Happy Sunday!

AGGIEEEEEEES!! Whoop!!



We were playing so unusually crappy yesterday and Arkansas so unusually well, that I would never have guessed we would find our rhythm in time to tie it up. Could we stick with taking 1 quarter next time and not 3? Most exciting finish in a long time though. We were all thrilled and amazed!

Coach Price (defensive line) was happy...



Sunday Stealing: Ask Away!

1. What is your zodiac sign? Aries
2. What is your favorite color? green
3. What’s your lucky number? 3
4. What talents do you have? I sing, write songs and fiction, I'm a pretty good hack interior designer
5. Are you psychic in any way? no, just observant
6. Favorite song? at the moment- "Animals" and "In Your Pocket" on Maroon 5's new album V
7. How many pillows do you sleep with? 1-2
8. What position do you usually sleep in? on my left side
9. Have you ever tried archery? only during PE at school
10. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? When Lauren was born, I went close to maybe 48 hours awake. I was hallucinating and my visual depth perception disappeared.
11. Do you have any scars? I have one cat scratch scar from Ernie, several little biopsy scars here and there, a round scar by my eye where I was hit in the head by a falling conch shell (#ThatExplainsALot #DamnBlanketForts), a scar on the top of each foot from a lymphangiogram, and my post-mastectomy reconstruction scar.
12. Have you ever had a secret admirer? I don't think so.
13. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Various English accents, southern, Texan, Australian, German. Not sure I do any of them well.
14. Are you a good judge of character? I tend to assume people I meet are honest, good-hearted, etc. and when a few turn out not to be, I'm always surprised. Then that's the first thing I think- I'm a terrible judge of character!
15. Can you curl your tongue? Yes
16. Are you a clean or messy person? I'm clean, but not exceedingly so. My stuff gets cluttered and messy, but as soon as I notice, I straighten things up.
17. How long does it take for you to get ready? ready for what? Ha. I can get ready to go out in as little as 10 minutes or as long as an hour. That's probably less than average.
18. Do you have much of an ego? Nah.
19. Do you talk to yourself? Rarely.
20. Do you sing to yourself? I sing alone a lot, but I wouldn't call it singing "to myself."
21. Can you name all 50 states of America? Yes, but I don't know the little song or anything. I would have to think through them.
22. Have you ever been scuba diving? Nope. Never will.
23. What makes you nervous? Speaking in front of hundreds of people. I do it, but it's not my favorite thing.
24. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? Depends on the mistake. If it's a spelling or grammatical error on social media or in an email, no. If it's something that will be a problem if repeated, I do.
25. Are you ticklish? yes
26. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I've been a manager and supervisor in my career.
27. How many piercings do you have? 2
28. Can you roll your Rs? Yes. In the front and in the back.
29. How fast can you type? Medium.
30. What are you allergic to? CT and MRI contrast agents, sulfa antibiotics
31. Do you keep a journal? Only this blog and only things I don't mind everyone in the world knowing. I kept daily written journals twice when I was younger and both times they were read by people I had trusted, who then felt compelled to question me about things I'd written. After the second time, I realized it wasn't worth anyone getting their panties in a wad over my private, uncensored thoughts.
32. Do you like your age? Yes. I'm still young and healthy, yet old enough to have accumulated a lot of life experience and to know myself well.
33. What makes you angry? Anyone who feels they have the right to physically harm someone else (guy in Llano beating up elderly folks, two teen girls stabbing their "friend" in the woods, etc.). Exception- police officers who have to use force when someone they are arresting is fighting them. If you're being arrested, calm down and get in the car and voice your concerns at the station. You have zero right to fight the police. If you do, I don't mind if they beat the ever-loving crap out of you.
34. Were your ancestors royalty? Not that I know of.

