Phelps Phan

I've just come back from a week in Washington DC. I had a wonderful time staying at this gorgeous hotel, lunching with work friends, and riding the metro. Which if I haven't mentioned it before, I am in LOVE with public transportation. I would be gloriously happy if every city I lived in allowed me to ride high speed rail from home to my place of work all while listening to my iPod. I even find the walks from the metro station to the doorstep of my work/home to be exhilarating and mind cleaning.

Truth be told I also liked being on east coast time. (Please don't tell my Cali comrades). Watching the Olympics on tv was actually live. Being on the left coast we often feel like bastard step children when watching the nightly national news and seeing the little emblem in the top left of the screen which says "pre-recorded". I also enjoy east coast time because it has royally fucked with my eating schedule leaving me not really hungry at the appropriate times thus not really eating regular meals. I've eaten like a bird over the past 8 days and I'm hoping that when I jump on the scale tomorrow morning I find that I've dropped a few pounds.

The only disjointed part of my east coast adventure was when I kept hearing them talk on the news of the lower then average temperatures and how that meant that fall was coming. Ummmm ... did they not know that summer is only half way over? We still have 6 more months of summer and then spring is here! I admit that I forget other parts of the country experience weather that doesn't involve sun, 80 degree days, and occasional wind. You might think I kid but the weather in SoCal is insanely devoid of most inclement weather. This might derail my thoughts of moving to the east coast and riding the metro until my little iPod runs out of battery. Earthquakes aren't fun but snow seriously freaks me out.

Unsettling

It maybe wasn't a wise idea to park in an underground parking garage AFTER a 5.8 earthquake had rattled the SoCal area. Unfortunately, Dave and I went to a Padres baseball game last night and we parked where we always parked. We both didn't realize our unwise mistake until we found a parking spot three floors below the ground. As we were walking up the stairs I kept thinking of the bridge that collapsed after the Oakland earthquake and all the people that were stuck for days between the layers.


I saw the damage that was done after the Northridge earthquake (which wasn't that much larger then yesterday's quake) and I can't help but be a bit unsettled. Will there be any after shocks? Was this a pre-quake? Will this anger the mighty San Andreas fault?


In more happy news, Dave's work purchased a sky box at Petco Park. Free food and booze. Bad game but the relaxing atmosphere made up for it all.

Dispatch from the Goddess

Last night Dave and I braved the Comic Con crowds and went downtown to see a theatre production of Phantom of the Opera. Comic Com always seems to bring the crazies to San Diego. Last year it was a giant raspberry which turned out to be a cartoon character named Meatwad. This year it was eating at Yard House seated next to a group of people who were dressed in business suits but covered in fake blood. I didn't have the heart to ask them what characters they were supposed to be. Then after the play was over we walked to our car and were greeted in the parking garage's elevator by 3 people who were dressed like characters from the video game Zelda. They had a movie camera and were filming us and kept calling me Goddess. Luckily I grew up near LA and having a stranger's film camera stuck in my face doesn't bother me as much as it might bother others. Plus the Goddess part didn't hurt either. Unfortunately, Dave and I didn't ask them what the filming was for and we will probably be credited as "Random Parking Garage Patron and his Goddess". I wonder if that's enough to have an imdb profile created for me?

The play was quite pleasant except Dave and I didn't get the memo that people in San Diego wear all black to the theatre. I've been to the theatre in LA (when I was young) and people wore formal dresses but they were in all sorts of colors. And in San Francisco people tend to be very laid back and come to the theatre in khakis and sun dresses. I was quite surprised by the sea of people in black waiting to enter the theatre. I was wearing a turquoise/brown skirt and Dave was wearing khakis and a polo shirt. I felt under dressed this time but am excited to go again and break out a few of my black dresses.

Is This Serious???

As you might have heard, the San Diego Chargers are playing the Patriots this weekend in a shot at going to the Super Bowl. I hate the Chargers and think Tom Brady is hot so you can guess who I will be rooting for.

I saw this article in yesterday's newspaper. Is this REALLY how the rest of the US has to dress during the winter months??? I've never lived anywhere but Cali and complained this morning that the high was only going to be 66. Either this guy is joking or I am an incredibly big princess. To be honest if I had to go to a conference in Boston tomorrow I would never in a million years think of dressing like this. In fact I would probably come in yoga pants, hoodie, and flip flops (my standard flying attire).

