Simply put, this is my new all-time favorite music site.   Its premise is simple, every friday, it gives you a new mixtape.   You know, like back in the old days when you would combine all your favorite tracks onto a cassette tape to share with your new crush?    The music on the MixTapes (there are currently 44 in all) is spontaneous, it flows, and man, it just keeps making me smile, and smile, and stop, breakdown, and just dance.    And they have very very cool graphics, and occasionally dancing avatars with really sweet moves.    I’m a busy girl whose youth was music and pop-culturally deprived, so thank you, Friday MixTape, for teaching me so much, and really just making my music enjoyment so simple, and damn, so so good!

So far my favorite is mixtape 22.   What’s yours?

I shared this food with great friends and we had an epic feast of roast vegtables and chicken, pairing it with a Rose, then did a little comparison of Grenache from California versus French Riviera.   California won!

Mariquita Farm is a small family farm located near Watsonville, CA. They grow organic specialty vegetables, greens and herbs for their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in Santa Cruz County, Silicon Valley, Monterey, the Peninsula, and San Francisco and for many Restaurants in San Francisco.

Went to NYC for Halloween and partied with the Robot Heart Crew.  George and Kim know how to throw an epic party, and I took a few pictures before the 3 bus adventure around Manhatten and Brooklyn.   What a night!

Bonus points if you can guess what my costume is…

Kiteboating with Don Montague and gang in Maui, HI

It's Kiting Season!

A Gusty, but uncrowded session at Waddell Creek, CA, late June 2009.   The weather was warm, the waves Susan size, and my new kites, Bliss.

When Ryan moved into the office he wasn’t super keen on the outdoor sports, so we picked up a free air hockey table on Craigslist.   It was obnoxiously loud, and only two people could play.  If you missed the puck you were liable to bruise your fingers, but if you hit the puck at just the right angle, you could sneak shots in all day long.  We mastered it within about a month, and after that it sat idle until Zach and Bobby decided to have a contest to see who could sell it for the most money.    Zach won by discounting it to the first buyer.

Proceeds were used to buy an old Harvard Foosball table, the perfect game for an office of 4.    We played our hearts out on that table. Ryan came out of his shell and emerged as the wittiest of us all, Zach started to be nicer when he realized it would only amp Bobby and me up and make us play better.    We laughed, we fought, and then we played some good foosers and realized how shitty we (and our table) were.   Ray, saved us and let us steal a Tornado table from the Yahoo offices.  We sold the old table for twice what we paid.   Over the last year, Zach has mastered the Snake, Bobby has stopped making Bobby goals, and Ryan has a wicked R-Force.   We eventually bought gribs, learned to scuff the ball and lubricate the table.   Although we’ve tried many times to change the teams, they end up always being the same.   Me and Bobby vs. Zach and Ryan.   Zach and Ryan used to win the majority of games, but lately we’ve been making a strong showing.    All of this has led to the evolution of the $5 game.   One game a day, its for $5.  Money is on the table immediately after lose.   Right now Bobby and I are down $15.   It’s only a little bit competitive.

All of our games have constantly reiterated the importance of play in the development of Triggit, and our growth as a team.   When we are angry, we take it to the table.  When we are celebrating, we play a game for fun.    When we just need a break, the competitiveness of our games demand your full attention.   We don’t take fancy retreats, and although great friends we really don’t hang out that much on the weekends, but we do play some foosball. And over that table, through play, we have created a foundation that won’t crack.

Ed was erased from Facebook! Really, he is gone, kaput, vanished, no more! My fun hilarious friend is vapor! His classic wall posts are no more, his crazy pictures missing, and most important, my only way to contact him is no more!

Last fall, I was at Punta San Carlos, Baja Mexico kitesurfing and I stayed at this very rad place called Solo Sports. Pretty much it was us and these English guys, the coolest of whom was Ed. Ed is rad. Sitting in the middle of a desert in Mexico, (satillite internet wireless is cool!) Ed and I became Facebook Besties.  And of course I showed him  pictures of one of the craziest adventures on earth, Burning Man. He was in, totally stoked! So every month I logged on to Facebook and wrote on his wall, reminding him that he better not abandon his promise to come play because the Black Rock Yacht Club is waiting for him. This month, when I went on Facebook to write my monthly wall memo, ED was GONE. Vanished. All evidence that Ed existed was ERASED. It was as if someone fell off the face of the planet! Here I had met this rad guy, become friends with him, joked, chatted, messaged and a corporation took it all away!

Of course, I kick myself for never getting his phone number, his e-mail, his anything?! But writing on his wall was so fun!  And e-mail? I had Facebook Messaging!  Who gets erased from Facebook anyway!

Looking at my Facebook account I have heaps of friends like this. From kids I went to high school with, to my debaucherous adventures around the world, and even just across town. When my phone goes bust, I login to Facebook to fill the gaps in the phone numbers, and e-mails.   New friend? Facebook provides the foundation.  And it works!   Well, usually.

The fate of hundreds of friendships lies in the hands of Mark Zuckerberg. Now that is FREAKY.

Or maybe its more freaky that I was able to hunt Ed down using his digital footprint and Google using the tiny tidbits of information I did have. I knew he windsurfed, was from the UK, was into renovating old VW bugs, and owned a ‘tent company’. Turns out he lives in Surrey, England, his Marquee company is called Academy Marquee, and he owns two Spaniels. And with that information, Ed received an email from me this morning. Now I just need to hope that email is not defunct…hmmm

UPDATE:  My stalking was a success!    Got my friend back!  Woot!