30
August
2009
Emily is the first out of all of my high school friends (well, at least my close high school friends) to finally bite the bullet and tie the knot (sorry for two cliches in a row! I’m tired!).
The occasion was celebrated in the woods at Sly Park Lake. It was actually quite nice. I was nervous about attending, as I knew it was going to be like a mini high school reunion, but I ended up having loads of fun (some might say “too” much fun). The food and drinks were great, and it was nice catching up with some old friends.
The removal of the garter:
Awww, how sweet. (Notice the groomsmen in the background? Classy t-shirts, right?)
That’s cake on their faces, in case you were wondering… or concerned…
The bride and me:
Double Trouble Tara(h)
Friends since we were in the womb:
We had all thrown a few back by this point… why am I the only that looks like it?
I have lots of other pictures, but I clearly shouldn’t have been trusted with the camera! I also can’t believe that I didn’t get a picture of Kyle and me!
Posted: Summer Stuff
27
August
2009
What a lovely day. I got to check off most of my D of T “to-dos”:
- Sleeping in
- Watching meaningless movies, preferably of the comedic sort I ended up watching disc 1 and 2 of “The History of Britain.” While the series is neither meaningless, nor very comedic (although the narrator does have a slightly comedic ironic tone), it was loads of fun to watch! And there are still three more discs!!!
- Possibly taking a trip to Target and/or IKEA (not sure about IKEA, as that would require me to venture outside of Davis). I ended up going to Target and World Market. As I expected, I didn’t want to drive to West Sac. Maybe I’ll go there on my way to dinner tomorrow night.
- Napping I actually did get a quick 30 minute nap in. It was short but it did the trick!
- Possibly seeing (500) Days of Summer – I didn’t end up going to this because I was having too much fun watching “The History of Britain.”
- Not cleaning I ended up cleaning the house last night so I wouldn’t feel tempted to do it today.
- Not working on my thesis I won’t lie and say that I didn’t feel guilty about this one.
I also got to look through the catalogues that have been piling up on the kitchen table. It was glorious.
Poor Kyle had to fast today in preparation for a test tomorrow. I was starting to worry that he was going to try to start munching on my arm. Luckily his test is early in the morning, so we can go out to breakfast afterward.
Posted: Summer Stuff
26
August
2009
I’m officially declaring tomorrow the Day of Tara (D of T). My boss has graciously allowed me to take the day off – I think I would have burst into tears if she hadn’t. I’m not going to use this space to complain, so let’s just put it this way: I need a “me” day in order to maintain my sanity. My plans so far for the D of T include:
- Sleeping in
- Watching meaningless movies, preferably of the comedic sort
- Possibly taking a trip to Target and/or IKEA (not sure about IKEA, as that would require me to venture outside of Davis)
- Napping
- Possibly seeing (500) Days of Summer
- Not cleaning
- Not working on my thesis
Sounds heavenly, no?
I’m hoping the D of T will make me feel refreshed enough to take on my last semester of grad school and finish strong!
Here’s what the rest of my week looks like:
Friday – Finish up prospectus and go out to dinner with some lovely ladies.
Saturday – Go to my friend’s wedding.
Sunday- Relax as much as possible!
Monday marks the first day of my last semester of grad school (hopefully)!
Posted: Summer Stuff
23
August
2009
I desperately wanted to get out of the house (and Davis), but I didn’t feel like spending a lot of money or doing a lot of planning. For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to figure out what we should do, if anything at all. There’s been talk of going to Dillon Beach, the Academy of Sciences, the Street Food Festival in San Francisco, but no decisions were actually made. You see, I’m pretty burned out from doing research all summer, and school starts next Monday, so I’ve been feeling pretty bummed. I didn’t know if I should just stay home and relax, or get out and do something. Well, yesterday morning I decided that all I really wanted to do was go to the beach. So, to the beach we went! We got a pretty late start, so the first thing we did was fuel up on coffee.
