Like a Tree in the Desert

Just Silly...

2012-02-29T21:29:00.004-08:00

Been driving the bird to work lately and the other day someone at the office parked their smart car next to me. It just looked so funny I couldn't resist snapping this photo...

Oscar Night

2012-02-29T19:58:00.001-08:00

Had a couple of Oscar parties to go to this past weekend. We got in our fancy dress and hopped in the TBird and headed to the first one at American Oak. After a couple of champagne cocktails there we headed to our second destination, our friends' bar, Swell!

Other people were taking photos so hopefully I end up with one of Ben and I together. In the meantime, here is what I have...

Finally had an opportunity to wear this again...

Ben driving the bird to American Oak...

Then on to Swell!
Zach-a-roni & Ben...Jodi decided to duck out on this one...

Ev, Amy, Julie, Gray & moi...

The Oscar goes too...

Julie won best dressed...super glamorous!

My bird and Gray's fabulous pink Swell-mobile!

New Home

2012-02-29T19:00:00.001-08:00

Ben and I found a larger, cheaper apartment and are just loving it! Built in 1937, wood floors, large built in with cabinets and multiple shelves, walking distance to our favorite bars...what is not to like? And to top it off, there is a cactus garden out front! And Ben is thrilled to have a proper, one car garage to work on the scooters in. The unit only shares one wall so thankfully no one is above or below us. We also now have a working fireplace! Ben finally got to build our first fire Monday night. Now it is on to the details...curtains, hanging pictures, etc. The list keeps on growing!

Ben prepping for the first fire...

Hooray! Our first beautiful fire!

The Uptown Upcoming Shows ~ Deke Dickerson (3/9) & The Skatalites (4/27)

2012-02-24T11:22:00.006-08:00

So glad that there is a good live music venue so close to home in the East Bay. We used to always have to drive to San Francisco and though it is close, crossing the bridge and trying to find parking can be a nightmare. I wonder how much of our time was spent hunting for parking when we used to go to the Elbow Room in the mission every wednesday back when the weekly rockabilly shows were still happening.

I have always had good experiences when we have gone to gigs at The Uptown in Oakland. Tickets are reasonably priced, bartenders are friendly and it never has taken too long to get served. And they have a screen up in the bar area that shows the band so you do not have to miss anything when you go to grab a drink. The next show we are going to is on Friday, March 9th, when Deke Dickerson plays (with supporting bands The RevTones and The B Stars). We've seen him several times over the years but it has been a while since the last time and with tickets only $12 in advance and the venue just a short drive to Oakland, how can we not go? Nice little pre-Viva gig to get us in the spirit!

I have to remember to check The Uptown's site more often. Just yesterday I looked and found three more shows we want to go to. Two do not have tickets for sale yet but one does...The Skatalites! We'll be seeing them Friday, April 27th. Tickets are $17 in advance. I grabbed the following photo of them from the website for The Uptown.

I love how I was able to buy us tickets for both shows and even with $11.50 in service charges it was still less than how much I have spent on one ticket for other concerts in the past. Now I am just waiting for tickets to go on sale for the other two shows we want to go to...Harrington Saints on 3/25 and the Polecats on 6/7!

http://www.uptownnightclub.com

Alameda Antique Faire

2012-02-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Took a break from moving house a few weekends ago and went to the antique faire at Alameda Point. I can’t believe this is only the second time I have been there in all the years we have lived in Alameda. Anything you desire can be found there and if you enjoy people watching, this is the place to be. It is not a flea market, so I do not expect to get insane deals, plus I am not one for bargaining. Thankfully the friends I was with are into trying to get a better deal so in one case I saved $10 thanks to them. I came home with three great items: a nice little pot for my front porch, a 49er jacket, and a beautiful orange carved bakelite bangle! I am definitely going back next time to try and find the vendor with the bakelite again. She had some stunning pieces. She was firm on the prices but I do not blame her at all. Can’t wait to go back, hopefully next month!

Winter KraftBrew Fest in San Jose

2012-02-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was full of good beer with good friends...our favorite! Ben and I headed down to San Jose on Saturday to go with Jen and Tomek to the Winter KraftBrew Fest held at the Landmark Ballroom. It was fantastic! Not sure how many beers we sampled. Everything tasted so good. There were a ton of people there but we were still able to move around and not have to wait too long for a beer. There was live music that was great. The evening ended with the Pimpsticks performing. Really entertaining! Especially with the floor show given by a couple of our friends dancing for everyone (not to mention jumping on stage as well!). After the beer festival we headed to another one of our favorite spots when we are in the south bay, Trials pub. I have never had a bad experience there and the veggie curry is awesome! Perfect way to end the day.

photo Jen took for the metroMe & Jen

Me & Stacy
Ben and Tomek

The Pimpsticks!

cuttin' a rug

another photo by Jen

See more photos from the event on the Metro website taken by Jen!

http://activate.metroactive.com/2012/01/photos-winter-kraftbrew-fest/

This past weekend...

2012-01-25T20:54:00.000-08:00

Some fun things this weekend...

Friday night dinner at Ole's

Amazing vegetarian omelet and the best coffee!