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Waught the Fock

I've been having daily meetings with a sponsor and a vendor to get a mobile phone app going for a study (patients will enter their dosing information into it- cool, eh?). The vendor screwed something up something critical in a HUGE way during Wednesday's call. I was working from home, so I couldn't see the reactions in the office and wasn't in on what I was sure was an interesting conversation afterwards.

Later, C called me and we talked about the whole debacle. She described how shocked our local team was and that they were all just speechless.

Our sponsor's product manager is a petite girl with the cutest English accent. She's very sweet and endlessly positive.

I said, "I wonder what (the sponsor's product manager) said when they got off the call!"

C said, "She probably said..." and then in the cute, girlish voice with the English accent, "What the F**K."

...which, of course, is now the running phrase at work. It's actually brought a bit of culture to the place. ;)


Saturday 9: A Day in the Life (1967)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) According to Rolling Stone, this is the greatest Beatles song of all. What's your favorite Beatles song?
"A Day in the Life" is an amazing song. One of my faves. But "Oh! Darling" is probably my very favorite. As a bonus, you can really drama it up when you sing it. Fall to your knees, etc...



2) "A Day in the Life" took 5 days to record. Looking back on the last five days, what did you accomplish?
I am locking a database next week, and I got all my ducks in a row for that.

3) This song is the highlight of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, the first album released after the Beatles gave up touring. Critics predicted that, when they abandoned live concerts, their creativity would wane. Obviously this wasn't the case. When has someone underestimated you?
I've been accused of being "too nice," but I come out swinging when I need to, to many people's surprise.

4) The song says our hero "woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head." How is your hair right now? Are you prepared to go out and face the world? 
My hair is good! I'm ready for the world.

5) The lyrics tell us he had to hurry to catch the bus to work. When is the last time you rode public transportation?
I rode the game bus in College Station from the mall to campus the weekend before last.

6) "A Day in the Life" was a true Lennon-McCartney collaboration. Conventional wisdom is that Paul is easy going while John was edgy. Is your temperament more Lennon or McCartney?
McCartney

7) "A Day in the Life" came out five years after the Beatles replaced their drummer. Taking over for Pete Best was undoubtedly the biggest break of Ringo Starr's career. Tell us about a time when fortune smiled on you.
I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in college and was scheduled for a local surgeon (the doc who diagnosed me at the university Health Center) to remove all the lymph nodes in my chest. The director of the Health Center heard about my diagnosis and intervened immediately. She informed me that surgery was not a good treatment option. She knew a doc at MD Anderson, which was referral-only at the time, and he got me in. I was in Houston starting chemo within a few days. Her actions likely saved my life.

8) It would be hard to overestimate the Beatles' impact on popular culture. Their story and music have inspired a Broadway musical, a Las Vegas show, two movies and, according to Amazon, 900+ books. What's the most recent biography you read?
Anderson Cooper (it's been a while). I'm working on Jenny Lawson's book. (Does that qualify as a biography?)

9) The Beatles are an ongoing boon to England's tourism industry. Fans from all over the world visit Liverpool each year to see where the Beatles grew up and got their start. If you won a trip to England, tell us what you'd like to see.
I'm going to England in December! I've been before and hit all the major London and Brighton sites, but I'd love to visit a bunch of castles. I love castles!

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A&M/SMU and the Meme du Jour

The A&M/SMU game was a blowout as expected yesterday, but there were two really notable moments. One was the corps cadet who protected our mascot, Reveille, from a player who was careening towards her after a long pass. Seriously straight into her. She could have been hurt, for sure. Great reaction time! The Corps Commandant is buying that cadet's senior boots for him. Well deserved!

The other moment was Jay Arnold doing the Johnny Jamboogie dance after a sack. Priceless.

The offense took a little time at the start of the game to find their rhythm. (Is "find their rhythm" something we'll hear every week or could we just go back to the South Carolina game plan where we rocked the house from play 1?) There were a crazy number of penalties right off the bing bang. Hill wasn't connecting with his receivers for some reason. Then though, all was suddenly well. The offense was clicking and the defense looked great. Speedy was missing from the game and we still did really well with the plethora of talent we have this year. Hope he's back soon though!

