Adventures in JulieLand

Attempting some farming

2011-06-04T16:33:00.001-07:00

Last year I sold my house in SF to buy some property in Sonoma county and pursue my crazy dream of having a sort of mini-farm.

Turns out that growing stuff - even just keeping existing stuff alive - is not as simple as you might think. I feel like my attempts so far could provide more than enough material for a new "City Slickers" movie. It could be called "Check out the city slickers making fools of themselves trying to farm".

In March I drove up to the property to get the propane inspected, and found several distressing puddles of goo on the ground in the orchard area. It looked like a gang of teenagers got wasted in my yard and puked all over the place.

Turns out that this is a harmless fungus that breaks down the mulch that lays on top of the soil, and that it's sort of a good thing. But it looks gross and my dog keeps sniffing it suspiciously.

Then in April the grasses and weeds had grown so tall that the house could barely be seen anymore, and we figured it would be nice for our neighbors if our house could be a bit more presentable and less like the Boo Radley house.

So we bought a professional grade weedwhacker and went to town on those grasses. Well it turns out that weedwhacking is a very inefficient way to clear three acres, and it took us an entire day to just clear around the house. We ended up having to ask a neighbor to mow the rest with a tractor, which I guess is what the non-city-slickers use.

Then we decided to plant some decorative plants in front of the house and add a new drip irrigation line to water them. But our drip system controller couldn't handle two lines, so the new one never turned on, and $300 of plants died within a week. Silly city slickers!

Then in May, we were pruning the rose bushes and I reached down to grab one of them and sliced my arm open on the surgical-quality pruning shears. I learned that pruning shears are no joke, and that slicing through skin sounds remarkably like tearing fabric.

Last learning moment was when I added new drip emitters to the new irrigation line. When I turned the water on to test them, they shot water 15 feet into the air instead of dribbling slowly into the soil. Lesson learned? There is a difference between regular emitters and pressure-compensating emitters. Who knew? I thought I was cool for figuring out how to put the emitter into the line at all... having to select the right emitter threw me for a loop.

But I gotta say, it's all worth it when you see your little plants start to blossom and grow. These are the first leaves budding on the grapevines in the spring.

It's so cool to watch them emerge from their hibernation, and then go buckwild as the days warm up. I swear I am now pruning these things back every few weeks. There are even tiny little grapes on a lot of the vines! I think that all the cuts and scrapes and blows to the ego will be forgotten when we are sitting on the patio this summer, eating our own fruit, and foolishly planning what additional stuff we will plant in the future.

Utah Canyoneering - take 4

2010-12-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

In October I made my 4th annual pilgrimage to Utah to worship its amazing rock formations. This time, I went with friends, which made the trip even more fun. We flew to St. George, in the southwest corner of Utah, and worked our way east, across the entire state, to Moab. The plan was to drive to Escalante, which is a small town a few hours east of St. George, and spend most of the week exploring the narrow slot canyons outside of Escalante. Unfortunately, we found out after arriving that Hole in the Rock road, the backroad that gives you access to all the slot canyons, had been severely flooded in a recent storm and was closed by the county. So instead, we worked our way across the state, stopping to hike at many places along the way, spending a few days in Moab, and then driving back the way we came.

Traveling across southern Utah means driving on state highway 12, which is probably one of the most scenic roads in the world. It goes through impossible canyons, over mountains blanketed with Aspen trees, and then through tumbles of red, red rocks. We spent a lot of time gawking from the car, and had to pull over frequently for pictures.

We also did some hiking :)

Day 1: Angel's Landing trail in Zion National Park. Pretty much straight up to the top of a 2000 foot spire, and then back down again.

This (the bumpy rocks with the trees) is actually the trail.

Day 2: Navajo loop in Bryce National Park. A fun playground of hoodoos and other finger-like rock formations. BTW, Bryce is at 9000 feet, so the camping that night was COLD!

Starting the hike at the canyon rim.

Day 3: Moab! Devil's Garden train in Arches National Park. Also a fun loop trail through arches, over rock fins and other outcroppings. This is definitely the most "interactive" trail of the bunch - you get to climb over lots of rocks, and walk through arches and stuff.

Can you spot all three of us?

Day 4: Backcountry canyoneering with Desert Highlights guide company. They took us out on short notice and we had an awesome day of climbing up the side of a rock mesa, and then making our way down from the top through a series of rappels.

We also went out for dinner & drinking afterwards, which ended up being a little bit painful the next day :)

Day 5: Head back towards St. George on Highway 12, which goes through Capitol Reef National Park. A short, relaxing hike there and the discovery that Hole in the Rock road has been reopened! So we head to Escalante for the night, and plan to do a hike to one of the slot canyons the next day. On a personal note, I think that I may have fallen in love that night.

Day 6: We finally got to explore a slot canyon! I have been a big fan ever since I visited Antelope Canyon (in Arizona) in 2007. I love the swirls of sandstone and the glowing light, and the feeling like you've discovered a hidden treasure. We chose to go to Zebra Canyon, named for its stripey rock walls. Driving down Hole in the Rock road, you'd never guess that there are rocky canyons nearby.

The road is completely flat, and surrounded by prairie and tumbleweed. We parked the car and headed towards the canyon, through a flat grassland, and then into a large, flat, sandy wash. Still no sign of rocks. After about three miles, there were finally some rocky walls rising up along the sides of the wash. We headed towards one of these rocky outcroppings, and sure enough, there was a big crack in the rock - it was Zebra Canyon!

And it was full of water. Remember back at the car, when Madi said "What if it's still flooded from last week?", and I was like "Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine by now". Well, I was totally wrong, but we made it all the way out there, so we weren't gonna turn back. We stripped off our socks and shirts and packs, and waded into the water. It was freezing. And it kept getting deeper, until we were in up to our belly buttons. And then we had to turn sideways and shuffle because the canyon got too narrow to walk forwards normally.

Just a little bit of water....

But the narrow canyon, and the swirls in the sandstone... I was in heaven. So worth it.

This was the part after we got out of the water.

We emerged from the water and got to scramble up over a few tricky obstacles. One requiring a climb up a crack in the rock, and one requiring getting around a deep pothole full of water. And then we could go no further, as the next obstacle was too sheer a wall for us to climb without any special gear. So we returned, grinning, across the obstacles, back through the belly-high water, to the entrance of the canyon, where we had left our packs. And then through the maze of washes and across the prairie to the car.

That evening, we headed back through Zion and into St George. Checked into a hotel and cleaned up and got ready for the flight back home the next day.

Day 7: Took it easy, packed up our stuff, and headed to the airport. I probably could have stayed another week, but I guess every good trip has to come to an end. That was my 4th consecutive year of going to Utah in the fall, so hopefully I'll keep the momentum and go back for more next year.

The first weekend

2010-07-06T22:31:00.001-07:00

This is the beginning of what will surely be a long, drawn out saga of home improvement. Brace yourselves.

In case you missed my last post, I bought a house. And some land. Not that much, but enough to keep a city girl pretty busy. It's three and a quarter acres. And a three bedroom house from the 70s. And when I say that it's from the 70s, WOW, it is really from the 70s. See for yourself:

Yup, this really is a stone wall in my bathroom.

And the cutesy country kitchen.

When I arrived at the house on Friday afternoon, I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed. The house smelled funny, was grimy, and full of spiderwebs. I got mouse poop in my hair at some point while mopping bird poop off the floors. It was not a pretty sight. For a while there, I was cursing myself for jumping into this thing for which I was obviously not prepared. Also, it was really, really HOT while I was trying to do all this poop-mopping, so you know, that didn't really help things.

You can't see them in the picture, but spiderwebs and animal poops abound.

But then I got some sleep and some friends arrived the next day, and things got better. We got the kitchen into a not-so-disgusting state, and even got the faucet working. We went to the river to while away the hot days. And by the end of the weekend, the place was a bit more livable, and I felt like maybe I could do this thing after all.

Oh, and even though the house is grody and the land is neglected, there is still quite a lot of cuteness and potential. Once again, see for yourself:

A couple of grape vines.

The cutest little pears you've ever seen, right?

Lots of bees & hummingbirds visiting these flowering vines.

So now that there's a garbage can and a working faucet, I need to get to work on the land. Next up: mowing, tilling & irrigation, oh my!

OMG, OMG, I actually bought the farm!

2010-06-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

I've been silent on this blog for a while, but something exciting has just happened in Julieland. Two days ago, I became the official owner of a piece of property in western Sonoma county, just outside of Healdsburg. Yup, it's 3.25 acres of countryside with a modest little 3 bedroom house on it. And now its ALL MINE!!! And I am gonna grow all kinds of delicious stuff on it.

At this point you might be saying, "Excuse me, WTF are you talking about?!". And you would be right to say that. So let me back up a bit and explain.

Most people, after they graduate from college, they get a job and dream about normal things like getting promoted or starting a family or buying a sweet car. I dreamed about having a farm. I don't know why. I just did. While driving to Tahoe, I would stare out the window at the country homes in the foothills. When visiting wine country and buying fresh fruit at a farmstand, I was jealous of the folks selling their cherries and tomatoes. I have a weird, inexplicable desire to build my own house and have friends over to sit on my patio and drink lemonade made from lemons that I just picked. I'm gonna stop there, before this gets too cheesy. You get the idea.

Point is that after looking casually for about 5 years, I finally decided to make it happen. I found this property and immediately saw the potential. It was perfect for the things that I wanted to do: I can plant trees and a veggie garden, I can fix up the house, and the property is not so big that it is unmanageable for one person. Perfect! It even has a bit of a view of the mountains.

This is my new backyard. Also, see the tiny bit of mountain in the distance?

So here goes. The beginning of a new adventure! I'll be posting updates here in case you want to follow along. I know, I know, you can't contain your excitement, right? So here's a little preview for you. This is the front of the house. It was built in 1979, so it's a bit dated, but it's sturdy. I hope to modernize it quite a bit in the next few years.

Lola has to stay tied to the fence, so she doesn't run off to chase varmints.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-30T23:29:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that I dislike about the holiday season:

obligatory gifting
holiday decor
stressed-out people yelling at each other (or me)
long lines at the grocery store

But of course I enjoy the days off, and I have to admit that I look forward to the annual Family Quality Time on Christmas Eve. Here's this year's commemorative photo. Hope everyone got to spend some Quality Time with their friends & family too.

Heartwrenchingly Beautiful

2009-11-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's right. I used the phrase "heartwrenchingly beautiful" as the title of this post. Because even though I hate to admit it (I have a reputation to maintain here), when I look at the amazing scenery in southern Utah, it makes my heart actually hurt.

It's not my fault! It would happen to anyone, I swear!

First of all, the stuff that Nature has produced in southern Utah is mind-blowingly beautiful.

There are gigantic chunks of tectonic plates jutting thousands of feet up into the sky. I'm talking like 75 mile long, jagged pieces of earth. It looks like those plates that go along a stegosaurus's spine.

I got this picture from rangenet.com because it shows the San Rafael Swell nicely.

There are swirling canyons of red sandstone. Rocks that glow in red and orange and purple. Rocks, people. Crazy colored rocks.

I took this last year at "the wave" in southern Utah.

There are arches and fins and needles and all kinds of geologic oddities.

This year in Arches.

And giant expanses of desolate desert, where you might not encounter another person for days.

Arches National Park.

And then there are cute little pockets of inhabitable land, where agriculture is possible, and people have set up farms and ranches. And again, your heart just hurts to see the perseverance of the farmers against the backdrop of the Dr. Seuss-like landscape.

This picture isn't mine either. It's from thundafunda.com.

So basically, I am in love. With the ridiculous rocks and the river-carved canyons and the way that millions of years of the earth's geologic activity is so shamelessly laid out on display.

For this year's third annual pilgrimage to this holy land, I chose to go canyoneering around Moab. I signed up for some guided trips, and spend 3 days hiking, scrambling, rappelling, and otherwise navigating rocky canyons. Some highlights were:

A counterbalanced rappel off of a large arch. This means that the rope was not tied to anything at the top - having one person rappel off of either side of the arch is more than enough to keep the rope in place.

Counter-balanced rappel off of a giant arch. I'm on the left :)

Trying to avoid giant potholes full of water in Granary Canyon.

The guide fell in!

Scrambling through "Fat Man's Misery" in the Fiery Furnace, a rocky section of Arches National Park.

This was really a tight spot. And tough to shimmy through.
AND there is nothing below you to hold you up.

