Day One

So, the general consensus amongst the family is that baby Rachael Ann above and beyond all looks most like yours truly. Why? I don't know. They said it's because of the expressions she has. That utter look of disdain, the rolling of the eyes, the yawning and the boredom... Wow. I didn't know my family thought so highly of me. Well, at least there's two of us now. It's just you and me Rae!

Yes, I've decided to call her Rae. None of this Rachael Ann business. And since daddy can't pronounce Rachael (apparently he keeps calling her Richard), Misa suggested he just call her Chio Chio (as in 'ball-ball' in Mandarin) which is a cute baby name I suppose.

Hello World!

Rachael Ann - Born June 22, 2004 - 6 lbs. 5 oz.


Proud parents


Proud Auntie


Prouder Auntie

Sandy

-- AIM CHAT SESSION --
friend 1: hi sandra
friend 1: ppl dont call you sandy do they?
psycho babble: no i might have to pull out my machete
friend 1: good good
friend 1: just checking
friend 1: cause i couldnt do it
psycho babble: i just don' t look like one or act like one
friend 1: uhm
friend 1: yeah well
friend 1: the only sandy i know was our irish setter
psycho babble: well in that case, my prognosis is still correct.... i think
friend 1: so no, you dont look like a bitch that wont listen ;-)
psycho babble: gee thanks
friend 1: lol no sorry just fond memories of her
friend 1: she was a fun dog
psycho babble: ok.
-- END --

White Oak

06/13/04 - Doug, Sharyn, Sandra - White Oak Winery, Alexander Valley

I had one of the best weekends ever. I guess I've never used this blog to talk about things that are happening in my life, at least not in a direct sense. But, this past weekend was just too wonderful to not mention. I met my girl friend Sharyn in Sonoma Square on Saturday and we just had a blast "wining" all day. Saturday consisted of tasting and tour at Buena Vista, then tastings at Sebastiani (Yay! I miss those guys!)and finally Gundlach Bundschu where we had a wonderful picnic. The weather was just right, a little warm with a little breeze.

Sunday continued our great little tour with Santa Rosa native Doug being Mr. Tour Guide starting at White Oak in the Alexander Valley. Oh, the wines there were fabulous! I must remember to go back! Then on to Sausal, Ridge Lytton Springs, Chateau Souverain (where of course I had to pick up a few bottles of my favorite Chenin Blanc), deLorimier and Murphy-Goode. The Alexander Valley is such a beautiful place. C'est tres jolie!

Sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed in the wine industry. It's not a bad life to live... Lots of great wine, great food, easy life. Ah, maybe something to retire into. We'll see.

Delusion and Redemption

Facets of complex situations between two people are not easily identified nor defined. Perspective is key as no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time. Reflection also brings new dimension as realization sets of memories which may not be accurate. Most dangerous of all, assumption is the unknown skew as bias results in the presumed.

Why do some use assumption as truth in deduction? There is no foundation for such a claim thus rendering it worthless. Perhaps it is not the truth we seek but security and comfort from within a fabrication of our feeble minds.

The truth is not easy to find. The truth is often not easy to appreciate once found. But admittance to oneself, if not to anyone else, the entirety of what is known to be true is at least one step ahead of those who rather live in an illusion.

Leafing

So my girl friend Sharyn and I were talking about favorite cartoons, both new and old. She mentions a series called "The Family Guy" because they did an episode about New Yorkers invading Rhode Island to see peak foliage.

Me, the LA girl, mind reeling. What the *&%$! is peak foliage?

Sharyn, in reminiscence, "Oh, it's so wonderful to see all the leaves turn yellow and bright orange. It truly is a beautiful sight."

Oh, alright, leaves changing color... Wait...

"And sometimes I like to collect the really spectacular ones, put them in ziploc bags with orange zests and mail them off to my girl friends."

Isn't Rhode Island quite a distance from New York? That doesn't make sense...

"Aren't there trees in New York?"

"Of course, Central Park is beautiful during peak foliage."

"So why do you have to drive to Rhode Island?"

"Oh! Because you can see it two weeks earlier!"

Clutching my stomach in sheer pain due to insane bouts of laughter attempting to escape. Sharyn slips out a slight grin, not quite understanding the hilarity of the moment which in turn propels my uncontrollable laughing fit.

"Ah, thanks Sharyn. I needed a good laugh."

No Tea Today

So I waited and now the water is ready. But looking in the cabinet, as hard as I looked, I couldn't find the tea leaves. I swear I had some. I guess there will be no tea for me today. Who knows when I'll go to the tea store again. Maybe not for a while.

...but sometimes it does.

So, that damn pot has finally boiled. And gosh, you know you really shouldn't be expecting anything else but you still do. Why is that? Heck if I know. I watched Donnie Darko a couple days ago. It almost makes me want to think a large demonic bunny is going to appear out of the steam rising from the damn pot. But no, no demonic bunny. Kind of sucks, you know? A demonic bunny would be very entertaining. Well, at least now I can make my tea. Still have to wait for it to seep...

Eat Shit

So I was driving down the street in a part of LA where there are many many many Asians. Most of the business signs are in Chinese or Vietnamese. Chinese characters are completely indecipherable to those who don't know the language. Vietnamese, however, is made up of roman letters. Sometimes these letters happen to mean something in English. Oops.



Yes, come to my restaurant and eat my shit.

You're ugly... and that's sad.

Happy bunny has got to be one of my favorite cartoon characters (slow down Stitch, I said one of my favorites).

"Would you like to suck on a mint? Because you suck all the time."

"Run along and die now." (Cute smiling bunny looking at you and pointing to the left)

Why do we find pleasure in humility? Oh, 'cause it's so much fun.