Advice from dear old Dad

My Dad is also a motocycle rider and sent this via email:

"Apparently, some friends are suggesting that you consider a motorcycle in preference to a scooter. A big caution at this point. Every person I know who is a rider will offer this advice... start small (in terms of engine size) and work your way up. The bike I restored and ride (a Honda CL 350 Scrambler) has a 350cc engine and is faster than a bat outta Hell. More power than I would ever need. Unfortunately, a lot of folks who are entering (or returning to) the world of motorcycles buy one of the big ones (something over 650cc) because they 'wanna go fast.' And they do. Interestingly, the mortality rate has jumped considerably because of this market segment.

Smaller bikes (whether they are scooters or motorcycles) give the rider time to become familiar with traffic and handling while not overpowering the novice. Nimble, they will have plenty enough power for around town types of riding. Getcha up and down the hills of San Francisco without a sweat. And do know that scooters have plenty of 'oomph.' Some of those little guys will do 65 mph (and believe me, 65 mph on a bike is plenty fast). While it is true that a motorcycle generally has more power and versatility than a scooter, scooters are not powerless by any means. Don't allow yourself to be talked into something - go with what you feel comfortable.

Finally, this... Is riding a motorcycle fun? Definitely, yes! Is it all fun? Definitely, no. The one important lesson that you will learn in the MSF course is that you MUST adopt a completely different mindset from auto driving when you scoot. Concentration and defensive driving are the essentials of staying alive out there. Yesterday I had a driver nearly force me into the curb when he simply pulled into my lane. No warning, no signaling. Since I was small and nimble enough I could just pull over and let him in. I hit and held my horn. Even then it took him some time to react. When he did he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He then went back to talking on his cell phone and adjusting his radio. He, and a lot of drivers just like him are out there. Had I not being paying attention to him BEFORE he made his move, I may not have had enough time to react properly to his lane change.

The moral of this little story is that you really have to be 'ON' when you are riding. It is fun, but you cannot let the fun aspect cloud your personal responsibility to your own well being. In other words, be careful out there."

Goodbye five hundo, hello suit

I bought a suit today. In my book, buying a suit is like buying luggage or insurance. You pretty much have to have it, but you're definitely not happy about spending money on it no matter how good it might be. Suits are expensive, but no matter how good they are they still make you feel frumpy and un-hot.

It's probably different for guys. Pretty much every guy I know looks better in a suit than not in a suit, so I assume most dudes like wearing them. The only thing a suit really does for me is make me look like I'm not an undergraduate, which can be useful depending on the situation. Next on the list is some kind of non-backpack, adult-style luggage to put the suit in.

It's on

I finally got myself signed up for the motorcycle lessons. I should know how to ride and be set to get my license before Thanksgiving. The course includes one-five hour classroom session and two days of riding, all in the third week of November.

There's been pressure on me from several different sources (all male) to skip the Vespa and just get a motorcycle. I'm considering it, but the motorcycle intimidates me a little. It would allow for greater speed and maneuverability, which might make it a safer option. It might be the speed that freaks me out, though.

I need to figure out how often I would actually want to take a motorcycle out of the city. That's the big benefit of a motorcycle over a scooter. You can't take a scooter on the highway because they don't go fast enough. It's unlikely that I would ever ride a motorcycle to class in Berkeley, especially after a work day. Business casual -- skirt, heels, etc. -- doesn't really work on a bike going over the Bay Bridge. Could be super fun to ride to the beach on a sunny weekend, though.

I should move to Arizona

Sometimes I think that all I need to be happy is a little more sunshine. The weather around the Bay has been super summery and I've been blissfully floating through the weekend. I spent most of the weekend down in South Bay or over in Berkeley, which amps up the sun factor even more. I even have a touch of a sunburn from watching the game yesterday, which for those of you who didn't see it, was pretty kick ass. I am the constant proponent of leaving in the third quarter, but this game had me on the edge of my seat until the end. Somehow, I now actually care about Cal football. When did that happen?

No more hot sauce before bed

I'm supposed to be writing a two page paper about tort law or product liability, so of course I'm blogging up a storm.

I had this crazy nightmare last night that I was pregnant. It used to be a recurring nightmare for me back in college. There were many different variations, but nothing as intense and scary as this one. In this particular dream, I'm pretty pregnant by the time I've realized I'm pregnant -- like four or more months -- and my belly hurts, so I'm terrified that there's something wrong with the baby. In the dream, the guy who helped me get pregnant doesn't want me to have a baby, and has little interest in discussing the problem with me. We are touring empty lots and construction sites and I am trying to start a conversation about it. I know I don't want to raise a kid on my own, and am really not ready to be a mother at all, so I don't really want to have a baby either. However, the pain and movement in my belly is sharp and I am terribly worried that something is wrong with the baby and it's not going to be okay. The whole nightmare is filled with not knowing what to do about the pregnancy, being unable to make any decisions about it, but also being absolutely terrified that the baby is hurt or dying and feeling like I love it and want it to be okay more than anything. And on top of that, my whole body was covered in dark purple varicose veins that are a complication of the pregnancy.

