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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Bay Area
Below are the 25 most recent journal entries.
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2010.01.10 19.26
13th Night
Another 12th Night has come and gone. I think a good 12th Night feels a bit like our wedding: lots of fun and running around, not a lot of time to eat, and ending with a quick look back that says, "How did that go by so fast?"
( Many performances and parties, an incredibly slow restaurant, etc... )
Especially in light of recent health issues, we really, REALLY, *REALLY* needed this wkend :)
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2009.11.20 15.51
Mna Meme-na (dee doo dee doo doo)
• Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions (I'll also answer more, if asked).
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mastersantiago asked:
1. What is your favorite improv moment?
2. Why do you like old video games so much?
3. What is your all time favorite old video game?
4. Who is your hero?
5. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
( answers... )
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2009.10.19 09.25
Sleep is for the week...and we are weak
L and I have both been...a wee bit busy...lately. (In my case, the final push for getting a 1.0 product out the door. For L, it's a million work-related programs she needs to run plus the usual holiday items [costumes, etc]). BTW, if you're looking for her, the best way to get in contact with her is to call her - she said she won't be near a computer until at least the end of Oct. (Hah! I *wish* I had that option...)
We have managed to squeeze in some fun time - saw Cheech & Chong a couple weeks ago at Mountain Winery [Still frickin' funny, though maybe that was due to the funny-smelling smoke wafting through the area ;) saw Woz wandering around before the event].
Part one of L's work-related frenzy of activity was preparing for their annual fundraiser, a wine & cheese (& more) auction at the Decathlon Club. We got tix to a Whale Watch off Monterey (we originally planned to do a Whale Watch in Hawaii as part of our honeymoon...mind you, we still need to make it to Hawaii), a wine-tasting, and tix to Cal Shakes. And the quilt that L's kids worked on (Egyptian theme, to match the period of history they're covering this year) went for...quite a lot.
After that, L pretty much collapsed, so we never made it to Coronet on Sat. I think she's still recovering, but no rest for the weary, 'cuz the next school event she has to organize is for this Fri (UN day).
As for me, we had our code freeze on Fri (I think), so barring any disasters, we hopefully have a small breather now...this, of course, means that the aforementioned speculative disaster will, in fact, manifest itself the second I walk in the door...
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2009.09.20 23.04
Weird Al's CNR
Al's been releasing singles online recently, with various folks doing the animation. The best one so far, IMHO, is "CNR". It's a White Stripes style parody, but the song is about...well, I don't wanna spoil it, just watch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGmD2wk8m4
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2009.09.19 21.26
Casa Del Arte
wufmew and I went to the Ren Faire at Casa de Fruta today, and met up with thelbk, Piotr (who was mostly unconscious due to a massage), and their kids and friends. The adults caught a performance of the Commedia troupe - they did The Betrothed!!! (GSP performed it 4 years ago).
They...were...awesome. Granted, I'm pretty sure the entire thing was fully scripted, but they...were...awesome. I'm looking forward to doing Commedia again this time (even though it's a rare Tragedy, actually). And the show we saw certainly sets the bar high. There's so much that we could be doing, esp in terms of characterization and specific movements. Though our particular scenario this time is very atypical, so it'll be a challenge to figure out what fits and what doesn't...
Usually, around this time of year, I find inspiration by looking at some of the other troupes out there. 'course, there's always i Sebastiani. This time, I stumbled upon a group from the Midrealm when looking around for lazzi to practice - i Verdi Confusi: http://filer.case.edu/org/commedia/lazzi.html
(the rest of their site is rather interesting, although the Sci-Fi Commedia is pushing it a little bit [Dottore Who and the Three Locks of Time]).
You know, I used to joke about creating a geek improv troupe: "Mounted Pentium's Frying Circuits". I think I've come up with a name for a corresponding Commedia Troupe: "i Pod" (actually, according to Babelfish, "i Baccello" would be more accurate, though it doesn't sound close enough. Maybe "i Piede"? [using Pod == Foot]). *shrug* Needs work.
