Neurons not firing...

Physiology lectures have been really interesting lately and on Thursday, we watched a video that have me a really great idea for a blog post. But DJC's dad departed earlier today, and I've spent most of my newly reclaimed time cleaning the house and attempting to recover from last night's debauchery. Ouch, my liver.

Suffice to say, I can't get it together enough today to make the blog post sound coherent and intelligent. And then tomorrow, there's Cal football. So, you know how it goes...

It's a really interesting and geeky post that needs to be done correctly. Forgive my inability to concentrate today...

Muchas gracias, mis amigos! Hasta luego...

My major food bender

Lately, I haven't done much but eat. Not that I'm complaining or anything. The food has been just delicious, but I haven't been to the gym in several days. I'm getting a little squishy. Whatever, though. It's all good.

Here are a few pics from my recent food adventures:

These pics are from Monk's Kettle in San Francisco where we had lunch on Saturday afternoon. The giant pretzel with cheese sauce and mustard was beyond freaking tasty. And oh yeah, the beer was pretty good, too.

These drinks were enjoyed on Sunday afternoon at Beretta, also in San Francisco. My good lord, they were amazing. No, your eyes do not deceive you...those are basil leaves floating on top of the right and left drinks. In the pic, we've got two Lonsdales (L and R), one Il Gitano (in the back) and one Old Rasputin motor oil beer. Aside from the beer, they were the most unique cocktails we've ever had. And the food was super delicious, too. The company was also an A+. Damn right it was a good day.

If I thought the pretzel from the Monk's Kettle was huge, I had no idea what was waiting for me at Suppenküche in San Francisco earlier tonight. DJC's dad's arm is included in this picture for scale. It was seriously insane. After disposing of the onions, because you all know how I feel about onions, I dove into this thing and did my best to take it down. For dinner. Yes, that thing was my dinner. I did the best I could, but I could only get through about half, and that was with help. It was sooooooooooooooo good, though.

Suffice to say, if I don't make it in to the gym soon, I will be in serious trouble. We've got more dining outings planned for the rest of the week still! Wish me luck!!

More fillah...less thrillah

DJC's dad is in town this week which means I have little time to do anything but go to my classes, clean the house, drive to and from San Francisco, and eat. This last thing is killin' me, but my god, I've had some amazing food and drinks recently.

I know I owe you all another pictorial post, and I've got it coming soon. Really, I do. But for now you all will just have to work with this hilarious video:

Have I gushed about how much I love Joe Thornton recently? Bloody hell, this is almost too awesome. He is arguably one of the best players in all of the NHL and he is such a goofball. Love how he doesn't take himself seriously at all. Classic.

California is just beautiful...Part one of a three part series

The following photos were taken at various points along the Pacific Coast Highway on possibly the sunniest day of the summer. DJC and I recently took a leisurely drive down to Big Sur, where after a lovely day of sun, adrenaline (courtesy of BL's Ferrari), and good food, he asked me to marry him. Its funny how we live so close to such beautiful sites, and yet as long as DJC has been in California, this was our first trip down the coast. Enjoy the pics!

The following pics are from Andrew Molera Beach, where after a long hike from the trail head through dust and dirt and horse manure, DJC and I sat on a log and talked about our past, present and future life together. He got down on one knee, gave me a ring and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I couldn't stop crying...in a good way.

This will forever be our beach. But if we ever return, I vow to wear better shoes that won't leave my feet raw, blistered and bloody:

____

OUCH! I didn't know I was in for a ~2 mile hike when I chose my footwear for the day! Ugh!

Regardless of the blisters and pain, this was such a fantastic day. A HUGE thanks goes out to BL for being the most amazing friend ever and letting us borrow his excellent vehicle to make the day that much more special. Hope you all enjoyed the pics. I've got more to come. Happy Wednesday!

