Aaa, Sunday morning, people used to read newspaper over breakfast, or like Jack and I, bouncing interesting ideas off of each other over coffee. And now what do we do? Each of us having an iPad and separately dwelling deep into the cyber space. I really miss the good old days.
Jack spent an hour looking for a heavy duty tool to move big logs from one place to another for a land preservation project. It makes me think. With the rate the eCommerce grows, what's going to happen to the retail stores. Sadly, some of them will go out of business. And what's going to happen to the vacant spaces? Perhaps more new restaurants, or yoga studios.
Showing posts with label Weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekend. Show all posts
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Artichoke Season
Yesterday we went down to Monterey for a day trip to visit the Monterey Aquarium. It was a gorgeous day. We left home around 8 AM and drove down Highway 1 along the coast. We passed numerous beach parks, hills, mountains, farms and ranches. It was an absolutely pleasant drive.
This is the artichoke season, and I was excited to see artichokes growing on their plants. They look so green and healthy, just like the ones I planted in Farmville - the Facebook game which I abandoned months ago - when they are ready to be harvested. There was a roadside farmer's market advertising $1 for 7 artichokes. I took a mental note to stop by there on the way back to check out the fresh produce. It's not the strawberry season yet, but I already saw red and green strawberries on the field.
On the way home, we passed another farmer's market, which advertised to sell artichokes $1 per dozen (O.K. these are the small ones, which we didn't know how to cook). We managed to miss all the farmer's stands yesterday. So we ended up getting jumble artichokes back home at Pardini's market - 3 for $5.
You know what we'll have for dinner tomorrow.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Nowhere to go, no place to be
Last Friday we ditched the dogs and work to take our Seadoo Speedster 150 out for a ride.
We are newbies to boating. Since Jack bought the Speedster the second half of last year, we only went out on it for 3 hours. This was our first time out with the boat this year. We made sure all the plugs and hooks were secured and all the lights were working properly -- OK, Jack did all the work and I "helped".
We got to Coyote Point Marina in the afternoon. We were lucky, because nobody else was using the boat launch, so we took our sweet time. Mainly because we forgot about what needed to be done.
We couldn't have picked a better day for boating, because it was a warm day with high tide in the afternoon, and there was no wind. When we slowed down, it was even too warm. We rode around the bay, enjoyed the wonderful weather and enjoy being there.
We are newbies to boating. Since Jack bought the Speedster the second half of last year, we only went out on it for 3 hours. This was our first time out with the boat this year. We made sure all the plugs and hooks were secured and all the lights were working properly -- OK, Jack did all the work and I "helped".
We got to Coyote Point Marina in the afternoon. We were lucky, because nobody else was using the boat launch, so we took our sweet time. Mainly because we forgot about what needed to be done.
We couldn't have picked a better day for boating, because it was a warm day with high tide in the afternoon, and there was no wind. When we slowed down, it was even too warm. We rode around the bay, enjoyed the wonderful weather and enjoy being there.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Did someone mention kiteboarding?
Last Sunday was nice and sunny. The temperature even went up to 63 degrees. It was above Jack's threshold, 62, so he hoped to go kiting when the wind came up.
On the way to 3rd, I quizzed him to see if he brought all of his kiting gears.
A handful of the usual suspects was hanging out at 3rd, because most of the locals were still enjoying the snow in the mountains. We got to 3rd a little after noon, and there was no trace of wind. The water was especially glassy.
Around 4:30, the wind did come up! Jack and Ray raced to get changed. Jeff, our coastguard and friend, stopped by to say hi. We were so happy to see him, because he was our lifesaver when we were out kiting.
Before leaving the car, Jack and I checked to make sure he brought all the gears: helmet, gloves, harness, booties, board, bar, kite and sunglasses. There is something about first time out in the season, because you tend to leave something out. I bundled up and walked up to the north end with the guys.
