa/s today and doesn't know if they will be attaching something into my current book or not. I'm hoping not so I can use my new photos and get a passport that actually says my current last name, not just as an amendment on the very last page. So much paper work! Photos here, signatures there... again, so glad to have the availability to be doing this now instead of scrambling for the time and cutting it close just before we go.

I spent most of yesterday updating accounts with credit cards and other billers. Giving everyone the credit card number we'd like them to bill from now on, giving our PO box mailing address (a swell service CF signed us up for that will scan the outside of envelopes we received and make that available to us online and then we can tell them if we'd like them to open it and scan the contents for us or not, fancy!), and updating our telephone number to the only one we have right now that will be staying with us: our Skype phone number! Our cellphones and home phone will soon be getting canceled. This number we can answer on a computer or forward to our new mobiles or home line. It's a US number too so it's cheaper for friends to call us this way.

If you have a web cam and microphone though I'd like to suggest signing up for a free Skype account and we'll get connected. Video conferencing is here and now, folks! My parents marveled as CF and I sat on the couch and had a chat... with him on our couch at home and me on my parents' couch in Davis a couple weeks ago. The world is getting smaller and smaller!

So anyway, as you can see we're getting through it all but there is a lot to be done before we take off. I remain excited but the whole thing seems much more real now and the responsibility of it all, all the organization and what not, is a pretty big burden. But I'm not complaining... it's just part of taking an opportunity of a lifetime!

Memories of one of the me's I barely knew.

What a lovely Picnic Day weekend that was! I found myself in so much awe of what a great time I was having... but I think it really just comes down to the weather actually behaving.

Last week was rough, CF and I were both working a lot, I was trying to keep up with my workout schedule, and I had my plate more than full of design projects. Friday morning I went off to the gym for one last pre-Picnic Day workout and run. I was finishing week 7 of the running program SW sent me. I had set a goal to be able to run the 25 minutes at 5mph by then, but it didn't quite happen. I ran the first mile at that speed, but the second mile I had to slow down to 4.5mph and I just barely dragged myself through it. I came home absolutely beat, it took me a while to get showered and packed for the weekend. We hit the road around 1pm and decided to head straight to the pub when we arrived in Davis.

Walking onto that patio is like walking into my past. Who can really complain about a large group of people all happy to see you and at least a dozen or so people who are thrilled to see you and want a hug? I often joke that my ego needs that fix at least once or twice a year. Considering we missed Homecoming while adventuring in Europe it had been a while. Add on top of that the ego boost of jaws dropping and "Oh, you look so good!" and I'm flying high.

Picnic Day itself was wonderful as I said. We woke up much earlier than the last couple years and actually made it to campus in time to play at the Alumni Association's pancake breakfast. I found myself a bit nervous but it was a good way to get back into the swing of things... I later figured out that the last time I actually played was probably two Picnic Days ago. The time between the breakfast gig and the parade is always another round of greetings and hugs. LL, my old boss and mentor from my days working on UC Davis Magazine came over from setting up her booth on the quad basically just because she knew it was the one time all day she knew exactly where to find me.

I had loaded myself up with my camera case (which I discovered held my music folder perfectly!) and my sax, I gave people a good laugh as I complained about "neck strap build up," especially when I had the camera out of the case and also around my neck. The parade began and I had to put the camera away... no extra altos showed up to play my horn so I didn't get to photograph it at all, but it was actually quite thrilling. A little tour through good old Downtown Davis! It's fun to see the changes and what remains the same. At one point I somehow made eye contact with a friend from the Bay Area. We screamed! What were the chances of our eyes meeting like that? I stopped to chat with her for a second as the band continued down the street. I went to try to catch up but heard my name again. It was someone I knew from elementary school and hadn't seen in ages. So funny. Such a small world. Well, small Davis anyway. So I missed a chunk of the parade but I caught up eventually. When we settled into playing on the grass on A Street I finally got to take some pictures. Afterwards CF and I went and had some lunch with Ms. D and the W's. We stopped by (a rather trashed) Soga's for a margarita, which really hit the spot. Then it was back to campus for some Battle of the Bands watching. We left when the hour-long rendition of Stanford's Beginnings, well, began, and headed over for some dinner with another group of friends. So many people to see, such little time! We swung by one last hang out stop before hitting the road. I had to work on Sunday, and while we were tempted to stay and make a long, late night of it, good sense got the best of us and I was asleep in my own bed well before midnight.

