FEAR THE BEARD!

I am so excited that the Giants won the World Series...the for first time in my lifetime! It is so exciting!! I must admit that I don't watch a lot of games during the regular baseball season. Can you blame me? They play like 200 games. However once the playoffs start it is always much more exciting. You know what is even MORE exciting? Is when the Giants are in the playoffs!!

When the Giants got into the World Series in 2002 and lost my dad said they would never been in the World Series in his life time...boy am I glad he was wrong!!
This is one of my favorite photos of my dad and I. I think I might be 6 years old? (I know I got all my hair cut off in the 1st grade, so that is what I'm going with.) Here we are sitting in the nose bleeds at Candlestick Park watching the Giants. So as you can see I my dad made me into a Giants fan very early on. Thanks dad!!

Game Day

Well I’ve officially completed my fist two weeks at my job, and I already feel like I’m back in the swing of things. I thought it would at least take 3-4 weeks but my life as a house wife feels like a distant memory. Sniff…sniff. I’m kind of amazed that I could block something I enjoyed so much out of my mind so quickly.

One thing I’ve noticed since being back at work is that I feel more independent and I feel like I have my own life (separate from John’s). I was totally immersed in John’s ‘work life’ since I didn’t have one of my own, and since our home was my life he was connected in it all. It actually feels weird to have something that isn’t shared with him.

It also feels great to be contributing to something. Now my daily tasks are really helping others. I know doing the laundry really helped John out, but this isn’t the same. Now I’m able to use my skills to help non-family members. How significant is vacuuming, laundry, and dishes vs. helping fellow employees land a huge job? House chores really seem insignificant now. I even think I prefer to do them on the weekends vs. everyday. It’s also amazing how all of the house work I did during a week can be condensed into just a weekend. Hmmmm what does that tell me?

Remember my previous post about being so busy this summer? Well this weekend was and will be my only one home in June. Thank goodness we didn't go anywhere. (We almost traveled down south to take a look at a mini, but it had been sold). We had a really great relaxing and productive weekend. Hopefully I'll have another one next month.

Included in this month’s events, John and I met up with my family to go to a Giants baseball game. One of the highlights was that before the game they honored the ’89 Giants team! I watched the most baseball in my life in 1989, (that’s right…when I was 12), and I actually knew more of the retired players then the current players on the team! I So sad…but let me tell you it was awesome to see all of the old players. I was so impressed with how many names I still had stored in my memory...I knew I saved it for some reason! Needless to say it was very exciting, and that was before the game even started!
As most of you know, one of the best parts about going to a professional game is the food! Let me tell you that having the garlic fries made my day. Let me rephrase that…watching the Giants WIN and eating garlic fries at the same time made my day. In fact they had their comeback right after I got my fries, and let me tell you it was very challenging to cheer for them whilst stuffing my face. I managed though.
Another highlight was getting to wear my new Old Navy orange turtle neck that I got for $2. I thought I would have to save it for fall, but I was wrong!
As we were heading out of the stadium with the masses we walked by a closing pretzel stand. John made a beeline over to the cashier and asked if he can have one of the pretzels for free. ‘Sure’ she says. SCORE! I couldn’t believe it!! She then offered us two after seeing my shocked/excited reaction. DOUBLE SCORE! Then out of the corner of my eye I saw theses two HUGE lemonade vats, so I threw all caution to the wind and asked if I could have some lemonade too. ‘Sure’ she said ‘If you have a cup.’ Wouldn’t you know it…we had saved 2 souvenirs beer cups! TRIPLE SCORE! There are few things in life that are exciting as getting free food.
On our walk back to the car we passed by the Marriott hotel, and I notice a group of people standing next to this huge bus that was parked on the curb. I then realized that the bus was full of the ’89 baseball players! Even though I could only recognize 5 of them I made John wait with me in hoping that Will Clark was going to walk off the bus. We did not see Will, but we did see Kevin Mitchell! I got my camera out and was going to take a photo of him, but then I thought that would be lame. I didn’t want a paparazzi shot of him. So instead I said ‘Excuse me Kevin, can I get a photo with you?’ His reply, ‘Sorry it’s been a long day.’ EXCUSE ME? WHAT DID HE JUST SAY? Did he really just turn me down? I just stood there in disbelief! Not once have I ever been turned down for a stalker fan photo. I was SO MAD! Maybe if Kevin didn’t want to be harassed he should have taken OFF his Giants jersey with MITCHELL on the back. Seriously…how often does he get asked for autographs and photos now days? What kills me is that Ernest Miles was walking in front of him, and I should have asked him. I know he would have been nicer. So I will confirm all those rumors back in the 80’s that Kevin is truly an a-hole.