Your yearly VMA post

I kinda got suckered into watching MTV's VMAs this year, mostly because I was writing about America's Best Dance Crew for my other blog and the coverage just seemed to spill over without me noticing. By the time I realized what I was watching, I was already hooked and had to watch. And I really didn't plan on writing about all the goings on (mostly because I don't want to give Kanye more press...not like anyone reads my blog or anything), but then I remembered that BT gets her VMA street cred with her lawyer friends from my blog, and I figured that EVERYONE would be talking about last night and I wanted her to be able to throw her two cents in.

So, BT, here ya go. This one's for you...

Last night, Taylor Swift (?) won the award for Best Female Video. Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson and other people that I am forgetting were also nominated. Well, as she was giving her acceptance speech for her very first VMA ever, Kanye West, who is possibly the world's largest asswipe, had to steal her thunder:

MTV Shows

It's absolutely astounding to me how much I dislike Kayne. He wasn't even nominated for an award this year (because his music sucks) and he still had to be the center of attention. Listen douchebag, MTV can make you or break you depending on whether or not they like you. It has nothing to do with musical talent. People will like what they're told to like by MTV. Clearly, Taylor Swift is on MTV's good side and judging by the fact that you've never won a VMA, you're not. Period.

Whoever this Taylor person is, though, I feel badly for her. Poor little country singing lamb. This was her moment and Kanye had to make it all about himself...again. Ugh. I'm so tired of his attention-whoring antics and wish he would just disappear into the aether.

Anyways, later in the evening, Beyonce won the award for Video of the Year and brought Taylor back on stage to allow her to complete her acceptance speech. While Kanye showed just how disrespectful a person can be, Beyonce demonstrated a sky-high level of class:

MTV Shows

See there? All better. Taylor gets her moment, Kanye is "escorted" out of the VMAs after committing the equivalent of career suicide, and Beyonce comes away from this whole debacle looking like a saint. All is well in the world of pop music again. YAY! Cotton candy and fluffy kitten hugs all around!

So there it is, BT. Hopefully, this will earn you some pop culture points at work today. =)

Back...sorta

DJC and I have been traipsing around California lately and have some lovely pics and stories to share. But for now, I'm firmly planted on my comfy couch, not looking at those pics or resizing them yet. But I will. Promise.

Highlights from this weekend include one delightful wedding in the Yosemite redwoods, showing DJC around the park I loved as a kid, and seeing my very first ever baby squirrel (although we didn't get a pic of it...it ran much too fast, and we were driving).

Pics and stories soon. Hugs!

Cupkates

Ok, I admit it. I gave into Twitter. I know that I ranted and carried on about how I'd never do such a lame thing, but yes, I've been tweeting. It pains me a little to say it, really. I am hanging my head in shame as we speak (thank goodness for touch-typing!).

But as silly at Twitter is, it does have some wonderful uses, too. Take, for example, this lovely tale of a simple girl who found the ultimate sugar rush in the vast Twittersphere...

Recently, one of the folks I'm following (@WHITEMENACE) tweeted about his experience at the Outside Lands festival. He mentioned that he sampled delicious cupcakes from a truck...like a taco truck, but with cupcakes. EFFING GENIUS!! I was intrigued and began to follow the cupcake truck (@Cupkates Truck). Cupkates. "How cute!", I thought. And since I've got an insatiable sweet tooth I was more than interested in seeing if I could meet up with them at some point. I do loves me some cupcakes, ya'll.

Lucky for me, according to their Twitter page, the Cupkates Truck was scheduled to be in the UC Berkeley area last Thursday. "WOOT!", I thought! I was so excited. I left my physiology lecture early so that I could haul ass over to Berkeley and find where they had parked. Conveniently, they had tweeted their exact location and I was able to find the adorable truck and snag myself some amazing treats. I also snagged a few pictures. Check 'em out:

Look at all those yummy cupcakes! Wonder what you're looking at? Take a look at what they were offering the day I visited them:

And here's what I took home:

That's two red velvet (because they are my absolute favorite), one double vanilla (DJC's favorite), one S'mores (OMG, graham cracker crust on the bottom!!) and one Twinkie (complete with burnt marshmallow frosting and coconut). They were all ridiculously tasty. I really enjoyed each and every one, and, yes, I did eat most of them. My only gripe was with the method of transportation. The large box allowed for the cupcakes to slide around and bump into the walls, thereby smooshing the frosting and leaving it everywhere. Sad face.

