You're Everywhere To Me . . .

Loyal Reader Number 2, my friend Marie from college, has just sent me the above image.  It seems the "Fake" people have now invaded the Los Angeles area.  

This may be the most elaborate incarnation of "Fake" people yet.  They are actually riding bicycles across a busy intersection!

Thank you Marie for reacting so quickly and thinking to take this picture!  I appreciate that you are keeping me and the rest of the Loyal Readers aware of this late breaking development regarding "Fake" people.

The Song Of The Day - Everywhere by Michelle Branch

Cha Cha Cha Don't You Know That I Love You . . .

This week I had a surprise visitor at work.  My friend Elaine called to say she was in the City and wanted to know if she was close to my office.  I gave Elaine what I thought were pretty simple directions on how to catch the Muni for a buck fifty and in three short stops she would be right in front of my building.

A co-worker overheard me and later asked why I didn't tell her to just walk.  Walk?  I looked at my co-worker and said, "Knowing my friend Elaine she is probably wearing heels and is all dolled up." I didn't give her the name Cha Cha for nothing!

Well Elaine didn't disappoint.  She was looking fierce with her new short hair, BR silk scarf and coordinated heels.   (See Below)

Oh, and apparently my simple Muni directions were not so simple because she rode the subway right past my office all the way to the Cal Train Depot!  

The above picture was taken at our outdoor seating area of our cafeteria.  Nice view isn't it?

Thanks for coming to see me Elaine!

The Song Of The Day - Cha Cha Cha ("Go" Remix) by Jimmy Luxury & The Tommy Rome Orchestra

Where's Your Head At. . .

On Saturday Jill, my best friend from high school, came to visit me in the city.  I was so happy, I greeted her with open arms.  Unfortunately, I could barely see her because my head was caught in the branches of this tree.  Seriously, I think its time this home owner to do some trimming, because neither of us are that tall.

Jill and I set off for lunch in the Marina and then planned to hit up the Exploratorium next to The Palace Of The Fine Arts.

Once we were in the museum we slowly perused the numerous art and science exhibits.  In the picture below Jill is waving hi from inside the giant Kaleidoscope.

Next, it was off to the Light and Optics area.  In the picture below you can see me outlined in moving lights.  Jill is standing next to me on the right but once again her head got cut off.   Hmmmm, I'm detecting a pattern here.

All kidding aside, I was really happy to see Jill and I am glad she was willing to play along with the "missing head" joke for this blog.

Here's Jill and I before entering the museum.

In the shot below you can see what it looked like inside the Giant Kaleidoscope.

In this final shot you can see me demonstrating my amazing ability to levitate above the ground...with the help of a mirror that is!

Thanks Jill for driving up to the city today, it was a lot of fun!

The Song Of The Day - Where's Your Head At by The Basement Jaxx

You're Frozen. . .

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

It was a period of economic unrest.  Retail stores selling the American dream in the form of excessive displays of opulence and wealth had fallen on hard times.  

In their battle to stay operating, The Sharper Image filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Forced to take action, they began to shut down the under performing stores.  Next, they triggered the liquidation of all company assets down to the last three hole punch.

It was here that I came across the Jedi Master Yoda protecting Han Solo who was still frozen in carbonite.  I knew that Yoda had obviously thwarted Boba Fett's attempt to return Solo to Jabba The Hut.

Using his Jedi mind tricks, Yoda waved his hand in front of me as if to say "You do not need anything in this store."  And with that I continued on my way.

This blog entry is for my nephew Sean who can beat me in Star Wars Trivial Pursuit.

The Song Of The Day - Cantina Band by Figrin D'an & The Modal Nodes

Paint Me In. . .

From June 14 through Sept 28, 2008 the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is hosting a Frida Kahlo exhibition.  

One of the great advantages of working for my company is I get free admission to most of the museums in the city.

On Sunday some friends and I went to see the exhibit.  It was amazing!  I never thought I was a fan of Frida Kahlo but after seeing this exhibit I now am!

If you are in the Bay Area before Sept 28 I highly suggest taking the time to see the collection.

I don't think you are allowed to take pictures in the museum but I couldn't resist quickly snapping the above shot with my cell phone of "The Two Fridas."  

The Song Of The Day - Paint Me In Your Sunshine by Marie Digby

Under The Bridge. . .

Saturday I took a walk to The Golden Gate Bridge.  I wanted to go the Warming Hut which is a coffee house/gift shop near the base of the bridge.   My reward for going on the long walk would be to get a drink at the Warming Hut.  On my walk I observed some really interesting things.