BTHO Arkansas!


Friday Five: Weddings

1. If you were getting married tomorrow (whether you have a partner or not), who would be in your wedding party?
Cathy & Laura would be my bridesmaids. Jeff would probably choose JeffC and Scott to be groomsmen.

2. Where would you get married?
I would do something small, super elegant, but less formal, at a beautiful and scenic venue in the Hill Country near Austin. Preferably somewhere with overnight accommodations, so we could hang out with everyone all night.

3. What song would be played for your first dance?
"A Thousand Years" Christina Perri

4. What would be your wedding colours?
hmm... dark sage green and pink

5. Where would you go on your honeymoon?
Italy!

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Is There Going to Be a Quiz on This?

My officemate was the funniest the other day. Our department manager invited Kyra to her first team meeting (one of my studies). As soon as we got into the conference room, the manager (who normally takes the minutes for data-ops-only projects, but was sick) told her to "take VERY GOOD notes." And she did.

As soon as we got back to our office, she asked me if the manager was going to quiz her about the meeting. I told her I can tell she just got out of college. She's still got school on the brain. Ha!

Nope, just for the meeting minutes. "Take very good notes" TOTALLY makes sense though, in that context.

Kyra rocks.

She's also officially become a part of the "inner circle" now, dropping her first office F-bomb on Friday. She'll be cussing like a sailor with the rest of the crew from now on. Awwww, they grow up so fast...

In other news, what the heck am I supposed to do with this Facebook popup?

"Okay"... what? Oy.


Saturday 9: Margaritaville (1977)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song Jimmy sings of "booze in the blender." What do you prepare in your blender?
Smoothies and milkshakes. I drink most of my cocktails on the rocks these days.

2) As the song opens, Jimmy is sitting on his front porch swing. Describe the front porch of the building you're in right now.
Oooh! A front porch swing would be nice on our little porch. It would only seat one person, but how fun! We just have a little covered 5x5-ish porch in front of the door.

3) Jimmy sings of being able to smell boiling shrimp. Do you prefer your shrimp boiled, glazed or breaded?
GLAZED? Hmm. I don't think Bubba even mentions that in Forrest Gump.

I like shrimp every way it can be prepared.

4) During the song, he mentions his flip flops. Have you put your flip flops and sandals away till spring? Or is it still warm enough to wear them?
It's still warm enough. I'm wearing flats more now though.

5) Jimmy Buffett had hoped this song would be recorded by Elvis Presley, but The King died before he could perform it. What's the first Elvis song that comes to mind?
"Blue Christmas"

6) Buffett fans are known as Parrotheads. Concert attire for a well-dressed Parrothead often includes a Hawaiian shirt and a foam fin hat. What will you be wearing tonight?
Tonight I have nothing special going on, so I'll probably still be wearing my A&M t-shirt and capri jeans. BTHO SMU!

7) Loyal Parrotheads paid between $500 and $5000 to see Mr. Buffet at a fundraiser for Barack Obama's 2012 Presidential campaign. What's the most you would pay for a concert ticket?
The most I've ever paid is $375-ish for pit seats at Bon Jovi. Totally worth it.

8) Jimmy is an outspoken environmentalist and supports causes like ocean conservation, saving the manatees and expanding the Dallas Zoo. What steps do you take to help save the planet?
I just recycle and minimize trash and conserve water, etc. Just small things in my own daily life. Nothing too impressive.

9) Uh-oh. When Jimmy and the Coral Reefers played in Wisconsin this past August, more than two dozen concertgoers got tickets for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Do you believe pot should be legalized?
Yes. It's similar to alcohol in the relative scheme of things.

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Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Well, well, well. Look who's singing with Smokey on his new collaboration album-- Miguel, Aloe Blacc and JC Chasez. Impressive!



