I’m pretty sure that I’ve had this motto before…about ten years ago or so, but I thought that would be particularly helpful to me this year. I’ve noticed that I have a huge tendency to stick with the comfortable and the familiar in life. This guides things like where I eat, driving patterns, game playing, book reading, movie watching, parking preferences, etc. And I am led to wonder how I will find anything new and cool if I stay with the same things all of the time. Admittedly, I will also encounter things that are…less salubrious, if you will, along the way. Hey, but in that case I’ll have things to warn you all about here on the blog, right?

In this spirit, here are some things I’ve tried this year so far:

* Apples to Apples – An incredibly silly and fun game to play in a group.

* Blockus – Sort of like tetris on a playing board for up to four people. Quite cerebral and also fun. (I bought a copy of this one.)

* San Mateo Prime – A very tasty (and expensive) steak place in San Mateo. I really enjoyed it. A nice place for a date involving meat-eaters. Their Chocolate Mousse is divine.

* Mad Fish in Fremont – This Japanese restaurant just opened in Fremont down the street from my work. I went there for dinner the other night…and wasn’t overly impressed, actually. The food was okay, but will be expensive once the grand opening coupon thingy goes away. The service needs more training time. My tea cup was frequently empty and I had to go up to the register to get my bill printed as I had to leave and could no longer wait for the darn thing to show up at my table. I figure I’ll try back in six months one time when Koshvader comes to join me for dinner.

* The Sonoma Panini from Raley’s – Normally I get the Yosemite (not as nice and spicy as it used to be) or the Sierra (which has started to be too dry lately). I thought I’d try a non-beef-based sandwich this time. Not such a good idea as it turned out. The best word I can come up with to describe this sandwich is: squidgy. True, it wasn’t too dry, but it was a bit…strangely leaky. Also? I get the weird feeling that the turkey they used had something in it that I can’t eat. It certainly made my stomach mrgly enough.

And there you are. A few new things I’ve tried already. Let’s see if I can keep this up.

You can watch a German Soccer Game in a Sushi Restaurant while sitting across from J.T. Snow. Then, you can pop over to the Whole Foods to buy some frozen Indian Food for the rest of the week.

I live in a random crossroad. I need to go choose a football team to support, now.

elisapodcast.mp3

Tee hee!

(Also…there’s this…other podcast…)
An incorrect advert

Standing Pole Stinson Beach

My mind has been moving in ever more random directions of late, and as I don’t want this blog to feel neglected I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you.

Selfish
You know that you really love someone when you are as mind-bogglingly selfish as I can be, and yet you just want that someone to be happy. So, you are willing to make compromises that involve you not always getting your way. Shocking! Oh, well. At least there is no Klingon Opera to deal with as yet.

Relax
If you tell yourself to relax often enough over the course of one day, you are likely to get a certain song by Frankie Goes to Hollywood stuck in your head.

Have
A couple of my friends who live on the lovely island of Kauai sent us the Dark Matter that I mentioned the other day!! Thanks, you two. That gave me a smile on a very stressful day.

When in doubt…make tea.

Seriously. Well, as long as you like tea. Think about it. The process takes a couple of minutes to be done properly. That gives you enough time to…think of a clever retort, figure out what to do next, get your thoughts in order, regain your composure, or take a moment to rest your eyes after staring at a computer screen for hours. And when you’re done, you have a nice hot cup of tea. Perfect for warming up on a cold day, waking up when you need the caffeine, steaming your face when you have sinus trouble, or calming your belly when you’ve had too much grease. Or is that last one only me?

Alternately, you have a version of my favorite weapon right there in your hand. My favorite weapon is a nice hot cup of coffee, but tea will work just as well. Think about it. You have two weapons in one – one projectile (the tea) and one hand-to-hand (the cup.) In the event that your would-be attacker recognizes the mug in your hand for the most excellent weapon it is and runs away screaming, you can always still drink the tea.

Let it cool a bit first, though, so you don’t burn your tongue.

And now…I’m going to go make some tea.

Have you ever considered what might happen if you were done? By which I mean, you’d tied up every loose end. All of those niggling little projects that you keep meaning to get to. That eternal “to do list” that seems to constant hang over your head. Your laundry all washed and put away. Your shopping done. Heck, even your emergency earthquake preparedness instructions and supplies taken care of.

All of it. Done.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. How can I ever be done this side of the grave? And perhaps you’re right. But ask yourself what you would be free to do if you had nothing to put on your to do list for the day.

That’s your thought for the day. Personally, I think I’d seize the opportunity to take a nap.

Speaking of getting things done, taking a picture of the duck crossing sign I drive past all of the time has been on my mental to do list for ages. As you can see at the top of the post, I finally got out of the car and took that picture. I just love that second dancing duckling.

Also, from my 101 things list I have:

4. Go on Photo Safari to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (done! 5/25/08)
and
90. Watch the original Great Train Robbery. (done! 5/21/08)

I’m that much closer.