Capricious Me » 2007 » July

While reading, I was interrupted by some Mormons knocking at my door, asking me if I’d like to know about God’s church on earth. I resisted the urge to tell that I’d rather go back to reading my pagan literature, thank you, while I wait for Xenu to claim my soul. However, I was polite and they asked if I knew of other people who would like to know about God’s church on earth… persistent, they are.

Anyway, book was a fun read, but I was disappointed in some respects. (Trying hard not to give away anything here…) Lots of overly dramatic scenes and lots of sappy things, but whatever… gives closure to the series and ties everything up, for sure. And as to that one rumor about the last word of the book being “scar,” no.

Have just received Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Very VERY tempting not to flip to the last page… Alright. Off to read!

Smoking Kills Originally uploaded by pokester.

If you look closely, you’ll see a cigarette in the possum’s mouth. Santa Barbara, or rather, Isla Vista, is full of college kids partying non-stop. Makes me feel old because I just don’t see the appeal in that… I prefer a casual bar or restaurant where a group of people can just sit around and enjoy the company. (Little Prague used to fill that function, but alas, no more.)

I took a ton of pictures, most of which can be found here. I posted some of my favorites at my flickr account and am still sifting through to find the good ones.

It was a really scenic stay. We went hiking with Van Gundy one day through an off trail dried creek bed, climbing over rocks and trying to avoid poison oak. Through that experience, I learned about mugwort, which is a plant that grows close to the poison oak.
Naturally, one cannot be in Santa Barbara and not go to the beach… so we did. :)

Well, this week’s been fun. :) Ryan came back to Davis Friday night with his little brother to steal furniture from the apartment. We ended up going to Chad’s place with Mike & Tim for a LAN party. (Diablo 2!) I hitched a ride to Palo Alto because… TALINE is visiting California and she’s staying in SF. I met up with her and a day of shopping ensued, ending with a splurge at Lupicia, a tea shop with all sorts of teas stored in a way that reminds me of the old fashioned Chinese pharmacies. Woooo…. I went back to Davis the same night (amtrak prices have risen yet again!) because I had to finish up a paper… alas.

Saw the newest Harry Potter film and it was pretty good, though very cheesy. Today I went to Berkeley with Francis and met up with Taline and some of Francis’ friends. This was the Berkeley food tour (kinda) that we’d been talking about for ages. hahah. We walked down Telegraph Ave where there were many street vendors with interesting and sometimes pretty wares and lots of tie-dye.

And tomorrow I’m off to Santa Barbara for the UCSA congress… armed with my DS, MacBook Pro, and plenty of BSG.

And then… in early August, I’m off to Boston for Usenix security. ^_^ Yay Boston!!

So, for 4th of July, Anna, Chad, Mike and I went to the Vacaville outlets to take advantage of the sales. Anna and I went off on our own and had a rather small haul at the end of the day… Oh well… good for my wallet.

After shopping we had a small bbq at Chad’s with some of the other remaining Davis folk. At some point after food (but not so much drink) Yong (who didn’t have any alcohol, so this was out of pure EVIL-ness) decided it would be hilarious if they tried to throw me in the pool. HARDY HAR HAR. So the guys each grabbed a limb while Anna (traitor!) opened the doors and did nothing to help. I did my best to wiggle out of it, but I was laughing too hard so I couldn’t really move. They got me so very close to the pool before I got a leg free and they decided that they’d done enough to scare poor little me. :-P EVIL! EVIL! Not satisfied with their lack of success, they were about to try and throw Anna in the pool too, but… she knew what was coming and ran upstairs to hide. Boo!

It’s HOT in Davis. Disgustingly so. I don’t ever want to see sunlight.