task for the week accomplished

When I got back from San Fran, I had one goal in mind. (In my state, you kind of have to take baby steps and be proud of them.) I registered to take the GRE – the required test you have to take before applying to any graduate or professional school.

I've never been good at taking any sort of standardized test. I can make straight A's but I can also miserably perform on those things. It's weird. I remember in middle school, being pulled out of my class once a week to do practice tests for TASS or whatever the stupid required test was at the time. It was humiliating because I knew I was a good student and smart. There was just something about those things that made my mind work differently...and not for the better.

Anyway, here I go again. Hoping this time that a complete education, including two majors and a minor under my belt and some life experience might do me some justice. I plan to study and review quite a bit but I'm frequently told not to study too much for this thing.

My test date is July 14, so I have some time to prepare. Keep me in your thoughts as I can use all the luck I can get. I want to do well on this very expensive test!

The San Francisco Treat

I just got back from an amazing trip to San Francisco and the bay area. My brother, Ari, and his wife, Rachel, have lived in Sausalito for about a year and a half and this was my first visit. Above is a cool shot of the Golden Gate Bridge as we were driving on it. I liked the vantage point and the lines as it makes you feel like you are riding up the lines.



Here is a photo of Ari. Isn't he cute? This was taken on my last day there in the wine country – Sonoma Valley to be exact. We had just visited our fourth vineyard and were a little toasted from all the wine tasting. It was truly a beautiful day and an amazing sight to see. I bought three bottles of wine from different vineyards. This one was Ravenswood and was one of our favorites.



Here is a photo of the famous "Painted Ladies" Victorian houses. I wanted to see them and Ari and Rach had never been over there. It was very windy outside so I only got one shot before I ran back to the car in effort to not get blown away. We did a good combination of typical touristy things as well as things most tourists wouldn't know about. Here is a summary of what I did and saw:

Toured Sausalito and did a little shopping with Rach there

Ate lunch at the famous Cliff House that overlooks the ocean and saw the ancient ruins of the bath house.

Saw the Palace of the Fine Arts

Drove down Lombard Street – the curviest road ever!

Visited Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 where all the sea lions hang out.

Shopped a little bit in the famous Union Square.

Ate dinner at an authentic Chinese restaurant called R&G Lounge in Chinatown.

Hung out at a trendy dive bar called Hemlock's.

Got up at 6 a.m. to witness Ari and Rach go to rowing practice in San Marin.

Went to Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden and yes, drank some yummy Jasmine tea.

Visited the de Young art museum where a cool exhibit of Vivienne Westwood and her evolution of fashion was on display. We also went up to the observation tower where you can see the entire city. Pretty cool even on a foggy day.

Strolled down Haite Ashbury Street – known as the weird, hippie area. Also saw Castro St, which is the predominately gay area. Got some yummy cookies there at Hot Cookie.

Went to North Beach for dinner – the Italian District and ate some authentic Italian cuisine.

Attended the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast at the San Marin Firehouse.

Rode a school bus up Mt. Tamalpais to see the musical production of Hair at the very top. That was fun.

Caught the end of the annual street fair in Sausalito and bought some nifty things.

Ate dinner at yummy Asian Fusion restaurant called E&O Trading Co. in Sausalito and hung out at the Marin Brewery.



Above is a photo of us at the brewery. My friends Diana and Ashley were also in town for a Communications conference and hung out with us when they could.

And last but not least was a day spent in Sonoma Valley wine tasting. So much fun!