THE COCOON HAS HATCHED

AND OUT FLEW TWO SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES

Is it really obvious that I am a tad excited that we spent the Memorial Day Long Weekend socializing with a number of different people.

Friday signalled the end of the 'Miner Miracle Shopping Extravaganza', so of course we felt the need for Friday night drinks, off we ventured to John Colins, a funky little bar in the SOMA district. Darren joined us as we ching-chinged our glasses to our hard work and dedication.

I received some weird comments and looks for drinking champagne, obviously not the social drink of choice with the San Francisco social scene. Not as many strange looks as when Jill showed off her party trick…. 'Rubber Nose Jill'.



A couple we knew in Sydney and hopefully will get to know a lot better, have just moved to San Francisco.

Welcome Luke, Kathy and their little boy Rory to San Francisco.
(Don't I just sound like a local.. I have one social weekend and think I am a native..)

Luke works for Apple, so they will be living down South near the Apple Headquarters in Cupertino. Saturday we all cruised around Union Square and finished with dinner. Luke and Kathy are both keen motorcyclists, so we took them for a bite to eat at Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker's bar/restaurant. Vintage motorcycles from all around the world hang from the ceilings and on the walls.

Memorial day was spent with my Auntie Val’s family who live in the Marin County Area.
(Click here to meet everyone, move your mouse over the linked photo for more information).
We had a lovely day getting to know everyone and enjoyed great company, wonderful food (a few shrimps on the barbie) and a lovely drop of South Australian Shiraz. We received plenty of recommendations for places to visit and things to see and do in San Francisco and surrounds…. Busy Times Ahead.

There always seems to be something a little bit out there to watch or participate in. Sunday morning we ventured to the Mission District to take our position on the sidewalk to watch the Annual Carnaval Parade. Every year the Carnaval Festival celebrates and showcases the very best of Latin American and Caribbean cultures and traditions with diverse array of food, music, dance and artistry.

It didn't seem fair as the large crowd all rugged up in their winter woolies watched the hundreds of participants braving the extremely cold temperature as they pranced along in their skimpy costumes.

Funny to think that Memorial Day Weekend is unofficially considered the first day of summer.
But we are reminded of the supposed famous quote of Mark Twain:

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"

We have been told by a reliable source that September & October are the finest months, so we are getting used to the odd weather patterns in San Francisco, and adjusting our clothing layers accordingly.

Have you noticed the fun I've been having learning to use Photoshop? I am only a beginner but have a flickr folder to save my before and after shots (click here). But I promise that is really Jill's nose.

Well, the life of the average butterfly is approximately two weeks, but research has shown that different breeds can have a longer life span. I am of the understanding that once the social butterfly has hatched it will continue to thrive as long as it continues to maintain old and new friendships.

So a huge hello to my dear friends back home who I miss and think of everyday.

XX

Mel

COMPLETELY STARKERS

Biology or any subject from the science curriculum never really worked out for me in my high school years. Come to think of it neither did accounting… funny how life turns out.

Oops!!!! I’m Drifting

Getting back to the subject… Ignoring the fact that I am no biologist, I still am of the opinion there are certain activities that the human body was not created to endure. Subjecting one’s eyeballs to speeds of 0-200Km p/h in 4 seconds surely cannot be recommended. And looking at Darren and Todd’s face in this picture it is pretty clear that they may well be of the same opinion.



Once Darren's G-Force Korean facelift had dropped and Todd lost his constipated clench, they both realised they were in fact still alive and repeated the insanity again and again.

Darren was at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio on Thursday for the sole purpose to ride the Top Thrill Dragster, the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world. They stayed in the parks on-site hotel so they could have VIP access to the Park at 9am before the general public entry at 10am.

I can tell when Darren is genuinely really really excited about something because he recaps in his girly giggly animated voice.

So I have heard the girly giggly animated voice a lot the last day with tales from their trip, which also included a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina for a Nascar race.

It hasn’t been all play for the boy. Darren has been away for the majority of the last 2 weeks, with fleeting customer visits to Seattle and Colorado Springs.

