Spot on.

This is Elena (and me, obviously):

For some reason this was the only photo of her I could find on my computer, and it is from about five years ago. Not the best photo of me, but I had just graduated from my first master's program and we were out celebrating with family, friends, and pitchers of margaritas.

Elena and I met on the bus, on our way to middle school. After that first year of getting to know each other huddled around the heaters in our flimsy school uniforms, we (along with two other girls, who will get their own post sometime) spent three years carpooling, having sleepovers, and getting ready for school dances together. Elena and I remained friends throughout high school, even though she was definitely way cooler than me. We pretty much lost touch in college, but reconnected when she moved to LA. In the years that our time in LA overlapped, we would often meet up for brunch or lunch or breakfast or dinner or some other meal at any point in the day when we both happened to be hungry. Sometimes we would take her dog for a hike in Runyon Canyon or go shopping on Melrose or at the Beverly Center. Sometimes we would sneak into the fancy hotels and hang out at the pools and Elena always knew how to play it off so the management just accepted our presence. One time Elena hosted a Cinco de Mayo party at her house, complete with a piñata.

Elena is one of those girls who could ACTUALLY pull off wearing a burlap sack and look killer in it. She does improv and standup and once actually got up on a stage and read her middle school diary in front of a crowd of people.

She also made this video:

This is essentially a documentary of my life there. Ah, the endless quest for parking. Seriously, it is SPOT ON. And, weirdly, it makes me miss LA.

Rain Rain That's Okay

When I first moved to San Francisco I was NOT PLEASED with the weather. I had just come from LA, where the rainy season is approximately two hours and it could be 75 degrees in the middle of January. I wore flip flops all year round!
No I didn't.
Why? Because I was USED TO IT. I got used to the hot LA weather and became a giant weenie. (One might argue that I was always a weenie but to them I point out that my sister and I used to regularly go surfing in the dead of winter. We would go several days in a row so we'd be pulling on wet, sandy wetsuits. Also, our system for deciding if it was time to stop and go home was whether or not we could still hold our hands together with straight fingers. Because if we couldn't control our fingers then we couldn't get the key out of whoever's wetsuit it was in and unlock the car. See? Not always a weenie).
So when I first moved to SF I would be standing there waiting for the bus, shivering even though I was wearing all of my jackets. Gradually I learned the art of layering so the cold, foggy weather didn't bother me quite so much. Basically, I submit this paragraph as evidence that I would never survive if I lived somewhere with SNOW.
Where was I? Right. The cold weather was okay but what I couldn't STAND was the rain. The raaaaaaaiiiinnn. I didn't own rain boots when I first moved here so I would wear sneakers which would (surprise) get soaking wet. For two years I had wet shoesies and pant cuffs and socks. I didn't buy rain boots because I was too indecisive. I thought maybe I would like to get some of those rubber galoshes with some cute pattern like they sell. But I could never make up my mind of which ones to get and I thought about buying neutral colored boots but, ugh, that's just boring isn't it?

Until this year. I bought THESE:

They're from Timberland and oh oh oh I love them. I don't know if the photos do them justice and maybe I'm just overly excited because of my two-year wet feet interval but oh man do I love them. If you ever hang out with me when I wear them you'll notice that I tend to announce at random intervals "BY THE WAY HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE THESE BOOTS?" Yes, in all caps.

Seriously, they make me so happy. I wear them every time it rains or looks like it might rain or I want to wear stretch pants.

Now I just need a new raincoat. Because I, erm, prematurely sold mine to a used clothing store before I  bought a new one.... Apparently I'm not meant to own an entire set of rainy day attire at the same time.

Potpourri

For someone who doesn't have cable I've certainly been managing to watch a few too many episodes of both Gossip Girl and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (hereafter referred to as Secret Life as that title is far too long). Actually, I don't have the attention span to sit down and watch shows, but I do like to have some noise in the background whilst I'm puttering around the house and washing dishes and such.
I find it interesting that these two shows have captured my attention because Gossip Girl is full of characters I CAN'T STAND and don't sympathize with and don't like ONE BIT (Why did you become such a tool, Dan? Why?) and don't care if bad things happen to them. But then Secret Life is full of characters that are likable and who I can sympathize with despite their poor choices and ... Oh wait. I figured it out. It's because I don't actually care about any of those characters either. Neither show has me INVESTED enough to care if something bad happens to their characters. In other words, neither show can HURT ME. Yes, that's what I said. Because I didn't think reading the Hunger Games series could hurt me even though it was violent and mind-boggling but oh ho ho, the author managed to kill off the ONE character I LOVED and so I read the rest of the book(s? [no spoilers here]) feeling wounded and mad. And I don't like to feel wounded or mad when I'm listening to TV and folding my laundry so that means I can't get too invested and I guess that solves the mystery of why I like both Gossip Girl and Secret Life. Glad that's settled. As you were.

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I was going through the photos on my phone yesterday and I found a couple that I thought I would share in sort of a randomly assorted kind of way.

I decided to take a shortcut through an alley a few months ago. I was just walking along, minding my own business. And then I came across THIS:

Of course. Why am I even surprised at the things I see on the streets of San Francisco, anymore? Coffin boxes. Rainbow-dyed dogs. A whole horde of people dressed as Santas. There are usually plenty of interestingly dressed people but my favorite by far was a man I saw just a couple weeks ago while walking down Polk Street. Amongst the flamboyantly dressed and leather clad citizens of the Tenderloin this man was delightfully understated, wearing jeans and a tee shirt with long hair and a handlebar mustache and just a hint of something extra-- a pair of long blue dangly earrings.

