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Another day, another awesome hike!
Sep. 23rd, 2012 11:07 amContinuing a fine tradition of doing the occasional hike, Spencer and I set out to climb Ellis Peak yesterday. Once we got through the traffic (OMG! could there have been any more things happening around Tahoe yesterday? I think not!) and actually found the turnoff for the trailhead everything was great. The weather was perfect - sunny, breezy, and not too hot. The hike was a wee bit steep and there were even large downhill chunks on the way to the top (!!!!) so I'm feeling it a bit today. But the 360 view of the Sierras (including Lake Tahoe) from the top make every heavy breath worth it!
Just a little warning, not too many pictures from my Colorado trip, but lots and lots of mountains and trees. That makes me happy, but maybe not you ^__^
http://undeep-thoughts.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/8490/180119
http://undeep-thoughts.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/8490/180119
Lessons learned/verified
Aug. 4th, 2012 10:55 amLessons I learned/verified on my recent camping trip.
Lessons verified:
Lessons verified:
- Always pack like it's going to be winter (hee, "California winter") because it will be cold at some point.
- Bring all the extra t-shirts, jackets, socks, undies you can possibly squeeze in the suitcase. They will get used.
- Go ahead and bring every stupid cord for all the various electronics. You never know which you'll end up actually using.
- Ha! Who needs a cell phone?
- Always stay at a campground with a shower. It might be hairy/muddy or whatever, but that's why you shower without glasses and with flip flops.
Lessons I need to burn into my head:
- Just make that stupid list! And be complete about it. While you're at it, do it before you get "vacation brain."
- Shop before you get "vacation brain" too!
- Only taking one of something essential but easily lost? Think again!! (Ugh, the day without chapstick will never happen again!)
- I know you hate cash, but just bring more. Apparently, some people/institutions just can't let go of their crippling addiction to it.
- Don't be shy about looking at an actual map of where you're going. And be sure to do that before "vacation brain" sets in.
- Do not toy with or antagonize the Amtrak station volunteer "host" (who, I swear, whined to me "You're going to make the train laate!" when I wouldn't show him my ticket or move to the "right" spot for coach riders [20 minutes before the train was due to arrive]). The karmic bitch slap seems to result in crappy seatmate selection (I had to sit next to a smoke-lunged hacker who blared heavy metal and had a mountain lion rawring ring tone... all the way to SLC. Thanks karma!).
- Really? You're going to pack brand new white socks for a camping trip? What, you were wishing you'd brought brown?
- Gee, if I'd had a smart phone with a data plan I could have been making a shitload of innane social network updates on the whole trip (before I forgot all the good ones!). [I don't think I'm ready to learn this lesson.]
- Yes, you have a lot to do before a vacation! Get to it!!
Back from camping!
Aug. 4th, 2012 08:46 amGot back yesterday from camping and while I don't think it was the best idea to Amtrak to and from Colorado, overall it was a great, great, great time! Just like 2004, I have the crazy urge to write everything up. Not sure why, not sure if I'll even finish. But I do have 1.5 more loads of laundry to do and I'm avoiding the gym. ^__^
( Hard to believe I wrote this before posting pictures. Click here to enjoy the miracle )
( Hard to believe I wrote this before posting pictures. Click here to enjoy the miracle )
Photos! I posted vacation photos!
Jun. 2nd, 2012 08:11 amMaybe later I'll even write up my adventures ^__^
Clicky the photo to see the rest!
Clicky the photo to see the rest!
Happy Chinese New Year (ok, a day late), everybody! You know what that means; yep, it's time for my New Year's resolutions to kick in. Ha! Since this is the year of the dragon I tried to come up with some extra awesome ones.
- Ye olde inevitable eat better, weigh less. What can I say, I think there's some sort of law requiring this one.
- This is where I'm going to operationalize #1 - Actually eat the stuff I pay for in my CSA box. After the caterpillar-in-the- baby bok choy incident of 2010, I basically stopped eating any leafy plants I was sent. This year, I shall vigilantly scrub the veggies and consume. Consume!