I thought it would be fun to stop to eat lunch in Berkeley, so I googled “sandwich Berkeley” and found a place called Cafe Fanny. It had really good reviews, so we went there. I got a delicious salad with baked goat cheese, and Kyle got an open faced egg salad sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes. It was a great little place!
The traffic the whole was there was horrific. We didn’t understand why it was so bad on a Saturday afternoon. That is, until I saw a car with “Raiders Suck” and “Niners Rule” scrawled over its window. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I googled “49ers schedule” and found out that there was a game that night. It was pretty bad, but once we got over the bridge, it was much better. We finally made it to Ocean Beach, and I ran like crazy to the water. I had been DYING to do this:
Ahhhh, dipping my feet in the ocean felt so nice. I definitely needed that connection. Kyle’s serial killer-like tendency to not get dirty prevented him from playing in the water with me. I was bummed, but I didn’t care. The water felt so nice. It was a pretty cool day, but for some reason the water felt warm (Kyle said “that’s hypothermia talking”).
I splashed around for awhile, and walked along the coast. It felt like I was in heaven.
I even ran into one of these guys:
After I had my fill, we realized that we could still make it to the Street Food Festival before it closed. We got in a line and patiently waited for our turn – isn’t that what most people do? Well, not the cracked out couple that cut in front of us. They were so loud and obnoxious, but we didn’t want to start anything, so we just said “whatever” and kept waiting. Well, once the couple in front of us got to the front of the line, the cashier said that they were closing! So the couple that cut in front of us got to eat, and we didn’t. HA! Can you believe it? Oh well. We knew we were late, so it wasn’t the end of the world, but I couldn’t believe it. We ended up going to Herbivore, an all vegan restaurant that we’ve been to several times. We had a great meal and then headed back home.
All in all it was a nice little getaway. Every time we go to the Bay Area, we think about how much we would love to live there. Kyle is trying to convince me that I would like Mountain View, but I’m not sold, mostly because of its proximity to Sunnyvale (yuck!). In an attempt to persuade me, Kyle is going to take me there on a Friday. He’ll work from the Mountain View office that day, while I work on my thesis. We’ll stay the night and hang out there on Saturday. I’m glad I’ll finally get to see it for myself, because Kyle’s rhetoric is a little ridiculous. He knows I like Berkeley, so when I asked what Mountain View was like, he said, “It’s like Berkeley only way cleaner like Davis.” HAHAHA! We shall see…
Posted: Summer Stuff, Vacation
20
August
2009
I wrote this post right after my birthday, but for some reason I never posted it. Better late than never!!!
Oh lord, I had way too much fun on my birthday. I think we all did! Grammy would be proud!
Kyle and I started off the morning by going to my favorite bagel place in Davis. I got a sesame bagel with jalapeño cream cheese and tomatoes. My favorite! Then we went home and got ready to go. Ashley and Devin met us at our place, and then we all drove together to the BART station in Concord. Once we arrived in San Francisco, we checked into our hotel and got situated. The hotel was very nice, especially considering the price (I forgot my camera, so no pics of the room). Apparently there was a mix up with Ashley and Devin’s room, because when they opened the door, the room was still occupied! There was no one in there, but I guess there were shopping bags everywhere! In an attempt to make amends, the receptionist upgraded Ashley and Devin’s room. Although, I feel more sorry for the people whose room was invaded! I would be so pissed if I knew that someone came in my room, especially if it was full of shopping bags!
We grabbed a snack on our way to the show (I had a piece of mushroom pizza – as Ashley noted, it tasted like cafeteria pizza – barf). Since the theater wasn’t far, and we had some time before the show was going to start, we decided to walk over there. On the walk we saw Union Square, an Iranian protest, and some homeless guy’s ass cheeks. I love San Francisco! The theater was a tiny hole in the wall that served cheap beer and wine. The wine was so bad that I had to drink it like a shot (now that I think of it, I didn’t have to drink it!). The show started out with The Golden Girls’ famous opening song. The whole audience started clapping and singing along – it was great. I instantly remembered how my Grandma and I used to always watch the show. I almost got a little teary-eyed. The show was great. I was laughing and smiling the whole time.
