Happy 7th Birthday to my Claude Kitty. (Claude Cat-Chow)
I adopted Claude from the San Francisco SPCA almost 4 years ago. He had just turned 3. His record stated that his actual birthday was April 29th - just a day after mine. We're both Tauruses. I figured that was a good sign. :)
Claude moved in with my Mom and Dad a couple of years ago when I moved in with Dick. We figured he'd be happiest as an only cat, rather than coming in to a house that already had two cats. I definitely had momma-cat guilt about bringing him to my parent's but it all worked out - he's really happy with them, and he makes them both very happy. They spoil him tremendously, and he loves it. (and gets away with all kinds of things)
Happy Birthday, Claude! :)
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
34 years old
April 28, 1970.
Stockton, CA
9:30am (ish)
Young (and I mean YOUNG - only 21 years old) Henry & Barbara Chow welcomed their 2nd daughter into the world.
As the story goes.... all throughout my Mom's pregnancy, they were told that I was going to be a boy. They were never told otherwise, so they never thought of any girl names at all. They did decide on one whopper of a boy's name though: Lance Everett Christopher Michael Chow. Count 'em - 4 names (plus a last name of course). Could you imagine? Imagine the frustration of trying to learn to spell that name in Kindergarten! Why so many names? My parents claim that they couldn't agree on just two. My Dad wanted Lance Everett (such a power name!) and my Mom liked Christopher Michael. So they simply combined the two. I'm actually not certain on the order. It could have Christopher Michael Lance Everett. Or even Michael Christopher Lance Everett. (Mom - which was it?) Anyhow, I'm certain that this was fate's reason for having me pop out as a girl.
So I was born, and without a name for a couple of days. My Mom and I stayed in the hospital for 3 days before we were discharged. For the first two days, I'm pretty sure I was simply "Baby Girl Chow".
My parents did toss around a few names over the first couple of days. The ones I know about are "Sabrina" and "Tabitha". Unfortunately, these were also both names of fictional witches - Sabrina from The Archies, and Tabitha from the TV series "Bewitched".
Ironically, they had already chosen my middle name: Kristin. I'm not sure where that came from, other than they both liked it, but didn't want it as a first name.
On the 3rd and last day at the hospital, my parents had no choice to name me before we were discharged. (no pressure!) Lucky for me, my Mom was watching the TV cooking show "The Galloping Gourmet", and he happened to mention that his wife's name was "Treena" (note the spelling). My mom really liked the name (but not the spelling) and decided that it went really well with my sister's name "Tiffini". Tiffini & Trina. T1 & T2. The Two T's
So there you have it: Trina Kristin Chow born April 28, 1970.
I'd like to thank the galloping gourmet for mentioning his wife's name on that fateful day!
Oh, and Thanks Mom & Dad! :)
Stockton, CA
9:30am (ish)
Young (and I mean YOUNG - only 21 years old) Henry & Barbara Chow welcomed their 2nd daughter into the world.
As the story goes.... all throughout my Mom's pregnancy, they were told that I was going to be a boy. They were never told otherwise, so they never thought of any girl names at all. They did decide on one whopper of a boy's name though: Lance Everett Christopher Michael Chow. Count 'em - 4 names (plus a last name of course). Could you imagine? Imagine the frustration of trying to learn to spell that name in Kindergarten! Why so many names? My parents claim that they couldn't agree on just two. My Dad wanted Lance Everett (such a power name!) and my Mom liked Christopher Michael. So they simply combined the two. I'm actually not certain on the order. It could have Christopher Michael Lance Everett. Or even Michael Christopher Lance Everett. (Mom - which was it?) Anyhow, I'm certain that this was fate's reason for having me pop out as a girl.
So I was born, and without a name for a couple of days. My Mom and I stayed in the hospital for 3 days before we were discharged. For the first two days, I'm pretty sure I was simply "Baby Girl Chow".
My parents did toss around a few names over the first couple of days. The ones I know about are "Sabrina" and "Tabitha". Unfortunately, these were also both names of fictional witches - Sabrina from The Archies, and Tabitha from the TV series "Bewitched".
Ironically, they had already chosen my middle name: Kristin. I'm not sure where that came from, other than they both liked it, but didn't want it as a first name.
On the 3rd and last day at the hospital, my parents had no choice to name me before we were discharged. (no pressure!) Lucky for me, my Mom was watching the TV cooking show "The Galloping Gourmet", and he happened to mention that his wife's name was "Treena" (note the spelling). My mom really liked the name (but not the spelling) and decided that it went really well with my sister's name "Tiffini". Tiffini & Trina. T1 & T2. The Two T's
So there you have it: Trina Kristin Chow born April 28, 1970.
