Bits and bobs

Yesterday, a woman in the bathroom of the downtown SF Hyatt asked me, totally seriously, if I was a plus-sized model. Them's fightin' words, ya'll. Like, srsly. But I brushed it off, because damn it, I DID look good last night. WORD. Today, a lady at the grocery store motioned to me and called me "that skinny bitch over there". Hmmm. Yesterday I was plus-sized. Today, I'm skinny, and apparently, a bitch. Well, at least she got part of it right. I guess whether I'm fat or thin very much depends on geography and the nationality of the person complimenting/insulting me. The lady who thought I was fat was white, and the one who saw me as skinny was African-American. I'm not trying to say anything here, it was just interesting...

Ummm, finals are next week. This week, I have a pathophysiology research paper to start/ finish, a schematic map of a disease process complete with drawings to start/ finish (and for those who didn't know, I can't draw for SHIT!), and a patho take-home final consisting of eleven essay questions to finish. Several of us decided we would split up the questions to make it easier on everyone, but when I read one of my classmate's answers stating that glucose gets converted into fructose in the cell (FRUCTOSE!!! Bloody hell!), I pretty much realized I'd have to do it all myself. Fuck group projects. Ugh. I have so much work to do, I'm scared to even start. Tick tock...

The rings. I picked them up from the jeweler last week. Here they are, complete with my dry, non-moisturized, wrinkly hands:


Not gonna lie, I can't stop thinking about them. When I walk by the box, I take them out, put them on and admire how damn sparkly they are. The fact that I have to wait until October to officially wear them will make it all the more special when DJC finally puts them on my finger. I'd like to think that my grandma would be pleased.

Been across the Bay Bridge lately? The "rumble strips" might be an even lamer idea than the S-curve itself. My god, Cal Trans. EPIC fail on that one!

A friend who sells Boheme wines gave us a bottle of their chardonnay to try in hopes that we might have it at our wedding. I'm not really into chards, but DAMN, this one was really good. We both loved it. Then DJC and I Googled the price. $38/ bottle. No wonder we liked it! Sheesh! That's easily the most expensive bottle of wine we've had all year. Despite the fact that its absolutely delicious, I think its safe to say that we won't be offering this to people who regularly drink Riuinite on Ice (Riunite so nice!) and wouldn't know the difference anyways.

I'm volunteering at Glide Memorial Church in SF these days. So far, I've only met with their clinic director and handed out hygiene kits on one occasion, but I'm hoping that he'll have more for me to do very soon. Its an amazing program!

That's all. Bed is calling. Like, now....

In the fridge currently...

5 cans of Moose Drool Brown Ale (Note: Icky name. Decent beer)
2 cans of Ten Fidy Russian Imperial Stout from Oskar Blues
4 cans of Big Swell IPA from Maui Brewing Company
1 can of Siamese Twin Ale from Uncommon Brewers
1 12oz bottle of Aprihop from Dogfish Head
2 12 oz bottle of Mission Street IPA from Trader Joe's.
1 24 oz bottle of Bear Republic XP Pale Ale
1 24 oz bottle of Wilco Tango Foxtrot Ale from Lagunitas
1 24 oz bottle of Green Flash Imperial IPA
Half a bottle of Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay- probably should be thrown out.
Half a bottle of Spinyback Sauvignon Blanc- Ditto here. Didn't even know we had this as it was in the WAY back.

This is after I polished off a 4 pack of Allagash White Ale this weekend and DJC drank various bottles of his swill of choice. Rumor has it that there are at least 12 bottles of Session Black Lager from Full Sail on their way to the fridge later today. Damn ya'll...that's A LOT of alcohol. After I came home from the grocery store today and could barely fit a bag of salad in there, I knew I had to take stock of what was occupying all the space.

And yes, I sat in front of the open fridge while I cataloged its contents and didn't care how much energy I was wasting. My dad would be so disappointed. Hee-hee!

Wisconsin wine follies

It was a cloudy, snowy day in Brookfield, WI. I had a terribly stuffy nose and didn't feel at all like drinking. Yet, there I stood, in the wine isle of the local Sendik's (the Wisconsin equivalent of Andronico's) while DJC hunted for his favorite Wisconsin beers. I was searching for the elusive local ice wine that Dtex had told me I had to try. I was failing. Local wine, apparently, did not exist. I sighed...loudly.

Then I noticed two HUGE women in a heated debate near me. One woman was looking for a particular kind of wine although she couldn't remember what it was called. The other woman then took notice of a bottle on the shelf and said, very loudly, "WHOA. Francis Ford Coppola makes wine?!" I couldn't help myself. I replied that yes, actually he does, and that his wines aren't all that bad. They immediately pegged me as an out-of-towner and asked if I was from California. When I answered affirmatively, they pummeled me with questions about their mystery wine, because "all Californians know about wine".

Neither of them knew the maker nor the type of wine they were looking for, but they both kept saying something that sounded like "rinuti" and "abrusco". Hmmm. Sounded Italian. I told them that I am no wine expert, but that I wasn't familiar with a wine called "rinuti abrusco" (I know now, after Googling it, that abrusco is a type of grape indigenous to Italy). I asked them to describe the taste, hoping that I could at least pick out a similar wine for them. They said hey weren't sure if it was white or red, but that it was fruity and very sweet. "Ick," I thought. I quickly picked out a bottle of Ecco Domani pinot grigio for them. I hoped it would be acceptable and that they wouldn't be cursing me later.

Later in the evening at the DJC family Christmas party, I noticed a HUGE jug of RIUNITE LAMBRUSCO wine. Oh. My. God. The women were actually asking for Reee-yooo-nee-tee wine! Riunite! Hilarious!! When I told my story to DJC's dad, he laughed and said that those ladies were more likely to find their Riunite at a gas station as Sendik's probably didn't even carry it. Love that I sent them away with a pretty decent bottle of pinot grigio... and they listened to me because all Californians supposedly know about wine. I bet they were so pissed later in the evening. LOL. Classic.

