So you probably have noticed that Chris mentioned that I’m in California. I came out here for a work interview and decided to make a vacation out of it. So I on Wed, Nov 30th, I found out that I had to be in LA (Woodland Hills to be exact) for work, so Sunday morning (yes the very next morning after our run) I was picked up and we headed out. I made it to California around 4:30 PST, Huyen (my work friend) rented a car, and lucky for us, we got a upgrade: 
So if you can tell that is a Ford Mustang Convertible… and it was awesome. 🙂 We got the car, and headed out of LA towards Woodland Hills, and checked into the Hilton. The room was nice, but all we did was drop our luggage off, and then headed out to have dinner. We cruised down to Malibu and ate dinner on the beach at Dukes. The food and drinks were amazing…..
The Lava Flow drink, crab wontons, and ultimately the Seafood Risotto were amazing! And the drive there was fun….because to get from the Hilton to Malibu, we had to take a winding road. Too bad it was dark and we couldn’t see the beautiful mountain side, or the sunset or the beach. But the food was delicious, and the company was good, and so we had fun. We went back to the Hotel, and found out that there was a brewhouse right next to the hotel. So we walked over there to have another drink. BJ’s Brewhouse….
So, I had the sampler with the three drinks listed, and then one other special (a light brew) that I didn’t like. I also had another drink called a Snake bite…which had Guinness with their special cider brew layered. It was delicious. Another work friend joined us, and we visited and enjoyed our drinks until late, and then we headed back to the hotel so we could prepare for the next day….Monday…Interview day.
So interview day came. Our co-worker had pointed out the building that we had to go to the night before when we left BJ’s, and we could see it from our building, so we were not too nervous about getting lost or anything. We got up, had the breakfast buffet, and then got ready for the day. The weather was BEAUTIFUL that day, so we walked across the way to a strip mall, and found a Nordstrom Rack, and did a bit of shopping. Huyen also got a coffee, and then we decided we would go get lunch before we got ready for the interview.
So where is it that everyone loves to eat in California? Of course…In-N-Out Burger! We found one only 3 mi from our hotel, and headed over. I got what is pictured…fries and a cheeseburger and a drink. However, next time I go…I’ll be getting a 1X4 and cheese fries, and a chocolate shake. So be prepared to be jealous again :). Lunch was good, and besides almost being sideswiped in the rental by a Porsche, the drive was uneventful.
Next we headed to the interviews. I actually wore a suit…although I don’t have any pictures of it…..and I went first. It was a BBI….Behavior Based Interview…where they ask you to describe a time you did something, and give a specific example, and tell if you would or wouldn’t change it and then why. If you have never had the joy of going on a BBI, just come over to my place sometime, and we can do a mock interview BBI style, and you’ll see how they go. Not exactly the most fun thing I have ever done, but I felt that I had good examples, and was able to answer almost all of their questions. And, no I’m not moving to CA….my department recently was taken over by the IT department in my company, and they are changing some stuff up…and part of their changing things involves me and the people I work with. Basically I’m interviewing for a new job because my job is getting cut. Well, me and 9 other people in my department. But they are only offering 5 positions, one of which is a technical manager position, one is a business analyst position, and then the remaining 3 are developer positions. We’ll see how it goes. The rest of my team flew out on Monday night, and after the interviews, we all met up and had dinner and drinks, and dessert.
Huyen and I shared dessert, and it was ok. After we visited with everyone, and we said our good lucks to the ones that had interviews the next day, Huyen and I headed back to the airport. And yes, we drove with the top down the entire way, and we had the radio blasting. Hertz gave us a ride to the Hilton hotel by LAX where we were staying, and one of our other co-workers was flying out the next day as well, and staying there too, so we met up with him and had another drink and did some more talking about how the interviews went, and what we think they are looking for, or what they want, and who is going to get what. Once again, the Hilton did not disappoint, as the bed was extremely comfortable, and I really liked the wall paper in the bathroom. However, one thing I did think was kinda weird was that the bathrooms didn’t have fans in them. (not because I was stinking it up either, but because I take hot showers, and the mirror got all steamy). Anyway, that was just something I noticed. Again, I had the breakfast buffet the next morning, and it was delicious. I think the best thing I ate was just plain old greek yogurt and then had some granola on it. It was really good homemade granola though. :). Anyway, Huyen’s flight was leaving bright and early (at like 6a) so I didn’t even see her, but I did get a text from southwest saying that my flight from LAX to OAK (Oakland, CA) was canceled. So I had to call and figure out what was going on, and get it rescheduled. Turns out that happens a lot because they don’t fill the flights. So I rescheduled to leave at 11:20a…and the flight had only about 30 people on it. It was pretty sweet actually. I read the sky mall magazine, and found a few things that I can’t live without….hehe. I did see something that was very applicable
It was kinda funny when I saw this because….it was kinda how I’ve been viewing the whole situation at my work recently….and…it just applies to so much!
Anyway, the flight was pretty uneventful, and Ian, my uncle was actually flying from OC (Orange County) into OAK, and was landing about 10 min after me, so I waited for him, and then we just took a cab back to where my aunt Colleen works.
