30 Little Things: 1: A photo from my childhood

I know it said one, but I decided to give you 4. I think these pictures are funny because they still represent who I am today: mischievous, bratty, a princess, and can still have quite a phone conversation (minus the Raiders jacket...still mad at my parents for that fashion flaw).

And yes, that is a cast on my head. When I was a wee one, my ears looked like Alfalfa’s and it caused really bad ear infections. So the doctors did something and another thing to push my ears back and I can home looking like that.

The “you’re a complete brat” picture could only rival that video from Christmas with the kid saying that books aren’t presents. Apparently I felt that way about board games, or I was giving my father a “don’t take my picture” face. It’s still up for debate.

(For background and to see what I have done so far on the 30 Little Things project click here. Also follow Home Sweet Sarah's 30 Things, since I got the idea from her)

30 Little Things (a Bandwagon Project)

Being new to this whole blogging thing and needing some fun ideas to write about, I really liked this blog idea that my twitter friend homesweetsarah posted and I decided to jump on her bandwagon, which was also a bandwagon she jumped on, and tackle these 30 prompts.

Now it would be a remarkable feat for me to knock one out a day for 30 days, but let’s face the facts: I have park people watching, train adventures, reality televison and dating to tend to as well, so who knows how long it will take. Plus, if I have a “deadline” I will be more inclined to procrastinate until 1 week before said deadline and then inundate everyone with 30 mindless and quickly drafted posts.

If anyone has an idea for #30, send it my way! So for your forthcoming enjoyment, here are the prompts, to be posted in any order of my choosing:

1.Your work space
2.The best part of your day
3.Something you refuse to do
4.Last book you read
5.Meaning behind your blog name
6.Talent you wish you had
7.A photo of you without makeup
8.Last item you purchased
9.Something that makes you sad
10.15 facts about you
11.Your favorite thing right now
12.Best Christmas present you ever got
13.Your favorite teacher
14.Something you’re thankful for
15.A photo from your childhood
16.Something you crave
17.Your worst hair moment
18.Favorite smells
19.Last time you cried
20.Last time you had to apologize to someone
21.Something that scares you
22.Something that really bugs you
23.What you dislike most about your appearance
24.Celebrity crush
25.A trait you deplore in others
26.A photo taken 10 years ago
27.First book/movie/song that moved you
28.What turns you off
29.The story behind one of your scars
30.This one was left blank, so how about you pick it...

Don't Taze Me Bro!

It only took 1.5 months of riding Bart daily to finally have my very own "I saw some shit go down" story. I mean, I did ride Bart home from San Francisco after Halloween, to and from the Championship parade, and still didn't have any good stories. The closest recently, besides the usual crazies, would be that I saw a guy puke in a paper bag after game 2 when the Giants lost to the Braves, but even that barely made the twitter feed. Tonight however, shit went down.

So setting the stage: Since I am a creature of habit (may or may not be slightly OCD, jury is still out on that one) I went to my normal spot on the platform, which happens to be the first door on the first train. After some research, this is the least crowded entrance and least crowded train car, so I can always get a seat and I'm used to it. But that's another story. Luckily, thanks to this OCD, I got a front row seat to the action.

Anyways, I'm standing in line, surprisingly not glued to my phone (underground, no reception) and as usual the SF bound train pulls up (not my train), the train doors open and two middle aged guys dash out of the train and run up to the conductor, shouting and arguing with each other and then yelling at the conductor (for explanatory reasons let's call the short normal looking one “Shorty” and the tall crazy one "Dodger"). This goes on for a minute, and not many people are paying attention to the commotion. After a bit, Shorty yells something at both Dodger and the conductor and storms off up the stairs. The train has now been sitting there for a few minutes, and few announcements come on saying the train will be sitting there for a few more minutes and that people should exit the train and go upstairs to catch the next SF bound train. So the train empties out and Dodger starts wondering in and out of a few cars, talking to himself, and then makes his way back up to the conductor. When Dodger talks to the conductor, he sticks his head fully inside the window and yells, loudly, using hand gestures and overly dramatic body language. I can’t really make out anything he is saying but clearly he is crazy.

Then from out of nowhere, 4 Bart cops come running down the platform, tasers drawn, yelling at people to move out of the way, aiming their tasers at Dodger, yelling at him to get on the ground. I am going to pause here for a second because as soon as people saw Bart police with tasers drawn, tension on the platform rose exponentially and EVERYONE was crowded around and had video mode set on their phones. Added to this was, this was happening at an Oakland Bart Station, so people were likely more sensitive to this kind of situation and had Oscar Grant or Johannes Mehserle flash into their heads, causing a heightened sense of excitement/worry.

So, Dodger is on the ground, spread eagle, and Cop #1 quickly removes a large weapon from Dodgers pants and tosses it to Cop #2, they handcuff him, and Dodger is yelling “I didn’t do anything…” whatever, you had a weapon, we’re not in Texas (ok, well Oakland, but still), and they whisk him away through one of those secret doors and that’s the end of Dodger.

