Week 3 down!

So I have completed three weeks of work. It is going well. The work is feast or famine. And famine seems to be kicking in more lately. So I try to appear busy. I have kinda mastered that. But I like the people I work with. Onyx Pharmaceuticals celebrated their 13th anniversary on Tuesday. They had a little party. There was lots of food to eat and drinks. Though most of the peons didn't dare grab any alcohol. Neither did I. A coke was just fine. But they had drawings and everyone got a nice fleece jacket--even me, the temp. I was surprised. And my jacket is nice and warm. Good for trips back to Missouri when it is cold. I can take it with me when we go to Albany at Thanksgiving time.
My knitting is coming along. I took a class last Sunday. I learned how to purl. I kinda hate it. But I am getting better. It is coming along. Before my friend Mary knows it she will have her belated birthday gift (maybe a month or two late).
Our friend Ken should be in town soon. He is passing through town. Not sure what we will do. Probably just hang out. We have plans to meet another friend for drinks later in Marin.
I have started working out again. So here is my plug for Yourself!Fitness ... again. You know how I have said it is great. And it is. I am gonna get in shape ... really, this time. It is such a great workout. I don't like the cardio workouts--but I know they are good. And they really aren't that bad. Maya kicks my butt. You should check it out.

Compliments from the landlord

So we met one of our landlords Sunday. When Curt was here in Feb. looking for a place to live he dealt with a broker. So he never met either landlord. But we have talked to them on the phone -- especially when our fridge was on the fritz and we were trying to get a new one. BTW: we had a not-really working fridge the first two weeks that we lived here. The fridge part was about 60 degrees and the the freezer was working so hard to keep cold that chunks of ice were forming.
Anyway ... we were chatting with one of our landlords Sunday. The building we live in has 4 units. Two are being lived in and the other two are still vacant. I was telling Brian (landlord) that we are surprised that the bottom units are still vacant. He said they have had a lot of people inquire about them, but they are really picky about who they rent to (esp. since they just renovated the place and put a lot of money into it). So that made me feel good that they thought we were good enough to rent to.
I need to take some pics of our place and post them. Will do that soon. (And we know how long it took me to post my October birthday pics.)

Good weekend

Friday night my dad came into town. Curt and I took him to our fave place, Triple Rock Brewery. We had horrible service. Even when they are busy (as they were Friday night) we have decent service. We were all almost passed out from hunger by the time we got our food. (And of course we ordered their yummy garlic fries.)
Saturday Curt went to the DMV to get his license. He had no problems and the lady who helped him was super nice to him. Guess I just have a different effect on DMV workers. After he came home the three of us went to Telegraph Ave. to have lunch. We ended up at a place that had outdoor seating. (It was a gorgeous day.) We had some yummy food. When it came time to get our bill our server had disappeared. She finally reappeared. (So we take my dad to two restaurants so far and we have bad service at both. Is it just Berkeley or what?) We walked around Telegraph, hitting some bookstores and looking at the crafts being sold on the street. Dad bought us a cool bowl that an old hippie made.
We were also verbally attacked by a homeless person. She asked us for money and we said no. As we passed by her she said something to the effect of "you know there are people who are F***ing starving." Yea, well, that is gonna get me to give her money. As you all know I am a huge advocate of the food bank and donate money there regularly.
Saturday night we hit Yoshi's for dinner. Very good sushi and reasonably priced. After that we attended a jazz show right at the side of the restaurant. We saw the John Pizzarelli and his band. They were really good. I bought one of their CDs. And John was funny. He had the audience cracking up through out the show. All three of us really enjoyed the show.
Sunday dad had a meeting in San Fran. When he came back the three of us headed to lunch before he had to head out for his flight home. We ate at a cute restaurant called The Drunken Boat. We sat outside in the warm sun. Their food was very yummy. I had Spicy Eggs and they were so good. Of course not as spicy as I would have liked. But I will definitely order them again.
Oh, and you will all be happy to know that I found a post office near work that opens at 8:30 a.m. So packages will be sent--when of course it is applicable. Curt's mom, Marilyn's, birthday was Sunday. We called and chatted with her. She hadn't received our package YET!!! We sent it last Monday and paid more than we should have at The UPS Store (they are a rip-off). We had to go there since we needed to send a package from somewhere that was open later in the evening. So I was determined to find a post office that had better hours so that our packages arrive on time and we don't pay through the teeth.

New job

Well, I have completed my second day at Onyx Pharmaceuticals. I am working in the legal department, assisting the Paralegal. We mostly work on clinical trial stuff. Pretty interesting.
I have my own desk--with high walls around my cubical.
Once a month "Traveling Joe" comes in and makes free (good) coffee for employees. We had that on my first day (Monday). The kitchens are well stocked with Peete's coffee, regular and sugar-free hot chocolate, dried soups where you just add water, all kinds of sweetners, tea bags, etc. It is really cool. And their first aid kit actually has stuff in it--the one at The Republic pretty much has nothing. That will come in handy at the next potluck--either Dennis threatening someone or JJ cutting her finger when she thought it was bread.
My supervisor is cool. I am glad to be there to be able to help her get organized. She does a lot. The legal dept. is her, the lawyer and now me.
This 9-5 life is pretty cool. Though I am trying to get used to running errands like those "normal" people. And the dang post office around here is open 9-5---well, that just doesn't help me.
OK, I will report more soon.

