Minor Miracle

The day after Christmas, I witnessed a minor miracle at the Oracle Arena here in Oakland.



I went to see my first (and most likely, my only) Warrior game of the year, expecting them to be kicked in their rear ends by the Celtics. The Celtics, to that point, had only lost 3 games this season. The Warriors had only won 8. Being down by 14 in the third quarter did not get my hopes up:


Wonderfully enough, my Warriors ended up winning. The shot below documents the scoreboard when they finally gained the lead halfway through the fourth quarter.


I was sure that would be it and I would need hard evidence that they actually led at some point. They ended up winning by 10 points. And I went to bed very happy that night. It almost made up for all the games I didn't see live when they were in the playoffs.

Please excuse my amateur sports photography. I was just really excited.

Bear's Christmas Spirit

I may not dress up for Christmas Eve, but my parent's dog does.

I *heart* Oakland: Ronika Edition

On Sunday night, Ronika was kind enough to join me in putting on a "musical evening" and entertaining some people Jane-Austen style. In other words, we sang, we played, and we showed what accomplished young women we are. Mostly, we just tried to not make complete fools of ourselves while providing some kind of mildly entertaining product.

Below is another classic example of my "singing face."



And here is Ronika dressed in one of her many vintage store finds and playing beautifully:




Ronika has a bit of a reputation for being able to find pretty nifty clothes at a variety of places--the kind of stuff you always think you should be able to find at a vintage store, but never seems to exist.

However, her sense of fashion has been known to falter. Monday afternoon, when Ronika came down dressed and ready for the day, I found her in another quintessential Ronika outfit:


I love Oakland because I get to spend time with my sister. Even if she is way cooler than I can even begin to understand.

I *heart* Oakland: Lake Merritt Edition

It was a beautiful morning in the Bay Area.

(Those of you who have actually visited my blog may recognize this shot.)

As is my Saturday morning custom, I went for a run around Lake Merritt, one of my favorite places to run when I come back to Oakland. For those of you who are familiar with Seattle, Lake Merritt is like the Oakland version of Green Lake, by which I mean it is the Ghetto version. The trails aren't as nice, there is more goose poop, and there are more sketchy people at 8:00 in the morning. But it is almost exactly the same size, and it is situated in the middle of the city.



This particular morning, I encountered some of the people that make Oakland so special in my heart. While on my second lap around the lake, a white male in his sixties, walking with a bunch of other white males in their sixties, pointed at me and yelled "Warm Blood!" I assume was referring to the fact I was wearing shorts. For people in the Bay Area, it may have been cold, but I went running in Seattle on Monday when it was 20 degrees, so it felt balmy to me.

But the best encounter of the morning came when I was crossing the street. There were two men standing in the middle of the street, having a conversation, not making any attempt to move. Two "brothers", as my father would say. The older of the two, in his sixties as well, seemed to be giving directions to the younger, probably in his twenties.

As I ran by, the older man stopped talking mid-sentence, starred at me and said,

"Damn girl! Why you gonna run so fast?"

I replied, "Have a great morning!" and kept running.

I love Oakland, a place where men finally hit on me. Even if they are in their sixties.

Oaktown for Christmas

Eighteen hours of driving, spread between Thursday and Friday, have finally gotten me to Oakland. Two of those hours may not technically count, as they were spent driving through the streets of Eugene at 10 mph in search of chains for my car. Chains that I never had to use, incidentally. But because I spent them driving, I will count they count as traveling hours. All in all, not bad time, given the amount of snow and the lack of salt/plowing at times.
I finally get moving south of Olympia after sitting in the same place for 20 minutes without moving.
Oregon was similarly snowy.
Finally in California. But with five more hours of driving to go.

[Note: I may or may not have taken these while driving. Believe me, I always had at least one hand on the steering wheel.]

Snow in Seattle

It snowed last night here, and Amanda and I ventured out to Safeway. We took the camera along.

Singing Face

I have had the same "singing face" since I can remember. It is practically automatic when I open my mouth. Below is a perfect example from my ward's Christmas "Concert" on Monday:

As a side note, I am pretty sure that my self-conscious body language is the only thing standing between me and a rocking singing career. I'm going to work on that.

A Hijacked Camera

On Thursday night, my roommates and I went to the Tri-Ward Christmas dinner. While I was off talking to someone else, they took over my camera. The best (and perhaps most appropriate) picture is posted below.

Bossy?

Here is a picture that is emblematic of my relationship with Amanda. Taken at the Turkey Bowl, 2008.

Christmas in Argyle

Me and Amanda couldn't stay away from each other over Thanksgiving break.

We accidentally wore matching sweaters, but Argyle is awesome, so no bother. Plus, we checked out the lights at the Oakland Temple.


Apparently, they had some trouble getting them on, but here they obviously working.