It was actually a bit hard to leave this time. I wanted to stay and play more. I started to become curious as to whether I could maybe even move out there someday. Would I miss city life too much, or would I maybe find that the stores and the events and the restaurants don't mean as much to me as I thought? Would I miss the hustle or forget all about it? Bored or fulfilled? Not sure. But as I get older, I can imagine staying out there more and more. Definitely something to keep in mind when things get hectic around here, and financial obligations feel stifling, that there's always Utah.

Arches NP with the La Sal Mountains in the background.

Just another day in Paradise

2009-10-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

I know, I just quoted a lame Phil Collins song, and I'm sorry if it's now stuck in your head or you're reminiscing about watching him perform it at the Grammys many years ago like my brother and I did when we were kids and didn't yet realize that the Grammys suck.

ANYWAY.

Since this whole "not working" thing is soooo rough, I decided that a trip to Maui was in order. So the BF and I went for a long weekend of snorkeling, poolside reading, and yummy dinner eating. I know, life is hard, right? Maybe I can justify the ridiculously indulgent month of September by declaring it my "Birthday Month"? Instead of having a birthday party and concentrating all the birthday celebrations into one day, I chose to spread them out over the course of the month. There, that sounds reasonable, right?

Point being, I spent some of the latter part of the month lounging around on Maui, and I will now proceed to rub it in your face.

Jealous?

We stayed at the Makena Resort, which is located on one of my favorite beaches on Maui. This beach has a relaxed, uncrowded vibe and offers great snorkeling and turtle-spotting. So we did some of that.

Also went on a boat trip to Molokini, the tiny island off the coast which is actually the rim of a submerged volcano. It's a marine sanctuary, so lots of great fish-watching. Our captain had set up some fishing poles on the back of the boat, with lures dragging in the water, and one of them caught a Mahi-Mahi, which we got to reel in! Unfortunately no photo, since we were busy reeling in the fish.

And of course, we ate well.

Delicious fish at Capische.

So really, it was pretty darn nice. Not a bad way to finish up the Birthday Month of Being Ridiculously Indulgent. Now I think I need to get back to basics by maybe spending October camping and/or doing some hard labor. I'll keep you posted.

Gratuitous photo of a Banyan tree, because I was pleased with how this pic turned out.

Shame on me... the eating continues

2009-09-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Seriously this month's eating escapades have gotten a bit out of hand. The following things all happened in September, making it officially a month of gluttony: my birthday, a Labor Day weekend trip, a Napa visit, the monthly dinner club outing, a trip to Gary Danko to utilize a gift certificate and now a dinner at Saison, which was made long in advance, and happens to fall in September as well. Also, I am going to Hawaii in a few days, where I will end up eating out for most of my meals, since that's what happens when you travel and stay in a hotel.

I should probably have been fasting all month or doing a juice diet or something, in preparation for the upcoming donning-of-the-swimsuit-in-public, but instead I ate twice my body weight in butter-poached restaurant food. Oops.

Anyway, if I'm gonna sacrifice my waistline to boldly try all these restaurants, then I thought the least I could do is share the information with the world, so that others can benefit from my experiences. I know, so generous.

So, I kicked off this weekend with an excursion to the far northern edges of my neighborhood. And by that, I mean that I walked to Mission Beach Cafe for brunch. I had been there once before, for dinner, and was generally pretty pleased with the food and the overall experience, but seeing as it is so far (10 blocks!) and there are so many good places to eat around here, I had not since made my way back.

After a late start, and a long trek (again, 10 blocks!), I arrived closer to lunchtime, so I ended up getting the burger. I am writing about it, even though I don't have pictures, because I want to express that this is a very delicious burger. Possibly one of the best I have had in a while. It oozed meat juice all over my plate (+1). It had carmelized onions (+1). It had a thick slice of super-ripe heirloom tomato (+1). The bun was actually a roll, made of pretty decent bread (+1). It came with a giant side of crispy, salty, herb-y fries (+1). The whole thing was 12 bucks, with no stupid surcharges for the toppings - awesome! Sadly, I devoured the thing without thinking taking a picture, so you'll just have to go see for yourself. But the point being that it was really good, and you should definitely go there and get a burger. Oh, and the other stuff looked pretty good too.

Secondly, I went to a place called Saison last night. It's a "pop-up" restaurant, which means that it only happens once a week, and it's not an official restaurant. Saison serves dinner in the back of Stable Cafe every Sunday night, and you make a reservation through their website. Unlike Mission Street food, this pop-up dinner is really quite fancy, with several courses and an optional wine pairing. I got the wine pairing. Duh.

This time I took pictures, so you can see the beautiful presentation. The dining room is also adjacent to the open kitchen, so you can see the chefs working, and even interact with them before and after dinner. The whole thing was a bit long, with sort of long waiting periods in between courses, but the mellow atmosphere and friendly service made it seem like not a big deal.

The menu started off with an amuse bouche with two different watermelon preparations. Yummy, fresh little bites. The yellow one (above) had Indian spices, and the red one had a tiny bit of kalamata olive. Then we had a slow-cooked egg with caviar and egg custard, served inside an egg shell. It was super-soft and creamy, with salt from the caviar. Then a salad of thin sliced veggies on top of raw snapper and lemon creme fraiche.

Then a hunk of seared tuna in seaweed broth topped with dashi. This was smoky on the outside from being grilled, and sweet on the inside where it was still raw. The broth was salty and delicious, and hard for me to describe, since I am still fairly new to eating seafood.

Last, we had three types of pork: some grilled loin, some braised leg, and a slice of head cheese, which apparently includes all parts of the head, including brains and stuff. I have to admit, I wasn't excited about the terrine of head parts, but it actually wasn't bad. The flavor was pretty good, and it was only the texture of the various bits that was a little weird. At the end, we got a panna cotta with slightly syrupy peaches on top. The peaches were fantastic, although the panna cotta was nothing special. I almost would have preferred just a bowl of the peaches, but hey it was still pretty good, and I don't want to sound like I'm complaining.

The whole experience was fun, especially since you get to go to this place that isn't well known, and you enter into a back room through the courtyard. So it feels kind of special and intimate. I would definitely recommend the wine pairings too, since I felt like they really complimented the food. None of the wines were really my favorite types of wine, but they tasted amazing when I drank them with the food. I think that is the mark of a job well done by the wine director.

So, now I have three days to detox from my weekend of gluttony before I head off to Maui for coconut pancakes, fish tacos and loco moco. I'll try to take lots of photos and give a full report when I return.

Food adventures: eating ridiculously well

2009-09-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I've been eating incredibly well lately. I've been to a new "nice" restaurant every week or two, which is sort of ridiculous, but hey, you only live once, right? In case you're curious, here's a quick summary of some of the recent experiences.

Gary Danko:
Got the 4 course menu and everything was quite good, but I kinda feel like any decent restaurant can make fresh lobster, corn, tomatoes and potatoes taste pretty good. Nothing on the menu here really "wowed" me. Especially for the price. And don't even get me started on the wine prices. Cheapest bottles are near $100! I can get an awesome dinner at Delfina for half the price, or Beretta for even less.

Sorry for the lame iPhone photo - once again forgot my camera.

Range:
Went here for my bday since it's semi-fancy and in walking distance from my house. The food is always good here, but I just don't have any idea why this place gets a Michelin star every year. It's good, but not really memorable, and I'm not sure it's as good as some of the other Michelin star recipients. I had better food at Bar Jules which doesn't even have a star.

Looks swanky, though, huh?

The Bazaar by Jose Andres (in LA):
This was a really fun dinner. The food was whimsical and delicious. Everything was presented in a playful manner, and often deconstructed using techniques from "molecular gastronomy". I am a loser and forgot to take my camera, but here is a picture and description of the "liquid olives" that we had.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2009/04/09/liquid-olives-like-water-balloons-but-with-olive-juice/

Sebo:
This is regarded as one of the best sushi joints in SF, and the fish was of incredibly high quality, but I couldn't help but want some more interesting preparations. We had about 10 different plates of sushi, and almost all of them were nigiri style, with just a piece of fish on rice. Everything was good, but I think I am more partial to the fun and interesting preparations that some other places make. For example, I recently had a roll that included tuna, mango and macadamia nuts, and another that was lightly charred and had spice from a jalapeno slice, all of which really enhanced the fish, in my opinion.

Beautiful fish...

Ad Hoc (in Napa):
Just really simple, delicious food, served family style. We had a fresh garden salad with lots of veggies from the French Laundry garden. Then steak and carrots, then cheese and finally a peach crumble. Yum!

Summer on a plate! I could eat this all day. Bonus points for the fried squash blossoms.

As you can see, the adventures in Julieland have been fairly food-oriented lately. I sadly haven't done much in the outdoors lately. I'll try to get back on the bike soon, and maybe even get up to the mountains at some point. That is, if I can squeeze it in between restaurant reservations.

Land of Sunshine (and cleavage)

2009-09-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I visited my Little Bro in Santa Barbara. He got a job at a company that makes and installs wind turbines, so he and his girlfriend moved down there. I kinda miss having him nearby, but I get his decision to go with the good job and the perpetual sunshine.

Rough day, huh?

We mostly hung out at the beach and wandered around the downtown, trying to find decent food. What's up with Santa Barbara have no good restaurants? You would think that a fancy town like that could pull together a decent cafe or something. Honestly, the best thing going on there is the Pinkberry (which I love, btw. And they are offering coconut flavor froyo this summer, so OMG get your ass over there!).

Also, what is up with the aggressive displays of cleavage? I guess that is a SoCal thing. I had to avert my eyes so often, I ended up just looking down at the sidewalk to play it safe. And behold! As I was looking down, I saw fire hydrants made of gold:

Yo, Santa Barbara is so fancy, even the fire hydrants are made of gold.

Other highlights of the trip: when a pigeon crapped on my shoulder while I was eating breakfast, and when Lola got completely wiped out by a wave and subsequently refused to go back in the water. Good times.

Thanks to Little Brother for hosting me!

Confessions from Europe

2009-07-21T23:17:00.001-07:00

I've been back in the US for a few weeks now, but I never got around to posting any sort of recap of my trip to Europe. So I thought I'd share a few confessions/revelations/photos to summarize the time I spent there:

What is it about Berlin that turns me into an all-night-party fiend? I hung out in smoky bars and danced to cheesy euro-pop music till the sun came up. Ah Berlin, I' hab Di' Lieb.

In Paris, a city where food is celebrated and revered, I broke down and went to McDonalds. Is it just me or is the burger at French Mickey D's waaaay better than in the US? Especially when paired with a nice cold orange Fanta. Mmmm. Don't worry, I also ate some good food:

I am convinced that the French stay skinny by smoking instead of eating. Just sayin'.
I missed the fresh air of the City by the Bay.
I did NOT miss seeing people walking around with those stupid bluetooth headsets stuck to the side of their head.
I thought NY might be the one city that's cooler than SF, but now I'm not so sure. Although they are better at appreciating pickles:

It's easier to gain the croissant weight than it is to burn it back off :( I am now eating salad and quinoa and repenting my daily pastry indulgences.

Ok, maybe this doesn't quite do justice to my 5 weeks in Europe, but it's pretty close. Now on to the next challenge: time to find a job!

I gotta have more accordion!

2009-06-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Why does no one play the accordion in the US?

I know it looks kinda dorky, and by extension you could risk looking dorky by playing it, but if you close your eyes and just listen, it is really sort of miraculous.

I propose that the accordion become the official instrument of hipsters everywhere. It should be lovingly adopted by them, and thus spread throughout the cool neighborhoods of the world, just like fixie bikes. It's a win-win situation: hipsters get to claim a strange new hobby, and I get to hear awesome accordion music.

Who's with me?

Baguette boycott?

2009-06-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

At the risk of sounding like a total asshole, and possibly being deported for heresy, I have to say it:

I'm so sick of baguettes.

I know, right? I sound like a total douchebag. Plus, I never thought it would be possible. But it has happened. I am seriously pining for a taco right now, or a veggie sandwich on -gasp!- wheat bread. There just aren't that many options for a quick lunch here in Paris. You've basically got your crepes or your baguette sandwich. Unfortunately, when you buy one of these baguettes-to-go, the baguette part of the sandwich is usually of pretty average quality, and let's just say that the French seem to prefer restraint when it comes to the toppings. And by that I mean like two slices of ham and cheese, or three slices of salami and a chopped up cornichon. It's more like a faint sprinkling of toppings - a slight hint of sandwichy flavors.

