Anyway, here's a couple more pics of my lab. This is the actual lab, we have another part of it on the roof, but I didn't get pics of that yet (still waiting for all my keys since the people in charge of taking care of that lost the request).
That weird looking thing is a wind tunnel.
Little meeting table and some work space. Also, I'm eyeing that cabinet counter top as my new study location. If I sit up with my back leaning against the wall with the white board on it, I can stare out the window while I struggle to concentrate on whatever I'm studying. This is the 8th floor, so it's a nice view.
So, if you ever wondered why weather forecasters are wrong a lot, here's why. You just spin the hands and wherever it falls is your weather for the day.
Went surfing on Wednesday. Still beautiful. Still arctic water temperatures.
So Thursday morning was the big day. First day of classes. I knew it would be packed and parking would be a nightmare, so I made the fabulous plan to be at the gym at 7am (on campus) and then have plenty of time to work out and get cleaned up before my 9am attempt to crash a math workshop.
I was instantly transported back into high school and I was uncomfortable. High school was not my best of days. I had flash backs. So I put my head phones on and attempted to get a good workout in while everyone and their mother was in the gym (why people, why?). I kept getting this really strong smell of dead fish, wherever I moved to in the weight room. It was awful. Finally, it occurred to me that if I kept smelling it wherever I went, it must be me. I sniffed at my armpits. Just sweaty. I looked around before sniffing my shirt. Nope. Weird.
I went into the other room to finish my abs and do some stretching. The smell went away. Goodness.
Went to class. Several kids asked if I was the instructor as they walked in. I realize my face was a little puffy from some crappy sleep the night before, but seriously?
Finally the instructor stood up. He was 23 or 24 years old. He said "I'm in my 4th year here" (as an undergrad) "So I know some shit". Um. Ok. For crying out loud.
I went home and bitched and moaned about having to do a 5 mile run. I figured maybe I would just run without my GPS and just do what I could. I had a crappy long run on Sunday and just wasn't feeling it. Then I got hard on myself and told myself to quit making excuses and being such a wimp. I grabbed my GPS and took off.
And boy did I take off. The first mile wasn't super fast, but it's faster than I usually start out at. 7:38 I think. Mile two was a 7:18. Nice! I was feeling pretty good and since my run on Sunday was so bad, I decided to push it and see how well I could do. Mile 3 was 7:09. I kicked it up a notch. 6:59.58!!! Holy moley! But then I got a little tired and my last mile was 7:11. Still, I averaged a 7:15 which is pretty amazing for me. I felt better.
My class today was a Pre Calculus lecture. I got to school early and did some studying. Then walked around a bit and took a couple photos. A lot of people did not know what to think of the new tourist on campus.
Little quad on my way to Washington Square Hall for PreCalc.
My escape. My home. My heart. Right there in that crystal blue water.
When I swim, the water in my ears blocks out all the noise except for my breathing and the sound of the bubbles rushing past my face. My head wanders to a certain stressor...breath, breath, bubbles, breath...it's gone. It wanders again....bubbles, breath... It's amazing how the sky looks from underwater. Shining behind a shimmering window. And when I get close to the surface, I can see the reflection of my arms, and there's arms above and below, then my face pops out and my nose skims across the surface like an alligator. Bubbles and breath.
Having just the one class for the day, I went and swam and then headed home for a shower and lunch. Then I was on a mission. As I walked to the jeep, I remembered I had left my Garmin Nuvi GPS in the house. I should go back and get it. Nah. How hard could this be? I've been in San Jose for 20 days now. I should know my way around.
Here was the mission: coffee (the good kind), beer (the good, hard to find kind), some beauty products (because apparently I am old enough to be my classmates' mother) and a bit of groceries.
I headed out to the Campbell version of Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Barefoot is a local roaster that trades directly with the farmers. They have classes and cuppings (tastings) at their place downtown...but that wasn't where I was going. I'm a mile from the community of Campbell, so I headed there. It wasn't hard to find since it was on the main drag. I bought a bag of coffee beans and an espresso. Since my trip to Italy back in Dec of 2006, I have yet to find an espresso quite like it. This one might have been the best so far, but still not Rome quality.
Because I like it bold....
My espresso. With raw sugar.