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!!

Recipe time

My blog friends always post the most delicious sounding recipes on their blogs. They use fresh ingredients that they've harvested from their gardens or bought at local farmer's markets to make all kinds of creative dishes that literally make my mouth water. Sometimes, I get pretty jealous.

I can't cook for shit, and ya'll have seen the "garden" in the back yard. But, in my new quest to consume as much Zaya rum as I possibly can, I did create a dessert last night that merits a short blog post. Here's the recipe:

Combine the following ingredients:
1 bowl of vanilla ice cream.
1 shot of Zaya Gran Reserva rum poured over top
Eat immediately and swoon with joy...

The bowl of ice cream can be any size of your choosing, but keep in mind that you may need to adjust the amount of rum you add.

Not gonna lie, it was delicious. Simple, not difficult, no complicated steps, but HUGE flavor. That's all.

This now concludes my attempt at online recipes. ;)

The payoff

Two weekends ago, DJC and I went out for a frivolous night of drinking. We started out at Forbidden Island, a kitschy cute Tiki lounge, where the drinks are totally foo-foo and, if you're not careful, will knock you on your tush. Here's a pic:

Drinks on the menu come with strength ratings, or more correctly, a number of bottles with Xs on them, indicating just how much alcohol one can expect. They range in strength from zero (non-alcoholic drinks) to five bottles (the appropriately named "Zombie"). The drink on the left is called a "Boo Loo". Silly name...with four bottles and Xs. The blue one is a "Neptune's Garden" which kicked my ass with 3 Xs. Two or three drinks from Forbidden Island's vast repertoire might earn you a cab ride home, or at least a fun, stumbling walk. So, of course, we love this place.

Afterward, we headed over to Havana because I desperately wanted plantains, and Forbidden Island's limited menu of fried foods left a little to be desired. When DJC and I took two seats at the bar, we were greeted by bartender Johnathan. Just trying to make conversation, I asked what his favorite dark rum was. He immediately turned around a grabbed a bottle of Zaya Gran Reserva. He poured us a little straight up and asked us to smell it. I inhaled deeply and smelled warm sugar, vanilla, and caramel. It was positively luscious. Then he made DJC his "daiquiri", which consisted of a shot and a half of Zaya, fresh squeezed lime juice and a splash of simple syrup, all shaken with a crushed mint leaf garnish. Quite literally, it is the best mixed drink I have ever had in my life. Just delicious and lethal, especially on a hot day. I was so blown away that I came home and wrote a glowing, 5-star Yelp review.

Last weekend, we rounded up the usual suspects and headed back to Havana. The cocktail was so tasty that they HAD to try it. Bartender Johnathan recognized us from the previous week, and had read my Yelp review. We ordered two rounds of drinks and several appetizers. Johnathan sent over a decadent chocolate mousse dessert, on the house, and "forgot" to charge us for several drinks. He said it was the least he could do after the great Yelp review. He explained that they've been getting slammed on Yelp lately and really appreciated my nice words and that I had brought people back to try his drinks. We all had a great night and I've found a new favorite rum. Everyone wins!!

Most people only Yelp when they've had a negative dining experience. I get that...I've done it, for sure. But how frequently do we write about our good experiences? You never know when your review will be read and really appreciated by the owners or managers of the restaurants you visit. And if you're a regular, as DJC and I aspire to become at Havana, your positive review might even have unexpected bonuses attached to it! So, if you've recently dined somewhere outstanding or experienced excellent service, write about it. You never know who could be seeing your words and how they could pay off in the future...

You're supposed to feed a cold, right?

And starve the flu? Have I got that right? If not, I don't know what the hell is going on with me, then. Long story short, I am as sick as a dog right now. Have been since I woke up on Saturday morning. Not that it's slowed me, or my appetite, down too much, though...

Saturday night, DJC, BL and I hit San Francisco to blow off a little steam and to check out on of my fave DJs ever, the darn cool Sam Pool (also known as SPL). Last time we caught up with this guy was in November and he was spinning dubstep, which he is not that well known for. Hard and rough drum n' bass is his specialty and Saturday night, he was scheduled to drop "gunshots to the chest" at Underground SF. We feared that the place would be packed seeing as that it was Pride weekend, but there were the perfect amount of people there; not so many that dancing was difficult, but not too few that the night could be considered a bust. Anyways, we drank. And drank. Shenanigans ensued. BL slept in his car. It was an awesome night full of good friends and great music.

The next morning I awoke to an empty tummy. Feeling pretty shitty, I decided that the only thing worth eating could be found at McDonald's. Now, it's probably been a good 5 years, maybe more, since I've been to a McDonald's. Seriously. But for whatever reason, I NEEDED a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, hash browns, a McCafe, and orange juice. To add insult to injury, I didn't even get out of the car when I went. Hey, the drive-thru was empty and I was tired, damn it. GO ME!!

Let me just say that I enjoyed every single greasy-ass bite of breakfast. And, my iced vanilla McCafe latte was better than the ones I get at Chargebucks. Yeah, seriously! I got it with nonfat milk (which is pretty hilarious considering my calorie fest with the actual food I got) and it was cheaper than anything Chargebucks offers. I might never go back there again and just stick with the McCafe!! Weird, I know.

Yesterday, I woke up with a miserable sore throat and a craving for donuts. Sure, I could have just gone to Jamba Juice and gotten something healthy, but when I'm sick, the body gets what the body wants. I savored every bite of a delicious glazed donut.

Today, my car just mysteriously steered itself to Taco Bell for a Volcano taco (OMG, YUM!)

