New Shoe Day!

My parents, my Sis and I all went to Stockton today to visit my Grandma. When we were out at lunch, we noticed a new shoe store, and thought it would be a good time to buy some new shoes for Grandma.

Well, this store loved our family! We walked out with a total of 6 pairs of shoes! 3 pairs for Grandma, hiking sandals for each of my parents, and new walking shoes for me! :)

PS: Yikes! I just realized what a horrible unattractive picture this is of me. I'm going to blame it on the glowing ray of light shining in-between my thighs. Not pretty. ;)

One, 21 Screens

Yay!! I have window screens! (21, to be exact!)

You may know that I have an aversion to bugs and insects. Partly because of the creepy-crawly factor, but also because I tend to be allergic to any and all insect bites. If I'm in the vicinity of an insect that bites, it will find me, and I will be swelled-up and itchy for several days.

Case in point:
The Case of the Mysterious Bug Bite and Another Mysterious Bite (or, is it?)

Because of my aversion to all things buggy, I am a big fan of window screens.

Our new house didn't come with any screens, so I placed an order with a local company to have 21 of them custom made.

The screens were just installed this morning, and boy am I happy! I'm also happy that we're finally getting decent weather, so I am able to open up the windows and let the fresh air into the house! Yay!


21 Screens

The screens are all really well made, and fit each window very well. I was a little concerned that they might take away a bit from the clarity of the view from the window, but it's not a problem at all. The screens don't obstruct the view at all.



I ordered the screens from Lucas Gilmans Kitchen & Baths in San Francisco. Lucas did a great job both with the quality of the construction of each screen, as well as the installation. He said this is the largest order he's completed so far.

"Last Night on Earth"

I put a link to this video on my Facebook page today, but decided that I wanted to share it on my blog as well.



Here's Billie Joe Armstrong (my Rock and Roll Boyfriend, and lead singer/songwriter for Green Day for those of you in the Dark) and his dog, Rocky, jamming together to the song "Last Night on Earth". This song happens to be a favorite of mine, ever since Billie Joe serenaded me in Sacramento in August, 2009. ;)

Upgrade!!

Nice! We used some miles to upgrade from economy plus to business last week for our flight home from IAD to SFO. As we were boarding, they announced that our plane had been changed from a 757 to a 767 PS.

Here are our seats. Sweet!

The chairs lay all the way flat, and we have large 15" monitors to watch movies on.

It'll be about a 6 hour flight, so this is going to be a nice, long, comfy flight. :)

And yes, for those of you keeping track, this was one of those flights that Dick spent an hour last month deciding which flight (plane/schedule/seats/miles) to book. This one certainly worked out for the best, and I will no longer tease him about how long he takes to decide on a flight. ;)

Shooting Hoops with Uncle Dick

Whenever we come to Chapel Hill to visit family, Dick always finds time to shoot some hoops with Peter & Grace.

Sun :)

We're really enjoying the gorgeous weather we're having here in Chapel Hill.

Not missing all of the crazy rain and winds back home...

Father & Son

Richard & Dick. Or, "Big Dick" & "Little Dick". ;) (that's an old family joke - I can not take credit for it!)

We're in Chapel Hill for a few days, visiting Dick's family, and for March Madness.

My parents are here, too! It's been 6.5 years since they last came out.

Thanks to Pete & Richard for watching our house and taking care of our kitty. :)

Rude Awakening

Fire alarm at The Carolina Inn where we're staying. Heck of a way to wake up!! Just got the "all clear".

End of an Era... so long to "His 'n Hers Condos"

Yesterday afternoon, I took one last visit to "His 'n Hers Condos" before they close for sale today. I dropped off my keys and left a Welcome note for the new owners.

It was a mixture of emotions for me: as happy as I am that we sold both condos and closed in a fairly short amount of time, I was also very sad to say goodbye after 12 wonderful years in our home.



Farewell to "His 'n Hers Condos". What a wonderful home you were to me, and to us for the last 12 and 7 years. Many, many years of joyful memories. Thank you.

"So long, and thanks for all the fish!" :)

Computer History Museum

I went on a field trip with my parents today to the Computer History Museum. They have a new exhibition which recently opened called Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing.

