MPBSFA Day 3: Why Does Nonny Nu Have a Farmer's Tan?

See that farmer's tan? It's mine. Yep, ALL MINE. *sigh* As you can see, I'm kinda sorta burned, too. Folks might be wondering why it is that an Asian would get sunburned. Well, it's probably from being in the sun without sunblock for over six hours straight. Yeah, that might have had something to do with it.

Anywho, MonkeyPig was thinking about Fisherman's Wharf, so that's where we went. You all know what the [proposed] itinerary looks like, so let's see how it actually panned out.

11:40am Arrived at San Francisco.
12:20pm Purchased seafood sampler; had lunch; met local.
1:00pm Visited Boudin Bakery; watched bread sorter; got drinks (ahhhhhh...).[1]
1:20pm Walked around Fisherman's Wharf (motorized tours, horsie tours).
1:45pm Decided to take cable car to Golden Gate bridge; walked to cable car station; changed mind and decided to take bus instead; walked to bus stop (line 30). [2]
2:30pm Got on bus; got off bus; failed to find transfer bus stop; continued GGB Bataan-style death march. [3]
2:41pm Admired houses along Marina Street [4]; watched kids capsize [5]; watched kids on field trip to the Arboretum (of course, we're not lost).
3:08pm Oh, look, there's Alcatraz.
3:09pm Arrived at Crissy Park. [6]
3:42pm Arrived at stairs to the GGB, where more posing ensued; realization that we look like MIT (made in Taiwan).
3:49pm Went up the stairs and checked out the plants along the way. [7]
4:06pm Arrived at GGB; enjoyed more walking.
5:12pm Completed the GGB; found that there is no bus going back; headed back on foot.
6:26pm Got back to the beginning of GGB; took bus back to Fisherman's Wharf; bought non-matching fleece jackets (learned our lesson with the monkey shirts); picked up car and headed to Chinatown.
7:14pm Arrived in Chinatown; MP decided to forego restaurant suggestions and instead choose one on the fly; chose a restaurant that looked legit; got seated under a poster of Esther Williams style ducks and a tree; realized it was a bad decision.
7:46pm Food arrives (including sticky rice chicken that was all sticky rice and no chicken, Roast Duck and Soy Sauce Chicken, Chinese Spinach, Fish and Shrimp Porridge, and Stir Fried Pea Vines).
8:36 Finished dinner; walked back to car (passing a Chinese Macy's).

Now, one thing to note about this excursion is MonkeyPig's induction into the Chinese Extreme Photo Efforts Club. Although MonkeyPig isn't a squatter, she does go to extreme lengths to take a photo:
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[1] The way Boudin Bakery lures its customers into its carb-web is by pumping out delicious bread smells via these huge pipes. But that's only one half of their business model. The other half involves putting a pretty boy baker up front so that (female) passers by can "ask him questions." Barf. But, MP wasn't interested in the baker. Anywho, they had alligator and crab shaped breads there. I bet they don't taste good. One of our family friends (Cantonese name: "Lay Bahk Neung") used to make moon cakes in the shape of animals and they were good too look at but not good to eat.

[2] Along the way, MP disciplines a little girl, checks out some monkey merchandise, and gets caught shoplifting. We were nearing the GGB and got to the cable car station across from Ghirardelli, but the lines were ridiculous. So, after listening to the street musician (he wasn't half as good as Mr. Nonny Nu, btw) for a little while, we decide to take the bus.

[3] This little bus ride really opened our eyes to just how gentrified we had become. Once upon a time, MP and I were avid bus riders. We took the bus to school and we also took the bus to piano lessons. But, on this fateful day, not only did an Australian gentleman instruct us on which lines to take, we were having so much fun goofing off (including posing with a Hong Kong TVB-style nudge of the glasses) that he also had to remind us of our stop. Then, when we got to the door, we didn't know how to make it open and he said, "You have to step down onto the lower step." Man, were we embarrassed. Refugees losing the inate ability to take the bus. Shameful!

[4] Here is one house and another house that looked nice. This one was for sale. We called the listing agent, who informed us that the house was listed for $6.5M, with 5000 sq. ft., 5 bedroooms, 7.5 baths. You can get so much more in Tulsa with one tenth of the money.

[5] Along the way, we passed a little marina where a bunch of little kids were learning how to sail. A pair capsized, but the boat started turning back over as if by itself. Finally, the two dragged themselves back into the boat.

[6] Apparently, I was walking too slowly. But, I was watching all the dogs and their owners who came to this park/beach to play. But, we were making progress because the GGB looked bigger.