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2009.09.19 08.31
Pray LIke a Pirate Day
Yes, today is both Rosh Hashanah and International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
L'Shana Tovarrrrrrrrrr! Next Year in Tortuga!
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2009.09.01 20.07
Random Thought
Live Chess, nuthin'. Where's a good Live Game of Goose, or Live Nine Men's Morris?
I'm sorry, I'm overtired...
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2009.08.15 09.00
I explodee
For my pre-Birthday meal we went to La Fondue, as is traditional. As usual, for the meat course, we got the one-of-everything option. They've added a few things since last time. The full run down at the bottom, with the new ones starred.
Usually, I starve myself the day of the meal, since it's four courses and with much more protein than I'm used to, but I was stupid and ate normal breakfast and lunch (and I haven't been eating breakfast lately, either). And I ate too much of the salad. Thankfully, we grilled what we couldn't finish and took the rest home. (Although we saved room for dessert - dark chocolate fondue with caramel, pecans, and Flambe. drool).
Thanks to two gift cards from the wedding, our gazillion dollar bill was reduced to $2.54. (Though with the tip, it was about $50).
The list;
- *Antelope*
- Buffalo
- Alligator
- Crocodile (actually, quite different from alligator)
- Duck
- *Kangaroo* (Actually, the darkest meat there)
- *Llama* (L wasn't sure if she could do it. In the end, she tried a little but thought it was too sweet. It's very odd to have something beef-like with a naturally sweet aftertaste)
- Ostrich
- *Wild Turkey* (w/buttermilk marinade. drool)
- Wild Boar
- Venison
- Chicken (*duh*)
- Lobster Tail
- *Dungeness Crab*
- Scallops
- Various beef, including Kobe, and the beef-wrapped-around-cheese thingees)
- Calamari
- Multiple types of Shrimp
- Hamachi
- Ahi Tuna
What, no rabbit? :)
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2009.08.13 09.35
Fool's Errand Sequel
Cliff Johnson is a Puzzle G-d. If you've ever played 3 in Three or Fool's Errand (and to a lesser extent, At the Carnival), you *have* to agree, dammit! Humor, some *wicked* puzzles, a decent backstory (and tron-like theme for the former, a tarot theme for the latter), etc.
(also, I'd recommend System's Twilight, which was a shareware Mac game created a couple of years after 3 in Three with a similar feel to it and similar level of difficulty).
Anyway, Cliff's spent six years, on his spare time, developing a sequel to self-publish. (The title: "The Fool and his Money", is a bit ironic, since people sent in money to help him self-publish, but it looked like it was going to be vaporware for a while) The demo's now out, and it's every bit as fun/psychotic as the original. Once the game actually comes out, I expect that I'll disappear for awhile...(wait, that's different from my latest work-induced absence from extracurricular events in *what* way, exactly?)
http://www.fools-errand.com/
If you want to play any of the original games emulated: http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/games-windows.htm
System's Twilight (see notes at the bottom of the page for how to get it to run under Executor, the emulator also used in the link above): http://www.eblong.com/zarf/twilight.html
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2009.07.16 09.09
Hemi
Our little kitty is probably around 13 now. Over the last couple of years, she's thrown up a few times. Whenever we take her into the vet, she checks out fine, and that's that - though I've noticed that our tiny kitty is maybe looking a little thinner.
One of her favorite spots to sleep is on the big chest with the nice fluffy pillow in the living room by her perch to the window. Sunday, she threw up on the edge of the pillow (and onto the adjacent Rock Band Guitar). The contents seemed to be comprised of the new kitty grass we'd gotten her.
Tuesday, she tried to wake me up by licking my elbow until the epidermis had completely dissolved. As usual, I gritted my teeth and waited for her to get bored and pounce on my head instead. Instead, she threw up on my elbow, the sheets, and the comforter.
Needless to say, we were at the vet within half an hour. Mind you, she clearly had some adrenaline going, because she fought me when trying to place her in her carrier. To be precise, she hooked her claw around the underside of one of the lips of the opening, and another into my shirt; then my work badge (hanging from my neck) lowered itself into the grating and turned 90 degrees, so I was now trapped - the tangled badge was choking me, the cat was stabbing me, and I couldn't extricate either of us. Finally, I had to take the damn shirt off while trying not to strangle myself - after which the cat attempted to flee with my shirt still attached. Fortunately, the jailbreak did not succeed.