John Gardner of Cambridge, Mass., e-mailed some sage – if scary – advice for San Diegans heading to New England for the game:

“Fans need to wear boots with at least 1000 grams of insulation, wool socks, thermal underwear with heavy-duty winter pants, a thick down parka, undershirt, wool shirt, sweat shirt and a fleece vest parka below the outer parka. And just as importantly, a thin coating of petroleum jelly on the face, a wool or Gore-Tex face mask, hand warmers and thick wool mittens! ... I would not want any human being to be underprepared for this game.”

Suddenly a Tennassee Titans Fan

Note to Self: When attending a NFL football playoff game, it might help if you are actually a fan of the home team. Otherwise you will spend a majority of the game fuming at the drunken douche bagginess of the home team fans. It didn't help that 95% of the fans in attendance were Chargers fans and only 5% of the rest were Titans fans. This meant that the drunken (and winning) Chargers fans felt it was their duty to yell insensitive slurs at the cowering Titans fans who were just trying to enjoy the game. It was worse then a Raiders versus Chargers game (at least then even when the game is played in San Diego a majority of the fans are wearing black and besides no one dares mess with the Raider Nation). Dave and I are neither Chargers not Titans fans but we had free tickets in the club level which meant great seats under cover from the rain and free food and booze. I would go again for the chance to watch a playoff game but after experiencing 3 hours of drunk asswhats I almost declared that alcohol and tailgating should be banned at games (this coming from me who is a huge fan of the beer in all situations and lovingly remembers tailgating from many Fresno State football games). Yet, you too would have immediately proclaimed that all games should be alcohol free after watching drunk idiots stumbling around trying to pick fights (unless you were a drunken idiot picking fights then you would have thought it to be a great time for all). Astonishingly enough we were in the club level where seats were $300-400 each and those in the cheaper seats on field level and in the higher decks encountered even more douche bagery and crowd fighting.

In more uplifting news, I've lost 45 pounds on three different occasions only to regain most of the weight back within one year. The latest time I lost the weight was for my wedding and already 25 pounds of that has crept back up on me. I am realizing that I am good at the losing but not so good at the keeping off. In the past I will practically starve myself for 6 months, drop tons of weight, and then become tired of the restrictions and go hog wild in the opposite direction. I really need to find a sensible eating plan that I can easily adopt as part of my everyday lifestyle so that I don't have to keep yo-yo'ing. Easier said then done. At the football game I was rather proud of myself, usually I will consume a bratwurst, garlic fries and lotsa beer (remember free beer in club level). This time I ordered a veggie burger and diet coke and I even held myself back when they brought out the mojitos (I will write a sonnet of my love for mojitos one day). One of my biggest problems in the past is that I splurge on special occasions and soon everyday becomes a special occasion for one reason or another. Lunch out with coworkers? Splurge! Hard day at work? Spurge! Finally Friday? Splurge! After a lot of thinking I have decided that the only days that count as splurge worthy are my birthday, fancy dinners paid by Dave's work, and holiday parties.

Other news, I am trying to convince Dave to let us extend our Lake Las Vegas vacation to encompass a night's stay at the Venetian since evidently 4 nights at the Ritz Carlton is not enough for me. I am having a hard time justifying my cause.

Trick

I didn't get home tonight until 8:45pm and unfortunately missed all the trick or treaters. As I was driving home from a meeting at 6:30pm and going over all the things I would need to do when I got back to the office, I became super disappointed because Halloween is one of my favorite holidays ever and we bought tons of GOOD candy for the kids (big snickers bars and pb cups, we have no kids and tons of disposable income). So I'm driving home and feeling sad that another 12 hour work day would ruin something I've been looking forward to for the past month but then as I entered the County line I looked to my left and right and saw the hills and mountains that used to be covered in lush landscape but has now been burnt to a blackened moonscape. It made me realize that there are those out there who wont have a home to trick or treat from. Thousands who will walk down a street where one home exists and another doesn't as they knock door to door. Many have lost their homes, many have lost their land, and I feel so proud to be part of an agency that is helping them restore what was taken from them. It makes these late nights and 7/11 meals so worth it as I realize that what I am doing is making a difference. For so long I've babbled on about how much I miss San Francisco. Yet, for the first time as I drove through the moonscape I felt an overwhelming sense of love for this County. For the first time San Diego felt like home.

