No rest for the weary

A quick update on our great vacation. Chad and I have been exploring San Francisco for the past two days, starting with a ferry ride from Oakland to San Fran yesterday, walking down past all the piers to Fisherman's Wharf, a ferry ride to and tour of Alcatraz (really cool) and a San Francisco Giants game. Plus a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant with three pitchers of margaritas for our table and fabulous food & company. All that was yesterday. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Today we went walking all around downtown San Francisco. We walked through the authentic Chinatown (not the tourist one) where I watched a woman take a chicken out of a cage and cut its head off. This was after I saw live fish flapping around out of water and a man pick two toads out of a bucket to buy for dinner. Not necessarily something that I intended to see...perhaps it's a good thing I didn't go to China with Chad.

Got a great chocolate eclair in Little Italy, walked down Lombard Street, through Hyde Park to a Safeway that is ranked one of the #1 places in the city to meet singles (I'm not kidding), a great local place for lunch and then a long walk back to the car. It's great to travel the city with locals so we know where to go, where to eat, etc. I'm waiting for the moment when I wake up and my thighs are killing me from the steep hills. At least I'll have some exercise while on vacation!

Oh and we topped off the day with hot fudge sundaes from Fentons, which has been an Oakland ice cream parlor since 1884. Talk about ending the day with a cherry on top.

Off to Sonoma tomorrow.

Eureka! I found it

Last Thursday morning I went to the gym. I haven't seen my iPod since. Over the weekend, I thought I left it at work. On Monday, I found my headphones, but no iPod. This continued for the better part of this week while I looked through my gym bags, empty drawers, random sacks of stuff I've been meaning to go through. I even searched in the couch cushions (and I found a LOT of empty candy wrappers--I'm on to you, Chad...). I had resigned myself to buying a new one eventually, that's how peeved I was for spending so much time looking.

In a moment of brilliance about five minutes ago, I decided to go back and search behind the passenger seat of the Jeep. I had already searched behind the driver's seat and about everywhere else in that damn vehicle. Lo and behold, I stuck my hand underneath and there it was.

So now I have my iPod back. And now, more importantly, I am not worried that I am losing my mind. For that reason, anyway.

Sugar Shock

Most of what I eat in my life goes in cycles. There are the things I have never liked (celery, cucumbers, beets), the stuff I have taught myself to like (tomatoes, coffee, beer), and then those things that I may like or dislike just depending on what mood I'm in.

Take today, for instance. I have a big jar of chocolate candy on my desk (I buy in bulk from Costco--it makes people come visit me all the way back here in the corner). For awhile I was obsessed with the Milk Duds. Then I gradually started favoring Baby Ruths. For some reason today I have had three little packs of peanut m&m's. How does this happen? I never even used to like them!

The poor mini Hershey's bars always come in dead last in my little office candy competition. When everything else is gone, I leave them in the jar for weeks at a time until people feel sorry for them and eat them. I know they secretly feel really depressed.

Vacation brain

I read once that people are incredibly productive the week after vacation but not the week before. Let me be the next case study. We leave for California on Friday, and I can't focus on anything today. How on earth am I supposed to get anything done this week?

A recent BusinessWeek article says that most people don't take all of the vacation time they have. I call those people absolutely crazy. I vow to never pretend to be so important to believe that my workplace cannot survive without me around. (In fact, they probably all welcome it!)

I'm hoping to come back after Labor Day renewed, refreshed and, of course, more productive. Until then, I'm wondering what on earth I'm going to be able to get done this week.

Best billboard ever

Special thanks to my cousin Lindsey for snapping this photo while she was back in Illinois. My favorite part is that the lady's head is clearly photoshopped into the picture. Classic.

Alright, where is it?

I'm pretty sure that Chad pops back every now and then from China to move stuff around the house. How else can I explain why the scissors are not exactly where they are supposed to be or how the lights got left on in the basement? And who the heck left toothpaste drips all around the bathroom sink?

(Bleck)...I'll have a beer

Poor Chad is in China with a terrible case of food poisoning. I talked to him briefly yesterday morning and he was fine (12 hours later there so he was heading to bed). I woke up this morning and he had been sick all night and all day. This is my favorite story:

So Chad was a trouper and went to the business meetings in the morning and then went to lunch. He still felt terrible. What he really needed was a bunch of water and/or Gatorade, but of course, they don't have that in China. His beverage options were coconut milk, coconut juice, or beer. He had both coconut things before and didn't like either so he went with the beer. His reasoning? "Well, I figured it was carbonated..."

Last I heard he was in bed.

All by myself...

I have been home alone all weekend, save for last night when Janice and I went to dinner and this afternoon when I went to Bath & Body Works for some hand soap.

In the span of two days, I have talked to four people. And what's weird is, I don't feel lonely at all! Perhaps it's all the conversations I've been having with myself?

My thoughts exactly...

I have this quote up in my office and it's especially pertinent today:

"I never cease to be amazed with how what I say gets distorted. For years I took on the responsibility and tried to become an excellent communicator. After some time I realized that I already was a good communicator and that most people just don't listen."