Tag: san francisco

Do you like the weather in Ojai ?

1998sakuraLeave a comment

Mark Twain once said, “The coldest winter I spent was a summer in San Francisco.”

This summer, I spent my whole summer vacation in the San Francisco Bay Area. To me, the weather there does not qualify as summer. It was foggy and windy most of the days and you always needed a jacket when you went outside. One might think that’s great weather for the summer because there is no heat, but I hated it. It made me feel dull and was very depressing.

Photo Credit: http://www.psychalive.org

I was very excited to come back to Ojai in September because the weather is the complete opposite. The summer in Ojai is dry and sunny all the time. The bright and warm sunshine makes me happy and more energetic. But I’ve noticed that when it rains in Ojai during the winter, I get a migraine and it makes me very sleepy.

The weather really affects how I feel physically and emotionally. So the Ojai weather is perfect for me.

The Finale/Beginning of the NFL Season

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well it’s all over now. The Super Bowl is finished and another season is in the books. The Baltimore Ravens have emerged as the Super Bowl Champions over the favored San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens were in control for most of the game, and for a moment, really lost their edge. However, the Ravens were able to get it together when it mattered, and held on to win. The Harbowl ended with John very badly outcoaching his brother, Jim. John went for some very gutsy calls all game.

His first was a fake field goal run for Justin Tucker that while did not result in a first down or a score, resulted in a 3 and out for the 9ers on their own 6 yard line. It was a win-win for John. The next gut-wrencher was when John decided to call a pass on a 3rd down and short that resulted in a 15-20 yard gain from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin. It was a great pass and catch, but was somewhat unneeded. The final one was the most impressive, however. With 13 seconds left in the game, the punter, Sam Koch, must have been told to HOLD ONTO THE BALL AT ALL COSTS. DO NOT PUNT. DO NOT FUMBLE!!!

The play resulted in the 9ers getting a safety. But the clock ran down so far, that Colin Kaepernick was not going to step on the field again. The game was left to the return game with only 4 seconds left. The kick off was taken and the rest is history. No score meant a ravens victory.

My shoutout goes to Ray Lewis, who has been an idol of mine since the very beginning. I gotta love that guy.

The 2012/2013 season has come to a close, but the new 2013/2014 season began at 12 AM eastern time. The new season is an hour and a half old. Time to get back to work. Many trades, contracts and player drama will occur in the coming months. Free agency opens in a month and a half, which is one of my favorite times of the league year. I love watching money go flying. Hopefully my Eagles can pick up some big names. But the night belongs to Baltimore. Congratulations to Ray Lewis on finishing his career on a high note, and congrats to the Baltimore Ravens. They earned it!

Super Bowl Week

backinphillyLeave a comment

This has been a somewhat ridiculous Super Bowl week filled with rumors, dumb comments and of course drama.

The rumors start with Ray Lewis and deer antler spray. For those that have no idea what deer antler spray is, you’re not alone. I don’t really know that much about it either. What I do know is that one ingredient in the spray is on the NFL’s list of banned substances. The ingredient is considered a performance enhancing drug.

Ray Lewis is rumored to have used the spray in order to heal faster from his torn triceps injury. One of his doctors has “confirmed” that he in fact did prescribe the spray to Lewis. However, one big piece of the story was left out.

Ray was never tested. There is absolutely no proof that he was or is currently on any form of PED. There was no test. There are only stupid rumors. Ray issued a denial (duh) immediately following the allegations. He’s still playing so don’t be upset. I guess the doctor must have been a San Fran fan.

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Sleepless San Francisco.

eternity10301 Comment

Last week for our English 11 Honors class, Mrs. Wilson asked us to write a personal essay about the site we wanna live. And all of the sudden San Francisco came out of my mind. I’ve been there only once, but I just couldn’t help myself thinking about it all the time. I want to live there.

Sleepless San Francisco

There is a place that I would love to leave my heart there without hesitation. My sleepless San Francisco would be the dream I want to keep even when I am awake.

Located on a peninsula between the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean, San Francisco has its own definition of city – compact, busy, but scenic and comfortable as well. I would first arrive into San Francisco from the north via the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, the place for a good start. I would be the first one to watch the born of sun, and enjoy the amazement of the golden sunshine.

Then my journey would start. When there came the noisy bells, the yellow cable cars would be on their way heading to me. I would choose to stand on the edge of the car and hold on to the handrail. “Ding-dong, ding-dong” – as the car drove, my hair would swing with the wind and the views would greet me as I passed by. Built on several hills, the roads are steep but also well-organized in a grid. The most exciting moment would be the downhill part, where I could experience a gentle roller-coaster.

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Kentfield

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

I was born in San Francisco, CA., but I grew up in a little town about 30 minutes outside of the city. Kentfield, the little town that absolutely no one has heard of.

Kentfield borders Ross, which is another – slightly bigger – town in Marin. Our street in particular connected, beginning at a market in Kentfield, and ending at the Ross school. Kent Ave., if anyone lives near there.

As a family, we knew every inch of that street. So often we would climb on our bikes and go to the park, where we would sit, play with the dogs, or climb the play structure. That’s where I first learned to ride a bike without training wheels.