If you're on Twitter and in the Bay Area, you best follow @Cupkates Truck. She is delightful and so is her husband, who was outside of the truck chatting with the folks on the street. Good people, great cupcakes...mobile cupcakes! A brilliant idea I will continue to support!

Adventures at the local Safeway

College football starts today, which means that I needed provisions. Food, drink and the like. I put on my script Cal t-shirt and headed out to the grocery store.

As I stepped up to the meat counter, I was immediately greeted by the largest, happiest man I have seen in a long time. His name, according to his name tag, was Eric.

"May I help you on this fiiiiiiiiine day?", Eric asked me.

"Yes please. I'd like six slices of bacon.", I replied.

"SLICES?! I thought you were going to ask me for six pounds!!

"Well, I would get more, but I don't think we could eat it all and I certainly don't want to waste good bacon."

"Girl, please. I can handle six of these slices on my own!"

"Actually, I can too, but I really shouldn't. I do love me some bacon, though."

"Child, please. You're skinny! Unless you're pushing 225 on the scale, you're skinny in my mind!"

I laughed. I'm not sure when I was last told that I am skinny. Serious comedy. Eric happily packed up my half-pound of bacon and added a "Thank you, Jesus" when he handed it to me. In this context, it made perfect sense. I continued to smile as I walked away from the meat counter towards the beer aisle.

Once there, I encountered three guys all dressed in Cal gear. They immediately saw my t-shirt and hollered "GO BEARS!". I returned the chant, although not nearly as loudly.

"So are you going to the game?", one guy asked me.

"No, we're gonna watch it on TV", I replied, as I surveyed the beer choices.

"Yeah, its on ESPN2...". Immediately, I cut in.

"Which kinda sucks because I feel that ESPN never gives the Pac-10 the respect is deserves. Plus the game will not be in HD. Weak".

All three of them looked at me like I had just said the most amazing thing they had ever heard. We continued to chit-chat about how the national sports channels favor the east coast teams and how its total bullshit that one ESPN guy actually chose Maryland over Cal. We agreed that Cal would shut them up with their actions on the field. The conversation then turned to the Navy Ohio State game that had taken place earlier in the day. After about five minutes, I went on my way. They all looked a little sad as I walked out of the beer aisle and gave me one more "GO BEARS!".

Damn, I love Cal fans. GO BEARS!!!

Adventures in tangent land

The setting: Room D115, physiology lab, about 1:45pm today.

The people: Dr. Nixon, who is about 7 months pregnant, and us, her students.

The scene: She is lecturing about the various phases of mitosis. Some students are staring off into space. Some are feverishly writing down every word. Most of us fall into the former category. Standard.

"Now, during the interphase, which accounts for about 90% of the total cell cycle time, DNA is being replic....."

Then, Dr. Nixon just sort of unexpectedly trailed off, seeming to have lost interest in her own lecture. She stared out the window with an obvious look of longing on her face. We turned around to see a large truck whizzing by the window. It was about the size of a medium delivery truck.

"I really thought that was an ice cream truck just now," she said. "They always drive through my neighborhood, but they're always going too fast. They still play their little song, but they drive at like 40 miles per hour. I never have time to run inside and get money."

She said this all with a most serious tone in her voice. The room immediately broke into laughter. I definitely got a kick out of her little side trip into ice cream truck land, and immediately gained an all new level of respect for her. Despite never being pregnant or knowing what those kinds of cravings are like, I understand that sometimes only ice cream will fix things. Even though she was in the middle of teaching roughly 30 students,the need for ice cream took precedence. I totally get it.

Even after lecture resumed, I was still chuckling to myself...and really wanting some Rocky Road. You know how it goes...

He asked! I said yes!

YAY!!!