Wining and Dining

I've been unintentionally neglectful in my blogging. It's not for lack of material, I've just been too busy with other things. Such as getting addicted to an old computer game that my college friends and I used to play. One friend would even skip class to play so as to beat the high score. I won't even say what the game is because I don't want anyone Googling it and becoming neglectful of their husbands, wives, pugs, or blogs because of it. I've taken it off the computer and am back to my old self.

Last Friday Alan and I went on the San Mateo Wine Walk, where you walk around to participating businesses and get samples of wine. We got a ride from our sober driver (Caltrain) and proceeded to sample wines from 5:30 until 9. It was definitely a good time, although I'm not sure I remember most of the wines by name. Cheers to matching wine to your shirt!



We stopped off at a Thai restaurant in between wine tastings. We got to listen to everyone walking by talk about how it was the BEST Thai food in town. We disagree; it's still pretty tough to beat Thai Siam (although there is a Siam Thai in downtown Palo Alto. We're hoping the similarity in name means it's as delish!)



Although, the egg rolls were some of the best I've ever tasted.



Our stop after the Thai restaurant was Domino's, where they were pouring full glasses of wine instead of the one-ounce servings they were supposed to be pouring. Needless to say, the place was packed and this picture doesn't do it justice.



When we were finished drinking our fill (which was when the walk was over), we walked over to Baskin Robbins to eat dessert and kill some time before our sober driver came to pick us up. On the way we saw this sign in a window.



Psychic pet readings?? What do they tell them? "You're going to chase your tail tomorrow." "You will cough up a hairball." "You will fall in love at the dog park." What will they think of next....

More Marti

More of our silly dog. At left, Marti with the remote control. At right, Marti with me at work. This is not a posed shot.

San Francisco Treats

Alan and I went up to San Francisco (or “the city” as we locals say) last weekend to do a bit of sight seeing. We went to Pier 39, a popular tourist destination that has tons of restaurants and shops and the world-famous sea lions, some of which are too lazy to migrate and instead just like to hang out on the docks year-round. They are hilarious to watch, and I could honestly sit there for an hour listening to them bark at each other.

After Pier 39 we headed off to find The Stinking Rose, a restaurant that prides itself on “flavoring its garlic with food.” It was on our way to the restaurant that the night got interesting. If you’ve never been to SF, I have to tell you that the hills are THE STEEPEST I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. You look at the city and it’s just not normal. How people ever decided that it was a good idea to build on the steepest hills ever in an earthquake-prone city is beyond me. So Alan and I are driving through the city’s Little Italy, a neighborhood called North Beach. Our search for parking in the busy area took us off the main drag and onto the steepest hills in America.

When I said that I didn’t want to drive a stick shift in San Francisco, I know Alan just thought I was being dramatic. However, when we were on one of these side streets — looking through the windshield straight up at the clouds, unable to see over the hood of our car to the street, unable to get going faster than 1 MPH, with our car literally burning up, the smoke coming out the back of our poor little Saturn, a cab behind us and the pressure to get up the hill, did I mention the burning? The smell? — I think Alan saw my point of view. We’ve decided that next time we head in we’ll probably take the train and cabs, lest we blow up our car on the streets of San Francisco.

Once we were out of the car, things improved. The whole area was lively. We even saw someone smoking pot on the streets. Craziness! Thanks to our reservations, we walked right in the restaurant and sat down. The food was really tasty, very garlicky as you might imagine, but delish. When we got back to the parking garage, our car even managed to start, so that was a wonderful end to a fun and frightening day in “the city.”

Sorry no pics of this adventure, but the camera was MIA. We do have video of the aftermath, in which Alan thinks our car exploding is hilarious and I do not.

But just when ya’ll thought there would be no pictures at all, I present a little piece I like to call “Marti’s destruction of goat, who now has a horn coming out of his head that was clearly not there before.”

Do they, like, sell wall stuff?

Unlike Paris Hilton, I'm well aware of the retail giant Wal-Mart and all that it offers. I've had a love/hate relationship with the store my whole life. While I hate that it makes me feel like I need to shower when I leave, I love its low, low prices. Alan and I took a trip across the bay last night to the "mainland" to find what we think is our nearest Wal-Mart. And boy, were we in price heaven! Compared to the prices at our local grocery, the prices at Wal-Mart were near-normal! A can of soup for about a dollar? YES! Cereal for less than $5? Sweet! We kept saying, "It's just like home!" We stocked up on all the dry foodstuff we could: pasta, condiments, bread, granola bars, juice. It's no Superstore, but it has a lot of the basics. Even milk. It was well worth our trip across the water. And all it cost was a $4 toll on the way back home, which we are going to call our "Wal-Mart cover charge."

Moved in!

Thanks to very generous family members (Larry, Lorrie, Sharon, Mom, various relatives in the states of Colorado and Utah) Alan and I officially have all of our possessions in house. We're slowly getting settled in and the more items we unpack the more it feels like home in our little apartment!

I thought I'd share a little photo update of life over the past week or so. Enjoy!

