While I desperately clung to the vestiges of my former life in LA, Dan Patrick announced he would be soon leaving ESPN and his ESPN radio show in August 2007. In the well-there-goes-my-favorite-sports-talk-radio-show sense I was devastated. I couldn't even get ESPN radio in the Bay Area, and had just found the podcasts to his show on iTunes--I could feel another tie to Los Angeles loosening.
But, the knot didn't completely undo itself and several months later I stumbled upon Dan Patrick's radio show again. Somehow, the internet led me to his new home with Sports Illustrated (www.danpatrick.com). I was teeny-bopper happy again to have found Dan on the radio. I still get his shows on podcasts because the tape-delayed version is played in the Bay Area some time in the afternoon when I'm at work.
You might wonder why I listen to Dan Patrick, or why I even turn on sports talk radio. First of all, Dan is funny. Then, there's his crew, Paulie, Seton, Fritzie and McLovin'--they have the best work dynamic and they always sound like they're having way too much fun. Of course, there's the fact that I love sports. Finally, it's because Dan has a way of sharing some new bit of information with the audience, and in the process, makes me laugh.
Before I tell you what I learned from Dan today, I must admit that I am extremely far behind in my podcasts, so I was listening to something from November 2008.
So, the best reason for listening to Dan is because you can learn stuff like the fact that Peyton Manning once asked Justin Timberlake to get him a pair of bowling shoes because he had no idea who Justin was; and JT actually went along with it and got him the shoes! At the time, I would venture to say that JT was bigger than Peyton since N'Sync was together and Peyton had just been signed by the Colts. Of course, the exchange between Dan and JT is much better, so go download the podcast from November 12. It is Peyton-Manning-MasterCard-commercial-priceless.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
On Being Friends With the Library Again
Somewhere between high school and a couple of years ago, I forgot about public libraries. Maybe it's because in college there was a built-in library, and mostly I associated it with textbooks and exam cramming...it doesn't really matter though because I have become friends with my library again!
I thank the Burlingame Public Library for this reunion. When I started working on the Peninusla I stumbled upon the most beautiful library I have ever seen (Burlingame). It reminds me of a very large home (maybe a small mansion), filled with books. I love it there. Unfortunately, now that I work on the East Bay it makes no sense to drive across the Bay Bridge and through the City just for the ambience.
The Pleasant Hill Public Library doesn't have the charm or warm atmosphere of Burlingame, but it gets the job done. The best thing about the Contra Costa system is that you can go online to reserve a book, and the book will be sent over to the library of your choice; you get an email or a phone call telling you to pick-up your book. I have picked up books from Clayton, San Ramon, Lafayette--all at Pleasant Hill. I love the use of technology and I love the convenience! The only problem is that my stack of books is HUGE since I thought there would be a much longer wait. This means that Sense and Sensibility is on hold as I have three weeks to get through four of the books from the House of Night series (done), Into the Wild and Coraline.
If you're interested, I am currently reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I have seen the movie already, and mostly it made me angry. The book has evoked different feelings from me, and I think I understand Chris McCandless better, but we shall see.
I thank the Burlingame Public Library for this reunion. When I started working on the Peninusla I stumbled upon the most beautiful library I have ever seen (Burlingame). It reminds me of a very large home (maybe a small mansion), filled with books. I love it there. Unfortunately, now that I work on the East Bay it makes no sense to drive across the Bay Bridge and through the City just for the ambience.
The Pleasant Hill Public Library doesn't have the charm or warm atmosphere of Burlingame, but it gets the job done. The best thing about the Contra Costa system is that you can go online to reserve a book, and the book will be sent over to the library of your choice; you get an email or a phone call telling you to pick-up your book. I have picked up books from Clayton, San Ramon, Lafayette--all at Pleasant Hill. I love the use of technology and I love the convenience! The only problem is that my stack of books is HUGE since I thought there would be a much longer wait. This means that Sense and Sensibility is on hold as I have three weeks to get through four of the books from the House of Night series (done), Into the Wild and Coraline.
