Unusual Friends

6-12-10

I can't tell which one is growing up out of the ground...the flowers or the hydrant?

Root Root Root for the HOME Team!

6-6-10

Perfect day for an A's game. And they won, too. WOOHOO!!!

Backyard Blooms

6-5-10

I thought the tree in our backyard was just a regular tree, but this week it has bloomed! 

Welcome to Oakland

6-1-10

Yep, that's a guy driving down the road (a busy road, mind you) in a go-kart. I am pretty sure that's not legal, but I guess at least he was wearing a helmet?

A Diamond in the Rough

5-14-10

Walking to the bus stop this morning I spied this little guy smiling up at me. He was nestled amongst the leaves and although he looked at me warmly, his crooked smile was slightly unsure. I smiled back and kept walking, knowing I had glimpsed a rare-in-the-wild baby pet rock.

WOOHOO!

4-30-10

See that? That's my bike. At work. Yeah. I rode to the BART station, then rode BART to Berkeley, rode up to work, and then did it all in reverse to get home. And I rode the entire way home. I mean - to my door. Literally. Now those of you who haven't been to my house may not realize the significance of such a feat, so allow me to elaborate. I live up on a HUGE hill. Literally our house is at the very top of this hill. I rode up the ENTIRE thing! I didn't think I would be able to do it, but as I approached the second block a guy driving by cheered me on. As I approached the third block, and thought "I need to walk!" a guy in his yard started cheering me on - he said he rode his bike all the time and he can't make it up this hill. I told him this was my first day riding my bike and he said I was doing "amazingly" and that my gear ratio was just right, but that I needed to oil my chain. I said thanks and he said, "keep it up!" So I did. I made it up the 3rd block with his help, and the 4th because I knew I couldn't walk after he was so encouraging! I'd be letting him down! Yay for awesome neighbors! WOOOHOOOO!

The Calm After the Storm

4-27-10

We had another really big rain storm today. It stopped around 5 though, just in time for me to BART home. This is the view from atop the parking ramp at the Fruitvale BART. 

Below is weather.com's radar map - this is what it looked like when I checked the weather this morning. So we went from this to the view above. The weather is schizo!

I Turn My Camera On

4-13-10

Waiting to see Spoon at the Fox theater in Oakland! Someone tell me, though, why do opening bands always have to suck so much?

Oakland Pride

3-28-10

Today was the first time Oakland has hosted a marathon in 25 years. It was really fun to participate (as a member of a 4-person relay team) - the vibe was incredible. Residents were out cheering the runners on and excited for an event showing Oakland pride. After the race, our team plus a couple of friends went to find brunch. On the way, I found another source of Oakland pride - Oaksterdam University. Yes. Here in Oakland you CAN get a degree in growing pot for medical use. I hella <3 Oakland.

Big Winner

3-27-10

I'm running the Oakland Marathon Relay in the morning. Today was the race expo and I won a little stuffed Geico gecko! Here he is, enjoying the expo.

The Rainbow Connection

3-25-10

The view from my car this morning. It had been raining all night, and had just started raining again when I got in my car to head to work. And I noticed this rainbow straight ahead! It was a really big one and seemed like it started only a couple blocks away. I swear I saw a leprechaun sprinting away as I came down the street, but I suppose I could have imagined it. 

Real Food

3-6-10

Farm fresh goodies from Oakland's Farmer's Market. I love real food!