The kiting was uneventful, except Jack had to come in once to adjust his board straps as they were too tight. I was taking a lot of pictures and videos with my cute Sony camera when I slipped in the mud. My camera fell in the mud, oh crap. While telling myself how stupid it was not to watch my steps, I tried to wipe the camera with the little napkins I had. It still worked, but just needed to be cleaned some more.
It wasn't like me not to have mishaps in a nearly perfect day. Luckily, Jack was super mellow after a good kiting day - first day of the season - and he patiently cleaned my camera with wet toilet paper.
On the way to 3rd, I quizzed him to see if he brought all of his kiting gears.
A handful of the usual suspects was hanging out at 3rd, because most of the locals were still enjoying the snow in the mountains. We got to 3rd a little after noon, and there was no trace of wind. The water was especially glassy.
We let the dogs play and swim, while we waited. We enjoyed the nice spring weather so much, even though the airport weather reports kept reminding us it was calm - that was when they didn't bother telling how many miles per hour the wind speed was.
Around 3 PM, Jack and Ray pumped up their beautiful brand new North Fuse 14 meters when they saw the textures appeared on the water. But for a while, all they could do were taking a lot of pictures of the kites, and chatting about the new features of this model.
Ray called the airport every 5 minutes to check for the condition there, and sometimes he complained that people were calling too often, because he couldn't get through. Yeah, we could see why.
People came by and took off, because it was too calm here. Around 4, Ray said: "Oh, now I don't know what to do, should I pack it?" I was very encouraging, "no, it's getting a little more windy, I think you should wait until 4:30." I must have said what he wanted to hear, because he stayed.
Around 3 PM, Jack and Ray pumped up their beautiful brand new North Fuse 14 meters when they saw the textures appeared on the water. But for a while, all they could do were taking a lot of pictures of the kites, and chatting about the new features of this model.
Ray called the airport every 5 minutes to check for the condition there, and sometimes he complained that people were calling too often, because he couldn't get through. Yeah, we could see why.
People came by and took off, because it was too calm here. Around 4, Ray said: "Oh, now I don't know what to do, should I pack it?" I was very encouraging, "no, it's getting a little more windy, I think you should wait until 4:30." I must have said what he wanted to hear, because he stayed.
Around 4:30, the wind did come up! Jack and Ray raced to get changed. Jeff, our coastguard and friend, stopped by to say hi. We were so happy to see him, because he was our lifesaver when we were out kiting.
Before leaving the car, Jack and I checked to make sure he brought all the gears: helmet, gloves, harness, booties, board, bar, kite and sunglasses. There is something about first time out in the season, because you tend to leave something out. I bundled up and walked up to the north end with the guys.
It wasn't like me not to have mishaps in a nearly perfect day. Luckily, Jack was super mellow after a good kiting day - first day of the season - and he patiently cleaned my camera with wet toilet paper.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Traffic School
As sad and unfortunate as it was to get a traffic ticket, I would say this time's traffic school wasn't bad compare to the last one.
Two years ago I went to traffic school in Half Moon Bay. Our instructor was a retired police officer, and he was quite tough. We had to watch gruesome pictures of people being killed in drunk driving accidents. The class made me feel like a criminal. :(
This time, I signed up for a pizza4U - Comedian traffic school, hoping I would have better luck. It happened on last Sunday at 8 AM, and it was a full day class.
The class was held in a mangy La Quinta on El Camino Real in Millbrae. I arrived 5 minutes late, because I missed a highway exit. When I walked into the crowded room, the teacher just received a phone call.
"Hello, this is he ... Yes, I'm here."
He hung up and turned to us, "did someone call the traffic school and said there was no instructor?" Someone in the audience raised her hand. "I just got here. Geez, I am 1 minute late, and you call the traffic school on me?" We all chuckled. I felt lucky that he was late too.
I managed to find a seat next to a big black guy. His name was Alfred, but the instructor kept calling him Albert despite his protest.