- Since I got that ginormous 160g iPod for myself at Christmas and since it still has over 100 empty gs (*sob*), I want to rip the rest of my cds. Believe it or not, I have barely begun to rip my collection. Probably because I shave a shitload of cds from college and I'm not too excited to be adding classy things such as the Verve Pipe. Please stop laughing.
lovely way to start the weekend
Oct. 23rd, 2011 01:59 pmI'm working the weekend shift which is now a mere four-hour chunk of my weekend day (read, bloody fine way to ruin a Sunday). Ugh, I'm surrounding by people yapping on their cell phones (I'm being judgy, but they have stupid lives) and somebody is hacking away on the typewriter. Yeah, you read that, the typewriter. Thing refuses to die so we get people who use it from time to time. Anyway, rather than mope too much (and rather than get any work done), I'm going to talk about this weekend's musical fun.
( Clicky, clicky to read about my first ever Portishead concert )
( Clicky, clicky to read about my first ever Portishead concert )
Here there, hot stuff!
Oct. 21st, 2011 08:56 am | The only Dragon*Con 2011 photo I took Actually, I was thoroughly lubricated with alcohol, so I had Amy take this. Hee! Check out those shorts on the Cylon! |
Nerds on patrol!
Aug. 16th, 2011 06:45 pmI got my DragonCon preview thingy in the mail the other day and now that I can see a bit of who's going to be there I'm getting soooo excited!! After making all the arrangements (heh, airline tickets and all), I requested the time off and after two long months (yes, you read that right, two full months) permission from she who shall not be named finally came through. Yay!
Anyway, this is looking even better than Wondercon because at least the schedule isn't packed with comic book artists I've never heard of. Hee, I'd much rather sit through panels of doughy former Star Trek stars, anyday! ^__^
Anyway, this is looking even better than Wondercon because at least the schedule isn't packed with comic book artists I've never heard of. Hee, I'd much rather sit through panels of doughy former Star Trek stars, anyday! ^__^
Loch Leven Lakes
Aug. 16th, 2011 03:01 pm | How else would I remember the names and altitudes of the places I've hiked to? Rest of the hike photos (a mere 10 or so!) are here. |
It may have taken a full year to organize, but Spencer and I finally did another hike - Loch Leven Lakes. The pros include the fact that it was only a 1.5 hour drive from where I live in Sacramento (trust me, that's close!) in the Tahoe National Forest. The scenery was pretty nice; the lakes were super mountainy awesome. But the highlight of the eight mile trek had to be the smell of the pines roasting in the CA summer temps. The high was probably in the low 80s, but that was enough to really bring out the smell of the pines. Mmmmmm, that's all I can say. MMMMMMMMM! MMMMMMM! MMMMMMMMM!
On the downside of the hike was that I fell and hurt my knee. Spencer and I always (ALWAYS!) find it a challenge to actually find and stay on the trail and despite the fact that there were cairns marking the way we did get off trail a couple times (and on the way back we went in a circle a time or two, too). On one such distracted foray, we had to climb over a log and I managed to do so in a most trippy, ouchy way falling right onto my right knee. *sigh* Of course, it was right before we reached the high lake, so I had this sore knee (getting more throbby with every step) the entire way down. Let's not forget that going downhill is harder on the knees, in general, than ascending. *sigh*
It's not a debilitating pain, but it is pain-y enough that I'm skipping the gym this week. Ok, so that's a sunny side up thing. Here's hoping it's enough to heal my lil knee!
Soooooo many photos!
Apr. 16th, 2011 12:46 pm | Walkin' the dunes in the early evening Hee, I still can't pass up an opportunity to do "devil horns." RF |
I can't believe I posted more photos from my spring break trip than I did of my trip to Japan. Hmm, could have contributed to how long it took me to finish annotating them all. Anyway, you can enjoy (or not) all of them here: http://pics.livejournal.com/undeep_thoughts/pic/000kpwhy/g59 Don't forget to scroll down for additional comments.
I haven't re-read them or edited them for typos and misspellings so beware!
another vacation wrap up!