Photo Credit: San Diego Union-Tribune

Day 4

My how quickly life returns to normal-ish. 36 hours ago Dave and I left the house to drive around the corner and grab a frozen yogurt treat. The entire trip lasted 20 minutes and yet the whole time I was riddled with anxiety about BOTH of us leaving the house at the same time and not being able to answer the reverse 911 call. I couldn't even relax enough to enjoy my fro-yo and had to keep fighting the urge to sniff the air every 5 minutes. Since then the winds have been calm and the fires have reversed direction. Last night Dave and I even went to Fry's and out to eat! It felt like a whole new world after being stuck in a house together for the last 72 hours. Today I'm back at work and just like I predicted my feet have hit the ground running. My day is filled with an 8am briefing, 3pm briefing, recon planning, politicking for local government sponsors, staffing needs diagrams, and lots of other stuff that only makes sense if you've just been ravaged by a natural disaster. Thanks to everyone who sent emails. Any social interaction I received was much appreciated after staring at the news so much. Posting will be light and will mostly consist of pictures that I take while doing the reconnaissance tours of the burned and damaged lands. Ciao.

Photo Credit: San Diego Union-Tribune

Update Day 3

7:55am - Life is trying to return to normal. A prime time show was actually shown on tv last night; news has re-introduced commercials; even a radio station played an actual song instead of reporting non-stop about the fires. As much as I would like this nightmare to end, I really think the media is forcing us back to normal even though we shouldn't be. While winds were calm last night, as you can see from the pic above, more fires began last night and the existing fires are still 0% contained. At this point my house and much of the County is still within danger. Heck half the County is still colored purple and under mandatory evac. I thought about getting away and going to the office this morning but then I quickly realized that beyond organizing my email, sitting in the office would be worthless. I can't go into the field since most of the roads are closed and half my landowner's properties have burned. All my meetings for the week have been canceled. And four of my ten staff is in other parts of SoCal and still evacuated from their homes.

On a lighter note: Have you all heard about the outstanding job that is being done at Qualcomm stadium? One of Dave's coworkers has been evacuated to the stadium since Monday afternoon and it seems to really be like a big tailgate party.

Update Day 2 (as of 10:45pm)

7:50 am - Well it was nice to pretend to sleep last night. The constant smell of burnt campfire and the bright orange color of the sky (even though it was 2am) make it hard to relax enough to stay asleep. We found out that we are in the evac zone but so far haven't received the 911 call. For now we will stay put since I'd rather be as comfortable in my home for as long as possible. Several sources of water and electricity were damaged last night. They are asking us to conserve water, energy, stay off the roads, and not use our cell phones. Best estimates are that 300,000 acres have been burned and over 1,500 homes. I think those numbers are conservative. Things got much worse in the night. Almost the entire coast has been evacuated since they are sure that the fire wont stop until it reaches the ocean. We're being threatened by a new fire (Poomacha) that began last night. See this blog to see the path of the fire and the green dot that is very close to our house. I think we'll be evacuated by tonight ;-( I remember how I used to joke that I wish I had lived here during the 2003 fires since my agency did so much of the restoration work and I was constantly looking at sites that had been burned before I moved down here. Now I realize what an idiot I was. I wish I wasn't here today and I know others wish they weren't here in 2003.

9:05am - I just ran to the corner grocery store to pick up a few staples that would be needed if we evacuate. I expected to walk in and see aisles and aisles of empty grocery racks. I even expected the place to be a mad house. Our neighborhoods is one of the last to receive it's mandatory evac orders and it seems that everyone and their brothers have brought their personal effects laden cars and RVs to camp out on our streets and in friend's homes. What I didn't expect was to find the Starbucks counter the most crowded part of the store. I guess that people in times of emergency find Starbucks to be a source of comfort? I seriously didn't even attempt to walk past that portion of the store because the area was so crowded with people standing like sardines in a can.

11:50am - I feel like things have gotten better in the last hour. It's hard to tell. The news is on 24/7 with no commercial breaks but is having to devote itself to 4 major fires (in SD alone) therefore receiving specific info about our location is kinda hard. At this point many emergency info websites have gone down too from so much traffic. Making it worse the largest mountain in the city limits burned this morning taking with it major cell phone towers and TV/radio transmitters. We still have TV but it has sub par quality in both audio and visual. I took a shower earlier and I must admit that I've become somewhat addicted to showers knowing that if we need to go to a evac facility, hot showers will prolly not be included. Things are so much sweeter knowing you might not have them tomorrow.

