Roller-skating mice

Yep, its that time of year again -
let's go Giants!

Yep.  Just another regular weekend, livin' the dream out here in SF!!  As per usual, i'd just got back in to SF on late Friday night, after another few days back in NYC for meetings.  At least the weather is just starting to warm up a bit back East, so its not quite as much of a shock to the system.  

I'd gotten up very early on Saturday morning (6.30am ugh!) to drive over to SFO for an 8.15am appointment for an interview with the Customs and Border Patrol folk.  I'd been waiting about 4 months for this appointment (I had to keep changing it because, ironically, of all my travel) and i was under the impression, before i went in, that this was the interview you needed to allow you to use the TSA Pre pre-approval traveler line at the airport.  If you've not seen these at airports yet, they are popping up all over the place and its basically a way for TSA to get those folk deemed "low-security risk" through an expedited security screening.  So, no need to take off your shoes, your laptop out of the bag, nothing.  You just dump your stuff on the conveyer belt, walk through the scanner machine and you are done.   For someone who travels as much as me, the TSA Pre line represents the ultimate in travel nirvana, as you breeze past everyone else, in a separate queue, and go to the head of the line for the TSA person to check your passport.  

Anyway, this interview was not for that.  Not at all.  No, what THIS interview was for was to become a member of the GLOBAL ENTRY program and a trusted traveler for international travel!  Not domestic US travel at all!!  It culminated on the Customs and Border Patrol guy sticking a little sticker on the back of my green card, saying CBP (presumably short for Cute British Person), but they dont have anything to do with TSA Pre!  Arrggghhh!!  Gutted!!  I know i'll be grateful for it, my next flight out to Cyprus, but i was profoundly disappointed it wasnt going to allow me into the gates of Travel heaven quite.  (or so I thought..... )

To cheer myself up, I came back via Home Depot and spent a happy few minutes pottering about in the gardening bit, before choosing a couple of tomato plants and some strawberries, so i can try and grow my own this year!!  As its finally starting to warm up, my little patio oasis is bursting into life, so i can't wait to see if I can actually get some fruit going!

My very own tomato plants!
How terribly grown-up of me!

Strawberry plants - already in flower!
  Bring on the berries!

Patio boxes bursting into life

French lavender finally looking pretty again,
after a whole winter of looking like it was dead
causing me no end of anxiety

The foxgloves!!  They LIVE!!!! 

OK, Sarah, that all sounds fine and dandy and I'm very happy for your sudden interest in horticulture, but what on earth does this have to do with Roller Skating mice?    What are you talking about, you crazy Brit?

Good question.

Eddie.  Over to you for a quick explanation....

So, this is where my best laid plans for my Saturday started to go slightly awry.   I'd bought a couple of tickets on Goldstar to go and watch some lovely ladies engage in a little light roller skating action on Saturday night  http://www.arsdbombers.com.   Lori had come over from Walnut Creek to join me and, as it wasnt due to start til 8pm, we figured we'd drive over around 7.15pm, in plenty of time to collect our tickets from Will Call and watch the show.

Now, in the instructions with the ticket, it said to come along early as lines tend to get long.  Long?  How about completely utterly insanely crush-festy long?  We rocked on up at about 7.40pm and there were literally hundreds of people on line and milling about outside Kezar Pavilion (which i think is not much more than a glorified school gym!).  Well, OK - we're both patient and could deal with that - unfortunately, what the instructions failed to mention was the complete and utter lack of ANY parking whatsoever!!  We drove around for a good half hour trying to find somewhere within a 2 mile radius to park - and there was nothing!  Nada!  Zip.  So, in the end, we just gave up on the whole idea and went and got some Thai food instead.  Craziness.  So, i'm not sure if it was really my best laid plan, but I certainly didnt think it was that bad!  Ah well, live and learn!

Anyway, here's a taste of what we missed.   Although it pretty much looks like a bitch slap on wheels, apparently, there are rules.  Who knew?