[7] Plenty of flowers to see here (e.g., pale pink Petalus Petalumus, bright orange Yum Yums, violet Foofiedumblebots.

...there's more to this story--click me!

MPBSFA Day 2: Phleger Estate

Here we are at official Phleger Estate sign (left to right: Stillman, Freelance Midget, MonkeyPig, and Nonny Nu). It was a really fun day. The weather was just right, not too hot and not to cool. We saw a banana slug, and MonkeyPig and Freelance Midget poked it a bit. Before we knew it, we were already at the halfway mark. Of course, there was the usual antics, including taking pictures of each other as we took pictures and surreptitious photography.

Stillman and I showed MonkeyPig the landmarks, like the bridge where we took a group photo, and the graffiti rock. MonkeyPig had a bathroom break at Yoda's house, btw. Then, I had a failed attempt at using my timer to take a photo with MonkeyPig on a log. All in all, it was a very fun hike, except for Freelance Midget who suffered a bee sting to the head. Stillman was quick to produce a first aid kit, and I, being the documentarian that I am, saved the stinger for show and tell.

After that and because the dim sum place was too crowded, Freelance Midget, MonkeyPig, and I had a steamboat lunch (clockwise from upper left: enoki mushrooms, beef, lamb, fishballs, napa cabbage, udon noodles, taro, spicy fishcakes, spicy tofu; and clockwise from upper left: spinach, deep-fried gwais, bamboo shoots, more beef). What you do is you cook the food at the table using boiling hot broth. The spicy side of the soup was way too spicy, though, and we just didn't have strong enough taste buds to endure it. MP and FM had a good time. Some people like to cook as they go, but here's how I like to assemble my stuff.

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MPBSFA Day 1: Dynasty Turned Out To Be Just MMD.

You might be asking yourself, "Hm. Did she just say, 'MMD?' Or, am I imagining things?" No, you are not imagining things. I did indeed say that Dynasty was just "MMD." For those of you who are not one of my sisters, I will explain. MMD is short for "ma ma day." That's Cantonese for "just so-so," or "meh *shrug*."

After dining at Dynasty this evening, both MonkeyPig and I have judged Dynasty to be merely MMD. It could be that we are spoiled rotten from Monterey Park Chinese food, what with its Sam Woos and Ocean Stars, but we really weren't blown away by Dynasty.

After hanging around at the Nu residence for a while, MonkeyPig and Nonny Nu went to dinner with Freelance Midget and her studmuffin. Sorry, I forgot to bring my camera so I can't personally document any of this, so I'm providing pics from the Net. We had the Fish Maw and Crab Soup (MonkeyPig's choice), Stir Fried Chinese Spinach (mandatory), Scallops and Shrimp in Szechuan Sauce (studmuffin's choice), and Chicken in Dynasty Sauce (Freelance Midget's choice). Now, I thought that the soup and scallops/shrimp were okay, and I actually really liked the chicken because they used thigh meat instead of breast meat, which made the chicken dish very moist. But, MonkeyPig, the guest of honor, was unimpressed by it. She thought the chicken too fatty because it was thigh meat. But, that's what I loved about it! Anyhow, we also had hot and sour soup at the end because we were still hungry. That included a strange ingredient that is not traditionally in hot and sour soup, and it caught us by surprise (and not in a good way).

But, the veggies were the worst. Growing up, the number one most beloved kind in my family was Chinese spinach. (It still is.) The stem is hollow, so I used to use it like a straw to drink soup, which thrilled my mother. (She was also charmed when I lost one of my front teeth and routinely pulled noodles through the hole it created.) Anyhow, Chinese spinach is easy to stir fry. You just cut it into manageable lengths, put them into a heated wok with garlic and oil, toss them around, and you're set. Whether stir fried in garlic, or stir fried in garlic and chili, or stir fried in garlic, chili, and preserved tofu. No matter what other flavors we put in it, it will look something like this or this. But, when the Chinese Spinach showed up, we were awed by its hue. It wasn't green like what we had all expected and grown accustomed to. Instead it was almost turqoise.

But that is what did Dynasty in for me. If you can't do a decent Chinese spinach stir fry, then you're in trouble.

...there's more to this story--click me!

So, What Does This Tell You About Me??

Remember a while back when I told you that we were playing musical chairs at work and I was moving into a new office? Well, there have been developments. I hope you weren't too attached to the little desk by the window or the hutch by the other window. Because they are both gone now. I had to give them up. I ordered something for my office and it arrived over a week ago, but I was just too busy to actually assemble it. So, for the past week, I have been squeezing between boxes and furniture and piles and piles of paper around my office.