3:15pm - Life has stopped for everyone in SD. No driving, no shopping, no going to work, no going to the movies. Just sit at home with your eyes glued to the TV and wait, wait, wait for the reverse 911 call. Sending emails to local friends asking "have you got your call yet?". Same email repeated several times through out the day. Occasionally stealing 2 minute phone calls to ask the question and receive limited social interaction. Cabin fever has set in. Two entire days at home and I feel no more relaxed then 4 intense days at the office. The Poomacha and the Witch Creek fires continue to threaten us. Over 1,800 firefighters battling a 23,000 acre and a 200,000 acre blaze. Over 1,250 homes burned and 510,000 residences evacuated (which pisses me off when nat'l news reports that as 510,000 people, noooo residences don't equal people, residences equal so many more, 2-4 people per residence!) All I can do is wait at this point knowing that as soon as the fire is controlled, my work days will become 14 hours long as I race to prevent the mudslides before the season's first rains.

7:40pm - This like a scary nightmare that I am ready to wake up from. One minute things are better, the wind has died down quite a bit, and firefighters are gaining control of the fires. The next we're placed under 2 different mandatory evac zones (one for the Poomacha fire and one for the Witch Creek fire) yet no reverse 911 call. So far our neighbors are staying put therefore we are too. Night is fast approaching and I am dreading sleep (or I should really say laying in bed while one sleeps and the other stares at the news). Night tends to be when the winds pick back up and the fires begin raging out of control. I'm almost attempted to go into town tomorrow and make a visit to my office. This sitting and wait, wait, waiting is killing me. We could go to an evac center (aka the local high school gym) but I know Dave and I would both be up half the night wondering if we made a good decision and whether our house was truly in danger.

10:45pm - Time to pretend to sleep. I've never dreaded night as much as I have these past few days.


Photos by nctimes.com

Update (as of 8:25pm)

Due to the nature of my job, Dave and I are staying until the last possible minute. I'm gonna keep blogging just because this whole situation is so unreal. The fire began in the mountains but because of strong Santa Ana winds, the fire quickly flew down the canyons and into the city boundaries. A HUGE part of the city has mandatory evacuation and the rest of the city (even along the coast) is being encouraged to be prepared to leave at any time. The fire is traveling so fast and the winds are so strong plus they still have 0% containment, therefore they don't know where the fire may hit next. Already there was a small fire on the hill directly across from our house but luckily a fire engine was stationed there so the fire was put out quickly (the hill offers a nice vantage point of my town). The sky is a dark brownish red and smells horribly. Power keeps going on and off and people have been encouraged not to go to work or use their cell phones.

There was a similar fire 4 years ago that almost reached the city limits. Today's fire (in my opinion) is so much worse. My federal agency pledged $120 million to the restoration of lands after the 2003 fire. Today most of those projects have been burned to the ground. $120 million. Gone. I'm so upset about that. It looks like as soon as the fire is contained, I'll be very busy trying to ensure that mud slides don't occur when the burned land receives rain (burned dirt + rain = mud + downhill slope = mudslide).

I'll keep updating if anything else interesting occurs. This whole situation is so horrible and scary but at the same time I hope I never forget how this feels.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/22/wildfire.ca/index.html

8:56am - I totally forgot to add that Dave was supposed to fly to Dallas for week long a business meeting. Fortunately/unfortunately the airport is closed due to the smoke and limited visibility. I'd be terrified if I was facing this alone.

10:38am - Our house is almost engulfed in a smokey haze. We still haven't received the reverse 911 call that means get out now. I was supposed to box all the important (sensitive) files in my office. Unfortunately I couldn't get to the office quick enough before the area was named off limits. So far 250,000 residences have been evacuated. 250,000 residences!!! If 4 people lived in every house that means that 1 million people have been evacuated. This is far from over.

11:15am - Within a 5 minute period the sky turned from brownish-red to milky white. I almost feel like we're in the eye of the hurricane. I have attended several basic fire ecology classes (because of my job) and never have I heard of a sudden change in the color of the smoke. Surprisingly, this milky white smoke is actually harder to see through versus the brown red (we can't even see the hill across the street). This fire started less then 24 hours ago and is far from being contained. I really wonder what the next 24 hours will bring us. We already knew that the main freeway south of us is closed, as well as the road east (duh! it's where the fire began), and earlier this morning we learned that the road west of us is closed too. About 5 minutes ago the news reported that the roads north of us are closed as well. That had been our plan before (drive north upon evacuation) so essentially we're confined to a box. I have no idea where we will go if the fire continues to proceed in our direction. Right now the fire is 8 miles away (according to our best estimates). The fire originally began 36 miles away. 28 miles in 24 hours. Wow.

