Posts tagged ‘california’
My second week at the new office being “professional” rather than sitting bored and talking on gchat all day prompted for a bottle of wine. So, I bought Gnarly Head Zinfandel wine, a vintage 2006 Old Vine Zin. It looked cool and everything. Why not live life on the edge?!
However, there was one slight problem. I couldn’t open the bottle! It was as if the cork was super glued in the bottle. I grunted using all my strength to open the bottle, but only to come across another slight problem.
Can you believe it? The freaking corkscrew broke! I was shocked. This never happened to me before. So, I got pliers and tried to get the screw out. That didn’t work. So I just grabbed another corkscrew, but it was the same story, the cork wouldn’t pop open.
Because I didn’t want to break another corkscrew, I just took the bottle back to the wine store to get a different bottle.
Me: Man, this is gnarly. I can’t even open this. My cork opener broke! You see, it’s funny because this wine is called Gnarly Head (points at wine cover) and it’s gnarly to open it!
Him: (laughs hard) (walks over to another part of the store and tries to open it with his own cork opener, which is fancier and doesn’t require strength) (grunts, grunts, grunts) Wow, I can’t open this either. Let me try again.
Me: Okay no problem.
Him: Oh! It’s working!
Me: Well, you know I can’t drive home with an opened bottle of wine!!
HIm: It’ll be fine, no problem. I won’t open it all the way.
Me: Okay. At least I’m sober and the police can give me all the tests they want!
Him: Haha. Okay, here you go, your gnarly wine.
The corkscrew is still stuck in the cork. You can see all the holes in this cork, which were repeated attempts to try to open the darn wine bottle!
The struggle was all worth it, because the taste was amazing and just for $12 or so bucks! The grape clusters of this wine are balanced with American, Hungarian, and French oak. As a result, this left a lingering taste on my tongue. My tongue tingled for a few seconds after taking a taste, which was awesome. It was like spicy wine. Mmm.
Okay, I know I’ve been talking about rodents a lot, but just ONE more thing. I cannot, and I mean CANNOT, resist bringing this up. Please check out this link about a woman from Mendocino County, California, who shot herself while trying to kill mice in her trailer home. I had to laugh for a few minutes after reading the article. Was she was drunk? I bet right before she shot the mouse, she said “Here, hold my Budweiser.” And go POW POW! Who knows, maybe the mouse story was a cover-up for something really idiotic. Good thing no one died.
Last night I attempted a Myoplex shake for dinner because I ate like crap all day long at work, but it was just unsatisfying. Sure, it filled me up, but I wanted a MEAL that you can CHEW. You know, utilize the teeth that we were given! So, I also had this:
I know it is nothing to call Rachael Ray about. However, it really brought back fond memories, which made me feel nostalgic for times with my sister. She and I had this crap almost everyday during our first summer living in California. We were experts at il bel far niente (the beauty of doing nothing). Sleep in, eat Ramen, go out by the pool, come back in to watch Days of Our Lives (Oh God, I used to watch that?!), and go back out to the pool. That summer was probably the most time I had ever spent with my sister. Isn’t that La Dolce Vita?
“You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til you lose it.” So true. Being a visitor has made me notice so many things about the city I once resided in.
Every time I visit San Francisco, I’m always amazed at how many billboards there are. How could I not notice these while I was living there? I got so used to the billboards that I guess I became oblivious to them popping out in my face. Some are downright hilarious and creative! What other city would put “badass” on a billboard? If your city would, holla at me with pictures. My fascination with San Francisco billboards prompted me to start a collection, which I’ll update with each visit.
COLLECTION OF SAN FRANCISCO BILLBOARDS
Let me tell you, this collection is rather dangerous. I rear-ended someone while trying to take a picture of a billboard on my right. I was at a red light, and my rental car was rolling a little bit without my knowledge. I felt and heard a slight “crash.” SHIT. I hit a pick up truck in front of me just as the light was turning green. The driver didn’t even want to get out to check for damages. He saluted at me and drove off. I, on the other hand, immediately got out to assess damages, but luckily there was not even one scratch. WHEW. My sister, in the passenger seat, gave me her famous look that implied, “Ooookay. You are the weirdest thing on Earth and I don’t know you.” YOU LOVE ME, SISTER, AND YOU KNOW IT.
From now on, I’m only taking pictures as a passenger!
I’m bouncing all over the walls now! Hyped up to the max. No, not because it’s Friday. No, not because I’m high on caffeine. No, not because I won the lottery.
Because it’s FREAKING 75 DEGREES! The judge let Spring out! I feel a prickle of sweat on my neck and I’m loving it. I’ve come out of my cave – beware, make cover!
Californians and Arizonians, please shush. Don’t burst my bubble. I know it’s around 85 there and much drier without humidity. So, as much as I love you all, stuff it.
Take a look at this video: Soapbox Derby in Bernal Heights of San Francisco
One of the many reasons why I love San Francisco. Creative and open minded people doing crazy stuff. Or crazy people doing creative stuff?! Either way, this wild event makes me miss home.
“I will sing in San Francisco if I have to sing in the streets, for I know that the streets of San Francisco are Free.” ~Luisa Tetrazzini
God, I hope so. According to the news (reliable or not!?) this morning, the Santa Ana winds have died down to 30 mph instead of the 100mph gusts. This is good news for the firefighting aircrafts, because now they can fly and dump water! The temperatures are lowering a bit and humidity is coming from the Pacific Ocean breeze, which is good. My friends in S an Diego say the air is yucky, muggy, and dirty.
Officials say the fire damage has risen to a whopping 434,543 acres. That’s approximately 678 square miles. To me, I know that number is big, but here’s the shocker that made me realize just how big: 678 square miles is approximately ten times the size of Washington DC. Washington DC is about 68 square miles. Jeff drew on a map to help put this in perspective. Almost the entire DC Metro area would be wiped out.
(picture credit goes to Jeff Fredrickson)
When I lived in California, I sometimes saw fires in the hills. The air is dry out there and it almost never rains in the summer/fall. Most of the rain comes in the winter months. Even though the risks were high for the fires to spread dramatically, I never worried about it because I didn’t see them turn into troublesome big fires. Never did I think California fires could get this big in our time!
Seriously, my heart goes out to the fire victims and I really hope the fires are contained ASAP. What makes me go GRRR is the fact that it’s pouring here in DC and not where it should be – California. . It poured yesterday, and its pouring again. I see that we’re expected more rain for the rest of this week. I want this rain to go to California! They need it more than us!