Until now. Here, do you notice anything different? How about now? Yes, it's my new couch!* Oh, my little couchy pooh...

Oh, and here's my new table top.

But, let's check out my couch again! Hey, wait a minute...who's that?? Oh, it's Stubbie's Godmother hiding behind the pillow that MonkeyPig gave me before she went to Afghanistan.**

Anywhooo...I went for a run in the late afternoon, around quitting time, and here I am after the jump. (No, your eyes do not deceive you--the ends fold down into a twin futon bed!)

*Special thanks to Stubbie's Godmother for her assistance in putting together the couch.

**See, MonkeyPig? I was just waiting for couchy pooh to be delivered so that I could put your pillow in a prominent position in my little home away from home.

...there's more to this story--click me!

Stood Up at Castle Rock

I wasn't able to go hiking last week because I had to work, so I was really looking forward to going this weekend. Unfortunately, Stillman emailed me and said she couldn't go because she pulled a muscle, so I thought I'd take Mr. Nonny Nu instead. When I presented this to Mr. Nonny Nu, he agreed to go. Well, Saturday morning rolled around and Mr. Nonny Nu was too busy being a sour puss to hike. So, I just went by myself. I wanted to conquer Castle Rock anyway, since it scared me half to death the last time I was there. Don't laugh--I'm not crazy for thinking that.

I haven't ran in a week and also missed hiking last weekend, so I went with a healthier menu today.

Although Castle Rock doesn't allow dogs, they apparently allow other pets. I might bring Stubbie some time.

You all aren't strangers to Castle Rock, so you've seen that it's basically half shady tree hike and half death-defying cliff trotting hike. The shady tree part is called the Ridge Trail and the cliff part is called Saratoga Gap Trail. This week, I went backward, taking the Saratoga Gap Trail first, then looping back on the Ridge Trail. Before getting to SGT, however, I went through some shady tree areas. But first, I took the detour to see the Castle Rock. I figured that I should see it at the beginning of the hike in case I die later on during the hike.

I thought I had seen it last week, but what I saw wasn't Castle Rock. This is Castle Rock. Someone was climbing it, but he had a helper. I looked around and saw that there were people practicing their techniques on smaller rocks. I thought I'd give it a try. I just jumped onto the Castle Rock and started scaling it. After about 20 minutes of this, some of the climbers I saw before came by to check on my progress.

So, with that bit of encouragement, I returned to the hike. Hey, did you know that, at Castle Rock, the park rangers actually walk the trails and pick up trash? I met one of these guys. He had walked all morning and only found this much trash. Must not be a lot of litering going on around here. Okay, so I finally get to the Ridge Trail. At the beginning, it was lined with beautiful, mossy manzanitas, and yellow, red, purple, and white wild flowers. There were also some other yellow wild flowers that looked like bananas. Of course, I finally got a couple shots of the swaths of wild irises I told you about a couple weeks ago (swath #1, swath #2). All throughout my hike on Saratoga Gap Trail, there were hordes of industrious butterflies working on these flowers, and one let me get so close that I could see its fur. There was also a lone bumble bee who didn't seem bothered by my presence.

Soon enough, I got to the point in the Saratoga Gap Trail that (I think) gave the trail its name. As I trudged along, I came across some poop from a carnivore. (Yep, that's right, I spent some image memory on this one so that I didn't have to resize the image or crop anything out--I wanted you to see the detail in this very important picture.) Now, when our guest blogger MonkeyPig was in the Everglades, she regaled us with some alleged alligator poop. At the time, I was not buying the whole "this is gator poop" story, since there weren't any feathers or fur in the poop. After extensive debate, we concluded that the only thing we knew about the poop was that it wasn't MonkeyPig's.

Anyhow, when I finished the hairy poop analysis, I continued on my hike and, lo and behold, a really cute jack rabbit came running across the path. Then, I arrived at the treacherous part of the hike where I only had a narrow ledge to walk along. Some places were so treacherous that there were metal cables attached to the rock so that we could hang on for dear life.

