Roadtrippin' through the Southwest

Go Blue & Gold!
Originally uploaded by misocrazy

I just completed a roadtrip of about 2300 miles, from San Francisco through Los Angeles, Winslow, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Roswell, Carlsbad, Fredericksburg, Austin, and Dallas.

My friend, Stephanie, a veteran roadtripper, joined me on the trip for a little vacation and to help me navigate our way through the southwest. In an hour, we'll shuttle over to Dallas Fort Worth airport, flying to our respective homes --she goes back to L.A., and I embark on my new life in New York! Somehow it still doesn't feel real to me!

Some highlights from the trip:

• Seeing the thermometer in my car rise to 116°F in Phoenix
• Crispy chicken strips served with a cup of tasty GRAVY at a great little burger chain called Whataburger
• Trying cheese curds at the A&W, nearby some silly dinosaur sculptures
• Posing with the "giant" hare and checking out fossilized dinosaur dung

• Checkin' out the classic cars and funny TeePee rooms at the Wigwam Motel
• Singing along to Madonna, Go-Go's, Hall & Oates, Spice Girls, Shonen Knife, etc. on my iPod in the car
• Having a mediocre piña colada at Burt's Tiki Lounge (Albuquerque, NM) while an experimental noise punk band auditioned for the bar.
• Discovering the Strawberry Limeade drink at Sonic, our favorite drive-in (with real crushed strawberries and lime juice! --would also be excellent if spiked with rum or vodka)

• Meeting the owner of Silvas Saloon, who told us we arrived on the 75th birthday of the bar
• Driving through torrential downpours of rain and seeing highway warnings that say "Don't drown"
• Getting pulled over by the Texas Highway patrol for no real reason, when one of the cops picked up breadcrumbs and tree debris from my seat, asking if it was marijuana. I laughed.
• Browsing antiques and buying a pair of real cowboy boots at Allen's, on South Congress in Austin.

• Getting served by a bartender who looked like Jason Statham (at the Speakeasy in Austin)
• Waiting for a swarm of bats to fly out from under a bridge... which never happened
• Meeting my Austin cousins, who took us to chow on tasty BBQ at the "County Line," where there was a talking cow head on the wall
• Driving through the JFK assassination spot, in a light blue convertible

Steph and I had a great time, but we were pretty pooped by the time we got to Dallas. So what do we do? We head to my Dallas cousin's friend's rager house party, where there was a water slide and iceblock/shot-luge, sponsored by Smirnoff. Yee haw!

I think we're ready to go home now. Zzz...

Drinking into Moving Day

I'm so glad I joined my friends at Bourbon & Branch last night in San Francisco. The drinks were amazing, and the whole Prohibition-era-style interior was fantastic! Especially the hidden library! That was very "Clue"!

We sat up in the upper balcony lounge, to fit the seven of us. They started us off with a little delicious champagne/Peach Schnapps bouche amusant, which was delightful. I chose to have the icy-sweet Blackberry Bramble and the icy-refreshing Democrat from their incredibly extensive and fascinating drink menu. Some drinks had egg white in them, like Jen's choice. I liked Diana's, which had basil in it. Nicole's had a lovely maraschino cherry. We all tasted each others' drinks, and they were ALL very good. I wish I had gone there more times before leaving S.F.!

I was also amused that my three girlfriends who attended were all wearing something I had given them from my wardrobe-purging. Nicole had my floral cardigan (from London's Topshop), Jen wore my color-blocked scarf, and Diana had my orange purse. The boys were being rather rebellious, toying w/ their iPhones even though one of the house rules is to not use cell phones. Everyone was dressed impeccably (even aside from the accessories acquired from me), and later I drunkenly taught Diana and Nicole roughly how to do an old-style Charleston in the Library.

I would have stayed more, but the movers were coming over in the morning. So I went home and half-drunkenly packed the rest of my things. I was also quite hungry, but all I could find were baked beans, so... I'd pack a few things, hop back to the stove, chomp a bite of baked beans, and pack some more. This lasted past 4am and I must say I was really hurtin' to be up at that hour.

I woke up at 8am the next morning to prep for the movers, who showed up at 9:30. They very nicely wrapped and padded all my furniture and carried all 50 boxes away. Now I'm left with a lot of random stuff that I have to sort for donation/storage/trash. I kind of need a nap AND a shower, but... I packed all my clean towels.

Nap? or Laundry? Nap? or Laundry? Ooh. I forgot to eat lunch. I think I'll get a sammich at Bi-Rite and rest at Dolores Park.

Somewhat noteable thoughts and events of the last week

Dancing Human Robots are So Cool

I had a serious regression moment when I watched an enormous crowd of ex-Ravers reliving their chance to revel in glowsticks, LED lights, and robotic electronica music. --Not to mention inhaling intense second-hand potsmoke from my friends, while checking out another friend's freshly-inked tattoo. (Yes, I'm talking about the Daft Punk concert at the Berkeley Greek Theater)

You know those ex-ravers were sore the next day from freaking out about an elaborate lite-brite show.

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Copping a Feel

Ladies, when packing for a big move in August, especially when you're going to move somewhere very hot, remember to leave one strapless bra out for use. Otherwise you'll find yourself re-opening a taped box, blindly digging in with your arm and searching for one by touch.

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The Pack Rat's Day of Reckoning

If you are a pack rat who loves fashion, move at least every 3 years, or else you'll find yourself loading 5+ bags and 2 suitcases full of dated clothing and shoes to secondhand shops, who will demoralize you with their rejection of your pile of clothes that you once loved.

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Finally, San Francisco Crime Comes in Handy

If you want to get rid of anything, especially really crappy music cds, leave it in a box in your garage. It will be gone within a few hours or less.

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San Francisco Woman Wears Shorts, Stop the Presses!

Sometimes I get warm in my apartment, while I'm packing up for my move. So one day I threw on shorts, which I never wear in chilly S.F. And then I had to throw out the trash and check the mail. So I put on the nearest shoes I could find, which were heels.

As I threw the trash out, a guy neighbor stopped to hold the door for me, and complimented my shoes. And as I walked away he complimented my shorts! Slightly creepy. And then as I passed the garage entrance to check the mail, another neighbor who was driving in, rolled down his window and said, "Hello beautiful!"

Mind you, I don't know these people. But they live in my building. Also, my legs were pretty bruised up from moving (and my own personal clumsiness), and I think I could have used a shave! But apparently these guys didn't mind or notice that part.

Even though I find these skeevy comments from random men to be annoying and sometimes completely off-putting, I suspect that in about 10 or 20 years, I'll probably miss it. But I won't miss the naked guys waiting to fondle themselves in front of me.

Anyway, I think San Franciscans just aren't used to seeing shorts on ladies.

Am I glad to move out of this apartment now, or what?

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Stuck in the Friend Zone

It's strange to be friends with a mega-hottie guy.
I guess I'll take friendship over rejection drama. Sigh.

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Hmm, My Tolerance is Not as Good as I Had Thought

Beware of the cocktails served at Amnesia on karaoke Tuesdays. What may sound like a friendly, girly cocktail may just end up being straight vodka that will kick your ass the next day.

But it may be worth it to see a guy wholeheartedly sing The Never-Ending Story.

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Tip of the Day

If you're ever feeling down, just think of the line, "My hat is AWESOME!"
It really works.

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