Our instructor's name was Mr. Elizarde, it was like Lizard adding an "e" in front and at the end. He used to teach high school driver's ed for 30 some years, when it was required. He was an easy going person. He made it clear that he was not the comedian and he was just the instructor, but he was actually quite funny. Maybe because of he was a teacher, he had this ritual of trying to learn everyone's name, even though it was just a one-day class. He even made a little seating chart during the break.
He started by saying something like this: "I can see that we have a quite diverse class, people of different ages and nationalities. You would think that the more you drive, you have more experience, you would be better and wouldn't get into trouble and getting tickets. Unfortunately it isn't the case. It just catch up with you sometime.
A lot of people feel upset when they got traffic tickets. They said, there are so many people driving ruthlessly, speeding and cutting people off, they never got caught. Now, I made a little mistake, and I got a ticket for it? That's unfair." Yes, I feel this way all the time. "And I would ask them," Mr. Elizarde continued, "can you catch all the fish? The police catch someone that made mistakes then move on to the next fish. That's just how it works."
We broke into groups to do group discussion. For our group, we were supposed to talk about how different conditions such as: sadness/stress, fatigue, angry, etc. impact driving. However, we spent a lot of time socializing.
We found out how everyone got the ticket. This one young woman, who didn't know what fatigue meant, she didn't stop at a stop sigh around her school. She said the police who caught her was very nice, just asked her where she went to school and stuff, and gave her a warning. Then a few days later, she got caught by the same police officer for the same reason, so he gave her a ticket.
I actually learned something from the class:
Two years ago I went to traffic school in Half Moon Bay. Our instructor was a retired police officer, and he was quite tough. We had to watch gruesome pictures of people being killed in drunk driving accidents. The class made me feel like a criminal. :(
This time, I signed up for a pizza4U - Comedian traffic school, hoping I would have better luck. It happened on last Sunday at 8 AM, and it was a full day class.
The class was held in a mangy La Quinta on El Camino Real in Millbrae. I arrived 5 minutes late, because I missed a highway exit. When I walked into the crowded room, the teacher just received a phone call.
"Hello, this is he ... Yes, I'm here."
He hung up and turned to us, "did someone call the traffic school and said there was no instructor?" Someone in the audience raised her hand. "I just got here. Geez, I am 1 minute late, and you call the traffic school on me?" We all chuckled. I felt lucky that he was late too.
I managed to find a seat next to a big black guy. His name was Alfred, but the instructor kept calling him Albert despite his protest.
Our instructor's name was Mr. Elizarde, it was like Lizard adding an "e" in front and at the end. He used to teach high school driver's ed for 30 some years, when it was required. He was an easy going person. He made it clear that he was not the comedian and he was just the instructor, but he was actually quite funny. Maybe because of he was a teacher, he had this ritual of trying to learn everyone's name, even though it was just a one-day class. He even made a little seating chart during the break.
He started by saying something like this: "I can see that we have a quite diverse class, people of different ages and nationalities. You would think that the more you drive, you have more experience, you would be better and wouldn't get into trouble and getting tickets. Unfortunately it isn't the case. It just catch up with you sometime.
A lot of people feel upset when they got traffic tickets. They said, there are so many people driving ruthlessly, speeding and cutting people off, they never got caught. Now, I made a little mistake, and I got a ticket for it? That's unfair." Yes, I feel this way all the time. "And I would ask them," Mr. Elizarde continued, "can you catch all the fish? The police catch someone that made mistakes then move on to the next fish. That's just how it works."
We broke into groups to do group discussion. For our group, we were supposed to talk about how different conditions such as: sadness/stress, fatigue, angry, etc. impact driving. However, we spent a lot of time socializing.
We found out how everyone got the ticket. This one young woman, who didn't know what fatigue meant, she didn't stop at a stop sigh around her school. She said the police who caught her was very nice, just asked her where she went to school and stuff, and gave her a warning. Then a few days later, she got caught by the same police officer for the same reason, so he gave her a ticket.