Hemi's blood test was normal, but her weight...she's usually around 8.3 lbs...now five months since her last weigh-in, she's 7.1 They asked if they could do an ultrasound. Results came back today - mass in the adrenal gland. They don't know if it's benign or not, and due to her age and its proximity to the vena cava, operation may not be possible. So we've got new food to give her, to see if she'll keep it down. We'll take her in again in a month to see if there are any changes.
She's been active (still insisted on playing chase-the-string at night, at the proper time, i.e. just when we were about to go to sleep), so at least that's a good sign. Oh, and one of her teeth is not in good shape - the doc showed me the redness; he indicated that the enamel's gone, and proabably the root, so unfortunately the tooth should have to come out...but they don't want to do anything until they've determined a course of action regarding her other problems. Poor kitty! She doesn't show any sign of discomfort with it, but I still feel like a bad parent.
She slept at my feet last night, and licked me this morning, so at least for now, all is status quo...
Mood:  worried
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2009.07.02 20.00
I actually have something resembling a life...
From after the honeymoon to middle of June, including very long days/nights and weekends - workworkworkworkwork.
Jun 18 - dinner at learnteach's
Jun 19 - dinner and games with fionnbharro and family.
Jun 20 - dinner + Heart in concert at Mountain Winery (OMFG Ann's voice is still beautiful. Did a couple of covers, too, including Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"; she does a pitch-perfect Robert Plant :) )
Jun 26 - See roswtr and seamoose in Yeoman of the Guard. Dammit, must...audition...for..next...Gilbert & Sullivan... (insert work comment here)
Jun 27 - Dinner and Spamalot in SF with j_i_m_r, tafelspitz, klwilliams, vittoriosa, and cnewsonsmith. Some annoyance with stupid restaurant, so we took our patronage to a much more appreciative establishment, followed by wine at the Ferry Building and then a pretty damn good show!
Jun 28 - To celebrate the former itakemymedicine's birthday with her and encyclops and G at the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung, followed by dinner in Japantown (i <3 okonomiyaki)
Jun 29 - Fly to CT for a week with my parents.
July 1st - Mystic Aquarium. Heavy rains leave the parking lot flooded, submerging half the length of the tires by the time we get out of there. Amusingly enough, we both giggled over it - one cannot begin to describe how much we've missed having weather. Wanted to go puddle-jumping (but had to go shopping to get a new pair of sneakers since mine were falling apart and soaking wet :) )
July 2nd - Went to the Cloisters in NY. After driving by there a million times on the way to see relatives in NY, we finally got to go in. Lots of nifty stuff, although we both thought it felt a little odd to see everything as a mix-n-match of things from different ages/countries. Went on the garden tour as well.
July 3rd - (Okay, this is tomorrow as I write this). Shindig mom and dad are throwing for us, for those local people were were unable to make it to the wedding.
July 4th - Um...*duh*. (Would've bought sparklers in the supermarket were it not for the fact that they're sold only in quantities much > 1).
July 5th - fly home, collapse, pray we can wake up in time for work.
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2009.06.24 12.04
GGGAAAAHHHH!!!!
With work as intense as it has been (and will be for the next 2-3 months), I really do spend all my waking hours thinking about it. I don't mean worrying about it - I mean actual problem solving; How to design a particular feature, what to plan to do in the next couple of days, practical tradeoffs and testing etc. I call it work tetris, because if I get everything to fit just right, it will vanish (while meanwhile a bunch of other tiles are descending that need to be slotted in correctly lest they pile up).
And I do mean I think about it constantly; at choir, when falling asleep, in the shower, etc. Because I have to if everything is to get done. I won't go into how/why, simply because, regardless of friends-locked or not, anything traveling through and stored in this medium can be inspected. And I work for a security company. Suffice to say, some things are good, some bad, some due to me, some not due to me. And I do like the company and the concept of the product I'm working on.
