Life in Sactown II

Staying at my parents house means that I get to sleep in my old bedroom. (I lucked out and they have not converted my room to a gym or storage space YET). During the summer I was constantly woken up to some thrashing noise above my head. In August, my dad caught an entire family of raccoons and released them along the Sacramento River.

It is now January and I'm still waking up to thrashing above my head early in the morning. Turns out this time around a family of squirrels have made our attic their little escape from the cold winter nights!

Tonight my dad happily announced that he caught a squirrel after attempting to capture them for a few weeks now. His trick was to super glue peanuts down onto the trigger so that they would actually set it off and stay in the trap. He then told me that it's shivering and he's not sure if it's going to live through the night. I chuckled because I thought he was kidding... Apparently not. He's really worried that it might die and will be releasing it along the river tonight with hope that it will run up into a tree for the night.

What is with all of these little critters nesting in our attic?

UPDATE 012909: Per PLW's request, a few pics of the little critter before my dad took him to the river. Squirrel, squirrel, shake your bushy tail.

Bday Shouts 012709

Apologies for falling behind on posts since I started to take care of my grandma. Here's a shout out to all of those important bdays I missed during the last month or so: My Uncle Larry, Brewskie, Arielle, Annemarie and most of all my dad.

Happy belated bdays ya'll!

The Bachelor - Week 4

I’ve decided to do a brief recap of the Bachelor each week since I have money on the line in a friendly pool (see chart below). My top four are: Lauren, Melissa, Nikki and Jillian. Of course two of my four were cut last night. ACK.

Recap (SPOILER ALERT): The show started off with the ladies having to make up and perform a song for Jason. Although Lauren was the most in tune, he ended up choosing Molly. The two of them spent a romantic evening at his home eating dinner, s’mores, making out and spending the night in a tent! They definitely have a lot of chemistry, or as Jason would say, “her eyes sparkle.” Of course… she got the rose and will be sticking around for at least another week.

The next morning all of the girls were incredibly jealous of Molly who was fully dressed in Jason’s clothes and bragging about how she was sleep deprived. The group date tested the ladies’ acting skills on the set of General Hospital. Of all the girls, Melissa definitely had the most difficult time watching the other ladies during the individual “kissing” scenes. At the wrap party all of the ladies were having issues from earlier in the day and all of the kissing scenes / visible connections with Jason and the other women. Naomi won the rose on the group date after a little one on one time which included tears making out with him. (He really does kiss all the girls). I was a little surprised that he did not choose Lauren after she basically gave him the ultimatum and said she would be pissed if he did not give her the rose… sike!

Stephanie and Nikki had the two on one date titled “Let’s dance the night away.” One girl would be going home and the other would be staying. That being said… Jason surprised Stephanie and Nikki with two beautiful gowns for their evening. The night started off with waltz dance lessons. Very awkward having the three of them around… stepping in on the dancing. It was a duel to the bitter end to win the rose. He gave the rose to Stephanie who has the “heart of gold.”

Poor Nikki. She was on my final four list, but I had a feeling from the get that she would get the boot since she’s so uptight and not into spontaneity. To be the girl chosen on the two girl date, you always have to open up to the person and prove that you belong… not Nikki’s forte. However, she did receive the first impression rose on night two. In the end, he chose Stephanie. Yes, they have a stronger connection, but I also think he likes the fact that she’s a mom and that’s why he’s keeping her around.

Rose Ceremony: Jason does not end up giving out the final rose because he does not picture himself with any of them!! WHAAAT. Surprising little twist, but ultimately he’s there to find someone he wants to marry. Jason claimed he does not want to lead any of them on so he does not give it to Lauren, Megan or Shannon. Wow.