It was a good thing John and I headed to our friend’s house in the east bay that night after the game, because that snub could have seriously wrecked my entire weekend! Lucky for us our friends were just starting up Rock Band when we got there, so we were able to rock out for the rest of the night. The night before we play the Metallica version, but this night we played all of their other songs. I couldn’t believe how many they had in their database…including No Doubt’s Singles album! Talk about awesome! I think we played until 2am…way too late for this new working girl…but it was totally worth it. I feel so lucky to have spent time with my family and friends during the weekend. We were only in town for 48 hours so it’s amazing that it was all able to work out. Now if we all didn’t have to work, we could play EVERY day. Sigh.

Hola Padre!

We had so much fun in San Diego this weekend! What a great city. To top it off, we had great seats at the Padre game, they won, and we were paid a visit by the Padre himself!

I would blog more but I'm pretty bummed out that I'm not going to work tomorrow...and no...I haven't been smoking crack. I really can't believe I'm sad to not have a job. That sounds so crazy to me. I think it's just the fact that it's not my decision to not work. I even just got a new offer for another freelance job and I don't want it. Does that make sense? I realized that I am still normal in that I don't want to work...but that I only want my old job. Ahhhh the life of a crazy person.

Randomness

Hey all! I'm still here. I'm sure you probably thought I fell off the earth...well I almost decided to take a leap two weeks ago when I got laid off from my job. In July our company's product did not get recommended for approval to the FDA, which was pretty devastating. We knew we had funding until Sept., so I thought for sure I'd have a job until next month. I wasn't that lucky. Thirteen people got laid off...a big number when we only had 30 something employees. It's pretty heartbreaking because I really loved my job. I don't understand why I always get laid off from jobs I like. (The first time I got laid off was 3 years ago from another job I loved). I'm very curious to know what the future holds for me. Hopefully something good.

I actually feel MORE busy now that I'm not working then when I was. I know! So crazy right? Well I had a few freelance projects to work on last week, and then I had to get started on my resume. It was really outdated and needed a complete face lift. Let me give you all a tip...right now at your current job, make sure you get your job description. I had saved my last few job descriptions and it made writing my resume SO much easier. I changed formats to having descriptive sentences about my past jobs, vs. just bullet points. Next I've got to get crackin' on my portfolio and website. They also haven't been updated in about 3 years!

I've also become John's assistant. Well not really, but a partial co-pilot. Last week I went over to Bakersfield with him to check out some of his foreclosed properties. I've got a few good photos to post...some hideous paint jobs, a few bugs, just the norm in his market. We did get to have dinner with his Aunt and his cousin joined us for some ice cream afterwards. It's always great to see them. We might be heading over again next week. John's job is totally awesome. It doesn't even seem like a job. I'm so glad he likes it.

I finally heard back from my doctor's office today and it looks like I might have my next body scan in 3 weeks. I'm going to see if I can get it moved up at least a week. I'm tired of waiting and I'd like to get this first round of tests done. Even though nothing more would happen before October I'd still like to have to stop thinking about it.

I still have a whole list of things to blog about, but finding the time has been more than difficult. I totally thought I'd have all this lounging time where I'd get to blog 24/7. I mean what a dream right? Man was I wrong! Well I have had time to start the Twilight book series. Finally right? So far so good, I'll keep ya posted.