Another of our favorite destinations was Marche aux Fleurs, a small French restaurant situated comfortably in a petite plaza, with a deck looking out. We went there so many times, that I got tired of spaghetti with butter and parmesan.

Who knew you could ever get tired of that?

One time at Christmas, we went for dinner, and I ordered a steak. I can’t remember what cut it was, or what delectable sauce they listed on the menu, but my god it was good. Every time we went back I would ask the owner about it. Sadly, it was a one time thing.

Then there was Woodlands Market. If you are ever in Marin, please please please make sure you go there. You will never find a better place to shop for food, I promise you.

Woodlands was also my favorite deli. Every so often we would go get a sandwich. I would immediately unwrap it, looking for the square of chocolate enclosed in the parchment paper.

On Saturday mornings, my brothers and I would plead with my dad, begging him to treat us to a breakfast of mickey mouse pancakes at the nearby Willie’s Cafe.

I hold so many memories from growing up in Kentfield. Some small, others more significant to me. I haven’t been back since we moved away, and over time I have lost the desire to. I want that small California town to remain exactly as remember it, not as the disappointment it may be if we were to visit.

Rain

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

It doesn’t rain much where I live.

I consider LA and south to be Southern California.

North of LA to San Francisco is Central Coast.

And North of SF is Northern California.

That said, I live on the Central Coast.

And where I live, there is a lot of fog and a lot of wind but not very much rain.

I happen to enjoy rain.

Quite a lot actually.

So I was extremely pleased to see it raining today.

I think one of the very best things is going to sleep, the sound of rain tapping against your window, wrapped up in a soft, heavy blanket.

The rain makes me calm.  It turns the ocean that stormy green-gray.  The waves start looking like white horses galloping across the water, their sea-foam manes tossing and scattering as they crest and roll away.

I like watching how it comes down from the smoky dark clouds and makes every inch of the water rough and wild.

Petrichor is listed as one of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language.

It is defined as the smell of rain on dry earth.

It is a recurring word in my favorite television show Doctor Who.

In series 6, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife,” it is one of the passkey words the TARDIS sends to Rory Williams that allows him access to an archived control room.

The TARDIS describes petrichor as “the smell of dust after rain.”

I put that as my status on Facebook once.  My summer roommate Sonia pointed out, “If it’s dust after rain, wouldn’t that make it mud?”

I didn’t really know what to say about that.

But I do know it makes everything feel fresh, clean.

RAIN!

Alcatraz

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

Alcatraz is a prison where the worst criminals were sent and lived during 1934 to 1963 which is an island located 1.5 miles offshore from San Francisco, California.

5 days ago, me and the family of (kirbyfullyloaded) toured Alcatraz island.

It only took less than 15 minutes to get there from San Francisco bay which was astonishing, because I thought it was too easy to escape! When we get to the island and looked back, it looked very close from the land.

However, most of the prisoners failed to escape when they tried to swim. The reason why was the strength of the water current and cold icy water of San Francisco bay.

When we walked inside of the building, the first thing I saw was the shower room, with the wall painted in white and green, which was very eccentric and realistic to me. It reminded me of the prison from the TV show Prison Break.

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Botox for 8-year-old

vabenissimo1 Comment

What would you do when your child complains about wrinkles?

This Mother Kerry Campbell would immediately persuade her Daughter Britney to have Botox and fillers injected to lessen the “wrinkles.”

She buys the products from cannot-be-publicized-online-man. And, she, who is apparently a “trained beautician,” tests the products’ quality and credibility by injecting into her “adult” face before she uses for her “eight-year-old” daughter’s face.

A 34-year-old mother from San Francisco defends her malignant practice, “A lot of the mothers there (beauty pageant) are giving their kids Botox and it’s pretty much like the thing and a lot of moms do it. I am not the only one.”

Moreover, Britney was forced to get her legs waxed so she would be more “beautiful.”

Britney’s friends consider all these practices “cool” and even looks up to her.

What’s wrong with all this? Someone tell me.

Okay, time to think for real

shredicusmaximusLeave a comment

It’s official. With the warmth of the April sun came the arrival of my long awaited letters from the various institutions I had hoped would see enough light and potential to accept me into their ranks as an admitted student. Three places received my applications, Chapman University, Bard College, and (as referred to in one of my previous blogs) The University of San Francisco. All three of them have since sent packages back informing me of my admission. I looked through the packets from each different place and thought “oh —-, now what do I do?”

How do I make a decision that affects possibly the next four years of my life? A commitment to an institution for the best is what is required of me to make come the first of May. A first rate education, and a great time with many different opportunities presenting themselves. Who could I meet at these places? how were the dorms? where are they located? Questions of “where do you want to go?” and “what do you want to study?” have now transformed into “where are you going to call home for the next four years, out of these three?” So with all these thoughts in mind, now I really have to consider what options I have upon my table. All these places I have applied to because I liked each of them and what they could offer me as a perspective student. Now, here I sit, amidst all these new pressures. Pressures of “where do we go from here?” have replaced the ones of old regarding “what do I need to do to get there and how am I doing?” All I know is for the next week or so, I might lose some sleep at night. Bags may form under my eyes and I may feel much lighter on my feet but why worry? After all, I know I’m going somewhere. (: