Backpacking Again (Part 1)

[This is quite late...this draft has been sitting around for awhile because I'm still recovering from lack of sleep, so I've decided to release this in parts =)]

So I did what I said I wouldn't do -- I went backpacking again. I think as punishment for me going back on my word, I got a similarly horrifying experience. Don't get me wrong, the people were awesome and the accomplishment was amazing, but man, that was a lot of work! Some of you already got a snippet from Nelson, but here's more of the story:

The trip was organized by our fearless leader, David. Props to him for doing an incredible job organizing a three-day trip with 10+ people. The trail was called Skyline to the Sea somewhere around the Santa Cruz Mountains and the reward was ending at Waddell Beach.

Day 1: We needed to drop off a set of cars at the end point so we would be able to drive back when we were all through -- I volunteered to be one of the drivers. The whole ordeal took longer than we thought, so we didn't get started on the trail until after 2, which gave us about 4 hours to hike 11 miles before the sun goes down. Needless to say, we didn't make it, so we speed-hiked
for about an hour in the dark after probably the worst cramp of my life on my right calf (and by this time, those with knee problems were also feeling the pain). We finally made it to the campsite where two more people we waiting for us. We chowed down on some awesome freeze-dried campers meals and set up for a good night's rest.

Unfortunately, I was woken up at around 11:30 PM by Jean who informed me that I was about to be drowned in a puddle of water. I had chosen to sleep with my head on the downward slope so that my legs could be elevated after a strenuous day of hiking -- bad move on a rainy night. The sweatshirt I was using as a pillow was already slightly damp, but I flipped around my sleeping bag and continued sleeping. I got maaaybe another hour of sleep before I woke up again, this time because it started really pouring and the bottom half of my sleeping bag was soaked in water. I whipped out my flashlight and examined the tent -- water was beading through all of the walls and since my corner was the lowest part of the slope, it was accumulating at my feet. Jean woke up again soon after, partly from being wet, partly from my flashlight (amazingly, Kolina was unphased). We basically sat around for next few hours thinking of what to do, the lack of sleep, and how we're going to continue the next day with wet sleeping bags and a wet tent. (This is when I started to text Nelson because the other 2 girls did not bring their cell phones.)

Somewhere between 3 and 4 AM we couldn't take it anymore and decided to call out to the other tents for help. David and Henry heard our cries and shuffled out into the rain to see what our problem was. They didn't have a solution for the bleeding tent, but volunteered their sleeping pads so that Jean and I would at least be elevated above the water (such sweet boys!). We also lined the sides of the wall with trash bags to deter as much water as possible from dripping on us. Kolina's sleeping bag held up much better to the water so she was relatively dry. With that, we tried to sleep for the remainder of the night...on and off for me because it was horribly uncomfortable having the lower half of me baking in dampness.

Little did I know that the first night was actually more pleasant than the second.

To be continued...

AOL Bitterness

I had an upsetting night after checking my bank account online. I noticed some weird unauthorized charges on my account, and after doing some research (ie. googling the description), I found out that they were fraudulent charges by TWX*AOL. I have absolutely no association with AOL, but for at least the past few months, they had been charging an inconspicuous amount of $25.90.

I called Wells Fargo and reported the case. Thankfully, the woman on the phone was extremely sympathetic, and it was a relatively short call to file a claim and have a new check card sent to me.

Make sure to take a closer look at your bank statement, guys! I wish I had a bat with me right now.

*Update (10/15): "We have completed our investigation of your recent inquiry and have determined that an error was made on charges to your account. Today we have credited your account ending in XXXX for $XXX.XX and your claim is now final." Woot.*

My Adorable Cousin

I've spent a lot of time this weekend with my Canadian cousin, David. The highlight would have to be our trip to Great America with some of my friends and coworkers where he spent many hours in line getting to know these people. He is 13 and does not fully appreciate the level of sarcasm and dry humor that my coworkers are best known for, nor does he understand that he should stop slapping a girl's wrist with all his strength when it has turned a bright shade of pink (sorry Jean). Poor Michael got the brunt of most of his attacks, but it's just too funny not to share. I do apologize ahead of time.

Here are some of my favorite exchanges:

My sister left early leaving us with an odd number of people for rides.
David: Aww, someone's going to have to sit by themselves.
Me: That's ok, some of them are used to being alone.
David: Like that one? [points to Michael]

The day after.
Me: So what do you think about my friends?
David: They're boring and have no expression.
Me: That's not a nice thing to say about my friends.
David: Well they talk like this! "Blah blah blah blah" [in Michael's usual monotone voice]
Me: So you just mean Michael? What do you think about my friends, minus Michael?
David: Oh...well they're ok.

