Rest for the weary.

After such a jam packed day in town, I wanted to do anything but walk. This nasty cold has gotten to the best of me and I spent the morning standing in the shower steaming and attempting to breathe. Whatever has attacked my nasal cavity, is in there nice and cozy and is in no hurry to leave. No amounts of tissue boxes and tea is getting rid of this congestion.

Not to cheat myself out of a day out, I did what I could with the steam and moved on with the day. Smelling like a medicine box and still looking fresher than last night's pizza, we got out to head to Napa for a day of relaxing with the kids, my brother and his girlfriend. And after only getting lost once on the way to the Bay Area Bridge (this is a new record for me, as navigating San Francisco is like presenting a math problem to a 5 year old...and not a very smart one at that). To put it nicely, my navigation system in my brain goes haywire when I hit that city.

Upon arriving to Napa, the first thing I did was lay on the bed "for 5 minutes" and instantly fell asleep for a good 20 minute nap. After finally peeling my eyes open I handed the keys to my brother, we loaded the kids into the car and headed out for a scenic drive around the Napa area. I have to admit prior to seeing the things we saw today, I was slightly bored of this city and never thought it had anything interesting to see.  Apparently, I was wrong. We saw huge hills and meadows with fog rolling over green pastures and houses with acres upon acres of land with cows roaming free. It was the most peaceful scenery. I'm ashamed to say that I lasted in the car as long as a 3 year old before we both knocked out for yet another nap. Though Matti had a purpose for his nap (re-fueling for evening time shenanigans), I on the other hand was just attempting to battle this cold, which at this point was just sucking every ounce of energy out of me.

I can't be a witness to what happened on the rest of the drive, as I woke up in the back seat about an hour later and we were home. Somewhat refreshed, it was time to go pick up some last minute essentials before we made dinner at home. Like any 3 females in a car, on our way to the supermarket for some salad ingredients and BBQ sauce, we saw an outlet mall...so we stopped in...for an hour...or two.

On we went with the supermarket...juice: check, BBQ sauce: check, salad: check....a whole bunch of other things NOT on the shopping list: check!

As much as I wish I would have taken a picture of our dinner, I think it's best I didn't because I'd be going to get 5ths and 6ths right now...and I just don't think my stomach can handle any more. Slow cooked pulled bbq pork....baked potato cubes...Russian cucumber, tomato, onion salad (mixed by Matti)....dinner rolls....and great company. I ended the night with my face in the big salad bowl, dipping sourdough bread into the juice left over by the salad....and snacking on more pork. Mind you this was an hour after we finished eating.

Reluctantly, its tea time...and then bed time. My little body is stuffed happily to the gills and ready for some Tempurpedic mattress time.

time for home tomorrow...

Day 3 and dim sum

Today's mission was to find dim sum in downtown, ride some cable cars, see the Palace of fine arts at night, finally see the "painted ladies", and come home with sore ass muscles.

The mission was 99% complete.

Staying up til 4am last night didn't fair very well will waking up early to get the ball rolling so we decided we could use a few extra hours of sleep in the morning. After going to a rite aid about 10 miles away (because we apparently just like driving around), we got back in the morning to have some breakfast and wait for my brother to meet up at the hotel to head out to San Fran together...at 2pm.

Initially the plan was to take the BART to the Union Station and walk around til our toes fell off, but we opted out of public transportation and drove in to town, parked the car in a $10 lot and began our 5 hour walking tour. I immediately wanted to hitch the Powell cable car up towards Russian Hill which consequently brought us right next to Chinatown.
I'd never been to this part of town so I had no clue where we would find dim sum and how we would get there. Of course one or my most favorite things about San Francisco, is the fact that people are actually friendly and helpful. A lady overhead us talking about getting dim sum and quickly suggested a place just off the street where we were getting off the cable car. And so it was...a tiny crowded hole in the wall, with stacks of dim sum baskets.

The menu? All in Chinese.

Another lady in the line in front of us offered some sense..pointed to the non-hospital-sending selections and even mentioned of the unknown discount if you buy a certain amount. Again, thank you ladies for making this process so painless and delicious. This was by far the most pleasant experience I'd ever had with getting any ethnic food in a non-English speaking place. The dim sum? Mouth watering. I stuck with pork. And munched on a red bean one for dessert.


This of course now meant we had to walk off the calories we just ingested....and god knows we did. I think we hit every hill there is in the bay area...somehow ending up going uphill both ways....in the snow...with no shoes...

Anyway. It sucked at times (and only because I'm clearly in worse shape than I thought I was), but overall the walking was amazing. We headed back to the car and decided we deserved a hot cup of cocoa. Here came the root of all evil...the Ghirardelli chocolate shop.

