Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

John in Belgium 2

We're in London, continues...

John returned from Belgium late yesterday afternoon, yay!

He met some great people at the conference as well as connecting with friends like Laurent from Jamendo who lives in nearby Luxembourg.

I did not know Belgium was famous for it's french fries so I'm really glad I didn't go with him because I would be as big as a truck.

I selected my favorite photos from his trip (Brussels, Antwerp and Lier) but you can read what he has to say about it in his blog.

The Stairs from Hell

Jan is in London, John is in Belgium, continues...

On Friday night I heard a lot of noise out on the street which is typical for Covent Garden on the weekend, if not all the time anyway. But this was particularly chaotic so I looked out my window and saw what you see in the photo. Bicyclists on the street as far as the eye can see in both directions. And making an astonishing noise with boomboxes and general screaming, shouting and rude carrying-on.

Apparently it was critical mass. Ok, I'm all for personal freedom but enough already. It's really just an excuse for people to behave badly in public. The disruption to traffic is, frankly, unacceptable. Why should the people in cars and taxi's trying to live their lives and get where their going be sacrificed for a bunch of bicyclists who think they're better than everyone because they ride a bike? News flash: you're not a better than other people because you ride a bike but there is a chance you're a bigger asshole than other people. Get some therapy.

But today is Sunday, yay.

Sunday morning is my favorite time in London because it's the only time it's quiet, even in Covent Garden. But nothing opens before noon; that's why it's so quiet. It's definitely a catch-22. I ran out of sparkling water and have to wait until noon for the stores to open. I hate when that happens.

So to fill the time I decided to clean the house. Yes, Princess Jan cleans the house. Often. Sometimes. Rarely. Hardly ever, actually. I put in a load of laundry, scrubbed the main bathroom and then tackled the tedious and tiring job of vacuuming the grand staircase that goes up the entire height of the house. Three floors, then the notorious spiral stair to the fourth floor. It looks great but I'm exhausted and still don't have any sparkling water.

John is returning from Antwerp late this afternoon. There will be photos, yay!

Music Bonanza

Jan is in London, John is in Belgium, continues...

Yes, I do have a life in addition to Second Life. But first:

My second island is coming along nicely. It's still really empty which is actually pleasant.

Driven by human nature's need to have a "home" I bought a tree house. It's adorable. The first thing I did was buy another grand piano for it. The idea of a grand piano on the porch of a tree house really cracks me up. I love the idea of having an unusual home like the dome on my first island. The tree house feels really cozy and peaceful, the views are amazing. I especially like the view of the forest on my first island. Yes, that is pink champagne on the table next to me.

Kirsty loved it so much she bought one too. Then Starcadius bought one. Whenever we visit each other in SL we feel like we're at home.

However, I am actually building a more traditional house on the new island. I'm designing something that would be the kind of house I would like to actually live in. It's really fun and very challenging.

But in real life...

There has been a surge of new music releases that has kept me busy buying downloads via iTunes and eMusic, the only places I buy music other than directly from the artists themselves when that is available.

This week has been an "industrial" bonanza. Several industrial bands John and I enjoy have released new albums. Yes, that's right, industrial bands. You didn't think all we listen to is Bach all the time, did you?

The first one, Porcupine Tree, is not industrial. They are kind of progressive, alternative, and we have all their albums. The next 3 are "industrial": Assemblage 23 and two bands that have been around for a long time, Front Line Assembly and Nine Inch Nails.

The house is very noisy right now and, for once, I am happy to report it's because of me, not the craziness of Covent Garden. LOL!

Also, there is an interesting connection in my life to Front Line Assembly. I've been buying their records from the beginning. They have a side project called Delerium whose records I have also been buying from the beginning. The connection is that my best friend Kirsty sings on two Delerium albums. Amazing. (Interestingly, the Wikipedia entry for Delerium is out of date and does not include the solo singers for their newest album.)