1:30pm - Still no idea where we're going to go upon evac. News just posted a big map showing our area as being under mandatory evac. We've been waiting for the reverse 911 call but at this point we just might pack up and sit in the car. I know that emergency resources are all heavily taxed right now and I wouldn't be surprised if the reverse 911 system fails. Since my staff and I can't even reach the office (road closures) we've all been granted admin leave for the next few days (admin leave = paid vacation). Unfortunately, my day has been anything but relaxing. News has been on 24/7, preempting regular programing and not even stopping for commercials. This fire is so sporadic and volatile that I haven't even taken a shower for fear of missing something big being reported on the tv. Luckily we haven't lost power like the rest of the county (yet) so we're much more in the know then others.

4:02pm - All around us is burning. We've been lucky (so far) and have evaded mandatory evac but it is pretty scary that we seem to be this little unburned island in the middle of hell. I finally convinced Dave to pack up the car so that if the call did come we wouldn't be running around like chickens with our head cut off. See this google map and note that all the red dots are fire. Dave, in an emergency situation, tends to favor the "ignore and it will go away" mode of thinking. I remember after I crashed my ATV in Mexico, Dave kept saying "come on get up and let's get back on the ATV". Let me remind you that I was splayed out on my back in the middle of a ravine. Getting up and continuing to ride the ATV was not an option. Anyways, I finally convinced Dave to pack the car since if we do evacuate, we'll need to stay at a make-shift high school shelter. Many of the shelters have already ran out of cots and food. Dave and I needed to pack like we were camping. Items packed: pb&j sandwiches, blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, nana's china, cat supplies, pictures, and computers. For some great pics check out this blog. He's been picture blogging the entire few days and lives really close to me so many of his pics are exactly what I've been looking at all day. PS - I randomly found that blog while searching for a map of evac zones. The news is being a bit unpredictable and one minute shows our area as being evacuated and the next shows us as being clear. Oye Vey.

8:25pm - Conditions are just as severe as they were this morning. Logically everyone knew this fire wouldn't go away in 24 hours but I never imagined we'd need to try and sleep with the constant threat of evacuation. Tv and internet have become our lifelines. Our neighborhood is still being displayed on the news as under mandatory evacuation but we haven't received a reverse 911 call yet. Dave and I would both rather not spend the night on the hard floor of a gym when we could be pretending to sleep in our own bed. I think it might surprise most people to know that we live in the middle of suburbia. This fire is racing like a machete across tract homes and shopping centers. They are saying that it is the worst fire to ever hit California. I don't doubt it. Last report was 145,000 acres and 0% containment. Yep, let me repeat that. 0% containment as in this fire is burning out of control and there is no one who can stop it. They say that there are 650 firefighters working on the blaze with no hope of reinforcements (for the foreseeable future). I have no idea how these poor guys are supposed to keep fighting after being up for 24 hours straight. I should prolly also clarify that I keep saying this fire when in fact I am referring to the Witch Creek Fire. There are 7 other major fires burning in our County all at the same time (for a total of 8). At least 8 is the conservative number. There are no planes being flown so officials are having a hard time detailing exactly how many fires are burning.

Armageddon

It's crazy here. Half of the San Diego County is on fire. We're being evacuated. I've never seen anything like this.

PS - This is an actual photo. Crazy!

Hotcha Boys

Two things about life in San Diego:

1) Most people think that we are lucky enough to have a Mediterranean climate. This means that our summers are 85 and sunny and our winters are 75 and sunny. I don't kid. My next vacation wont be to someplace sunny and warm. Nope, I'll be headed to someplace foggy and cold because I am sick and tired of the same ol' weather day in and day out. Give me a little variety please!