Needless to say, if I don't get well enough to make it back to the gym soon, I'm gonna be in some serious trouble! LOL!

Weekend mental shenanigans

On Thursday afternoon, after possibly the most entertaining and simultaneously scary psychology class I have ever attended, I headed across campus to get the lowdown on Drug Dose Calculations. The professor gave me copious written materials, a syllabus and...a math review pre-test, sans calculators. Really?! No calculators?! How archaic!!! When I saw the pre-test, my blood pressure SHOT up about 20 points.

You see, I have a confession. Despite having graduated from one of the top public universities in the nation, I cannot do basic arithmetic. Like, at all. Embarrassing, I know. As I quickly scanned the page, the problems literally made me panic. I briefly considered the fact that maybe this required class was a deal-breaker and that this wasn't the nursing school for me. When I expressed my concern, the professor ensured me that people generally do well in this class and that I really shouldn't worry. Ha, I thought...those people can probably remember how to do a long division problem or how to work with mixed numbers. Me, on the other hand, not so much. And scanning over the syllabus, I saw that the first exam was in five days! HOLY SHIT!! I was close to calling it quits...

But, at the professor's urging, I ordered the book and the CD, paid an assload to have them shipped overnight, and gave it a shot. And you know what, I *did* remember how to do most of the stuff. The CD provided a decent refresher and I was able to work through the first three assignments with minimal struggle. I'm still not totally at ease and there are some things that I definitely need to work on, but actually trying and being able to do the problems was a huge confidence booster. From the time the book arrived on Friday afternoon until about 2pm yesterday, I busted my ass.

Saturday afternoon, DJC decided we needed to go out to grab something to eat. He took me to Jupiter and we sat out in the sun, drank beer (Anderson Valley Summer Solstice on tap!) and ate delicious pizza. For the first time since I realized I had missed the first day of class, I was able to relax and actually enjoy myself. The sun felt amazing, the beer was cold and refreshing and the company couldn't have been better. And just like that, all was well again. I felt calm, confident and ready to tackle this class to the best of my abilities. DJC's good like that. Most times, he knows exactly how to mellow me out when I'm close to losing it.

I also forgot to add that after much searching, we finally found a store in the east bay that carries our new fave pinot. DJC called up the Wine.com warehouse in Berkeley and sure enough, they had six bottles of Undone pinot noir from Germany on hand. After our lovely day in the sun, we quickly rushed over to snag all six. We first tried this delicate pinot at Marc 49 in Oakland and instantly fell in love. If you like pinot, you must give this stuff a try. Its definitely different from other pinots in that it is aged in stainless steel tanks and is much lighter in color, btut don't be scared off by those things. Undone is delicious and I'm so happy we found it! In fact, DJC ordered an entire case from the Wine.com folks! YAY!

For now, its back to work for me! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Have a great week!

On the house FAIL

Friday night started out innocently enough. DJC and I took a nice relaxing walk to dinner at the local pub, had wine, beer, a delicious cheeseburger and Wattie's. Aaaah, happiness. I was content with calling it a night right then and there, but DJC suggested that we head over to a bar across the street that "had a good beer selection". I'm not much of a beer drinker anymore, but I figured I'd indulge the boy for a little while. I was sure they'd have an acceptable wine or two.

We took two seats at the bar and ordered. Almost immediately, DJC and the bartender struck up a conversation about beer. The bartender, Chris from Chico, said that he had never tried a certain kind of beer that DJC mentioned, and next thing we knew Chris brought a bottle over along with three glasses. He stated that he was allowed one free bottle a night and that this was his. We thanked him and he wandered off.

A bit later, Chris noticed our glasses were empty and asked us what beer we'd like next. By this time, I had had two glasses of white wine, one glass of red wine and one small glass of beer. Sure, I thought...more beer sounds like a great idea. When Chris returned with our cold beers, he slid them across the bar and said, "These are on the house". WOOT!!, we thought. Free beer! All was right in the world.

A little later, Chris came by with another open bottle and set it down in front of me after stating that his boss had opened it so that they could try it, and neither of them liked it. It was a large 18.5 oz bottle and they'd wasted exactly .5 ounces of it deciding that it was no good. Fortunately for me, I thought it was great. It was also "on the house". This was turning out to be an awesome night full of bonus beer. We thought that Chris was the greatest guy in the world...

...until we got our tab. Somewhere along the line, he must've forgotten about all of the beer that was supposedly "on the house". In reality, we paid for the exact number of beers and glasses of wine that we had consumed. It wasn't quite the deal we thought we were supposed to be getting. But we were totally hammered and it didn't really matter so much. We stumbled home laughing the whole way and happily went to sleep.

When we thought about the supposed free beer we should have gotten the next morning, we were a little more than pissed and horribly hung over. I mean, really...WTF?! Here's the lesson of the day, kids: When paying for drinks at a bar where the bartender is a total douchebag, pay in cash after each individual round. That way, you can keep track of what you're paying for and what you're actually getting "on the house".

And Chris...here's a big middle finger to you, dude. Stop promising shit you can't, or won't, deliver. Ass.

Back!!

Ok, so its been forever since I've updated this thing. Yeah, I've had a lot going on recently. Here's a brief rundown of just the last week:

Saturday: Hit up the Wine Mine's two year anniversary party. We partook of the BBQ and $1 tasting. I came home with 5 bottles of wine for under $50. My new favorite grape is the torrontés. So light and delicious on a hot summer day. Believe me, Saturday was definitely a hot summer day. DJC and I were supposed to start cleaning the house. We didn't.

