Browse Category: random

Missed Photo Opp

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photo courtesy of tpbrown on Flickr

It’s 6:23 pm and I just got home today from an extra-long day at work. On my way home (around 5:55 pm), I arrived at Embarcadero Station to find a grip of people piled into the incoming trains all clutching pillows and running up the stairs. The clock was about to strike at 6:00 and everyone was ready for battle. Dangit!! I totally should have come home at my usual time today! I was standing there in the midst of probably the largest pillow fight in the world without a frickin’ camera!! *sigh* So I got on the train and rode home all bummed out.

Anyway, here’s a taste of the action. Maybe next year…maybe next year…Happy Valentine’s Day!

Gone Fishin’

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This morning on our usual walk, I noticed that there was an ENORMOUS storm of seagulls swarming around the harbor. I thought that maybe I just hadn’t noticed them before and moved on. This evening, as I was walking Koa, I heard a sea lion barking in the harbor. I thought, “Hm…there’s something fishy going on here.” Being the curious creature that I am, I walked over to the pier to find a small boat making circles by the ballpark. One of the harbor security dudes was on his bike hanging out by the edge so I asked him what was going on. He said that they were fishing for herring and so were the sea lions. He also said that the seagulls like to eat the fish eggs that are typically laid on the side of the pier. OHHHHH! How cool! He even took out his trusty flashlight and tried to show me where the eggs were. Neat-o! I guess it’s herring season from now until February and it sounded like the fishin’ was good so far.

Lesson of the Day: It pays off to ask questions. You could learn something new.

crap on the wall

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Last weekend we had some more crappy art installed on our building. If any of you have been here, you can’t really miss all the crappy art that is everywhere – in the halls, in the lobby, on my side of the building, and now on the other side of the building. When it was all done on Sunday, it looked like an alien had crapped on the side of the building. It should say something when in the article written about this installment stated that the artist paused, laughed, and said “I should have thought this through better.” Fan-f’ing-tastic.

what a waste…

p1000178b.jpgThis post is a little reflection of my first experience flying with Virgin America. I’m a frequent Southwest and JetBlue customer and this airline was worth checking out.

First of all, I scored $39 one-way tickets from SFO-LAX. Plus. However, they have only 5 daily flights to LAX right now, which seem to fill up quickly for peak travel days/times. Minus. They fly out of SFO, which has a direct connection to BART and have assigned seats. Plus. When I arrived at the gate (on time) they were delayed about 20 minutes. Minus. They had plush leather seats and power outlets in coach along with personal entertainment with DirectTV. Plus. I was pretty hungry and they didn’t give out any snacks. Minus.

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The TV and video game remote is tucked away in the arm rest. That’s pretty cool.

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Who doesn’t enjoy TV on a flight?! They also use Google Maps to track the flight.

Overall impressions of Virgin? It’s good and comparable to JetBlue minus the snacks and reliable entertainment. It has power for your mobile devices, which is a definite plus (esp. for cross-country flights). The purple mood lighting and loungey music is a cute touch but completely unnecessary. I would have to say that it’s a good competitor with JetBlue. Just beware of the rising prices as the airline becomes more mainstream. Until then, expect a half-empty plane (on off-peak flights) with a few kinks they have to work out. Would I fly with them again? Sure. At least I know that I have another option when I fly home or to New York.

Now for my return flight…

On my return trip today, my expected 4-hour journey (including drive time, flight, and commute on BART) turned into 7. It’s not all Virgin’s fault but it definitely tainted my first flight back with them.

My flight was scheduled for 11:40 am. We left the house at 10:15 with plenty of time to get to the airport and for check-in. We got to the airport exit around 10:40 and that’s when the day turned sour. The exit was closed and my dad and I had to circle the airport for another 45 minutes trying to find a way into the terminals. A couple of wrong turns, a closed off intersection, and unusually congested streets resulted in me getting through security and to the gate by 11:30 where the plane had already pushed back. *grr* I was booked on the 1:55 pm flight and had to hang out in Terminal 6 (probably the worst terminal ever) for another 2 hours.

Once aboard the plane, I nearly knocked at guy in the head with my backpack and had to sit next to a really snobby lady who kept scowling at me. As we pushed off and started our taxi, the plane paused with an announcement from above. There was rain in SF and we were ordered to sit on the runway for another 25 minutes. What?! By the time we took off, it was 1:30 and a half hour past the landing time of my original flight. Argh. The flight was bumpy and the DirectTV was not working the entire time. Thank goodness for the power outlet because I was then able to sort through this weekend’s photos. We landed at 4:00 pm and I was restless. I rushed over to the BART station, which is actually IN the airport and got home by 5:00 pm. I can’t believe I spent my day off traveling.

quite a pair

My dad introduced me to this Japanese-made show. The premise of this video is a monkey and dog trained to deliver a package across town. The monkey is trained to remember the path (turning at certain intersections, crossing a small stream, etc.), keep the package in his doggie’s backpack, and deliver the package to a friend. The dog actually belongs to the monkey and they work together to accomplish their goal. It’s so cute that he holds the dog’s leash, puts the package back in the backpack when it falls out, and has to problem-solve his way through the route. You can see him trying to remember which way to turn and coaxing his dog across the water.

In other episodes, their assignments include buying a certain pair of shoes at a store down the street, take photos of animals at the zoo, picking up a certain type of cheese from the store, and going through a park and into a forest to gather a certain type of mushroom. The monkey has been trained to tie up the dog before going into a store and throwing away trash that he sees along the way. He even carries a bag that holds money and he knows to pay the lady at the counter with the money in his bag. This all sounds pretty silly but you just have to watch it to understand. That’s Japanese TV programming for ya.