And funny enough when we got there I wanted nothing to do with chocolate so I ordered a waffle cup of strawberry ice cream....and destroyed it in 5 minutes flat. Fortunately my voice has been hoarse and scarce in the last few days, so when I lost it from freezing my vocal chords with the icy goodness, nobody really noticed.

And when we finally got back to our room, nothing was more welcoming than a steamy hot shower with incense burning. This cold has nothing on me this time around. What's a little snot and a few days of sounding like Joan Rivers gonna do to my plans?

I got my dim sum in Chinatown, rode the cable car, and managed to even see the amazing Palace of Arts....those painted ladies keep evading me, however. Maybe today, those ladies that helped with the dim sum escapade were our painted ladies.

The real ones will have to wait til Saturday morning, when I will absolutely go snap a picture before we head out home.

Thank god for such a busy day and hopefully a less strenuous one tomorrow as we head up to Napa.

West Coast Ridin: day 2...

After knocking out completely last night with the help of anxiety meds, cold meds and a few cups of hot tea, we were ready to roll out again this morning. With last night's chicken vindaloo still feeding me, breakfast was optional so we hit the road. Visiting the Monterey Aquarium, Cannary Row, and revisiting my phone's first swimming lesson spot. This time, my phone stayed in the car. 

Still taking the scenic route of PCH HWY 1, we stopped at pretty much every beach and every pretty view point....and also when asked nicely by the police. Yep. Add another ticket to my collection. Bastard caught me going 74 in a 55. I can't even deny going that fast, but in my defense, the car in front of me was going just as fast and it seemed normal to the both of us I think. Going 55 at any point on PCH just seems like a sin anyway. Anyway, I must be losing my flirting touch, because I couldn't get myself out of this one. Maybe I just wasn't trying? Or maybe the cop wasn't worth the effort? Whatever it was, I just wanted to get the hell on with it and drive 75 again. 

I must admit this would put a dent in my day any other time, but this time I just brushed it off and continued enjoying the beautiful scenery and took in all the amazing sea air.

Not too much longer after the po-po bust, we arrived in Daly City. Which seemed a bit sketchy at first but after realizing that the Korean characters on every sign and billboard were not, in fact, graffiti, I actually liked the city. Our hotel is nice with a separate bedroom for the second bed, and is overlooking Cow Palace and all of San Francisco and some of the Bay. 

Though I was thoroughly exhausted after driving a 2 hour route in 4.5 hours, I couldn't resist going to visit my favorite place in San Fran. Here's the kicker: the last time I was at this little shop was 3 years ago and I didn't remember the name or the address of it. All I remembered was it was near Ashbury....that was it. With blind luck and a lot of photographic memory (and a few road rage incidents and missed turns) I found it! And it was everything I remembered it being and more. It's my personal slice of peace and Tibetan bliss. I spent an hour "shopping". Which is something I hate doing. $45 later, I was done. 

Now came time to get back to the hotel. Those who know me, will tell you that when I don't know an area too well, I will make every wrong turn until I finally miss the right exit and have to flip a few bitches to get back on track. Tonight, was no different. I somehow managed to hit every hilly street in San Francisco and ended up on the Golden Gate bridge going the complete opposite direction from my hotel. But alas, at least I got to see the bridge at night...there's always a silver lining?

$6 in tolls later and a few more pissed off drivers, we safely made it back to Daly City, ordered a huge Greek pizza (complete with wings and stuffed Jalapeno peppers and orange soda), and made it back safely to the room...somehow. 

Stuffed to the gills with food and more god forsaken tea (if I hear that word one more time during this trip, I may actually kill someone...please no more tea)....I am ready for bed...and for tomorrow's adventures in Downtown San Francisco...by train and trolly. I can't wait to hit Chinatown and see what they have to offer in their Dim Sum carts. 

til then...I rest and hope to stuff this cough before it gets worse.

Pacific Coast Ride

I've had this trip to San Francisco and Napa planned for over three weeks to not only take a drive up the coast and celebrate my brother's birthday, but to finally get my Cadillac back home so I can start mending it. 

What's the most annoying thing that can happen when you're planning a trip? A cold. And of course, I got it. I'm beyond suffering with nasal congestion and a main line break in my nose causing all sorts of leakage. Chills, fever, achy body, cough. I'm actually ignoring the cold all together. If it weren't for the constant popping in the ears from the pressure, I'd even get away with ignoring it. All that said, I'm not complaining. Still enjoying the trip as much as I can. Monterey tonight with some delicious Indian food. Not so bad of a day.

San Fran tomorrow. 

Potato, potatoeee

I was watching a program on people with fetishes...(wait that's not the punch line). 
I'd say I'm pretty open, sexually. I don't knock things til I at least hear about it from someone who is nice enough to explain to me without judgement. And I'm sure I've done and liked things that others look at as strange. But in watching this show I realized there is one fetish (well, at least of the ones shown tonight) that I will never understand: feet. 