After the show, we took a cab and headed over to a tapas restaurant I found on Yelp. It was a great find – all of the food was delicious. Kyle and I got the polenta fries with dipping sauce, mac sticks (macaroni and cheese…DEEP FRIED and cut into little finger food-sized pieces) also with a dipping sauce, some sort of cheese/bread concoction, and another eggplant concoction (I was full by the time the eggplant came out, so I did not partake). The food was SO. GOOD. For dessert (I always save room for dessert) we shared a banana split with dolce de leche ice cream and DEEP FRIED bananas. It was heaven. I also had a mojito and Kyle had a sangria (or two?) that was sweetened with honey!
We took a cab back to the hotel after dinner and hung out in our room for the rest of the night. It was so much fun!
Here’s me modeling the eye mask Ash and Devin got me… after (quite) a few drinks…:
Isn’t it cute? Ash found it on Etsy.
The next day we went out to breakfast, where I was promptly doused in coffee by our creepy waitress. She comped the fruit plate I got, but I thought it would have been more appropriate to comp my whole meal (I got steel-cut oatmeal in addition to the fruit). It was really weird, because she barely apologized, even though she spilled coffee all over my pants and my arm! I wasn’t so much mad that she spilled on me, but because she wasn’t very apologetic about it. Oh well.
Since it was Father’s Day, we decided that we had better head back home after breakfast. I had a fabulous time – it was definitely a birthday I will remember! I’m scared though, I’m well on my way to 30! EEP!
Posted: Summer Stuff
18
June
2009
I can’t believe I’ve experienced a quarter of a century go by. It’s a little depressing to think about how fast time goes by, but I am excited to think about what wonderful things are still to come.
optical amplifier
So what, one might ask, am I doing to commemorate the 25th year of my life? Why, I’m going to a tranny show, of course! There are many reasons why I am super excited to go to the show! And the reasons will, of course, be put in a list…
1.) When my Mom and I were cleaning out my Grandmother’s apartment, we found a wonderful collection of photos of my Grandmother and my Grandfather sitting at a table, drinks and cigarettes in hand of course, looking like they are having a grand old time. The back of the photos all had “Finnochio’s” printed on the back. My Mom said it was a drag bar of sorts that put on elaborate drag shows. I guess my Grandmother adored these shows. I never knew. At any rate, her fondness for men in drag inspired me to see a show for myself. I figure, I’m 25, I ought to be having as much fun as my Grandmother did!
2.) The show is called “The Golden Girls: The Gay Episodes,” or something like that. Yet another thing that brings up sentimental feelings of my Grandmother. We used to watch that show all of the time! How perfect! And you know, come to think of it, Dorothy (played by Bea Arthur) was pretty manly to begin with! It really won’t be that much of a stretch.
3.) (Non-literature nerds can tune out now.) The concept of gender has always fascinated me, and a few semesters ago I was able to do a little bit of research on Renaissance literature and gender studies (and by extension feminist studies). It was really interesting to see how male actors playing women on the Renaissance stage illustrates the fluidity and constructed nature of gender. The transvestite really is an emblem of how gender binaries and definitions do not hold. So it will be fun seeing men dressed as women, and thinking about how the definitions we hold and value about gender are completely fabricated by society/culture, and in no way are natural or innate. And you can count on me to actually be thinking this when I’m there. (End nerd thought.)
4.) It’s just going to be loads of fun. All sentiment and nerdiness aside, I know that it’s going to be a blast. Especially since I’ll be in good company!
Well Grandma, I hope you can take a few minutes from whatever you’re doing and watch a little bit of the show with us. I’d sure like that.
Posted: Summer Stuff
24
August
2008
I need to be cherishing these last moments of freedom, because a week from now I will be back in school. I don’t even want to think about that right now.
