I went on a 275-mile drive this weekend along the coast and through numerous wineries. While the view was incredible, it was the driving that I enjoyed the most. I love that hypnotic, dreamlike quality I get when I'm "in the zone," carving through mountain roads, chasing some other car.   When that happens, I tend to drive smoother, faster, and more aggressively. But as "fast" as I am (for a girl), I want to drive even faster....

Time for some autocrossing!

This one hit a little too close to home for me, as my cousin is a member of Oakland PD.  

I'm not sure who I should direct my anger / sadness at either.  At the already-dead shooter? At the Mayor or the Ex Police Chief, for being incompetent and useless at preventing crime in Oakland? At whoever sent in those SWAT team members without protective headgear?

Or should I be angry at the crowd who went to the crime scene to TAUNT the police officers for Oscar Grant? (Why the f*ck would you want to disarm police officers, when criminals themselves have guns?)

Police officers are people too; people with family members and loved ones, with hopes and dreams.  They put their lives on the line for us every day.  Yet they get so little respect for what they do. 

It's about time that the people of Oakland stand behind their police officers...
It's about time we thank and appreciate them for what they do.

RIP, Sgt. John Hege
RIP, Sgt. Mark Dunakin
RIP, Sgt. Ervin Romans
RIP, Sgt. Daniel Sakai

(Image from the SF Chronicle)

merely a few months have passed since my last entry, yet so much has happened. 

i've moved to berkeley, and started a new life. how that is going, i don't want to delve.
i then found another apartment, and will be moving to oakland soon.

sometimes i feel tired... so very tired...

a box of 24 candles isn't enough... i need two!! lol

Unfortunately, I'm not really diggin' the new look:
 
Or the soft suspension.

Admittedly, however, the hatchback is much more practical.  There's tons of room in the back... the seats fold down... and a baby stroller would fit in there. ^_^

*Sighs dreamily*... I just want my baby... my "husband". But we can't always get exactly what we want. Price-wise, this car will cost more than the brand new 2008 STi...

So, should I get the 2008 STi?

But thanks for the gift. It was very thoughtful of you.

It's strange to think that I've spent most of my life in LA, but never thought to explore the Angeles National Forest. This weekend, I spent a couple of hours driving around in that area. The entire drive was supposed to be 136 miles (see the Google map) but there was a road block at the end so I had to backtrack through the mountains - in the dark! Anyway, the entire trip took a little more than 3 hours - probably because I kept stopping to look around. For some reason, I was driving horribly throughout the trip; I'm not sure if it's due to the fact that I'm driving a different car... or because I was too distracted by the view... and what's going on at home.

Anyway, the loop (plan):
 

The view was beautiful, and so completely different from the tree-lined mountain roads that I'm accustomed to driving in NorCal:

Somewhere around the highest point - 7,903 feet - I found snow:
 
Of course, I had to run out of the car and touch it. :-p

Then, the sun began to set...
 

So I drove faster to get outta there. ^_^

Miata has a new driveshaft + oxygen sensor <3

To do:
Coolant flush
Clutch fluid
Spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor
Tires
Convertible top
Oil Change

New Items: Headlights
Stereo

Sheesh...

Dang it... never-ending...

My grandfather's clock was to large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born,
And was always his treasure and pride.
But it stopp'd short, Never to go again,
When the old man died..

Chorus
Ninety years without slumbering
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock
It stopp'd short, Never to go again
When the old man died.

In watching its pendulum swing to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood the clock seemed to know,
And to share both his grief and his joy.
For it struck twenty-four when he entered the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride.
But it stopp'd short, Never to go again,
When the old man died..

My grandfather said, that of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found:
For it wasted no time, and had but one desire,
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place, not a frown upon its face,
And its hands never hung by its side;
But it stopp'd short, Never to go again,
When the old man died..

It rang an alarm in the dead of the night,
And alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we know that his spirit was pluming its flight,
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time, with a soft muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side;
But it stopp'd short, Never to go again,
When the old man died..

Sad about grandma...

i LOVE getting practical gifts that i can use..

thanks!!