Pregnancy must be common subject matter in women's dreams. I'm sure this a straightforward anxiety dream, but it makes me suspect I may be stockpiling a little more anxiety in the back of my brain than I previously thought.

Regret

Should you ever find a mysterious bottle of "Habanero Yucateca" hot sauce in the back of your fridge, do not think to yourself, "How hot could really it be?" and apply it liberally to your bland dinner. Because it is HOT, my friend. Much too hot for your sensitive stomach and any yuppie burrito with sweet potatoes. It is also not likely to mix well with antibiotics.

Haas rankings up across the board

We got another excited email from the dean last Friday. Among other things, he wrote:

"I am delighted to report that the Haas School ranked #8 in BusinessWeek's ranking of full-time MBA programs released yesterday afternoon. This is the first time that the school's MBA program has ranked in the top ten of this ranking, and it was a rise from #17 the last time BusinessWeek MBA rankings came out.

BusinessWeek highlighted Haas, saying that 'The combination of a small class, exceptional faculty, and a collegial atmosphere impressed students.' ... ' Recruiters, meanwhile, were wowed by the quality of the grads.'

In addition to the overall rank, the Haas School was featured this year for having a top-five entrepreneurship program and a top-ten marketing program.

BusinessWeek bases its ranking on feedback from both the full-time MBA class of 2006 and corporate recruiters as well as on faculty research."

I need to find a way to get myself geared up about school again and start taking advantage of all of this.

Quarantined

I have strep throat. Gross. Do a google image search and you'll see what I mean. After a week of doing my best to ignore a horrible sore throat (and pretty much just going to work, coming home and going to bed immediately), I finally sucked it up and went to the doctor. I sat in the Urgent Care waiting room for three hours, they did the swab, and the next morning I got the good news. Now I have about a week and a half's worth of antibiotics to get through. Eighteen hours of antibiotics in my system have already resulted in drastic improvements, thank god.

If I understand the situation correctly, I will have been on antibiotics for enough time to no longer be contagious in about three hours. My roomies will be delighted!

I hate junk mail

And I may have found a way to stop it from being delivered to me. Or at least a way to stop most of it. Some Haas kids started up a new service at www.greendimes.com. For three bucks a month, they will stop your junk mail and plant a tree in your name. For $36.00 you get no junk mail for a year and twelve trees. A bargain, in my opinion.

How does it work? Here's how they explain the service:

"We’ve built a database of all the major direct marketing companies (aka junk mailers) and we send a request to remove your name and address from their mailing lists. These companies are required to remove you from their marketing lists. Also, using the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act we direct them not to sell, share, or trade your personal information with other companies. Then, to make sure they don’t put you back on their lists, we’ll check up on them regularly."

Needless to say, I'm excited. I hope this service will decrease the amount of time I waste shredding the billions of pre-approved credit card offers I get each week. And for those of you who have argued with me that credit-related junk mail does not pose a threat of identity theft, the greendime people also have this to say:

"One of the most popular ways to steal your identity is to take mail from your mailbox and use the personal information inside the junk letters such as credit card offers."

Really, you should get yourself a shredder. Or at least sign up for this service.

Speaking of cute

In sticking with the crazy cute theme, earlier this week Matti K announced that he has adopted.

Meet Bailey:





Bailey is a seven-month old wiener dog. I was already excited about visiting Matt when I head to NYC next month, but now I am envisioning scenes of us walking Bailey in Central Park, wrapped in scarves... we'll buy roasted nuts from one of those street vendors and Bailey will frolic in fall leaves... then maybe someone famous, like SJP, will jog past us... Oooooooh, I can't wait!

Surfacing

Last weekend I flew out to Washington DC to surprise Clare on her birthday. I was there until late Tuesday night, without a laptop or any school work. The fun of shirking responsibilities, paired with the warm sunny weather in DC, allowed me to fully revert back to summer vaction-style happiness. Spending time with Clare and her family was such a wonderful break. It's amazing how a couple of days away can reconnect you with your goals and ambition and make you excited about life. It has to be the right couple days, though. Maybe it's more about spending those days with the right people.

My trip was the doing of Clare's kick-ass husband Ross. As a result, Ross is pretty high up on the list of great guys -- on both Clare's list and my list. Flying out a friend is a super cool birthday present, and Clare genuinely had no idea what he was up to. Until I have a husband of my own, I think Ross will hold the title of best husband around.

I can't resist throwing in this picture of Ross and Jack, because they're just so dang cute.