Apr. 6th, 2011 06:55 pmIt's Wednesday evening and yours truly was unusually productive for the first half of the workday and rather than continue that through my four-hour desk shift, I thought I would do a little writing. Oh yeah, you guessed it, it's time for the vacation wrap up. Not to worry, I'm still planning on posting photos from the trip, I just haven't been able to get my hands on some of the photos taken by Rachel. Heh, that's what happens when a person takes too many days off :)
( Onto spring break vacation adventures 2011! )
( Onto spring break vacation adventures 2011! )
Decisions, decisions
Mar. 31st, 2011 10:44 amI had just about decided to pull the plug here, move my photos to Flikr, and pretend LJ doesn't exist anymore. But then I discovered I'd probably end up paying for Flikr anyway, so consider me recommitted to LJ for the foreseeable future. Hee, judging by the timing of their recent repair work, I'm the last person left in America using it ^__^
Soon I'll be posting my recent Spring Break photos (god forbid I actually write about the trip), but until I get those duckies all lined up, here's a link to my winter roadtrip photos that I don't think I ever posted. Hard to believe I had more snow on my March trip than my December. Another reason to love California!
http://pics.livejournal.com/undeep_thoughts/pic/000e5rh4/g57
Soon I'll be posting my recent Spring Break photos (god forbid I actually write about the trip), but until I get those duckies all lined up, here's a link to my winter roadtrip photos that I don't think I ever posted. Hard to believe I had more snow on my March trip than my December. Another reason to love California!
http://pics.livejournal.com/undeep_thoughts/pic/000e5rh4/g57
my new "best friend"
Feb. 17th, 2011 10:52 pmThanks, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
adagiobreezes1 for inspiring me to post! I am still paying for this stupid service, so I might as well.
For about five minutes there I thought this was going to be the year I broke down and finally purchased a cellphone. Yeah, you heard me, I was thinking of getting a cellphone! After all, my stupid land line now costs me $30/month. And AT&T now graciously allows you to subscribe to DSL without a land line, though they sustain their douchy reputation by jacking up your DSL rate if you do so.
So I was procrastinating researching that whole annoyance when I started watching Lost. And then watching more Lost. Then even more Lost. So much Lost that I couldn't wait for the DVDs to arrive in the mail that I became attached at the eyeballs to my laptop as I consumed all six seasons in less than a month - mostly via Netflix's delightful Watch Instantly. Obviously what I really needed - way, way, WAY more than a cellphone - was some way to watch the internet/Netflix on my tv. I considered getting various bit of technology to attach to my 1998 era tv. Alas, in 1998 I was in college and couldn't afford a tv with any features so attaching any new bits to that was going to mean a nightmare of cords and boxes and shit.
Which all brought me to the very obvious conclusion I just need one of those fancy new tvs that has built-in internet apps wrapped in a modern type tv. So that's what I got. I now have a 26" (which is actually just a bit bigger than I was really planning on getting) LED flatscreen HD blah blah blah blah blah blah tv. Many people seem to think I have to hook my computer up to my tv to enable the interwebs, but noooo it sucks down the wi-fi from my wireless router. The whole thing was so easy-peasy that it took less than an hour to completely install. The only thing that isn't good about all this is that the sounds blows goat chuncks. I knew that going in (trust me, I did my research) so I suppose I'll find something to spiff that up.
But overall, I'm happy to say that I've completely exhausted all needs/desires/energies to add a new hunk of modern technology to my life. It's not even about the money; it's still about the desire to not be shackled by too many modern conveniences! That cellphone is going to have to wait for at least another year. Bwahahahahaha!
adagiobreezes1 for inspiring me to post! I am still paying for this stupid service, so I might as well. For about five minutes there I thought this was going to be the year I broke down and finally purchased a cellphone. Yeah, you heard me, I was thinking of getting a cellphone! After all, my stupid land line now costs me $30/month. And AT&T now graciously allows you to subscribe to DSL without a land line, though they sustain their douchy reputation by jacking up your DSL rate if you do so.
So I was procrastinating researching that whole annoyance when I started watching Lost. And then watching more Lost. Then even more Lost. So much Lost that I couldn't wait for the DVDs to arrive in the mail that I became attached at the eyeballs to my laptop as I consumed all six seasons in less than a month - mostly via Netflix's delightful Watch Instantly. Obviously what I really needed - way, way, WAY more than a cellphone - was some way to watch the internet/Netflix on my tv. I considered getting various bit of technology to attach to my 1998 era tv. Alas, in 1998 I was in college and couldn't afford a tv with any features so attaching any new bits to that was going to mean a nightmare of cords and boxes and shit.