First up was this gentleman wearing a mask who was skimboarding on a small beach near the Marina Green.  After watching him for a several minutes I realized that out on the bay there was a low flying helicopter that was filming catamarans traveling across the bay.  Every time the helicopter and catamarans came to this side of the bay the masked skimboarder would repeat his run and glide.  Clearly he is hoping to be captured in some future film.  I then realized that means I may also be in some future film since I was standing behind him.

Next up in my journey was an art exhibition along Crissy Field.  The artwork stretched all the way from Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was an art display of globes painted to represent different ways of saving the environment.  There is actually one of these globes outside one of our offices.  I just didn't realize the one at our office was part of  a larger project.

I eventually reached the Warming Hut and rewarded myself with a Chai Latte.  Since I had come this far I decided to keep going towards the bridge to touch Hopper's Hands.

Hopper's Hands is a metal plaque at the last point you can walk to before the Golden Gate Bridge.  People who run along the Marina Green use Hopper's Hands as a turn around point.  They touch the plaque and turn around.  Here is a link to the alleged origin of Hopper's Hands.

At the base of the Golden Gate Bridge is Fort Point.  Fort Point was open on Saturday and they had a Civil War era reenactment going on.  Here was the band playing outside the fort next to Hopper's Hands.

By the time I reached Fort Point it was extremely windy and cold.  Good thing I had a beanie and my North Face jacket on.  The above picture shows an interior view of the fort.  The all brick structure showcases amazing masonry work.

Fort Point was built on the edge of the water at the narrowest point of the entrance to the bay.  This would allow the soldiers an advantage in protecting the bay from an invasion.  Later, the Golden Gate Bridge was built at the same "narrowest" point which means the bridge goes directly over Fort Point.  In the above picture I am standing on the roof of Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge.  Thank you to the kind stranger who offered to take my picture.  It was so windy up there I could barely stand up without falling over.  In another shot I took which is not posted here you can see my beanie being blown off my head!

Below is another shot of the "Civil War" soldiers lining up for inspection.

The Song Of The Day - Under The Bridge by All Saints

That's The Name Of The Game. . .

Friday night my friend Shagun hosted "Game Night" at her apartment and a great time was had by all.

First we feasted on Shagun's homemade lasagna.  She was a very thoughtful host who told me she purposely didn't make the lasagna too spicy since she knew I don't eat spicy things.  And for An, who likes everything super spicy she had a bottle Tabasco sauce.

After wine and food it was time to get our game on.

The first game we played was Taboo.  I had never played this game before and I was not very good at it.  In the picture below Olivier is trying to get me to say the word "Croquet." Unfortunately he misread the word and got me to say Davey "Crockett"  instead.  Needless to say we did not get the point. It was very funny.

After Taboo we played Bandu, a Jenga like game.  "Most Impressive Tower" award went to Shamoli who miraculously kept building straight up without her tower falling over.

The Song Of The Day - Name Of The Game by The Crystal Method

Show Stopping. . .

This is my co-worker Jan admiring herself in her compact.  Jan sits in the cube next to me and Friday is her birthday.   Jan also wants to be in my blog.  So happy birthday Jan!  It doesn't get much bigger than this!  All three of my loyal readers will celebrate with you!

With Jan as a cube mate I am guaranteed a laugh at least two or three times a day.

Jan is a planner and has not one, not two, not three, but five calculators on her desk.  Last week we had a minor crisis when two of the five calculators went missing.  Thankfully they have been recovered.

Jan is a former gymnast.  After she learned that I had "Googled" her history on the Internet she brought an autographed picture of herself as a white elephant gift to our office Christmas party last year.  No joke, it was a highly sought after item!  I actually stole it from the person who rightfully won it at the party and it now sits in my cube.

After numerous people seemed confused as to why I would have a picture of Jan in my cube I thought it would be best if she had a vintage picture of me in her cube.  So with the help of my dad I got a hold of my cheer leading photo and autographed it for Jan.  It now sits in her cube.

But here is the best part, sometimes my mom sends me baked goods at the office.  One time I told my mom that Jan didn't like chocolate and that she had to pick the chocolate chips out of the cookies my mom had sent.  Shortly there after a package arrived with a note partially addressed to Jan hoping she would like this batch of cookies without chocolate chips.  Jan still has the note from my mom displayed on her cube wall.  It makes me do a double take whenever my eye catches the note.  "Why is my mom's writing in Jan's cube?"  And with that I must say once again...