I'm sure this lack of mountainous toppings and sauces is part of the reason why the French are so slim, but even though I tell myself that, I still find myself wishing for maybe just a second layer of salami and or a handful of veggies? Oh well, as the French say, "c'est comme ca", which roughly translates into "that's just the way is". So I guess I'll quit complaining and eat my salami-scented baguette sandwich, since I'm sure that in a few weeks, when I'm back home, I'll be reminiscing about eating Parisien baguettes on the banks of the Seine.

220V + hair = cheveux brulés

2009-06-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

Um... so I kinda burned my hair.

I'm still not quite sure what went wrong, because I checked all the technical specifications on my adapter before I left the US. But I must have messed up somehow, because things went terribly awry. I'll post a photo once I find someplace to upload them from my camera, but until then, here's the story:

My second day in Berlin, I woke up to find that my hair was pretty much standing on end. This happens from time to time, and maybe I should just leave my hair alone and be proud of myself for being the only person on the planet who is capable of having a straight-haired 'fro. But of course I don't do that. Instead, I try to tame the hair-beast with my trusty straightening iron. But on this particular day, this generally uneventful process failed horribly, as I watched my hair sizzle and curl up into thick bushels of hay. Have you ever curled ribbon with a pair of scissors? Or melted a plastic straw over a flame? It was kind of like a combination of those two: all the curl of the ribbon, plus all the burny, crinklyness of the melted straw. Not a pretty sight. Of course I quickly stopped using the iron, but it was too late. The damage was done, and I won't be rid of this mess on my head until it grows out enough that I can cut it off. Which I estimate will be about 6 months. Until then, anyone have any ideas for ways to put this stuff to good use? Maybe some sort of super-hip hairstyle? I'm all ears...

Un melange de langues dans ma tete

2009-06-02T07:09:00.001-07:00

So I am currently in Paris, taking an intensive French language course for three weeks. It's been one week, and my poor brain is all discombobulated. I took French in high school, but haven't used it since then. That was 15 years ago, if you must know. Something about re-learning this language that has been hibernating in the back of my brain has also seemed to stimulate all the other languages that I have ever learned in my whole life. The strangest words and phrases pop out when I am trying to speak French:

Suddenly "luggage" is "bagagli" (Italian), "with" is "con" (Spanish), "very much" is "gerne" (German) and "I don't know" is "nemidoonam" (Farsi). First of all, let me tell you that if you try to order a cafe con leche in Paris they just look at you funny. Secondly, I find it strange that I can barely conjure up any of these languages when I am actually trying to speak them. But I try to speak French, for some reason all these other languages come spilling out.

I don't know much about the brain, but from my experiences here, I can pretty much guarantee you that there is some sort of language center in the brain, and that mine has turned into a big 'ol mess, from years of neglect. All those unused languages have been slacking off for years, never called upon for duty, so they just sit around and drink all day long and get all up in each others' business. Losers. How can I possibly whip them into shape within three weeks? Ce n'est pas possible!

It's hard to be a baller when your money is the dollar

2009-05-25T06:13:00.001-07:00

I had heard that Paris was expensive, but holy crap! I was not pepared for the speed at which I would be hemmorhaging money. Some examples of what I am seeing at the cafés in my neighborhood:

Tea & Cake: 8 euros
Salad with baked goat cheese: 12 euros
Bottle of water at a cafe 4 euros
Cheapest fixed-price lunch: 18 euros

Living in Paris... priceless (?!)

I guess I have to bear in mind that I am staying in the heart of Paris, so it's the most expensive part of the most expensive city in France. But still, it's painful.

BTW, multiply all of those prices by 1.4 to get the value in dollars. With the current exchange rate, even the "5 euro footlongs" at Subway don't really seem like a good value.

Chronic-WHAT?!-cles of New York

2009-05-21T01:46:00.000-07:00

That's right folks. I am fresh off of a trip to the Big Apple, and believe you me, this girl took it to the streets. And by that I mean that I walked that whole damn city at least seven times. My goal for the trip was to eat as much good food as possible, focusing of course on the stuff that is very "New York" and that I can't get at home. I would say that the trip was a big success, based on those criteria, although I was not able to try everything on my list. A girl can only eat so much each day, and I found that I was not able to stretch myself past 5 meals per day. Disappointing, I know.

I did not plan it this way, but the days kind of organized themselves into themes.

Day 1: Sort-of Belgian day
Breakfast at Prune, a lovely little place on the Lower East Side. They have 11 different bloody marys on the menu, which initially got me pretty excited. But alas, despite the varied preparations, we found their mary mix not that great. However, I had a "dutch pancake" that was possibly one of the most amazing breakfast items I've ever eaten. It was almost an inch thick, and must have been made with cornmeal, but it was super fluffy and moist and awesome. It was like a skillet-baked corn cake, with sliced prunes baked into the bottom. I am drooling now just thinking about it.

There was a dance parade/festival going on, so we caught up with it in the East Village and walked along until the end. It was kind of like the love parade, but with all different styles of music and dancing, including breakdancing, drum lines and even burlesque girls wearing flashdance-like spandex.

After watching all that dancing, we were hungry so we got some lunch at Pommes Frites in the East Village. All they serve are Belgian fries with mayonnaise. So we got a giant cone full. Yum. I miss eating fries this way - I learned the joy of fries with mayo during my high school days in Germany.

Then did some snacking on street fair food while walking across town. Apparently there are at least 2 street fairs every weekend day during the warm months. Genius! Why can't SF have street fairs every weekend too? And why do the SF street fairs always have to be full of douchebags? But I digress. New York has totally different food at their street fairs. Gyros? 8 different kinds of pickles? Deep fried Oreos? Yes please. BTW, I know these things are definitely NOT Belgian, but we ate them all anyway. Only in America would someone be bold (genius?) enough to deep fry an Oreo.

Now you know that you need more pickle variety in your life. Your welcome.

Deep-Fried Oreos. Enough Said.

Finally on to dinner with some friends at a place called Extra Virgin (referring to the olive oil, get your mind out of the gutter), followed by Belgian ales at "Vol de Nuit". This place was dark, and hidden in the courtyard of a building and reminded me a bit of Berlin.

Schwanky dinner place deserves a schwanky photo.

Belgian beer bar in a courtyard.

Lastly, drinks at Little Branch, a speakeasy-style place that looks pretty non-descript on the outside. It's really just a door on the corner of a dingy building. But that is part of the allure, my friend. When you go in, you walk down a dimly-lit set of stairs into the basement, where it smells delicious like bourbon and citrus and other herbs that are used for making fancy cocktails. I might have had one too many drinks and then proceeded to send drunken text messages. I need someone to build some Mail Goggles for my phone.

Extracting every last drop.

It rained while we were in Little Branch so we walked home around 2am through soggy streets.

Day 2: Day of Pork
This day was pretty epic in terms of eating. We started out at the Spotted Pig, which is a pretty popular spot, and very hard to get in at dinner time. BUT! We avoided all that by going for brunch and didn't have to wait at all. AND they serve their awesome burger at brunch so we got to try that too. I had the bacon hash with poached eggs, but then I was still hungry so I ordered a "dutch baby" as a second breakfast. It's kind of like a crepe.

I guess I am pretty excited about my meal.

After wandering around the West Village for a while, we made our way across town and found - lo and behold! - another street fair. This time, we tried griddled corn cakes with melted mozzerella, pickles, and zappolis. What's a zappoli, you ask? According to the guy selling them, it's fried dough with powdered sugar on top. Please try to imagine this said with a thick NY accent for the full effect. Sure, I'll have some fried dough. Yes, I want the powdered sugar on top. Actually, this was suprisingly good. Like a really fresh donut hole with a crispier crust.

At this point we were nearing the Lower East Side again, so we decided to get some dumplings in nearby Chinatown. We had gotten two different dumpling recommendations so we tried them both. First we stopped in at Dumpling house, where we tried their pork dumplings. They recently raised their prices from 5 for $1 to 4 for $1. That should have tipped us off that it was no longer a hole-in-the-wall. The dumplings were fine, but the place seems to have turned into a machine-like operation, with no love baked into the dumplings anymore. Sad. Then we went over to Joe's Shanghai, where they serve Shanghai-style soup dumplings. This place was also packed, but the dumplings were huge, and filled with tons of delicious juice.

Marvel at how this dumpling is bursting with juice!

After walking around Chinatown some more, our legs were getting pretty tired, so we headed back to the hotel for a break. After a quick power nap, we headed back out for more eating. It's a tough job, right? We heard about a nearby wine bar that had giant, old-timey meat slicers, so we had to check it out. It's called Bar Jamon, and it has Spanish wine and tapas. We had a glass of wine, some prosciutto and cheese, and ogled the awesome meat slicers. Then we headed out for a late dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Now I have been hearing about about the Momofuku restaurants for a while, even out in SF, so I was really looking forward to trying one of them out. I chose the Ssam Bar over the Ramen Bar because I don't love ramen that much, and the Ssam Bar is newer. And I couldn't get reservations to their fancy restaurant that serves the 3 hour, $175 lunch. So, Ssam Bar it is! We went at 11pm so that we wouldn't have to wait in crazy lines, and yay! we didn't have to wait at all. We then proceeded to order from their all-meat menu. I knew that there weren't any vegetarian dishes, but I kinda thought there would be other stuff served alongside the meat. You know, like when you order a steak and it comes with fries or some veggies or at least something. But that was not the case here. So we basically got a bunch of different meats on plates. All of which were prepared exquisitely, with super fancy ingredients and whatnot, but I have to say that I wasn't really that enamoured of it all. I think you have to both love meat AND love unconventional preparation to really appreciate this place. Personally, I hit a meat wall two-thirds of the way through our meal, and didn't really LOVE any of the dishes. I left feeling both a little bit grody on the inside, and somewhat unsatisfied. Also about $100 poorer. Not cheap for something you don't love.

Meat, I guess I do not love thee enough.

Day 3: Cleanse + Pizza Quest
Still feeling full (and somewhat disgusting) from the Day of Pork, I couldn't really bear the thought of another epic eating day. So we went to a small cafe called SimonSips for granola and coffee, and then headed over to the Google NY office to spend the afternoon doing some work. I also went for a jog along the west side of the city. There is a great waterfront path for biking and jogging that goes along the water, so I managed to get some exercise and hopefully burn off some of the previous day's dumplings.

Finally, we headed out to dinner with some other Google people. We were on a quest for great NY pizza and decided to go to Sam's in Brooklyn because it would be able to seat a group and wasn't too far. Sadly, when we arrived in Cobble Hill, Sam's was unexpectedly closed due to a family emergency. So we headed a few blocks over to a place called Lucali's which was also supposed to be good, but where we had to wait until 9:30pm to get seated. They are a BYOB, so it was fun to buy and bring in our own wine, but I have to say that the pizza was just good, not great. I definitely thought the pizza that I had at DiFara's on my last trip to NY was vastly superior. But I guess it's all a matter of taste, as some people in my group preferred this pizza.

I don't want to sound like a douchebag, but I can't believe I waited 2 hours for this pizza.

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn, while waiting 2 hours for pizza.

Day 4: Park Day
After a day of eating relatively little, we were ready for another hearty breakfast. So we headed to the Clinton Street Baking Company for their famed pancakes. And man were they good. Now, I am not usually a pancake lover. I generally think that they are pretty bland and boring. However, these pancakes were a-mazing. I think they were made with buttermilk, so they actually had a really nice flavor. They were really light and fluffy and soft - not chewy or rubbery like some pancakes, and they also contained lots of blueberries, which is always yummy. Finally, they were served with a crack-like syrup, that I believe was actually made by cooking butter into the syrup that you are basically making caramel. Holy crap that is genius. Why doesn't all syrup have butter cooked in? I will never eat plain syrup again. Get thee to the Clinton Baking Co. for your own pancake revelation.

Best. Pancakes. Ever.

This was our last day in NY, and the only day with nice weather, so we rented some bikes for a ride through Central Park. First though, we had to get to Central Park, which required riding about 30 blocks up 6th Avenue in heavy workday traffic. Yikes! It was a bit rough, but luckily most of the cars are cabs and they actually know what they are doing and look out for bikes. Riding through the park was a nice respite from all the walking we had been doing, so we rode all the way to the top of the park and back down again. Then we crossed the city on the crazy streets again, and headed down the east side to the Brooklyn Bridge. The plan was to bike across the bridge and try another pizza place, called Grimaldi's, in Brooklyn. Alas, when we finally arrived there, we found a giant line of tourists waiting to do the same thing, and we didn't want to wait in line for 2 hours like suckas. So back over the bridge we went, across town again, and returned the bikes.

Riding is better than walking. You get to yell at other tourists to get out of the bike lane.