I'd like to thank the galloping gourmet for mentioning his wife's name on that fateful day!
Oh, and Thanks Mom & Dad! :)
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
My MINI is officially a "City Car"
Here's the schedule for this morning:
7:00am: wake up (after not sleeping from 3:30-6:30am)
7:40am: leave house
7:45am: go to bagel shop
7:55am: arrive at San Francisco DMV
8:00am: doors open at DMV
take a number, and wait in line
8:15am: change car registration to reflect new address ($15.00)
8:25am: arrive at San Francisco DPT (Dept. of Parking & Traffic)
wait in line
8:55am: present new car registration with new address to obtain a new neighborhood parking permit! ($27.00/year)
Drive home, affix new parking permit to the bumper of my MINI - MINI is now officially a "city car"! (although she doesn't seem to too excited to have a bright blue metallic sticker on her rear)
Here's what I've learned from this experience:
I had sent in a change of address form when we moved back into my condo (about 6 weeks ago). I called DMV yesterday to ask whether or not they received it (they hadn't) and found out that I had to go into an office in person to request a new registration card with the new address any way (can't be done by mailing in, or over the phone). DMV does offer appointments, but all of the DMV offices in the area were booked through next week. My temporary permit expires at the end of this month, and Dick needs his before he returns to work on Monday. So the trick to going to both DMV and DPT is to go as early as possible. They both open at 8:00am. The last time I went to DPT I waited line for over an hour, so this morning was a breeze!
7:00am: wake up (after not sleeping from 3:30-6:30am)
7:40am: leave house
7:45am: go to bagel shop
7:55am: arrive at San Francisco DMV
8:00am: doors open at DMV
take a number, and wait in line
8:15am: change car registration to reflect new address ($15.00)
8:25am: arrive at San Francisco DPT (Dept. of Parking & Traffic)
wait in line
8:55am: present new car registration with new address to obtain a new neighborhood parking permit! ($27.00/year)
Drive home, affix new parking permit to the bumper of my MINI - MINI is now officially a "city car"! (although she doesn't seem to too excited to have a bright blue metallic sticker on her rear)
Here's what I've learned from this experience:
I had sent in a change of address form when we moved back into my condo (about 6 weeks ago). I called DMV yesterday to ask whether or not they received it (they hadn't) and found out that I had to go into an office in person to request a new registration card with the new address any way (can't be done by mailing in, or over the phone). DMV does offer appointments, but all of the DMV offices in the area were booked through next week. My temporary permit expires at the end of this month, and Dick needs his before he returns to work on Monday. So the trick to going to both DMV and DPT is to go as early as possible. They both open at 8:00am. The last time I went to DPT I waited line for over an hour, so this morning was a breeze!
Monday, April 26, 2004
RAM-alicious
Yay! Dick bought me RAM for my birthday! (that, and a trip to Hawaii, mind you) :)
RAM-arama. RAM-tastic. RAM-tacular!
I'm so excited. How many girls out there (with the exception of Willo, perhaps) would be excited to get RAM for their Birthday? Mac Chics unite!
We got a 512MB module. We tried to get two, but they only had one in stock. (we got it from the new Apple store in Union Square). My Powerbook has two RAM slots, and can hold up to 1GB of RAM. It came with 512MB, but unfortunately, it was divided into two modules of 256MB each. Kind of kooky, if you ask me, but I'm sure that was Apple's way of getting you to buy more RAM. So, in order for me to get the full capacity, I'll have to buy 2 new 512MB modules, and replace both 256MB modules. Anyhow, we installed my new 512MB, in addition to one of the original 256MB - giving us a grand total of 768MB of RAM! I figured I'll be just fine with this amount for a good long time. Perhaps, I'll upgrade to 1 GB in the future when it's feeling sluggish again. I'll assume the Apple store will have another 512MB module in stock by then ;)
You may remember that I bought an extra 512MB module by Viking when I first got my new Powerbook last summer. I think the RAM was bad, though. BAD RAM! Bad, bad RAM! :) My computer started having some glitches within a few months, and when I took out the RAM, it seemed to clear up. Apparently, my Powerbook didn't play well with non-Apple RAM. I'm hoping it takes to the new Apple RAM better. At least this time the new RAM comes with a 1 year warranty.
Banana-RAM-a :)
RAM-arama. RAM-tastic. RAM-tacular!
