berkeley

Saturday night after the races, we were beat, so after Picante, we passed out early (well, I did, at least)

Sunday was beautiful so we went for walkies out to Cesar Chavez Park and Berkeley Marina?

There were a ton of birds everywhere, which was super cool.

This seagull and crane were in Aquatic Park:

















Out in the marina, there were tons of other birds. This is the view North into Richmond and Marin. This is as close as I choose to get to Marin*:














there were several varieties of duckies, including these rude ducks that mooned us, repeatedly:














Being Spring, there were also a lot of butterflies out, including this Tiger Swallowtail:















I found this sign:

















Paul seems to think this is how I feel about going for walkies. But LOOK:









It is all backwards!






We finally got to the end and found what we came for: the "gong" thingie that sounds every 13 seconds (or whatever). It was not picturesque, but it was on a breakwater, where we could not reach it. I presume it is there so no one goes and shuts it up.

then we headed over to the other side, and, this being Berkeley, we found lazy hippies flying kites. Except they weren't really doing anything, they just had these big kites staked in the ground, and I guess they just sit there and have a big lazy social scene around it. Which is fine and all, but it's kind of funny that they all had essentially the same kite. Who knew Berkeley was so conformist? Luckily, my shattered imaged was put back together when we saw a guy wearing some silly elf costume running around with bow and arrows in the bushes. I could not get a picture, sadly.















Lastly, I think it's important to point out the wonder of modern society: Dogi-Pot. I hope this speaks for itself:
















































* It is a well known fact that the reason we are connected to Marin by bridges is so that if we ever get too tired of their bullshit, we can just knock the bridge down, and BAM, it's like, no more Marin! Pretty soon you'll forget what they were even like, and no one will miss their whiney self-centered NIMBY faux-liberal bullshit. Awesome!

Critters!

Awesome weekend, in the middle of all this hectic-ness.
Thursday I went and purchased Adobe Illustrator finally. I'd been putting it off... but I really need it for my work and sanity. With the student discount, it was only $100. School has paid for itself!

Then I rushed over to Laguna Honda to visit James. Which was more crowded than I would have liked. I can't take the crowds, but am glad he is getting so much love.

Friday night we went to Lanesplitter and saw Daniel, who is doing well. Yay!

Saturday we went to a wedding in the afternoon, then an after-wedding party at the Rats clubhouse in the evening. Which is a rare appearance for us. It was nice to see folks, and I drank too much crappy beer, so Sunday morning, I had a hangover.

I felt worse than I expected, and begged Paul to get me hangover treats, which he did, despite the fact that he really wanted to sleep, and really should have been cleaning up around the house in preparation for visitors. He returned with my 7Up and Salt & Vinegar chips, which made me feel human very quickly.

My sister arrived and we had a wonderful visit. After gawking at the reptiles and amphibians at the Vivarium, we had ice cream at Sketch on 4th Street, and grazed the cheese at the Pasta Shop. We went for a hike and picnic at the Albany Bulb (feral cats and a pelican), then got some shitty screwtop wine and went to Aquatic Park to subject my sister to ducks and geese (and a few cranes). Dinner at Priya (yum) and then, damn the Templebar closed as we walked back. Feh.

Monday we went up to the UC campus and fed squirrels (which were very aggressive, and climbed all over Paul), then we went up to the tower for a view, and then out to Tilden Park looking for some brush-clearing goats Paul promised. We couldn't find them, so we went to the Little Farm and pet those goats and slapped the sheep a little. Also a few cows, more ducks and geese, some showy turkeys and roosters, and boring bunnies.

A quick walk to Jewel Lake revealed tons of tiny fish, a frog, which I petted with a piece of grass, and several turtles which were parked safely out of slapping range (presumably because they knew we were coming).

All told, this was our critter tally for the weekend:
various reptiles and amphibians
feral cats
a pelican
ducks
two big white geese
a bunch of grey (Canadian?) geese
cranes
squirrels
goats
sheep
roosters and hens
more ducks and geese
cows
pigs
bunnies
sheep
frog
fish
turtles

oh, and the livestock at the Paul homestead, minus the possums, which we earnestly tried to draw out with a jar of jam, but to no avail.

I think my sister had a nice time, and she seemed in very good spirits.
I spent Monday night trying to catch up on some of the stuff I "should" have been doing all weekend: my portfolio book, my homework. feh. I have not even started studying my Mandarin. Aiya!

Lost Week

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Oops

Uh, yeah, I’ve totally neglected this blog this week.

Last weekend was nice, Sunday my folks and my sister came up to Berkeley to hang out with Paul and I. We went to breakfast at Venus, where we will never go again, because we waited an hour and a half to get seated even though they told us 30-40 minutes. They have really tasty baked goods though. Maybe we can order take-out muffins?

Then we puttered around 4th Street, and headed over to Scharffen Berger for the free factory tour. It was really fun. I learned about chocolate, really. And they let us taste everything, so of course by the time we actually got out of the gift shop, it wasn’t really free any more. The Venezuelen chocolate is really good!

This week, I don’t know, nothing interesting. Did laundry and blew off my Mandarin homework. I guess we’ve sort of hit a wall in our Mandarin studies, but after a brutal class last night, I hope we are re-focused, and can recover for the final. Still don’t know about next semester, but I’d like to keep pursuing it.

And tonight, going to fix the DRZ (the coolant reservoir shattered somehow) and eat Tasty Indian Food.

Tomorrow morning, we’re off to Vegas! I guess I’ll find out once and for all if I actually enjoy Vegas for vacation. I mean, work trips don’t really count, right? Paul and I going to the Endurocross, which I swear is going to be the coolest thing ever. Invited my friends along, but it’s a bust. Whatever. We’re staying at some kitschy hotel on the strip and planning to spend the entire time drunk, I guess. Any suggestions?

And then, Thanksgiving. And then, Christmas! Oh boy!