Kyle and I had a nice relaxing weekend. We went out to breakfast yesterday morning. I got a cornmeal waffle with pecan butter and maple syrup. It was so good! Kyle got amaretto french toast with almonds on top. Yum! After breakfast we saw Pineapple Express. I went in with pretty low expectations, and I was very pleasantly surprised. It was hilarious! I felt like Kyle and I were the only ones laughing though… I don’t know what that means. Then we came home and watched Seinfeld for the rest of the day.
Today I made crepes filled with peaches for breakfast. I finished A Passage to India and started The Sound and the Fury. If I can finish this book before school starts, I will have read all the books I set out to read at the beginning of the summer. Yay for productivity! I also watched Gone with the Wind this evening. I thought the movie was great. I’m really enjoying watching older movies. I watched Casablanca last week, which was great too. Meanwhile, Kyle watched some disgusting insect documentary. He was telling me how gross it was to watch slugs mate. I think I’ll pass on watching that.
Work last week wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, so I’m thinking this week won’t be that bad either. It sure will be nice to have Jenn back at work though!
Posted: Summer Stuff
6
July
2008
Yet another weekend has gone by and I didn’t get enough done, nor did I relax as much as I would have liked. How is that possible?
I did, however, manage to spend money this weekend. Somehow I’m always able to do that.
I’m working on redecorating my office and I found this adorable owl will that will look quite charming on a shelf that I just hung:
I also hung my William Blake quote decal:
I also made a pretty good blackberry peach crisp:
Well, it’s time to go do my Sunday ritual- laundry!
Posted: Decorating, Summer Stuff
4
July
2008
I’m sad to say that I haven’t posted since February. I suppose it was around that time in which I became completely swallowed up by my graduate work. It was a rough semester… I’m certainly glad it’s over. While I could go on and on about the intricacies of the semester, I would rather talk about something that is much more interesting: our upcoming trip to EUROPE!
It’s official, Kyle and I are leaving for Europe in exactly four weeks! While this is insanely exciting, I’m starting to freak out a bit. I have a lot of planning to do. While I was very proud of myself for getting our plane tickets and booking (most of) our hotels, I still have a lot of work to do. Although I don’t plan on following a strict itinerary, there are some things I would like to prepare for.
If there is one thing I have learned in college, it is this: when stressed, make a list.
Things I need to do in preparation of our trip:
- Figure out transportation:
- What the hell is the difference between an Oyster card and a travel/paper card? Which one should we get? (Looks like the Oyster card is our best bet- At this point- I really don’t care if it is or isn’t, I’m just sick of doing the research.)
- How do we get from Heathrow to our hotel?
- Become somewhat familiar with the tube stations and their proximity to the places we’d like to go.
- Figure out transportation to/from the Lake District (see below).
- Get Eurostar tickets to Paris. Find out how to get to the Eurostar station from our hotel.
- Find out how to get from Eurostar in Paris to our hotel.
- Become somewhat familiar with the Metro stations and their proximity to the places we’d like to go.
- Find out how to get from the Eurostar station in Paris to our hotel in London (it will be a different hotel- near Gatewick).
- Figure out how to get from our hotel to Gatwick.
- Find someone who is kind enough to take us to/from the airport, or see if taking Yolobus is plausable. Kyle’s Ma is taking us, and my Ma is picking us up.
- Research day trip to the Lake District. I really want to go, but I’m not sure it’s practical. But is a trip to London and Paris practical to begin with? Nope. So why not indulge? Per the experienced travelers on the Fodors forum, save Lake District for another trip. 5 days is barely enough time to explore London itself.
- Come up with flexible itineraries for each day. Okay, I’m not a psycho who has to follow an itinerary down to the very minute, but I don’t want to spend all this money getting over there, and then waste time by not being organized. Plus, I will schedule in time for spontaneity ;)
- Buy an electrical converter (or whatever) so Kyle can charge his laptop and I can use my hair dryer.
- Buy a laptop charger for the plane. I’m not sure we’ll be able to use it, but if we can, it’ll be nice that we have it. Decided not to, as the chargers for Kyle’s MacBookPro are $50.