I'm so excited. How many girls out there (with the exception of Willo, perhaps) would be excited to get RAM for their Birthday? Mac Chics unite!
We got a 512MB module. We tried to get two, but they only had one in stock. (we got it from the new Apple store in Union Square). My Powerbook has two RAM slots, and can hold up to 1GB of RAM. It came with 512MB, but unfortunately, it was divided into two modules of 256MB each. Kind of kooky, if you ask me, but I'm sure that was Apple's way of getting you to buy more RAM. So, in order for me to get the full capacity, I'll have to buy 2 new 512MB modules, and replace both 256MB modules. Anyhow, we installed my new 512MB, in addition to one of the original 256MB - giving us a grand total of 768MB of RAM! I figured I'll be just fine with this amount for a good long time. Perhaps, I'll upgrade to 1 GB in the future when it's feeling sluggish again. I'll assume the Apple store will have another 512MB module in stock by then ;)
You may remember that I bought an extra 512MB module by Viking when I first got my new Powerbook last summer. I think the RAM was bad, though. BAD RAM! Bad, bad RAM! :) My computer started having some glitches within a few months, and when I took out the RAM, it seemed to clear up. Apparently, my Powerbook didn't play well with non-Apple RAM. I'm hoping it takes to the new Apple RAM better. At least this time the new RAM comes with a 1 year warranty.
Banana-RAM-a :)
Prime Rib Fest
Oops - been a few days since I last posted. Sorry about that. Now I'll have to backtrack, and try to jog my memory....
Sunday:
(night) we took my family (Mom, Dad and Sis) and our Real Estate Super Agent, Pete Brannigan out to dinner at The House of Prime Rib to thank them for all of their help with our move. It was an exceptional meal.
My parents and my sister gave us a wonderful house-warming gift: "His" and "Hers" brass plates for us to put on the doors of our individual condos! Brilliant! We were hoping to get these done eventually, so it was a wonderful gift!
It was really hot yesterday - hot for us San Francisco weather wimps, that is. Somewhere in the mid-80s. Oy.
Dick and I were busy bees yesterday - we wired an ethernet cable from the downstairs unit closet (where the media center will live) down to the basement, up the wall of the building, and into my office upstairs (where our high-speed cable modem lives)! Dick ordered 1,000 feet (yep, 1,000!) of ethernet cable, and a cool little kit so we can make our own ethernet cables. We'll do a little more wiring during the week so our media center/Xbox(s) will be all ready to hook up once we make the big move downstairs.
Saturday: I spent the day with my family at my sister's place in Oakland. We painted two walls in her bedroom, and her guest bathroom. It turned out really nice. We also had a great visit from my Grandparents, who came down to do some shopping in Oakland Chinatown! They brought us Dim Sum for lunch, and we all went out to dinner in the evening.
Dick spent part of the day installing our new garbage disposal in the downstairs kitchen. yep, that boyfriend of mine - he's a handy guy! He was very excited about the project. Neither of the condos have ever had a garbage disposal installed before (that can't be too unusual in old houses) so there was a lot of work to be done. Dick did all of the electrical wiring first, used his new Dremmel tool to remove the old drain from the sink, then attached the new unit, and hooked it up to the plumbing. Wow - impressive!
The painters didn't come over the weekend, which was a surprise only because they told us when they left on Friday that they would come on both days. Oh well. I'm not sure what that means as far as our scheduling goes. Hopefully, we'll be able to move in this weekend, but I'm not sure yet....
They did manage to get very far last week, though. They prepped the whole downstairs - it took 3 guys 3 days just to do the prepping! (lots of work to be done) They are painting the ceilings today, and will probably paint the trim tomorrow. I'll keep ya posted.
Friday: Dick and I drove down to Woodside to have lunch, and a meeting with my client at Buck's. It was a yummy lunch, good meeting, and a nice drive down 280.
That's all I can remember off the top of my head. I'm sure that there were other interesting things that must of happened, but they simply escape me at the moment.
Sunday:
(night) we took my family (Mom, Dad and Sis) and our Real Estate Super Agent, Pete Brannigan out to dinner at The House of Prime Rib to thank them for all of their help with our move. It was an exceptional meal.
My parents and my sister gave us a wonderful house-warming gift: "His" and "Hers" brass plates for us to put on the doors of our individual condos! Brilliant! We were hoping to get these done eventually, so it was a wonderful gift!
It was really hot yesterday - hot for us San Francisco weather wimps, that is. Somewhere in the mid-80s. Oy.
