Haute Wheels

Through fortuitous means, I may now call myself the proud owner of a sweet bicyle -- and some would say a true San Franciscan. Will's boss happened to be looking to pass along his wife's beautimous and barely used bike and I just happened to be in the passive market for one (passive due to the hefty price tags at huffy SF bike shops). The price? Gratis because, well, they are just about the nicest people ever.

I love the retro seat, the handle bars, the BASKET (!!!), but most of all, I just might love the glorious story of its homecoming. As it turns out, you cannot actually take a bicycle on the usual train Will takes and the bus wasn't coming for awhile .... so he rode it home. This bike. This exceptionally girly bike. In his work clothes (no helmet - eep!), all the way up crazy Market Street from the Financial District to the Haight. Boyfriend of the week award goes to the Wilbat!

(Jill, is this perhaps Will's attempt to break even with Dave's miraculous, self-initiated toile pillow purchase?) :)

Cherry Blossom Monday

Every year that I have witnessed Winter slowly transition into Spring in San Francisco, I have admired the plethora of beautiful blooming cherry trees dotted all around the city. You may not have noticed before, but there are loads of them absolutely everywhere you turn. Empirically, cherry blossoms are dandy to look at, but put them against the backdrop of some pretty Victorians I could never afford to own and you have yourself quite a pretty picture. I have always wanted to take a shot of them before - just as quickly as they appear - they disappear in a torrential downpour and/or a windstorm that *almost* makes you miss living in San Diego. So, four years later, I finally took a picture.

Ta-da...

Per the scattering of petals, here is Elwood demonstrating the absolute necessity of timely cherry blossom capturing.

Is There an App for That?

You would think that the sheer virtue of being unemployed would yield a greater output of posts, but obviously that has not been the case for me. My first week of unemployment was absolutely packed with a phone interview, two in-person interviews, more job applications, a birthday facial and massage, a long overdue haircut, Super Bowl party planning and shopping, and house-cleaning ad infinitum.

Rest assured, I'm not complaining about the interviewing (except for having an in person interview on my very first day of unemployment - what's with the no sleeping in??), and I am certainly not complaining about the birthday pampering; however, I was starting to wonder when this fabled Being and Nothingness would kick in.

At long last, this past Monday I found that my laundry list was absent of anything (even laundry) and I was free to do one of those "something I've always wanted to do but never had time for" things. Enter the tales of Adventure Dog and Nature Girl. Elwood, my aging digicam, and I struck out for Golden Gate Park in search of fresh air and a few good shots. I have to jet off for a second round in-person interview shortly, after which I will post more pictures from GGP.

For now, here are a couple mystery pictures. And by mystery, I mean I don't know what the hell kind of plant or bird that is. When I'm in the store and I hear a song I don't know, I can whip out the dilapidated iPhone, fire up the "Shazaam" app, and have an answer to my query in seconds. Duran Duran, a-ha! Not so much with the unidentifiable flowering shrub or the cute birdie in the Shakespeare Garden. For now, I will call that plant Butterfly Brush and the bird a thrush - mostly because I like the words. If anyone can better inform me, by all means, DO!

Bon Anniversaire

Today, I am officially in my late twenties. I have been a bit of a moper about that fact for the past few weeks, but I am over it. Instead continuing my woe-is-me routine about not feeling like I have a direction or clear plan in life right now (which is never too much bother to anyone usually until these silly birthdays come along), I am going to embrace the moment, toss on my stillettos, have some cake, and a few too many cocktails.

In a few hours, off to Zuni Cafe for a nice dinner with my Wilbat.

In a few days, out of this deplorable office on and to better things!

Thomas - completely unrelated, but he's cute, and unlike the rest of us, has learned to embrace the aging process and his love handles.

"Merde, Il Pleut!"

Earlier this afternoon, I drew down my office blinds to combat the sunshine glare (yes, I am awkwardly still working here 'til the end of the month). About twenty minutes ago, when I realized how ridiculously dark my office had become, I reeled the blinds up to see that the formerly sunny sky had blackened with the most sinister looking storm clouds I have seen in quite some time. Seriously, I keep expecting to see a dementor or Helena Bonham Carter on a broomstick whiz by. It's hailing like mad right now, and I'm looking at my pathetically miniscule umbrella that practically folds down to a teacup and wondering how it's going to hold up in 1.5 hours. I am seriously wishing I had the following bad-ass model .....

It's amazingly cheeky and I NEED it! What does it mean, you ask? "Merde il pleut" translates to "Shit, it's raining!" Obviously, I'm in love with it. It comes in about twenty different vibrant colors, but why in the world would I want any other than canary? I saw a girl carrying it this morning at the bus stop and am now thoroughly puzzled as to how she came about owning it. After a quick Google search, I found that though The Umbrella has had much deserved adoration heaped upon it throughout the fashionable blogosphere, it can only be purchased in Montreal or on a singular low-tech Canadian website. Not convenient. Merde!

"Everytime God Closes A Door ...

He opens a window. His heating bill must be outrageous!"

--Stephen Colbert.

A. I think Stephen Colbert is hilarious. B. I got laid-off today, so it's rather appropriate.

As I am still processing this new development, I am not going to write much other than to say that everything is fine and I am viewing this as a wonderful opportunity. I have always played it safe and done the responsible thing (like being employed full-time before I even graduated college), so maybe this is my chance to do something uncharacteristically brash. What that is, I have not quite flushed out yet, but it looks like I will have some time on my hands coming up shortly to do just that. :)

Favorite Recipe: Italian Pot Pie(s)

I got brave and switched this one from Martha Stewart up a bit. If you link to the recipe you will notice that it calls for onions and carrots. Don't like those - they have to go. Secondly, to make it more hearty and substantial, I added some al dente elbow macaroni to the pie. I also made life just a teensy bit easier by putting this in one properly sized casserole dish - the fewer dishes to do, the better. Lastly, if you're wondering, I most definitely did make my own sauce. :)