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It's an Exciting World

The life and times of David Geisert

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Kitty Update

The kitties have been doing really well.  I took them to get their teeth cleaned.  Lana had some issues that were cleaned up.  Archer was pretty good, just lots of plaque.  I’m brushing their teeth now, and they don’t mind it too much.

They have been very cute, and loving the shelves that I put in for them.  Archer has found a new favorite toy in a black stick.  Lana still loves the feather on a string.

They have also really been enjoying the tent that Lindsay gave us.  They spend a good third of their time in it when I’m working from home and they can wander in and out of it at will.  The piece of wood I cut is working out great for the tent entrance.  The kitties can’t get around it and it is very stable.  We can even leave it in when leaving the house, as the sliding glass door can close just over it.

Archer has been his usual social self, and has gotten lots of love from all of our friends.  Lana has come out and been nearby, but hasn’t interacted with anyone else in a meaningful manner.  They are so loving and are great kitties.

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Hiking Almaden Mine

Tina organized a group of people to go to Almaden Mine trails and do some hiking.  We met up at a bagel shop and had breakfast before heading out.  It was blisteringly hot out, and bone dry.  I brought 3 liters and drank all of it before the hike was over.  We found some really nice wild blackberries.  Some of them were the sweetest berries I’ve ever had.  I got two handfuls and ate those along the trail.  We saw a number of deer while on the trail, a few of them mother-child pairs.  As we were about to start on the trial one deer came into the parking lot and drank from the horse trough, it was obviously nervous about us, but very thirsty.  Tina was funny with finding rocks that were unique so she could put them in her guest bath.  The rocks she found were pretty, admittedly.

After the hike we went to a pizza place and got some pizza, and a ton of cola to drink.  We were all pretty salty, and the next train for me was going to be an hour and a half so I went back to Tina and Amit’s place for a shower and some board games.  Tina and I did a 2 player Feast for Odin.  It was ok, I never really got my engine off the ground.  We then went to George’s for GoT.

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Karaoke (2 part)

Kevin and Lindsay organized a group to go to a karaoke bar in San Jose.  We got dinner beforehand at a tasty noodle restaurant.  The songs were pretty good, and one of Kevin’s friends had a very similar vocal range and interest in songs.  I had a great time.

The next weekend we went to George’s for karaoke and had a similarly good time.  I got pictures of everyone singing that did, and Paul.

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Book Club – Hyperion

We had a great time discussing Hyperion.  It was in an odd spot since the 4th of July was the first Tuesday of the month.  We instead did the second Wednesday, and Paul was able to join for the first time.

The book itself touched only lightly on a lot of subjects, but we were able to get some good discussions going and had a fun time about it.  The individual stories weren’t as interesting to me as the overall world that was constructed by them.

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North bay weekend #2

Stephanie and I went back to the north bay this weekend.  This time we went to Point Reyes and Calistoga.  We had a pretty good time with both.

The drive to Point Reyes wasn’t that bad.  We got there at about 11am, and started the backpacking in at 11:30 abouts.  We were there with Caryn, Nima, Liana, Ryan, and some other of Liana’s friends and family.  They were all a lot of fun.  It was for Liana’s birthday celebration.  We backpacked about 5 miles into the Glen Camp, which was nestled in a quiet valley.  The day we hiked in we decided to head down to the beach.

 

Only Wilson and Jess got in the water all the way.  A few others of us got our feet wet, but 50 degree water isn’t at all comfortable.  The wind was pretty strong, so even out of the water most people were getting pretty cold.  We didn’t want to stay too late as we had a 2-3 mile hike back to Glen Camp.

We got back and played some Bang! that Nima had brought.  It was a good time, but I did really badly.  Either way it was a good time.

 

The next morning 8 of us packed out, leaving Nima, Caryn, Liana, and Ryan.  I really enjoyed everyone that went, and I’d certainly do it again.

From there Stephanie and I went to Calistoga, with a stop by Heydrun Meadery on the way.  We had a nice dinner in a spot that Stephanie picked out, then stopped by a local brewpub on the way back to the hotel.  The hotel was adorable, with an outdoor fireplace.