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I went to Chinatown awhile back and stood in front of this display for a rather long time.

I must have some sort of sensory issue because all I wanted to do was stand there and fondle those small objects. I particularly enjoyed picking up one and squeezing it in my hand. It was HIGHLY satisfying.

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Um. One of my chairs broke. Actually, only the seat split in half first. KC told me he could fix it. And then I tried to move it aside into the corner while I was doing something at the table and it ended up like THIS:

Apparently I do not know my own strength. Ha ha. Just kidding. The chair must have been held together with wishes and spit because anyone who has met me in real life knows my arm muscles are purely decorative.

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The other day I wanted to make my bed. Bowie was on the bed and would not move. So I made the bed with him in it.

Oh GOODNESS.

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I have clinical tomorrow. My preceptor emailed me and said she'd prefer if I stayed the full 12 hours so we could debrief and plan out the rest of the quarter. Twelve hour shifts were the norm during my first year (the RN part of my program) but for the past year and a half we've switched to the kinder schedule of 6-8 hr days. And those days are intense enough, I'll tell ya what. I'm usually exhausted after them. Anyhow, most of my preceptors have not been on the 12 hr day schedules but this one is and she'd like me to stay that long. And so I will. But right now I'm sort of worrying about how on earth I'm going to cram enough snacks into my bag for tomorrow. For an 8 hour day's snacks and lunch I usually bring fruit strips, string cheese, a sandwich, an apple juice, crackers or pretzels, a granola bar, some berries, and a big bottle of water. So what am I supposed to add on there for a 12 hour day? Gah. Interesting how I really ought to be worrying about understanding EKGs and identifying heart sounds but no no here I am spending my time fretting about SNACKS.

Park, Boat, Hat, Ducks, Turtles

Even though I live in San Francisco I haven't spent very much time in Golden Gate Park. And I keep accidentally calling it Central Park. Whoops. Anyhow, Saturday! Saturday I went boating in Central Golden Gate Park. In a boat.
This boat, specifically:

There was a 30 minute wait for those paddle boat thingies but if you wanted a leaky old rowboat with one wonky paddle? STEP RIGHT UP. And do you see that shadow? That's me in my NEW HAT. I bought it on Friday and have since become obsessed with it. Also please note how dainty I am with my pinky up.

I rowed for a little while, mostly for entertainment purposes because, well, I have spaghetti arms as you can see here:

Most of the time I did this:

Sat in the boat WITH MY NEW HAT ON!

We saw a family of ducks:

And a LIVE ACTION version of Yertle the Turtle:

"I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me! For I am the ruler of all that I see!"

All in all, a fun adventure in Centr Golden Gate Park!

Lunar New Year Dim Summary

This post showcases something that BARELY didn't make it on my Life List: eat dim sum in Chinatown. It only didn't make it onto the list because I did it on Saturday and therefore before the list came into existence. And I wasn't about to put it on the list just so I could cross it off. No faux Life List accomplishments for me, thank you!

Actually, one of the reasons I finally got off my tush and actually wrote the list is that I have recently been doing all kinds of awesome San Franciscoey things that should! have! been! on! my! list! Bike riding across the Golden Gate Bridge. Going to Alcatraz. Standing atop Twin Peaks. And so on.

Anywho, Saturday involved me eating dim sum for the first time in my life (How did I make it to 27 without knowing about the dumplings? HOW?) and wandering around Chinatown.

 

It was absolutely mobbed with people because of Lunar New Year (Did you know it's not just Chinese New Year-- the Koreans, Mongolians, etc celebrate it too? And did you know that there is a Cambodian New Year as well? (Yeah. I used to plan activities at a multicultural adult day health care center, so you best believe I was celebrating every damn holiday that existed (and even some that didn't (Pajama Party Day!)))). There was definitely a festive feeling in the air-- people hurried past one another buying orchids, eating treats, watching the kids on stage, getting into the huge line for the spin to win, haggling, chattering, laughing, and blowing bubbles.

And me? Well I managed to get my hands on mini custard pie so I worked on #5 (before it was #5).

 

Happy New Year! I was born in the year of the dog, what about you?

(c)heater

Winter has apparently arrived in the City by the Bay. For me, this means permanently switching my radio station to 96.5 so I can listen to Christmas music all the time. Yes, allthetime. It also means that it's cold. I know it's probably not cold to some of you snowfolk, but cold to my California wussyness. And I'm extra wussy, or so I've been told. So the other day I turned on my heater and I realized something: the heater likes the blinds shut.

See I was leaving the blinds on my window open for several reasons-- natural light, making my wee apartment feel less claustrophobic, people watching during allocated study time, etc etc. But also because I figured that the COLD from the windows would make the heater stay on longer. Because if the apartment feels colder to the heater, it will work harder... you follow my logic?

But then the other day I left the blinds shut because I wasn't ready to deal with the day and the heater stayed on much much longer. And then I tested it, opening the blinds to see when it would shut off. To my surprise, it turned off much SOONER. It's as if my heater needs an ego boosting sense of accomplishment. When the blinds are shut, the heater chugs along, warming up the house degree by degree, feeling proud of itself. When the blinds are open, the heater starts up and then quits, throwing its arms into the air and pouting well why do I even bother!?


So this means I have to make a choice when I'm in my apartment: I can either have natural light and a pretty view of the outside world, or I can be warm. But I can't have both. (Balls!)