If you're interested, I am currently reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I have seen the movie already, and mostly it made me angry. The book has evoked different feelings from me, and I think I understand Chris McCandless better, but we shall see.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Weather
"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.
Geez, Edward might as well have been talking to me. There are times in my life when I think I never really belonged in Hawaii, and then I realize that there are things about my home of which I will never let go. Family is numero uno of course, and then there's the weather.
When I first moved to Southern California I thought that I would never live by the beach; at the time I thought everything was backwards. It could be hot in Whittier, and then you drive 40 minutes West to the beach and it would be cool...a little too cool. Then I moved to El Segundo. It was then that I and figured out the beach life in SoCal meant temperate weather and perfect summers. How can you complain about 80 degrees in the summer and laying out on warm sand?
It was the move to the Bay Area that made me realize that I would never let go of home. In comparison to other parts of the country or the world, low 30s in the winter is warm, but that's freezing to me. Really, anything below 70 is just uncomfortable to me. In other words, the extended period of below 70 up here in the Bay Area is a bit torturous.
At this time of year, I can only dream about wearing shorts and a tank top rather than jeans, a sweater and a coat. *Sigh
Geez, Edward might as well have been talking to me. There are times in my life when I think I never really belonged in Hawaii, and then I realize that there are things about my home of which I will never let go. Family is numero uno of course, and then there's the weather.
When I first moved to Southern California I thought that I would never live by the beach; at the time I thought everything was backwards. It could be hot in Whittier, and then you drive 40 minutes West to the beach and it would be cool...a little too cool. Then I moved to El Segundo. It was then that I and figured out the beach life in SoCal meant temperate weather and perfect summers. How can you complain about 80 degrees in the summer and laying out on warm sand?
It was the move to the Bay Area that made me realize that I would never let go of home. In comparison to other parts of the country or the world, low 30s in the winter is warm, but that's freezing to me. Really, anything below 70 is just uncomfortable to me. In other words, the extended period of below 70 up here in the Bay Area is a bit torturous.
At this time of year, I can only dream about wearing shorts and a tank top rather than jeans, a sweater and a coat. *Sigh
Monday, February 23, 2009
Everyone's a Little Bit Dorky
One of my non-fact based theories is that we all get dorky about something. For me, it's a range of things. I love Angels baseball, but I also love watching certain movies again and again (LOTR is a big one here), I knit and sew, sci-fi fantasy is my favorite book genre, and then there's Twilight.
This weekened--specifically on Sunday--I got to dork it out over Twilight at the Salute to Twilight in San Francisco. Thankfully I have a friend from home who is just into Twilight as I am (although, I like to think that maybe she's just a little bit worse than me in her own way). She flew up from the rock and we braved the throngs of teenie boppers together. Okay, truth be told, there were actually a lot of thirty-somethings there, and that made us feel so much better.
The salute actually took place over three days, but attendance on Sunday meant sitting in on question-answer sessions with Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria), Ashley Greene (Alice), and Jackson Rathbone (Jasper). This was by far the best part of the day.
Rachelle Lefevre was nothing short of awesome. She was so animated, bubbly, and happy that you couldn't help but like her, the person, even though Victoria is so bad. I loved that she admitted that her celebrity crush has been, and always will be Johnny Depp. I might not be a huge JD fan (sadly, I did not watch 21 Jump Street), but this confession, along with her being a Joey McIntyre fan made her so much more of a real person to me. If you are in your early 30s or late 20s, you get this since these were exactly the heartthrobs of our days as teenie boppers.
Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene were fun, but Rachelle Lefevre had so much personality that she was my favorite. I wish the vendors had been better, and I am not sure I will ever go again, but I am glad I tried it out once.
Next there's Wonder-Con in a matter of days and the ultimate, Comic-Con, in a matter of months. Call it dorky, but I say it's got huge potential to be fun and definitely worth experiencing once. Besides, this is a HUGE year for pop culture and super hero movies. Just think, the Watchmen, Harry Potter, Transformers, X-Men Origins Wolverine, G.I. Joe, and New Moon. There's got to be more, but that's what I am looking forward to in 2009.