So, that was the very end of the Saratoga Gap Trail. I finally made it to the Ridge Trail, which was a whole lot calmer. I thought I'd reward myself with a snack. There weren't any trash cans in the park, so I left the baggie out in plain sight so that the park ranger would quickly spot it on his trash picking strolls through the trail. I'm kidding! I can already hear Stillman thinking, "NO!!! Take your trash with you!!," which I did. So, you all saw the rest of the Ridge Trail from the last time I was at Castle Rock, so I won't bore you with more photos. But, I do have an interesting one that I didn't see because I was walking the other way last time (Ridge Trail first, then SG Trail). Going backward, today, I was able to see the trail from a different perspective. There was a rock that looked like a man's face in profile, so I named it Profile Rock.

Anyhow, I don't know if it was because I went backward on the trail loop this week and saw the cliffs from a different perspective, or I just got over the fear of falling to my death, but it wasn't as scary this time, and I'm kinda proud that I did it by myself.

...there's more to this story--click me!

My Trip to San Diego

Sorry, guys, but I haven’t updated the NBA bracket or my plant pictures today because I wasn’t in the office. Stubbie’s Godmother had to take care of him today as well as water the plants.

This morning, I got up BEFORE the crack of dawn to catch a flight to San Diego. I usually fly out of San Jose, but I had to fly out of San Francisco today because I had to make a meeting at 9am sharp. Anywho, before I was even awake, I was boarding the plane. To my pleasant surprise, United upgraded me for free to first class! I was super excited, but it turned out to be just okay.

Anyhow, I was too busy boning up on the meeting material to take any photos on my flight out, but now, I’m on my way home and the only thing I have to bone up for is tonight’s Game 2 of the series between PHOENIX and San Antonio. Since the middle of last week, I’ve been working like a dog (weekend included) and I am really looking forward to being home and relaxing with Sushi and the hemlock-resistant mister. Have you guys ever been so dog tired that you can’t wait to just get home and see your family for a few hours? I only have a hubby and a cat and am already this way. I don’t know how people with kids do it.

So, that’s why I’m sitting excitedly in the waiting area, reading and re-reading my ticket. I’m almost there! They’re boarding my flight now. Ah, here is my seat. Sure, it’s roomier, but it’s just a one and a half hour flight. People don’t really need a first class section on these flights. We take off and people start getting their drink on. No joke. Some dude and his chick sitting across the aisle are imbibing. GMAB already. (Ha! Word says that “GMAB already” is grammatically incorrect. Well, I’m keeping it as is. Take THAT, Bill Gates!)

Seeing as how I’m not some rich I-drink-wine/martinis-on-my-one-hour-flights-in-first-class stuffed shirt, I make myself useful and finish reviewing MonkeyPig’s contract. (Can you believe the quality of her fax?) After that, I took a little break and read an article about Ferrari and Lamborghini in the United Airlines Hemispheres magazine. Dudes, Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann is kinda cute! Here’s what they say about him in the magazine:

“Lamborghini S.p.A.’s striking CEO, Stefan Winkelmann, a convincingly romantic German (who has spent his life in Italy), encouraged us to drive with brio. You just know he’ll set the best example.” Ken Gross, “Dream Drives,” Hemispheres Magazine, May 2007, p. 61.

That's just like Mr. Nonny Nu! Except Mr. Nonny Nu doesn't have brown hair, isn't German, didn't grow up in Italy, doesn't head up Lamborghini, and doesn't set even a good example! But, that's it--everything else is exactly the same...

Oh, gotta go! We’re landing!

...there's more to this story--click me!

Are those instructions about linked text clear enough?

"Clear enough for what, Nonny Nu?," is what I'm guessing will be the immediate response. Well, clear enough for my Internet-challenged sisters to understand. So far, only three have shown up (guest blogger MonkeyPig, Ca Loc, and Wah Toh). The two in the middle (3fish, and [insert name here]*) have not shown up. 3fish at least checks her email somewhat regularly (although she is notorious for writing ESSAYS for responses). [insert name here]* doesn't even check her email (not really--once in 2-3 months doesn't really count). Instead, she uses a PAGER. Yeah, a PAGER. Can you believe this chick? That is so 80s.

*The reason why I don't have a name for her is because she actually doesn't have a nickname. Don't get me wrong, we call her all sorts of names, but just not anything that would fall under a "nickname" category.

...there's more to this story--click me!

Oletaby MonkeyPig (RECURRING guest blogger)

I had pretty good time during the Oleta River State Park trip.

The Kayak was a really good bargain. 25$ for 3 hr and 6.50$ / hr each hr after that.

The trip started off in dead water as one can see stuff floating on the water. The boat launching site is at the cul de sac. So, the gang (me,Mr. Orange and Mr. Banana (the boat) started our trek. After about 20 minutes, I got out to fresh water found a nice nook for lunch. Nonny Nu saids to not post our own faces on the net for privacy. So, I'm going to be a real monkey.

