Comments (1)

By HB, September 16, 2008 8:45 pm

Found this on Engrish.com and it made me laugh. (I’m sleep-deprived and delirious, so I laughed extra hard.)

Comments (2)

By HB, September 14, 2008 10:37 pm

Well, I’m back now. What an interesting weekend. I spent the weekend in San Francisco at an LDS mid-singles conference. Here are some interesting highlights. I will have to use super-descriptive words, because (weirdly) I didn’t take very many interesting pictures.

Episode 1: In which HB goes to a party.
The kickoff party was at the Metreon on 4th St., which has a SUPER cool balcony (both literally and figuratively). Good music, good dancing, good people, and a GREAT view of downtown San Francisco. Just being in the city is kind of magical to begin with, and the soft lighting of the evening, the sparkly lights of the skyline, and the bay breeze was enough to make me a very happy girl.

Episode 2: In which HB goes shopping in the city.
First off, I just have to say… an Old Navy with THREE FLOORS is a very different animal from an Old Navy in a strip mall in Folsom. Salina & I went shopping on Saturday morning and found some amazing things. She needed clothes for the cruise, so we started at Old Navy. She bought a beautiful sweater, I bought some trouser jeans. Then we went to a Westfield shopping center down the street. They had a Movado store. I loved looking at the simple, uncluttered designs. There were lovely things to look at in the shopping center. They also had a lovely food court. No McDonald’s. No Burger King. No, I had a savory crepe with fresh basil and jack cheese and a spring salad with vinaigrette. We went back to the hotel, and my friend took a nap. I decided to take my own cab and go to the park for the midday activities.

Episode 3: In which HB takes her first taxi cab.
I had never taken a taxi in my life before this weekend. While my friend was napping, I decided I would be adventurous and hire a car to take me to the activity at Crissy Field. I learned a few things. 1) Cabs are expensive. 2) Cabs can be scary. 3) Once you take a cab somewhere, you can’t always get a cab back. Useful lessons. (I did manage to get a cab back to the city… eventually.)

Episode 4: In which HB eats macadamia-crusted mahi mahi with sauteed plantains, pineapple salsa, and guava butter sauce.
Okay. That’s pretty much it. I ate macadamia-crusted mahi mahi with sauteed plantains, pineapple salsa, and guava butter sauce. Holy wow.

Episode 5: In which HB goes on a cruise around the bay.
There were about 500 people that got on the boat. It was ferociously cold, but being on the top deck while going under the Bay Bridge and cruising around Sausalito was completely worth it. Not something to be missed. Dancing on the boat was not as fun as dancing at the Metreon, so I spent most of the time talking to people. It was a lot of fun – I was sad when we pulled into the pier, even though it was probably good it ended, because I was very, very tired. All in all, I’d say it was worth it though. It was definitely a step outside of my normal life. I’m not sure how often I’ll end up doing things like that… or how many of my new acquaintances will become friends… but it will be interesting to find out. Stay tuned.

End Credits:

New people met (in order of appearance):
Bradley
Kevin
Chris
Ben
Randy
April
Brad
Casey
Gordon
Marco
Jeff
Marisol
Greg
Troy
Jerry
Jay
Dana
Lindsay
Mindy
Sandra
Jessica
Catherine
Emily

Wardrobe:
Old Navy, Banana Republic, Shade Clothing Co.

Catering:
In-N-Out, Mel’s Diner, anonymous crepe restaurant, McCormick & Kuleto’s, La Parrilla Grill

Lodging:
San Francisco Marriott

Transportation provided by:
Yellow Cab.

Comments (3)

By HB, September 7, 2008 8:52 pm

Friday night I went to an open mic at Borders in Folsom. Weston & I played a song – guitar, fiddle, two vocals. This is unusual. It’s not terribly unusual for him, he’s played at open mic nights before… but it’s unusual for me. For me, a more “usual” experience with an open mic would include me showing up after being convinced by someone to go, sitting there, not enjoying it very much, and making fun of people. Friday night was different. The people were nice. There were a lot of them. And there was a sense of community there, in the Borders, that I haven’t experienced very much lately. A few people that see each other every so often, enjoying a night of good music together. And the music really was good, I have to say. I liked it. That’s right. I liked it.

I don’t know what this means for me, Internet. Maybe I’ve gone soft. Maybe I’m going to be one of “those” people. One of the people who goes to an open mic night and doesn’t hate it. Or maybe this open mic was special. But it really meant something to me. I felt like more of a whole person after Friday night.

Saturday I spent a whole lot of time & money on my car. I’ve been neglecting it… there was steel showing through the rubber on my left front tire, I needed an oil change, there’s a rock chip in the windshield, and I haven’t done any of the recommended services since I bought it. Oh, and there was a bunch of Diet Coke that had splattered all over the back during the great Diet Coke Explosion that happened earlier this year. (Turns out you shouldn’t leave a bunch of cans of Diet Coke in your car once it gets above a certain temperature…)

So I started the day cleaning out the Diet Coke, and organizing the stuff in the back of my car so it all fits in one nice bin with a lid. Then I drove up to Placerville and began my Satuday Adventure in Car Maintenance. By the end of the day (and $800 later), the Subaru had four shiny new tires, new oil, new transmission fluid, a new fuel filter, a car wash, clean windows, and a shampoo on the passenger side (where the olive oil spilled). My car is happier now. I could almost feel the sigh of relief from the Subaru when I turned it on after the oil & the fluid & filter changes. And it’s driving straight again, so that’s a big hooray. I can’t believe how much I spent… but I’m glad there are other people who will do the dirty, messy work for me so I can keep driving my lovely, lovely car.

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt to go to work… I still feel gross. My ears hurt every time I drive up the hill and I’m coughing up stuff from my lungs now. But hey. My company needs me. So to work I will go. And with that, good night, Internet.