We roasted smores over the fire and cuddled for a bit.  I went inside to listen to my book while Steph stayed out by the fire and read.

We stopped by a Spa the next day for some hot spring waters and a massage, which was nice.

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Sonoma with Steph

Stephanie and I decided to take a class in seaweed harvesting.  We had to get up to Jenner by 6am, so we instead decided to get there the night before and stayed at a cute inn.  We were only there for sleeping, but I would go back.

The harvesting was interesting and there were three types of seaweed that the guide pointed out as good for harvesting.  We got one bag of kombu and three bags of nori.  I am trying some in a smoothie tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes.

We were at Shell Beach and it was quite nice.  We got there at 6am because that was the low tide time.  We got a good bit of time out in the tidal zone.  It was very slippery and I hit my shin pretty badly, but didn’t bleed that much.

After the harvesting we went to wine country and had tastings at two wineries.  They were both gorgeous locations, and the wines were pretty good.

We then went to Berkeley to get pizza at the Cheeseboard.  It was delicious, and I’m glad I can now say I’ve been.  We then went to the cat cafe Cat Town.  I got to play with two of the cats there, but most of them were napping while we were there.  We headed out a little early, and got home.  I was tired from all the travel.  It had been less that 24 hours since I’d gotten home from visiting parents that we left on this trip.

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Hawaii with the Parents

Monday morning I headed to the airpot at 5:30 to get to SJC for the flight to the big island.  I got in early so I called Kim for a bit before mom and dad came to get me.

We went into Kona and got a brunch at a really nice bakery/cafe.  Then headed back to the timeshare to sit around and talk.  I got some exercise in, and we went to the Kings shop for dinner to Roy’s.

Tuesday mom and I went to Pololu Valley.  It was gorgeous and we had a good chat on the way there and while we were there.  Surprisingly we were the only people in the Valley.  There were a few leaving as we got there and getting there as we were leaving, but while in the valley we were the only people there.

After that we went to Havi and had a smoothie and I got a hat.  Most of the places there weren’t open so we came right back.  Dad called as we were pulling into the Waikaloa Village, so we picked him up and went back to the timeshare.

We took naps and had a relaxing afternoon.  I went down to Abay and walked along the beach for a bit.  I didn’t see any turtles in the area where they had usually hung out when I was there as a kid.

We went to dinner at the Four Seasons at a restaurant called Ulu.  It was ok food, but the main reason we were there was for the view:

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They are on the side of the island that gets the really amazing sunsets over the ocean.

The next morning we went to a state park to try to hike a cinder cone we can see from the timeshare.  The distances are deceiving when looking up the mountain.  When we go to the cinder cone it turned out to be a 2000ft elevation gain to hike up.  We made it about 1000ft up before we turned back and took a loop near the base of it.  It was still a really nice hike regardless.

We then went to a snorkling site called two steps.  It was a nice dive and we got to see a lot of fish.  The corals weren’t great, but from what mom said it was better than anywhere else on the island.  We had lunch on the way back and decided to rest for the afternoon.  We ate dinner in and played a round of cards.

The final morning we had a breakfast of all the leftover food, and I made a smoothie for while I waited at the airport.  It should be a pretty easy flight back and I’m looking forward to getting home.

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Train Stations with Steph

Steph and I went to two train stations we hadn’t visited before.  We went to the San Mateo train station for dinner on Friday night.  It was a great dinner of fondu at the Melting Pot there.  The cheese fondu was amazing, and the other fondu was ok.  If we go back we’ll just do an extra order of the cheese.

Saturday we went to the San Carlos train station and got coffee.  The train station was really old, and very interesting.  We went to the San Carlos Museum after that and they had pictures of the trains station, where it was the only building in view.  I really enjoyed getting to spend that time with Stephanie.

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Book Club: Deep Work

I really enjoyed the discussion of Deep Work, and Stephanie has been willing to try some of the strategies at home at least.  I’ve gotten a lot from the book, and the supplementary materials people submitted seem to support the concepts put forward in the book.  I really enjoy these kinds of books that talk about how things are not ideal, and strategies of how to make them better.

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