A few takeaways on individual ladies:
Shannon – scary stalker. “The first night I met Jason, it was definitely love at first sight.” Also bothers me that her upper lip never moves when she talks.
Jillian – playing it cool and on the back burner
Megan – bitter woman. Yes she’s a mom, but not feeling a strong connection.
Melissa – finally getting hooked on Jason. Is this just because she wants to win the reality TV show? Very cute, “I can only practice Melissa Mesnick in my head so many times.”
Lauren – too bossy and not personable. Took the wrong approach too far and got axed.

Synopsis of my final four: They gave me a headache last night. Nikki and Lauren got the boot, Lauren was being the bossy/annoying/fake girl, Jillian did not stand out and Melissa was the only one who made me proud.

Until next week!

One, Two, ChaCha CHA

A few months ago a friend of my brother's introduced me to the wonderful tool called ChaCha - a conversational, fun, and easy to use. Simply ask your question like you are talking to a smart friend and ChaCha’s advanced technology instantly routes it to the most knowledgeable person on that topic in our Guide community. Your answer is then returned to your phone as a text message within a few minutes.

It's basically an application similar to Google searches that you may do straight from your mobile phone. Ask ChaCha any question or concern you may have and minutes later ChaCha will send you a response. Whether you need to know the final score of a big game, weather forecast or more technical question, ChaCha will always be there for you.

Chris, my brother's friend, texts ChaCha often and recently sent the following about a bar in San Francisco called R bar:

And good 'ol ChaCha (a she according to Chris) responded with:

Downside - According to their Web site, ChaCha asks to limit your questions to four every 72 hours in order to prevent overload.

Life in Sactown

For the past week I have been back in Sacramento taking care of my grandmother. She was recently released from a two plus month stint in the hospital and needs a lot of taking care of while she recovers. Taking care of her can be a lot of work with multiple medications and diabetes to regulate, but I've also begun to notice the little and great things about Sacramento such as...

A fifteen minute drive to the closest winery in Clarksburg

Free tastings at local wineries including Bogle, Carvalho, Todd Taylor and Scribner Bend

Corona buckets filled with limes hanging above the Corona boxes

AND

Banana stands in check out aisles

It is good to be home every now and then, but it's also nice to know that Tahoe (skiing) and SF (my home and big city) are only an hour and a half away.

America's Song

Very cool song/video featuring David Foster, will.i.am, Faith Hill, Bono, Seal and Mary J. Blige. The images capture the election night and touching moments during the past year of America and Obama.

Top Ten: Inauguration Day

Yesterday was an emotional and memorable day for many. I broke down a list of my top ten memorable moments from the inauguration day not necessarily in order.

10. Malia and Sasha’s age appropriate, trendy and adorable outfits for their father’s special day
9. Mr. President dancing to his high school’s band during the parade
8. Emotional dance during the Youth Inaugural Ball – You could feel / see the affection and love between the couple
7. The inaugural address – somber and confident words from a powerful man to a hopeful country and world… "a man whose father, less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before [us] to take a most sacred oath."
6. SF residents transforming BUSH street signs to OBAMA
5. The President and First Lady walking out of their car down Pennsylvania Avenue earlier than expected
4. The band playing Hail to the Chief as Obama walked into a room – gave me chills every time
3. Obama and Biden waving farewell to Bush from the White House – annnd he’s out!
2. Beyonce serenading the Obama’s first dance at the Inaugural Neighborhood Ball



1. Obama being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States to Lincoln’s bible

Inauguration Day

I've included below a couple of my favorite pictures and quotes from Obama's inauguration. Today was definitely a day we will all remember and be able to tell future generations how America is finally ready for change.

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more...

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

So Long Bush St.

Although the measure in November to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush did not end up passing, SF residents still found a way to belittle Bush by transforming all "Bush St" street signs into "OBAMA." Awesome.

For more pics, check out this SF Gate blog.

The Techie President

A lot of critics claim Obama's success may be due to his visibility on the Internet throughout his campaign. Once Obama was sworn into office earlier today, changes were made not only between President's residing in the White House, but also online to the official White House Web site as well as the profile for @thewhitehouse on Twitter.