In completely unrelated news, there was a stabbing on a trail within a mile or so of our new office. Kyra said that she was planning on jogging the trails near the building before work, but now she may rethink it.

Kyra: Also, I run with earphones on, so...
Me: ...you wouldn't hear the scary music! *hums ominous movie music*
Everyone: *laughs*

YES. I've still got it.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

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Football and Sunday Stealing

Got home from College Station at 3 a.m. for the second weekend in a row. Holy cow, that ruins my Sunday morning. I really need to get a hotel when we have late games.

I am watching Giada at Home right now and thinking, as I always do when I watch this, how beautiful that ocean view would be out my window. Oh man. I would totally knock out the useless, decorative cabinets above the view and expand the window to the ceiling. Seriously. Why would you block the ocean to feature vases?!

Anyhoo... Other than Tennessee losing to Oklahoma, all the SEC teams playing outside the conference won on Saturday! SEC! SEC! SEC!

The Ags had an off day. Not that 38-10 (should have been 45-10 but we had the worst refs on Earth) is an embarrassment, but the offense took forever to get in their groove and the defense looked like the craptastic defense of the past few years. Egads. What the heck happened to the D?? There were a few shining defensive moments that looked like this year's defense, but mostly it was an endless parade of missed tackles.

Rice's band, the MOB, were warmly received by the crowd, but I didn't think they were as entertaining as the performances from the 80's. There was one hilarious line though, when the announcer said they thought it was great that some Aggies planted maroon bluebonnets on the Texas campus. But... little did t.u. or A&M know that Rice has been planting BLUE bluebonnets on both our campuses for years. Bwahaha!

A few Rice football players came out onto the field with about 7 minutes remaining in halftime and started kicking footballs around at about the 5-10 yard line in front of us, while the Aggie Band was performing. We were all yelling at them to get off the field. Finally a referee ran over and told them to move to the sideline. They asked why.

So you don't disrupt the halftime performance, you rude jerks.

Then more of their team started meandering onto the field on the other side. Lauren got out her phone to record it, because we were all pretty sure the band was going to march straight over them. That would have been GREATNESS, but the refs managed to get the Owls corralled and out of the way.

Hurrah for the W, Ags! Let's find our rhythm again next week!


Sunday Stealing: Celebrity Obsession

01. First Celebrity Obsession or Crush
Erik Estrada

02. Favorite Celebrity Encounter 
I have a few really great ones. One of my faves is greeting John Schneider at the airport with Cathy when he came to Houston in 1981-ish (8th-9th grade), because it was up close and personal and we were able to talk to him when there weren't a bunch of other people there.

03. Most Cherished Celebrity Obsession
 
George Clooney. That's a long term deal, since the Rosanne days.

04. A celebrity you’d love to hang out with
 
Shannon Beador

05. A celebrity you’d love to sit down and have a conversation with

Oprah Winfrey

06. An artist you’d like to see live
I always wish I could have seen Bette Midler when she was performing.  I should have seen her during her last run in Vegas. :(

07. A celebrity you respect purely for talent 
Tom Cruise, because I can't respect him for anything else.

08. A celebrity you feel you’d be good friends with 
Kristen Wiig

09. A celebrity you dislike that others seem to love 
Lea Michele. She's a very talented singer, but personality-wise, she comes across as aloof and fake.

10. A celebrity you respect for what they’ve been through in life 
Michael J. Fox

11. A celebrity you share a birthday with 
Marvin Gaye

12. A celebrity you find annoying 
Miley Cyrus

13. Favorite under-20 celebrity 
all the kids on Modern Family

14. Favorite over-60 celebrity
Diane Sawyer

15. The celebrity “fandom” that means most to you 
I'm not in any fandoms of any type at the moment.

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Football Saturday

In the office yesterday, we were excitedly planning a girls' trip and realized, after finally coming to a great decision on destination (Caribbean cruise), that there is no way for us to do a trip, because our entire department would have to shut down for a week! OOPS. So yeah, the girls of DM won't be taking any extended vacations together.