I finally got the few photos I took from the A's game two weeks ago. Enjoy!

Take Me Out

This past weekend we headed up north for our 4th summer baseball game in Oakland. It was pretty fun, but the A's LOST which totally wrecked our home team winning streak. Total bummer. The score was only 2 to 1 too! Talk about boring. I guess the A's have been playing really bad ever since the all-star game. So bad that there were tons of empty seats I couldn't believe it. The crowd also didn't seem to be that into it. It was the most unusual baseball atmosphere I had ever experienced. It seemed like all the fans were just going through the motions. I think we only heard one fan around here even yell, and it wasn't even at the players!

One highlight was that we met my dad and uncle there along with one of John's collage buddies. You can't really go wrong when you are in good company, so it wasn't a total bust. (Photos to come).

Are you wondering how this is our 4th baseball game of the summer when I've only told you about one? Well sorry about that... I have been slacking. The truth is I didn't want to post the photo of me wearing a Dodger visor! I know isn't that awful? I mean isn't that awful that I had to wear a visor? I really didn't have a choice since John did wear a giants at at the giants game, and I did post that photo on here for the Internet world to see.

We saw the Dodgers in June and it was a very exciting game. They played the Cubs and were behind the whole game, but then had a great comeback and won. It was a REALLY hot day there, which caused us to have the constant sweats. (Hence the shiny faces).

We also had a great group of friends with us...Maggie, Sarah V., John's sister Molly and her BF Michael. Michael said that he had never been to a baseball game where the home team didn't win. I was totally doubting him the whole game, but the Dodgers pulled it out, so I had to give him some credit in the end.

Since the game was a few months ago I don't remember that much, besides the heat, but I do remember these totally dunk/obnoxious Cubs fans that were behind us. Of course due to their obnoxiousness it just made me cheer louder for the Dodgers. Totally unheard of I know.

Last month we headed back down to LA to see the Angels play. Once again we went with Molly and Michael, and our friend Ben. Again it was a close game and the Angles came back to beat the Red Sox. The crowd was SO into the game and it was sold out. Talk about the total opposite crowd compared to the A's game! This game was really hot too, but luckily we were only in the sun for about a half an hour. The stadium there was really nice, but the section we sat in was REALLY steep. There was hardly any leg room.


Since the Angles were losing, Molly, Michael, and Ben decided to put on their rally caps and it totally worked!

On the way home I totally scored by talking Michael into stopping off at Krispy Kreme for a donuts!! I was SO excited!!! Can you tell? Total heaven I tell ya.
John totally snapped these photos of the front seat eaters chowing down as well.
All we have left this summer is the Padre game in two weeks. We will be heading down south on Labor day weekend and I can't wait! I've never been to the Padre stadium and I hear it is really nice. I've been to San Diego once...maybe twice? No I think it was just once for a family vacation and I really liked it. John has never been there so I can't wait to show him around...of the two places I remember! I think our family vacay was in 1996. My my most vivid memory were these shaved ices that we got in Mission Beach. So I am definitely taking John there. I also think we will try to go to the Zoo and cruise the gas light district. Do any of you travel there often? I'm always open to restaurant or hotel recommendations.

There's No Place Like the Theatre

Every Wednesday I get an email from travelzoo.com with their latest deals…some are airline, rent-a-car, hotel, and even theatre ticket deals. I have yet to take advantage of any of the airline deals, but I hope one day I will. I can’t help it if I’m picky about the dates I travel and don’t want to vacation in Iraq.

Yesterday when I got my email I couldn’t believe it I saw a deal that I could actually take advantage of! Travelzoo was offering $30 off tickets to the musical Wicked! What a deal for a cheapie like me! My mind instantly started working on creating a plan to be able to save some money. (Like how I look at it as saving money vs. spending? I know I’m genius!)

Step one: The Date
John and I are heading down to LA for the Angels game next month…what if we could see the show on the same weekend? BRILLIANT! We’d be killing two flying monkeys – I mean birds with one baseball! There is really no availability in our summer schedule to fit in another trip down south, so I knew this would be the only way.