Sunday: Despite the outrageous Bay Area heat, we spent nearly all day cleaning our house. His father was due in town the following day and we had accumulated sooooo much stuff over the years that needed to go. Somewhere in the mix of everything, I needed to study for my first final, pharmacology. I didn't get much studying done, but thanks to a mad sale at Kohl's, our house looks pretty nice. BTW, thanks to square pieces of foam, I DOMINATED the slip cover on the couch. WOOT!

Monday: Laundry. Finishing touches on cleaning. Studying...in theory. Dinner in San Francisco at Farmer Brown with DJC's dad. Man, what a great night. If you live in the area and like cool restaurants, Motown tunes spun by a live DJ, unique drinks and good food, you really should check out Farmer Brown. What's interesting, though, is that it was nearly empty. We didn't have reservations and we were seated right away. In past visits, its been so crowded that we can hardly move around, especially near the bar area. I guess the economy is such that SF's hipsters prefer to drink their shitty cans of PBR at home now (which really isn't a bad thing). Anyways, dinner was great, complete with red velvet cake at the end. Oh, how I love red velvet cake!

Tuesday: More studying...this time for real. I staked out an area of the local Starbucks and didn't move for several hours. Later that night DJC and I headed out to a farewell party for JZ, who is now in Hawaii for her Masters. The party was held at her father's house up in the hills and was just breathtaking. Recently, they had added a new full kitchen to the garage, which opened to a lovely open-air patio/BBQ area with plenty of comfy seating. JZ christened it the "garage-mahal". So clever and funny she is. I will miss her dearly. I guess we'll just have to go to Hawaii one of these days to visit.

Wednesday: Took the pharmacology final first thing in the morning. Bombed it. I needed at least a 90% on the final to maintain my A in the class. Needless to say, I ended up with a B+ after a dismal 82% on the final. I wanted an A in that class so badly. I just wish I would have budgeted more studying time instead of spending hours dusting and vacuuming. Oh well. The rest of Wednesday was wonderful, though. we picked up DJC's dad and took him to La Note for a late brunch. Mmmmmm...pancakes. Wednesday night, we traveled out to the East Bay to have a delicious mexican dinner with my parents. We ended up at my parents' house for dessert...port, brie, fruit and American Idol (Adam, you were ROBBED!!). It was a great night.

Thursday: After picking DJC's dad up, we met up with BL, who had brought his Ferrari up for service. But before that, there was some high speed frivolity to be had in the Berkeley hills. DJC's dad had never ridden in a Ferrari, and he was thrilled with this part of his trip. After many twists and turns, all four of us settled down for lunch at the Paragon Cafe at the Claremont Hotel. It was a sunny day, and there was nothing on the schedule but soaking up the rays on the deck, and enjoying a few cocktails (white grape martini!!) and each other's company. The food was so-so, but it didn't matter. Later that night, we hit up Swig in San Francisco for a night of Below Zero beats and a tasting of Ploom's innovative products. I'm not a smoker at all, but this stuff was pretty cool. It was like a small, hand held vaporizer for tobacco and herbal pods that produced zero smoke. As we puffed away, we all commented on how we were standing in a very small circle and no one was blowing smoke on one another. We liked the flavor called "Gold", which tasted of honey and cognac. Again, it was an excellent night.

Oh yeah, at some point on Thursday I took a tumble down the back stairs of my house. It hurt my pride more than anything, but I did hit pretty hard. I laughed then, but Friday morning was a different story.

Friday: Seeing as that I did nothing but eat for the past week, I hit the gym. I was SORE from my fall (back, right hip and ribs), but I tackled a 90 minute class of kickboxing, dance and yoga. It hurt, not gonna lie, but it also felt really good. Check out the new video from my gym!! Its awesome, although the music leaves a little to be desired. The rest of the day was spent doing things that I didn't have time for earlier in the week.

Today, I'm catching up on the blog thing. Sorry for my lack of posts. I promise to get back on track this week after my lame communications final on Tuesday. We're heading back out to the East Bay today for a birthday BBQ for my mother...and then, at some point I should try to care about this next final and study a little. We'll see how that goes. LOL. Talk to you all soon!!

Pennsylvania thoughts and stories

Ok, Ok. So I've totally been slacking when it comes to updating this thing. Its not that I haven't had things to write about. I just haven't had the time or the will. Most of my writing mojo these days has been directed towards my little side project with my good friend, LoveBadReality. We have fun talking smack. Good times, good times.

But, I realize I owe you all some long overdue Pennsylvania stories. Yes, they're old and not really relevant anymore, but some are still pretty remarkable. I'll keep them brief, though, so you don't lose interest...

-During an extended coloring session with my little second cousins N and V, ages 3 and 5 respecitvely, they informed us that they had just seen "The Wizard of Oz". My sister asked what the Wicked Witch of the West says and right as N was beginning her answer, my uncle, who has been a prosecutor for his entire professional career, popped his head in the kitchen and said, "The Wicked Witch of the West?! Don't you mean Nancy Pelosi?". He was serious. 100% serious. My jaw dropped and I shot my sister a look that said, "For the love of god, AGREE. Do not get into this right now. Or EVER, for that matter". Fortunately, she read my face correctly and agreed. My uncle trailed off out of the kitchen, satisfied with the "funny" he'd just made. My family and I would talk about this moment for weeks after the trip.

-After more family time than we could handle, my sister and I hijacked the rental car and headed down to Quaker Steak and Lube. This place is famous for its ridiculous selection of wings, but we had just finished a dinner of cabbage rolls (ick) and needed a cold drink (or 3) to wash them down. Plus, there was hockey on and it had been made very clear that there would be no sports watched in my aunt and uncle's house other than golf. I didn't even try to argue that golf is not a sport. Upon arriving at the 'Lube, sis and I each ordered the most obnoxious drink we could think of. For me, that translated into a Ketel One and tonic...in a PINT GLASS. For sister, it was a 24 oz. Bud Light. After round one, we decided that we were in fact hungry so we ordered a basket of fresh pretzels and some fried zucchini strips. Sis went for another beer, but I decided on a mango Lube-N-ade, which is one of the most ridiculously wonderful, but lethal, things I have imbibed in recent memory. If you're keeping score, that's two huge drinks each and two appetizers between us. The bill? $34. TOTAL. My vodka pint nightmare was a whopping $6. LOL! You can't get a bartender in San Francisco to spit on you for $6. It was a good night.