Then it was off on a beer hunt. Specifically I was looking for this amazing beer I tried from BevMo a few months back. I've been a fan of Samuel Smith since I discovered BevMo years ago. BevMo is short for Beverages and More and it's like Toys R Us, but for grown ups, and of the alcohol variety. It's amazing. They sell beer in singles too, so you can try new ones without having to commit to a whole 6 pack.
When I went grocery shopping last weekend I saw that Whole Foods had had this amazing nectar of the gods, but it was sold out because it was apparently on sale. What is this amazing beer I speak of? Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout. It's amazing. Chocolatey and smooth, it's just an all around great beer. And hard to find. It wasn't at Sprouts either.
So...BevMo it was. Using my memory of what was on google maps, I took a few roads into what I figured was in the right direction...found the road I wanted, and then Presto! Found BevMo. It was small. They had Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout (another awesome beer) and their Winter Ale (ok) and Nut Brown Ale (good)...but no Organic Chocolate Stout. What?!!
This BevMo was not very big. I chose a couple new beers and asked the lady about my beloved Organic Chocolate Stout. "Yeah, we don't carry that, I don't know why. But our Camden and Santa Clara stores do.".
"Camden?" I asked.
"Yeah, off Cambell and the San Thomas/Montague (yeah, there's an expressway here called Montague Expressway and near it is actually Bowers Ave...no joke) area. If you follow Hamilton down you'll basically run into it."
Hum. Ok. Hamilton. I see Willow, maybe Willow turns into Hamilton. Kinda, not really, but I found Hamilton.
It was Friday and work was letting out for some. Traffic was beginning to get nightmarish. I hit the end of Hamilton and saw a ton of stores. No BevMo. Hmm...stay on this road or turn left on Campbell? I watched 253 cars fail to merge at a red light. Breathe Carrie.
I crawled into the next intersection.HA!!!! There it was!! But how do I get there?
As it turned out, it is right next to Sprouts, where I went shopping last weekend. I have a memory like a steel trap.
I perused the aisles....and then I heard the harps! There it was! They did not sell it in a 6- pack, or a 12 pack for that matter, so I just bought 3 pints. Here it is people...my favorite beer:
Isn't she beautiful?
So then it was on to Ulta, which is nearby. I needed something to fix my face, and something else to fix my hair. I don't know people. Sometimes people say I look so young, then someone asks if I'm the professor of their class. When I look in the mirror in the morning, it's been scary more days than it has not been. My hair on the other hand: I decided now that I could live a real life and wear real clothes and do real things with my hair, I was going to straighten it more often, since it looks so gorgeous when I do.
Well when you surf twice a week and swim once or twice a week and run 3 days a week...that all just goes out the door. There's no way. Well if you read my hair blog, you see that I've got quite the wild head of curls. Every once in awhile I decide I'm going to embrace those bad boys...then I look in the mirror and think nope. In any case, chlorine, salt water and sun are all wrecking havoc on my hair. So my hair needs help.
Back to my face. When I was in Florida on a fire there, I discovered this awesome face scrub that heats up your face when you wash. It always made my face so bright and radiant (or was it the Florida sun and fresh oysters?). I found it once when I got back to Cali, but never again. I looked for it online and it was sold out at a lot of places. Ridiculous. I gave up and moved on to a different wash. It's ok. Obviously not.
So I went to Ulta looking for more face serum and a hair mask. Look what I found!!! The last one on the shelf!!!
What is that??!!! It's my face wash! Haha...sorry folks, beer number 2, and it's Friday.
After pacing back and forth among a thousand different solutions for my hair, I decided on a couple products from Ouidad (the curl experts). I'm not saying I'm going to embrace my curls...but I mean, after 33.5 years you think I'd at least be close. Anyway, none of the products commit to curliness anyway. I got "Melt Down Extreme Repair Mask", "Moisture Lock" leave in conditioner and then got a free small bottle of "Botanical Boost" moisture infusing refreshing spray. For the rest of my face issues, I settled on Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging serum.
Yes, I wear sunscreen.
So, not only was my mission fairly successful, I positively knew where I was. I was not, however, going to grocery shop. I had my share of people for the day. There's lots of them out here.
I went home, had some steamed brussel sprouts and homemade soup....
And then.... Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout....and.....wait for it.....
Trader Joe's Mini Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake!
Warmed in the microwave.
Happy Friday folks!
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