This weekened--specifically on Sunday--I got to dork it out over Twilight at the Salute to Twilight in San Francisco. Thankfully I have a friend from home who is just into Twilight as I am (although, I like to think that maybe she's just a little bit worse than me in her own way). She flew up from the rock and we braved the throngs of teenie boppers together. Okay, truth be told, there were actually a lot of thirty-somethings there, and that made us feel so much better.
The salute actually took place over three days, but attendance on Sunday meant sitting in on question-answer sessions with Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria), Ashley Greene (Alice), and Jackson Rathbone (Jasper). This was by far the best part of the day.
Rachelle Lefevre was nothing short of awesome. She was so animated, bubbly, and happy that you couldn't help but like her, the person, even though Victoria is so bad. I loved that she admitted that her celebrity crush has been, and always will be Johnny Depp. I might not be a huge JD fan (sadly, I did not watch 21 Jump Street), but this confession, along with her being a Joey McIntyre fan made her so much more of a real person to me. If you are in your early 30s or late 20s, you get this since these were exactly the heartthrobs of our days as teenie boppers.
Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene were fun, but Rachelle Lefevre had so much personality that she was my favorite. I wish the vendors had been better, and I am not sure I will ever go again, but I am glad I tried it out once.
Next there's Wonder-Con in a matter of days and the ultimate, Comic-Con, in a matter of months. Call it dorky, but I say it's got huge potential to be fun and definitely worth experiencing once. Besides, this is a HUGE year for pop culture and super hero movies. Just think, the Watchmen, Harry Potter, Transformers, X-Men Origins Wolverine, G.I. Joe, and New Moon. There's got to be more, but that's what I am looking forward to in 2009.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Adventures in Eating
One of the best things about San Francisco has to be all the good eats. Tonight I joined a friend and a friend-of-a-friend for dinner at Foreign Cinema in the Mission (www.foreigncinema.com). Once again, the City did not fail me; the food was...well, it was lovely.
I started with the baked formage, which conjured up memories of fondue. Basically the formage was melted brie, toasted bread, potato and apples; every bite was worth it. My main dish, or "feature" as FC calls it was the pork chop, but I also got to taste the fried chicken and the duck. All three were fantastic. Pork chops can be risky since many places overcook it, but FC did it right. Dessert was an apple tart and the Ruby port. Yummy.
We sat in the courtyard and you should too. FC projects a film onto the back wall, and drive-in speakers are set-up along the wall. Tonight they showed the Fountain, and even though you can hear the movie playing in the background, it's not too distracting or annoying. Instead, it adds to the ambience of the restaurant and makes for a pretty cool dining/social experience.
I started with the baked formage, which conjured up memories of fondue. Basically the formage was melted brie, toasted bread, potato and apples; every bite was worth it. My main dish, or "feature" as FC calls it was the pork chop, but I also got to taste the fried chicken and the duck. All three were fantastic. Pork chops can be risky since many places overcook it, but FC did it right. Dessert was an apple tart and the Ruby port. Yummy.
We sat in the courtyard and you should too. FC projects a film onto the back wall, and drive-in speakers are set-up along the wall. Tonight they showed the Fountain, and even though you can hear the movie playing in the background, it's not too distracting or annoying. Instead, it adds to the ambience of the restaurant and makes for a pretty cool dining/social experience.
Monday, February 16, 2009
couvertures de bébé
It took awhile, but finally two baby blankets for the stockpile I am trying to make in anticipation of all the babies my friends are expecting. I have used the top pattern many times before, so no surprises there. The heart pattern is a new attempt for me, and by far the most adventurous. To make this heart blanket again, I need a smaller set of circular needles, probably a size 4 or 5...suprising considering the amount of knitting needles I have.This One's for Me
Here is another interpretation of a table runner pattern. However, after much internal struggle, and against my better judgement, I think it will end up on the floor as a mat. The truth of the matter is, Seth and I don't own a table big enough for this, and our "dining table" serves as my sewing table.
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