Dick and I were busy bees yesterday - we wired an ethernet cable from the downstairs unit closet (where the media center will live) down to the basement, up the wall of the building, and into my office upstairs (where our high-speed cable modem lives)! Dick ordered 1,000 feet (yep, 1,000!) of ethernet cable, and a cool little kit so we can make our own ethernet cables. We'll do a little more wiring during the week so our media center/Xbox(s) will be all ready to hook up once we make the big move downstairs.
Saturday: I spent the day with my family at my sister's place in Oakland. We painted two walls in her bedroom, and her guest bathroom. It turned out really nice. We also had a great visit from my Grandparents, who came down to do some shopping in Oakland Chinatown! They brought us Dim Sum for lunch, and we all went out to dinner in the evening.
Dick spent part of the day installing our new garbage disposal in the downstairs kitchen. yep, that boyfriend of mine - he's a handy guy! He was very excited about the project. Neither of the condos have ever had a garbage disposal installed before (that can't be too unusual in old houses) so there was a lot of work to be done. Dick did all of the electrical wiring first, used his new Dremmel tool to remove the old drain from the sink, then attached the new unit, and hooked it up to the plumbing. Wow - impressive!
The painters didn't come over the weekend, which was a surprise only because they told us when they left on Friday that they would come on both days. Oh well. I'm not sure what that means as far as our scheduling goes. Hopefully, we'll be able to move in this weekend, but I'm not sure yet....
They did manage to get very far last week, though. They prepped the whole downstairs - it took 3 guys 3 days just to do the prepping! (lots of work to be done) They are painting the ceilings today, and will probably paint the trim tomorrow. I'll keep ya posted.
Friday: Dick and I drove down to Woodside to have lunch, and a meeting with my client at Buck's. It was a yummy lunch, good meeting, and a nice drive down 280.
That's all I can remember off the top of my head. I'm sure that there were other interesting things that must of happened, but they simply escape me at the moment.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Phase 3, Part 3 has begun...
... as the guy flying the X-wing down the trench of the Death Star said, "Almost there....." (okay, how many people understood what I just said?) ;)
Yep, we're in the final phase - The painters started today. They're figuring 10-14 days, after which, we GET TO MOVE IN!!!!
Recap:
Our general contractor finished last Thursday. his work is just amazing. He put up crown molding, and picture hanging molding, built the frame around a couple of windows so they would match the others, knocked out a "box" from the kitchen wall which had an old chimney in it, and (most importantly) built the doorway connecting our two units. It's just gorgeous.
We also had a couple of electricians in for a couple of days last week. They installed some new circuits, outlets, and light fixtures.
The floor guys came in last Friday, and worked through the weekend. They refinished the softwood floors downstairs back to their natural glory. The downstairs unit had wall-to-wall carpeting for at least a couple of decades, so it's really nice to see the softwood floors again. We also had the floor guys lay pergo in the kitchen and dinette room - covering over the old linoleum.
The last coat of varnish on the wood floors dried yesterday, and that brings us to today! :)
It's pretty funny - this is the third time we've hired this crew of painters. They were here painting my upstairs unit in early February, then they went directly over to Dick's house to paint the interior and basement (mid-March). Now they're back here, painting the interior of the downstairs unit. Doesn't it seem like we should qualify for frequent-painter points?
There's a lot of work to do, but we're really hoping that we'll be able to move in by the end of next week, or the weekend.
Yep, we're in the final phase - The painters started today. They're figuring 10-14 days, after which, we GET TO MOVE IN!!!!
Recap:
Our general contractor finished last Thursday. his work is just amazing. He put up crown molding, and picture hanging molding, built the frame around a couple of windows so they would match the others, knocked out a "box" from the kitchen wall which had an old chimney in it, and (most importantly) built the doorway connecting our two units. It's just gorgeous.
We also had a couple of electricians in for a couple of days last week. They installed some new circuits, outlets, and light fixtures.
The floor guys came in last Friday, and worked through the weekend. They refinished the softwood floors downstairs back to their natural glory. The downstairs unit had wall-to-wall carpeting for at least a couple of decades, so it's really nice to see the softwood floors again. We also had the floor guys lay pergo in the kitchen and dinette room - covering over the old linoleum.
The last coat of varnish on the wood floors dried yesterday, and that brings us to today! :)
It's pretty funny - this is the third time we've hired this crew of painters. They were here painting my upstairs unit in early February, then they went directly over to Dick's house to paint the interior and basement (mid-March). Now they're back here, painting the interior of the downstairs unit. Doesn't it seem like we should qualify for frequent-painter points?
