Galoshes

The weather in Berkeley was beautiful (near the 70s!) until last Wednesday when it started to rain cats and dogs. Whenever it rains in Berkeley, there's a very good chance that it is snowing in Tahoe, the home of fantastic mountains for skiing and snowboarding. My friends, who have passes to the ski resorts, were ready for the snow, and oh my goodness did it snow. One friend told me that he and his seven friends shoveled the drive way to their cabin for almost two hours and got about 3 feet of snow in one night. Many of the slopes received 5 to 7 feet of snow. A little much for me, but I'm not an avid skier.

Instead of heading for the mountains, my boyfriend and I headed for San Francisco for our belated Valentine's Day celebrations. It was still raining, so I decided against a dress and traded it for skinny jeans and galoshes. We headed to the BART station and were merrily on our way when we got to the MacArthur station. Our train attendant said over the intercom, "There are NO trains going to San Francisco at this time. If you are heading to San Francisco, get off this train now. Go downstairs and the BART employees will tell you how to get to the city."

This was at 6:30 pm on a Friday night - i.e., the train was not empty. Tons of people rushed downstairs to the exit to find out what to do. One guy told us that buses were coming to pick us all up and take us to Embarcadero. Another woman said to get on the Emeryville Go-Round and get off at 41st to take the F bus across the bay. And another guy had no idea what was going on. Thank god this wasn't a real emergency because those people were clueless. The Go-Round buses were stopping at the station, but it happened to be about the time the buses stopped running. So many people were trying to get on a bus but most of the bus drivers kept yelling at people to get off and that they were out of service. So much for communication between BART and the Go-Round service. Finally one driver was willing to take as many people as he could to 41st, so we crammed onto the bus.

When we arrive at 41st, an F was waiting for us! But it was packed with the people who beat us there. And how often does the F run? Every half hour. That's right. And it was cold and raining. So we waited, and about 5 minutes before the F arrived, a woman at the stop heard from her friend that the BART was running again. Yeah, I was not happy and I couldn't feel my toes.

The F finally came, and we rode it over the Bay Bridge to the Embarcadero. The restaurant, Cafe Claude, was great! It was quite a romantic spot - dim lighting and live jazz in the background. And I made a great decision wearing my galoshes.

Hunter Wellies

Zetta Tall Rain Boots from Target

Did I make a good purchasing decision though? Well, when I looked into it, I found out that my galoshes were made in China. BUT they were only $25 (they were free for me because my parents bought them for me for Christmas). If I had lots of money, I would have bought a pair of Hunters, which are $125, because I thought they were made in the US or UK. Turns out though, after a little online research, that Hunter felt economic pressure in the last 5 years and had to move its production to China.

So my boots may not have the Hunter logo on them but they were a fifth of the price. If only I knew the manufacturing conditions of the galoshes factory... probably smells very strongly of rubber.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. A day to celebrate love is never a bad thing.


Last night, as with most nights, I had a really bizarre dream. My dreams are often extremely vivid, and I can actually feel the things that are happening. For example, a month ago I dreamed I had a pet bird that sat on my finger, and I could feel the bird's claws wrapped around my finger.

But I digress.

So last night, I dreamed that I was in lab, and suddenly an alarm rang indicating that we were under attack by large machines that smashed any buildings in their way. I knew my boyfriend was in another building, but I couldn't get to him because the machines were coming and would destroy our building at any minute. I got in the elevator (never a good idea in an emergency, but this was a dream), and a girl in the elevator told me I needed to go to the bottom floor and walk out the door very calmly. I didn't want to draw attention to myself so I did as she told me. And as I walked out the door, I saw a machine bust up the building that my boyfriend was in. I was devastated, but I knew there was nothing I could do. I went to "safe" building and waited for other survivors to arrive. While waiting, I saw some people from my lab that worked in the same building as my boyfriend walk down the hallway. And then I saw him. He was alive!

When I woke up this morning, I told my boyfriend about my dream and how real it felt. I was so thankful that it was just a dream, and he just laughed. But to me, it was a great start to Valentine's Day.

A few of my favorite things...

Today as I was getting ready for the Super Bowl, I realized I have a few things that I really like: bacon, football, and artichoke dip. So the most logical thing to do was combine them into an awesome dip for the Super Bowl. That's right, artichoke dip with bits of bacon blended in and the Packers vs. the Steelers. I had no trouble choosing a team to root for: the Packers, of course! While I didn't have any real reason to cheer for them, I decided that since the Packers beat the Bears, then the Packers better go all the way. 

To make my artichoke dip, I need freshly grated Parmesan cheese. For Christmas, my mom gave me a Microplane grater, which works really, really well. As I was using it today, I realized I didn't know where it came from. I just figured that it came from China, but I wanted to be sure. The internet informed me that it's made in the USA - huzzah! Now I can grate away with no qualms about using my Microplane. 

I wonder where footballs are made...

Chinese Democracy

Yesterday, a few friends and I watched "Please Vote for Me," a documentary that follows a third-grade class in China during the vote for a new class monitor. It's the first democratic election the kids have ever witnessed, and yet they use the same political tactics we see here. For example, one kid promises his classmates that if they vote for him, they will be part of his special committee. Another kid takes the entire class on a field trip through town on the monorail, thanks to his father's connections. It was just hysterical. It's available for instant play on Netflix, and I highly recommend it. If you want to hear a short interview with the director, check out the This American Life episode, "Kid Politics." 

Also, happy Chinese New Year!