2) Walk down a street in SD and you will be surrounded by good looking, fit people. I don't know why but it seems that this town has a much higher then average population of people that could be models. I'm very glad that I'm not single because I know I wouldn't have a chance against some of the leggy and thin women that I meet each day. Usually I interact with cute boys occasionally but lately I have a met a bevy of hotties through work. Four hotties I've met in the last 48 hours:


I was at SeaWorld today to view the yellowtail and seabass fishery. I was led by a cutie marine biology research associate who could have passed for a shaggy surfer haired Chris O'Donnell. Add some dickies and a pair of vans for a yum, yum effect.



In the afternoon I went to view a retaining wall demo. The two civil engineers on the project could have passed for Paul Walker and Ewan McGregor. Double YUM.


Tomorrow I have a field visit with a landowner who could pass for a slightly more masculine version of Enrique Iglesias. He is HOTT! Poor me will be stuck outside hiking with him for several hours. I may be married but just because I can't have the wine doesn't mean I can't enjoy the bouquet. Yum.

I'm Done with the Shaking

Yeah, I'm done. Done with the constant deluge of mini-earthquakes that we seem to be having lately. I'm a native SoCal-ian and I've been here through several biggies. I remember driving by the collapsed bridge many times after the great big Northridge earthquake in 1994. Yet, never have I experienced such a plague of so many earthquakes in such a short time period. Enough already!

Many people think that several small earthquakes are better then one big one since each rumble releases pressure. I disagree, I think the fault line is just getting angrier as time progresses (and making other fault lines angry too) and sometime soon a big one will hit. Even my fellow SoCal-ian Megan agrees.

Mark my words (and stock up on the emergency supplies).

PS - The above map is from this website. 569 earthquakes in JUST the past week. Sheesh!

How I Spent My Weekend

(aka Creative Ways to Escape the Heat)

Here in San Diego it rarely exceeds a high of 85. The heavenly weather is great except when we get an unusual heat wave and then suddenly us Diegans are found withering on the streets since we have no idea what to do when we can't walk around comfortably in our year round attire of hoodies and flip flops. Luckily we have AC (half the city doesn't have any form of AC and swamp coolers don't work since we live along the coast) so when the temperature exceeds 87 we are able to survive. Unfortunately, I have a conservative husband whose eyes roll back in his head every time I turn on the AC as he seems to think that our electricity bill will automatically be $400 if the AC is used for more then an hour each day. I can understand his fear since we do have a rather large house but at the same time I would much rather be comfortable and have a high e-bill then sweating on the couch with a box fan set on the coffee table in front of me.

This weekend the high was 107. By 9:30 am in the morning it had already reached 98 degrees. The husband and I had to get creative. Saturday we made plans to go to the movies. Dave saw Superbad and I saw Harry Potter. We both thought that each movie was the best ever. To make our air conditioned movie experience last as long as possible, we arrived at the movies an hour early ate lunch, went our separate ways to watch the movies, then stayed in the movie theatre a while longer while we enjoyed a Cold Stone ice cream. Total Cost: $10 matinee movie tickets + $10 lunch + $5 ice cream (shared) = $25.

Sunday morning after being woken up by the weirdest feeling earthquake ever (and I am a native Cali girl and have lived through quite a few earthquakes). This one measured 4.7 and instead of being the normal rumbly sound in the distance that sneaks up on you then the ground shakes type of earthquake, this one was a giant WHOOSH that lurched the whole earth one time forward and one time backwards. They say that someday SoCal will fall into the ocean and with this earthquake I almost thought that was going to happen. I had been in the kitchen when the earthquake hit and this one sent me running up the stairs with my heart beating out of my chest.

Around 1 pm we drove 20 minutes to the mountains and went to 1 of the 19 tribes for a little gambling fun (yes we have 19 tribes here in San Diego and probably 7 of those tribes have really nice casinos). We spent several hours at the nickel video poker machines while enjoying the AC and our free beverages. After getting chilly we walked around and then ate dinner at the buffet. Total Cost: $30 gambling money (love them nickel games) + $20 for dinner = $50.

Side note: As we left it began raining and it never rains in the summer (much less any other time of year) in SoCal. So the monsoon rain combined with the earthquake and unusually high temps have Dave and I convinced that the apocalypse is coming.