-One night, sis and I were supposed to stop by Cousin D's house to check out the digs and meet his kids, Lil' D and MJ, ages 5 and 18 months. When we got there, we were greeted by a very distressed D and wife J. Apparently, D had just tripped over the baby gate in a Superman effort to save MJ from the top of the stairs. In the process, he hurt his thumb, although he could not tell me how exactly. Upon examination, I decided a trip to the local ER was in order, as the thumb at the base was about the size of a golfball. D downed a 9% beer, two Advil and begrudgingly got in the car. Once at the ER, we didn't wait long to see the triage nurse, who actually asked him if he objected to having an X-ray. "Ummmm, that's why we're here", I said. Seeing as that I know my way around a thumb and an ER, D let me do all of the talking. When the ER doctor, who did not introduce himself, came in to the exam room, I told him exactly which parts of the thumb were affected, pointing to the swelling. Mid-sentence, he cut me off and hauled D off to get an X-ray, stating, "I'll X-ray it, but I know its not broken". He didn't even touch D's thumb. We waited all of two minutes before the "doctor" came back to say, "Yup. Not broken. I've been doing this for 30 years and the minute I looked at it, I knew it wasn't broken. You want to know how I knew? When bones break, they bleed. Where's the bruising? Mmmm hhhhmmmph". He was so sure of himself. All I could do was sit there with my mouth hanging open. He then continued, "All you need to do is start moving it around, and put some heat on it tomorrow". At that point, I grabbed D's good hand and told him that I'd heard enough and we were on our way out. Fortunately, D knew a good hand surgeon, and I advised that he get a second opinion in the morning. Sure enough, D showed up to dinner the following night with a cast on his hand. Fuckin' A.

-If I have to sit on an airplane for more than two hours, I always pick up a copy of In Style magazine in the airport before boarding. Its the only mag with enough substance to both keep my occupied and put me to sleep, all at the same time. I had just paid for May's issue when a book caught my eye. Before I knew what I was doing, I turned back to the register and purchased Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans. Yes, the woman also known as "Superhead" in the hip-hop industry had apparently written a controversial tell-all book about damn near EVERYONE and I had to have it. As I read the opening pages, I learned that this book was written not only as a tell-all, but as a way for young girls to avoid making the same mistakes that the author had made in her lifetime. I felt badly for her in the early chapters. But as I eagerly turned page after page, devouring juicy gossip about everyone from Shaq to Fred Durst to Ice-T to Ja Rule to Jay-Z, all I got out of it was that this chick slept with A LOT of men for money and that she lived a super up and down life, without taking much responsibility for herself or her actions. The tone of the book was not at all one of "Don't do what I've done. Do better for yourselves". Steffans seemed to be bragging about all the shit and people she'd done. There was no lesson to be learned, here. During the last few pages, I hoped for light at the end of the tunnel. When none came, I ended up feeling like I had just put money in her pocket to allow her to continue living the exact same life depicted in the pages of the book. In retrospect, I should have just stuck to my copy of In Style, which remained in my carry-on for the entire flight. I feel like I got played by the author the same way all the men in her life played her. Not cool.

Ok, that's all for now. Hopefully, you're still with me. Sorry for the length of this post. I probably should have broken all the stories down into separate posts, but I can't say that I'd have had the motivation to write that much in separate instances. Meh. Hope you enjoyed, anyways...

Wine bar WIN!!

In the quest to find a decent place to host my little birthday get together, DJC and I had decided on a wine bar called Franklin Square in downtown Oakland. It's owned by the same folks that own Luka's Taproom across the street and since we like that place (for the most part), we figured that Franklin Square would be equally as cool, with a respectable wine selection. We'd decided that we were going to try it out on Friday night after a movie. Then...then we read the Yelp reviews.

Most times, I don't take too much stock in what Yelpers have to say, because I feel that most of them are washed-up hipsters that will slam places that they secretly love without hesitation just because its what hipsters are supposed to do. But every now and then, I pay attention to what they're saying, and in the case of Franklin Square, we steered clear of the place. It just seemed so...generic and yet pretentious all at the same time. Not at all what I had in mind.

A little discouraged, I did a bit more Yelp searching and came upon a place called Marc 49. It's also located in Oakland, but in the uber-trendy (read: hipster-infested) Temescal area. I balked at the location, but all of the positive reviews won me over in this case. So, after seeing "Gran Torino" (SO amazing, BTW) on Friday night, DJC and I checked it out. Now you can, too:

Aaaah, this is more like it! This is actually the back "room", which has open windows and heat lamps overhead. It's cozy, warm and perfectly charming. I really dug all of the wood. Actually, the whole place is charming. The wine was great and the food was more than passable (tasty panini sandwiches and salads) with excellent service. The only downside was that the back room got CROWDED. And loud. And the tables may have been a smidge too low for the food. But those things are small when compared to how much I really loved the vibe and feel of this place.

I reserved the entire back room on the way out the door. A great wine bar in Oakland? WIN!!

My weakness is now in my home.

I love coffee. There. I said it. Yummy, delicious, foamy, sanity-saving lattes, to be exact. But as much as I crave these tasty beverages sometimes, the hassle of getting in the car and going to a Starbucks or a Peet's and then standing in line and coughing up $3+ has always mostly been enough to deter me from making my love for vanilla lattes a serious problem.