Sad. Day.

Lauren and I are off to College Station again today, hoping for no weather delays with rain expected for the already late evening football game. The temperature will be very nice though! BTHO Rice!


Saturday 9: Hey, Soul Sister
If you're not familiar with today's song, you can hear it here.

1) The video was shot on a street corner in Echo Park in central Los Angeles. If you saw a film crew making a video in your neighborhood, would you stop to watch? Or would you just keep walking?
I would stop and watch!

2) The singer says he remembers his girl in every dream he dreams. Do you remember if you dreamed last night?
The only dreams I remember are ones I have when I fall back asleep after being awake for a bit. I didn't fall back asleep after waking at 5:20 this morning, so I don't remember what I dreamed last night.

3) The band Train is from San Francisco. Have you ever visited The City by the Bay?
I've been to San Francisco twice. When Jeff started working right after college graduation, he had training in Sunnyvale and I met him out there for a weekend. We did Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli, a Bay cruise, Golden Gate, and took side trips to Monterrey and Carmel. A few weeks ago, we did the wine country, Chinatown, the Embarcadero and one scary-ass earthquake.

4) Lead singer Pat Monahan got his start in a Led Zeppelin cover band. Can you name a Led Zeppelin song?
Nope.

5) In doing research for this week's Saturday 9, Crazy Sam discovered a publication called Trains, The Magazine of Railroading. What's the last magazine you flipped through?
Consumer Reports

6) Do you consider yourself a leader or a follower?
I'm frequently a leader in subgroups, but have no desire to be the leader of an entire organization or group. So, generally I would consider myself a follower... with leadership tendencies.

7) Scholars tell us that "To be or not to be" is Shakespeare's most quoted line. Give us another one.
What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

8) How do you listen to music on the go? Car radio? CD changer? iPod/mp3 player? Your phone?
Car radio, phone, CDs on car trips

9) Are you a convincing liar?
No.

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Friday Night Hangin' Out

It was hella hot outside during lunch today, which brought about the Quote of the Day--

"My panties are wet. And NOT in a good way."  -Crystal

Bwahaha! *wipes tears*


Friday Meme: Lasts

Last thing you Googled:
dylan mcdermott naked

Last concert you attended:
I think it was Maroon 5 last fall! Yeesh. I don't have any tix for concerts coming up either.

Last movie you saw in the theater:
Guardians of the Galaxy

Last record you bought:
Maroon 5 V

Last text you received:
"It's that kind of night!" from Jen just now, along with a photo of Chuy's New Mexican Martini

Last first date:
Hmm. I don't remember specifically, but it was fall of 1988, probably a guy in one of my classes.

Last day off and what you did:
A Friday a few weeks ago, and I spent the day in Napa Valley!

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Football Summary and Sunday Stealing

LOOOOVE the new Kyle Field! It will still take a few more games to get used to the south end zone being a wall of fans, but what they've done with Part I of the renovation is amazing. It is definitely louder on the student side with the canopy and walling in of the end zone. I didn't have any of the new food, but it's supposed to be good. The new video screen is amazing.

With no problem, the Aggies not surprisingly routed Lamar. Lamar had a few great plays though. I'm just pleased we continued to look awesome on offense and defense. It's going to be a great season!

I won't rehash my full-on rant last night about the NCAA lightning rule that was revised this spring (I think they are just starting to even enforce the thing at all, because I have never seen a weather delay and the past two weeks there have been a ton), but I'll just say I think it's ridiculous for football games, unless you are playing in a tiny stadium and there is more danger to the players than the crowd. It has far higher costs than any possible benefit. I am hoping this thing goes away like the "targeting" calls that were enforced early in the season last year and quickly faded, because they were equally as ridiculous.


How FUN is this version?! I love it!!



Sunday Stealing

Would you ever consider becoming a teacher?
Sure! At the college level.