There's a lot of work to do, but we're really hoping that we'll be able to move in by the end of next week, or the weekend.
Monday, April 19, 2004
WGI Hangover
Well...... that was fun!
Got back late last night from a fun-filled WGI weekend.
Truth be told, I didn't go to the show until Saturday afternoon/evening (Scholastic & World Finals). 30 color guards - that's just right! Personal highlights included Arcadia, Avon, Logan, Light Brigade, Aimachi and Fantasia.
It was a lot of fun. This was my second year going purely as a spectator - no member/instructor responsibilities. Just go, sit, socialize and enjoy. Not bad.
As usual, we went to headquarters after the show. I caught up with a lot of old friends. Some friends were definitely missed, though, since it was out west, and not in Ohio this year. We were at headquarters until 3:30am - a crazy tradition that Tammy and I started years back (although I didn't "close" headquaters this year, Tammy) . It's a good thing this only happens once a year! I'm exhausted - this old girl is too used to going to bed at a "reasonable time" and I'm simply not cut out for it any more!
I've posted pictures:
http://www.trinachow.com/wgi_2004
Thanks to my Mom for being the photographer this year!
Congrats to Mykail & Fantasia - you were brilliant!
Got back late last night from a fun-filled WGI weekend.
Truth be told, I didn't go to the show until Saturday afternoon/evening (Scholastic & World Finals). 30 color guards - that's just right! Personal highlights included Arcadia, Avon, Logan, Light Brigade, Aimachi and Fantasia.
It was a lot of fun. This was my second year going purely as a spectator - no member/instructor responsibilities. Just go, sit, socialize and enjoy. Not bad.
As usual, we went to headquarters after the show. I caught up with a lot of old friends. Some friends were definitely missed, though, since it was out west, and not in Ohio this year. We were at headquarters until 3:30am - a crazy tradition that Tammy and I started years back (although I didn't "close" headquaters this year, Tammy) . It's a good thing this only happens once a year! I'm exhausted - this old girl is too used to going to bed at a "reasonable time" and I'm simply not cut out for it any more!
I've posted pictures:
http://www.trinachow.com/wgi_2004
Thanks to my Mom for being the photographer this year!
Congrats to Mykail & Fantasia - you were brilliant!
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Off to San Diego!
I'm going to San Diego for a long weekend - time for my annual trek to WGI (aka Winter Guard International). I'm pretty happy about going to San Diego. WGI is usually held in Dayton, OH, and I've been going (almost) every year since 1986. I think I've only missed two.
It's really a social event for me these days - I've been out of the competitive aspect of it for almost 10 years now. It's a chance for me to see old friends from far and wide. It's funny that we usually all meet in Dayton, OH of all places.
Don't know about my crazy former-life in the world of pageantry? here's an old link that I used to have up on my site that explains what I used to do. It's old. I wrote it years ago. I don't really remember what I wrote, but I think it has some information in it :)
Okay, I'm off! have a great weekend!
It's really a social event for me these days - I've been out of the competitive aspect of it for almost 10 years now. It's a chance for me to see old friends from far and wide. It's funny that we usually all meet in Dayton, OH of all places.
Don't know about my crazy former-life in the world of pageantry? here's an old link that I used to have up on my site that explains what I used to do. It's old. I wrote it years ago. I don't really remember what I wrote, but I think it has some information in it :)
Okay, I'm off! have a great weekend!
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Let there be light!
This just in: (literally)
Our electrician just installed our beautiful alabaster light fixture in our stairwell! You may remember this light fixture from Dick's old house. We brought all of the alabaster fixtures with us to our new home. The stairwell didn't have a lamp in it before, so we're very happy to have it here.
As promised from yesterday, here's a picture of the hole in the wall! It's at the bottom of the stairwell (from my upstairs unit) leading into the hallway of Dick's downstairs unit. The contractor is working on the frame now, so I'll have more pictures soon.
Our electrician just installed our beautiful alabaster light fixture in our stairwell! You may remember this light fixture from Dick's old house. We brought all of the alabaster fixtures with us to our new home. The stairwell didn't have a lamp in it before, so we're very happy to have it here.
As promised from yesterday, here's a picture of the hole in the wall! It's at the bottom of the stairwell (from my upstairs unit) leading into the hallway of Dick's downstairs unit. The contractor is working on the frame now, so I'll have more pictures soon.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
GoLive Quick Fix
I love the web. I've been having trouble with Adobe GoLive - after a few minutes of use, the paste command stops working! it's really a drag. I usually have the quit, and relaunch the app, which is terribly inconvenient, and also a waste of time. It started happening around the time that I installed OS 10.3.3 - so I figured it was a Panther issue, and that they'd come out with a patch...