DJC recently received a moka pot for Christmas. Since then, he's purchased a french press and a serious coffee grinder. We've been experimenting with various coarseness of the grind of the beans, water temperatures and how long to leave the coffee in the press until it's pressed. I've been experimenting with the blender and milk and the vanilla Torani syrup I picked up a while back. See, the blender has this whip function that makes the milk light as air, and this morning, I made the most deeee-lish vanilla latte ever! Check it out:

Perfect, frothy, vanilla heaven in a cup. I'm so excited to be able to make my own, better-than-Starbucks lattes like this without having to leave the comfort of my own house and my sweatpants and glasses. Life...it is good.

The Devil Wears...

"But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then … Yves Saint Laurent … showed cerulean military jackets. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin."

Ridiculous. Comedy. The clothes. THE SHOES!! Love it. Perfect for a Sunday morning hangover, although I kinda want to strangle Meryl Streep, ya know? That feeling might still be the last double IPA talking, though... ;)

I was doing so well...

I don't know what happened. For the last 28 days, I had been eating really healthy and hitting the gym consistently for at least an hour each time. I was starting to see results. All was well.

And then today came along, and the wheels done falled off the bus, ya'll. The alarm went off at 8:15am and I figured that I had plenty of time to make it to the 9am CORE class. Apparently, I turned the alarm off and the next thing I knew, it was 10am. I say that I apparently turned off the alarm because I don't remember doing it and am convinced that the gnome that lives under the bed and steals one of each of my socks did it. In any case, I was stuck in a super-sleepy haze for the rest of the day. I really felt like everything I did was in slo-mo.

Then there's the lunch issue. I meant to eat some lean protein and maybe some vegetables. Instead, I found myself at Arizmendi Bakery, where I saw myself reach into the cases containing freshly baked, fragrant breads and rolls again and again. Yep, I went on a full-throttle, break-neck bread bender. I left the bakery with one cheese roll, one corn muffin and one chocolate Thing. It wasn't pretty. By the time I got to class thirty minutes later, I had consumed the entire corn muffin and half of the cheese roll. I came back for the chocolate Thing two hours after that.

Today is DJC's birthday. He and a coworker hit up The Trappist for a few celebratory beers and I joined them after class. As I've gotten older, I've found that I can't really handle drinking beer anymore. I jsut feel so bloated. Well, today I decided to have a huge, refreshing glass of Allagash White (basically, a Belgian witbeir...like I know what that means...DJC is the resident beer snob). I was very full when we left, but seeing as that I had only eaten various breads for lunch, real food sounded like a good idea.

We walked next door to Tamarindo, which neither of us had ever tried before. We ordered SO. MUCH. FOOD. I know I should have stopped after the third round of tapas showed up, but my god, all of the food was SO AMAZING, I just couldn't stop. Now, I'm sitting on the couch, shifting uncomfortably from side to side, wishing that I would have stopped when my tummy told me to. Holy ooof.

Today redefines over-doing it in every sense of the word for me. Too much sleep, too much bread, too much beer, and no matter how freaking delicious it was (and believe you me, it WAS), too much Tamarindo. I'm supposed to take a 90 minute combo kickboxing/dance/yoga class tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it.

Here are a few pics from earlier, in case you want to see parts of my gluttonous day:

I think it's safe to say I'll be eating salads and drinking water for the next few days until I detox. Because, damn, I seriously fell off the wagon today.

Wisconsin wrap-up

Yes, I realize that DJC and I came back from the frozen north last Tuesday, but it's literally taken me that long to recover from what just might be the strangest trip I've ever been on. Here are the highlights:

Last time I blogged was Christmas Eve, and DJC and I were preparing for the HUGE dinner party at his dad's house. I met more extended family than I could possibly imagine, some good (loved cousins Nic and Danielle!) and some very, very bad. I witnessed an all-out, drunker than drunk, dead serious screaming yelling match between two people who, according to DJC's stepmom, have been friends since they were born, and found myself REALLY coveting the Slankets that stepbrother Dr. B gave several people during the gift exchange. I drank, I ate, I nibbled, and as the night progresses, I drank more, continued to graze, and did my best to fight off the endless clouds of second-hand cigarette smoke. This will become a recurring theme throughout the rest of the trip...

The next morning, we all awoke and made the two-hour trek up to the lake house, or as I like to call it, "you're trapped here with all these sucky people and there's nothing to do but drink, watch movies, and play the four Wii games available AND you can't leave because its snowing and none of the roads are plowed". That's right...no TV, no internet, no Cal bowl game, no Sharks hockey. Let's just say that the house was too small for 10 adults, 6 kids and 4 dogs (three Boston terriers and one Husky). Three of those adults smoked incessantly without a care as to who their second-hand smoke was bothering (their kids). As for the dogs, have a look at this:

As soon as three of the dogs were together in the same 10 foot radius, barking and tussling ensued and didn't stop until the dogs were separated or were moved to the cold garage. Instantly, they calmed down (guessing because they didn't like the cold) so that the adults would let them back in, only to resume the barking and tussling two seconds later. It was all so very tiring. Plus, one of the dogs peed on me, jumped on my lap during one of the tussles, scratched my arm and SPILLED MY WINE!!! Hello!?!?!? The wine was my only buffer!! The most annoying part was that all the barking and activity would really rile the kids up such that they added a whole 'nuther level of noise and mayhem to the whole circus event. And no one seemed to care all that much. For me, it was just another reminder that choosing not to have kids is indeed the right decision for me. I almost lost it more than once. Going outside to get away from it all was not an option, but I managed once or twice.

