Blustery Day

7-31-10

It was a blustery day out on the bay today. There were tons of kite surfers out when I went for my brick workout.

Maybe Signs Get Cold Too

7-30-10

The Berkeley guerrilla knitters strike again!

Privacy

7-29-10

Finally, after six months of living here I have put up the second window blind in the kitchen. When we first moved in I put up the first one, and it was so *&$#(*W&# difficult that I really kind of wanted to murder someone. Then, the second one we had bought was too big and wouldn't fit. In a fit of rage I ran through the neighborhood screaming and terrorizing all I saw. Six months later I finally have recovered from the trauma enough to buy a new shade, and put it up. It wasn't quite as difficult as the first one, but I took some short cuts/cheats...it's definitely not a perfect installation but all I care about is that now it's up and I can walk through the kitchen in a towel without feeling like all the neighbors can see me.

Disturbing

7-28-10

Uhhh...am I the only one who finds those ads like, really creepy? In case you can't tell what's going on here, on the left is a picture of two goats...necking? Can goats neck? Anyway, it says "Goats Gone Wild!" On the right are three piglets with...milk mustaches, sucking on their mom's teets and it says "got Pigs?" I already thought Alameda was a little bit creepy but now...wow...

Success!!

7-27-10

I did it! I got my bike on top of my car and locked into the bike rack all on my own! I think I owe my success to a combination of increased upper body strength since the last time I tried, and being able to stand up a little higher on the sidewalk. 

Stop to Smell the Roses

7-26-10

The height of spring lasts all summer in Berkeley. These flowers were in full bloom on my drive home. 

Here we are

7-25-10

I need to take a walk down in this area sometime to take pictures of these signs but for now this will have to do. Right here, where Oakland meets Berkeley there is a big sign that says "Here" which you can see in this picture. Directly across from it is another sign that says "There." Somehow it always surprises me when I see it, even though I know it's there. 

Bronzed Brain and Body

7-24-10

Here I am in my backyard today trying to darken my legs and brighten my mind at the same time. Can I just say that one aspect of linguistics I do NOT find interesting is writing systems. I just really don't care how the first neandrathals scrawled crap on cave walls or how English is syllabic and Chinese is logographic. I suppose this all will come in handy when trying to learn languages, but I find reading about it a bit dry. 

Hydrant Art

7-23-10

I like this fire hydrant a lot more now that it has such an intimidating face on it. It sort of tells fire to eat it. Of course, this would be a way cooler picture if I wasn't a dumbass with my thumb in the way. Oh well. I bet it even happened to Ansel Adams sometimes...

Hahaha

7-22-10

Can you saaaaay "play him off, keyboard cat!"?!?!?! hahahahaha

Big Top

7-21-10

Here is the bull terrier who lives in my neighborhood! If you've read any Jonathan Carroll books you know that these dogs show up rather frequently. I snapped this picture covertly from in my car so it's unfortunately a bit far away, but still kinda a cool shot I think. Click on it to see it bigger, as always!

Day Off

7-20-10

I got home from camping earlier than I expected so I took the day to hang out with myself. After being home most of the day I needed to get out and headed to Alameda for a nice run and some relaxation.

The Prodigal Son Returns!

7-19-10

I know what you're thinking, "ANOTHER picture of HOBBES?!?!" I know. But this is a special picture of Hobbes. Allow me to explain. Last week on Tuesday night I was exhausted. The cats were outside and when I called them only Dinah came. I usually spend a little more time waiting for them, but I really was inexplicably tired so I just went to bed and figured Hobbes would show up in the morning. Well...he didn't. He didn't show up Wed. evening either. Or Wed. night. Or Thursday morning. I started to get worried Thursday evening when he still hadn't shown up. Hobbes is sort of a fatass and he always shows up when he gets hungry. Two days of not eating is unheard of. I was leaving to go camping early Friday morning, so I asked my landlords to look out for him and let him in if he showed up and I tried calling Animal Control and the Humane Society with no luck. Friday morning he still hadn't shown up. I was sure he was gone for good. However, when I got home this evening Kim came out and told me he was back! He had just shown up on the front lawn that morning - he was gone for almost a week. Now he's sleeping a lot and looks a little bit skinny...and seems a little shell-shocked. I'm not sure where he's been, but I'm sure glad he's home! Dinah, on the other hand, seems perturbed that he showed back up...hmmm...and she was in an awfully good mood Wednesday and Thursday last week. Methinks there may be foul play in the tradition of Joseph's brothers afoot...hmmm... Anyway, this is a picture of him sleeping on my lap. He's been sleeping on or near me since I got home (well, after he ate a hefty meal, of course). I <3 my kitty! I'm glad he returned in one piece!

Tuckered Out!

7-18-10

Here is Whiskey the dog tuckered out after a long day of swimming in the Smith River. She even braved the rapids (though not necessarily on purpose). In the foreground: my sunscreen. Protected me from the sun - tan I got, burnt I did not! Well...except for one small triangle (yes, a triangle) on my upper back that apparently I missed. Still, for hours of fun in the sun that ain't half bad. 

Camping

7-17-10

Waking up @ the Smith River. Beautiful to wake up to, and beautiful to fall asleep looking up at the stars and trees. 