I was pretty hungry, so we got the car, I dropped him off at work, then went to a sandwich shop and got a bite to eat while I was waiting for Colleen to get off work, which wasn’t much later. When she finished work, we went and picked up Ian, and then headed home. We relaxed a bit, and then walked to their little downtown area. She lives in Novato, CA, basically a suburb of San Fransisco.
We walked a ways, and visited, and went in a few stores, (a candy store, where I saw a wonderful display of bacon related items as you see below, a book store that had old playboy magazines for sale in it, and an awesome toy store that had really cute all organic all super over priced toys)
and then hit up one of their favorite little Mexican joints for the Tuesday Taco special.
So I don’t know if you want to call that a Margorrona, or a Beergrita, but what ever you call it, it was delicious! Seriously, it was really good. And the tacos we had were good too…they were about 3 in in diameter on little corn tortillas and you could chose from a wide selection of meat…I got one fish, one pork (Carnitas) and one beef (Carne Asada) and they were $1.25 each! It was great. Jayme (cousin) got 5 tacos, one was tounge! Gross (but I guess it is really good, so until I try it, I cant really knock it, but it sounds yuck). So we ate dinner, headed home and turned in for the night. Well, actually I made a plan for the next day. A girl that Chris works with recently moved out to the San Fran area, and wanted to hook up, so we made a plan to meet up in the Sausalito area. I could take a bus, and she could take a ferry, and we could have lunch and go into some shops and what not. So that was the plan. I would get up, and catch the 9:50 bus and meet her around 10:45 ish. we worked out all the details, and it was set.
So the next morning I get up, and it was only like 8:30 so I had time, and had some coffee, and worked on the internet, and then around 9:20 I hoped in the shower and got ready. Well, I guess time got away from me, and next thing I know it is like 9:40, and I gotta go. I didn’t realize the bus stop was as far away as it was, and I litterally ran there, and got there just in time to see the bus driving away! I was simi freaking out because Emilie had texted that she was already on the ferry, and I was trying to figure out if I could take the next bus, where it was going, or what. I texted Ian and Colleen, and got it all figured out, and I was able to catch the next bus at 10:20, and I let her know I was going to be about 30 min late. So I got on that bus, and no big deal, and I was reading my book on my phone, but then I started kind freaking out again, because I had to get off that bus and get on another bus, and I thought I missed the stop! So I started pulling up Google Maps on my phone, and trying to figure out where I was, and I finally asked a girl that got on, and she was like…no just stay on that bus till the end of the route, and then you can catch your next one. Wheew. So I made it to the end of the route, and got on my next bus, and finally made it down to Sausalito. And it just so happens to be the little town that Chris, Peanut, Pumpkin and I stopped at after we dropped KK and Chiaki of at the San Fran airport back in 2010 when we did our First Great American Road Trip.
Anyway, Emilie had scooped out a little bar she wanted to stop at, so we went in and had a drink, and visited. I had a screwdriver, and she had a bloody mary. Next we walked down by the water, and saw the little crabs on the rocks, and looked at all the shops. We had passed a store that had a sign saying “Wine Tastings” so we went in and for $5 we could taste 3 wines. I tried a white that wasn’t very good, a really good merlot, and then a good riesling. While we were in there, we notices something swimming in the water, and so we walked out and saw some seals swimming around. It was really neat. We joked about it being the Loch
Ness Monster, and then we saw this bird…
And it was kinda funny because I got really close to him to take a picture, but he started to take off. But as you can see in the picture, I was able to take it just in time!
So after the bird we continued on our walk and we were looking for something to eat for lunch. Our morning of drinking was fun, but our tummies were ready for some food. As we were walking along, I saw this jewel, and it reminded me of my wonderful husband Chris…minus the dark hair, tattoos, and sassy attitude. And I guess he doesn’t have a fish tail down below either, but I thought it was fun.
Next we walked along, and passed an art store that was having an exibit on Dr. Seuss. Which I didn’t know this, but he did many other things besides children’s books, and I actually really really liked a lot of his work. you weren’t supposed to take pictures in the art gallery, but I did snap this one through the window:
So after that we were really hungry, and walked along, and finally found a place we both agreed on. It was a little taco shop, and we sat on the covered porch, and had some sangria’s and shared some nachoes that were once again, delicious.
By the time we were done, it was time for Emilie to catch the ferry back to San Fran, and Colleen was on her way to pick me up, so we said our goodbyes, and headed out.
Colleen showed up right after Emilie got on the ferry, and we headed back home. She made some delicious shepherds pie for dinner, and I skyped with Pumpkin for a long time. She was doing good, and they seem to be getting along ok with out me, but she did kept asking when I was coming home, so I guess she is missing me a little.
After dinner we watched TV and visited. Colleen and Ian have tomorrow off, so we and made a plan to do some fun stuff. It is going to involve an oyster bar, the Golden Gate Bridge, and I think we are going on a hike too, so it should be fun! The weather was pretty foggy and dreary all day, but it never really rained, so if the sun doesn’t come out tomorrow, I hope that it is at least like today, and that it doesn’t rain!
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