Would you ever give a hitch-hiker a ride somewhere?
Absolutely not.

Would you ever try fasting for a whole week?
Nope. That would wreck your metabolism and would be very unhealthy.

Would you ever try to quit one of your addictions?
I'm sort of addicted to some reality shows, but that's about it. I don't think I would quit them.

Would you ever dye your hair purple?
Why not?

Would you ever spend $100 for the best tasting hamburger in the world?
Nope.

Would you rather chew gum off the ground or kill a squirrel?
Kill a squirrel

Would you rather play Monopoly or Operation?
Operation. There's more giggling and screaming involved.

Would you rather eat chocolate or fruity candies?
Chocolate

Would you rather listen to one CD forever or become deaf?
One CD forever

Would you rather be deaf or blind?
Blind

Would you rather text or talk on the phone?
Talk on the phone

Would you rather spend a day with Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus?
Lady Gaga for sure.

Would you rather learn to play piano or guitar?
Piano. Guitar kills my delicate fingers.

Would you rather have a stomach-ache or headache?
Stomach-ache

Would you rather be overly interesting or overly dull?
Overly interesting

Would you rather be too loud or too quiet?
Too quiet

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Random Saturday... and BTHO Lamar!

I don't think I ever mentioned that my work folks and I were in SF to do a bid defense and... we got the contract! Whee!! We've already started work. I am the worldwide data manager for this international phase III study. I'm definitely heading to England in December.

When the work peeps went to dinner the first night in San Francisco, we got a big table in the back room of this nice Italian place. When the waiter showed up, he said to our CEO, "I just have to ask, because the entire restaurant and all the staff think so... Are you Robert De Niro?"

Bwahaha! He does look like him. Still. Hilarious.

When we got back from the trip, our director of business development gave each member of the team Boba Fett flash drives with a thank you note. I sent him a note- "Thank you! The flash drive is SO cute!"

His response was something like, "He is NOT cute. He is the most ruthless, most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy," which my Star Wars-loving boss thought was a "perfect reply." LOL


My third Small World Moment in several years was this weekend. Jeff's cousin Tina was tagged on Facebook in a bunch of photos posted by... JULIE'S SISTER. Whaaaat??! We were having dinner with Scott-n-Julie Monday night, so I popped this on Julie then. I closed in on her sister in the pic and asked if she knew this lady.

"That's my sister!"

Then I pulled back to show Tina in a bumper car with her and before I could say "and this is Jeff's cousin," Julie said, "...and Tina!"

"YOU know Tina?!"

"She's my sister's best friend!"

Oh man. It was great. Turns out Julie knows Tina better than Jeff or I do! We were dying.


So. Adam Levine is awesome in this clip from Jimmy Fallon.



Not great with lyrics to common songs. But wow!!


Lauren and I are off to College Station today for the home opener! New stadium with 105,000 capacity, Biggest video board in college football. New, enormous sound system. New canopy (student side only this year) to focus even more crowd noise onto the field. We've been waiting all year and I am PSYCHED to finally be there!!

BTHO Lamar, baby!!

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San Francisco

Earthquake aside, California was superfun! I'll give you a quick smattering of the vacay photos. As always, you can click them for bigger versions.

We spent Friday in Napa Valley. On the drive, I saw three cows eating grass on the very steep incline of a huge hill. They looked like giant mountain goats, y'all. I wish I would have taken a photo, because I never saw any more cows on hills and I don't think I ever will. I have no idea how they didn't roll off. Seriously.

When we arrived in the town of Napa, we stopped in at the Visitors Center to pick up a map and any tips they had to offer for covering the area. What is next door to the Visitors Center? Morimoto- the Iron Chef's restaurant! Had we known, we would have tried to arrange to have dinner there. Such a shame our timing was off, starting mid-morning and ending late afternoon in Napa.

The first winery we checked out was Opus One. It is simple and exquisite, made of limestone from Texas!