I paddled out to the islands and the port area. Ok, English vocabruary is not my strongest subject at school. The water was great. I saw bunch of diving birds. They would go down for a minute or two, then come up with a small fish. OK, I was going to upload some video of the birds catching the fish. But, that means I have to subscribe to this special feature on SnapFish. So, you guys can watch a better version of it on the AnimalPlanet or something like that. port or open sea, more drawbridge , more beautiful coastline .
I took a break on a beach area at one of islands .

Its was about 3 hours and I've decided to go back. I went back to the pier area. Noticed that I was 10 minutes over 3 hours. Heck, I'm not going to a entire hour when I'm only 10 minutes into the hours. So, I decided to do some more exploring. Don't laugh, I have an accurate account of my time. One of my patients gave me a Ironman watch. So, I am down to the seconds with my rentals.

I decided to go to Devil's pass. That's the only place I have not been. Needless to say, it was Christmas Tree Lane all over again - minus Ca Loc's blazing eyes. As I went into the pass, it became narrower and there were more trees and branches draped all over. Though not physically there, I can feel the heat of Ca Loc's eyes. Finally at the deadend , I decided that I have enough of Ca Loc's remote rolling eyes.

But, all ends well. I made it back in 4 hours and only paid 6.50$ extra.

It was a fun trip. I can not say enough about using manpower - one's own legs and arms to enjoy trips. You can see things up close and personal, with minimal risks of course. But, its worth the small risks.

Over all, I had a really good trip - with the exception of Key Largo.

Today, I drove around West Palm beach and the Atlantic coast. One to sightsee, two to burn the 1/2 tank of gas that was left (as I forgot that I've bought the gas option when I got the car). I stopped by the seaside town of Hillsborough. Jogged about 9 miles. It was great to see all the pretty waterfront homes up close. I was hoping to run into and marry a retired old kook like Jessica Simpson (is that her name). But, alas, all the old-rich men are either taken or dead.

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D3 -- Key Largoby MonkeyPig (guest blogger)

For those of you who are planning a trip Key Largo -- its waaayyy too overly rated. Wasted half a tank of gas. Fortunately I opted for a tinny Chevy Aveo at the rental place.

When I got in last Saturday night, the rental car placed told me the econo car I reserved was not avaible. They were willing to offer me a free "upgrade" to what's available -- an SUV. At first the teenager in me says "cool!!! free upgrade to a cool car". But the cheapo in me took over and told the agent ... NO. With price of gas almost 3$ / gal, I'd have to harvest seaweed for meals for the rest of the trip. So, the Ching came out and demanded an econo car. They looked and looked and found one. It was a car with a few dents that were waiting to go to the body shop. So, we mapped all the dents and I got a car with good mileage. Its nice to not spend 50$ with every refill.

Made the right choice. It was about a 3 hour trip. Mostly stop and go traffic as there is only one road to the Keys. Its a pretty boring trip. Many times, I almost wanted to turn back to the hotel to take a nap. The town itself is also pretty boring. Full of T-shirt / souveneir shops and restaurants that costs an army-&-a-leg to even go in, not to mention partake of their gold plated fish. Needless to say, the instant noodles in my hotel was minus a pack that night.

The only thing I saw that day was stingray and many pelicans.

These pic were from the Biscayne island. An island with upscale living. Needless to say, I stayed long enough to use the bathroom and take a few pics. This is looking at the mainland from Biscayne. The water was very pretty. All shades of blue and green.

Ft Lauderdale and its surrounding cities are full of drawbridges. One goes through many of these driving to town.

So, you are probably falling asleep. So am I as this is one of the boringest trip of my life. Basically eating dust and smelling car exhaust.

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Will Colonel Panic panic?And, who is w00t hax0r?Finally, what happened to our guest blogger, MonkeyPig?**

Question 1: Will Colonel Panic panic?
Besides ordering the wireless keyboard from Apple, I also ordered an iPod Shuffle.* (Check out the engraving.) And, I paid retail for it.

[Question 2 added for latest news.]
Question 2: Who is w00t hax0r?
I have no idea. I thought it was Mr. Nonny Nu at first, so I listed "w00t hax0r" in the "Mr. Nonny Nu's Fake Names" list. But, somebody had a cow about it and demanded that I immediately remove it from the list. Well, you know, if people want to buck the system and use a different fake name everytime they comment, I guess those individuals will just have to suck it up and realize that false attribution to them will sometimes be inevitable.

