Awesome road trip to see Ysa! Meeting Fu!

[azurelunatic]

Last night: dinner in the Tendernob with JD, Ryan, Jed, Ase, Tif, Fu, and me. This was followed by chatter and MythBusters and snuggling with cats at Tif's (me, JD, Jed, Fu). Before I went to bed, I dashed off a quick Reassuring Note for Fu to forward on to her relatives. Since they'd been asking stuff about who she was staying with, I included all that as well as a vague trip plan, even though I felt a bit silly.

This morning: Picked up JD and Fu. (She'd passed the information along to her family, and since her phone didn't ring once during the whole road trip, unlike dinner and hanging out, this must have been sufficiently reassuring.)

I'd started off the morning with leftovers from yesterday's lunch (mmmmbeef), and some caffeine. JD compounded this by offering me some Mountain Dew White Out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Dew I was thus in a bit of a giggly mood. Despite not leaving quite at the crack of dawn, we made good time, and reached the Old Oakland Farmers' Market at a reasonable hour, and even found street parking. We wandered about for our half-hour of parking. Fu got strawberries and raspberries. I hailed a few of the vendors who go to the Daly City edition. We visited the bakery stall. Mmmmmmmm.

We headed out, called Ysa, and wrangled with the satnav. The satnav is complicated by the way it sometimes lags, and also by the way that the device itself does not vigorously multitask.

We showed up at Ysa's ... um. Just after 10-ish? We had a great old time chattering, and my random button was set on full automatic. Luckily, Ysa did not seem to mind. I declared that "marshmallow noises" should be a muffled peep, as of a chick who's got marshmallow in its mouth. I demonstrated. We went for lunch, with JD driving The Van. I explained the function of the parking brake in manual transmission vehicles. (I learned to drive on a manual, so I automatically use it; I don't see myself shaking that habit any time soon.) We had a nice lunch, chattering away nineteen to the dozen the whole time. Kat called and said hi. Then we went back to Ysa's.

It is a bit warm in Davis. We were all a little melty. I started winding down. JD and Fu started falling asleep (not much sleep for any of us last night). There was general fannish silliness. (Blueberries are still hilarious!) More hugs from the internet were delivered. Now that I know how close it actually is (only 180, 190-ish miles round trip! and it's highway driving, so Vash gets better mileage than on SF hills!) it totally has to become a regular thing!

We headed out just after 4. The sun-warmed blueberries and strawberries in the car were very very tasty. The phone was misbehaving itself (alarms, satnav, and music mix badly), and at one point started completely freaking out and responding at like a 30 second delay to touches. JD and my phone really do not get along well, and when I tried to poke it did not do much better, but I couldn't because I was driving. Fu wound up getting it to behave itself. Fu proceeded to tear through my music collection, discovering "Skullcrusher Mountain", "Code Monkey" ("That's where "maybe manager wanna take over goddamn earth himself is from!") and more. She cackled wickedly and played "Poker Face".

We dropped her off at La Casa Smith-Proulx; it was good to see Janine, though I was sad to miss Nicole and Mark. Trigger is still amazingly cute and cheerful-looking. Then JD and I headed off, with more satnav funtimes. When we got back to San Francisco cloud cover, I cheered -- apparently I'm less used to hot weather than I used to be, and it makes me a bit uptight. Though I had fun anyway!

When I got home I basically zombified in the middle of unloading the car and dinner. Zzzthunk. <3

Comments

[amberfox]

Does the version where he's hitting on the network girl, which I'm pretty sure I've heard you mention, actually exist somewhere, and if so, how do I go about getting a copy. I've had to stop the song for now 'cause the shallow is pissing my sister off too badly.

[azurelunatic]

It doesn't exist, because I invented that substitute and to the best of my knowledge no one's recorded it.

Code Monkey hang around in back room, tell you server look nice.
Code Monkey offer buy you soda, bring you cup bring you ice.
You say no thank you for the soda, soda spill on that;
Anyway you busy with the network card, no time for chat.

[amberfox]

I was afraid of that. Damned shallow geek boys; some day I'll give you my sister's speech on intellectual mistresses.

[azurelunatic]

I figured that as long as I had it written up (I wasn't able to Google up where I'd written it previously, which means either it was unindexed or locked) I might as well share where it might do some good. So we'll see if it starts making the rounds.

[azurelunatic]

Eee, eee, eee, caecandy says that while she's recording random stuff (podfic and suchlike) tomorrow she might record a patched version! :D :D :D :D

[trixieleitz]

I also learned to drive in a manual; my current car is an automatic and I always use the parking brake (fun fact: it's a handbrake in the English variant I speak). In fact, it hadn't occurred to me not to, as it gives you an additional independent means for making sure the car stays where you put it.

[azurelunatic]

Handbrake is also in my vocabulary.

[trixieleitz]

I also use it when setting off on a slope - for some reason my brain can co-ordinate that with the accelerator better than using the foot brake. Probably also due to the conditioning package that I earned from driving a manual. I'd love to learn to do handbrake turns, but in a suitable driving environment, I think.

But anyway, not just for parking!

[jd]

Well, the problem with "handbrake" is that in most cars I've driven it's pedal-shaped and you use your feet :)

[azurelunatic]

Huh. I don't think I've ever driven a car like that.

[jd]

I think it might be a van/minivan thing? Definitely in bigger cars. Now that I think of it, it may be related to the gear shifter being on the steering wheel column as well (this shifter thing between the passenger and driver seats always weirds me out a bit too)

[azurelunatic]

Whereas I am weirded out by shifters being somewhere they are not supposed to be when they are by the steering wheel. They're all between the seats or thereabouts in manuals.

[trixieleitz]

*shrug*

Every car I've ever ridden in, it's a lever between the front seats.

[azurelunatic]

On Tripline: http://www.tripline.net/trip/Exotic_Fruits_Roadtrip_of_Awesome-4575772201661003973E8ADCE200A894

[brion.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm like the only person I know that uses the parking break. That's the way my parents taught me and that's what feels right.