Rain, rain, go away

Today, I decided to explore a little of the south bay and go biking on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. It was supposed to be a great trail and a great day and a great ride. However, things just weren't going my way and my day ended up looking like this:


All gone down the drain.


First, my front wheel was slightly flat. However, I was still determined to go. Yeah, I'm crazy.

Second, my pants leg got stuck in my bike and promptly tore a hole in my pants. I'm not so sad about the pants, just sad about it happening. It literally happened one minute after hopping onto my bike.

Third, it started raining. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if it was simply sprinkling. I can handle that. But then, it started to get real bad and I wasn't even able to see. My clothes got soaking wet, but only on one side (the rain came in sideways, thanks to the wind). If you look closely, you can see my right pants leg all tied up to keep it get from getting caught into my gears!

This part of the trail was swollen over on the way back. It was hard to tell how deep it was and I didn't dare go until some other bikers went through before me. It was about 5 inches deep. Fun stuff.

On the way back, I saw this woman gearing up, getting on the trail, and then her little dog on a leash!

And, after all this, I am still smiling. Look closely and you can see all the raindrops on my face.

Needless to say, I didn't go the whole way of the trail. I didn't even go halfway. Biking while soaking wet with a semi-flat tire is no fun at all. So, I decided to try this falafel place that is always so busy on the corner of Stevens Creek and 880. There were about 20 people in line, but well worth the wait. Falafel sandwich was crunchy, great tahini. However, the hot sauce was all in a dollop on top - totally unsatisfying (I'm really into making sure ingredients and sauces are spread evenly). The banana shakes are also good, but not great. I feel like there's something in them that makes it taste like fake sugar (maybe it is fake sugar?). However, I'd still go again, the falafel was pretty damn good. Next time, I'm trying their "meatball in wheat" - sounds delicious, eh?

Exploring

Today is my only day off for the week, so I decided to go run some errands and do some exploring.  First, I went to Michael's to get some art supplies (as though I have time to do that!).  Then, went to the Guadalupe River Park - it's really not that cool and the fact that it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I only saw a dozen people in the span of an hour makes it seem very sketchy.  Maybe I went to the wrong section (the one closest to the airport - which provided the cool views of planes flying into SJC), but I'm willing to give it another go.  Next time, I think I will go to the southern section, where there may be more people?

On the other hand, I drove through the Rosegarden neighborhood and drove right by its namesake.  I didn't have time to stop by, but now it's definitely on my to-do list (in addition to visiting the San Jose Public Library branch there). Of course, I found the neighborhood grocery store and had to make a stop, where I got some Parmesan cheese to make a quick pasta dinner (to be posted later). 

Overall, a good day.  I still need to study and it feels like a Sunday because I have to work tomorrow.  Booo. 

Raining men

Well, it's not really raining men - I only wish.  I went out with a high school friend on Saturday (just out as friends, not that kind of "going out") and we went to a club.  It was pretty obvious that there was an overwhelming percentage of men.  When I made note of this to my friend, he quipped, "Well, it is Man Jose."  (For those of you outside of California, I live in San Jose, so Man Jose is a play on words.) 

The thing I'm wondering is where are all the men?  I have yet to find a date, or even a date-able man.  Maybe it's because I work in the hospital almost every waking hour.  Maybe it's because even when I'm working, I never really come into contact with any men.  Or maybe it's because I'm hideous and un-date-able myself.  I really hope it's not the latter. 

Looking for love, or just an apartment

I hate apartment hunting. I always forget how much I hate it until I have to do it, which was rare until the last year (whereby I lived in 2 apartments in 8 months in Washington, DC and then another 2 apartments in 4 months in Boston). Most recently, I was looking for an apartment in San Jose. I scoured craigslist (which you all know, or should know, I have a secret affair with) for a decent apartment. I wanted to live by myself, but found a one bedroom to be out of my price range. So, I started looking at studios and 2 bedroom apartments to share. The thing about looking for a 2 bedroom apartment or a room in a 2 bedroom apartment is that describing yourself to your potential roommate can sound much like a personal.

What my "about me" sections usually read like (brackets are added in): I'm a 27 year old professional female [because my name sometimes confounds people] who is non-smoking, doesn't do drugs, and clean [cause I need the same]. I have excellent credit and personal and rental references if necessary [this is be "in" with landlords and managers]. In terms of what I like to do in my free time, it includes reading, doing anything outdoors, cooking, etc [shows that I'm well-rounded, have outside interests, and, quite frankly, the coolest person in the world]. However, I'm probably not going to be home much because I will be working 70-80 hours a week [so they don't think that I will be sitting around like a lazy ass watching tv all day]. If this sounds like we might get along, I'd love to hear back from you.

Now, tell me that doesn't read like a personal ad. I might as well add that I like long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, and love poems written as odes to me (please don't send me love poems, though I will accept dinners and walks on the beach). It actually felt like dating online when this girl emailed me back, saying that she thought we'd be great roommates. Then, I sent her an email back saying I'd love to see her place the next day (I was trying to get all my apartment viewings in one day) and gave her my phone number. She never called or emailed ever again.