On Our Way

7-16-10

Here is Megan's car packed to the hilt with a very secure tarp burrito on top. On our way to camp at the Smith River! It was a long hot car ride, but well worth it!

Squishy!!!

7-15-10

On a walk to the end of the Berkeley pier today I spotted a jellyfish in the water!!! I named him Squishy, and he shall be my squishy. 

Co-workers

7-14-10

A co-worker gave this to me today. I'm not sure what he's trying to imply. 

Mmm, MEAT.

7-13-10

I overestimated how much hamburger I'd need for the bbq this weekend, and needed to figure out what to do with all this meat I had leftover. So, I decided why not try making a meat loaf? I looked up some recipes but they all seemed to have bread in them. I finally found one which substituted the bread with quinoa which honestly sounded way more delicious to me anyway. I followed this recipe sort of. I followed it for the most part, but instead of sun dried tomatoes (yuck), I used a fresh tomato. I also chopped up some carrots to add in because it sounded good to me. I didn't have any chives so I just put some mixed herbs in, and obviously I didn't put in any crunchy nasty onions. I used dried onion flakes instead. I also have a bunch of awesome salsa that Nina brought to the bbq so I scooped a couple of tablespoons of one of them into the mixture to give it some added flavor and a little bit of a kick. Finally, I didn't have whatever weird sauce they wanted me to add into the topping, so I just did ketchup, brown sugar, and some garlic powder. 

How did it taste, you're asking? DELICIOUS! Success! 

ICE CREAM

7-12-10

I was trying to take a picture of the pint of ice cream I downed while watching re-runs of Survivor but stupid Hobbes got in the way. I think this picture is awesome though because the flash made him look headless. Kinda creepy. Anyway, yeah I ate ice cream for dinner. I rarely buy ice cream any more, but when I do I tend to eat it all in one sitting. It was so satisfying. Don't judge me, or Hobbes the headless cat will come after you.

Housewarming

7-11-10

Had a fun housewarming bbq today. Good friends, food, and family. We had a lot of fun playing rock band and dancing to Kendra's Just Dance game (and cracking up at each other dancing). And even my food turned out well (though I did get waaay too much meat! ugh)! I was busy hosting and bbq'ing so I forgot to take pictures, but a couple cool people brought some housewarming gifts so I give you a picture of those. An awesome candle from Katherine, 2 new Rock Band games from Eric, and seed packets and a how-to guide from Delphine! :)

RAM ON!

7-10-10

This is in AT&T Park where I saw Sir Paul McCartney play. It's the first time he's played in San Francisco since the last Beatles concert in Candlestick Park! It. Was. INCREDIBLE. He played for almost 3 hours straight - no opening act, no intermission, just ROCKING OUT. I LOVE HIM! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He even sang Paperback Writer! <3 <3 <3

A River Runs Through It

7-9-10

We went out to Danville for a year-planning strategy retreat for work today. The garden at the retreat center was gorgeous, and we took a break to sit outside and enjoy the sun. Here are the stairs going down to part of the garden with a stream going down the middle. 

Leaving?

7-8-10

Hobbes follows us to our cars, and comes to greet us when he hears us arrive home.

Bounce, Bounce, C'mon Bounce

7-7-10

I bet you're wondering what the heck is going on here. This, my friends, is a building entirely dedicated to trampolines. Here you can see Jess and her friend, Shana, flying in the air. I think Jess is attempting to channel a bouncy ball.  

1 of 7...

6-6-10

If slothfulness is one of the 7 deadly sins then one of my co-workers has definitely has an edge on it. She is perfectly capable of walking, trust me, and yet she rode this scooter (supposedly her mother's?) all the way from home to work (it took her an hour), and she's been riding it around campus and even between offices in the same building because she's just too lazy to walk. This particular person is pretty ridiculous in general, but this just takes the cake.

Getting Excited!!

7-5-10

Only a few days away now!!!!! 

Happy Fourth of July!!!

 7-4-10

Happy Fourth of July! You get two pictures, 'cause I'm in such a generous mood. This was probably the funniest 4th I've ever experienced. We inadvertently went to an evangelic firework show. lol. There was a prayer tent, a choir, a preacher, everything! I was cracking up. At least the fireworks were good!

Mysteries

7-3-10

Some of Jess' co-workers are world travelers, literally, and are leaving soon on their next big adventure (they're moving to Kazakhstan). As such, they have gifted us with a bunch of food and crap they can't take with them. I have never seen weirder stuff in one kitchen before. Here is an example of a product which I looked at and thought "I don't know what the heck this is!" I had to send this picture via text message to them to find out that it was, in fact, "True Syrup of Lihge. Made with pears and apples, it's thick and sweet. Spread on bread (Belgian breakfast), eat w/yogurt or cottage cheese." Well at least it sounds tasty!

New!

7-2-10

Ok, so I normally hate how people post pictures of their feet because it's just...weird. But I got these new flipflops/thongs/slippers today and I really liked them, so I wanted you to see them. They look a little cooler in person, but I like them 'cause they'll totally go with my skirts AND they're nicer than most of the sandals I usually wear, so I can wear them to work! Yay! 

Flu!

7-1-10

So it seems I've been struck by the flu. Thus this is basically what I've looked at all day, in between naps. ANTM marathon on Bravo, tea, and chicken soup.