Bay to Breakers

Last weekend it was the How Weird Street Fair (sorry "Faire), and this weekend the annual Bay to Breakers. Seems there's always a big community event in SF, and an occasion to get your kit off. This morning I cycled over to watch the crowds run and walk across the peninsular - from the east Bay to Ocean Beach on the west, and hoped to spot some "centipedes" and other famously wild costumes.



The mercury news reported 30,000 people registered for the race. I missed the centipedes but did spy one of the 5 arrests for being drunk in public, and 3 of the 16 nude participants (of course). I hope those guys thought to put sun-block on their willies.

Mac Cafe

I went to a cafe in The City where everyone had a laptop and, because this is SF, every laptop was an Apple– except one poor girl had a PC, so she covered up the logo with a sticker–and all but one of the Macbooks was the aluminium variety.

I am not exaggerating.

It was weird, like some kind of office or Uni common room - groups sitting around largeish tables, in front of open laptops, discussing important things.

The magazine rack was empty but for the remains of a daily paper. No need to fill it of course. Who needs hard copy when it's all online?

As I had arrived there unplanned, I did not have my aluminium apple macbook with me at the time. So I just read that newspaper. What a loser.

I did have a small win though. The girls behind the counter, after initial confusion around my order, really agreed that 'Iced Chocolate' was a much better name for the drink than 'Chocolate Milk'. And this in the country that invented the term 'Iced Tea.' Go figure.

Fun Translations

I learned a new word today: Bibulousness. Found it on the packaging for a cleaning cloth and it made me smile. There was much more enjoyment to be had with this, see the photos.

First to catch my eye was "No plasm" which I know is not a word, and which had me wondering if bibulousness was also real. (it is)

There was the spelling of fibre the English way on the front and the American way on the back (fiber).

It can "mop up polished furniture", which is always a good thing for those nasty spills when your polished furniture is oozing all over everywhere.

Other features include "No need desizing". Phew. I'm not sure I'd know how to desize it if I had to.

And my favourite passage: "it features solid and deformation with the best using effect." I googled this phrase and wasn't surprised that I wasn't the first to laugh at this.

Of course there is now the problem of whether to deform on not. The main copy says "It features....deformation" but also a feature separately listed is "Nodeformation".
I'm afraid to open it now. I'm too confused.

Yearly (and a bit) Roundup

New, never before things for me in 2008, and the first bit of 2009, in no particular order:

• Experienced leeches. Twice within 4 months too. Northern NSW be leech territory.
• Took a solo road trip - long distance unaccompanied driving.
• Swam under 2 waterfalls and in 2 cascadey rockpool type places. (That time I fell off the edge of the little waterfall at the Camelia Gardens when I was about 6 doesn't count, because it was an accident, not recreational and it was just reeaalllly embarrassing.)
• Packed up my entire belongings and set up life in a new city.
• Directed quite a famous actor. (Well, he directed himself really, but I get a directing credit nevertheless)
• Drove a Mercedes around parts of England. Not a flash Mercedes, but still a really nice ride. I understand why people pay extra for them. It totally took the pain out of commuting. As did BBC Radio 3.
• Performed live impro in front of a small audience
• Stayed in an Australian Youth Hostel. (Yes, of course I've stayed in many youth hostels before - in other countries. But never in Oz, and it's listworthy because I'm not a "youth" anymore and after years of backpacking in my actual youth I swore I'd never do it again. But it was just one of those things that...... happened.)
• Went to an open air cinema - and it didn't suck. The semi-tropical climate meant a perfectly temperate evening. The little deck chair was actually comfortable. And there were no mossies.
• Drove a four wheel drive along a beach.
• Experienced a Glam Yoga class
• Tried to learn to surf
• Drove 100ks just for a dip in the ocean
• Made contact with primary and high school friends I've not seen, and rarely thought about since. Apparently 2009 is to be my year for reconnecting with my past.
• Went to a poetry slam
• Regularly encountered lizards and other wildlife on the commute to work
• Finally discovered Radio National, after many false starts.
• Saw glow worms
• Shared a hotel room with a mouse. Well, never knowingly....until tonight.