Happy Birthday Jan!

The Song Of The Day - Show Stopper by Danity Kane (Jan's favorite group)

You Gotta Work It Out. . .

After a year and a half of not going to the gym, tonight I got off the couch and broke the non-exercise cycle!  

Go Me!

And due to the upgraded treadmills with cable TV I was able to do 3.8 miles while still watching my favorite TV show on Monday night, Jon and Kate Plus 8.

Once again I stood out like a sore thumb as everyone else had their TVs tuned to sporting events or the Olympic games.  And then there is me,  laughing out loud at six toddlers trying to climb a lighthouse's stairs.

The Song Of The Day - Work It Out by Beyonce

Crazy Are The People Talking In My Head. . .

On Saturday my friends and I went to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.  We have been trying to make this happen for about seven months now, so it was pretty amazing that we finally made it.  

When we left San Francisco it was misting.  We got to San Jose and the sun was out.  It was hot and we were way over layered for the heat.  I knew I should have worn shorts!

The Winchester House is a 160 room mansion built by Sara Winchester.  Sara Winchester believed the "spirits" were telling her what to build on her house.  She felt that she had to keep building on the house as a way to make up for all the people who had been killed by the Winchester riffle which was manufactured by her late husband.  

I had been to the Winchester House once before when I was in 6th grade and basically the tour hasn't changed in 22 years.  My friends wanted to go because they were hoping to see a ghost or a spirit or at least an orb.  Anything spooky.

Here we are in the Mansion hoping to see a ghost.  Other than the moment when we were in the bedroom where Sara Winchester died and my cell phone started to vibrate in my back pocket because of a wrong number, we saw no ghosts.

Rather than give up we decided to keep trying by going on the "Behind The Scenes" tour.  This second tour required hard hats and children under nine are not allowed.  So we knew that meant for sure we were going to be spooked right?

Well other than the hedge that had been trimmed to be the shape of the number thirteen, Sara Winchester's favorite number, this second tour wasn't very scary either.

Okay ghosts, we are heading down into the cellar, show yourself.   Or not.

I guess second careers as paranormal ghost hunters is not in our near future.  We tried.

After the Winchester Mystery House we drove across the street to Santana Row, a lifestyle center with shops, restaurants and condominiums for a late lunch.  

The Song Of The Day - Crazy by Seal

Swing Batta Batta Swing. . .

Tuesday this week I happened to be in the right place at the right time.  I had the pleasure of being offered the chance to attend a Giants game with some very important people from work.

Our seats were in the Company box right along the first base line.

Sure, The Giants lost, but I don't think anyone was really shocked by that.

My one co-worker was surprised when I mumbled under by breath at one point, "Oh they walked him."  I think he had zero confidence in my knowledge of the game.  He looked at me and said, "Good, Jon."

Later in game my director said, "Jon, I didn't know you were so into baseball."  I replied, "I'm not."  But for my father and brother's sake I had better live this moment, because I know they would have really enjoyed it.

On a side note, in case you were not aware, above the bleachers in the outfield is a giant Coca-Cola bottle.  Get it, "GIANT" Coca-Cola bottle at the Giants game.  Anyway, inside the Coke bottle there are slides like at a playground.  Last summer when I went to a game I did go on the slides.  They are lots of fun, even for grown ups.

Below are a couple more shots I took at the game.

The Song Of The Day - Come Baby Come by K7

Strike A Pose. . .

I have a new sign to share with you.

This sign is located in the retail store Therapy in the Mission District of San Francisco.

The sign shown above is almost as good as one I saw way back in college.  

My university had a record store located in the campus bookstore complex.  Those of you who have ever gone shopping with me know how much time I can spend in a record store.  Anyway, when Madonna's Erotica CD was released in 1992 the campus record store put the album on sale.  In front of the CD in the display rack they hung a hand made sign that said, "Madonna, She's Cheap."   That sign was very funny because at the time Madonna had also just released her very controversial coffee table book Sex.

The Song Of The Day - Vogue by Madonna

What Is That Sound. . .

"Is that a dark circle under your eye?"

"Oh, why yes it is."

And this is what happens when you don't sleep at night because your window is open and the fog horn is bellowing every fifteen seconds or so.

The good news?

I was able to record a sample of the fog horn for your pure enjoyment!

Fog Horn

The Song Of The Day - 

What Sound by Lamb