I too have been keeping myself pretty busy. I have been working flat out for the last 2 weeks volunteering at a Designer Shopping Extravaganza Sale in support of a Non-Profit Organization called A Miner Miracle. I have scored some great clothes for my time and have formed a new appreciation for retail staff. There have been long days and hard work but it’s keeping me busy and an added bonus I have been meeting some great people.

I have been working with a fellow Aussie from Perth who invited Darren and I to join the Aussie Brigade for the annual Bay to Breakers Run on Sunday. It would have been a lot of fun but Darren was flying back into San Francisco half way through the race.


I walked up the street to watch the passing procession, a small bunch of serious runners and 75,000 or so people just running, walking and skipping along to have an awesome day dressed in elaborate costumes, hanging out with their mates and family.

Speaking of "hanging out" I don't know what possesses people to walk or run 12km completely starkers, I have never seen so many naked runners in my life… It turns out they are all part of a group called Bare to Breakers.

Each to their own I guess....

It was a pity I couldn’t run, the exercise may have done me good - it seems.

Weight is a contentious issue, we women have our insecurities..

• Does my bum look big in these pants?

• Do I look fat in this outfit?

And we know that unless you are 100% sure a woman is pregnant you avoid asking when the baby is due.

Unless of course the person you are speaking to is me.

Everyone has their one area of concern; for some it goes straight to their hips, bum or thighs now for me it goes straight to my belly…

On our honeymoon, I lost track of how many Thai women would mention baby when they looked at my little potbelly, I would share a few giggles & comment about lots of food after a week of pre-wedding starvation to fit into my wedding dress. By day 10 I gave in, I would smile and reply.."Yes Baby”.
Who knows what they thought when I threw down cocktail after cocktail….especially this massive one.



So last week I was having a quiet moment to myself at the shop site, after lunch I rubbed my full protruding tummy and whispered to myself acknowledging that I had definitely eaten too much. I was interrupted by the sweet voice of another volunteer, inquiring if I was having a few words to my unborn baby and asking when I was due…..

Q. Why do I feel the need to be careful with my reply, so as not to embarrass the person making this comment to me.... but I did let her know very kindly that I was not pregnant.
God forbid that I should let her feel an insy binsy bit embarrassed.

I take comfort from my gossipy websites and magazines. The likes of poor Nicole and Halle only have to have the slightest bloated day and it is splashed over the world that Junior is on it's way.

Exercise will be on its way in 2 weeks time. I have just booked our accommodation for our trip to Yosemite National Park. No doubt lots of walking and bike riding as we follow our guide to "Seeing Yosemite in 2 days".

I can't wait.... I hope to also recap my adventures in my girly giggly animated voice.


XX
Mel

TO OUR DEAR MUMS

To our Dear Mums

Both so far away
Know we think of you everyday

To our Dear Mums
On the other side of the Pacific
Know we think you are Terrific

To Mel’s Dear Mum
Know we love you and think you are great
We thank you so much for the delicious wedding cake

To Darren’s Dear Mum
Know we love you, what can we say?
Hope you are relaxing and not cleaning today.

To our Dear Mums
We just want to say
Have an Awesome Mother’s Day

XXX

Darren & Mel

ARE YOU AFRAID OF EARTHQUAKES?

I dream of the following scenario….
Substituting the Monday daily grind of pre-occupied workers getting back into the hustle and bustle of the working week, with my preference to lay in the sunshine, beside the pool on a glorious sunny afternoon, with a book and notepad to scribble my thoughts.
Ooops!!!! It’s not a dream; I am actually relaxing here by the apartment pool, taking in this glorious sunny day and writing away at my blog on this extraordinary Monday afternoon.

The weather the last weekend has been beyond expectations for many San Franciscans, but it can change without warning from day to day even from hour to hour. The previous weekend was a little on the chilly side for our second big bicycle ride, that took us through the Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Ocean. (Satellite Map of our ride). There were some steep hills included but that’s just all part of the experience… the pain days are long gone, triathlon training is just around the corner.

Darren took a business trip to Seattle through the week. Darren and Todd met up to conduct some customer handover meetings. I am positive it was a tough couple of days for them both, undoubtedly all work and no play.

On the subject of work and play, Craiglist.org is an online classifieds that is a great resource for everything from employment to classes and activities. I have taken quite a fascination to exploring the posts for intriguing and bizarre things to do in the city of San Francisco.