And the people, well, let me just say that if I ever see some of them again, it will be too soon. MUCH too soon. Thank goodness we live on the other side of the country. I never thought that I'd ever look forward to going back to DJC's mom's house, but as we drove back to semi-civilization, I actually breathed a sigh of relief. At least it would be quiet and we could shower there. At the lake house, we learned that no one showers (for fear of overflowing the septic tank) and that's just a generally accepted thing. DJC and I showered twice without knowing this and received a warning about the overflow. Then we noticed that no one else had showered...FOR FOUR DAYS. Thank god that the smell from the cigarettes covered up everyone's funk, because DAMN, that's nasty.

Feel free to check out some of the pics I took during the trip. There's also some pretty awesome stories that I couldn't fit into the blog post:

The Frozen Tundra

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a great time! I'll be back soon with some other random stuff. Until then...

Notes from hell which hath frozen over

Wow, ya'll. It's cold. And not just the Tahoe-I-can-tolerate-this-while-skiing kind of cold. This cold hurts your lungs when you breathe in and freezes exposed skin instantly. Add a little wind in the mix and its downright intolerable. I imagine this is what Antarctica might be like...just less exotic and with fewer penguins.


I have a new found respect for all-weather tires, snow plows, salt on the roads instead of on my popcorn, my ugly but oh-so-functional Uggs, Gore-tex, and the holy grail of cold weather climates, the heated toilet seat. My god, I'm in love. Best. Invention. EVAR!!

According to DJC's stepmom, the above pic makes the crappy weather look "pretty". But make no mistake...white Christmas or not, it's hellishly cold. I'd much prefer a white sandy beach Christmas with a Pacifico, but I guess that's out of the question. Bah.

Weather aside, there are a few OK things about Wisconsin. First and foremost, Beans and Barley. This little place doubles as a kick-ass cafe and a uber-hippie health food store. I don't know what they do to make the food taste like it does, but its amazingly good. Every time DJC and I are in Milwaukee, we have to stop. I've consumed a fair amount of chai tea in my time, but Beans and Barley's is by far the best I've had. It may seem silly to look forward to a simple thing like a chai tea, but that's only because you've never tried theirs (and this is Wisconsin, after all...there's not much to look forward to). Trust me...it's the best. And double bonus points for the fact that the Grilled Cheese and Tomato sandwich is described as a "healthy classic" on their menu. Sweeet. Only in Wisconsin. =)

On the more ridiculous side of things, we have the Kansas City airport. Our flight out of SFO was delayed (shocking), so by the time we got into KCI for what turned out to be an extended layover, it was close to 7:30pm. DJC and I wandered around the small terminal (after exiting security) in search of food. Our choices were slim. Very slim. By the time we decided on a place and sat down, we were informed that we couldn't get anything fried because the kitchen was close to closing down for the night...at 7:45pm. Frustrated and close to the edge of insanity, we each had one Ketel One and OJ, and set off in search of real, actual food. The next place we chose informed us that we couldn't get anything to eat because the kitchen had closed. The waitress explained that most flights leave by 8pm, so there was really no need to keep the kitchen open. Dinner that night consisted of pastries from Starbucks, which happened to be the only place opened in the whole terminal. WEAK. With the amount of delays that ALL flights are experiencing these days, one would think that it would make sense to keep the restaurants open a little longer, but noooooooooo...

Anyways, its Christmas Eve, and we're going up to the lake house tomorrow. There is no internet, but the lake is frozen solid, and there will be snow-shoeing. I will take pics and post them when we return to civilization. If you celebrate Christmas, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I'll be back soon. Cheers! =)

A great Saturday

After conquering the caulking catastrophe early in the day, I settled in to watch the 111th Big Game with some buttermilk biscuits and strawberry jam from Trader Joe's. I know this makes me a bad alumna, but I didn't particularly like Cal's chances. They've just been so all over the place this season. But thankfully, the whole can of whoop-ass was opened on the Cardinal and the Golden Bears reclaimed The Axe. There were some seriously brilliant plays (Frank Cignetti WHAT WHAT!!) and MAN, when Jahvid Best is having a good day, he is pretty damn incredible. Even though the Bears season has been very ho-hum, it feels DAMN good to beat Stanfurd. Woot!

Around the middle of the third quarter, DJC and I headed to San Francisco for a quick stop at Lush, and then to find a beer store he read about on this blog. Apparently, the latest craze in the beer world involves putting beer in cans. Like, ridiculously expensive beer... in cans. Yeah. Novel concept, I know. Anyways, the store's called Healthy Spirits, and its on 15th and Castro. We went in search of the elusive beers from Oskar Blues. When we walked in, we saw this:

And then I heard the disctinct sound of drum n bass being played. Then we met Nate. He was standing behind the counter, manning the laptop that was streaming Bassdrive.com. I was liking this place more and more. After a great discussion about the San Francisco music scene, we met Dave, beer master extraordinnaire. DJC and Dave got down to business and serious beer talk ensued. I meandered around and decided to snag one can for myself of 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon (it's a watermelon infused wheat beer) from one of these coolers:

We've been pretty loyal to City Beer for a while now, but after a not-so-pleasant experience a while back, we've been reluctant to go back. Despite the fact that you can actually drink your purchases at City Beer, I think I prefer the folks and the unpretentious vibe at Healthy Spirits. Nate and Dave were knowledgeable, friendly, and totally willing to talk shop with us for as long as we wanted. DJC and I feel like we made new friends. They stock over 500 different beers, so there's sure to be something for every kind of taste...even mine!

Armed with a ridiculous amount of good beer, DJC and I headed home to catch the Sharks game. Can I just say that I LOVE hockey?! Ok, Ok, you all know that, but the Sharks are on a freaking tear right now and it's just so much fun to watch. I've said it before and I'll say it again...Joe Thornton makes whoever he plays with better. He brings other players up to his level of awesomeness. This season's beneficiary: Devin Setoguchi. Those two make it look easy.