Who knows what he did, but he caused a 20 minute delay on a Friday night. I mean, I could have had important plans or something, but I still saw some shit go down. Ok, not really exciting, but just edgy enough I guess.

Tales From The Park - Part Uno

I work across the street from Snow Park in Oakland, and since the weather has been pleasant, this 4.2 acre park has been getting a lot of action, thus providing me with hours of entertainment. If people watching was a profession I would be at the top of my game. Added Bonus: It’s in Oakland.

As an introduction to the Tales From the Park, here is a brief overview of the daily cast of characters:

The Boot-Camp: I’ve come to think of the boot camp as a “Chuck Norris Air Punch/Round House Kick Training” meets “D-Quans Dance Moves” workout. The two instructors set up a table and cones every morning and afternoon and sometimes 1 or 2 people will show up to run around, punch the air, kick some mat and look like a complete jackass (I’m not knocking the workout, I would just rather look like a jackass indoors and not while I’m being watched by office buildings full of people). There are, unfortunately, a lot of days these guys will set up and no one comes to workout.

The Private School Kids (I think you have to be Asian to attend): This office has come to the conclusion that the workout regiment the school has these kids on is “Guantanamo Bay Training.” The school is about 10 blocks away from the park and apparently does not have a playground, although, judging by their PE routine, I don’t think the school promotes “play” or “fun” time. First, the kids will run around the park 3 or 4 times with their hands on top of their heads (yes, like prisoner of war style), then they do pushup/situps/etc. and at no point in time do any of them look like they are having fun. They never play kickball or any other kind or organized team game (like the fun Charter School kids) and they are always so militant looking in their uniforms. I would imagine that this “PE” would be more of a punishment than a reward.

The Random Assortment of Homeless Guys: This bunch provides me with the most entertainment because you never know what they are going to do. From puking in the garbage can to peeing on a tree, these guys sure keep you on your toes. Often, when I look out of the window and I see one in the midst of some random homeless person act, I am either quickly repulsed or brought to laughter.

Shady Drug Dealers: Yesterday one was wearing a top hat, an army jacket, holding a briefcase, standing under a tree, staring at his cell phone. Yes, he was shady and yes, he was probably making a deal. I am just reporting the facts.

Puffy Yellow Jacket Golfer Guy: His name is pretty self-explanatory. The park has a “mini-green” and he chips daily, in the same outfit.

The obnoxious dog owners who let their dogs run around without a leash: No, it’s not also a dog park, I checked. And I would like to send a special thank you out to the dog who ate my sandwich and the owner who did nothing about it.

"Tuna Jerky" and the Lesson Learned at Costco

If the sample people at Costco ever hand you a sample in a zip-lock baggie, don’t eat it! This is how I know:
It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that my ability to pay attention rivals that of a midgets ability to slam dunk a basketball, and when I have my phone in hand, my attention span to anything other than my phone is about .00001%. So this "incident" comes as no surprise to myself or anyone who has spent 5 minutes in the presence of me and my crackberry.
My parents love going to Costco, and rightfully so, I love going to Costco with them. Especially at sample lunch time or during the "poor-man’s buffet" as my sister refers to it (and that is just brilliant). I will confess that I am a little piggy, going to ALL the sample stations to taste-test everything, sometimes twice. This particular weekend day was right before Christmas and it felt like they had tripled the number of sampling stations, and this little piggy was in heaven. BUT I was also preoccupied in twittering very important facts like how I had just seen Santa shopping and finding that my favorite pinot grigio was now being distributed there, uploading pictures of Santa to my Facebook, and text messaging some guy I probably don’t even talk to anymore. All of this was far more important than paying the slightest bit of attention to the international assortment of deliciousness I was sampling.
Next to the spring roll samples and across the isle from the Lay’s chip samples, I came across a station and I briefly glanced at the "Tuna Jerky" sign. Ok, sounds interesting enough, I’ll try it. The sample was in a zip-lock baggie, but did this slow down the weekend warrior of food sampling? Of course not. I did think for a moment "well, maybe it smells bad and that is why they put it in the baggie..." (On a side note, I have learned that I will eat just about anything, even if I think it smells so bad that it needs to be quarantined to a baggie during sample time.) I am still in crackberry lalaland, so I am not listening to the sample lady’s spiel about what I just picked up and quickly open the bag and start "trying" this "tuna jerky." It is so tough that I can not even take a bite out of it. I gnaw on it for maybe 10 seconds before I give up, think "who would ever want to eat this? It is impossible to eat!" and return the sample to the baggie. As I am throwing the jerky away I overhear the sample lady say "bring home your doggie a tasty treat!" Yep. I tried it. Then I thought, heck, I need to get one to give to my dog, and as I am taking my second helping, the sample lady looks right at me, points her finger and says "these are for dogs only!" Yeah, thanks lady, I already figured that one out.
On another side note, why is Costco sampling dog food treats right next to the chip samples and the spring roll samples? Someone should look into this.