It's amazing to me that I am stronger and in better shape than ever before and I am still sore in so many different ways than I ever get from working out. High stepping is apparently the best thing to fatigue hamstrings. And holding my horn at my right hip found arm muscles that seem to be slacking off most of the time.

Also amazing to me is that I actually still sort of know how to play. I got out the music for every song I attempted and followed along carefully. There were times when my fingers started to move without me even thinking about it, muscle memory is a very funny thing. I had to stop and smile at times, it was like someone else was controlling my body. It was a little shocking. The fact that I ever joined a marching band when I didn't know the first thing about playing an instrument is the biggest shock to me though, it sometimes seems like it was all just a funny joke. It didn't really happen, did it?

And yet, my joining the band is a key moment in what has brought me to this point in my life. Who can really say if CF and I would have made it through college together if I hadn't jumped into the band with him? I think we're a strong enough team now, but back then? I don't think so! And a good number of the other key players in my life are sort of from being in band, though actually most of them are really from the time that followed. I don't know. Part of me thinks that joining the band was a big act of self-concealment... I went through band insecure and defensive as I struggled to figure out how the hell to play that horn. It's just interesting what I found at the other end.

Fun with the new scanner...

Check it out:

Smug.

Today we got up and ate breakfast, got dressed, and scurried off to the San Mateo Farmer's Market. We've frequented the Belmont one on Sunday mornings (now year round!) but never had made it to the larger San Mateo market on Saturdays. Now, it didn't compare to dear old Davis but it was very impressive. CF cursed the fact that we had already had breakfast when he start spotting the bakeries (little did he know I had orchestrated it this way on purpose, duh). We rounded up some asparagus, apples (from Apple Hill, ahh, memories), yummy cheese, gorgeous eggplants and red peppers, had a sample of this and that, waited in line for a very impressive looking bakery stand, and CF got an second dose of espresso for the morning. We are going to eat good this week! We headed straight to Whole Foods from there and bought the few things remaining on our list after such a success (turkey bacon and eggs have yet to be offered at our FM).

We came home and unloaded all the goodies from our various reusable shopping bags, had a little bite of yogurt and granola, and then we hit the hill. I finally got to take CF to see the lovely view I had found weeks ago. And now that I wasn't alone we adventured down the sloping dirt path and finally found our way into this big park we had seen on Google Maps and had only sort of found part of once. Brilliant! We came out in the part of the park that we had actually found before and saw how we had missed the path, though it wasn't obvious at all. We trekked home from there, still a ways away. The first part of our walk was straight up the hill, the work out part of our walk, the second part was adventuring in the park, and the third part, was the endurance part. Just trying to get home! Now we've just lunched on delicious sandwiches made from the whole wheat rolls we got this morning from the bakery (they say to follow the crowds at FM's, and they are right). I am basically on cloud nine.

Yesterday I told LT of my intentions to run/jog now. I mentioned my concerns about the impact and my knees and bendy joints. She said to stick to the treadmill for now, which is just fine with me. I did my intervals just like Ms. SW's program suggested. It wasn't all glorious this time around, I found myself obsessing over my chubby cheeks bouncing up and down my face as I ran, and twice the stupid emergency stop button was triggered on my first treadmill. I moved over but my concentration was pretty much shot. Even so, this girl now comes with real jogging action!

Feeling pretty darn healthy, happy, and smug. Not bad for someone who has no idea what they're doing with their life, eh?

Year in Review...

2007 got off to a great start. Mr. MP let me tag along with him on a business trip to my favorite city in the world. A car picked us up from the airport and we checked into The Muse hotel. We had a wild night out with a college friend and her significant other, who happens to be an English lord, in their neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I experienced a hangover at Tiffany's. We saw four Broadway shows in three days: Little Dog Laughed, a hilarious play, The Apple Tree starring Kristin Chenoweth, Spring Awakening before it became a huge sensation and Tony winner and Grey Gardens, based on the documentary that MP loves and adores. Just when it was time for MP to head home, CF flew out to join me. We moved hotels, and were joined by his brother and sister-in-law who were visiting from Boston for his birthday. We found out that people with long legs shouldn't see opera at The Met, but we had a fabulous dinner out at Otto. I also caught one more Broadway show, a fantastic revival of Company. D&M headed home and we were joined by yet another travel buddy, Mr.PdP! We had Brazilian fusion at Sushi Samba and CF had a light night slice from Joe's while we were in the right neighborhood. We missed the West Village on this trip! We hopped on the subway back to our hotels, our stop being a couple before P's we waved goodbye to him and the train winded away. I thought to myself what an amazing life I have that I can meet up with a friend in NYC and part ways on the subway! The next morning we enjoyed brunch at SaraBeth's West and discovered Jacques Torres while waiting for a delayed flight home. What an adventure!