We continue this conversation and this is basically his summary of people:

Michael: boring, expressionless, weak (I told you to stop, Michael, but you just couldn't do it eh?)
Reid: quiet, but ok because he's asian
Mike: muscular
Beah's Dan: the cool non-googler (I believe his exact quote was "at least [Dan] was there".)
Justin: creepy and perverted (Someone obviously ignored my repeated warnings to keep things PG.)

Girls, I'm sorry, but he had nothing to say about you all. He's apparently at the age where he still thinks we have cooties. But judging from most of his comments, I think it's better that we were kept out of it.

Joking aside, he really did have a great time and it wins the award of "Best Day in California" so far in his trip. Good job team.

Sacramento Slogan

This is a shout out to my brother who knows about my blog but has not read anything.

I just got back from vacation in Winnipeg, Canada with my family where we'd get these questions periodically:

Question: Where are you from?
Answer: Sacramento, CA (because it's easier than saying Roseville)
Question: Oh, what's there to do?
Answer: Um...

So besides visiting the capital and the local rodeo (Hi Matthew), there isn't that much to do. We're in a middle of the state and end up listing stuff that is "nearby" -- San Francisco, Reno, Tahoe are a couple hours away, and Yosemite is a few hours away. So, my brother came up with this slogan:

"Sacramento - Almost where you want to be"

Please note, I was joking about the rodeo.

My First Taxi Ride

I have never used a taxi in the US before and certainly never by myself. I was pretty terrified just thinking about it because it involved being alone with a stranger, having to tip, and doing it with a strict deadline (of having to get to the airport to catch my flight). My plan for that night was to drive to YouTube and take a taxi to the airport by 4AM to meet my family. This is what happened:

2:30 AM - I start driving to YouTube.

3:10 AM - I arrive and park in the parking garage. My taxi reservation is at 3:45 so I decide to call the taxi service to see if they can bump up my pick-up time. No answer.

3:30 AM - 8 attempts later with multiple numbers (thank goodness for having my laptop with me to look up the info), and still no answer.

3:45 AM - I am sitting at the curb in the dark and the street is absolutely dead.

3:55 AM - The taxi is still a no-show. Luckily, I looked up a different taxi service while I was searching for alternate numbers for the original evil taxi place. I call them, and a mean dispatcher tells me that they Youtube address I gave doesn't exist and yells at me for not knowing where I am. He will not allow me to just give him the intersection -- he needs a freakin address. It is dark and I don't see another building address in view. I start to panic because I'm already late so I look up at the street sign and see Bayhill 1200s ->. (Ya know, the arrow indicating that the buildings in the 1200s are "that way".) So I tell him "1200 Bayhill". He says ok, and I have absolutely no idea if there is actually a place with that address.

4:00 AM - I am wandering the streets with my luggage, hoping I find a building with an address that's at least somewhat close to 1200 Bayhill.

4:05 AM - Horray, it exists! I get there just in time to see a taxi circling the parking lot.

4:15 AM - I arrive at SFO and give the taxi driver a pretty hefty tip because I'm glad to be alive and somewhat on time.

...

I originally planned to give a detailed schedule of the rest of my travel day, but I'm too exhausted, so my taxi experience will have to do. The rest of the day was very annoying, but not quite as pathetic so you're not missing much. Let's just say I finally arrived at my destination at 8:30PM and I'm pooped.

On a positive note, the friendly, trusting Canadians like to leave their wireless networks unlocked, allowing me to post this blog entry. Yay Canada!

Unreliable But Cute

Long Live Life

Coldplay is on their North American Viva La Vida Tour and they came to HP Pavilion. It was awesome! We had seats right smack-dab in the middle, but waay in the back.

Didn't bring my regular camera so this is from my camera phone.

I'm a little disappointed they didn't have screens displaying close up shots of the band for the people in the back, but everything else was lovely! This was my third concert following John Mayer and Leehom Wang =P. I must say Chris Martin is not quite as engaging as the other two, as he did not make a lot of chit chat with the audience, but the music more than made up for that. I was surprisingly delighted to hear them play most of their classic big-hit songs, with The Scientist and Yellow being my favorite -- the crowd went nuts over them and made the atmosphere a lot of fun.

The stuff from their new album was also really good. It took me awhile to warm up to the songs, but I'm definitely a fan now. Favorite songs: Strawberry Swing, Lost!, Violet Hill, and Viva La Vida.