- Take a looksy at my Mom’s luggage, see if we can use it. It’s pretty hideous, but it will work!
- Make sure my mom can watch Piddy while we’re gone. Piddy’s going to her grandparents’ house while we’re gone! They had better not spoil her too much!
- Make a list of things to pack. Make sure I have said things.
- Make copies of pertinent documents (passport, credit cards, etc.).
- Make sure I have fun things to do on the plane. Bring a book (or two?), some magazines, iPod, etc. Have Kyle put Spaced and other shiz on his computer. What great fun it would be to watch Spaced on our way to London!
- Buy tickets to see King Lear at the Globe Theater. That’s right, mother fucking King Lear at the mother fucking Globe Theater.
- Look into buying tickets online for cruise on the Seine. If you purchase them online they take 4 euros off (making it 7 euros each, not bad!). But I want to make sure the dates/times are flexible if you buy them online.
- Look into trip to Versailles. How much will it cost? Is it worth it? What am I talking about, it’s Versailles! Of course it will be worth it! We’ll probably hold off to see Versailles until next time…
- Make sure my camera has enough memory for the entire trip. If not, buy another memory card. (Kyle assured me that we don’t need another one.)
- Make sure rent/bills are paid before we leave.
Wow. Lots to do. And I’m sure I’ll come up with even more. I had better get busy!
Ooh! I already remember one more thing!
16. Book hotel near Gatwick on last night.
Posted: Summer Stuff, Vacation
4
August
2007
June 18th was Paul McCartney’s birthday. It was also mine. Kyle took me to San Francisco to celebrate. We took BART into the city. It only took about 40 minutes and our hotel was only a few blocks away from the Powell Street station. The hotel was wonderful. It had a pretty nice view, a mini fridge stocked with soda and booze, and a drawer filled with snacks. Although we didn’t actually eat or drink anything (as everything was priced over $5), it was fun knowing that we could if we wanted to.
We went to dinner at an all vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant. It was nice knowing that I could eat anything on the menu, rather than having to sift through the menu looking for veg or possible veg items. Everything was delicious. After dinner we had tickets to see Pablo Francisco. Google maps showed that the comedy club was only a mile away from the hotel, so we decided to walk. Unfortunately, Google maps does not account for giant fucking hills. It took us about an hour to walk one mile because the hill was about a 90 degree incline. Going downhill was just as bad because I had to take tiny steps so I wouldn’t tumble down the hill to my death. Everest shmeverest.
Pablo was great, and the drinks were too. We hiked our fat asses back to our hotel and I decided I was done for the night. We wanted snacks though, and it was too late for room service so Kyle went out to find something greasy for us to eat. Apparently while Kyle was in a convenient store some people mistook him for a member of the KKK. He quickly took his services elsewhere. He dodged a few drug dealers and passed a few titty bars and came back with pizza, Guiness and Ben and Jerry’s “Chubby Hubby.” We watched America’s Funniest Home Videos and Seinfeld. I was smitten.
The next day we had a greasy breakfast and walked around Union Square. I drooled over some overpriced bags made by 8 year olds in East Asia and then we took BART back home.
The trip was wonderful. When we got home we got Chinese take out and played Wario Ware.
My actual birthday was on Monday and my mom was nice enough to take me to Calistoga. We had a great time. I had a facial and my mom did a mineral bath and massage. I didn’t do the mud bath thing because I didn’t want to partake in the all day nude-fest, which is really what a mud bath is.
We came home the next day and made stuffed bell peppers and mashed potatoes. We played Wii Sports and Wario Ware (my mom played too! and she kicked my ass at bowling).
I was bummed to go back to work but we had pizza during our meeting for my birthday! I also got some pretty cool gifts. My friend Jenn gave me a book that gives a walking tour of Bath, Jane Austen’s old stomping ground. Hopefully I’ll be able to put that book to use!
So yes, I know that I’m spoiled. I had a wonderful birthday week!
Posted: Summer Stuff