Then on to American Oak (formerly Barceluna)
for a whiskey sour and a manhattan. They make amazing cocktails!

Harrington Saints at John Patrick's ruled as usual...

Couldn't get close enough for a good photo of the band...

Saturday night we were off to the Michaan Theater for MST3K By the Bay.
This is a light fixture in the lobby of the restored theater...

The theater was beautiful!

Not the best photo but you can make out Tom Servo.
Someone actually had Crow as well!

Snapped this of Ben and my nephew Liam at my brother's birthday.
Didn't get a chance to get one with my other rad nephew Colin.

MST3K by the bay was great. We only stayed for the first feature but it was well worth it! Keeping my fingers crossed they do more.

Now we are looking forward to the Winter KraftBrew Fest in San Jose this Saturday!

Road Zombies Car Club Night

2012-01-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Each year the Road Zombies Car Club hosts a dinner for car clubs in Brisbane at D'Marcos. I have not been to this in a few years but this year the Radiator Hoes decided get together and go! Long overdue! We do not get to see each other that often anymore with all that is going on in everyone's lives. So nice to spend some time together!

Helen, Bonnie & Amber

Now that looks better. Can't forget the beer!

Bon Bon, Swiskee, Midge & D.P.

Harrington Saints - Friday the 20th!

2012-01-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

The day before MST3K By the Bay, go to this!

MST3K By the Bay

2012-01-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Ben and I were down the street at Lucky 13 one weekend and the lovely bartender handed us a flyer for MST3K By the Bay! http://www.mst3kbythebay.com

I was so excited! After all, I was a card carrying member of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan club in the 90's! For those of you not familiar, MST3K was basically where a guy who was sent into space (either Joel or Mike, depending on when the episode was) and the robots he built on his spaceship to keep him company were forced to watch cheesy movies. They make comments throughout the entire movie, including the credits, that are hilarious!

This edition of MST3K By the Bay is taking place Saturday, January 21, at the restored Michaan Theater on the old navy base here in Alameda. I am very excited to see the theater as well since we have never been. This is a 21+ event and tickets must be purchased in advance. Lucky 13 will be serving beer and food will be served as well by Scolari's. It is a double feature but I usually can never last through two movies in one setting. The first is an actual MST3K episode and the second is just the movie so you can comment for yourself. Are you as witty as Tom Servo or Crow????

Viva Las Vegas 2012

2012-01-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again…the prep for Viva Las Vegas has begun. When I realized it is just over three months away, I panicked and bought a dress and some jeans since I had not bought anything new since last year. I always feel so unprepared yet it seems that preparation is all I do in the months prior; making lists, planning outfits, etc. I am rather excited this year about seeing the Big Six for the first time in probably 13 years or so. I remember seeing them some time in the late ‘90s in San Francisco. Who can forget those matching plaid suits! The Planet Rockers and Jack Baymoore are also a couple of our favorites as well as the Bellfuries. Always a pleasure to hear them play. And then this year...The Polecats! Super excited about that. Can't wait to see Boz Boorer (not just because he plays with Morrissey, he is an extremely talented musician and produces a lot of great music). There are many other bands in the lineup that I could go on about as well, but I just wanted to hit on a hand full.So glad the schedule is out on the viva website now!

I cannot forget to mention the Charles Phoenix slideshow. This guy is great! We saw him the first time he came to Viva and were in stitches from laughing so hard. Definitely a must see!

It is crazy when I think about how long Viva has been going. Ben and I went to our first Viva in 2000. We skipped the first two since I was not yet 21 and we did not realize that I probably could have gone underage in those early years. Back then we had the Greaseball in San Francisco which tided me over until I got to Viva in 2000. I am amazed as how much it has grown over the years. Definitely an improvement that it has been moved to the Orleans. The Gold Coast just was not big enough to hold it any more. I remember the last Viva I went to when it was still at the Gold Coast and it was damn near impossible to get a drink. Now we all know that with the Viva crowd, that is unacceptable! The Orleans has a pretty good selection of craft brews which makes Ben very happy. They also have plenty of places for him to watch the Sharks games that will inevitably be on while we are there.

The countdown is on. Happy planning everyone and we’ll see you in April!

Below are some photos of Vivas past. I am not sure the year on everything but I'll start with the most recent. (The old ones were actual photos, not digital, that were scanned)

The almighty Big Elvis at Bills! Highly recommend!

Margarita Madness

Definitely an end of the night shot years ago
with my good friend Nishone!

Me & Ben...geeze, I had some blonde hair!

Back when I always had one of these in my hand...
sure glad I quit close to 8 years ago!

New Year's Eve

2012-01-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Eve is also Ben’s birthday which is much more important to us. Last year we started the tradition of flying for his birthday. He has his private pilot’s license and of course flying is one of his favorite things in the world to do. What better way to spend his birthday. Despite how scary being up in a tiny plane people might think it is, it is actually not scary at all. It helps to know the pilot and how skilled he is. I have to admit to getting a bit of a fright last year when we went. I had not been up in 10 years with him and my door opened during takeoff. The planes are not necessarily the latest and the greatest so there was some weather stripping hanging down that prevented the door from closing securely. Turns out I did not need to be worried. Some people remove the doors on those planes for a variety of purposes. I was actually able to open the window and slam the door shut while up in the air, though I did expect the door to fly back open on every steep turn we did. Thankfully it did not so all was well. Sure makes for a great story!

