A Monday afternoon chat

Chatting with Sheila can be fun sometimes. See example below.

Best pop-up book ever

Amy Winehouse in the office

I make good use of the white board at work everyday.

Bottom of the Hill, or Happy Bday Audrey

It's been a few years since I've been to Bottom of the Hill for a show. I forgot how crowded the tiny venue can get. At certain points, it felt like I was in the steam room at the gym. But having said that, it was definitely worth it.

We went to the Matt and Kim show in celebration of Audrey's 28th. One of the opening bands was The Mall. The drummer made her a bday DVD which made her feel special or something. I asked her if she was a Mallrat, which she responded with a nervous chuckle. You can draw your own conclusions. The second The Mall started playing, a mosh pit pushed and shoved its way to life. Pooh and I stood there, feeling betrayed by our age. It made us feel old and just a little afraid. The surprised came when we spotted a drunked Brian moshing right along with the 17-year-olds.

When Matt and Kim came on, they were all about smiles and funny anecdotes. Kim drummed with a giant smile on her face the WHOLE TIME and Matt stopped in between songs to tell stories about motel ghosts and pizza shaped marshmallows. Three words describe them: Extra Super Fun! No, the exclamation mark is not a typo. I want them to play at my next house party.

The big pay off came after I was dropped off. I spotted a hot dog vendor (yes, at 1 in the morning) selling bacon-wrapped hot dogs on the corner of Mission and 23rd. This bad boy was topped with grilled onions, mayo, ketchup and mustard...in that order.

Today is already Saturday...in my head

It's grey and cold and half the office is out today. I'm ready for the weekend.

Also, ridiculously large tennis ball (the official ball of the US Open) and ridiculously small tennis ball (for your keys).

Advantage: Tran...AND Goodman

The long awaited showdown between me and Ross finally materialized today. It started out with a scramble in the morning to get to the courts on time. There was a moment, while waiting for my non-existent BART to the East Bay, where I thought our tennis game might have to be canceled yet again.

Luckily, everything went smoothly. We even stopped off for me to get a sandwich and Ross to get a present for a birthday party. Apparently not too many people like to play tennis on a nice day in Berkeley, so we got a pretty prime spot right away.

Now, just let me say that Ross has been very humble about his expertise in tennis. For someone who hasn't played in years, he had me on the defensive constantly. Don't mess with his backhand. I've found a worthy opponent in my co-worker and look forward to learning from him on the courts. After all, he is a little older than me.



Ross: Ready to rock and roll.

Lucie does geriatric drag

Chatting with Audrey is unpleasant

Mitchell's ice cream is good on a hot day

After an exhausting short game of tennis today (note: don't ever play tennis in your Chuck Taylors or you will suffer), we went to Mitchell's for ice cream. It was a take-a-number-and-wait place. I was #72 and they were at #8. The wait reminded me of my good friend Ross' account of his pizza adventure in Arizona. It was a good 45 minute wait, but I finally got two scoops on a cone. Surprisingly, I got sherbert (sorbet?) because I wanted something light. I couldn't tell if I was bloated from all the water I downed after tennis or extremely dehydrated from the sun, so something not too creamy was in order.



Photo by Audrey

Looking for loafers

I'm at the Sketchers store in the Mission and Andrew W.K. is rockin' on the store PA system.

Also, there were about a million people at Dolores Park today. It makes me happy to see everyone out.