The high school boy sitting next to me turned left onto a one way street against the traffic.
I got my picture taken when I turned right on a red light without stopping. I was most disappointed to see my own profile picture on the ticket, because I looked so big from the side. Of course I didn't share that with people.
A retired lady with silver hair, who lived in San Francisco, got her first ticket on the freeway for speeding. She said the officer was very nice, she gave her a ticket then told her: "next time don't stop at the left of the freeway. You are supposed to move all the way to the right, then stop."
Alfred got a ticket for not stopping at the stop sign. He said the police officer gave everyone in the neighborhood a ticket and this one day, he got one too.
I actually learned something from the class:
- You should always go to court for your traffic ticket, because close to 100% of the time the judge would reduce the fine for at least $100.
- There were incidents you could do community services wave the fine.
- Traffic sign colors: red, black, white - they are enforced signs; yellow - warning; blue - constructions ahead; green - freeway signs; brown - scenic signs.
- Everyone should get an updated copy of California Traffic Laws from the DMV, they are free.
- When you couldn't see the other driver's face in his driver side back mirror, you are on his blind spot. You should always stay away from someone's blind spot.
- I reviewed the 3 second rule to find out if you were too close to the car in front of you.
At the end of the day, I got 100% on my test and got a couple of tickets to a comedy show in San Francisco when I received my certificate. I felt like human as I walked out of the class.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A Spa Day is a Smiley Day
Yesterday I wore a smile most of the afternoon. I had a very nice massage at our athletic club by Kristie. I visualized that I was in my room in Kauai, listening to the waves, the wind and the chirping birds. Kristie did a great job relaxing my tight muscles, especially on my shoulders and arms. I loved it. When I walked back to the locker room, I realized that I was beaming with joy. Then I soaked in the hot tub and sat in the steam room. When I was all done, I felt that some heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I was ready for anything.
I am already thinking about doing this again!
I am already thinking about doing this again!
Shopping
It's a rainy day today, and I got depressed easily. I have been bugging Jack all morning about wanting to go shopping.
We went to have dim sum first. We only go to one place for dim sum - Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae. The Dim sum was delicious, and we were very happy about it.
We then went to walk the dogs at the bay. Getting muddy, wet and cold. The dogs were happy, so it's OK. We finished around 2:30 PM.
We still had plenty of time for the rest of the Sunday, so we went to Main Street, Half Moon Bay to go shopping. Luckily, it didn't rain at all when we got back to HMB, and the weather was pleasant.
I used to enjoy window shopping on Main Street alone. Though when I shop alone, everything seemed too expensive, and I wouldn't want to break the buck. As a result, at the end of the day, I usually remain unsatisfied and slightly sorry for the shop owners.
Today was different, I showed Jack my favorite boutique, though they didn't have anything new so I wasn't impressed. We actually picked up a few interesting things from other home stores: a pair of shiny stainless steel cheese knives, a set of spice filled coasters, and a decorative door stop with a golden retriever sculpture.
Was it true that people could tell a lot about you by looking at your shoes? While we walked into some stores, the shop keepers looked straight at our feet, and then measuring the rest of us: what we were carrying, how we were dressed, etc. Coming back from the beach, both Jack's and my shoes were muddy wet. So I felt somewhat uneasy.
After we got home, I continued to shop online. I picked up some blazers and shoes from nordstorm.com.
So $300 later, and transferring more fund into my checking account, I am a happy person.
We went to have dim sum first. We only go to one place for dim sum - Hong Kong Flower Lounge in Millbrae. The Dim sum was delicious, and we were very happy about it.
We then went to walk the dogs at the bay. Getting muddy, wet and cold. The dogs were happy, so it's OK. We finished around 2:30 PM.
We still had plenty of time for the rest of the Sunday, so we went to Main Street, Half Moon Bay to go shopping. Luckily, it didn't rain at all when we got back to HMB, and the weather was pleasant.
