Category: Daft Musings

I just got back from Germany and I had an amazing time! Everything was great, though it’s changed a lot, and I asked the Germans a lot of questions about things that they took for granted, like “how do I buy a ticket for this streetcar? Am I on the right streetcar/train to (destination)? How…

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting my friend  Shelly in her town of Austin, Texas. One of the places she lead me to was the Whole Foods store, which also happened to be the headquarters of the worldwide holistic-substenance Whole Foods chain. In a word, it was mind-blowing. I had never…

I had a fit today when my hairstylist told me he’d lost my appointment, so I’d have to reschedule my haircut. In short, I’m having issues about reservations these days, especially about them getting lost or botched. I sat in shock for a day after receiving confirmation that our company actually had reasonable hotel rooms,…

Last week Neil asked me if we could go to a homeschoolers’ park day again, and I was delighted to oblige. We usually go to a San Jose group which meets on Thursdays, but regrettably usually only has teen boys. But on Tuesday I was feeling stir-crazy, and another group, which happens to have more…

As is our family custom, Peter and I watched the Super Bowl, each of us picking a different team to root for. I as much had the New England Patriots chosen for me, because my team lost last year, and it was widely assumed they’d easily win the Super Bowl. The only question was, by…

I think I finally reached my breaking point on panhandlers when I was filling my car up with gas last Monday, and the guy at the gas tank next to mine asked me if I’d fill up his car for him. I was so freaked out I couldn’t answer, and he proceeded to approach others…

Two years ago, two of the houses on my end of the street were sold to families who spoke limited English. We discovered this when we brought pie over to one of our new neighbors (Alessandro), only to find out he needed to have his school-age children translate for him. Our neighbor across the street,…

While Kelly and I were being amused by a charming Frisian couple at a German language meet-up, Peter was being accosted by a Michael Moore fanatic in Fry’s. He’d gone to Fry’s to buy some memory, and on the way out, he and Neil were passing through the DVD section, and while browsing saw a…

The fact that Peter’s intending to move his office has me once again dreaming of him finding a funky (yet still safe and techno-friendly) space along The Alameda in San Jose. When we first sought out office space, our ideal was the kind of space occupied by one of our vendors, Plotter Pros. Their offices…

Peter’s been in a throw out the old, bring in the new mood over this Christmas break, which I believe was, at least in part, inspired by Tim Gunn. Since paring down his closet, Peter’s also ripped out obsolete wiring; replaced or retired old technology; and cleaned out our garage and attic. The consequence of…