It was fantastic - very interesting, well displayed, and HUGE! We easily spent 4-5 hours there. They also have a nice little cafe, so we had lunch there.

If you're in the Bay Area, I highly recommend visiting the museum. Ironically, Dick works within a mile of it, and we've never been!


My parents with The Babbage Difference Engine No.2


Various examples of optical storage


The VAX 11/780 Computer - this was the computer that I learned BASIC on way back in 1985!


History of the Mac


Dick's first computer - the TRS 80 Personal Computer

Free $$ from PG&E

Well, this was unexpected! We each just received a $25 prepaid Master Card from PG&E.

The card came with a letter from PG&E:

Dear valued PG&E Customer:
This past December, you made an important difference for your neighbors in San Francisco and San Mateo counties by saving natural gas. Enclosed is our way of saying thanks for all the help: A Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card from Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

We asked you to conserve natural gas during a period when some gas pipelines on the Peninsula were unavailable or undergoing repair. Thousands of people like you stepped up by doing simple things to reduce their natural gas use. It was a great example of folks across San Francisco and San Mateo counties coming together to help our community.

NICE!

Truth be told, I don't really remember this request, and I'll also confess that the main reason why we used less natural gas during the month of December was because we moved on the 21st, and the condos weren't being used for 10 days.

Regardless, what a nice surprise!

$50 is a lot of money!
(Two condos + Two utility bills $25.00 each = $50)

Thank you, PG&E!

"We Were Here"

I just came back from seeing the documentary We Were Here at the Castro Theater.

Here is the description from the film's website:

We Were Here is the first documentary to take a deep and reflective look back at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco. It explores how the City’s inhabitants were affected by, and how they responded to, that calamitous epidemic.

Though a San Francisco-based story, We Were Here extends beyond San Francisco and beyond AIDS itself. It speaks to our capacity as individuals to rise to the occasion, and to the incredible power of a community coming together with love, compassion, and determination.

What a powerful, important film. I'm so happy that I had a chance to see it, and especially grateful to have seen it at the Castro Theater. My friend, Mike and I went to the 2:00 matinee showing today - the only matinee during the week. We met at the theater 30 minutes before showtime, and I'm so glad we did, as it turned out to be quite a packed house (at 2:30pm on a Wednesday afternoon!).

One of my favorite parts of our experience today was learning that an entire class from a high school in the East Bay was there seeing it with us today. One of the purposes of this documentary is to educate the younger generations about the history of HIV/AIDS, as most young people today (thankfully) did not have to live through the epidemic. They may not realize how devastating it was, and even more importantly, do not realize that the threat of HIV/AIDS is still a large problem today and that a terribly large number of people are still being infected. We must still remain informed, educated and proactive in the fight against AIDS.

Another interested part of today's experience was having the opportunity to participate in the Q&A with the film's directors after the show.

We Were Here will be showing at the Castro Theater only through tomorrow, Thursday, March 3rd. The director said it will be showing at various Film Festivals throughout the country over the next several months. If you have an opportunity to see this film, I highly recommend it.

WE WERE HERE (trailer) from David Weissman on Vimeo.

Here's a great review from sfgate.com:
'We Were Here' review: AIDS' horrific early years.

My Super-Cute Gardening Team!

My parents came by today for lunch (thanks for bringing the yummy dim sum!) and also to pick up some stuff from my house. We had noticed that the lawn in my backyard was getting a little long, so my Dad offered to show me how to use the lawnmower that he had given me a couple of months ago. Our new house has grass in the backyard (FYI: grass doesn't actually grow well in SF, so we'll do our best to keep it going, but I'm not holding my breath...). I've never had grass before, so I've never had a lawnmower. Lucky for me, my Dad has a very cool electric lawnmower which he no longer needs, since he put in artificial grass a couple of years ago.

Anyhow, my Dad showed me how to use it and helped me mow the lawn. It looks great! Both of my parents also helped me weed and clean up the rest of the yard. It usually takes me about 3 hours to weed, and it was SO much faster with the three of us, plus my parents are both so much more knowledgeable than I am about this stuff.

They both offered to plan on coming over at least once a month to help me take care of the backyard. I'm so lucky and grateful for the help!

Thanks, Mom and Dad! I really enjoyed working out in the backyard with you today. :)