By this time we were getting pretty hungry so we walked over to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for their highly recommended burgers and shakes. We had to wait in a bit of a line, but their shakes were worth it. They make something called "frozen custard", which I guess is basically ice cream made in a soft serve machine and served like soft serve. The result is the taste of ice cream, with an amazingly silky consistency. And they use really premium ingredients like Valrhona chocolate, so the flavors are really good too. Their burgers were good too, but the ice cream-related items were really fantastic. I had a root beer float and half of Dave's chocolate shake and I wanted to go back for a sundae but just couldn't muster up any more room in my stomach.

That cup contains a gold-mine of deliciousness.

An awesome day to spend in the park.

The last day in NY was coming to an end. I bought some snacks for the road, and headed over to the airport for the next leg of my journey: Berlin!

Pulled pork torta from kitchenette

2009-05-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

I am sitting on a curb in the dogpatch, but I am delirious with joy right now.

Half-Iron!!!

2009-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

I did it! I completed my first triathlon. And not just any triathlon, mind you, but a half-ironman that is regarded as the toughest half-ironman in the country. Heck yes!

I finished the course in just over 8 hours, which is a fairly long time, so I can't exactly say that I spanked it, but given that this was my first time tri-ing, I'm pretty pleased with finishing it at all.

Details on the course:

--1.2 mile swim: took me 45 mins. not too shabby. feeling good.

That's me on the right, coming out of the water.

--56 mile bike: took me 4 hours and 22 mins, including changing my flat tire. Not bad, but legs were sore & tired after this. What, I now have to run 13 miles?!

Still feelin' good (before I got a flat tire).

--13 mile run: 2 hours and 49 mins. super slow. legs hurting. hard to keep running. alternated with walking, especially up the steep hills.

Yay! I finally get to stop!
BTW, it took me 8 hours (not 9:23 showing on the clock).

Running across the finish line: priceless! (especially since you get to stop moving at that point)

Enough about me...

2009-04-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

Time to check in on Lola, and yup, the verdict is "cute as ever".

This is the half of her toy snake that is still intact. Let's just say that the head half suffered a more painful demise.

I proclaim myself "more awesome than expected"

2009-04-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

14.5 miles, baby! That is how much I ran last Sunday! AND they were hilly miles, to boot.

So that is officially the most I have ever (and probably will ever) run in my life. I did it in about 2 hours and 40 mins, which means that I was doing 11-minute miles, which considering the length and hilly-ness of the route, I think is pretty decent. It was a freakishly hot day in SF, so I actually waded into the bay afterward to cool off. My dog, also went into the bay, and proceeded to wreak havoc by chasing the swimmers, who had to swim her back to shore because she was being so naughty. But that's beside the point. Let's focus on what's important here: I of little athletic endowment ran 14.5 miles! Yep. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

I also did a pretty tough bike ride on Saturday (the day before the run of glory). 60 miles through Marin, and about 4700 feet of climbing. It was a beautiful day, and we biked through Nicasio, Point Reyes, and then up the back of Mt. Tam, and along the "Seven Sisters" (hills that traverse the side of Tam).

Look! I am not dead-last! There are others behind me.

That weekend of extreme biking and running were part of "peak week" - my hardest week of training, two weeks before the actual race. From here on out, I taper down my workouts and rest a bit before the actual race. And I am supposed to eat a lot of carbs and salt. Awesome! I can totally get with that program.

The other, less fortunate consequence of peak week was that I got a sinus infection :( Apparently riding around all day in the pollen-rich countryside, with allergens assaulting your nose can clog up your sinuses and trigger an infection. Stupid sinuses! I felt pretty crappy for a couple of days, but then I went to the doc and he gave me antibiotics and now I am feeling oh-so-much better already. Yay for science!

So that's pretty much it until race day, which is rapidly approaching. Until then, I'll be "tapering" on my couch, with a bag of chips and some gatorade.

Taming the urban jungle (in my backyard)

2009-03-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

Today I kicked my backyard's ass. With a little help from my dad, my (admittedly tiny) yard was transformed from a Jumanji-like mess, to a fairly under-control, BBQ-friendly place.

Before:

Unruly mess.

After:

One pick-axe and some hedge-clippers later... Muy Sexy!

Training weekend - big success!

2009-03-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Warning: this post contains more updates on triathlon training, so just skip it if you're not interested in all the details of my preparation for a half-ironman.

This weekend I traveled to Lake San Antonio with my TNT training team to do a practice run of the Wildflower Triathlon course. It's still pretty early in the season (meaning that we've only been training for about 6 weeks, and before that we were all sitting on our asses indoors because it was rainy and cold during our 2 months of California winter), so we spread the events out over two days instead of doing them all on one day.

Saturday we swam in the lake (1.2 miles) and then biked the 56 mile course. Let me remind you that the lake is pretty freaking cold and although I consider myself a decent swimmer, this type of swimming seems to be getting the better of me. I struggled through this part. My heart just starts beating so fast when I jump in the cold water that I can barely swim because my heart is racing and I am gasping for air. Also, my hands and feet go numb and never seem to warm up during the course of the swim. I am hoping that all of these issues are just due to a too-small wetsuit, and might be fixable problems, but it's possible that the swim part of the race will just always be really difficult for me.

After the swim, you peel off your wetsuit and jump on your bike, wearing your wet swim shorts and top, so the first part of the bike ride was really cold. Overall, the bike course is not that hard, but there are two big hills that are unfortunately placed. The first is at mile 2, where you are still freezing from the swim and haven't really hit your stride on the bike yet. The second hill is even bigger and comes at mile 42, where you are already kinda tired. This hill is nicknamed "nasty grade" because is is fairly steep, 2 miles long, and has a fake top. So just when you think you made it to the top - surprise! - you actually have to turn right and go up another hill. But it feels pretty awesome when you get to the top. I might have shouted something non-family-safe when I finally made it up there. Just sayin'. It was that good.

What hill?

Sunday we did the run. Normally this is a 13 mile course on trails, but it had rained all night and the trails were super muddy and slick, so we did a 12 mile road course instead. I only did 10 because I am still building up my mileage, since I only had the brilliant idea to do the longer course a few weeks ago. Anyway, 10 miles was totally enough because the course basically consisted of three big hills on a 6 mile loop, which we ran twice. At first I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it, but once I warmed up, I did alright. This was the first time I have ever run 10 miles, so I was pretty pleased with myself. Also, my knees got a bit sore and I had to ice them twice when I got home, so I felt extra legit.

Chillaxing by the fire after the swim/bike day.

Anyway, all of these fascinating (or mundane, depending on your perspective) details bring me to my point: I totally did it!

I was nervous going into the weekend because I didn't quite know what to expect, but I was able to finish all the parts feeling pretty good. Crazy, right? I am NOT an athletic person, and I never thought I'd be able to run more than a few miles. So it felt pretty good to tackle the course. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not fast or graceful, but I can actually finish these distances. Take that, stupid genes!

Oh, and while I am definitely getting a kick out of the training and enjoying all the exercise, I am also doing this to raise money to fight cancer, so feel free to donate here, if you are so inclined.

Your donation makes me happy!

Boldly defying my genetic makeup

2009-03-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

So what have I been doing with all my free time, you ask? Well, you didn't really ask but I have a lot of free time, so I'll tell you. I've been training for a triathlon that is too hard for me and I shouldn't be doing but I'm doing anyway.

You see, I thought it would be a good time to do a triathlon, since I know how to swim, bike and run (although it's more like a slow shuffle when I do it), and because of the aforementioned free time. So I signed up for a triathlon. The Wildflower triathlon in Monterey County, because I heard it's a really fun one. Everyone camps there the whole weekend and there is lots of bonding and general merriment. And I was happy because my training schedule got me exercising regularly and trying new things like intervals which are painful but strangely satisfying.

And so it came to be that in a post-run moment of endorphin-high and oxygen-deprived-brain that I had the BRILLIANT IDEA to "upgrade" to the half-ironman course. Because I am a genius, and that's what geniuses do. Just for laughs, I will tell you what the half-ironman course entails:

1.25 mile swim

56 mile bike

13 mile run

...all in one morning. Oh, and it's apparently terribly hilly.

If you know me, then you may be laughing hysterically at this point (or possibly worrying for my safety) because you know that I come from a long line of let's just call it "not athletically endowed" people. Sadly, genetics is not on my side here. So, in order to have a chance at finishing, I am forced to rely on good old fashioned work. Meaning that I am training 6 days a week and my legs are pretty much perma-sore. And I am hungry ALL THE TIME. Like, even more than usual.

On the bright side, I am doing things that I never thought I could do. I have already survived a 30-minute swim in the bay (fighting off sharks the whole time, I assure you), and recently ran 8 miles (a lot, considering a "run" used to mean 3 miles around my neighborhood in the past).

The event is May 2nd, so I have another 5 weeks to train. I will need every precious moment, since I still have to work my way up to the biking and running distances. Cross your fingers for me - I would love to cross that finish line!

And now for some proof to substantiate my training claims:

Feeling good after my first 5 mile run. This is when the cursed BRILLIANT IDEA occurred.

Let me tell you something - the bay is cold. I was happy to get out.

Yeah! Check me out in my fancy running tights! I am legit.

So there you have it. Now excuse me because I have to go and swim 2 miles.

Oh, and if you want to donate so that I can actually participate in this race, go here.

I am raising $3000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which funds cancer research and treatment. It's a good cause, and they train people for endurance events in exchange for fundraising.

Sunburned in SoCal - in February

2009-03-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, so technically it was March 1st when I actually got sunburned, but it was 85 degrees the previous day (Feb 28th), and it's only because February has less days that it was already March on the day that I got sunburned. Point being that it was really friggin' hot in LA this weekend, and I wasn't prepared because it has been raining nonstop in San Francisco, so I brought 2 rain jackets but no shorts or sunblock or other silly things that you're not supposed to need in February. Which resulted in me having to buy non-winter clothes and then getting sunburned due to the resulting exposed skin. Oh the irony!

But actually it was worth it.

Because who wouldn't want to leave the non-stop raininess of SF for a few days and bask in the glorious sun? Even if you have to pay for summer clothes and then get a sunburn and then have to come back to SF where it is still raining non-stop.

Sunshine in Santa Barbara? Check.

Really freakin' hot in the Hollywood Hills? Check.

Um, isn't it supposed to be raining? It's February.

Oh, and by the way, we ate some good food too. Courtesy of Craft restaurant.

You will be mine, little s'mores...

These mushrooms changed me from a hater to a lover. Of mushrooms.

What can I say? Eating makes us happy.

Hail!

2009-01-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

This was the scene as I drove over Altamont Pass. The elevation is only 1000 ft, but it was hailing like crazy all across the top section. Mini pieces of hail soon turned into peanut-m&m-sized chunks pummeling down. Even the cows were running for cover. Add in a bunch of rainbows, and some thunder & lightning and it was quite an eventful drive.

Luckily, I made it to my destination (Kirkwood) unscathed...

And so it begins...

2009-01-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

Day 1 at Kirkwood.

Today I left San Francisco - on a quest for Something Different.

First stop is some time at Kirkwood, since I have a ski lease here. After that, I'll travel around till I find someplace that I want to stay.

Not sure where I'll end up, but I couldn't really sit around and do nothing now, could I?

It finally got chilly

2009-01-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

I take back what I said before about 60 degrees being crazy. Now Its
cold!

Move over Mormons. Utah is MY "promised land".

2008-12-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

"Red Canyon"

I really love Utah. Well, maybe not all of it. I've never been to Salt Lake City. Never really been to the northern half of the state. But ooooh, the southern half. I was there two weeks ago and I already want to go back.

I quit my (new) job at the end of November, and my brother finished school the first week of December, so I was able to talk him into going on a road trip with me. In case you for some strange reason want the blow-by-blow, here it is. Or, you can just look at the pictures. Whatever.

Day 1: Drove to Vegas. Lame. Vegas is a highly concentrated area of everything that is wrong with the world. But it's an easy place to stop for the night.

Day 2: Drove to Zion National Park. Yay! Hiked to "Hidden Canyon".

Well OK, it's not really that hidden.

It was cold - had to wear my earmuffs.

After exploring Hidden Canyon, we drove out the eastern side of Zion (super beautiful), to bunk up in a hotel in Kanab for the night. (Holiday Inn Express - hot tub and free breakfast - holla!)

Day 3: Hiked to "Red Canyon", just outside of Kanab. The off-road drive to get to the trailhead is pretty hairy. We decided to abandon the car and hoof it most of the way through the sand.

I am the sand that will eat your car.