Meanwhile, back in Second Life, Kirsty made the funniest most clever video yet. Note that I am Janford Flax. Hilarious!

Construction View

Jan is in London, John is in Belgium, continues...

When we walked past our old flat the other day we noticed that it was all closed off and with scaffolding up the front. The landlord had told us when we originally moved into it that he was planning a renovation in the future so I guess that time is now.

Our house is only two blocks away and this morning I looked out my window and discovered I can see the scaffolding above the old flat. It looks like they are adding another floor but that doesn't seem feasible. I sort of remember getting a letter from the Council when we lived there saying that plans for a roof deck had been submitted for approval. Well I guess they got the approval. Now the landlord can increase the already horrible, outrageous price on the flat.

Also this morning, Second Life joined forces with Real Life. The two SL friends I had gotten together with for lunch in San Francisco last month were making a film in Second Life for a class that Renee is taking. It's a commerical for an advertising class. Several of her friends participated and we all dressed up in magical outfits, e.g. fairies, elves and dragons. They had built a huge set to do the filming on. Starcadius gave us sparklers to wear and an animation that made us wave our hands like we were doing magic on the vines and vegetables.

It was scheduled for 9-11 p.m Thursday, California time. So when I got up this morning at my usual 6:30 a.m. I logged onto Second Life and joined the filming. There we all are, waving our hands and making magic. I was happy I had an opportunity to finally wear my pink hair '-)

They will be putting the video up on YouTube when it's done so I'll put a link here then. Action!

Lunch in the Country

Jan is in London, John is in Belgium, continues...

Yesterday I took The Tube to spend the afternoon with my bestest friend in the whole world Kirsty.

We had lunch at a country pub which was lovely. The food was amazing and the owners were charming. Lunch was two and a half hours including a fabulous bottle of prosecco.

After lunch we went to Kirsty's allotment where she did her first planting. It's a gorgeous, peaceful place and I can totally see her attraction to it. It was a pleasant walk, except for crossing the road, and on the way back there were ducks in the water. The baby ducks started swimming very fast towards us and I realized they had seen us and were racing as fast as the could in hope of a snack which Kirsty happily gave them. It was adorable.

As always, lovely photos of the countryside. And, of course, the lovely Kirsty.

On my way home on the tube I looked out the window and there was Wembley Stadium which I had never seen before so I took a quick photo.

It was a really fun day in the country. Thank you, Kirsty!

Update: Kirsty just sent me some photos she took yesterday, yay. I love the photo of us together that the pub owner took. It turned out great even though the pub was dark. Kirsty added a little Photoshop border, I love it.

John in Belgium

We're in London, continues...

Well, I'm in London. Today John took the Eurostar to Brussels for a conference in Antwerp and will be back Sunday. Neither of us has been to Belgium so I can't wait to hear all about it and see the photos.

In the meantime, back in London, today I am taking the tube to go spend the day with my friend, Kirsty. While I was in California Kirsty and I were in constant contact on instant messenger or skype, plus we get together every day in Second Life and have hilarious adventures there. It's going to be so great to spend time with her in person!

Speaking of Second Life (as if I don't talk about it enough '-), I was very touched by the memorial they built for my SL friend Jesse who died last week. BTW, thanks to all who sent me such kind email and comments about that, I really appreciate it.

I was expecially touched by the memorial because there is the minimoog I gave Jesse a few weeks ago. I im'd one of my SL friends to say how honored I was to have my minimoog included and he said that they left the space exactly as Jesse had left it before he died, and just added the memorial stuff. I had no idea Jesse had displayed my gift to him and am completely verklempt. He was such a sweetheart.

My opinion of teenagers has greatly improved after finding out wonderful Jesse was 17 and then meeting fabulous 16 year-old Eliza.

Dinner with Mary and Eliza

We're in London, continues...