I used to enjoy window shopping on Main Street alone. Though when I shop alone, everything seemed too expensive, and I wouldn't want to break the buck. As a result, at the end of the day, I usually remain unsatisfied and slightly sorry for the shop owners.
Today was different, I showed Jack my favorite boutique, though they didn't have anything new so I wasn't impressed. We actually picked up a few interesting things from other home stores: a pair of shiny stainless steel cheese knives, a set of spice filled coasters, and a decorative door stop with a golden retriever sculpture.
Was it true that people could tell a lot about you by looking at your shoes? While we walked into some stores, the shop keepers looked straight at our feet, and then measuring the rest of us: what we were carrying, how we were dressed, etc. Coming back from the beach, both Jack's and my shoes were muddy wet. So I felt somewhat uneasy.
After we got home, I continued to shop online. I picked up some blazers and shoes from nordstorm.com.
So $300 later, and transferring more fund into my checking account, I am a happy person.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Chinese New Year Street Fair and the Gift Show #1
Last Saturday I had a full day of activities. My kiting buddy Gayle got me and my mom exhibitor passes to the S.F. International Gift Show at Moscone Center in San Francisco downtown. I was excited about it because I've never been to the show before. When I got to my mom's, she told me there was a Chinese New Year Street Fair in Chinatown, so we decided to go there too.
We left mom's around 1 PM and took the bus #10 to Chinatown. The driver told everyone to get off the bus as we got to Chinatown and Italy town border, which was the end of his service route. We walked toward the street fair, reminding each other to guard our purses well, because we were entering the most convenient area and situation for pick pockets.
The first thing we saw was a set of mini-carnival rides, but they were mostly empty. The touristy 6 blocks of Grand Ave as well as the interaction streets were blocked off, and vendor stalls were set up on the street. The place was so crowded it was overwhelming.
"Which way should we go?" Mom asked.
"Just walk to one end of Grand, then turn around to the other end."
Grand Ave. in Chinatown was always vibrant. It was packed with souvenir shops, Ginseng and herbal stores, Chinese grocery stores, bakeries/coffee shops, tea houses, restaurants, jewelry stores and boutiques. Most of them were tourist traps, except for the grocery stores and probably the poultry shops with had big sign saying: "no pictures please" in both Chinese and English.
Many street fair vendors sold arts and crafts featuring Chinese New Year decorations. The local Chinese radio station's set up a stage, and mom got to see her favorite D.J. in action. Others sold clothing; people who sold Chinese marinate provided food tasting; fresh popcorn smells great, and there were lots of flower farmers.
I let a lady in a white medical robe checked my blood pressure. She told me it was a little high but not too bad. She suggested that I could take the nature supplement, which she was selling, to improve my immunity. It would help delay my menopause until my late 50s or beginning of my 60s. I politely told her that my blood pressure was alright according on my doctor, and no thanks.
Many people waited in line to play the mini wheel-of-fortune set up by the Cathay Bank. They all looked so hopeful. The line went to the end of the block. SFPD also had a presence to recruit, but he had no customer.
I also had fun shopping. I did agree with mom that we couldn't buy too much, because without a car, we would have to carry everything around wherever we went.
I asked the lady who was selling a popular Japanese hair dye for the price.
"2 for $10."
"That's $5 each, it is not much a discount."
Another lady chimed in, "Well, we offer free gifts."
"What's the gift, may I see it?"
"We give you a cute mirror." She pulled out a 3x2 pink folded mirror in a plastic bag.
"Oh, it's such a tiny thing. That's not much a gift." I wasn't impressed. Though I already pulled out my money to buy 2. Note to myself, I need to work on synchronization between bargaining and my body language. I was never good at bargaining. If anything, anyone could talk me into buying things without much efforts. I am after all, simple and gullible. I felt better when I was with mom, as she would keep me out of trouble.
As I walked away with my purchase, I told mom proudly, "do you think my aunt would like a pink mirror with her hair dye? At least I don't have to pay tax." Tax, unfortunately is as high as 9.5% now.