Monday we both succumbed to the heat wave and decided to turn on the AC and live with the electricity costs. To curb my boredom (the house never got cooler then 80 so it was a bit too warm to do housework) I indulged my recent obsession with Switzerland. Dave's company's international headquarters are in Vevey, Switzerland. Quite often employees are asked to do a month (or longer) detail in the NHQ. Sometimes employees are even permanently re-located to Switzerland. I'm not sure that I'd want to a make a permanent move but I would love to live in Switzerland for a month (or two). I've already researched pet importation laws and learned that Fluff will be able to join us (I am so bringing my cat with me to Europe, don't laugh!). I'll probably need this so that Fluff has a nice space to stay in the hotel. I've found a French immersion class that I would be ecstatic to take during the day while Dave is at work (Vevey is near the France border and they speak French). I've researched all the touristy things to do in that part of Switzerland and France. As well as read about a million and one blogs from Americans who have relocated to Switzerland. I'm more excited then ever. As a I keep telling Dave, "when do we go???"

My Dinner With Meatwad

It's 7:30p on a Friday night and my lovely husband is knocked out on the couch. I'm actually not upset since tomorrow I'm gonna either be laying by the beach or climbing a fake rock wall. Surprisingly, both tend to exhaust me the same amount so I'd like to try and reserve my energy as much as possible. Plus yesterday, Dave and I had a late night at a company dinner with several of his coworkers from St Louis (read: expensive and drunken meal on Dave's company dime). I knew Comic-Con was in town so I was prepared to encounter some "interesting" individuals (read: big fat geeks) on the downtown streets. What I wasn't prepared for was this to be greeting me as soon as I stepped out of my car at valet:



I thought it was a giant, 6 foot raspberry but evidently the characters name is "Meatwad" and he is a shape-shifting glob of red meat. Aqua Teen Hunger Force was having a private event at the same exact fancy restaurant that we had chosen for dinner. I'd probably be all excited about this but I've never seen an Adult Swim cartoon nor do I feel the desire. On the flip side I would feel un-hip and old but the private event was attended by mostly middle aged geeks who had struck it rich by drawing and voicing animated junk food. The whole evening left me wondering: how high do you think they were to not only imagine a chunk of raw hamburger that talks but also pitch and sell the idea to the rest of their comrades?

I Do Love This Town

The Land of Sun, Sand & Sea

A Picture Update

Lately it feels as if the days are going by in one quick blur. I get in bed at night and it feels like just a short while ago I was getting out of bed. I get to work, look at the clock, and then look at the clock again to find 4 hours has already passed. Before I know it the work day is already over and once again I'm fighting traffic to get home. I can hardly believe that there is only 6 months until the wedding since it feels like just yesterday there was a year left. Why does time seem to be moving so quickly lately? I really just want it to stop. *sigh*

Needless to say, I have a list of things to-do that is a mile long. I've barely had enough time to eat, let alone blog. Here is my catch-up picture post:


Dave and I picked up out wedding bands while we were in the Bay Area last weekend. I LOVE both of our rings and was really pleased with the price and quality. I've already told Dave to hide the rings because if he doesn't then I'll just keep putting it on my finger and walking around the house.

We were in the Bay Area for a wedding of Dave's childhood friend. We had a really nice time seeing Dave's family and friends. I miss the Bay Area so much.

This is the bride and groom. They looked wonderful.

We arrived home on Sunday to our normal 80 degree Southern California "winter". I was driving down a street near our house when I took this picture. Note the ocean in the horizon, the palm trees, the wreaths on the palms, and the blue skies. Sad to say the wreaths look out of place and do a poor job of putting me in the holiday spirit.

On Thanksgiving Day weekend we went to the San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders football game. The Raiders lost only because of a bad referee call (boo!). Other then that the game was a lot of fun especially since we had club level seats. It was nice being able to call a waitress over to our seats every time we wanted something to eat or drink. Laziness at its best!

I made a complete Thanksgiving meal for Dave, my Dad, and my brother. The turkey was brined (according to Alton Brown) and turned out delicious. The whole meal was a success (if I say so myself) and I can't wait to cook my next Thanksgiving meal.

To serve Thanksgiving dinner we used our new (to us) china. The china had been given to us by Dave's grandma (now deceased). The complete 12 piece set of china is from the 1920's. I love the pattern so much and could never imagine a more beautiful set of china.

2 weeks ago, Dave bought his very own PS3. Yes the same PS3 that was sought by many and re-sold for several times it's value. So far he has greatly enjoyed the new gaming station and how high quality the screen resolution is. The other day we used the PS3 to watch a Blue-Ray movie. It was very nice looking but I give most of the credit to our plasma screen tv.

Fluff is getting bigger and bigger. The wild man loves getting dressed up. (sarcasm)