Halloworkyweenie

There is a man on a bay-side-bench outside my office playing guitar and singing. A unicorn pranced by my office earlier. Donald duck filled my front seat during carpool. White rockabilly GIS guy and Flava Flave merged.

I love Halloween.

The Garbage Patch

SF Gate's lead story at 9:29 this morning talks about The Garbage Patch. What is it? Read:

"The so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a stewy body of plastic and marine debris that floats an estimated 1,000 miles west of San Francisco, is a shape-shifting mass far too large, delicate and remote to ever be cleaned up, according to a researcher who recently returned from the area."

Um. wow. Plastic sucked into a mid-ocean gyre caused by tradewinds, broken down into tiny little pieces of plastic so it's like a soup, not a piece of bread, mingled with fishing nets and tires and all adding up to a floating Texas times two. Go Gavin; get rid of those plastic bottles in government buildings. Reuse your plastic bags. Use cloth saks at the grocery store. Everything does NOT need to be bigger in Texas.

Read the whole article here.

Pesky Dero

(can you find amy?)

I spent a super sunny day mapping dead grasses. Yes, the work was frustrating and fruitless, but even on my most bitter day, I cannot deny that I walk some beautiful places while working.

George's house

Last week, I went out to Skywalker Ranch to check out a building site for them. Somehow, it feels like summer camp out there; the place is full of tech-savvy people they import and house in their on-site hotel. The Library in the Main House is amazing...apparently books are still the main reference source for their movies, having a somewhat distrust of the internet. Wikiwhat?George has Texas Longhorns grazing throughout the ranch. The animals themselves are enormous, and they have huge horns. Like Hellboy pre-snip.

The lovely Miss Sarah is currently cohabitating my wee apartment with me, away from the chilly London air. Pics from our recent adventures shall come soon.

Where's Lurky?

Rainbow Brite is trapped underground.

When all else fails

try kitty litter? We'll see if the kitty litter is the winning option for removing the oil the Kia Spectra left behind. Other options? Degreaser and detergent.

The Rentals

I have been renting cars.

Day 1:

Car Number 1: Brand new white Toyota Camry from the dealership where they are fixing my car. HUGE car. Found out my insurance would cover a rental through Enterprise, so I returned the white boat quickly.

Car Number 2: My reservation at Enterprise was incredibly last minute, so all that was available to me was a Dodge Caliber. Looks like an angry bulldog, white with a black top. It rattled extensively, the battery light kept going on, and the seat was REALLY low, so I looked like a wee little old lady peering over the dash.

Day 2:

Car Number 3: Our love affair was brief. I was trading the bulldog for a Hyundai Tuscon: cute mini-SUV, maroon and perfect for Bill's and my weekend trip up to Chico to see Anna, Clyde, and Carly. Drove it to the gas station (they of course gave it to me empty). Got back in, tried the wipers....and an "X" of wiper blades appeared across the windshield. Totally broken. Tried to fix them, tried to convince myself we didn't NEED wipers, but since it was raining as I was debating, I drove back to Enterprise.

Car Number 4: Kia Spectra. Sigh. This "beauty" got us up to Chico, but proceeded to vomit oil repeatedly and in large amounts on Anna's driveway. It was towed. I think it's in Marysville.

Day 4:

Enterprise is closed on Sundays, except for their airport locations, none of which are very close to Chico. They will not come pick you up. They might reimburse the cab that brings you to the airport. Combustion(leslie).

Fresh from the unhelpfulness of THAT car company, we went to the OPEN Budget car rental down the street. The guy gave us a great deal, and within minutes we had...

Car Number 5: White Ford Focus. Not glamorous, kinda smells like smoke, but hey, it freakin' runs. And I finally rented from a company actually willing to help me out, rather than shrug their shoulders and claim hands tied. Hands are never tied. Not really.

Oh, and Bill wanted Car Number 5 to be the Mustang that Budget had, and we were THAT close to getting it...but it was substantially more expensive. Bummer, because it would have been way cool...

No word yet on my car and we haven't found the girl that hit and ran. If anyone sees a Black Jeep Cherokee (mid 90s) with a crunched right front bumper/light driven by a blonde girl leaving her scrawled email on cars she thrashes, send a message my way.

Can I just tell you?

Can I just share? I had a bad day. A bad day in the sense that when I went to drive my car this morning, my steering was jacked and I'm lucky I didn't sideswipe moving/parked cars or take out some pedestrians. Scary, yeah, in that "holy crap, I had no control of car" kind of way. Disneyland teacups going down 9th ave. Turns out, when stupid drunk girl smashed into my neighbor's car 15 feet in front of mine last night, she decided to hit my turned tire on her way in without even scratching the paint. Outcome? At least a grand in damages already, and the mechanics haven't delved deeper yet because they have to wait for my insurance rep to come check it out.

And yes. My new car. My barely 14 days old car.

And stupid drunk girl? Left an illegible email scrawled on scratch paper. bitch.

Disneyland

The last time my family and I were in Disneyland, I had just finished high school, my sister was about to become engaged, and the trip was pretty much the final time things would be as they had always been. Ten years later, our family has grown...and two small girls in minnie dresses lead the way through princess castles, adventure land, and all the way to space mountain.

I hitched a ride down with my folks, listening to my ipod this time instead of a walkman. I also crashed in their room... talk about flashbacking to high school. Dad immediately passed out once we arrived at the hotel for a well-deserved nap. Mom giggled. I checked my shutter speed.
Our first day, we of course hit up the classics. Point of interest: Somehow, as you become older, the teacups become less fun and more barfy. My sister and I were startled by this realization, which lead to unrestrained laughter anyway. Take one for the kids.
It's A Small World. To a five year old, a magical interpretation of the extremely happy cultures of the world. To a 28 year old, something else that mixes a surreal sense of horror along with the feeling someone definitely spiked your drink.
The Matterhorn. Everyone look left. Brinly wasn't stoked on the abominable snowmen with red eyes, but she couldn't really see them, hands in front of her face and all. I drew comical pictures of them for her later to dispel the anxiety.

Tradition. Everytime. Sissy and I try to be Authur. Yes, we are in matching shirts!

Jungle Cruise. Worst. Jokes. Ever.

Mom and Dad wait for the parade. Yay coffee. Tip: Get there early and totally move a bench. My sister and Brian are seasoned veterans.

Dad is beaten in paper, rock, scissors by Brinly. She has no method which is a brilliant method.
Cuteness in Mickey's Toon Town window. Toon Town was actually one of my favorite parts of Disneyland, possibly because there were fun pieces of oversized furniture to climb on. Also, my sister and I found a gem on Roger Rabbit's wild ride or whatever.....the car, which drives erratically anyway, also SPINS (a la teacups, but less barfy). We had our own car together (Brian had the girls), so we let loose with the spins, laughing laughing laughing. It was one of those moments where you suddenly realize you are still 12. More Toon Town Fun:

Dad keeping it real. The fam. Ten years. We look different, but Mickey looks the same. LoveLoveLove.

um.

I have tons of pictures to share. If i could but figure out how to upload them from my mac.....

I am foiled by simplicity.

wheelie (x4)

So, I got a new car.No. really.

Yay!
(grain factor due to cell phone)