lots of activity

This weekend S and I had a going away/birthday party. It was fun. We played ring toss again. The drinks were somehow slightly less disgusting than last time. For those of you I may not have indoctrinated yet, ring toss consists of putting the entirety of your liquor collection out, along with a few gross bonuses like vinegar or cooking wine or lemon juice -- and then tossing homemade aluminum foil rings until you land on three, which you then must drink in a shot. Since it's only a shot, you don't get drunk; mostly it's a gross out game. Also -- L made me a pear ginger upside down cake, not remembering that I don't like pears. Fortunately for everyone involved, the pears she'd selected where mild in both pear flavor and pear texture, and it turned out to be delicious. I ate it for breakfast the next couple days. :)

I think I have told most everybody that I am moving to a new apartment. We moved a bunch of stuff and found some furniture and planned some more. It was good. I think we might actually be ready to move in this weekend.

Yesterday morning I threw out my back. I have gotten twinges and soreness before, but this was quite demobilizing -- twin sneezes and suddenly tilting forward or backward causes intense pain. I have never had anything quite like this happen, especially without a known cause -- moving furniture, or playing a lot of volleyball, or whatever. The heating pad and I are once again sharing quality time together.

Oh yeah -- my birthday rocked. I had the actual day off from work, so S brought me up to Napa on Wednesday afternoon where we stayed at an adorable homey B&B, walked around, ate the yuppiest of cuisines, and went wine tasting. We each tried five at one place, split two flights (six total) at another, tried 8 at another automated place where you create a little debit card that you can stick into a machine which then pours 1 oz of whichever wine you choose, with each one pro-rated according to its overall cost, and then I had a glass with dinner. That's 20 -- count 'em -- different wines in one night. The highlight was the first place, which had great picks, and the automated place, which allowed you taste a couple $100 bottles. We tried one at $8.30 for one ounce -- it was a dark, luxurious cabernet. I quickly learned that one way to tell the difference between a bargain basement wine and an expensive wine is that first smell -- cheap wines just smell medicinal (one even smelled like bug spray!), while expensive wines smell like a pantry, or a basket of vegetables, or a freshly planted earthy field. In other words, they don't smell like alcohol, they smell like other smells. It's not a far leap to see how this contributes to their flavor. I also learned that the proper time to decant a wine is a couple hours before you intend to serve it. Cool.

On the way home, we were passing by a six flags and though, why not? It turned out to be a great day for it. Being a week day and still early enough in summer not to be too inundated by families, the lines were fairly short and the crowds were manageable. We rode some great coasters, ate some greasy grub and dippin' dots (which are always an interesting taste sensation) and spent about 5 or so hours being, well, amused. They also had a sea world there and we ended up catching a show in which a dolphin and an orca swam around and showed off -- together. That was a first, and pretty fun to watch.

It's been a great last few days and a wonderful birthday. We're smack dab in the middle of a huge transition, but everything's going smoothly. In a few weeks time, we'll be starting a whole new phase of life.

Which reminds me, I signed up for the GRE in August. It's about time to start planning ahead.

Warning: extreme cuteness content below

This one HAD to get a mention on my blog. It is just too cute. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I would post it here but photographer has set it up so you can't capture her pics. The Cat's Jungle pictures of animals are awesome -- she's a regular at the San Francisco Zoo. But it's her otter set that has totally captivated me. They are so photogenic and adorable. I believe that's why this photoshopped pic rings so true. :)

Oh my goodness, it's nearly unbearable...the further along you go in the set, the cuter they are.


See? Otter cuteness even makes the otters squeal!
(This is from a different photographer all together...I'm just illustrating.)

House Finch

That lovely bird in my profile photo is a house finch. I found Larry Hamrin's photo collection on Flickr; he is a talented photographer of all manner of birds, and was willing to share this photo for the sake of a pun on my last name.

Larry if you see this -- thanks again!

Changes afoot

Most of you know by now...

Steve is moving (states, possibly even countries).
I am moving (neighborhoods).
Life is moving along.

Eh-adventures indeed!

We are having a going-away party on the 17th of June -- if you would like to go, email me. (Or leave a comment.)

Hurrah!

Record breaking month for organ donation

In the month of May, 2006 the nation saw 733 donors in a single month. This is the first time the nation has seen the 700 donor mark...

Consider this:
The first time we reached the 400 donor/month benchmark was July, 1990.
The first time we reached the 500 donor/month benchmark was April, 1998 (~8 years later).
The first time we reached the 600 donor/month benchmark was May, 2004 (~6 years later).
The first time we reached the 700 donor/month benchmark was May, 2006 (~2 years later).

800 donors per month -- here we come!