No patch on adobe.com. no mention of the bug.
I finally figured out that I should do a search in some GoLive forums, and lo and behold - dozens of people with the same complaint.
Turns out there's a quick, temporary fix. It's not a real fix, mind you, but it certainly will do until they fix the bug. So, I can't paste using keystrokes, or from the Edit menu. However, believe it or not, I can use the paste feature from bringing up the contextual menu (right click on mouse). Crazy.
Dick was quite astounded when I told him about the bug. Software guru that he is, he says it should be a really simple patch for adobe since the paste command is actually working in the contextual menu.
Oh well. Until then, I'm happy to have this newfound knowledge. I'm working on a huge project today, that requires a ton of copy & pasting.
No patch on adobe.com. no mention of the bug.
I finally figured out that I should do a search in some GoLive forums, and lo and behold - dozens of people with the same complaint.
Turns out there's a quick, temporary fix. It's not a real fix, mind you, but it certainly will do until they fix the bug. So, I can't paste using keystrokes, or from the Edit menu. However, believe it or not, I can use the paste feature from bringing up the contextual menu (right click on mouse). Crazy.
Dick was quite astounded when I told him about the bug. Software guru that he is, he says it should be a really simple patch for adobe since the paste command is actually working in the contextual menu.
Oh well. Until then, I'm happy to have this newfound knowledge. I'm working on a huge project today, that requires a ton of copy & pasting.
TOO MUCH NOISE!
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. BUZZZZZZZZZ. BUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!
BAM, BAM, BAM. BAM.
Buuuuuzzzzzzzzzzz. Buuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzz.
BANG. BANG! BAM!
That's what it sounds like over here today....
we have 4 contractors working on the downstairs unit right now. 2 electricians, and 2 general contractors. They knocked down the hole in the wall between our two units today. I'll post picts in a bit.
It's all very exciting, and cool, but it's also making for a noisy work environment!
BAM, BAM, BAM. BAM.
Buuuuuzzzzzzzzzzz. Buuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzz.
BANG. BANG! BAM!
That's what it sounds like over here today....
we have 4 contractors working on the downstairs unit right now. 2 electricians, and 2 general contractors. They knocked down the hole in the wall between our two units today. I'll post picts in a bit.
It's all very exciting, and cool, but it's also making for a noisy work environment!
Monday, April 12, 2004
It's Official...
Dick's House closed this afternoon - it's officially SOLD!!!
The entire thing went so smoothly.
I'm still shocked and amazed at the whole thing.
The entire thing went so smoothly.
I'm still shocked and amazed at the whole thing.
MINI Ladies do Lunch
I had a lovely lunch date today with 2 other women who I've met on the mini2.com forum.
One of the women was out on a business trip (from Texas). The other woman lives and works in Palo Alto, so we were able to meet for lunch along the Peninsula.
Our cars were all built around the same time, and we kept each other company, and got to know each other in the "Delivery, Shipping & Order Tracking" thread. Since then, we've started a "New Owner's Thread" so we can share stories of our adventures with our new cars.
It's wacky, I know, but nice to have a support-group, don't you think?
Here's a group photo to share.
(left to right: Brodiea (the Green MINI), "Mini Momma", "Amrov", Trina and MINI Driver (Red MINI)
One of the women was out on a business trip (from Texas). The other woman lives and works in Palo Alto, so we were able to meet for lunch along the Peninsula.
Our cars were all built around the same time, and we kept each other company, and got to know each other in the "Delivery, Shipping & Order Tracking" thread. Since then, we've started a "New Owner's Thread" so we can share stories of our adventures with our new cars.
It's wacky, I know, but nice to have a support-group, don't you think?
Here's a group photo to share.
(left to right: Brodiea (the Green MINI), "Mini Momma", "Amrov", Trina and MINI Driver (Red MINI)
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Goodbye to the Big Yellow House
Dick and I just went to the 23rd Street House to say goodbye to it.
Yep - it closes tomorrow afternoon. Can you believe it was only a 14 day close? So quick!