Movie reviews

So this weekend I rented "Closer" and "Sideways." Curt wasn't interested in watching "Closer" so I watched that one by myself. Well, I thought it was OK. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was supposed to be provocative, or at least that is what reviews said and Oprah. Oprah had some of the cast members on her show to talk about the movie right before it came out. I remember Julia Roberts commenting to Natalie Portman how gutsy and brave she was to do the stripper scences. So I was ready for something shocking ... and I never saw it. Just because people are having s*x and there is a stripper doesn't make it provocative. Don't get me wrong, the movie was decent. But not amazing. And I probably wouldn't rent it again and I definitely wouldn't buy it.
Now on to "Sideways." HILARIOUS! Curt and I really enjoyed this movie. It was so funny. There were a couple of scenes where I was laughing so hard I was crying. Without giving it away there is a scene with nakedness and running. I just about died. I would defintely add this movie to our DVD home collection.
A few weeks ago we went to the movies and saw "Million Dollar Baby." Excellent movie. Hilary Swank is such a great actress--so much so that we forget that she was on "Beverly Hills 90210" for a while. And Clint Eastwood did a great job, too. And I am not a Clint Eastwood fan. Oh, and we can't forget about Morgan Freeman. Great job! I can't say much about the movie without giving anything away. If you haven't seen it, go and see it.

My new second home and knitting

So this past week I was at the DMV FOUR times. Yes, four. I went Tuesday to get my license. In California they make you take a written test. (I had to do that when I moved to Oregon, too. But as my friend Kate informs me--the other states she has lived in she has not: Arizona, Iowa, Conn., and Rhode Island, too, I think.) Anyway, I had 36 questions and only got two wrong. As Curt says, I got smarts real good. And unlike Arizona and Oregon I have to wait for my license in the mail. What's up with that? So I have a lovely paper one in the meantime.
Wednesday I went back to register the car. I get all the paperwork done and paid the fees and then the woman asks me for my smog certificate. (It's like emissions--but they call it smog here. Crazy Californians!) I was unaware that a newer car had to have a certificate. I could have sworn the California DMV Web site said I didn't have to get one. She tells me all "new" cars to California have to have one to register. Lovely!
So Thursday morning I go to a shop that does smog checks. They are all over the place. The car gets a certificate and I am back at the DMV. I finish up the paperwork. They give me my new plates and tools to take off the old one. I go out to the car and it is starting to rain. I crouch down to unscrew the plate. She gave me pliers and a standard screwdriver. Well, I need a phillips. But I figure that I can use the pliers. Which I did. It just took forever. So I am soaked but have new plates. I walk back into the office to return the tools and surrender my old license. I walk out of the office and the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Boy, am I happy! (The weather here is so bizarre. You wake up and it is sunny and nice, an hour later it is ugly and stormy and then once again sunny.)
After I get home and change out of my wet clothes and have some soup for lunch I head back to the smog check place to have the truck checked out. It passes and I come home.
Friday morning back to the DMV. I am at the counter doing the paperwork. The clerk and I get into it. She was a big B-word. We had a misunderstanding and she gets all p*ssy. Anyway, eventually she starts being nicer--well, not nice, just not rude anymore. I surrender my plate and she gives me a temp. permit. Pickup trucks in California are considered commercial vehicles. So they must be weighed. So guess who is NOT going back to the DMV again??? Curt can finish that up.
Now to my knitting ... I have been wanting to learn to knit. I signed up for a class at Michaels for the end of this month. I was at Target the other day and they have little knit kits. Comes with instructions, DVD, yarn and needles. I bought the "funky boa." I tried to follow the DVD and book to make the funky boa. I decided I needed to try with regular yarn first, not the fun yarn. So I went to Michaels and bought a honkin' thing of yarn for cheap. So Thursday, Friday and Saturday (today) I struggled. Well, I finally got it today. I am so excited. Between the DVD and a book Leah gave me I was able to figure it out. So everyone get ready to start getting odd shaped scarves and such. :)
Oh, and I am no longer a housewife, starting Monday I will be working ... well, for four months anyway. Onyx Pharmaceuticals. I will be doing admin work. When will I find time to make dinner, grocery shop and do the laundry??? Good thing I have a husband to help me.

What you have all been waiting for!

So, I know that my birthday was in October. I turned the big 3-0. Well, I never had a jumping castle as a kid at a party so I decided for my 30th birthday I would get one. Here are the pictures and proof of that wonderous day back in October at the R&G Ranch in Phoenix. And let's just say a jumping castle is a major workout.


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