Last night we had dinner with our friend Mary and her daughter Eliza. It was hilarious seeing Mary in London after having just seen her in Berkeley a couple weeks ago.

We met Eliza for the first time and she is delightful. My general impression of teenagers these days is pretty cynical so I was amazed and excited to meet Eliza who is intelligent, cultured, funny, interesting and charming. I'm looking forward to many fun dinners together.

We had dinner at Benares which was exquisitely delicious. However, we have taken Benares off our restaurant list, they are the rudest restaurant we have experienced in London.

Once again, when they called to confirm the reservation they informed me of the two-hour deadline for the table. Sure, ok, we can eat in two hours but I think it's completely obnoxious for them to emphasise it on thte phone.

John and I arrived first so they seated us in the bar where we got champagne. Mary and Eliza arrived ten minutes later but the hostess rushed us all to the table with comments about "you cannot bring a child into the bar" and "there is a two-hour limit on the table." WTF? Eliza is 16. Child? I think not. And, once again, the dining deadline is mentioned.

On the phone they had told me they would not be seating us in the main dining room but in the side room off the bar. I said that was fine as long as it was non-smoking. She assured me it was but there were people smoking at the bar nearby so that was pretty rude.

But that is only the beginning of rude. The waiters are the rudest we've ever had. When we sat down in the bar the waiter offered us a drinks menu. John said no need for the menu, we would just have champagne and were there choices. The waiter said, "Well, that is why I was trying to give you a menu!" Yes, he said it in that tone. Hilarious!

When we ordered dinner we said we would all be sharing. The waiter made an indignant face and said, "You do not share at Benares." Wow!

Considering that they gave us a two-hour deadline you would think the service would be fast. Nope. It took forever for them to bring us our bottle of champagne and even longer to bring the second bottle when we'd finished the first. Tired of waiting, John called over a waiter to ask about the champagne and the waiter said, "please ask the head waiter" and walked away. Ok but where's our champagne? LOL.

During dinner, the waiters made inane comments about the food they were serving us, as if we had never had Chicken Tikka before. When the rice arrived a waiter went to each of us and insisted on putting a spoonful of rice on each of our plates, even though we told him several times to please put the rice on the table so we could decide who wanted rice and how much. That was so weird.

We went over our two-hour deadline, once again, of course. And did they throw us out? Did they even mention we had passed the deadline? No. Were there empty tables in the restaurant? Yes. So what is up with this two-hour deadline they inflict on everyone?

Yea, we're done with Benares. Their food is delicious but for £350 I expect a better experience. We actually prefer Moti Mahal and The Red Fort who both have amazing food and charming, polite staff.

But, in spite of the rudeness of Benares, we had a wonderful evening with Mary and Eliza and look forward to seeing them often in London.

Dinner with Pantagruel

We're in London, continues...

For the last few days Mark Wheeler from Magnatune artists Pantagruel has been a house guest. He arrived earlier in the week before we got here so we were happy that there was a day of overlap in our schedules so we could meet him him person.

We went to dinner at the fabulous Red Fort. Mark is incredibly nice and very talented and we're so happy we had the chance to meet him.

Quiet, Chaos and Light Bulbs

We're in London!

The airplane roulette wheel was in our favor this time, the flight was quiet and pleasant. I was a little nervous when a group of 4 business people who all work for the same company sat next to us. But their conversation was not too loud which they mostly restricted to the time waiting to take off and land. It's interesting that a company will spend $3,000+ each to fly multiple employees to London who then proceed to talk about how much they hate the company and their jobs. I would fire them.

But the flight itself was delightfully quiet. I watched Charlotte's Web and really enjoyed it. I cried when Charlotte died, sheesh. Then I slept most of the flight. John didn't sleep at all and watched a few films.

We arrived at Heathrow to discover that the very convenient IRIS entry system was not working. When I asked the third-world refugee employee he said it was "broken." Hmmm. In London it's hard to know if something is actually broken (often) or it's a case of "I don't feel like working today" (also often).