Found the wash and followed it into the canyon. Sweet! My brother's first real slot canyon experience.

Look Ma!

Then drove a few miles up the road to "Sand Wash" for another slot canyon. This is the entrance:

It was dark inside this one.

You have to ford a stream to get to the trail, and let me tell you, the water in that stream was frickin' freezing, so we were hopping around like idiots once we got across. Plus I lost a sock crossing the stream and had to do the hike with only one sock. Luckily on the way back, an old rancher gave us a ride in the back of his pickup. Awesome.

Day 4: Hiked to "The Wave". Its in southern Utah, in the Escalante National Wilderness, almost to the Arizona Border. This is seriously wilderness - no other cars on the road, no towns, no running water, no real trails. You follow washes, ridges and other landmarks to find The Wave. The navigating is half the fun.

Many navigational challenges lie ahead.

Wavy.

Navigating The Wave.

You can totally envision water flowing through the rocks millions of years ago, and maybe some dinosaurs hanging around and whatnot.

You get the idea. (And more earmuffs!)

There is still more navigating to do.

After getting our fill of the wave, we bushwhacked a bit down into a gully to find Buckskin Gulch, the longest slot canyon in Utah.

We explored a bit and then headed back to the car via a narrow feeder canyon, where we had to climb over a few obstacles, including one boulder jam where I had to let my brother step on me to get up, then he pulled me up after. I think they call that partner climbing in climber lingo.

Day 5: Storm's coming in! Gotta head out. We drive the scenic route through basically every protected area in Utah:

Bryce Canyon. So cold.

Escalante Wilderness.

Capitol Reef.

I would have liked to stay and play around more, but a huge blizzard was coming in, and I had to get my brother to the airport in Denver. So we drove to Grand Junction, CO for the night.

Day 6: Some hiking at Devil's Canyon, just outside Grand Junction, then hit the road.

Snow covering the mesa.

The drive to Boulder was pleasant enough until we hit the snow. And the ice. And the freezing cold temperatures after dark. Apparently we were going over some crazy-huge mountains or something (Vail Pass = 10,600 ft). Made it to Boulder though. Rewarded with -10 degree weather (not so awesome) and a huge plate of spicy ribs at a local brewery (yum).

Day 7: Some hiking just outside Boulder. High of 2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Double earmuffs.

Drove my brother to the airport with one minute to spare. Just my style.

Day 8: Attempted to hike a giant loop trail just outside Boulder. Turns out the loop is about 8 miles, and I am cutting it close before the sun goes down.

Mile 3 - frozen river gorge. Possibly some mountain lion tracks.

I lose the trail with just over 2 miles left and an hour before darkness. I decide not to risk it and beg a ride off a girl walking her dogs. Thanks again to the nice lady who drove me to my trailhead! Dinner with a former colleague. Yay for a home-cooked meal!

Day 9: Snowshoeing in the Rocky Mountain National Park with a friend.

Them is some rocky mountains.

We hike to several frozen lakes and walk across them like it aint no thang. Dinner and then I hit the road on my long slog home. I drove to Cheyenne that night.

Day 10 & 11: Much driving through snow. Bad coffee. That about sums it up.

I am Wyoming - land of sucky coffee.

I get home (after sitting in traffic for an hour to get across the stupid Bay Bridge - welcome home!).

Almost there! Little do I know how much traffic lies ahead.

I am grumpy for like 2 days. But happy to see roommates and my doggie. And have good coffee again.

Just another winter day in California.

2008-12-30T12:28:00.000-08:00

I am wearing flip flops. Something is just wrong about this.

Annual gathering of klutzy, large-nosed people

2008-12-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

As my cousin so eloquently put it: "if you're part of this family, you've got two left feet, a big nose and a dorky sense of humor".

Every Thanksgiving, this gifted group of people meets up somewhere near Mt. Shasta for a weekend of food, hiking, and nerdy games (no one plays Boggle like my family plays Boggle).

I think the highlight of this year's trip was the hike up to Castle Crags. About 5 miles round trip, and you get to play around on the rocks at the top. And of course there are some nice views to be had:

The hiking is always my favorite activity because you get some quality family-time, without having to play dorky games (this year was Charades-free!).

Sometimes it's fun to be lame

2008-11-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

I guess I am officially an adult now, because instead of having a "let's wear slutty costumes and get hammered" Halloween party, I had a pumpkin-carving party at my house this year. And I have to say, it was pretty damn fun.

I made some kick-ass (if I do say so myself) chili, and we spiked the apple cider with bourbon, because we're not totally lame yet. A couple of my friends displayed some surprisingly good pumpkin-carving skillz.

Everyone was all proud of their creation, so we took some pics:

Pretty fancy, huh?

Oh, and if you weren't yet convinced that I am really embracing my inner lameness, I even made my dog wear a costume, and am posting on my blog for all to see. Plus I know how much the guys who created Blogger LOVE how so many people use their blogs to post pictures of their pets.

Lola loves her dinosaur costume so much, that she tried to eat the caveman sitting on top.

Happy Autumn!

Election Excitement

2008-11-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Nevada went democratic - I feel like I made a difference!

Last night after the Presidency was called, the streets of San Francisco seemed to erupt in celebration. Cars were driving down the main streets, honking their horns, and pedestrians were cheering on the sidewalks. I have never seen people so excited about an election.

I hope the momentum carries on through the next few years and people are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to actually achieve long-term change.

Getting political - in Reno

2008-10-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

I have pretty strong political beliefs, but I haven't gotten involved in a political campaign since I ran for student body president in Junior High. However, I have been so fed up with the situation that we (the US) have gotten ourselves in, that I decided it might be time to do something.

So, that is how I found myself on a roadtrip with my coworkers last weekend, heading to Reno. Luckily, the drive is not too long (4 hours) and there are some excellent places to stop along the way (In-n-out & Ikeda's Tasty Burgers). I can't quite speak as highly of the hotel that we stayed at in Reno (they gave me a room that was already occupied, so a woman screamed as I started to open the door).

Anyway, the number of volunteers who showed up to canvass for Obama was very impressive - the line went to the back of and I spent a day and a half going door to door in Sun Valley, talking to people about voting early. I missed my dog a bit, since everyone in Sun Valley seems to have several Pit Bulls in their front yard. Some of which were friendly, some of which...not so much.

I never got yelled at or spit on or anything else that I was afraid of, so I am going to consider the effort a success. I guess every little bit helps.

And hey, we went out for dinner at the Oceano restaurant at the Peppermill Casino, which was decorated in an under-the-sea motif. It was so over-the-top, that it was awesome! And the food was pretty good too.

Overall, I'd say the trip was a success. I tried something new, I hopefully made a tiny difference in the election, ate some tasty burgers on the road, and got home early enough on Sunday that I had some time to relax a bit. Not too shabby.

My super-secret startup is no longer a secret

2008-10-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

nextstop.com is live!

Check it out.

I made this guide to my neighborhood:

There's plenty more where that came from.

Every time, it feels a little less like I am going to die

2008-10-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Or, "Ascent of Mt. Tam #2".

Two weeks ago, I climbed Mt. Tam on my bike for the first time. I went with my local cycling club, Mission Cycling. If they hadn't organized the ride, I doubt I would ever have done it on my own. But for some reason, I decided to give it a shot and go with them. And I actually made it to the top. But once I was there, I was not sure if I would be able to make it home. I was pretty spent. In the end, I did make it back to SF, but I was pretty worthless for the rest of the weekend.

So this weekend, I thought I would try it again, and see if I could make it to the top with a bit more energy left over than last time. I'm happy to say that I made it to the top, and back home, feeling good the whole way. Woohoo! I'm still really slow, but just doing it at all kinda makes me feel like a badass. And this time, I took photos to document the ride.

Riding along the bike trail just north of Sausalito. I am at sea level. Mt. Tam looms in the distance at around 2,400 feet high. Can I really do this?

Beautiful weather...

View back down to SF - I started my ride back there somewhere.

Almost there! This last stretch is pretty brutal - a long steep climb at the very end, when you are already really tired.

Made it to the top! It's peanut butter jelly time.

Riding back into the city.

The Perfect Sunday

2008-10-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I didn't do my laundry, get my tires changed or go to the grocery store (all things I need to do). Instead, I had the Perfect Sunday. It went like this:

Woke up at 9.

Got coffee at Mission Pie at 9:30 (yum)

Went to Fort Funston with Lola and played until 11:30. No fog today! See:

Big brunch with friends at my house at noon. My brother (I call him "uncle Bob" to Lola) stopped by for a bit too.

Biking in the Oakland Hills in the afternoon.

Capped off with one of my favorite dinners: Pho and fresh coconut juice. Mmmmm.

Jealous?

My dog is weird.

2008-10-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

I looked down the other night while watching tv and found my dog
staring at me like this.

I biked to the top of Mt. Tam!

2008-10-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I joined the Mission Cycling gang on a ride up to the top of Mt. Tam. I was not sure whether I would make it the whole way, since I have never really climbed up a mountain on my bike before, but I figured I could turn around at any point and coast home if I needed to. But I was feeling pretty good that morning, so by the time I started getting really tired, I was only a few miles from the summit, and decided to just go for it.

I made it!!!

Granted, I fell off my bike in the parking lot once I got there, but that's beside the point. Also, I didn't bring my camera, so I wasn't able to capture the moment, but it was really a beautiful day and some Mission Cycling peeps took pictures that you can see here: http://www.missioncycling.org/wp/?p=468

I thought I would never want to do it again, but... I kinda want to do it again.

Lovin the veggie garden in front of city hall.

2008-09-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

As a part of Slow Food Nation (a festival celebrating sustainable farming and food sourcing), a veggie garden was planted in front of the San Francisco city hall. The idea is to show that there is really a lot of space within cities and towns - in the form of lawns - that could be used to produce food. I have to admit that I find the veggie garden a lot more interesting than the lawn that used to be in front of city hall. And I've always thought that all the front lawns in America are a waste of space and water. No one even uses them! They are just there to distance your house from the street. Anyway, I don't know if planting veggie gardens all over the place is the answer, but it's certainly interesting, and I enjoyed seeing the plants in front of city hall.

Radiohead at Outside Lands

2008-09-02T11:19:00.001-07:00

Despite some technical glitches, they were great!

Pics from my vacation in Bend, Oregon

2008-08-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

I had 3 weeks off between jobs, so Lola and I took a little road trip up to Bend, Oregon to hang out with my aunt Liz and uncle Tom. Bend is situated smack in the middle of Oregon, in the high desert just east of the Cascade mountain range. That means that it's hot and dry in the summer, and snowy in the winter. Fleas can't survive there because it's too dry, so it's a great place if you have pets. Also, it's a great place if you're into outdoor activities, because Bend is surrounded by mountains, rocks, and other outdoor goodness. On my trip, Liz took me climbing and hiking, and I did a scenic bike tour too.

Full set of pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/juliej/BendJuly2008

New Job!

2008-08-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

After 6 years, I decided to leave the comforts of the Goog, and join a tiny startup in SF. I am the first official employee, working with 2 founders. So far it has been a blast, and I am really enjoying the small, collaborative environment. We even got a real office when I started:

Buying supplies at Costco for our office move-in:

I'm not sure I heart New York

2008-08-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

In June, I traveled to New York for 5 days to soak up some big city energy, and of course, sample some of its food. My friend Shawn now works at wd-50, so I was excited to use that as an excuse to visit the restaurant and try their cutting-edge style of food.

My friend Dave and I went there for dinner on a Thursday night, and had a great time. We ordered the tasting menu with wine pairings, so it was quite a long (and filling) event. Here is a pic of me, feeling somewhat overwhelmed near the end of the meal:

Dave mentally preparing for the meal:

My favorite dish - a riff on eggs benedict. The hollandaise sauce was made into a cube, breaded and then deep fried so that when you bit on it, the warm sauce burst out:

We also hit up the MoMA, traveled to Coney Island for a stroll along the shore, and ate an entire pie from Brooklyn's Difara Pizzaria. This was definitely one of the best pizza's I have ever eaten, on par with some from Italy, and definitely at the top of the heap for NY. Surprisingly, some of the recommended NY pizza places were not that great. But a few (Difara and Artichoke) really stood out.

Hanging out at Barramundi, the bar across the street from wd-50. I really enjoyed this bar, and it's open till 5am, so we were able to stay there until we had to go to the airport on our last night:

Followed by a still-somewhat-tipsy breakfast at the airport. Mmmmm, never has a McMuffin tasted so good:

All in all, I had a great time, but I was really glad to return to SF - a little smaller, a little less dirty, a lot less hot, and a little more quaint. I'm not dissing NY, I just don't think I would want to live there.