All in all, it was a great way to end a perfect day. Everything just worked out: Caulking, Cal football, Lush, Healthy Spirits, Dave and Nate, the kick-ass Sharks and spending the whole day with DJC. Good times!

Weekend Roundup

I never thought I'd ever hear myself say these words, but thank goodness tomorrow is Monday. Perhaps I'll finally be able to get some sleep. Since Thursday night's kick-ass Sharks game, I've been missing my bed, pillow and comforter. Its been a rainy, cloudy weekend...usually great for staying in bed. Unfortunately, there was so much going on that I didn't get nearly the loafing-around time that I wanted (although, I did manage to catch the most recent episode of Ugly Betty on my laptop in bed. It was dope.).

Friday night was moderately low-key. Despite it being the one holiday a year where its OK to dress like a whore at parties, which is always good for a laugh, DJC and I grabbed sushi and then stayed in. We handed out zero candy. Thanks to the rain, most of the little ghosts and goblins and devilish children of the neighborhood stayed home, too. It was a fairly quiet night, aside from being unable to sleep because what ever bug I've been fighting lately is putting up one hell of a battle.

Best. Pumpkin. Ever.:

Saturday, it rained. A LOT. We Californians do not handle rain so well. BL completely bailed on plans we had because he didn't want to drive in the rain. LOL. Apparently, he wasn't the only one. Saturday night, DJC and I ventured out of our warm, dry house to head to San Francisco to catch up with one of my favorite drum n' bass DJs, SPL. It could have been the rain, or perhaps the fact that he was playing dubstep instead of his usual rough dnb, but NO ONE showed up for the show. I felt bad for him playing to all 10 of us, but because no one else was there, we spent a lot of time talking to him before and after his timeslot. Nicest guy ever. Totally down to earth with a huge genuine smile. DJC got his record signed and we all drank waaaay too much. Kick-ass night, for sure.

This morning, a rip-roaring headache woke me up early. Shocking, I know. What I really wanted to do was roll over and sleep it off. But, I had made plans with a bunch of people that I love to attend the Below Zero Beats Sunday brunch. I couldn't just bail on everyone, no matter how much I wanted to (side note: I never knew my head could hurt so badly! Damn, I'm getting old!). Good thing I didn't wuss out. Check out this setting:



This is the third floor of the JW Marriott in San Francisco, which is open to the top of the building. The guy spinning is Mason Rothert, one of the original Below Zero DJs. Seriously, this was the *perfect* way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Mimosas, brunchy food, chilled out music, great friends, and a super swanky setting provided the perfect hangover cure (SO great to meet you finally, Mason!!).

Now, I'm sitting on the couch again trying my best to recover. I plan to hit the sack after a decadent Lush bubble bath, a few more Advil, and a lot more water. As tired as I am, I had an amazing weekend and spent time with some of my favorite people (and met some new friends, too!) and I wouldn't trade it for the world. All I need now are some precious ZZZZZZs. =)

The best game I've been to...EVAR!

Last night, DJC and I slogged our way down to San Jose to meet up with BL and a few of his coworkers for what can only be described as the awesomest Sharks game I've ever had the pleasure of attending. Here are the highlights:

After sitting in traffic for nearly an hour and forty-five minutes, we pulled a quick switcheroo on a busy street and I jumped into the driver's seat while DJC ducked into the Hotel DeAnza to make a pit stop. My job was to park the car in a nearby lot. I realized about 30 seconds too late that DJC had the cash for parking. So, I circled around the block and snagged a street spot, fee-free! Bonus!

Next stop was back to the Hotel DeAnza for our customary Jaeger shot at the bar before the game. We've done this religiously for a while now, and we weren't about to let the large bar crowd in Red Wings sweaters stand in our way. In hindsight, we should have skipped this part of the evening, because the bartender grabbed a used shaker glass off of the bar (sans rinsing), poured the Jaeger into it, LOADED it up with ice, covered it, and shook vigorously. He then proceeded to pour the frothy, watered down liquid into two glasses. It tasted faintly of raspberries. In all my years of drinking, I've never had a shot of Jaeger prepared in that fashion. It was naaaaaasty. But things improved dramatically when BL and his workforce entourage showed up. Entertaining, one of them was. Oh, so very entertaining, if not a little tragic...(OK, she was super tragic!)

Anyways, BL bought a total of eight tickets. We only had six people. He managed to sell the remaining two tickets on the street to two older guys named Greg and Nick. I've decided that I MUST sit next to these two guys at every Sharks game I attend from here on out. They were an absolute hoot. I love sitting next to fans who know the game and who like to get into it, but aren't too obnoxious. BL has a way of finding the cool people of the world, and Nick and Greg definitely fall into that group. The three of us were high-fiving, talking smack to nearby Red Wings fans and cheering at the top of our lungs. It was awesome. So much fun.

And the game itself was unreal. All NHL teams award something called the Three Stars of the game after it's over. Traditionally, the "stars" are the goal scorers, or the serious game changing play-makers. But, as we were driving home last night listening to Sharks Radio, color commentator Jamie Baker said that they had to pick three, but really, everyone could have been a star. And he was right. Every guy out there gave it his all. And with a 4-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champs, it showed. Special congrats go out to Jamie McGinn, who, in just his second NHL game, scored his first ever NHL goal and also tallied his first assist. The arena big screen showed a tight shot of him sitting on the bench after the goal smiling from ear to ear as Sharks fans cheered loudly in recognition of a great accomplishment. He was chosen as the very well-deserved first star of the night. Great job, kid! =)

Ok, that's it for my hockey ramblings for now. I just want to say a big thanks to BL for getting the tickets! I've never had so much fun at a Sharks game before!