The official White House Web site now:
and earlier this morning:

The updated Twitter profile for "The head of the Executive Branch":

Back in November, CNN provided viewers with a hologram image during election coverage. Today they provided images with a touch screen TV and a satellite Geo Eye image of "ant-like" people at the Mall during the inauguration. You can zoom in on the photo directly from their site for a larger view.

I'm interested to see what's next as far as our President and media advancing in technology and becoming more tapped into social media and the Web 2.0 world.

Witnessing History

The U.S. seems to be filled with excitement for our rock star President-elect's inauguration tomorrow night. As always, Obama pleased and moved millions with his speech at the Lincoln Memorial Center yesterday. I've included the video and a couple excerpts from his speech below.



It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together - Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; Latino, Asian, and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not - then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.

There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help me reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today.

DUNZO

A lot of people are celebrating Bush's last day in office today. This is the end of a horrible presidency and hopefully the beginning of positive change for our country.

Play Hard to Get

How can a normal girl not be excited to see the movie He's Just Not That Into You? From watching the trailer and teasers, the movie seems light-hearted and all around entertaining.

Based on a book, the movie will most likely be different sections and more of a memoir from different women and their dating experiences. With this in mind, the movie will most likely be Love Actuallyish with an all star cast consisting of Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansen.

I believe that every person will be able to relate to the movie. The best thing I heard from my guy friend were the rules about calling a girl after first getting her phone number. The underlying questions / considerations for the guy are to 1) wait a standard two to three days before calling, 2) if you're really into the girl hold off for the three days 3) only ask her out for drinks so you don't get stuck buying dinner and in an awkward conversation (I guess this applies to both sexes).

It's also hilarious when people "SpySpace" on MySpace or stalk others on FB to figure out the details of their most current love interest. Or when you have to practice / rehearse what you're going to say when you call the person.

That being said, everyone can relate to the upcoming movie. You know where to find me on February 6... the movie theatre. Holler!

RIP - Townie

Right when I begin to think that there are some good people left in our society (i.e. Katie's wallet being returned completely intact), I receive the following text from my friend, Hilary: "Ok! I love you. Oh yeah, our bikes were stolen at Jolley's house. I tried to get it covered by my insurance but no bueno!"

I immediately called her back in response to the odd text. Turns out that my bike was stolen from another friend's backyard in midtown Sacramento last week!

Back in Spring of 2007, I debated long and hard on whether or not to purchase a new or used beach cruiser. I finally settled on a brand new aqua blue Electra Townie with white flowers. The catch was that not only did the bike have hand AND foot breaks, but it also had three gears! Sadly I have probably only ridden the bike for a total of 5 months.

I am infuriated that someone stole my bike, but I guess I saw it coming. I even told my brother last week that I should probably go by to pick it up and ride it home to another area of Sacramento. Bullocks!

Lessons learned: Buy a used bike next time to save money and do not leave it locked up in someone else's backyard for an extended amount of time.

Although not my bike, this is the closest online pic I could find. Picture it like the below with white flowers on the body. RIP, bike.

EVIL

While home for Christmas, I woke up one morning to a jar filled with an unusual looking substance on the kitchen counter. As I got closer to the jar I noticed that it was my worse nightmare - a jar of homemade pickles! What the heck. My family knows that I have an odd fear of pickles and here was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in our kitchen.

Luckily nobody was home because I let out an aggravated groan and left the kitchen. A few days later I brought up the p issue with my parents.

My mom said that it was a gift from one of her parents at school. Who gives homemade pickles to people for Christmas? Odd.

My parents also thought it was funny to leave it out for me. Thanks, guys.

Another One Bites the Dust - Erin

Found out that my cousin, Erin, in Maryland is engaged! Her now fiance proposed on December 28th and she of course accepted! I knew something was up when my uncle wrote my family an e-mail about how he suspected that they would be engaged soon. I should have put the pieces together and realized that Lucas probably asked for her hand in marriage.