Question 3: What happened to our guest blogger, MonkeyPig?
GOOD QUESTION. I asked this exact question about 10 minutes ago. MonkeyPig's response was: "You know, sometimes people are tired." Yeah, like biking 26 miles in a day makes a person tired. LIAR! It's so hard to find good help these days. [EDIT: By the way, Colonel Panic has already poked his head into my office and stated, "I noticed that there wasn't an entry yesterday." So irresponsible toward the readership...]

*According to the shipping manifest, this thing came all the way from Suzhou, CHINA. (Sorry, I redacted my precise location from the manifest with red paint.)

**For those of you interested, most of this stuff was written last night when I was unceremoniously interrupted by someone and made to go to sleep. I've edited to present to you the latest news.

...there's more to this story--click me!

Christmas in April

This will only be a short update since we have a guest blogger this week (who is doing a wonderful job, btw--I'm ROFLOL!).

Christmas has arrived early this year. I am the proud recipient of the following gifts (which materialized on different days since Monday):

1) My very first internet stalker!
On Monday, someone stopped by my office to inform me that they had become my internet stalker. I'm not pointing any fingers. "Someone" may refer to anybody, including but not limited to Colonel Panic, who had gone on the Long Ridge hiking trail this past weekend. For identification purposes, I have placed this thermostat outside of my stalker's door.

2) My very first African violet!
Green Thumbs McGillicutty showed up in my office on Monday bearing the gift of an African violet that she could not fit on her windowsill. Here she is. I'm naming her "Viola." I know! Creativity is one of my strong suits.

3) My very first pair of trail shoes!
So, Mr. Nonny Nu did not buy us hiking boots after all. He got us TRAIL SHOES! They are really cool. I like mine. They are greenish/grayish New Balance shoes. For those of you who play Halo, it's like the shade of green of Master Chief's suit. PERFECT SIZE. He also got me these really cute Puma anklets to go with. I'll show you guys this weekend when I go hiking. Mr. Nonny Nu got himself a pair of *drum roll please* SKETCHERS trail shoes! They're pretty snazzy, but mine are way better.

But, wait! I'm not the only one who is experiencing Christmas early. Look what came in the mail today.

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More Evergladesby MonkeyPig (guest blogger)

It appears that once you get a park pass (10$), you can use it for the entire week. So, I've decided to go back to the Glades.

The day started much earlier. I found a pretty nice Italian Bakery. Got a muffin and a personal size pizza. While there, I loaded up on the free samples of whatever pastry morsel on the counter. The lady was giving me the evil. But, that didn't bother me. I pretended to be polite. But, when she turned around, I popped in two more.

This time, I found a place where I can rent a bike for the entire day for 15$. This place is call the Everglad International Hostel. The people there are very nice, but extremely granola. I thought I had to come back after several days of not shaving. But, they took my money, anyway. I guess they thought I was a vegetarian with all the soysauce and rice smell in my clothes.

The bike was OK, except -- the tread on the tires were completely worn and the gears don't shift. Otherwise, it came free with, a basket for me to put my 4.84$+tax bag, food, repair kit, and a huge bicycle pump.

No, Little Nonny Nu, I was only semi-extravagant. The bottles were from yesterday. The water was a generous donation from the Hotel.

I rode about 7 miles to get to the trial head. There was a nice picnic area. I parked Pee-Wee's bike next to the picnic bench. Took the lunch out of the 4.84$+tax orange bag.

I was really excited by the pepperoni personal-size pizza. It was the cheapest of the various ready made pizza with toppings. To my disappointment, it was actually tomato. I guess the dollar sign over my eyes made the tomato looks like pepperoni. But, the pie tasted good.

The Long Pine Trail is great. It was completely different than that Shark Valley - dry. Long pines all over and palmettos on he ground.

I only saw a few gators. These were when I rode by the various ponds "lakes". These area were completely different than that of the Long Pine trail. Very wet and with lots of green vegetation. I only saw about 3 gators that day.

But, I saw a whole bunch of horny insects. The butterfly was in the middle of it. The dragfly just finished.

The lizard was not horny. At least, it wasn't when I saw it. It was by his little self.

The entire trip was about 25-26 miles of bike ride. I was starving at the end of the trip. I had to keep the tradition of Rachel Gee. So, I went to Christine Wan (some sort of fake Chinese Restaurant) and bought two dishes, asked for extra soysauce (this is where I got the soysauce), and extra rice. Not only did I stay under 30 $. I had the rest of the dishes for breakfast.