So we had to get in the passport line which ended up being ok because we had a fast-track card. The immigration officer was nice (for a change) and he must have noticed the many immigration stamps from various countries in my passport because he asked me if we travel often. When I said yes he presented us with a brochure for the IRIS system. Ha! We told him we are already registered for it but it's broken today. Then he said that it hasn't worked since last year. Well then why did he give us a brochure for a system that hasn't worked since last year? Hilarious! Well, actually we used it in January so it worked at least once in 2007. Hopefully they'll get it fixed soon and the machines in the other terminals are working for our upcoming travels to Europe.

We had been planning to take the Paddington Express and a taxi home but when I heard that today is the London Marathon I thought that the roads would be closed and a taxi would have difficulty. So we took the tube from Heathrow to our house. It was packed but not that bad and we were home in an hour.

When we arrived in Covent Garden the chaos was in full swing. I decided I really need to adjust my attitude about the chaos and just embrace it as the price to live in such an amazing area.

We got home and were delighted to discover that the electrician had replaced all the burnt out light bulbs in the stairway, repaired the motion sensor and installed electricity in the spot in the kitchen were we want to connect our new water filter. Yay!

John went to bed for a nap right away since he didn't sleep on the plane. I feel pretty good. It's really great to be back. Let the adventure begin again!

Ode to Clyde

Today we are flying to London for 9 weeks. We will also be doing a lot of traveling in Europe (Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Croatia) so the blog should get more interesting '-)

We are going to miss our California friends, as always. But I am especially going to miss Clyde!

He has been unusually feisty lately, partly I think because he has not gotten completely comfortable with the fact we hang out in a different room now.

But he's calmed down a bit and after about an hour of running around the house screaming when he arrives each morning, he spends the rest of the day sleeping on the sofa. As always, the first thing he does when I open the door in the morning is run to the bathroom and demand I turn on the faucet.

Demand? Yes, he does. In fact, he's been talking a lot lately. I'm serious. Last night I was sitting on the sofa reading and Clyde lifted his head, looked me right in the eye, and made a little noise. I don't know what it meant but I am convinced that Clyde thinks he said something to me. He has been doing this more and more lately.

He is such a loving cat, amazingly affectionate and smart.

That third photo is hilarious. It looks like, "Ok, you're leaving soon aren't you. Bitch." LOL. I am going to miss him while I'm in London. Clyde!

Happy but Sad

Our final week in California continues...

I am in emotional turmoil right now and basically feel like going back to bed with the covers pulled over my head but here goes.

Happy

First, the good news: I bought another island in Second Life. Yes, that is outrageous. As I developed my first island I realized that one of the things I love about it is the natural space, especially when I planted the forest. Since I want to build a house and will probably come up with more ideas, I realized the island was going to fill up fast. So, I bought another one. Yea, crazy.

Yesterday it magically appeared off the southern coast of my island. I could not access it for the first few hours, just gaze admiringly. Then in the afternoon I flew over to it and was not stopped by the barrier. I had forgotten how bare and stark new islands are and how much I have developed mine. I really love it.

Here are photos of the new island, sitting on my first island gazing across the water at the stark new island, and standing on the new island with a view of my lush forest across the water. It's going to be such fun!

Sad

But all that pales in comparison to the devasting news I received this morning that one of my Second Life friends was killed in a car crash yesterday. Jesse was one of the very first SL residents I met and he was extraordinarily kind. He showed up just as I started building the Magnatune space on SL and was really nice. Since then, he popped up from time to time and we hung out chatting.

I've been sitting crying all morning but his family and friends are the ones who must be completely devasted and it just breaks my heart. I never met Jesse in Real Life but I do feel like I met him, which really is the power of Second Life.

Recently he showed up at my island and we sunbathed on the beach and chatted about software synthesizers and midi controllers. He was excited when I gave him a copy of my Second Life Minimoog. Sigh. Farewell, Jesse.