Tramping New Zealand

2007-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

No, I was not whoring my way around New Zealand. "Tramping" is the Kiwi word for hiking or trekking. I recently traveled around the south island of New Zealand, hiking in many of the National Parks.

Total trip duration: 2.5 weeks
Total miles traveled: ~3,000

Here are some highlights....

Stunning scenery and close encounters with seals (a little too close, in fact) in Kaikoura.

Remote waterfront relaxation in the Marlborough Sounds, pulling fresh oysters and mussels right out of the water and frying them up for dinner.

Beachside backpacking (and even some barefoot backpacking through rivers!) in the Abel Tasman National Park. Here's my solo photo attempt:

Also some awesome dolphin viewing during my boat trip to the trailhead at Abel Tasman:

The amazing southern Alps around Queenstown and Wanaka. Unfortunately I didn't get to do much hiking here because it rained non-stop, and I had a cold. But I took some nice pics in the brief moments of no rain. If the scenery looks familiar, it's because a lot of the Lord of the Rings movie footage was filmed in this area.

Milford Sound. Part of a huge area called Fjordland which was carved out by glaciers long ago. This area rivals (beats?) Yosemite in terms of awesome granite monoliths. You get a sense of the size in this picture with the car.

More of the valley heading towards Milford Sound:

I took an overnight cruise on Milford Sound, which was also really beautiful. I saw Dusky dolphins and Fjordland Crested penguins, and got sprayed when the captain sailed the boat right under some enormous waterfalls.

I drove to the coast to see penguins hanging out by the beach.

I stayed on a sheep farm and got to herd sheep with the farmer in his pickup truck. Turns out that sheep are actually pretty nasty up close. And dumb. But don't they look cute from afar?

Hiked to a glacier in Mt. Cook National Park. Saw bits of glacier crumble down the mountain. Also the lakes in this region are a bright blue color because of the sediment that flows into them from the glacial melt.

Mount Cook:

Lake Tekapo with Alps in the background:

I also stayed on a horse ranch and got riding lessons, but I was too busy holding onto the horse for dear life to take any pictures, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Southwest Road Trip 2007

2007-10-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am on sabbatical for three months. Yes, I am incredibly lucky that my work allows me to do this. Mostly I am just going to travel and pick up some old hobbies in my free time. First big trip of the sabbatical was a road trip through the Southwest. I have not been to much of the SW, even though I really love the desert. Here was the basic itinerary. As you can probably tell from the pics, the trip was great.

First stop in Vegas, where we ate like pigs (2 nights, 2 different gourmet steak restaurants), and saw "Ka", a Cirque du Soleil show. During the day, Vegas sucks, so we went hiking at Red Rocks.

Next we headed to the Grand Canyon, which I had never seen before. After spending an incredibly cold night in their campground (31 degrees!), we hiked the Bright Angel trail down into the Canyon. We made it about 4.5 miles down, to the Indian Springs campground, near the bottom of the canyon, but not quite all the way to the river. We wanted to get back to the top in time to pick up our dog from the kennel where she had to stay because dogs are not allowed on the trails. All in all, it was still a good 9 mile hike, at pretty high elevation, so no small feat.

Ever since the first time I saw a picture of Antelope Canyon, I knew that I wanted to visit it myself. So after another freezing night of camping at the Grand Canyon, we headed over to Page, Arizona, where the beautiful Anetelope Canyon resides. It is a slot canyon, meaning that it is basically just a crack in some sandstone, carved out by water over time. Light comes through the openings in the top of the canyon and illuminates sections of the crack with vivid colors. The canyon is on Navajo land (some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen), so you join a Navajo-guided tour in Page, and then drive the short distance to the canyon. More pics on my online photo album, if you're interested.

After visiting Antelope Canyon, we headed towards southeastern Utah through Monument Valley. It was a great intro to the landscape in southern Utah, where it seems like there is a stone monument everywhere you look.

We made it to Moab that night, checked into a hotel that allows dogs (we were done with the freezing nights of camping), and then headed out for a hike the next day. Although we eventually wanted to see the National Parks in that area, dogs are not allowed on the trails in those parks, so for our first day, we picked a trail outside the parks that Lola could hike as well. We ended up picking an 8 mile loop that leads to a hidden arch, called Uranium Arch, after the uranium mining that used to be done in the area.

Next day: Lola went to doggie day care and Pete and I headed to Arches National Park. We hiked several trails, but the longest (and best) one was the Devils Garden Trail, a 7 mile loop that takes you past about 10 different arches, and through a playground of red rockpiles and rock fins. Very fun.

Day 3 in the Moab area was kind of overcast. We drove out to Canyonlands. The park is huge, but fairly inaccessible without a high-clearance 4WD car, and there are not very many trails. So we took in the views and then headed out, making our way towards Grand Junction, Colorado, where Pete had some work to do.

While in Grand Junction for 2 days, Pete worked and I went hiking with Lola. We hiked about 6 miles each day, and then Lola would crash for the rest of the evening.

Then we headed towards home, with another stop in Vegas on the way, including of course another fancy steak restaurant and a show. This time we saw Le Reve, which was a very cool show that combined acrobatics with water. The stage was basically a giant pool, and people were lowered down from the sky, and into and out of the water. Very visually cool. Dinner was at Craftsteak, which was amazing. I highly recommend it. We had the chef's tasting menu, which included 4 different appetizers, 2 steak entrees, 4 desserts, and wine paired with each course. Don't even ask how much it cost, but it was so worth it. Delicious.

The next day, we finished the last leg home. A really great trip, and a great way to kick off my sabbatical. We'll see what i do next!

Catching up

2007-08-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been shamefully long since my last post, but here is a summary of what has happened since then:

I went to Fiji and learned how to scuba dive.

I hiked to the top of Half Dome.

I ate at Michael Mina, which has ruined me forever.

I got a dog! Deceptively cute:

What adventures lie ahead? I don't know, but I'll try to be better about keeping you posted...

Some quirky things about India

2007-03-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

It was my first time in India. I was on a business trip in Hyderabad, and didn't have a lot of time to travel around, but I have been able to notice some funny differences:

Cars play music (sounds kinda like a midi file) when they go in reverse. Apparently, people pay a lot of money for this feature.
People really do carry cargo on their heads (bundles of wood, jugs of water, bags of stuff).
Even the fanciest buildings have piles of rubble in front of them. Imagine an upscale mall or restaurant where the sidewalk in front is completely torn up.
The bus doesn't come to a complete stop when picking up and dropping off passengers. It sort of slows to a roll while people jump on and off. Sometimes you have to get a running start to hop on.
A 4-person rickshaw can really fit 9 people.
A moped can really seat a family of 4.
Cows really can do whatever they want (like hang out in the middle of the road, and everyone has to go around them).

In an unrelated picture, people sell delicious-looking fruit everywhere, but us weenie white people can't eat it because we'll get sick because we're not accustomed to the different bacteria in India. So hard to resist all the awesome-looking (and super cheap) fruits!

Seriously, India was awesome, the food was delicious, and the people were really friendly. I would highly recommend it (but definitely bring a stash of Cipro, just in case - I needed it).

Sao Paulo is the San Jose of Brazil

2006-10-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Last month, I spent 2 weeks in Sao Paulo for work. While the trip was all work and no play, I did learn a few things about Brazil:

No, people do not run around everywhere in bikinis and thongs. Stop asking me for hot pics.
Cheese can be barbequed.
It's apparently safer to run a red light at night than to stop at the intersection and wait for it to turn green.

To help you understand why I did not return with a tan, this is what I saw most days:

Also, I finally went to the beach on my last day in Brazil, but it started pouring rain right after I got there. Apparently I have special powers that bring epic rains to any coastal region that I visit. There's gotta be a way to make a career out of that. I'm still working out the details.

Resisting temptation

2006-08-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

I know it's bad to complain about too much of a good thing, but look at what I have to deal with at work! After lunch, they put out all the left-over desserts in the kitchen in my area. Check out today's very large array:

How am I supposed to protect my waistline from this onslaught of deliciousness?

Dieter? Hans?

2006-08-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

So, I went to Germany last week to visit a certain someone. Unfortunately, I was too busy being lazy to really take any pictures, although I did snap a couple in Amsterdam while we were there. Click on the "My Photos" link to the right if you're interested.

What can I say - it rains a lot in Germany, the cars are small, and the land is generally pretty flat. There may have been some romance going on. I would tell you more, but really it's none of your damn beeswax, is it?

The tomatoes are attacking

2006-08-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is what I came home to after only being gone for one week! I've never seen a tomato plant this large in my life. And believe me, I've seen a lot of tomato plants in my day.

They're taller than me! What the hell kind of crazy radioactive soil do I have in my backyard that is making this happen?!

(Oh, and apologies for the outfit - I was in my workout clothes...)

Tomatoes of unusual size

2006-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Is this normal? I planted these two tomato plants about a month ago and they are now freakishly large. I went outside to water them yesterday and was shocked and awed by how large they have become. I had to take a picture for posterity, with myself as a height comparison. These babies come up to my waist!

Our neighbor planted the same tomato seedlings in her front yard, and hers barely come up to my knee. Perhaps the soil in my backyard is extra nutritious from all the bamboo roots that are left over from the bamboo debacle? Perhaps it is my mad watering skills? In any case, I will probably be having tomato parties later in the summer to get rid of the bounty that these plants are sure to put forth. That is, if they don't take over our whole house, jumanji style, first.

Land o lakes

2006-07-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

My last two weekends have been devoted to lake funtime. Two weekends ago (the one that was so hot that I thought the Rapture had come), I escaped the heat by heading up to an alpine lake about 7000 feet high up in the mountains. I'm not going to tell you where this lake is because it was already crowded enough there, and I don't want any more people "discovering" it. Dammit people, stay out of my unspoiled wilderness! Here, you can see why:

Anyway, even up at 7000 feet, it was still a toasty 87 degrees, but the water was mighty fine. I went with a friend whose name will also not be revealed because I don't want to share him with all y'all either. That's just the greedy kind of girl I am. Anyway, what is it about swimming in a lake that is so freakin nice? I absolutely love it. I get that dumbass dreamy look on my face and don't have a care in the world and all that crap.

Turned out that the next weekend was the big houseboating weekend that some friends had been planning for a while. So I drove up to Shasta Lake on Friday afternoon with Shantal and another girl. This lake experience was a bit different, as it involved 12 people on a houseboat with a hot tub, a water slide, ridiculous amounts of food and drink, an enormous stereo system, and a full-fledged flip cup competition on the second night. Which of course my team (me and two other girls) won. Let me tell you, the guys on that boat were put to shame. Here's the deck where the magic happened:

I think we're going to make this an annual event. And hopefully an annual flip cup ass-whupping. So let me know if you want to come along. On the Shasta trip only - you don't get to come to the other lake.

The REAL way to use olallieberries

2006-07-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

Apparently this is what you're really supposed to do with Olallieberries:

In case you can't tell from my awesome photo, it's a jar of black liquid, with a big pile of soggy berries at the bottom. So when Paul (a coworker) initially gave it to me, I was understandably skeptical. Turns out that it is actually Olallieberry brandy, a concoction of berries, brandy and sugar, all marinating together for my enjoyment. Mmmmm. Apparently Paul's roomie is related to the owners of the olallieberry farm that I went to a couple of weekends ago, so he is the beneficiary of about a metric ton of olallieberries every year. He doesn't waste his time making them into pies - he makes costco amounts of brandy. When it comes to olallieberries, this is a man in the know, so I am going to take a wild guess that this stuff is pretty damn good. He recommends first sipping the brandy and then when you're good and toasted, dumping a bunch of the berry mush over ice cream. Sounds like a swell time to me. Thanks Paul and Paul's roomie! You kick ass.

What the hell is an olallieberry?

2006-07-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I dragged some friends along to Pescadero to pick Olallieberries. I totally stole this idea off of The Restaurant Whore . But hey, imitation is the greatest form of flattery, right? Plus, the berries are only $2 a pound if you pick them yourself! Basically, I went to town picking berries - crouching down to get underneath the branches, reaching in through the thorns to pick those hard-to-get-at berries - while my friends leisurely picked off the tops of the vines. About an hour later, I had 6 pounds of berries and everyone else had one or two. And half of Regina's berries weren't ripe because she didn't know that black = ripe, whereas red = sour.