The view was fantastic. The mountain in the distance is the northern end of the Napa Valley, near Sterling Vineyards.

We stopped at V. Sattui for a picnic lunch. They have meats, cheeses and panini sandwiches along with an array of delicious sides in the deli. You purchase a set of paperware and head outside to the picnic tables to eat. Grab a glass of wine, dessert, anything you want. It's really yummy!

Don't miss the potato salad. They put green apples in their broccoli salad instead of raisins, which I am most certainly going to do when I make it!

Drove a while more and when we reached the north end of the valley, we took the aerial tram up to Sterling Vineyards, with panoramic views of the valley. It's designed with a Greek style and has a couple of old bells from England in the bell tower. It's really beautiful! The view ain't too bad either:

At the bottom of the hill, there is a Before I Die chalkboard, which had some interesting bucket list items.

We stopped at a couple of other wineries and completed the circle back to Napa, where we saw a bank named Rabobank. Ha!

We headed back to San Fran and spent the evening at the wharf. We had a fabulous dinner at The Waterfront. Best swordfish I've had in decades! Amazing clam chowder, too.

Me: It's funny, but I feel like I've seen that same boat go back and forth and back and forth over and over again the whole time we've been here.
Jeff: That's the ferry.

Ahhh.

We went to Chinatown on Saturday morning. It was interesting and I'm glad we went, but I only wanted to see the authentic Chinese shops. We enjoyed figuring out what the dried items were in the food shops and looking at silk robes and peeking into restaurants. I don't have any desire to shop in any of the kitschy, Americanized souvenir shops closer to the edges of Chinatown.

China Green Tea- Special Gunpowder?

Just a sample of the beautiful architecture. This is Bank of America.

These were everywhere. We called them buttheads.

One authentic shop had a large box mysteriously labeled as being for the health of a woman's private parts. Not sure if it contained tonics and herbs, or some sort of exotic vibrator, but we got a chuckle out of it. We felt it would be awkward to ask the girl behind the counter to explain it.

We walked back to the Marketplace to check out all the stores and food options there. It was really crowded in the morning, because of the farmers market. (When we went back in late afternoon, it was far less crowded, so we recommend waiting.) There are all sorts of things to taste and restaurants to try. A very fun spot. Grab some ice cream and take a seat outside the back of the building, along the bay.

The Ferry Building where the Marketplace is housed.

Intriguing ice cream flavors

After lunch, we took off for Golden Gate Park to walk around. On the way, we drove all over Pacific Heights. Such gorgeous homes! You have to be prepared for anything as far as roads are concerned, because you're driving along and then WHEEEEEEEEEE... you're headed straight down like a roller coaster.

Up a hill, down a hill, up a hill, down a hill

We took a wrong turn coming out of Pacific Heights and ended up in the absolutely god-awful Golden Gate Bridge construction traffic. We thought we were going to have to cross the bridge (SO wish we hadn't missed that turn!!), which would have taken an hour with all the craziness, but luckily we turned around in the parking lot and headed back to the park.

We did the Golden Gate Bridge thing during our last trip together- 1990.
Glad we could just grab a glance through the construction this time on our way to the park!

We drove around Golden Gate Park, but there aren't many signs telling you where any of the attractions are. It was very strange and we ended up just driving through and going into Sunset, where we spent some time looking at the absolutely ADORABLE houses.

This isn't my photo, but I wanted to show how they are each different
styles and so nice! Teensy, but wonderful.

Oh my gosh- so cute! I would totally live there.

Well, until the whole earthquake hoo-rah later that night.

The Hyatt Regency was awesome. There is a huge piece of art towards the Embarcadero.

Wish a person was in this. It's huge!

The Embarcadero Center mall is next door and this thing was lit up outside our balcony at night:

(Glad the curtains were closed and I didn't see that swaying in the quake, or even worse, the skyscraper BEHIND it. OY.)

Here's the daytime view from our balcony:

There's that boat again!

;)

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