Pricey or Cheap: pick one

Our final week in California continues...

Also in music news, yesterday I discovered that my cd Vespers is available on Amazon.com for $97.78! WTF? And what's with the 78 cents? Anyway, I had no idea the prices had gone so wacky, I guess it's become a collector's item. It is rare, there were only 1000 printed. But I think that's a total rip-off, especially since a different seller at Amazon has it for a reasonable $26.95. (BTW, I don't know how long those links will stay alive; they may change, die or someone might buy the cd's, hahaha.)

But best of all, Vespers is available as a download at Audiolunchbox.com for $9.99. Hmmm.. $9.99 vs. $97.78. That's a lot of 9's. Regardless, I don't get any of the money so it doesn't matter where people buy it (except at Magnatune, of course '-)

iTunes Kudos

Our final week in California continues...

This morning when we logged onto our computers we discovered that the new release of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by Magnatune artist Philaharmonia Baroque Orchestra is one of the featured recordings at iTunes! Yay!

We have many friends in the orchestra and many of their solo recordings on Magnatune. It's really exciting to see them get the attention they deserve in a huge, popular market like iTunes.

My two main sources of buying new music are iTunes and eMusic. I'm really excited that the entire Magnatune catalog is going to be available on both of them soon. Anything that gets our artists more attention and, even better, more money, is a great thing.

Lunch at Vanessa's

Our final week in California continues...

Today we had lunch at Vanessa's Bistro in Berkeley.

Vanessa had a restaurant in downtown Berkeley near our office (back when we had an office) and we ate there often and got to know her and her daughter, Vi. They are delightful and Vanessa's cooking is amazing. We were very excited when she opened her new restaurant last September. It's some of the best food in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dinner there is also fabulous but I wanted a daytime excursion so we went to lunch and said our goodbyes until we return to California in June. Yes, I had pink champagne. At lunch '-)

Surf's Up

Our final week in California continues...

Today John was in San Franscico going to meetings and fundraisers and business stuff. I spent the day home alone catching up on things like laundry.

But, as always, I spent a large part of the day on Second Life. I am continuing to develop my island, coming up with things that will make it both beautiful and fun.

Today I added windsurfing and a rideable dolphin. Since I do not enjoy being in the ocean in Real Life I have started to enjoy it tremendously in Second Life. Last week my friend Teresa and I went scuba diving and it was amazing.

The Second Life windsurfboards I bought are fabulous. You zoom around the water, jump into the air, spin around, it's incredible. Several of my Real Life and Second Life friends stopped by to give it a try and everyone agrees that it is fabulously fun. There is Kirsty and me surfin'. Kirsty and I always have the best time together on Second Life. It has really helped our friendship grow closer while we are on different continents and I really enjoy spending time with her online.

There I am riding the dolphin. Notice that I am wearing scuba gear this time '-) The effect is so realistic I just can't get over it.

And the top photo is, ta da, a new look for my Second Life avatar. I got new hair which more closely resembles my Real Life hairstyle. There I am posing in front of the new forest I planted on my island on Monday. I love just walking through the forest. It is so relaxing and tranquil. Sigh.

And the baby bear said...

Our final week in California continues...

Yesterday John and I went for brunch at Adagia. It's a somewhat long but pleasant walk from our house.

It is a former Presbyterian minister dining room for faculty and dignitaries and it still looks like one which I think is hilarious. It can get pretty loud but the food makes it worth it. And they have pink champagne by the glass so I'm happy to go there anytime John wants '-)

On our walk back home I noticed you can see the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge at the intersections. But there were too many trees in the way to get a good photo. I'll have to try in winter when the trees have no leaves, if there is such a thing in Berkeley.