One recent heading to capture my attention:
ARE YOU AFRAID OF EARTHQUAKES?

Afraid might be a little extreme, but I do spend a fair bit of time talking about our future earthquake experiences and boring Darren while I recite scenarios that I have created in my warped mind. Whether it be running for our lives whilst windows crash down from office buildings around us, or our vehicle dropping off the edge of a collapsed Bay Bridge in a scene reminiscent of a Home & Away season finale.

So it only seemed fitting that I volunteered our time to share our (or my) crazy thoughts with the documentary team from BBC London, even though we have only lived here for less than 3 months. Our recent relocation was a different spin for our interviewer, Professor Dan Cruickshank, as he asked how we prepared for a move to an earthquake prone city, a city just waiting for the Big One to strike. It was an interesting afternoon in Union Square, just one of the not so common everyday activities that you can find yourself participating in thanks to Craigslist.

However, the past weekend is now over and I did not make Darren do any silly little activities (Oh actually just one, but I can’t speak about that until next week).
This past weekend has actually been a nice balance for the sexes. I do find that a lot of weekend activities do favour the female sex, we drive to picturesque little towns, savor the scenery but for the most part end up strolling along the main street browsing through shops and cafes followed by more shops and more cafes.

Sunday we took a cruise in our Zip Car - Honda Element, to the coastal town of Half Moon Bay (pop. 11,500) a short 45 kilometre drive south of San Francisco. Of course the main drag in Half Moon Bay is in fact called Main Street and Darren and I did indeed browse the Street, enjoyed lunch at a cute little cafe but then we also took ours bikes and cycled down to the Legends of Motorcycles Show at the Ritz-Carlton Resort.

It’s nice to find a testosterone filled activity to keep 'the boy' feel satisfied with his weekend activity. For extra bonus boy credit we finished it off last night with a late night session of Spiderman 3 on the IMAX big screen.

There are a multitude of books out there like 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus', or 'He’s just not into You', all delving in, to try and explain the difference between the sexes. I uncovered an example of some strange male behaviour online this week and this inspired me to include a little report on the funniest or oddest posting I find on Craigslist each week.

WINGMAN WANTED

This was the topic of the Inaugural Winning Classified.

Looking for a wingman - m4mw - 26
Looking to go out but no one to go out with.
Looking for a wingman type personality
I'd like to throw some of my "game" on a couple lucky ladies and would like a "wingman"
to laugh at me or encourage me to move on after getting shot down.
I'll get shot down plenty of times but that's the object.
I'm just looking to play some pickup games.

Straight Guy Looking for a wingman - m4m - 34
I'm a STRAIGHT guy looking for a good wingman. My girlfriend and I broke up a while ago and I have a little lost since. I've gone on a few dates some via CL. The CL girls pics are have been misleading. The girls I was set up with were not my type either. I'm a fun outgoing clean cut guy. Lets go out in SF and meet some girls.

I was riveted to undertake some research into the role of the wingman, turns out it was a lot more comprehensive than I could have imagined.

The Urban Dictionary’s Guide to being a Wingman:
A Wingman is a guy you bring along with you on singles
outings (like to bars) that helps you out with the women.

Typically in these ways:

• The Wingman will always be there to “occupy” least attractive girl of the pair so that you may engage in the “hottie”
• Often, when an attractive girl is out with an ugly friend, she often feels restricted to not leave that ugly friend alone, thus making the hot girl, un-touchable.
• When the wingman technique is used, both girls are approached by the men, and the Wingman automatically engages in conversation with the ugly girl.
• Now that the hot friend sees that the ugly girl has finally found a man, she is now free to start scouting.
• This is where you come in “unexpectedly” and “accidentally”, and begin catching up on “old times” with the Wingman.
• The Wingman then offers the ugly girl to dance, (which rarely happens to her) so she wont be able to resist.

And finally for inspiration: The Light Coors TV Commercial where future Wingmen are reminded

“You’re taking one for the team, so your Buddy can live the dream”.

My entry commenced with dream talk, so it seems fitting to end it on the dream..... although definitely not my dream.

XX

Mel

BTW.....We found a few of our favourite things this week, thanks to Australia Fair and the local BevMo store.