Face mask in an airport?

I don't think I've written about this yet. On our trip back from Monterey, we observed a lady in a full-on face bright yellow respirator in the San Jose airport. She was attracting a lot of attention, to say the least. I wanted to take a picture but I thought that would have been rude. We first saw her when she was talking to one of the Homeland Security peeps, and even they were looking at her funny. We started wondering if she had a communicable disease, which is why she was wearing a respirator, but Elaine says that that's not the type of respirator they would use (she would know, she's a nurse). It looked like one of those that the field guys would have to wear when they go out to sites with hazardous materials. I wonder if she was really afraid of bio-terrorism, or if she was just paranoid.

Kayaking

This was my first experience with kayaking, and I was a little nervous about it. I was worried about capsizing, but we were assured by our guides that the kayaks we were on rarely capsized. It was a little nerve-wrecking listening to them explain about how to get out of your kayak in case you do capsize, but I'm happy to report that we didn't have to use any of the techniques they taught us.

It was an awesome experience being out on the water, and observing all the wildlife in their natural habitat. A couple of minutes into the slough we were kayaking in, we heard a gunshot ring out. Turns out there is a shooting range right on the edge of the water. It was a very quiet and peaceful otherwise. The birds and otters and seals did not seem to be bothered by the gunshots, so I figure I shouldn't be. The guide said that if it had not been for the hunters wanting to hunt the animals in their natural habitat, we would not be kayaking in the slough today. We were also told that a huge parcel of land on the opposite side of the slough is owned by HP corporation, initially purchased by Hewlett Packard to keep it as a wildlife refuge. It was a wonderful trip through nature. The wind in our hair, the smell of the water... it was a fantastic morning.

We enjoyed lunch at a local seafood joint right in the same parking lot where we parked to go kayaking, and then we headed back to the hotel for quick showers. We then went on the 17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach. WOW. The homes out there were amazing. The scenery was breathtaking. It was the perfect ending to our weekend getaway.

It rained!

The thunder and lightning woke me up at around 4.45 this morning. I didn't think I would actually see it rain, but I heard the rain pattering on the rooftop and went to the window to look out. I hope it helps cool the weather down, or at least reduce the humidity.

More of Monterey

We had a fun second day in Monterey. The day started off really cool and foggy, but that was such a welcome change from the heat wave we've been having in the Southland. We started off the day at the Aquarium, where we got to see otters up close, and also the huge 1 million gallon Outer Bay tank with two ginormous sunfish and 300+ pound tunas swimming around. We sat through the feeding frenzy, and I wouldn't want to be in the water with the starving tuna. The cafe in the Aquarium had the best french fries I've had in a long time. Mmmmm. The aquarium was built on the grounds of an old sardine cannery, and they kept an exhibit in the middle of the floor with the old boilers and lots of pictures and a description of the canning process. It was fascinating.

We then proceeded to the Fisherman's Wharf. Every food store was selling clam chowder, each claiming they had the best. We got a clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl from the store that has been winning an award for their clam chowder, and they did have good chowder! We then went on a glass-bottom boat ride (we only looked in the glass bottom for about 5 minutes of the trip), but the rest of the time we looked at otters and sea lions.

My sister and her boyfriend joined us later in the afternoon, and she gave me these cute little Somethings she picked up from etsy.com (they have really neat stuff!), and we had the best dinner at the Sardine Factory (thanks Dad and Elaine!). It was a fantastic day.

Monterey

I spent a wonderful 4-day weekend in the Bay Area and Monterey this past weekend with Anthony and his folks. My sister and her significant other joined us over the weekend too. It was so much fun. We woke up at the crack of dawn on Friday (even before the sun rose), and caught an early flight to San Jose. We drove to Chinatown and had a wonderful dim sum meal. I even got to buy some of my favorite egg tarts and moon cakes... mmm. We then headed for Pier 39, and just walked around and enjoyed the scenery. We did some shopping and we enjoyed watching the sea lions. I even started barking like one for the heck of it to add to the din :) After that, we drove down the road to the Ferry Building, my latest discovery thanks to my sister. Anthony's parents were so impressed! They wished they had a place like that down here to shop at all the time. Anthony's dad had been craving caviar, and there was a caviar bar in the Ferry Building. We did a little tasting with champagne, and started our trip in style. We left San Francisco with happy tummies and started our trek down to Monterey, after a little fun side trip of trying to find a restroom for me (the champagne went through my system at the most inappropriate time of our drive). We ended the day with dinner at the restaurant Anthony and I last ate at on our previous trip to Monterey a few years ago. I'm happy to report that their calamari is still excellent after all this time.

Facebook

I'm finally on there, and I am amazed at how much you can do with it. I have a Myspace page and an account with Friendster, and I'm also on LinkedIn, but so far, I like the interface on Facebook the best. It was a little confusing at first (but all of the other sites were to me), but after a little while I got the hang of it. It's pretty neat because you have groups and stuff you can join (I joined the Tt network there), but I don't remember my old e-mail account from college so I can't join that network. Oh well. I need to try to find some of my classmates from school that I've lost touch with. It was a really good find!

Daisies

I love daisies, but I can't seem to keep them alive. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. They are great for a few weeks, and then they just wilt and shrivel up then die. I love the flowers, especially the fuschia pink ones. Instead of killing more daisies, I should probably just enjoy them when they come in bouquets. I can keep pretty much most plants alive and thriving (unless the kitties get to them), but not daisies, unfortunately.

The Simpsons Movie

After all the hype, the movie really did live up to expectations. It was awesome! Anthony has this theory that if it's overhyped, there is a teensy chance that the movie won't live up to expectations, but it did! It got us from the start, with Ralphie singing the theme for the 20th Century Fox opening. We absolutely love the Spider Pig song... too funny! We even stuck around for the end credits to see if they would do anything more, and they did! Awesome. We're going to get the movie as soon as it comes out on DVD. As Homer would say, WOOHOO!

Kwik-E-Mart

I actually got to step into a Kwik-E-Mart over the weekend in Mountain View! It was amazing. They even had the pink frosted donuts that were rolling around on the screen on Fox during the ad breaks. They had cratefuls of the pink donuts. I didn't buy any, thinking that the frosting was going to melt. I did buy some slushee cups though, so that will be my collectible.

I had the best time in San Francisco. My sister and her significant other took me to the Ferry Building and we caught the tail end of the farmer's market there. They had organic french-style yogurt served in ceramic containers that were the cutest things, and they had the awesomest lemonade. It was a cool place. I definitely have to go back there again.

I was also introduced to Bikram yoga, or "hot yoga", and it was amazing. I can't wait for the center in San Bernardino to open so I can start taking classes there!

Missing In Action

Wow... I guess it has been a while since I've added a post. It's been a crazy past month. I can only remember half of it. It's starting to get really busy at work since it's getting towards the end of the year, and we've had some kitty emergencies and surgeries as well as family things going on since Joe, Meagan and AJ are moving this weekend. Thing for the WJW Foundation are moving forward (I started the incorporation process), and we also received a wonderful gift from Anthony's folks this past weekend of a new TV. The Harry Potter movie is out, and I hope to see it this weekend, and the world will finally know what becomes of Harry and Lord Voldemort this weekend. Things can't get any better. Life, as nutty as it is, is good. I think I'm finally happy and comfortable. It's taken me a while to get here but I am extremely lucky to have the life I do.

Next up: more updates :) I think I will try to catch up with my blog.