Here's a picture of Shantal and David showing off their pickings, while I am bitching about how little they picked:

The sad news is that I didn't use up the berries fast enough, and most of them molded within a week. Even though they were in the fridge! Lame. Next time I will have to pick the berries on a Saturday so that I have all day Sunday to whip up yummy berry treats. Let that be a lesson to you all.

4th of July is about fireworks

2006-07-21T19:44:00.001-07:00

There's something really satisfying about spending the day at the beach. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but when it came time to decide where to watch the 4th of July fireworks, there was no question that I wanted to watch from the beach. Luckily I was in LA where the the beach is slightly more hospitable than the frigid northern California coastline. A simple sweater (instead of a space suit) was all that was needed to keep comfortable on the Santa Monica sand. We saw several firework shows off in the distance, and Shantal sang patriotic songs (I'm sorry, but I just had to tell on her!). After already stuffing my face with all kinds of food at our lovely little beach picnic, I went home and ate about a gallon of different ben and jerry's ice creams. America really is the land of plenty.

Here's the Santa Monica Pier at night:

Full pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/juliej/Santa_monica_july2006

It's always 72* in San Diego

2006-07-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm in San Diego for a convention where I am working in the Google booth. It's really quite amazing how hard it is to stand around and talk to people for 5 hours. Although in my defense, the Google booth is so popular that we are harangued by mobs of visitors all day long. Luckily the weather is great, and I have been able to enjoy a few free hours here and there around town. Last night I had dinner in the Gaslamp district and today I hit up a beach in La Jolla. It was possibly my shortest beach visit ever though - the tide was really high, and only a few minutes after I had set down my towel, a big wave came right up to the edge of it. I was already up against the cliffs, so I couldn't go any further from the water. Time to pack it up and head back to the hotel where I plan to go swimming in the pool and lay on a deck chair like a civilized person. Take that, ocean!

BTW, I saw more celebrities when I was in LA this weekend than any other time I've been there. (And I've been there a lot.) Apparently, they all come out in droves during the 4th of July weekend. Saw Meg Ryan and her baby at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, and saw Michael Vartan at the swanky pool bar at the Mondrian hotel in Hollywood. Nice! Both of them were incredibly skinny, so Michael V. definitely violated the "little man" rule (if he can fit into my pants, he can't get into my pants - btw, thanks to Jessica for introducing me to this which is now one of my most favorite sayings).

Also, some of the girls that I was with made us eat lunch at the Ivy, which in my opinion was the most boring and overrated place ever. Plus I felt like a total tool waiting out front for our table. And who in their right mind pays $23 for a burger? It better be made with lettuce hand-picked by Brad Pitt himself for that price.

Anyway, I do have a soft spot for beach towns, so I have to admit that I'm enjoying myself this week, even if it is in SoCal. Now the only thing I need to make this vacation complete is to bump into George Clooney and have him fall madly in love with me and live together forever and make lots of little Clooney babies. Which could totally happen, just you wait.

Bella Italia

2006-06-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

It's a bit shameful that I am posting this now, as I have been back from Italy for three weeks, but as they say, better late than never :) Full photo album here.

First of all, Italy was nice. Yup, nice. Can't say it was the best vacation I've ever been on, but a good getaway nonetheless. Most of the time, I was in Tuscany. We (5 friends and I) rented a villa out in the countryside (near San Gimignano, in case you actually know your Italian geography). The best word to describe this region is "stunning". Rolling green hills, rows of grapes and olives, cypress trees and really old towns. Here, I'll prove it to you with a pic:

The villa property itself was beautiful too - great views, patio, pool, and even a little lake. Most days started off with a few cappucinos at the restaurant across the street from the villa. And by street, I mean the two lane highway that runs through this area. And I don't mean a few cappucinos between the group of us, I mean a couple of cappucinos each. They're only 1 Euro apiece, so if you are used to American coffee prices, you have to drink at least two or three in order to feel like you spent enough money on coffee.

After coffee, we'd hang out on the villa grounds, either lounging by the pool, reading on the patio, or sometimes even going for a jog on the grounds if we felt particularly motivated. Then we'd move right into lunch, where we'd put out a spread of standard Italian fare (salamis, tomato & basil and stuff like that). Then maybe we'd venture into a nearby town where we would roam around and eat gelato. Finally, we'd stuff our faces with a big restaurant dinner at night. A pic from my favorite restaurant:

This gluttony went on for an entire week, and by the end of it, most of us were so sick of over-eating, that we practically fasted the last few days.

While staying at the villa, we took two day trips worthy of mention: a trip to Florence and a trip to Cinque Terre, five tiny cities built into cliffs along the coast. First Cinque Terre. I did some of the most efficient sight-seeing of my life on the way there. You see, the highway to Cinque Terre goes by Pisa. I had no desire to stop in Pisa just to take some lame photo of someone pretending to hold up the leaning tower, but the rest of the folks in the car felt differently. So I caved. We exited the freeway (yes, I drove in Italy) towards central Pisa and followed the signs towards the leaning tower. Just so you know, in Italy, there are about a hundred signs on every street corner, pointing in a hundred different directions. Signs pointing towards the next town, the highway, and all the various hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions within a 5 mile radius. So following the signs is not always a straightforward task. Anyway, these signs led us straight through the middle of Pisa, where by some amazing stroke of luck, I managed not to run over any of the many pedestrians, bicyclists and vespa drivers that were constantly darting across the street and through traffic. Finally, we approached some city walls, with a "no cars" sign on them. But I could see that the tower was inside those walls, so I ignored the sign and drove inside. There is was, just half a block to the right. I turned into the road that led right up to the tower plaza, and pulled into the very last parking spot, about 10 feet from the "Piazza dei Miracoli", where the leaning tower stands. Kathy was so impressed, she took a picture of my parking spot before she even bothered taking a pic of the stupid tower. Haha!

Then back on the road towards Cinque Terre. I'll skip ahead here and just say that it took us a while to actually get to the first town in the cluster. We accidentally went to far, and muddled around in the hills above the towns for a bit, but we eventually got there. Cinque Terre is a group of five towns that are built right into crazy-steep cliffs, so there is no road between the towns. Just a trail and a really slow train line that goes through tunnels blasted into the cliffs. We hit the trail, which is cut right into the cliffs and is very scenic. I enjoyed this a lot because I actually got some exercise, and because there weren't the throngs of tourists that we were encountering in every other city and town that we visited. It was getting late, so I only made it to the third town before having to turn around. Here's a pic of one of the towns:

The drive home was long and arduous. I don't really want to go into it. I'll just say that we were forced to take a long detour that extended the trip from 2.5 hours to 5.5 hours. We got home after midnight, and I was wiped out from driving the whole way in the horrible traffic. Not the best end to an otherwise nice day, but after a good night's sleep I got over it.

Florence was a fun outing, but mostly just for wandering around and window shopping. I am not into the museums in Florence at all. We went to one when we first got there, but it sucked. So we stuck to wandering the streets. Of course we got gelato. We bought sandwiches and wine at a tiny street shop. We had a humongous dinner. And the drive was only 50 mins door-to-door.

After spending 7 days at the villa in Tuscany, I decided to make my way down to Sicily with Dave and Nicole while Kathy and Shantal headed to Rome. Although I wasn't there to experience it firsthand, they had a pretty rough day. Their rental car broke down on the freeway and they had to wait several hours for a tow truck. When the truck finally arrived, they had to sit in the car while it was hoisted up onto the flatbed truck, and then remained in the car, on the truck, while the truck drove down the highway. I feel like maybe that is illegal in the US. When they arrived in Rome, they had numerous other difficulties getting a cab from the tow yard and getting into their hotel room. Let's just say they had a very long day, and that Italy does not seem to believe in customer service. I think they had a pretty good time after that though.

Back to me, Dave and Nicole touring around Tuscany. The first night, we shared a big bunk room at a youth hostel with an older couple that we named the "fartsy twins" for their nocturnal gasiousness. The second night we headed down to Rome to catch a night train to Sicily. We met up with Kathy and Shantal for dinner. I ate what I will later refer to as a "dubious Salumi platter", consisting of various types of cured meats. We caught the night train to Silicy. Of course the air conditioning didn't work, so we spent a long night alternating between window closed (roasting alive), and window open (loud train track noise and billowing wind). The cool thing is that the train actually gets onto a big ferry to go across the channel between the Italian mainland and Sicily. The next morning, as we approached Catania (our stop), I did not feel so good. At first I thought it was just the lack of sleep, but I quickly realized that I was going to puke. I made a run for it, but could not get to the bathroom. Luckily there was a washroom (sink only) in the hallway of the train, so I ran in there and puked in the sink. Bad news is that train sinks are small and have tiny drains. The puke would not drain. Totally gross, but I was feeling so horrible that I couldn't really deal with trying to solve that problem. I stumbled back to my train cabin. We got off the train at our stop, and I was still feeling nauseous. Also, I was shaking and sweating, and felt really weak. I was trying to pull my suitcase and carry my bags, but was going really slow. Nicole and I sat in a cafe in the train station while Dave went to get a rental car. During this time, I puked twice in a garbage can, and then once in the sink of a very nasty bathroom. There was no way I was getting anywhere near that toilet. In fact, the smell of the bathroom triggered another round of puking. Finally we got a car and headed to our hotel. I was trying to keep keep things under control in the backseat, but halfway there, another wave of nausea come over me. There was no time or place to pull over, so I rolled down the window and puked out onto the highway while we were going full speed. Not only did I splatter vomit all over the side of the car, but the cars behind us had to swerve to avoid being rained on as well. I felt too shitty to care though. I puked in the bushes when we arrived at the hotel, and after we got our room, I puked in the bathroom there too. Then I passed out in bed. Later, my body became even more efficient in cleansing itself (I'll spare you the details). At this point, I was completely empty on the inside, and totally wiped out. So I basically slept until the next morning.

When I woke up, I still felt weak, but I managed to eat a tiny bit of peach granita - so good - and a bit of bread. This helped a lot, and I started to feel like myself again. I had this peach granita several times while in Sicily. It's basically pureed peaches, sugar, and ice. It is frozen and has the consisency of a grainy sorbet. It's awesome, and perfect for the warm By this time, I felt well enough to even go for a swim in the sea, which also helped me feel better. There is pretty much nothing that I enjoy more than swimming in the ocean.

My recovery was complete. I still didn't really eat anything until the next day though. So that makes two days of fasting, which I have never done before. The next day, we went to the local produce market, and I bought tomatoes, basil and mozzerella, and feasted on that for lunch. Sadly, the next day, I had to return to Rome to catch my flight home. I was done with Italian trains, so I coughed up some extra money for a plane ticket from Sicily to Rome. Best decision ever. Met up with Shantal in the Rome airport and began the very long trip home.

the last straw

2006-06-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know it's lame to post pictures of your pet on your blog, but this is more like a cry for help. Behold Nikki and her new t-shirt:

In case you can't clearly make out the words, it says "I love my two moms". Not OK! It's bad enough that the dog has t-shirts, but this just begs our friends to tease us even more about being "life partners". Just because we bought a house together and have a dog... Geez.

Joshua Tree

2006-04-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my brother and I went to Joshua Tree National Park for some camping, hiking, and good ol' fashioned sibling bonding. We set off on Wednesday night after work and headed down the 5 as far as we could go before we got tired. We ended up at a hotel right at the foot of the grapevine, which sucked because the hotel there knows that it's late and you don't want to haul ass over the grapevine for another hour to get to the next town, so they feel free to charge $75 for a nasty little room that smells like smoke.

Anyway, the next day was much better because we drove through LA and headed into the desert. This reminded me that I should really get the AC in my car fixed. I wish I had thought of that before this trip because the last hour or two got pretty wicked hot in my car. We were cruising down the freeway old-school style, with the windows rolled down, and everything blowing around inside the car, and we were still sweating like crazy. We made it into the park early enough to claim a pretty rockin' campsite though. Check it out. We positioned the tent so that it was protected from the morning sun by huge boulders on the eastern side of the campsite. This kept our tent in the shade until almost 9am, so we were able to sleep in much longer than the losers who picked campsites without giant boulders to the east. Can I just say that I totally know my shit when it comes to nature?!

