Just like the title says... MERRY CHRISTMAS peeps!


It's been SOOOO quiet on my internet front. Then again, my computer time seems to have dwindled down to a few raindrops. At least things are getting done and other stuffs.


I really do hope everyone reading this has a grand Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. And if I don't talk to you before then, which is completely likely, have a SPECTACULAR New Year as well.

Hello and goodbye to September. I think I was alive during it. I still feel intact... mostly. o.o

I pass on greetings, because that is all I have time for.


Toodles!

It seems that the summer has flown by and bleee @ it. This month is nearly over and I keep thinking we are only around the middle of it. Sadly, I'm falling behind again.

I have meant to keep adding pictures but my computer time has been so limited of late and I only just keep up with a few things and never get around to the stuff that doesn't seem to pressing or necessary. I guess it will remain with the other myriad of stoof in limbo, waiting for time to free itself.

The peeps are back in school and nearing the end of their 3rd week. I really hope that homework doesn't keep coming in like it has. Something tells me that this year might be a bit difficult. (There have been some interesting projects... but I just didn't expect to have as much involvement as I have.) I still have that wittle bitty hope that motivation will somehow take hold - disappointment is rather killer at times and I'd rather not have to face it again this year. I don't really relish the job of motivator. It doesn't suit me well.

Other than the fact that time is disappearing into some blackhole, life seems to be going alright. Lack of time makes life a bit heavy and I miss the lighter side of it - the humor. I guess I'll have to figure out how to work a bit in more often.


I blame it all on Eve. (LIEZ!) It is completely addicting, though I don't get nearly enough time to enjoy it as I'd like. A couple hours a day isn't nearly enough, no. I guess it is good that I have that much, at least. It could be worse. ^__^

Hopefully I'll get to putting up more pictures soon. I'd like to say this weekend - but that would probably be setting myself up for failure and I'd rather not make a promise I can't realistically keep.

Mission: Monthly update. Status: Complete. \o/ WOOHOO!

HAPPYEEEE LEMON DAYEEEEE

Posted a lemony dragon in honor of said day. Burd probably has put the linkage in her dA journal to get involved, so checketh there, yo! [link]

May got inadvertently skipped. I was on a roll too! Blah! Well, c'est la vie. Moving on to June.

So, the trip to San Francisco went well. I've decided that I don't quite dislike flying as much as I did before. I attribute it to my flying companion - a calming presence. It was wonderful to get away, but by the last day, I was ready to go home. I missed my boys. I've been randomly giving out hugs to them for no particular reason. The looks on their faces are precious. Perhaps I lost my mind in San Francisco. I did not leave my heart there. Much as I liked the city, it isn't for me. I was claustrophobic.

We saw much. We spent the most time on Pier 39. The shops there are amazing and we picked up a few cute little trinkets! We sidetracked to Aquarium at the Bay. It was nice to see what sealife could be found around the bay, but I was disappointed that I didn't get to see more variety. We ate at Bubba Gumps. I wasn't terribly impressed though the mashed potatoes were good. We took leave of our senses and walked from Pier 39 down to Fisherman's Wharf and I nearly puked walking through Fisherman's Grotto. The smells are nauseating! I wasn't sure I was hungry after that. It is good we drove back down to San Jose to eat. The whole walking trip was saved by a most spectacular museum to old old old arcade games. They were completely amazing - some from 50-70 years ago - though I must have germaphobia because I refused to touch any of them. Parking around the piers is outrageously expensive. And there is a loverly horror story that goes with it but I think perhaps I'll try to forget it rather than mention more of it.

We drove around Chinatown but didn't get out of the car. I believe we might have been too frightened and parking would have been a nightmare. The driving through it was nightmare enough. I can't see how people could live there and be happy. I guess it takes a certain desire - one I lack. It gives me more appreciation for how much Phoenix is sprawled out. We also drove past the AT&T Ballpark. Once just before a Giants - A's game. I still like my Diamondbacks better.

We drove by Stanford, but didn't get out and wander around. We also drove by 33 corporate offices of techy type companies. Until you see how populated silicon valley is with the technology industry, you don't really get the full effect of it. We passed the following: Emc2, McAfee, Sony, Ebay/Paypal, Intel (Sponcer of Tomorrow), Sun Microsystems, Yahoo!, Cisco (which owns practically 1/2 of San Jose), Brocade, Nortel, Data Domain, Microsoft, Meebo, Red Octane, Google, Webex Communications, Oracle, TiVo, IBM, Samsung, Xambala, AMD, Juiper Networks, Postini, Nokia, NVidia, SafeNet, Nikon, Hitachi, Dolby, Atheros, Skype, Novellus. I'm sure there are more but I didn't actually see them. I kept a running list as a joke and it became a game to add more to it. Cisco was probably the most present there. We saw at least 40 huge buildings, covering miles of the city of San Jose all bearing the Cisco sign. Probably never see anything like it again.

We attempted to go see the Redwoods, but we got sidetracked and went down to Stinton Beach instead. It was lovely near the water. I don't enjoy water much so it was with some effort that my companion got me down to the edge of the water. We walked among the sunbathers in our jackets and hats,holding hands - we must have been a sight around so many people less clothed than us. What? It was freezing! It was semi-romantic in a way. We stopped along the road there to get some very beautiful pictures of the shoreline with it's mountains. And the roads. So windy that I can see why someone would get a sportscar - just to wind around there. Not a road to take when drunk or sleepy. It wouldn't take much to go off the edge if you weren't paying close attention. We also drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped just on the other side to take pictures.

We toured through the Winchester House in San Jose. An awesome place. She was constantly building onto it for around 40 years. You could see where some of the previous edges of the house were and where she added on. There wasn't much rhyme or reason to quite a bit of it. Several kitchens, doors that led to nowhere, the oddest staircases, strange closets/storage places, sheer drops down several floors that were surrounded by 4 walls covered in windows that had no use whatsoever, changes in floor elevation everytime you turned around, tight squeezes, huge areas - nothing really fit with each other. But, it was an amazing tour. The garden outside the house was quite lovely as well. It had a gun museum dedicated to the Winchester legacy.

Our last day was spent on Alcatraz Island. I think it was my favorite place of all. The views and old crumbling buildings were incredible and breathtaking. We took more pictures there than anywhere else so I don't suppose that I'll forget the experience very soon.

I have to say the food was most excellent. I got to eat roasted duck and taste the best mini donuts ever. We encountered a place that let you build your own burger - which turned out to be probably the best burger I've ever eaten. I can't fault the food on this trip at all. We did eat well.

The one thing that was probably the most difficult to endure was the parking in San Francisco and the traffic there. It's bad here, but a different bad -- one easier to take, I think. And our airport here is way nicer. Heh. You don't know how important that is until you try to go through it.

All in all, a wonderful experience. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.