Unfortunately this year, we only made it as far as the runway in the plane. We got out to the runway and Ben noticed it was running a bit rough and tried to clear the spark plugs. Even though we may have been fine, he decided to taxi back and not go up. Not worth going up if you have any doubt even though it proably would have been ok. I felt so bad he didn't get to fly on his birthday though.

We just hung around our place for the evening with some friends so that absolutely no driving was involved. Who wants to be a designated driver on New Year’s Eve? Not to forget all of the other crazy people out on the roads that evening.

Cessna 152

Captain Ben

Runway at Hayward Airport

Pre-flight Check

Birthday Lunch at Otaez

New Year's Eve Outfit

New Year's Day Tradition - Thai Food!

London Trip 2011

2011-12-29T12:01:00.000-08:00

Since Ben and I adore London after briefly living / working there in both 2002 and 2006/07, our goal is to make it to London each year. This will have to do since there is no way for us to legally live there again. Well hey, we love the East Bay, too! California is where I was born and raised and an amazing place to live and we appreciate that. If only there was a way to spend half the year in one location and half the year in the other…that would be a dream come true!

Below are a few photos from our most recent trip at the beginning of November 2011. We stayed in the Primrose Hill area of North London (back in the NW3) near where our last flat was in Belsize Park. In 2002 we also lived in North London, but that time in a flat in Camden. Some definite highlights were the Arsenal v. West Brom match (3-nil to the Arsenal!), the Emirates Stadium tour (you even get to hit the locker room – hands off the pitch though), The Fullers Brewery tour in Chiswick, seeing The Smyths at the Half Moon in Putney again (amazing tribute band to The Smiths/Morrissey), seeing One Man, Two Guvnors at the Adelphi (Smiffy!), and the Southhampton Arms pub. This place had the most amazing selection of cask ale and cider. And for those of you familiar with the bus lines, the C2 can take you from Camden up through Kentish Town, right to the front door. They even had an adorable cat and were playing some great soul records. Speaking of soul records, we had some of the best times at the Elephant’s Head on High Street in Camden as usual on a Sunday night. We have been returning to hear the DJ there for quite a few years now. I always recommend this place to any of my friends planning a London trip and used to always drag anyone that visited us over there. Talk about an eclectic mix of people! You will see mods, rockabillies, traditional skinheads, tourists from the Camden Market, you name it! And for the most part, everyone gets along. We were very saddened though to discover that just a month prior to our visit the pub’s landlord had passed away. When we lived there, no matter how crowded it was, he would recognize us and come over to take our order. Apparently we tried to drink away our sorrows by the amount of bitter consumed that night and my state the following day. There’s that whole eating dinner thing we forgot about that night. Thank goodness we had ten nights there so sleeping in a bit did not spoil the whole trip. I should have taken the advice of a poster I had seen in a pub earlier that week…”Have something to eat to stay on your feet!”

Ben's 35th Birthday Present from 2010

Match Day

Arsenal v. West Brom
Walcott's Jersey in the Locker Room
Fuller's Brewery - Chiswick
London Pride anyone???

The Smyths show at the Half Moon

One Man Two Guvnors at the Adelphi on the Strand

The Southhampton Arms

Our Hotel - Brittania Hampstead

I would have to write a novel to mention everything that happened in London (no, no...nothing along the lines of Withnail & I). A lot can happen in ten days. Hopefully in 2012 we will be meeting up with some of our close friends (who now live in Canada) in Manchester, and then driving down to London. It would be good for us to get out of London for at least a little bit the next time we go back. Hopefully we can hit up Scotland as well. We have not been back to Scotland since 2007 and are due for a visit. Scotland is a beautiful country with amazing people and history. If you have not been…go!

And so it goes…My first attempt at a blog…

2011-12-29T11:44:00.000-08:00

Since Ben and I are still Facebook hold outs, I thought I would start up a little blog so that I could keep track of the stuff we do and have some place to share it. Not sure how often I will get around to posting items but my down time during the holidays seemed the perfect time to get started. I decided to name my blog “Like a Tree in the Desert” since this is how my beloved Grandpa T. used to describe his sister-in-law (my Nantie). Nantie was someone who would wear a hat and gloves no matter where she went (a fur to McDonald’s…why not?). She was rather eccentric and always dressed to the tee. She was an amazing woman and had a collection of clothing dating back to who knows when that you would not believe! And all in immaculate condition! I am fortunate to have some of her items, such as her faux leopard coat from the ‘60s she gave me when she was still alive. She wore it on her first trip to Mexico. I often wear her Ray Bans that I was lucky enough to get as well. She had style! Can’t forget to mention her taste in cars. A ’56 black Thunderbird, a ’60 pink Cadillac convertible…Wish I could have given her a ride in my ’65 Thunderbird. I think she would have approved.