It's a beautiful house. It was good to us, and we were good to it. We had so much work done to it during the four years that Dick owned it. I like to think that we took good care of it. We were looking through some photos yesterday of the house from when Dick first bought it. The before and after photos are pretty dramatic.
anyway, true to typical Trina-fashion, I got a little sentimental during our final walk-through. We had a lot of good times there. but we're very happy now in the new place, and we're still having a lot of work done here. (downstairs). We should be done in 3-4 more weeks, then we'll finally be able to spread out and unpack all of our things.
Bye, house! Thanks for all of the good times!
oh, and Happy Easter, too!
Yep - it closes tomorrow afternoon. Can you believe it was only a 14 day close? So quick!
It's a beautiful house. It was good to us, and we were good to it. We had so much work done to it during the four years that Dick owned it. I like to think that we took good care of it. We were looking through some photos yesterday of the house from when Dick first bought it. The before and after photos are pretty dramatic.
anyway, true to typical Trina-fashion, I got a little sentimental during our final walk-through. We had a lot of good times there. but we're very happy now in the new place, and we're still having a lot of work done here. (downstairs). We should be done in 3-4 more weeks, then we'll finally be able to spread out and unpack all of our things.
Bye, house! Thanks for all of the good times!
oh, and Happy Easter, too!
Friday, April 09, 2004
Home Sweet Home
We're back!
We've actually been back since early Wednesday morning. Our flight landed at 5:00am.
I know I didn't do a very good job of journaling/blogging about our vacation during the time we were actually there, but hey - I had things to do! (like laying out by the pool, and eating the best sashimi of my life!)
So, let's work our way backwards, and I'll write whatever comes to mind.....
I love flying the red-eye flight. Okay, it certainly helped that we used our miles to upgrade to First Class. The best part of first class is the fact that you're never without a full glass of water. Okay, there are the other perks of better food, service, shorter bathroom lines, and more legroom, too... ;) I think I found the perfect recipe for a good flight - 1 Dramamine Pill, taken with one glass of red wine. Yep, that did it for me. I was out like a light within 30 minutes of take-off. Best part was waking up (on my own) within a minute or so of hearing the captain announce that we would be landing in about 10 minutes. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh..... SFO is pretty quiet at 5:30am. We retrieved our baggage, and caught a cab very easily. The kitties were very happy that we're home.
More vacation news: not really too much to report. I confess that I spent most of my time sitting by the (fabulous) pool, sipping on fruity smoothies, reading really bad magazines. (Turns out that this my my vacation vice) It was wonderfully relaxing. We managed to snorkel (sea turtles) and took a kiyak out, too.
Food: Food is a very important component of a good vacation, no? The food at the resort was absolutely FABULOUS.Yum. I seriously ordered sashimi almost every single day that we were there. My Hawaiian vacation mantra was "must have fish at least once a day". We also had Mahi Mahi, Ohno, Lobster tails, sushi, and some other fish that I can't remember the names - Moi, I think was another. All were wonderful.
The case of the missing waiter: Although the resort and food were outstanding, we were a bit confused by the service at the restaurants... One night as we were dining outside, our waiter simply... Disappeared! Yep, he brought us drinks, took our order, and we never saw him again! Another person brought our food (was was great), but we were never served our wine. We ate. Our table was cleared. We waited..... and waited...but alas, where did our waiter go? After another 20 minutes or so, (no check-in by anyone, no dessert menu offered, and no check!) we approached the host. he apologized profusely, checked in the back, didn't really offer any explanations, but gave us a nice discount on the check. We were honestly concerned that perhaps something had happened to our waiter. When we asked if he had left the premises, the host (who seemed confused by the whole matter as well) replied, "no, he's right over there". Weird. it's hard to explain, and I don't think I'm doing a very good job, but trust me - it was weird!
That's actually the best story I have. The rest of it really did consist of eating, and sleeping. It was really wonderful.
I do have to say though - it was really nice returning home!
I'll post some more pictures in the next day or so. We caught some gorgeous sunsets.
Okay, time to go to bed now. The movers are coming to Dick's house early in the morning to get the rest of our furniture out!
We've actually been back since early Wednesday morning. Our flight landed at 5:00am.
I know I didn't do a very good job of journaling/blogging about our vacation during the time we were actually there, but hey - I had things to do! (like laying out by the pool, and eating the best sashimi of my life!)
So, let's work our way backwards, and I'll write whatever comes to mind.....