Alan, now an official "biker dude."



Me making sure the helmet is up to my safety standards.



Marti came down with another tummy rash, a la her previous itch-fest. Because all of our stuff was still on the way, and therefore the lampshade unavailable, Alan had to resort to creative measures to get Marti to leave her belly alone.



She has since been diagnosed as a "flank licker," which means she's most likely a headcase rather than an allergic beast.

And as if she wasn't expensive enough, Marti has now taken to literally consuming money.



Drive two through the western Utah/Nevada countryside.




Thank goodness for beautiful California. As soon as you cross the border, the landscape changes.



Marti, super relieved to be out of the kennel, with a couch again, where she can sleepily watch my every move as I work.

California Crazies

Alan called me today to let me know that while he was at the post office he heard the guy in front of him complaining about the weather. And how hot it is. And how it's going to be a "miserable summer if this keeps up."

It's currently 79 degrees.

West Side Story

People from the Midwest, myself included, often think of California and thoughts of million dollar homes and high gas prices come to mind. And the million dollar homes of course aren’t the same variety as you’d find in Kansas. To put it in perspective, you’d probably be spending in the range of $500,000 for a two-bedroom condo. But California is one clever little state. It quickly seduces you with gorgeous weather, blooming flowers, easy access to big cities and countryside alike, and amazing views of the clouds blowing in off of the ocean. Needless to say, we’re happy with our choice of location.

While we’re definitely falling in love with our area, there are definitely things you see that make you think – and sometimes even utter – the dreaded “We’re not in Kansas any more” phrase. Some examples…*

Housing Search
I knew from the beginning that housing was not the same. It is more immediate, more urgent. We booked an appointment to view our now-apartment on Thursday evening of last week. We viewed the apartment, along with five other people before and after us, at 10 a.m. on Friday. The apartment was posted online on craigslist on Friday morning. And by 3:30 p.m., Alan and I had keys. If you’re not there when the sign goes up, you’re out of luck.

Housing Cost
We went from having an awesome 2BR apartment with all the bells and whistles you could want for $755 a month to having a 1BR, no dishwasher, no laundry, no pool, for $1100 a month. And we are thrilled! Thrilled because our other options were more in the range of $1700 a month. And I’m sorry, I’d rather be a bit cramped and do my dishes by hand than pay that much.

This is the outside of our apartment. The entry door is in the corner to the left of the garage on the right. And our living room window is above it to the left.



Food
While we’re talking costs, let me mention a few items that made my jaw drop while we were in this corner market last night. A package of Chips Ahoy cookies: $5.29. WHAT??? Chef Boyardee: $2.50. Even cans of soup are about 90 cents more than at home. Thank goodness we’re saving on rent!

Grass
There’s not much of it. Period. It’s far from all concrete and asphalt though. It’s just that in neighborhoods, things are so crowded that I think people use shrubbery and trees to block themselves off from their neighbors. Instead of front yard/sidewalk/grass/street, it’s front yard/shrubs/sidewalk/street. No little grassy patches for Marti to enjoy along the road. It’s not bad, just different.

This is the view looking up the street. The street off to the right is our street. See, no grass!



However, exciting discovery: There is a dog park that’s a two-minute walk from our apartment. I was so excited! Marti gets her freedom to roam!

Inspections
Smog checks. Yuck! To be fair, Missouri requires car inspections too, but being from Kansas I’ve never had to worry about it. Alan is currently out on the town, hitting the smog inspection place and the DMV for new plates. Thank goodness he doesn’t start work until July 1.

Dog license
I came across something on the Menlo Park city website: Every dog in the city must have a license. Exsqueeze me? What a pain.

Recycling
Recycling runs rampant throughout these parts, which is great. I read that the less trash you have, the less you get charged for garbage removal services….so therefore, it behooves apartment owners/businesses to recycle more and throw away less. Outside of our apartment, we have the regular garbage can, and aluminum, paper and plastic recycling cans as well. It definitely makes it easy to recycle. Even Chipotle has a recycle bin on its trash can:



Paranoia
The recycling bit brings me to mention the paranoia that Alan and I feel, like we’re going to break some sort of law. We feel like we might get in trouble if we do something wrong, like failing to recycle or letting Marti walk somewhere she shouldn’t. We’re always on the watch to make sure we’re abiding by the rules. I guess with limited open space, you have more people making sure you’re picking up after your dog. No more sneaking away from Marti poo for us!

Bikes
Menlo Park/Palo Alto/Stanford are all right up against each other, and people bike everywhere. It’s super bike friendly around here, with tons of bike paths, and it’s probably quicker to bike most places that are within a few miles than to drive there. Alan and I plan to get bikes to make the most of living in such a small city. No gasoline for us! (phew!)

Marti is also settling in nicely. She has discovered a great pine cone replacement: some little flowers that she discovered around our apartment. I need to look them up to make sure they're not poisonous.



*Note that these examples are from our specific town and neighborhood. I’m sure California is more diverse than just my observations. Maybe.