Now to the main point of my post: This morning I had the first creative, non-work-related thoughts in WEEKS. I was afraid that part of my brain would atrophy from disuse. So of course, some work-related thoughts intruded, and now I can't remember what my bright idea was. GGAAAAHHHH!!!
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2009.05.02 13.48
Hi Ho, Hi Ho...
It's Beltane, so guess when I am? At work.
This may possibly be a continuing trend for the next few months.
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2009.04.23 21.26
Bad Samaritan Hospital
With all the running around we've done for the wedding and the honeymoon (Disneyland, SD Wild Animal Park, Seaworld, SD Zoo on consecutive days plus driving both ways from the Bay Area to soCal), plus jumping into 54-degree weather to work with the Belugas, I suppose it was inevitable that we'd get sick. But wufmew's was a bit more than typical.
We got stuck in traffic in SD, and then LA, on the way back. L was getting a pain her lower left abdominal region and later, when we *finally* made it to the hotel in SLO, seeing some other troubling symptoms. So we cancelled the Hearst Castle trip and drove home the next day - or rather, straight to Good Samaritan.
Good G-d. Do *not* go to that hospital's ER unless you absolutely have to.
- They tell her that she doesn't have a fever. Thermometer reads 100.1, and L's normal temp is around 97.5.
- Blood pressure is 160/90. No concern.
- Urine sample shows blood (which was our major concern), with no hint of bacteria (so, it's not an infection? What's causing that + abdominal pain for over 24 hours?), but they say that's not a concern. Not sure what's causing it, but it should clear up in a day or two. Here, take Vicodin for the pain! Oh, and call an OBGYN, since *obviously* that's where the problem is.
- Maybe it's a kidney stone or cyst, we ask. How about an ultrasound, esp. since you can't tell us what the problem is? "No need."
- Bloodwork? No need.
This was on Sat. She'd been suffering for over a day. Another 48 hrs before she can talk to a doctor. She's also between OBGYN's right now (long story). I said she should call her regular doctor (and mine) first thing Monday, since he knows us and her unique medical history.
She gets an appointment with our doctor at Mon at 1:30. He takes one look at her and lightly hits her lower left back (which doesn't hurt when simply touched). She goes through the roof. Kidney infection (may have a stone as well - unclear as of yet). His urinalysis - the nurse dips in the testing thingee and says, "ooooo, pretty colors." Blood + protein + white blood cells. And it doesn't seem likely that the latter two weren't present earlier, either.
L says, "Well, at least they heard my heart murmur." the doc says, "That's even worse! Murmur + low-grade fever can indicate *heart* infection - they should have tried to rule that out."
So, L's on antibiotics. She's getting better slowly, but it's totally wiping her out. And now, she's getting swollen glands and her neck is bothering her, which means she's probably coming down with my cold. Mind you, both of us insisted on going to work the last couple of days, which was foolhardy - looks like mine's coming back for round 2; hurts to swallow and throat/neck aches.
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2009.04.20 11.48
Good thinking....
When we were getting ready to drive to Disneyland, I noticed that one of my tires looked a bit low. Just to play safe, I asked wufmew if we could take her car instead of mine.
Good thing. I found this morning that the tire was completely flat.
Oh well; the tires were getting pretty worn, so I'm pretty sure I needed new tires anyway.
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2009.04.19 19.06
Outline first, details later
Haven't posted in awhile (again) because of the last 3 weeks of much goings-on. So, a quick outline of what I intend to add into future posts:
- Work is crazy. Hopefully it still exists when I get back.
- Wedding went frickin' *amazingly*. Much love and thanks to everyone. Will post pix and much more thanks.
- Afterwards, managed to hang out with some friends and relatives for a few days and decompress. - Then, off to southern CA - Disneyland and SD attractions (including getting in wetsuits and working with Beluga whales at Seaworld; partially responsible for present condition, though...). Got to see frausensei, but need to return and see many others.