I love flying the red-eye flight. Okay, it certainly helped that we used our miles to upgrade to First Class. The best part of first class is the fact that you're never without a full glass of water. Okay, there are the other perks of better food, service, shorter bathroom lines, and more legroom, too... ;) I think I found the perfect recipe for a good flight - 1 Dramamine Pill, taken with one glass of red wine. Yep, that did it for me. I was out like a light within 30 minutes of take-off. Best part was waking up (on my own) within a minute or so of hearing the captain announce that we would be landing in about 10 minutes. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh..... SFO is pretty quiet at 5:30am. We retrieved our baggage, and caught a cab very easily. The kitties were very happy that we're home.
More vacation news: not really too much to report. I confess that I spent most of my time sitting by the (fabulous) pool, sipping on fruity smoothies, reading really bad magazines. (Turns out that this my my vacation vice) It was wonderfully relaxing. We managed to snorkel (sea turtles) and took a kiyak out, too.
Food: Food is a very important component of a good vacation, no? The food at the resort was absolutely FABULOUS.Yum. I seriously ordered sashimi almost every single day that we were there. My Hawaiian vacation mantra was "must have fish at least once a day". We also had Mahi Mahi, Ohno, Lobster tails, sushi, and some other fish that I can't remember the names - Moi, I think was another. All were wonderful.
The case of the missing waiter: Although the resort and food were outstanding, we were a bit confused by the service at the restaurants... One night as we were dining outside, our waiter simply... Disappeared! Yep, he brought us drinks, took our order, and we never saw him again! Another person brought our food (was was great), but we were never served our wine. We ate. Our table was cleared. We waited..... and waited...but alas, where did our waiter go? After another 20 minutes or so, (no check-in by anyone, no dessert menu offered, and no check!) we approached the host. he apologized profusely, checked in the back, didn't really offer any explanations, but gave us a nice discount on the check. We were honestly concerned that perhaps something had happened to our waiter. When we asked if he had left the premises, the host (who seemed confused by the whole matter as well) replied, "no, he's right over there". Weird. it's hard to explain, and I don't think I'm doing a very good job, but trust me - it was weird!
That's actually the best story I have. The rest of it really did consist of eating, and sleeping. It was really wonderful.
I do have to say though - it was really nice returning home!
I'll post some more pictures in the next day or so. We caught some gorgeous sunsets.
Okay, time to go to bed now. The movers are coming to Dick's house early in the morning to get the rest of our furniture out!
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Life on Mars
We spent the day on Mars yesterday.
Okay, it wasn't really Mars, but it really looked like it. We drove out to the Hawaiian Volcanos National Park. It was spectacular! Neither of us had been there before.
We drove around, and did a little bit of walking within the park for about 4 hours. It was unlike anything we've ever seen before - miles, and miles of lava rock formations. The last major lava eruption lasted for a day in 1982.
Anyway, here are some pictures of us near the crater, and on Mars.
Okay, it wasn't really Mars, but it really looked like it. We drove out to the Hawaiian Volcanos National Park. It was spectacular! Neither of us had been there before.
We drove around, and did a little bit of walking within the park for about 4 hours. It was unlike anything we've ever seen before - miles, and miles of lava rock formations. The last major lava eruption lasted for a day in 1982.
Anyway, here are some pictures of us near the crater, and on Mars.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Day 2 in Paradise
what a great day. It's really beautiful here. We had a nice breakfast this morning (belgium waffles w/fresh strawberries) then laid out by the pool for a few hours. (yes, we were quite diligent about using sunscreen)
Here's our view from our "lanai":
We drove around a bit during the afternoon - found a great pub for a late lunch (Hawaiian pulled pork sandwich!)then found our way to the local Costco! Yes, Costco - you read it right. Can you believe I got Dick to agree to go to Costco? We were looking for some little rubber slip-on shoes that we can wear into the ocean. The Costcos in Hawaii carry some different merchandise than the ones on the mainland - obviously, Hawaiian oriented things like Aloha Shirts, beach wear, etc., We didn't find what we were looking for, but I did have a MINI sighting (2 actually). I couldn't resist, and simply *had* to take a picture.
thought you might enjoy that. ;)
Here's our view from our "lanai":
We drove around a bit during the afternoon - found a great pub for a late lunch (Hawaiian pulled pork sandwich!)then found our way to the local Costco! Yes, Costco - you read it right. Can you believe I got Dick to agree to go to Costco? We were looking for some little rubber slip-on shoes that we can wear into the ocean. The Costcos in Hawaii carry some different merchandise than the ones on the mainland - obviously, Hawaiian oriented things like Aloha Shirts, beach wear, etc., We didn't find what we were looking for, but I did have a MINI sighting (2 actually). I couldn't resist, and simply *had* to take a picture.
thought you might enjoy that. ;)