Really getting into baseball

Since I was a little girl watching Will Clark and the San Francisco Giants, I have been a fan of the Giants. However, baseball was never really my thing, so even after moving to the SF Bay Area, I hardly went to any games at the new (then called) Pac Bell Park. It actually took until a company sponsored trip for a project that we completed that I went to my first game. We took the ferry and made it to sit in the left field cheap seats. Only problem - the Giants had secured a postseason birth the day before, so we were basically watching a Triple A team play.

Still, I enjoyed it, but didn't get back to watch a game until last year when I went with my brother and his kids for my nephew's birthday. We lost to the Dodgers, but I really enjoyed myself.

This year I find myself really interested in baseball. The Giants are supposed to have a pretty good team, but I think I just find myself nostalgic for the game. Baseball games don't have the intensity of football games. They are more laid back, but with exciting moments. And I'm really craving that this year. So I've already gone to one game this year, another loss - the Giants one and only loss until last night. And I plan on going to more. I want to go to a daytime game sometime soon. I don't have a ton of money to go to games, but I do want to go to some more, and maybe even pay a bit extra to sit in a different area, in order to enjoy a different aspect of the game.

So you might see some posts about that this year. Hopefully the Giants do well, but I'll be enjoying them either way.

By the way, I know they keep losing when I go, but I REALLY don't think it's because of me. I have a feeling the Giants have absolutely no clue that I'm there. And thanks for going with me, Kelley. It was a lot of fun, even though we lost!

A much needed (almost) Girl's Night Out

One of the best things about going to the Halloween Dance last Friday night was reconnecting with my friend Amy. She invited me to her 25th birthday party going to the Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco. I just really enjoy going to San Francisco. We had such a great time! It was almost a girls night out, except for Amy's brother that met us there.

We met in Napa and decided we needed to take two cars, so I went with Jill to go pick up our friend Monica at her home. That was really good, because we got to talk a bit, which I really needed to talk to someone who has certain things in common with me. It was really great talking to her. We picked up Monica and drove into the city, then got lost first trying to find Union Square, then when we found it, trying to get back to it to park. Crazy San Francisco streets! And crazy people almost walking in front of Jill's car. We ended up parking a few blocks away and walking over to Macys at Union Square. The Cheesecake Factory is on top of Macys.

We had fun going up the escalators of each floor - everybody wanted to shop on different floors. We finally ended up at the Cheesecake Factory and had a short wait until our tables were ready. We ended up sitting at two tables side by side to allow us to move in and out to the bathroom. Jill, Monica, Christina, and I sat at one table, with the Hansen family and Sara sitting at the other. We decided just to get the appetizer sampler and then later get cheesecake. It was good! And I got the Snickers cheesecake. It was good, just not the best I've ever had there.

When we were done, we posed for pictures out on the balcony, then everyone else left and Monica, Jill and I walked over to the Westin St. Francis to go up their elevators. They have the elevators that are on the outside of the building. We rode up the elevators about 10 times, flirting with the guys that would get on occassionally and taking pictures in various poses. It was such a blast.

We finally walked back to the car and Jill drove us back. I really tried to stay awake, but it just wasn't happening, and I had a nice snooze (judging by my dry throat, I think I seranaded Jill with my snores) back to Monica's house and then back to Napa. Luckily by then I was awake enough to drive home, although Jill did offer her place if I couldn't make it.

It was such a great night - just the type of night that I needed. (More pictures of the fun in the elevator when my friend posts them)


I like this picture other than I look huge.

My friend Jill. She is such a fun person! (and I don't just say that because she reads my blog).

The birthday girl herself!

Sara and I

I don't have pictures with Monica, and I love her! She's so very entertaining! So I'm sad I have no pictures with her.

What a weekend

I started off my weekend by deciding to go see Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull. I had planned on watching it, but figured I'd go sometime this week as I was tired Friday night and most of my friends that I'd see it with were gone for the weekend. But I really wanted to see it, so decided to go by myself. It was fun! I really enjoyed the movie. It's no Raiders, but it was a lot of fun and I plan on seeing it again.

My niece came into town Saturday with her Color Guard troupe from Tulare Union. They came for a couple of days at Marine World (Discovery Kindgom). I went earlier in the day to Marine World to get my season pass. I parked in the Carl's Jr parking lot and luckily went into the store first before walking over to Marine World. I saw them towing the car next to me when I got back and got my lunch. Anyway, Kris called and said they were on their way, so I met them at the Best Western, and off we went. I hung out with Kris and her friends Tiffni, Alyssa, and Heather. We went on several rides and had fun. We met for dinner with others and I had chili cheese fries. It was a fun night.

Sunday morning I was to drop off Kris and pay for her ticket for that day. I had originally planned on getting a free ticket with my season pass but didn't get it in time, so I had to pay for her ticket. But then I forgot my coupon book, so had to pay $50 for her ticket. I then decided that I might as well get a season pass for her for only $20 more. Unfortunately, once you're in the park, it's $40 more, so it was an expensive day. I normally try not to spend money on Sundays, but my niece was in town and I wanted to spend time with her. I did get to ride on Tony Hawk's Big Spin before I went to church. It was a lot of fun!

After church, I picked up Kristina and we went to Sacramento to see the US Tour version of Phantom of the Opera. I'll have to talk more about that later, but we both really enjoyed it. We got to meet several of the actors afterwards, including those who played the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul.

Monday morning we headed off to San Francisco with the group. I wish they had followed me, as I would have led them into the Pier 39 parking garage where we could have got validations for going to Bubba Gumps for lunch, but instead we went first to the Fisherman's Wharf parking lot and then to Pier 45. We ended up paying $16. Oh well, next time I'll have to be more with it and tell people where the best place to go would be. It was an expensive weekend, but a lot of fun! I love seeing Kristina, and I don't know how many opportunities like this I'll have in the future, with she coming with a group to visit.