Sometimes when you’re walking down the street, you see something absolutely scary.
Grrrr, must eat meeeeet!
Gotta watch out for those there “miatas”. Probably didn’t get its dose of super unleaded so now it wants the taste of flesh stuffing!
Grrr, didn’t you understand me the first time?
Moral of story: Always carry camera with you lah! That’s how I missed the furniture tree near my house. No camera! This time, have camera! Muhuhahahahahah!
Memorial Day 2006 *check*
I’ve just realized something.
This is the first Memorial Day I’ve spent in the US in, oh, saaaay, three years! How boring! No wonder I’ve spent it overseas in the past…
Although Memorial Day is meant to be a holiday of rememberance for those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have fallen, Memorial Day has become less and less of that and more the official beginning of the summer season. And a good time to buy a car, apparently.
And since I’ve been stuck in SFO over this holiday weekend, I’ve been Mr. Handyman around the house, taking care of all those projects that have piled up.
Fix intercoms: check. And check. Twice because there are two.
Car stereo died on Friday; spent all day Saturday taking my poor car apart to replace it: check.
Caught up on “24”: check check check (three episodes).
Finally got interview for Sacto gig; have to dig up writing samples and fill out long application (again!).
Begin stressing? Check.
Early AM
Was up early this AM helping out some people out at the airport. Was able to take this snap with my SLVR (which is only a VGA camera, explains the blah quality..)
That’s a nice looking 757 lah!
Rosenblum Open House
This past weekend was the quarterly open house held by Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda.
The building ain’t glam, but the wine sure is!
I wound up going despite the flakiness of two ppl I asked along (like they’re getting a wine-related invite next time!). Got comped lah! Tasting of 20+ wines, snacky foods and a Riedel wine glass. Whatta bargain!
Besides this healthy spread, there were snausages, satay and white castle type burgers. And Zinfindel ice cream!
Riedel Glasses for tasting!
The tasting was held both inside the winery and outside in the parking lot. Despite an unseasonal rain (which kept a lot of people inside, wimps!), the crowd was managable and an atmosphere of “chill” in addition to a lot of “smug” made the event a good one. There was a lot of wine!
There’s a lotta wine in those tanks & barrels…
Naturally, after tasting and eating for three hours, there was another place to visit. Hangar One, a boutique vodka label that makes its wares in a hanger in the old Alameda Naval Air Station (where they keep dee nu-clear wessels). Great vodka, even though it’s a bit pricey.
This is what they distill vodka with
And this is how they display it!
I tried some tea infused vodka called Q1. It was like the kind of tea you want at 0200 after you get kicked out of the bars for last call…
Here’s a shot of The City from Alameda in the rain. Wah!
New Mac Book
No, I ‘ve not gotten one yet. But I have slammed the lid and kicked the tires on one.
First. they come in a shiny white, like the previous iBook and a matte black which looks really cool but shows greasy fingerprints easily.
In “innocent” white…
Yearrgh! It’s da dread pirate Roberts! I mean BlackMacBook!
It’s noticibly bigger than the 12″ PB, as seen here.
That’s Bender on top and the thus unnamed MacBook on da bottom. Despite this, my bags can carry up to a 15″ laptop so that’s all good.
The screen is shiny and bright and very vivid. The keyboard is, erm, different. Instead of a traditional keyboard, it looks like a bunch of chiclets. There’s also space between the keys so remembering your touch typing is a must!
I’m leaning toward the white one because as you can see here, the matte coating can wear off, leaving a shiny spot. Click on picture for bigger one.
You can see it from a distance
This could be an issue as time goes by
Will probably be upgrading soon. Bender’s 3.5 years old!
Some poetry for a Thursday
No, not getting all “metro”, just missing being on the road (and in ryokan, in the airport, on the train, etc.).
So here’s one that was written by Yoshii Isamu dedicated to the Gion Quarter in Kyoto.
Kani kaku ni
Gion wa koishi
neru toki mo
makura no shita o
mizu no nagaruru
No matter what they say
I love Gion
Even in my sleep
the sound of water flows
beneath my pillow
Each year, on 8 November, local geiko perform the Tea Ceremony to honor the deceased.
Yes, I need to get out there, and SOON!
Camera
I picked up a Lumix DMC-FZ7 to play with last week. Not bad! Besides having a kick-ass Leica lens, it also has shutter and aperture priority, program and manual modes and a big zoom (36-432mm) too. I was raised with SLRs and rangefinders so having a digicam with these kind of controls that dun cost an arm and a leg is exciting! The Ixus is great for carrying around and photowhoring, but sometimes you just want to work on technique and being artsy-fartsy.
Aperture priority basically means that you can focus on an object and it will blur the background for those artsy-fartsy shots that many picture-snappers aim for. See?
Since I live 5 minutes away from an international landmark, I drove 5 minutes and took some pictures last night.
Yup, it’s all a “Special Driving Zone” here…
Toll Plaza, where you pay to enter San Francisco. Is it worth it?
And the one sign that should be plastered on all sidewalks…
Homesick for Hong Kong?
While mucking about on the internet (and missing my biannual trip to Hong Kong), I found this page that makes me miss it even more.
Apparently, the guy who took the photos was there during Xmas. Twinkley lights!
Oh yah, saw MI:3 tonight. Not bad! Especially her.Wow! She’s also based outta Hong Kong…
Motorbike and Allergies
Yes, I will admit that I’ve been remiss in taking “pictures” for this blog. Mostly because I have to hang around SF during my peak travel season (the shoulder season before peak summer travel time). But I’ve a good reason, lah!!
I’m getting to know my new used bike. Its a naked Suzuki GS500 (yes, I’ll put a picture up when I remember to take one). It’s naked because it has no windscreen or fairing, which means riding it at speeds over 55 MPH (88kph) is an adventure in “gripping the handlebars tightly”.
Today was the first day of sun-shiney weather that we’ve had out here in a while. It seems that the deluge that we’ve gone through here (AKA the rainy season) has abated, thus leaving lots of weeds and horny plants about. In other words, it’s now hay fever season.
Atchoo! I mean, bleagh!
I’m get allergies in the springtime and whenever there’s a cat around. So this is not a good time for me to be here. Usually, I’m in Asia this time of the year, but am hanging around for the possibility of a straight gig. Hopefully I’ll hear something one way or the other soon…
But back to the ride. The best way to learn riding is “saddle time”. Go out and ride. So I rode. Across the Golden Gate Bridge, along US 101 to San Rafael. Stopped off at a Borders and got a book and some coffee. Enjoyed the sunshine. Then rode back on US 101, making a detour to Muir Beach, stopping there and then rode home via Sausalito.
Wait, I DID take a picture!
Notice that layer of “smug” over San Francisco. Looks like a 2nd stage smug alert! Yeeeech!
Reminders of Travel
I met up with a fren who I’ve not seen for a while yesterday night at the Giants Game.
Final Score: Giants over the D-backs, 10-2.
So while we were freezing together in the bleachers, cuz even PacBellPark SBC Park ATT Park gets cold in what passes for “weather” in San Francisco, I spotted a tenner (a ten pound note from the UK) in her wallet.
I asked, “when were you last in the UK?“, thinking it would be from a recent trip.
She said: “about nine months back” and continues while chewing her cotton candy, “it reminds me of travelling and the places I’ve been“. So that’s why she keeps foreign currency in her wallet.
I’ve done that as well, usually finding SG$, HK$ AU$ and Japanese Yen in my wallet months after my return to the states.
I thought I was the only person that did that. Glad to see I’m not THAT weird!!