I designed Oscar party invites for a friend, ended up attending and winning the trivia competition! I'll have to check out the calendar this year and try to host a party. I flew to San Diego to help host a baby shower for my sister. Thanks to Yelp.com I found a fantastic place to host a ladies' tea party in her honor. It really was nice.

We spent our anniversary in March at the Ventana Inn in Big Sur. We had discovered it on our honeymoon (while on a drive out of Carmel) and had an amazing lunch on their restaurant's huge back patio. The view of the ocean was incredible. We had always wanted to return so we finally did. The hotel wasn't quite what we might have expected and it rained so much we couldn't go for the hosted nature walk like I had been hoping, but it was a nice and relaxing weekend. On our way home we stopped in Carmel for a meal at Casanova. They have great food but the shining star was their sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade served with the bread. The waitress said they knew it would be a hit if they could bottle and sell it but it doesn't keep well enough. So if you ever need a nice meal in Carmel, do yourself a favor and go try it!

Right before our anniversary I drove to SF to turn in a resume for my current job. I was expecting to have drive the 45 minutes just to turn around and come back after handing it over, but the person I happened to hand it to asked if I'd like to talk to the area manager, and she asked me if I'd like to interview right then and there. Another 45 minutes later she asked, "So if I were to offer you a full time position, do you think you would probably accept?" And I said, "Yeah, I'd need a little time, but probably." This was followed with her saying, "Okay, well I'm offering you a full time job." Instant job offer! Knowing what I do now I can see how this was an easy decision for her, but it seemed pretty crazy at the time! So this was the beginning of my crazy retail career. I met the team of people who had been rounded up, a few of these people are still with me at the store. I instantly liked KM, though I had no idea we'd practically end up being sisters, or maybe even twins. So we did our training, and helped with the actual set up of the store. We opened at the beginning of May, just before my birthday.

Speaking of birthdays, this year was the big 3-0. I had a great time going out with friends in Half Moon Bay. Honestly I am liking myself more than ever lately so I don't mind the getting older. Sure, sure, my back is always getting out of alignment, my knees have very recently been giving me a scare, there are a few lines on my face and some gray hairs that can no longer be ignored. But really, I was excited to start a new decade, it felt like a clean slate. My birthday present from CF was one of my most prized possessions, my digital SLR, a Canon Rebel. I've taken it many places and taken many photos with it. I try to experience life and the people and places I am near, but damn it, I love getting a great shot too!

CF celebrated his birthday with a trip to the city. We took the ferry to Larkspur and had lunch at the Marin Brewing Company. We splurged on a nice room at Hotel Vitale back in San Francisco, it was one of the few upgraded rooms I've ever thought was worth the money. We had amazing views of the Bay Bridge and Ferry Building.

My niece was actually born near the end of April, but I didn't have the opportunity to go visit her until her baptism at the end of June. She is adorable and it was great to have the whole family together in San Diego.