Step two: The Convincing of the Husband
Now I know that John would go see the show with me even if he didn’t want to, but what fun would it be to say ‘You are going with me,’ end of story. I knew I needed to do some sweet talking to build up my argument of how I just know he will enjoy himself. (The dude is extremely skeptical about everything). I’ve taken him to quiet a few musicals, but his favorite of all time was Spamalot. I’m not really sure if that qualifies as your typical musical since it was based on Monty Python movie, but regardless he loved it. I’m hoping it’s been long enough to where that memory has started to fade, and he won’t remember it enough to compare it to Wicked.

Step Three: The Case
I then contacted all of my friends in LA to see what kind of feedback they could give me about the show. Sarah V., Maggie, and Molly all LOVED it and only had good things to say about it! Molly even told me that she was sure John would like it, and if anything else they have flying monkeys that look like Clyde. If that wasn’t the best argument EVER then I don’t know what was.

Step Four: The Presentation of my Flawless Case
We went out to dinner to Big Sky last night and before I got out my briefcase to present, I decided to ask my mom if she and my dad had seen it. I thought they had when they went to NYC a few years ago. Great plan right? What could be better then a personal review right at our table? I knew she would help me convince John that it was a must see. Flawless right? WRONG-O BONG-O! My mom STRONGLY DISKLIKED the show! Can you believe it? I just sat there stunned. After all of the great feedback I had heard about it all day I was in total shock! She said it was all just average, or ‘eh’ to use an exact quote.

The show? Eh.
The music? Eh.
The original book? Eh…all forgettable.

You get the picture. Once my shock wore off I had to shut her up IMMEDIATELY! She was totally going to ruin my case! You know I worked so hard on it. Texting is hard work people!

Once I got her to zip her lip I was able to present my case, but it definitely lacked the excitement level after Mrs. Eh’s review.

John did agree to see it as long as we went with his sister. That was no prob because earlier in the day she told me that she liked it so much she wanted to see it again. She even said she’d get the tickets. Later that night I received an email from her saying that she got two tickets for the 20^th. I found that odd as we wanted to go on the 18^th. Come to find out she thought that the baseball game was this weekend not next month! It totally stinks because she is wrapping up her movie and knew she’d get off work early this Friday…the Friday next month? Who knows? So it looks like John will be stuck with just his old lady for the show. However I’m sure if I wear something low cut he won’t notice anyone else in the room. I love my boobs.

I'm A Total Local!

This past weekend John and I headed up North to S.F. to start off our ‘California Summer Baseball Stadium Tour.’ (A.K.A. CSBST) Last summer John wanted to go on the CSBST, but we were way too busy with our plethora of weddings. I felt kind of bad putting it off, but everything is a go for this summer. We’ve already bought all of our tickets and will be going to a game a month, and two in August.

Our first stop was AT&T Park, or the old Pac Bell, or the Candlestick baseball stadium, as I like to call it.

We were really lucky that John’s good friend Scott Feldstein lives only 2 blocks away from the park! When we were planning our trips we were so excited to be able to visit and stay with Scotty for the Giants game, however Scotty already had plans to be out of town that weekend. I know total bummer…but was it? Well yes…it was in the fact that we didn’t get to visit with him, but it was also awesome because it was like John and I had a mini vaca without having to pay for a place to stay! What is even better is that Scotty’s place is SO nice and it’s in a great location. We were able to walk wherever we needed to go, and never had to use our car. Isn’t that amazing? I’d really love to live like that again. That is one thing that I loved about living in London. I was 100% reliant on public transportation, and was able to walk almost everywhere.

On Saturday we were able to walk to this FABULOUS breakfast place, and then later to the game. We met up with my two uncles and my dad at the game, and had such a great time! Of course it helped that the Giants actually WON 8-2! It was a total shocker especially since they had just lost to the Phillies the night before. We also had the total trifecta: perfect weather, good seats, and garlic fries! (I missed my photo opp of the fries, but they were HUGE and totally stinky.)