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Day 2 -- I'm not paying for thatby MonkeyPig (guest blogger)

I went to the Everglades. By the times I got to Shark Valley, it was 2:30.

The bike rental place told me that it costs 6.50 / hr and if I return it after 4 pm, there will be a late charge. I was totally blanking out when he was yakking away about the late fees or the other option of tram 16$/adult....I politely declined and told him I'll run the trail instead. I'm not going to pay late fee and 6.50$/hr or pay 16$ when I have two legs. I figure, there's still 3 1/2 hr before the parking lot close, so I can do the 15 mile trail.

Off I went with my 4.84$+tax bag. There were water / a granola bar / some grapes / tomatoes / casava chips / camera and camera stand. Yes, it was a shoulder bag and some what difficult to manage when one is running. But, I'm not paying 20-30$ for a back pack.

It turned out to be a good decision. I got a good run and saw the most gators of all the visitor there that day. I got to see the flora and fawna (wow, English...sometimes the refugee briefly takes a back sit) up close. There were gators along sides - some 7-8 feet big, some teenage ones, and some baby gators. Many of the gators in the water on both sides of the trail. There two along the side of the trail. Man, do they move quick. I was glad that they were moving in the opposite direction and not not toward me.

Remember the Banana Slug, it took 3 hours to move 3 feet. The big slug that I saw at the Everglades moved fast. OK, I wasn't able to upload the movie. There was a 8-10 feet snake that moved from one side of the trail to the next.
There were lots of snapping turtle. Some of them were the size of a medium piza. I didn't know they can get that big. I saw a whole bunch of herons and some other birds. Made it out the park by 18:30...greeted by some gator poop. Actual size is about small burritto or big egg roll.

...there's more to this story--click me!

Vacation - Refugee style...Where's the Maggi -- Day 1by MonkeyPig (guest blogger)

In my rush to go to the airport, I had forgot many toiletries. But, the most important thing is the Maggi. But, its ok, just one week. I've stored up on some sort of Panda soysauce packets. The waiter was a bit annoyed when I asked, for the 3rd time, for more soysauce. But, that's a refugee style vacation.

The first day at Ft Lauderdale. I had a good run along the beach while taking to my sisters. Boy, can Thai women talk. 3 hours and 3Fish still want to talk -- its true, the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body.

After 9 miles, I had a ginormous appetite. Decided to go to Caps' crab. But, after I went on-line to see the $$$, decided to visit a "better" crab house. Rusty's Crab House. Unbeknowns (ok, I'm not a lawyer, so there will be much typos and spellos and grammos. I just know how to look "down there") to me, Rusty's Crab House cost an arm and a leg, also. After scanning through the menu and doing a cost/refugee analysis, I decided on the combo plate. I can save the mammalian meat & starch for the next meal and eat the seafood. That was a good plan. Though its was an expensive meal, I split the cost for two days. The refugee in me and I'm sure that my fellow refugees is proud of me. To offset the cost further, I had 4 refills on the ice-tea. Beat this Rachel Ray, 40$-a-day...for the Rachel Gees, its 30$-two-days. My bladder was almost rupture by the time I found a bathroom on my way home. But, it doesn't matter, I'm young and the insurance will cover this.

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Potluck: I'm Depressed; Cute Kitty!; Boy, I Hope It Doesn't Rain

It's not often that a Type B uber-optimist says this but, brother, am I depressed today. The time has come for friends to say "adieu." Well, more like "later sk8er." JurisMonkey, after working with me for 4 years, has finally had it. He has decided to head toward greener pastures that were planted long ago. Tomorrow will be his last day. So, today, we had "The Last Supper." Lucky for him, all he (and anyone else) need do whenever he feels lonely or down is to visit the wisdom buffet. You'll be missed! Farewell, buddy! (At least, until I see you at your housewarming party in three weeks!)

On a lighter note, Lucy's Mom has graciously provided some recent photos of Lucy. Lucy, like Stubbie, is a new associate to the firm. The two have vastly distinguishable working habits. Stubbie insists on having "I'm in prison--waaaaah!!" pity parties throughout the week instead of just on TGIF. Lucy, on the other hand, is a diligent worker, unless she is hung over after a wild night of partying. Sushi remains unemployed. All in all, though, Lucy is a very lucky kitty because she has a loving mom.