On another note, great news for the newly engaged. I get to fly back out East for the third year in a row and catch up with the family and possibly friends in the D.C. area. wOOt!

The wedding date is set for March 27, 2010 and I'm still waiting for the details about the proposal and wedding. I knew I should have bought the "Wedding Planning for Dummies" book... HA!

Boas, skulls and teddy bears, OH MY!

While at Coffee Bean yesterday, a homeless man pushing a cart passed by my window. I noticed that he had a teddy bear, plastic skull, ornaments and a big green boa attached to the cart. This caused me to wonder why he needs them and what the heck he uses the items for.

If you could only have five products in your life, what would they be?

Cha Ching!

Rumors have been buzzing that Apple would announce at Macworld this week DRM-free music and an increase in the price of iTunes. Today at approximately 10:30 a.m. the rumor became an actual fact. Now instead of paying 99 cents per hit song, you may be having to pay $1.29! Yes, the increase is a slight damper on my parade, but I understand the need for the jump due to the decrease in actual album sales. In case you still want to stick to the standard price, you can always check out Amazon and Rhapsody for digital music.

LA Times blog - 10:30 a.m.: Oh yeah, one more thing. After six years of offering music for 99 cents via the iTunes store, Apple now will offer music at a variety of prices -- something the music labels have been advocating for years. Songs will sell for 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29 depending on demand. In another development, the entire iTunes music catalog will be offered DRM-free. Starting today, about 6 million tracks will be offered without the anti-copying software restrictions. By the end of the first quarter, Apple says, all 10 million songs in the catalog will be DRM-free.

Mashable explains why this is a good change: So who are these changes good for? For one, the record labels, which stand to make more money on releases from expensive, top 40-type artists. Meanwhile, as I wrote last night, the drop in prices is good for consumers whose musical tastes fall more into the long tail of iTunes’ huge music catalog. But, for the millions of people who fuel downloads of iTunes’ most popular tracks, this change marks a 30% price increase, which, adds up to a lot of money on an annual basis.

I Heart SF

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world (up there with Brugge, Lagos, Cinque Terre and Sevilla). Here are a few pics which give an idea of what I see on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

Amazing rooftop views of the City.
Grace Cathedral in Nob Hill one block away from my apartment.

Union Square and Macy's during Christmas.

All Wii Want For Christmas...

If you have a few minutes to spare (nine minutes to be exact), the below video captures 50 kids excited to open a Nintendo Wii for Christmas. Some of them are pretty funny and others a little frightening. The kids range from fainting to even crying after unwrapping the big white box.

My favorite quote is from the second kid when he says, "Santa must be real if they can’t find it in the stores, than he must’ve made it."

50 kids happy to get a Nintendo Wii for Christmas - watch more gamer videos

Video Games

Adios 2008!

Last night I said "adios" to 2008 at a party at my apartment here in San Francisco. The party was a hit and we are all still trying to recover from the crazy night.

A few highlights from New Year's Eve:
Ratio of guys to girls was 10 to 1
Drinking beer out of wine glasses
Multiple keg stands
DJ and dance party in the living room
Super excited when Colin and Emily arrived since I forgot they were coming
Finally meeting neighbors
Putting shorts on so I could do a keg stand
Cutting to the front of all bathroom lines
The amazing paper chains being a hit

Downfalls:
Becoming distracted and forgetting that I put shorts on to do a keg stand
Katie's wallet stolen out of her purse
Forgetting that I put a bottle of Grey Goose in the ice chest
Still suffering from the aftermath 12 hours later

I had a decent 2008, but I am excited for all the changes and exciting adventures ahead of me in 2009...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

dance party in the living room

keg stands in the kitchen

happiness with friends and champagne

UPDATE 1/4/2009: A friendly neighbor found Katie's wallet and returned it completely intact. Hooray!