In August I got to take my mom back to NYC, yes folks, that was the second time I was there in 2007! But this trip was planned further in advance. A month before we went I had a frantic morning of dial-and-redial which scored us a reservation at Babbo, the crown jewel of Mario Batali's NY restaurants! We left early Monday morning and took the AirTrain and subway into the city. I had reserved the Greenwich Village guest studio that CF and I had stayed at two birthdays ago. Our hostess was actually away from home right then but because she knew me she let us stay anyway! Her friend let us in, and it was great having our own place all week. We went for a walk and that night we had our magical dining experience at Babbo. It was absolutely amazing. I know we kept notes about the food there, I should do a write up. The next day we took the subway to Brooklyn and found the Jaques Torres storefront there. The woman behind the counter asked where we were from and when my mom answered, "Davis, California." I gave her a bad time, expecting the woman to only recognize Sacramento or San Francisco. But silly me, it turns out this woman had visited Davis with Jaques himself... he spoke at UC Davis, which totally makes sense considering the emphasis on food science! We loaded up on "Wicked iced hot chocolate" a version of their spiced hot chocolate blended with ice for the warmer months, and then we walked back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge. We took a brief rest and then walked through Little Italy, continued through SoHo, and then to grab a sandwich at a place I had read about on newyorkdailyphoto.blogspot.com. It took a couple hours but we had walked all the way home from Brooklyn! We rested a while and then went up to Tiffany's, Rockefeller Center (and the Top of the Rock) and then went to try our luck at the Wicked lottery. $25 tickets for the front row weren't in the cards for us, so we got seats for The Drowsy Chaparone at the TKTS booth. We had another amazing meal, this one made up of four appetizers we split at Little Owl near home before going and enjoying the wonderful show. And then we had my required NYC food experience, tempura green beans at The Red Cat in Chelsea. My poor mother got in bed and started to read her book, but promptly passed out. What a day! The next day we went to check out the Union Square green market where a lot of the restaurants in the city get their fresh ingredients. Then we got matinee tickets to Curtains, a cheesy show that won me over with David Hyde Pierce's huge fantasy dance number. We got to experience Burger Joint, the hidden hole-in-the-wall inside Le Parker Meridian hotel for lunch before the show. We considered seeing a second show that day but when we still didn't win the Wicked lottery we decided just to take it easy and had slices from Joe's for dinner at home and got to catch up on a little sleep. Thursday we trekked up to brunch at SaraBeth's on the UWS, and mom had a soap star eating right behind her. We checked out Zabar's grocery store, imagine sight seeing in a food wonderland while little old ladies try to do their shopping! Then we got back on the subway and trekked all the way up to the Cloisters, an amazing satellite of the Met, with a beautiful garden. My friend from high school who moved to NY in '01 had always recommended the Cloisters from my very first visit in '04 on... and I finally made it up there. It was wonderful, totally worth the journey. We rode almost all the way home but stopped to check out Chelsea Markets, and wander back through Greenwich Village until we got home. That evening we had dinner with some friends of mine from college who happened to be visiting as well. I finally got to try Bar Pitti, a cheap but popular Italian joint near home. I think my fellow travelers enjoyed it all right, but they were really sold once I pointed out Kirsten Dunst (and Simon Pegg as it turned out) eating in the outside dining area! We all hopped on the subway and my friends went off to enjoy Avenue Q while I made a return visit to Spring Awakening. My special NY connection had booked us the best house seats I had ever scored. 5th row and dead center. It was so cool to see a show from such great seats! The next day we packed up and said goodbye to our special little home away from home. We got lunch from Murray's Cheese and enjoyed a little picnic in a little fenced off park. It was a nice way to wind down. We grabbed one last round of cookies from Rocco's Bakery and jumped on the subway to Brooklyn. We visited a friend of mine there who had just had a baby. We got some dinner and then trekked out to JFK, where we were horribly delayed thanks to a little bit of rain. But we made it home eventually, tired but happy.

Two short weeks later I was jetting off to a different city, we visited Chicago with our friend the DP's. I got to visit my store's headquarters and distribution before they joined us. We had a weekend of dining, drinking and lots and lots of fun. The first night we had martinis at Martini Park, before crossing the street for dinner at Fogo de Chão (never have a seen a restaurant so full of drunk people!), and then we even managed to have a round of beers at the Clark Street Ale House. It was crazy! The next night we had a huge Italian meal and visited Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar with overly caffeinated musicians playing their hearts out. Good fun! I came back tired and ready to take a break from traveling, but the truth was the biggest trip of the year was yet to come!

The weekend after Chicago we attended the wedding of one of my oldest friends. It was such a trip to see people who I met when I was 12 and hadn't seen in something like 10 years. The ceremony was performed by a comedian and he opened by giving the impression that the entire thing was going to be delivered like the priest in The Princess Bride! The groom's brother (another theater buddy of mine) sang, and it was so nice to see a couple have so much fun with their wedding. At the reception I sat at "the kids table" which meant I was sitting with my old theater friends and we danced and drank the night away. I barely made it to work in one piece the next day.