This was my first time to the Giant’s new stadium. I know, I know...how could I be a fan all my life and never have gone? I am quite ashamed to admit that, but I must say that the stadium is SO nice! I was really impressed.

One of the most shocking events of the whole day was that John bought and WORE a Giants hat! (He’s a big time Dodger fan). Before the game he kept going back and forth on whether or not he should buy one, because he really wanted to get a hat at each park we went to, however he couldn't fathom actually wearing any Giants attire. At first he said he would buy one and wear it if I agreed to buy a Dodger visor and wear it. What is great is that me agreeing or disagreeing with that deal didn’t even affect his purchase. However…seeing him with the Giants hat on made me so happy, that I knew that I would have to return the favor and wear a Dodger visor next month. Dang it!

Look how cute we are with our matching hats!!

We didn’t see any fights break out (thank goodness!), but there was one really obnoxious Phillie’s fan sitting few sections over. We saw him stand up and start preaching about who knows what, so one giant’s fan start throwing peanuts at him, which he actually caught. It was kind of funny. Then awhile later he got into another argument with a different Giants fan, which wasn't so light hearted. This time security actually came down to talk with him, but the best part was seeing the females that were with both guys sitting there in utter mortification. You could just tell that they were dying of embarrassment.

We had these two little old ladies sitting near us, and you could just tell that they had been coming to games for YEARS. At one point my dad decides to mention to one of them that John is in fact a dodger fan in disguise! I totally thought the lady was going to give John a beat down with her cane! But luckily his Giants hat saved him. I later asked my dad why he told her that, and he knew that John could have taken her if it came to fist-a-cuffs. He did have a point.

Group shot

After the game we went to dinner at Koh Samui and the Monkey. My mom met us there as well. (She drove down on Saturday because she had a musical engagement earlier that day.) On our way there we wound up walking behind to real winnas who were smoking pot…as they were walking down the street…like it was no big deal.

Scotty took John to the monkey a few years ago, and ever since he has gone, all I’ve ever heard about is their pumpkin curry. The dude is totally obsessed.

I will admit that it was good, and I’m not even a huge fan of curry. I got beef with mangos, and it was really good.

I even had a mango mojito! It was a total mango night for me. We even got a few appetizers that were all good too. One reason is because they were all fried. I was totally impressed with the place, and the service was really good as well.

On our walk home we were stopped by one guy who asked us which direction Market Street was. We told him we thought it was behind us, but we told him we weren’t sure. However we were more impressed with the fact that he thought we were locals, even with my tennis shoes on! However I think he was in quite the hurry, so maybe he didn’t look down at my stylish footwear.

The next morning we headed down to San Jose where we met up with the family and had Mother’s Day brunch at the Fairmont hotel. The food was really good, but buffets are so hard! I just want to eat everything, and have multiple servings.

After brunch we headed over to the San Jose Museum of Modern Art, where right now they have having an art show on Robots. As some of you know, my Uncle Eric specializes in paintings of robots and doughnuts. Overall it was a great show, but of course the highlight for me was to see my uncle’s painting up close and personal. I’ve mostly just seen prints or jpgs, so to see them in their actual size was even more breathtaking.

If you are in the area, then I highly suggest you go to the show. It’s really great. You can also check out this video from a local news station that put together a great story. My Uncle also has a blog with some other info on hiw work, if you are interested.

I know most of you don't live in the bay area or traveling there anytime soon, so just for you I asked my Unlce to send me the jpgs of the paintings he has in the show.

The Executioner is a Keen Shaver

What We Ought Not, We Do

Malfunction

Overall it was a really fun weekend. My Uncle Brian had asked me at one point if swapping homes with my friends is something I’d done before. Even though this was my first time, it really is a great idea! As much as we love to visit with all our friends, it’s also nice to be able to get away for a weekend, by ourselves, in another town, and have free accommodations. Soooooooooo if any of you are interested in swapping, just let me know. My only disclaimer is ‘no pets or shoes allowed’!