That same day, we went on a short hike in the late afternoon. We got a late start because we had to go back into town to buy groceries and water. And also, we hit up the Subway for foot-longs. Mighty tasty. Since I had forgotten my Joshua Tree guidebook at home, we picked a random hike that showed up on the map that was posted at our campground. We didn't know the name of the hike, or anything about it for that matter, but we figured it was getting late, and beggars can't be choosers. So we set off, not really knowing where we were going or what we would see. When we came to a fork in the trail, I let my brother pick which way to go. Of course he picked the crazy uphill route, so I was cursing him. That is, until we came to the top of a ridge where there was the most amazing clearing. It was a flat, open space in between two mountains, kind of like a shelf sticking out over a huge valley below. There was an actual tree in the middle of this clearing, which is cool because there are barely any trees in the whole park. Also, there was an open mine shaft that went almost straight down into the ground for about 100 feet. From the looks of it, some miners attempted to find gold there, but all they found was limestone, so they abandoned the hole and moved on. Keep in mind, there was no fence or anything around this deep hole in the ground, and it was about 6 feet in diameter. We had definitely wandered off of the main trail at this point, but not very far, so we were impressed that the mine shaft was just left open like that. After enjoying the view from the clearing for a bit, we were just about to head back over some boulders to the trail, when I noticed this strange cluster of rocks that looked like a good protected spot. When I looked closer, I realized that there were two steps leading up to these boulders. I moved in closer to look behind the bushes, and saw that this natural boulder formation had been made into a house - probably by the same miners who dug the shaft! The gaps between the boulders had been filled in with rocks and mortar and there was a doorway supported by wooden beams. Again, there was no sign to indicate the presence of this old house, nor was ther a fence around it to keep people like us out. So we wandered inside the house and found that there were all kinds of old, rusted metal cups and tools, a fireplace built out of rocks and mortar, as well as a window and some shelves. Everything was really well preserved, so I guess that not a lot of hikers found this place. It was so cool because it felt like we were the first to discover this little mining outpost, and it felt like we were transported back in time to the gold rush.

The next day we hiked out to a fan palm oasis called "Lost Palms Oasis". It's about 4 miles each way through the rolling hills and sandy washes of the Colorado desert portion of the park. (Joshua Tree NP is interesting because two different deserts - the Mohave and the Colorado - converge within the park boundaries. The western portion of the park is part of the Mohave desert, which lies mostly around 4000 ft above sea level and is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. The Mohave desert is also the only place where Joshua Trees grow. The eastern portion of the park is a swath of the Colorado desert, which is mostly around 2000 ft above sea level and is one of the most arid deserts in the western hemisphere.) So the Lost Palms Oasis is in the non-Joshua-tree part of the park. But that's ok because there are lots of other weird plants to check out along the trail, like the ocotillo trees, and the cholla cacti.

The oasis itself is actually in a canyon below the trail, and you have to scramble down a set of switchbacks and crumbly rocks to get there. It's nice and cool amongst the trees, and there is a stream of water that runs through the canyon. I can only imagine how awesome this place must have been for the people that previously lived in the area, before the advent of air conditioning and running water (which by the way, the park does not have). I, of course, forgot my hiking boots at home, so I had to hike in my Chaco sandals the whole weekend. Luckily, these are some mighty rugged sandals. Unluckily, the sunscreen that I put on the tops of my feet crapped out on me and I got sunburned in nice Chaco-shaped formations. After that hike, we took the long way back to our campsite: we exited the park at the southern end and made our way into Palm Desert, which for the record is a totally lame town. But they do have a DQ, and that is exactly what we were looking for. Two enormous choco-caramel sundaes later, we headed back into the park for the night.

The next day would be our last full day in J-Tree, so we decided to do two hikes. A short one in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon. The morning hike was through the "Wonderland of Rocks" to some formations known as the "AstroDomes", where we were hoping to watch some climbers tackle some of the tallest climbs in the park. Of course, no one was there. What a bunch of wussies. We scrambled around on the rocks a bit, and then headed back. The second hike that day was a six mile loop over a rocky mountain, through a rock maze, and then out a sandy wash. It took us literally 45 minutes to find the freakin' trailhead here because the directions in the hiking book that we bought bore no resemblance to the actual area. It was probably 4:30pm when we finally got on the trail. We hiked over some cool rocky hills, and then finally over a killer hill where we could see the entire 29 Palms valley and then some. At the bottom of this mountain, we lost the trail again, and had to retrace our steps until we were sure that we had found the right wash to follow. All the washes look like trails, so it's really easy to get tricked into wandering the wrong way for a long time. Finally we made it to the rock maze, which was kind of like the maze in the move Labyrinth with David Bowie. My brother and I watched that movie like a million times when we were little, so it was a special bonding moment for us. We couldn't really linger very long though because the weather had shifted and a mean wind had kicked up. The sun was still up, but it was getting low in the sky. We still had 3 miles to go, and we were on the shadow side of the mountain, with this raging wind that was so cold that our arms started going numb. The rest of the trail was pretty non-eventful so we started to pick up the pace so we could get back to the car. I swear, at one point I was jogging (in my sandals) to try and warm up. But it was no use. We took another wrong turn and had to backtrack again. This trail would have been really awesome if it had the occasional signpost to point the way. We finally made it back to the car just as the sun was about to set. We ran the heater for 5 minutes before either of us could move our fingers enough to grip the steering wheel, and even after that, it took another half hour before I regained normal movement in my hands. But we had made it back before it got dark, so we were happy. That night was really cold, and the wind whipped around the tent and kept waking us up, but all in all it was a good end to a good weekend in the desert, and we managed to have nice weather until the very end.

Meatfest!

2006-04-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

If you live in SF, you know that Joe (of Joe's Cable Car) "grinds his own fresh chuck daily" to make his delicious burgers. Well, not to be outdone by Joe, Dave felt that he too needed to grind his own chuck. Although I got stuck with french-fry-duty, I did get in some nice pics of the grinding action. Here you can see the humble beginnings:

And here you can see the final result - a huge pile of hamburger meat:

It looks kinda like brains, but it tasted pretty good after we grilled it up. I can't really say the same for the fries - they were just plain nasty.

Velvet Cantina Rocks

2006-03-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would never need to look further than El Farolito for my Mexican food needs, when lo and behold, Velvet Cantina moved into town. Seriously, they have the best chicken enchiladas in the whole world. I want to make out with these enchiladas, and I am pretty picky about who I make out with. These are definitely not your traditional enchiladas - not drowning in red or green sauce, no cheese melted on top. But they are super flavorful, which surprised me the first time, because I usually find chicken enchiladas to be pretty blah.

Here's a hot pic for you. It doesn't look like much, but OMG is it deeeelicious. And the green squiggle is cilantro sauce, which is soooooo good.

Oh, and did I mention the margaritas? Forget the Corona, these are "mas fina". The folks there would never even think about putting some crappy, plastic-bottle tequila in your marg, and the mix must be fresh-sqeezed or something. They go down so smooth that I have had a few too many on both of my visits so far. And let me tell you, I am super funny when I've had too many margs (at least I think so). Last time I was there, the waiter not only tolerated my bad humor, but he also brought us an extra pitcher on the house. How awesome is that? Here is another sexy pic:

And whoa! Look at me go! Getting funnier by the sip....

All I can say is that this place rocks, so you should totally go. And let me know so that I can come with you.

Blowfish - 70 bucks in 5 minutes

2006-03-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

The only downside to visiting your friend's new loft in media gulch is that it is impossible to get a cab outta there. So I had the (genius) idea that Blowfish would either have cabs waiting, or call one for us. Of course there was a long line of couples waiting for cabs, so we popped inside to pass the time. First of all, how did we rack up a $70 bill in 5 minutes? Second of all, I have proof that Dave drinks fruity drinks:

GMAT, you are my bitch

2006-03-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

I took the GMAT yesterday (yes, I am a tool). I thought I was totally gonna blow it, because I studied maybe a total of 5 days for it, and only went to about half of my prep classes. Plus, I really suck at the math.

But au contraire, mon frere! I scored in the 94th percentile. That's right, suckas! This girl is officially done with the GMAT, and I never have to take it again, which is the most awesome part of doing allright on the test.

Plus, now I can actually start to have a life again. Unless I actually get in to business school, in which case I will not have a life for several more years.

Courtship Foul

2006-02-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Guys, let me give you a little tip. If you want to tell a girl that you like her, you should probably tell her directly, before blasting it to all her friends over email. Witness this recent email, which was sent to all of 8 people (including me) who are all trying to plan a trip to Italy together:

"> I'm just taking this opportunity to say hi to Julie, who I thought was really
> cute when I met her so very briefly in SF the other weekend.
> Oh yeah, the trip... Tuscany's fine w/ me, esp. given the cost difference...."

Of course, this prompted all kinds of well-deserved mockery from the other people on the thread. But I can't help but wonder why this person (whose name will be not be divulged) would send this statement in his "reply to all"? I'm sure I will never hear the end of it - this will no doubt provide endless amusement for the other people on the trip. Which I guess is allright, because you gotta admit, it is pretty funny.

PS: I forgot to give due credit to Dave for coining the term "courtship foul". I'm not that clever.

Restaurants I'm ashamed I haven't tried yet

2006-02-23T00:30:00.000-08:00

A16 - I really do want to go, but the Marina is just so far, and I always feel not-cute-enough.
Zuni - How have I not been to this place? Weak!
Chez Spencer - Just heard about this place, but need to go soon, before the secret gets out!
Frascati - I never go to Russian Hill, so this will be a good excuse.
French Laundry - Actually, I'm not sure I want to go. Super expensive, and I might have to eat seafood or liver or something.

Sam's Anchor Cafe, a.k.a. "If you didn't get enough of the Greek scene back in college"

2006-02-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ah, Tiburon. Great views. Ocean breezes. A great little escape from the city. But, damn! I forgot how fratty Sam's gets on weekends. It's like everyone who was ever a part of the Greek system converges on this one place whenever the sun comes out. While it's always entertaining to play games like "spot the thong", and "why's that guy not wearing a trucker hat", even these can get old after a while. And you definitely don't go to Sam's for the food, so don't get your hopes up. But hey, it's a great spot to enjoy the sun with a beer and some fries. But just don't count on seeing me there more than once every 6 months. That's about all I can handle.

Firecracker, my ass

2006-02-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, my roommate and I decided to take a little stroll down Valencia to try out our local yuppie-Chinese place: Firecracker. Big mistake. First of all, the place had a bunch of empty tables, but they said they couldn't seat us until 9:30 unless we were willing to take the drafty table by the entrance. Ok, fine. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that there were reservations for those empty tables. Plus they'll throw in free soup or tea if we sit at the drafty table. Score! We're in. I'm a sucker for free shit.

The soup was actually really good, if you like whitenized Chinese food. It was spicy, and didn't have any weird, unidentifiable meats in it. Problem is, everything else that we ordered sucked. Mongolian beef: soggy meat, no spice, little flavor. Firecracker chicken: random chicken pieces with lots of fat, and too much deep-fry batter, also no spice. C'mon, I could have gotten this meal for $5.95 at Panda Express, and would have saved myself some serious cash (each entree at Firecracker was 15 bucks!).

The clincher was that the one waiter who was stuck with serving all the tables took forever to clear our plates and bring the check. After 10 or 15 minutes, I had to flag him down, since we wanted to get away from this nasty food, pronto. We forked over the hefty sum for our so-called-dinner, and high-tailed it outta there.

Lesson learned. From now on, I will heed the warnings of my friend Dave, and stay away from yuppie Chinese food - no good can come of it.

The Cheesesteak Shop

2006-02-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about cheesesteaks. Now, I don't claim to know what an authentic philly cheesesteak should taste like. I've never been to Philly. But let me tell you, I like me some cheesesteak. I don't care if it's "authentic" or not, as long as it's meaty and saucy and delicious. And the cheesesteaks at The Cheesesteak Shop on Divisadero are all of the above.

When I first stepped inside the shop, I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical. The place looks like a run-down taco bell, and smells faintly of cat piss. But my fears were soon laid to rest. The cheesesteaks come with none of the extra frilly ingredients like lettuce or tomatoes. Just meat, cheese, onions and an assortment of grilled sweet and spicy peppers. None of that bell pepper crap. Oh, and a healthy dose of grease. Or as I like to call it: meat juice. This sucker is very juicy. And the cheese doesn't just sit on top of the meat, it's all mixed in and totally melted. The peppers on top are tangy and spicy, and add a nice little kick to the whole experience. Seriously folks, this cheesesteak was so good, it gave me those special feelings that I normally only get for George Clooney. I want to marry this cheesesteak. Or, at least go on a second date.

And don't forget to order up some of their awesome sides: Onion Rings. Twisty fries. Enough said.

Next time I go, I'll have to try the mysterious "TastyKakes" that are apparently an east coast thing that I, California Girl, am obviously too ignorant to know about. But make no mistake, there will be a next time. After all, once I fill up my frequent buyer card, I get a free cheesesteak!