A lady from a local bank asked if I wanted to get a new credit card, or to open a checking account with interest rate as high as 1.2% for a $10,000 deposit. I said "No, thanks," and walked away with disbelieve.
It was real fun to be at the street fair, watching people buying and selling and being happy.
We took the #45 bus to go to Moscone Center. We were at the back of the bus, which got more and more packed as the bus moved along Chinatown. At the last Chinatown stop, it was absolutely packed. The driver kept telling people to move back, in both Chinese and English. The young man next to me said: "We are at the back, and it's packed. They'll have to wait for the next bus." So the bus moved on.
We left mom's around 1 PM and took the bus #10 to Chinatown. The driver told everyone to get off the bus as we got to Chinatown and Italy town border, which was the end of his service route. We walked toward the street fair, reminding each other to guard our purses well, because we were entering the most convenient area and situation for pick pockets.
The first thing we saw was a set of mini-carnival rides, but they were mostly empty. The touristy 6 blocks of Grand Ave as well as the interaction streets were blocked off, and vendor stalls were set up on the street. The place was so crowded it was overwhelming.
"Which way should we go?" Mom asked.
"Just walk to one end of Grand, then turn around to the other end."
Grand Ave. in Chinatown was always vibrant. It was packed with souvenir shops, Ginseng and herbal stores, Chinese grocery stores, bakeries/coffee shops, tea houses, restaurants, jewelry stores and boutiques. Most of them were tourist traps, except for the grocery stores and probably the poultry shops with had big sign saying: "no pictures please" in both Chinese and English.
Many street fair vendors sold arts and crafts featuring Chinese New Year decorations. The local Chinese radio station's set up a stage, and mom got to see her favorite D.J. in action. Others sold clothing; people who sold Chinese marinate provided food tasting; fresh popcorn smells great, and there were lots of flower farmers.
I let a lady in a white medical robe checked my blood pressure. She told me it was a little high but not too bad. She suggested that I could take the nature supplement, which she was selling, to improve my immunity. It would help delay my menopause until my late 50s or beginning of my 60s. I politely told her that my blood pressure was alright according on my doctor, and no thanks.
Many people waited in line to play the mini wheel-of-fortune set up by the Cathay Bank. They all looked so hopeful. The line went to the end of the block. SFPD also had a presence to recruit, but he had no customer.
I also had fun shopping. I did agree with mom that we couldn't buy too much, because without a car, we would have to carry everything around wherever we went.
I asked the lady who was selling a popular Japanese hair dye for the price.
"2 for $10."
"That's $5 each, it is not much a discount."
Another lady chimed in, "Well, we offer free gifts."
"What's the gift, may I see it?"
"We give you a cute mirror." She pulled out a 3x2 pink folded mirror in a plastic bag.
"Oh, it's such a tiny thing. That's not much a gift." I wasn't impressed. Though I already pulled out my money to buy 2. Note to myself, I need to work on synchronization between bargaining and my body language. I was never good at bargaining. If anything, anyone could talk me into buying things without much efforts. I am after all, simple and gullible. I felt better when I was with mom, as she would keep me out of trouble.
As I walked away with my purchase, I told mom proudly, "do you think my aunt would like a pink mirror with her hair dye? At least I don't have to pay tax." Tax, unfortunately is as high as 9.5% now.
A lady from a local bank asked if I wanted to get a new credit card, or to open a checking account with interest rate as high as 1.2% for a $10,000 deposit. I said "No, thanks," and walked away with disbelieve.
It was real fun to be at the street fair, watching people buying and selling and being happy.
We took the #45 bus to go to Moscone Center. We were at the back of the bus, which got more and more packed as the bus moved along Chinatown. At the last Chinatown stop, it was absolutely packed. The driver kept telling people to move back, in both Chinese and English. The young man next to me said: "We are at the back, and it's packed. They'll have to wait for the next bus." So the bus moved on.
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