Killer Squirrels

About a week ago, Kevin announced his suspicion that "the squirrels are up to something." He'd apparently observed some unusual behavior while walking through our complex.

I, of course, tried to reason with him. Of course the squirrels aren't up to anything - if anything, we're just used to the over-tame squirrels of college campuses and national parks.

Kevin's description of the suspicious squirrel behavior isn't that unusual, really: they're skittish; they scatter when you approach; and they hide behind trees and other shrubs. Kevin maintains they try to "stare him down" and "keep their beady eyes on him," but, really, I think someone might be having his Beautiful Mind moment.

Well, it turns out that Kevin may have been right. There's been a rash of squirrel attacks at a nearby park in Mountain View. My personal favorite is the squirrel that jumped into the baby stroller, looking for food, but the squirrel who attacked a four-year-old boy for his muffin is a nice tale as well.

(We also have an abundance of these particularly malevolent-looking black Canadian squirrels, seen above.)

San Bruno Mountain State Park

Yesterday, Kevin and I hiked the mighty San Bruno Mountain. OK, it's just a glorified hill, but it does offer some spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Bay, and San Francisco itself.

And, we picked a great day to go - no fog, little smog, and amazing panoramas.

San Bruno Mountain State Park

22 photos | Edit

28 is the new 18

So, for the first time since graduating from high school, the address on my checks matches the address on my license.

And, apparently, my eyes are brown. WTF?

In other news, I look like a serial assassin (with a sense of humor) in my new CA driver's license.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Kevin prefers giant sequoias, but I think I kind of dig the redwoods.

Big Basin Redwoods SP September 2006

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Kevin Ross, Secret MC

The last pieces of my birthday extravaganza came into place last night, as Kevin presented me with Ice Bat.

However, this being a gift from Kevin, it also came with a song-and-dance routine. Specifically, something called the "Ice Bat Dance" and a specially-crafted rap.

It was tears-running-down-my-face hysterical.

ICE BAT RAP
to "Ice Ice Baby"

Ice B-A-T
Can't kick it

All right, stop. Refrigerate and listen
Da Bat is commandin' your attention
If I grab ahold of you tightly
You'll freeze like an ice cube, I don't mean that lightly
Will I ever chill, fo sho
Cause once I get to know you, I'm really mellow
I love ice cream over wine and a candle
Lied in a cave where the glaciers did amble
Packed my bags and flew out my room
Now I'm chillin' with you as a present from your groom
Ugly, and I ain't got no alibi
"Ice" cause I'm frozen, "bat" cause I fly
Love it or hate it, you better apreesh
Your husband's been working on these gifts for weeks,
Any math problem, Kevin'll solve it
Check out my tush while IB revolves it.

The Beatrice Letters

Wasn't it so thoughtful of Lemony Snicket to put out his newest book on my birthday? I thought so, too.

Unfortunately, I'm not nearly smart enough to figure it out, which is depressing, given it's a series of children's books. I mean, I'm painfully aware that I've already peaked and am on a precipitous decline (a la Flowers for Algernon), but still...

What I might have gleaned: Beatrice is more properly Beatrice Baudelaire, and there are two Beatrice Baudelaires, as well as a ship named Beatrice. One Beatrice may have been the Baudelaires' mother; another seems to know the children as adults. The rest, I'm not so clear on. I think Count Olaf and Lemony Snicket may have switched identities at one time.

I suspect all of this means either (1) I have far too much time on my hands or (2) October 13 cannot possibly come soon enough. Either way, I'll be spending tomorrow decoding anagrams and encrypted letters, poolside.

A Lesser Known Natural Wonder

The best part: it was all Kevin's idea.

PS: That's Mt. Shasta McNasty in the background.

Jelly Belly factory

Along the drive to Crater Lake, Kevin and I passed the Jelly Belly factory, which offered free tours daily. How could we say no?? So, on our return trip, we stopped at "The Jelly Belly" for some free beans and some ice cream.

And I got a little carried away.

Jelly Belly Factory

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Crater Lake, Oregon

For my birthday, Kevin and I visited Crater Lake in southern Oregon.

I've wanted to visit Crater Lake for years now, lured by the oh-so-blue photos in our Frommer's Guide to National Parks of the American West. I can't even really begin to articulate how badly I've wanted to go to this park. And now that we live (relatively) close, we were able to visit.

The park lived up to every expectation, and more. Let me begin with the water: it's blue. It's frighteningly blue. It's fake blue. It's Kool-Aid blue. It's so blue I expect that, if I were to cup some in my hands, it would still be blue.

In some ways, Crater Lake looks pretty-fake, like women with too much makeup or plastic surgery. It's so pretty, it causes you to speculate, "well, it couldn't possibly be real."

Oh, it's real.

We spent two full days there, which was more than enough time to hike down to the lake, take the boat tour, hike to the top of Wizard Island (the volcano in the middle of the island), and hike to other vistas in the area.

Kevin also did some (minor) cliff diving.

We took hundreds of photos. How could you not? I've tried to cull some of the better ones, but it was a difficult task.

Crater Lake 2006

83 photos | Edit

Five things I love, this week

Amanda Church
She's much less creepy than my other artist favorites, even if she is more sad.

Silver Foxes
Take your pick: Anderson Cooper, John McEnroe, or the dude from ESPN or those Progressive auto insurance commercials (you know, the one who plays it all deadpan when he offers you a pink flip-flop?). Either way, I'm a winner.

Jasper Fforde
Amazingly good novels about nursery rhyme characters and major literary figures. Is it fantasy? Science fiction? Mystery and crime? Parody? All of the above, and more. How can it possibly miss?

Space Camp
My exit from the Bayshore Freeway is the same one you'd take to go to Space Camp.

This brings me an unreasonable amount of glee.

Project Runway
This is a family favorite. Kevin watches for Heidi "boom boom" Klum; I watch it for the sewing machines.


And the jury's still out on:

Cilantro in a tube.
Pros: It's cilantro, whenever you want it.
Cons: Why does it taste so sweet?