Finally, an update on the hiking venture. This weekend may or may not be a disaster. Stillman has been apprised of the request for a sighting and has promised that she will, on the morning of the hike, don her "dressiest cap" for the photoshoot. But, there may be trouble in paradise, since the weather reports are looking grim. Stay tuned.

JurisMonkey, I send you off with these wise words from Cat Stevens (you know, that old fogey song you heard in my car):

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are

And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are

Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunity's on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
It's easy ah ah ah
You only need to know

Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are

And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
cause theres a million things to do
You know that there are

Chorus

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are

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I Guess It Was Just A Matter Of Time

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a clutz. I am famous for tripping and falling in places where no one else has ever done so. So, three weeks into my running routine, something was just waiting to happen. Yesterday, I didn't run even though I had promised Coach Nelson that I would. So, today, I had to run. A mile and a half into the run, I tripped on a section of uneven sidewalk. It's a good thing I was battling 35 mile per hour winds today because I wore sweats instead of my usual shorts. Anyhow, I ate it and now I have yet another scar on my knee to get rid of. But, I went on and finished my full 4.5 miles.

Okay, so what I really want to talk about today is flowers. I happen to sit on the sunny side of a building at work, so flowers should be a breeze to grow in my office. But, no. This is what happened to my tulips, and this is what happened to my freesia. Note the lack of any blooms on the freesia and the complete lack of life in the tulip pot. I bought some yellow roses last week from Trader Joe's but they too have passed on. They are now replaced with these purple ones, but we'll see how long that lasts. Granted, the yellow roses did have gnat problems, but I've since acquired some "plant soap" and the gnats have not shown their faces since then. The one thing I have had some luck with is my cactus. Against everyone's advice, I gave it a major haircut one month ago. I re-potted it, and then lopped off all of its leaves, cut it down to size, and put it in the sun. But, guess what? It has made great strides since then with remarkable new growth.

It has been a real struggle for me in my neck of the woods. But, lo and behold, right next door to my office is Green Thumbs McGillicutty. Sure, she complains about how cold her office is, but her AFRICAN violets are blooming like there's no tomorrow. Even the reflections in the window are gorgeous. There are pink ones, lavender ones, and even *gasp* VIOLET violets. (Doesn't that just make you want to kiss your parol officer?) Apparently, the secret to her success is using 3 parts unicorn blood to 2 parts griffin saliva fed through a long-nosed hummingbird-style watering contraption. Ha! Now you guys know what to get me for Christmas.

So, let's see, we've talked about vegetable (plants) and mineral (sidewalk), so that leaves animal. As you may or may not know, I now have an office mate named Stubbie. In the morning before he puts his contacts on, he looks like this. In the evening, Stubbie's Godmother fixes him dinner before she goes home for the night. Today, I was talking to Stubbie and he asked how the blog was going. I told him that Tubbie said hello. Stubbie says hello, too!

...there's more to this story--click me!

Well, well, well. We're open for business!

Ha! Success! Someone commented! And, like any other real business, I'm framing the first dollar that came in.



As an FYI, AgPig (pronounced "Silver Pig") is sister #5. Ob/Gyn doctor in the Army, stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. Baysee is her dog. This photo was taken on Baysee's first day home from the pound. AgPig called me that day expressing concern that she had perhaps adopted a dumb dog because Baysee didn't seem to get the hang of the doggie door. After several minutes of discussion, it turned out that Baysee had gotten neutered earlier in the day. AgPig, let's carve out your spleen and see if you can put yourself through a doggie door. Oh, wait, been there, done that.*

Anywhooo, AgPig shall now go down in history as the first ever commentor at The World of Nonny Nu. She will be the first member of Nonny's Hall of Fame. A round of applause, please! *claps while moving hands in a circle*

As to why (Frodo) Stillman isn't in the pictures from yesterday's hiking trip at Long Ridge, Frodo didn't want to be photographed. She's a photogenic gal who reminds me of Elisabeth Shue, but was shy that day. But now, we have a request for a sighting. So, Stillman, be prepared to be photographed next weekend. I bet you'll turn out just as nice as the banana slug did. I'll work my Photo 0.0101 magic, don't worry.

If anyone wants to post photos, please feel free to email them to me at nonnynu@gmail.com. If you include a brief description, I will weave that into the blog entry. Otherwise, I'll make something up for you.

Oh, and no, I am getting my coaching free from Coach Nelson, who will kill me tomorrow because I didn't run today even though I had planned to.

*AgPig had a splenectomy several years ago, but you'd think she had an eye-ectomy...
babbling brook
ocean

...there's more to this story--click me!