Seriously. Why feet? Is there anyone with like an elbow fetish? Or a chin fetish? Eyebrows? I personally find those more attractive than feet. And I like feet. I mean I'm not grossed out by feet. I just don't understand people who are aroused by them.

To each his own I suppose! Just don't go humping my toes, you might get kicked in the chin. 

JetStream @ Canyon Club 1.1.11

I have to say it took some convincing to get me out of my pajama pants last night to go to a show. It would be the first show of the year, in a new venue (for me) for a band I've been meaning to see live for over a year. Not only did I get out of my pajamas, I actually got dressed and even put on boots and a scarf. If anyone knows me, that's a lot more clothing than I'm ever willing to put together. In my defense it was cold. And to clear it up, I'm allergic to wearing shoes and too many layers of clothing...not quite an exhibitionist. Anyway, onward to the show. I'm excited that I'm getting more opportunities to see more and more shows and do what I like best....give out my opinion on them.

There I was at the Canyon Club wearing my spiffy blue 21+ wristband....upon entering the place and walking past the bar, I quickly realized I was one of few people wearing a blue wristband. The big sea of crowd in the middle of the club was on average a foot shorter than me and at least 15 years younger. And when the show started I remembered that the band was also half my age. This would be the first time I could bully my way to the front of the stage without getting knocked out. I spotted a few parents in the crowd but mostly, I was surrounded by barely teens, tapping away on their smart phones that were one generation newer than my dinky iPhone. I think one of them looked at me like I may have lost my way to the senior center and quickly hair flipped his way back to the stage.

My point? This crowd was young. After a brief age difference crisis, I settled on enjoying the show.


Three seemingly normal kids hit the stage, by the name of  JetStream...quite frankly the only thing normal about them is their appearance. Everything else is pure talent hidden away into teenage kids. These young men have the presence of seeded rock stars and have zero problems playing to the crowd. Lead singer Garrett Zeile commands the entire club from the first moment they hit the stage. Jumping on speakers, tossing picks to the screaming teenage girl fans, and posing for crowd photographers...this band knows what to do. At first glance...and after a few songs of staring...bass player Kevin Grimmett resembles a young Slash as if he were cloned at age 15. Put a top hat on him and stick a cigarette in his mouth and you'd have me convinced. (smoking is a terrible habit, kids...even Slash realized this and is now cigarette free).

Perhaps one of my favorite people of the entire night was drummer Ben Zelico, who always puts a smile on my face because he seems to be enjoying himself so much on stage! I never once saw him without a smile on his face. If I weren't twice his age I'd have a crush on him and if I weren't just 14 years older, I'd be one very proud mother. It's not fair to us normal people that three kids can be this talented, this good looking and have this much fun doing exactly what they love to do. And boy do they know they are a hot bunch of kids. I don't know if it was because they were playing to their own age group, playing a familiar venue, or because they are just that confident, but these guys are starting to develop quite the swagger.


What's more impressive? They play only their own, original material! Not a single cover in their set list. I've seen many a seasoned band playing cover after cover to try and grab people's attentions and these guys manage to stay away. Kudos for that!

Although this was a heavily packed place, I'd love to see them play to an older crowd for full effect. Their sound is getting heavier and less poppy which I think will fair well with other age groups. I didn't grab a set list, but one song was an absolute hit down to some brilliant bass licks and almost metal double bass drum kicks. By far my favorite. I'll try to get a set list so I can familiarize myself with song titles.

I'm loving this young talent and the direction they are taking. I look forward to their debut album release and I'll definitely keep everyone posted on when this happens.



Look out for Garrett, Kevin and Ben at my favorite venue on the Sunset Strip, the Viper room this Saturday, January 8th.


for all images from this show go here

Resolutions

There's an old Russian saying that says "how you ring in the new year is how you will spend your year", if this is the case, I will spend my year laughing with my family followed by ringing ears on new years day from a concert. I see absolutely nothing wrong with spending my year this way. I will, however, finally invest in some ear plugs this year. Call it a resolution?

Speaking of those, I find it funny that every year people make the same resolutions and every year break the same resolutions. I know people who have taken up "going to the gym" 5 years in a row...and 5 years in a row realizing they hate the gym 2 months down the line.

Resolutions are for lazy people. I'm sorry to be blunt and honest here, but if you require a change of calendar to start doing something, you're just plain out lazy and a procrastinator. Get your ass up in the middle of any month and start whatever it is that's tickling your fancy.

On that note, I have a GOAL this year...(actually it's been active for a few months) to start puttin myself somewhat ahead of others. To stop throwing myself last in line of concern. I've neglected my own needs for 28 long years, it's refreshing to do nice things for myself for once.

So there it is. My new years continuation. What's yours?