We came across the carved bears pictured below in front of a house. Hilarious! And they're big, as you can see in the one John is standing next to. And I just realized that last night I had a dream that had a bear in it. It was a combination Second Life and Real Life dream which happens a lot to me now. The bear was outside my dome trying to get in. Hilarious!

BBQ

We're in California for just one more week continues...

Last night we met up with our friend Cary and a few of her french-club friends at T-Rex Barbeque, a mediocre but fun restaurant.

It was a lively group and we ate a lot of food (I had onion rings, gasp). Cary is one of our favorite people who we miss a lot when we're in London so it was great to have a farewell feast.

A Garden View

We're in California for a little over a week continues...

For the last year or so John has been working at his computer in the sunroom. So, I moved my computer into the sunroom yesterday. It turns out to be a great decision because now John and I get to be together all day while we work on our various projects on our computers plus we get to enjoy our beautiful garden.

We needed to make it more ergonomic so we found nice tables at Ikea, of all places, including comfortable and fairly attractive chairs. We also found a new glass coffee table and switched it out for our old Ikea coffee table.

So there are the photos. John at his old set up in the sunroom. That chair is fabulous but it is not ergonomic for working at a computer all day. Photo of our two new workstations in the corner of the sunroom. Lovely.

So far there is only one problem: Clyde. When I'm in the sunroom he likes to sleep in the big yellow chair (a different yellow chair than he sleeps in upstairs in my office). When we moved the furniture he freaked out. He came in and wandered around making a complaining noise. I put in him his chair and he immediately jumped down and started whining again. Then when I was out of the room I came back to find Clyde in my desk chair. Here is a fascinating piece of cat psychology: My desk chair is in the exact spot Clyde's favorite yellow chair was in previously. So, it's the familiar view of the room he wanted, not the familiar chair. That is really fascinating.

So, he continued to freak out the whole evening. And for the very first time he jumped into one of my harpsichords. The lid on the spinet is usually closed but it was open because I had been playing. There you can see him peaking inside. The next photo looks like "ok I'm going in, is she looking?" and the third photo is an action shot. I lifted him out immediately, to the sound of cat claws plucking harpsichord strings. The lid is staying closed when I'm not playing.

Today Clyde is still freaked out by the rearranged furniture and will not sit still and walks around making that whining noise. I decided to reintroduce him to the sofa by taking a nap. That worked. When I got up he stayed on the sofa happily sleeping, all stretched out as you can see in the photo. But he won't stay on the sofa unless I am on it. He's sweet but wow is he difficult. I'm sure he'll calm down after a while.

In the meantime, John and I are enjoying our new computer workstations in the sunroom, each other's company and our garden view.

Salty House

We're in California for only a little bit longer continues...

Last night, once again I took the Bart into San Francisco to have dinner with my fabullous friend Sarah.

This time we met at Salt House. It was great. The food was exquisite. When they seated me at a table near the bar I asked for a more quiet table so they put us in the far corner which was perfect for some quality gurl time.

Sarah is very creative and surprised me with a beautiful artwork she made last year. I'll blog it after I've had it framed. When I got home and showed it to John he immediately mentioned the same spot for it in the house that I had been thinking about, yay.

In the photos there is a view of San Francisco from the Bart train before it entered the tunnel under the San Francisco bay. Then there is a photo of a new building I walked past that had angled sides, so when you looked at it the sides seemed to ripple, like a special effect in a film. Then there is the yummy Salt House and me and Sarah. Our last gurl dinner before I leave for London.

A Surprise Visit

We're in California for just 2 more weeks continues...

Last night we had a visit from our friend Mary! This is unusual because we have only seen Mary when she is visits London and usually stays in our guest suite there.

But she was in San Francisco for a couple days so she had a chance to come to Berkeley to see our completely different (from London) house. And she got to meet Clyde. She brought her fun friend Christine who is executive director of the fabulous Chanticleer which John and I have been fans of for many years.