- Stuck in SD and LA traffic on the drive to SLO; both of us got sick. Made the Madonna Inn as planned but after 10PM; collapsed and postponsed the Hearst Castle trip.
- Got in on Sat. L had some troubling symptoms, so we went to the totally unhelpful emergency room at Good Samaritan (L needs to follow up with her doctor on Mon; both of us unnerved). Both of us still sick today :(
- OMFG Collegium is this wkend; after my...less than satisfactory...performance at Crown I want to do something much better this time around, but still sick and dreading potential work carnage. Nevertheless, I *will* have a good performance.
- What else am I forgetting?
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2009.02.22 23.57
THIS past wkend
Went to Friday Night Waltz, and amazingly feel competent. Granted, it's just the beginners' class, but there's definitely an improvement, even though we haven't been there since Dec. (True, the Tues classes have helped, but that's a different waltz altogether). Ran into momstable and family, as well as learnteach, with whom we went out to dinner afterwards at the Cheesecake Factory. Mmm, Oreo Mudslide Cheekecake... (oh, and I taped BSG this time; my reactions vacillated between "this show is brilliant" and "you can tell Ron Moore decided after-the-fact who he was going to make as Cylons; I'm not sure this *works*". Still, I'm enjoying it overall)
Sat was some productivity at home mixed with a...bird search. Some jerks broke into the aviary at the place where L used to work and apparently made off with their red-tailed hawk. We speculate (based on previous attempts) that these were not just "idiots" but people wanting to "free the birds"...which is bad when the bird is incapable of flight and would have some trouble foraging for itself. L and I went down to Alum Rock to help look (just in case it had simply been let go rather than grabbed), and it was kind of old-home week for her, as just about everyone who'd worked at YSI showed up to help search. The Great-Horned Owl that L used to work with was still there - he'd been let out as well, but either they didn't want him or they couldn't reach him (being nocturnal, it was probably much harder to sneak up on him). Thor just kind of looked at us nonplussed, as usual, which was actually somewhat reassuring.
Sun, I...picked up Rock Band 2 finally. (Hey, encyclops, want a drum set, mic, and one guitar?) So far I like the set list better, although I haven't broken a sweat on expert yet, though I'm sure I'll be cursing by the time I get further down the list. The new guitar doesn't feel tremendously different (a little less flimsy), but the response (particularly strumming) seems to be much better. And FINALLY, the Wii has downloadable content. Sadly, (due to the meager memory of the Wii?), you can't import the Rock Band 1 or Track Pack lists onto Rock Band 2, unlike on the PS3 or XBox360. But the full band customization and, most importantly, tour mode with all the bells and whistles, are intact this time. Makes for a much more entertaining experience.
I will get Guitar Hero World Tour eventually, but the drums aren't compatible, and we don't really have room for multiple sets in the living room.
I wish you could just turn the game into one big karaoke machine (including the really bad, cheesy, mistranslated videos from the karaoke places we usually go to) :)
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2009.02.22 23.48
Car
Went to get measured for my tux for the wedding last Sunday (e.g. the 15th) with wufmew and JG. Afterwards, got on 880, and saw that my speedometer was leaping around madly despite the car's even velocity. Got off and headed home...and the car started to slow down. Crap. Just realized that I've gone about 6-7K miles without checking my oil. Still, that shouldn't cause the speedometer (which, by this point, decided to lie down at 0 and rest) to go nuts. Naturally, that has to be the one day this winter that we get an actual, honest-to-goodness downpour. And the truck that AAA sent didn't have room for everyone to travel in (despite the fact that AAA asked beforehand how many people we had).
Fortunately, the problem was just the alternator. Would've preferred not to spend $500, but better than having to get a new car (esp. with the wedding coming up; OTOH we always wanted a hybrid).
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2009.02.09 09.21
Coraline
we saw Coraline on Saturday. I liked the book, but had some trepidations about what would be done to stretch the story to movie-length.
( Spoilers )
So overall, I liked it, but it's not something that I'd care if I saw again or not. (Unlike, say, Nightmare Before XMas, which I love). That said, I'm still glad I saw it. And I've still got that TMBG song in my head...
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