Later that month we were back in San Francisco where we had yet another magical dining experience by visiting Restaurant Gary Danko. The whirlwind continued the next weekend with FallFest, a fantastic event in the city full of wine and food. CF had too much sake though and the evening was cut a bit short. The DP's were with us and were great sports about it. I think they'll even go back with us next year... maybe.

It wasn't too much longer after then that we took off for Europe... and well, you know what happens next!

Currently I am hanging out in Davis with the whole big family. The niece is entertaining us just by being her cute little self. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, CF and I are rounding up the troops to trek out to Roseville for a party we were instrumental in scheduling. Hee hee. I'll try to write some more later about my thoughts about a new year. But just writing everything that happened this year out makes me realize what a great year this was. I know I always say this, but I can't wait to see what happens next!!!

If only all the answers came to me so quickly!

I know I was a big talker Sunday night, eventually the three consecutive days of closing the store at 10pm got the best of me and I came home incredibly cranky. I wish I could stay in bed all day! But there is so much to do and I have to head to the gym in an hour or LT will have my head.

Yesterday morning I woke up late but had just enough time to shower and get dressed before our Christmas tree was delivered. I went and picked it out the day before and paid an extra $10 to have it brought to our house. And of course instead of using the few hours I had before going to work to get something responsible done like putting away the laundry or catching up with the Quicken, I decorated the tree! I got it almost entirely decorated before I had to head down to San Jose for work. I have to admit, I am getting tired of the drive and the amount of gas I'm going through makes me feel awful. Things were crazy at the store when I arrived, but you know I got everything whipped into shape in no time at all! This was our busiest evening so far this week, at least it wasn't boring!

I had a little blast from the past moment... a basketball player from my days at UC Davis came in with his girlfriend/wife (not sure which). I had actually seen him there before but thought we were getting a little bit old for (said with sorority sister voice) "Did you go to Davis?" This time I decided to talk to them. He confirmed that he was indeed who I thought he was and then I told him I was in the band and had gone to Louisville. (I doubt anyone reading this doesn't know but: Davis played the DII national championship in '98 and a group of us paid for our own travel to get there and slept on a dorm lounge floor all week so we could play and cheer at the games. Davis ended up winning the whole darn thing. One of my memories of the evening that followed was this guy throwing flaming paper airplanes out a hotel room window as the band and team partied together.) He got a big smile on his face and the girl with him exclaimed, "You were in the band-uh?" She looked very familiar too, I don't know if it's from Davis or if she's been in the store without him. You never know with my memory. I didn't get to talk to them too much as business picked up in the store but we kept exchanging smiles. I felt like a big goober, band nerd and shop girl... aren't I impressive?

I had two straggling customers at 10pm, I need to remind my coworkers to check in with people and let them know when we're closing soon. People are so oblivious to what time it is, they don't really mean to be keeping us, but at the same time they probably wouldn't hurry anyway. I did my best to stay polite but I was beyond ready to go home. I The first night I was done at 10:05, second night 10:15, last night I was finally there till 10:30. I was probably speeding on the way home, I just wanted to be there already. CF called me and caught me just in time, he had taken the shuttle to work and needed a ride home (he left his car at the shuttle stop in San Carlos). We ended up staying up late watching TV, finishing decorating the tree and having some midnight cranky-mood-reducing junk food. Thanks CF, I can always count on you to cheer me up!

Today is my one day off this week when I will actually be home. I have so much to do! But here's a few things for entertainment purposes:

Footage of the Spring Awakening kids singing during the strike last month:



Then, while clicking around YouTube, I ran into footage from my favorite show from my first trip to NYC this year, the Company revival. The show closed back in July, but PBS filmed the last two performances. I started to wonder if that footage would ever see the light of day on Great Performances. And oddly enough it was a matter of hours before I got my answer! Playbill.com posted an article that says Company airs on February 20!!! Woot! Since it will air soon enough and you're all going to watch it (please tell me they release these things on DVD!), instead of posting a badly shot bootleg video from the show I thought I'd point out this footage of the star, Raúl Esparza, singing a song from quite a different show. You might recognize him from a few supporting appearances on my favorite new television show, Pushing Daisies. I just love that show! And I hope his character comes back!