Which all brought me to the very obvious conclusion I just need one of those fancy new tvs that has built-in internet apps wrapped in a modern type tv. So that's what I got. I now have a 26" (which is actually just a bit bigger than I was really planning on getting) LED flatscreen HD blah blah blah blah blah blah tv. Many people seem to think I have to hook my computer up to my tv to enable the interwebs, but noooo it sucks down the wi-fi from my wireless router. The whole thing was so easy-peasy that it took less than an hour to completely install. The only thing that isn't good about all this is that the sounds blows goat chuncks. I knew that going in (trust me, I did my research) so I suppose I'll find something to spiff that up.
But overall, I'm happy to say that I've completely exhausted all needs/desires/energies to add a new hunk of modern technology to my life. It's not even about the money; it's still about the desire to not be shackled by too many modern conveniences! That cellphone is going to have to wait for at least another year. Bwahahahahaha!
I shall always treasure the memories :)
Oct. 20th, 2010 08:59 pmI was going to write up my delightful Treasure Island Music Festival (TIMF) thoughts tonight while doing my four-hour desk shift but believe it or not I've been working. I guess I should be happy that my Wednesday nights don't entirely consist of pointing to the bathrooms... but the one time I could use some time to goof off just a wee bit. Well, I have a few moments, so I guess I'll summarize.
So, the TIMF was my first music festival ever (can I say up front that that title is just way too long? Ugh) and as far as introductions go I think it went pretty well. The island was a trifle cold and crazy breezy (I had planned on being hot during the day and just right at night, instead I was ok during the day and had frozen toes once the sun went down) and I think all the smokers took a couple years off my life (my poor lungs). Heh, and I didn't pee for 12 hours straight because I was a wee bit traumatized by the port-o-potty in the parking lot. And (one last whine), the adorable little ravers were a little pushy at some of the sets.
Otherwise, it was all good. The two-stage setup was nice because it meant we didn't have to miss a single set (although, I could have done without that white South African hip-hop duo. UGH!). Sometimes I felt a bit like a ping-pong ball bouncing between the two sets. And the main stage had the slight problem of excessive crosswind which didn't exactly enhance the acoustics of the situation. But the pretty lights on that stage more than made up for that.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty good mix of artists. LCD Soundsystem was definitely my favorite (and I can't say that I was disappointed people bailed before their set - more elbow room for me, bwahahahaha) followed by Mr. Four Tet - though that guy still doesn't really "do" much on stage, his music sounds great. I've downloaded a few songs from a handful of the other artists like Deadmau5 - who I think should win an award for best light show of the festival! - and !!! (no I'm not spelling how to pronounce that).
Aside from the music, there were plenty of visual treats. The crowd-watching was out of this world fun. The art, including the glowing flowery thingies and neon demonic flamingo, was visually stimulating. And I have to say that without having the balloons to speculate about (jury is still out as to whether or not they were tethered to anything on the far end) and watch being taken down, I may have gone insane waiting in line for the shuttle back to SF.
And now, dear readers (bwhahahaahahaha) my shift is over and anything else you want to know about, you'll just have to ask ^__^
I have things to say about TIMF
Oct. 18th, 2010 09:32 pmBut of course, I'm not in the mood to type them tonight (I have a case of the Mondays). I'm going to make myself write about everything either Tuesday or Wednesday since I have not one but two evening desk shifts this week. Lucky me. Lucky you, I extracted most of the rather crappy photos I took and posted them here.
Mmmmm, I could use some candy
Oct. 18th, 2010 08:55 pm | Run Snoopy! The Shroud wants to steal all your candy!!! |
and we thought I was done here
Sep. 29th, 2010 07:43 pmI just finished making over $11,000 in cuts to the business journals for my library and I'm just a little too blue to do any actual work. But I've been busy doing various things outside so I thought I'd do a little LJ therapy. Heh, I won't even talk about how long my lil LJ account has gone neglected. But I'll do a couple of entries in the time I have left at work tonight and post-date them back to closer to where they belong.
