Just a quick one

I have oh so many other things to blog at you about, but I only gots time for this quick thing. I got this email see...

From: Female DBA from upstairs
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:08 PM
To: Me
Subject: pink stone

Found pretty pink stone in the ladies room, probably from an earring. Can you email the ladies and ask?

Thanks,
Female DBA from upstairs.

Here's my reply:

From: Me
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:45 PM
To: Female DBA from upstairs
Subject: RE: pink stone

Why don't you post a sign? I don't really have time to determine who the "ladies" are and send them an email.

Monday reporting

Traffic was not as light as one might have preferred, but it had a pleasing, flowing quality all the way to the office. All the roads seemed smoother than average too. I’m not sure what to attribute this to. Maybe all the extra sleep I got during the four-day weekend?

In other news, I'm really annoyed that I am still not able to upload directly to my buzznet page from my cell phone. I can send pictures to other email addresses, but they ain't working at buzznet. Since last Thursday. I guess all their tech people are still on holiday. I don't begrudge them at all, but it's quite strange that I should be unable to post from my phone for so long. Each time I re-test it, too, I get pinged against my pix messaging account.

Coffee Walking

Friday, B and I spent three hours walking around the fashion district so I could gather supplies for my foray into sewing for sales. AND he helped me find the right walking (even-feed) foot for my machine.

On Saturday, we went in search of coffee for brewing at home. B, ever the astute researcher, found Groundwork in the Arts District. On the way there we passed through the Little Tokyo Farmers Market. At a bit after 10 am the market was pretty deserted. They definitely did not have enough critical mass of either vendors or shoppers to sustain any kind of regular market. I felt a little sad for them. B said he’d overheard someone there saying “maybe we’ll just go dark.” If I were a less lazy blogger I’d find some link for you on this topic. Oh well, you know how to search as well as I do.

On our way to the Groundwork café we passed by a small restaurant offering Mexican fare. We ignored the obvious indicator (empty dining area) and decided to try it for brunch. Friday, B and I spent three hours walking around the fashion district so I could gather supplies for my foray into sewing for sales. AND he helped me find the right walking (even-feed) foot for my machine. On Saturday, we went in search of coffee for brewing at home. B, ever the astute researcher, found Groundwork in the Arts District. On the way there we passed through the Little Tokyo Farmers Market. At a bit after 10 am the market was pretty deserted. They definitely did not have enough critical mass of either vendors or shoppers to sustain any kind of regular market. I felt a little sad for them. B said he’d overheard someone there saying “maybe we’ll just go dark.” If I were a less lazy blogger I’d find some link for you on this topic. Oh well, you know how to search as well as I do.

On our way to the Groundwork café we passed by a small restaurant offering Mexican fare. We ignored the obvious indicator (empty dining area) and decided to try it for brunch. Ay!Carumba was one of the worst dining experiences I have had in recent memory. For starters, the waiter, a guy who could out-white Frasier Crane’s brother, didn’t know what a “café con leche” was. “What number on the menu is that?” he asked. I thought there might be hope since they serve the coffee in a French press. But alas! It was awful. The coffee made up in bitterness what their salsa lacked in flavor. Was it watered down V8? Finally, they mixed up our side of potatoes – B had ordered the standard – with chorizo – and I had ordered without chorizo. The waiter informed us of the mix up as he delivered the plates and chalked it up to a “language barrier” problem. As our friend K. pointed out later, “No chorizo” in Spanish is “No chorizo.” Next time we'll try eating at the coffee place instead. was one of the worst dining experiences I have had in recent memory. For starters, the waiter, a guy who could out-white Frasier Crane’s brother, didn’t know what a “café con leche” was. “What number on the menu is that?” he asked. I thought there might be hope since they serve the coffee in a French press. But alas! It was awful. The coffee made up in bitterness what their salsa lacked in flavor. Was it watered down V8? Finally, they mixed up our side of potatoes – B had ordered the standard – with chorizo – and I had ordered without chorizo. The waiter informed us of the mix up as he delivered the plates and chalked it up to a “language barrier” problem. As our friend K. pointed out later, “No chorizo” in Spanish is “No chorizo.”

Next time we'll try eating at the coffee place instead.

Thanksgiving

Thursday was excellent and ranks very highly on the scale of Thanksgivings I have had. The food at B’s parents was delicious. I loved the side dishes and, face it people, Thanksgiving is about the side dishes! Admittedly I could have eaten more stuffing – but hey, since B’s brother regards most vegetables as suspect, I helped myself freely to Brussels sprouts and yummy sweet potatoes. And yay for that cranberry sauce, mmm. I didn’t even miss the canned stuff, my guilty pleasure.

We also had fun with B's stereo microscope, to look at my ring. I was aghast at how dirty it had gotten in one week! Ultrasonic cleaner to the rescue! We also examined a potato chip with giant pools of grease, B's brother's adorable dachsund's paw, and our disgusting cuticles.

Just before dinner, B’s sister had orchestrated a simultaneous champagne toast between our party in Southern California and her party with her husband and in-laws in Northern California. She wanted to give us a toast in honor of our engagement - a sweet and fun idea! For this and many other things, I feel sincerely welcomed by the family.

Maintenance

Last week was a bit hectic in the days running up to the holiday. Tuesday night I spent a long time with my ever-affable Vespa mechanic. I got oil change & filter, new variator rollers, new belt, rear brake adjustment, front brake pads, front tire. I really, really needed new pads. If you look on my buzznet page you will see just how low they were. The new (stock) rollers make quite a difference; the old set were Malossi and were worn down, causing accelerations in the lower speeds a bit rough. Now it’s creamy smooth and a pleasure. And the knocking I thought I heard on Wednesday seems to have corrected itself.

After work on Wednesday I had a relatively short - only 2 and a half hours! - hair appointment with Julio at Estilo. He’s working on getting a website together with the help of a family member. I love the name: shampoolio.com. Maybe one of these days he'll get a computer and will be able to receive emails. Julio is sooo analog.