Girls Weekend = Total Success

I just got back home from Girls Weekend in Sonoma County. It was wonderful. A big, big thank you for everyone who made the trek (some from near, some from far) to enjoy some girl time together.

We stayed at a house in Glen Ellen - 3 bedroom, 3 bath... grill, hot tub, peaceful settings in the woods. Wine tasted on Saturday in Dry Creek Valley and managed to go to SIX wineries!!! That's some sort of a record for wine tasting.

On Saturday, seven of us visited...
Preston
Quivira
Lambert Ridge
Armeda
Hop Kiln
Arista

It was an amazing weekend. Great to be out of the city and enjoy some time drinking, eating and, of course, lots of talking and laughing with friends. Big hugs all around.

Who's in for Girls Weekend 2008? Taking ideas for locations and timing now :)

My sister is awesome

Thank you!!!

Toronado

Finally made it to Toronado, a bar on Haight near Fillmore. It had come highly recommended from several sources and was widely praised for its beer selection. Toronado lived up to the hype! I got a Radeberger, which is brewed near Dresden. I used to visit Dresden for my old job and was happy to have a taste of Germany at my local.

Big props to KM and EK for taking me on my maiden voyage to Toronado, despite the fact that they had already enjoyed beers there earlier in the day!

Speaking of beer, I hope to soon post on the Tour de Fat, a summer festival put on by the New Belgium Brewing Company, brewers of Fat Tire. Mark your calendars for next year & be there for a fantastic festival. Bikers + beer = good times.

Re: label...beer counts as "foods" - non?

**&&$%&#SH!F*&K

Car got towed. Something about blocking a driveway. Totally was not blocking a driveway. I had all sorts of wonderful things to post. Alas, I am off to go retrieve Fido to the tune of about $300.

One step closer to a real apartment...

I have the internet.

That is, I finally got service installed at my apartment. Which is wonderful for so many things, including blogging. However, I also made a mass purchase at Ikea this week so... I am going to return to my "workshop." I love those mini Allen wrenches.

How walkable is your house?

One of my new favorite websites.
http://www.walkscore.com/

What's your score?

My place got an 88/100, which is on the high end of "Very Walkable." I agree.

90 - 100 = Walkers' Paradise: In neighborhoods with scores over 90, few people own cars and walking is the norm.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: Neighborhoods with scores over 70 are very walkable and it's easy to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Neighborhoods with scores over 50 have some walkable locations, but residents use their cars frequently.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Although it is possible to walk to some locations, driving is the norm.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Residents only walk from their house to their car.

I found the link to walkscore on Triple Pundit - www.triplepundit.com. Also definitely worth a good browse.

Little Debbie Snack Cakes: Return of the Reduced Fat Oatmeal Cream Pie

Some of you are aware of my love of Little Debbies. This post will not be surprising. For those who think of me as "health conscious, athlete girl," this may strike you as a little odd. Then again, pretty much everyone knows how much I love chocolate chip cookies so... anyway...

OMG. The Castro Safeway (conveniently located near my bus stop) has Reduced Fat Oatmeal Cream Pies. We're talking Little Debbie nirvana here, people. I love RFOCP. I have not had one in YEARS. California has not grasped the beauty that is the Little Debbie snack cake. You can generally find Nutty Bars and the frosted cakes (yuck). Occasionally Star Crunch (yum). Sometimes Oatmeal Cream Pies, but NEVER the RF kind. My mom used to get them from WalMart near her house in Illinois, but then they stopped carrying them.

Let me tell you, the RFOCP is nothing like the regular OCP. It's got this wonderfully marshmellow-y filling and chewy outer cookies. I originally purchased it because it was RF... and this was probably in the heyday of the low fat everything. And I couldn't go back to the normal OCP!

Things Heard on Public Transportation, Part I

Overheard on the bus...
"Do you have a lot of metal on you? I always have a lot of metal on me when I go to jail. I wear these shorts that have this big zipper (points to general crotchal region) and stuff [stuff? what kind of stuff?]. Always get tagged by the metal detector."

Waiting at a MUNI stop...
SHOUTING
"Between Yoda and Darth Vader there was a MUPPET!"

New apt...

Internet options:
1. Ask my neighbors if we can share. I haven't met my neighbors yet, but I have exchanged notes with my next door neighbor.
2. Just get internet service like the rest of the world. Pay the $20/month for the first X months and then switch providers so I don't go up to $50/month. Except that I don't need cable TV or a phone line. Damn.
3. Wireless WAN. Pricey, but sounds good in theory. My computer is connected to the internet wherever I go. Useful for school when I do my tour de coffee shops. No need to seek out free wifi (few available, as it turns out).
4. Suck it up for a while. Wait until school starts and then deal.
*sigh*


Transportation:
1. Parking my car is, to date, a mild pain in the ass. Moving it late Monday night was a bad idea. Note: if you're moving your car b/c of street cleaning the next day, do it EARLY.
2. I forgot where I parked and needed to move it again. I have mitigated this from reoccuring by texting myself with Fido's new location. (Fido, BTW is doing great. Except that the speedometer doesn't work. Ha!)
3. So many busses. And streetcars. It's insane. I need a route map. Or internet...
4. My commute to work is about half of what it used to take, living in the outer Richmond. Boo-yah.

Work-related fashion in downtown/financial district/SOMA in SF

One of these days I'll post some interesting environment-related news, but for now...

1. I dig that women wear flip-flops when walking from the bus/train to their office. A lot more flattering than the white socks & gym shoes, easier to hide in your bag later on and way more summery.

2. I do not get the leather jacket with the flip-flops, skirt & other work attire. Get yourself a nice trench coat. A sweater. Something. Leather jacket and/or winter-ish outerwear is okay in the evenings though. It's summer, but it's SF and it's in the 40s. Enjoy for evening. Not for the day.

3. Women dress sooooo much more stylish, cute, feminine, edgey, whatev in downtown SF than say, Silicon Valley. My work attire right now is basically the biz casual that I wore in the Valley. And it was appropriate there. Not too showy, conservative... I need to up my game in SF. Good thing I have a lot of stuff to bring to Crossroads (used clothing store). Hopefully they take some of it and I can get some new work wear.

Yeah, I'm labeling it knowledge. Knowledge is power (we all know that from after school specials). And fashion is power (I'm pretty sure someone has said something like that on Project Runway or something). So fashion is knowledge.