We went to dinner at Citron because we wanted to be able to have a conversation and our favorite local restaurant (Zax) is closed on Mondays. Wow, Citron has really gone down hill. It took forever even for them to bring us some bread. After waiting a long time I inquired about our champagne and they said they would bring it right way. After another long pause the waiter brought the champagne and poured it into wine glasses which I thought was odd. After my first sip I thought the champagne was flat and was about to complain when I realized it was rose wine, not rose champagne.

We weren't sure if John ordered the wrong thing (Mon Dieu!) so we mentioned it to the waiter who looked at his pad and admitted he had written down the wrong thing. Ok, an honest mistake, no problem. The wine was pretty good anyway. I did miss having champagne though, sigh.

The food was mediocre. My medium rare flat iron steak was close to well-done and not very good. The lobster soup was boring. The salmon had no flavor, no spice, no nothin'. Hmmmm. I guess we're crossing Citron off our list.

But it didn't matter because it was such a pleasure to spend time with Mary.

Scuba Diving

We're in California for just 2 more weeks continues...

Yesterday, my friend Teresa and I went scuba diving! Yea, on Second Life. Teresa has been scuba diving in real life says the effect in SL is remarkably real.

The designer of the island did an amazing job with the deep sea area. There are swimming fish, a shark, jelly fish, plants and a sunken ship. As expected, navigating your avatar in this environment is difficult but, once you get the hang of it, it is an extraordinary experience.

Yes, we are wearing our clothes in the water. Since we don't actually get wet it's not a problem. I'm not quite ready for the SL bikini yet although I think my avatar would look a hell of a lot better in one that I would in RL. LOL.

The View from the Stones

We're in California for just 2 more weeks continues...

Last night we went to dinner at our friends Victor and Cindy Stone's house.

Victor and Cindy are two of our favorite people and two of the most interesting people we know. Victor is the force behind the amazing ccMixter and an artist at Magnatune. Cindy is a fabulous artist.

The view from their dining room is spectacular, showing the Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco.

Shiny and Silent... and Flat

We're in California for just 2 more weeks continues...

Bad customer service stories really crack me up.

After purchasing our new Toyota Prius the salesman has called us on the phone at least 3 times to "make sure you are happy" with the new car and if we have any problems or questions we should give him a call so that they "can take care of any problems right away." Sounds great, doesn't it?

Well, ever since we got the car there was a little indicator light on. We weren't sure if it was a sign of something wrong or just something being "on". When John took the car back in last week to get the anti-theft device installed it came back out with the indicator light off. They didn't say anything about it so we assumed they made some little adjustment that made the light go off. The car is only 2 weeks old, after all.

Then yesterday when John was driving into San Francisco he went over a bump and the car made a loud "clunk" sound which he recognised as a tire pressure situation. He stopped at the nearest gas station and the tire was nearly flat. He filled it up and continued his day in San Francisco. But on his way home the indicator light came on again and once again the tire was low. Oh, so it's the tire pressure indicator.

So today he took it into the dealer to have them look at the tire. Well, it turns out that their motto "decidedly different" means their service sucks.

He immediately went to the salesman who had called us to assure us they were eager to handle any problems and told him about the tire. The salesman went to inquire about what to do and came back and told John that "the manager" said the flat tire is a result of normal wear, is not their problem, and we can call next week to make an appointment to come in and have it fixed. Normal wear and tear? The car is 2 weeks old and we've barely driven it.

It's obvious the car came with the damaged tire because the indicator light was on from the beginning. They filled the tire last week when we had it in and they didn't say anything about it. They knew. I'm not saying the salesman knew. But the service people knew.

The salesman who is nice but clueless suggested John go to a local tire repair place. He went and they told him they couldn't possibly look at it until Tuesday. Next! Then he went to Goodyear and they were very nice and said they may not be able to fix it today but it would be done Monday at the latest. Yay!

They called within an hour to say a tiny nail had punctured a very small hole in the tire which created a slow leak which could be repaired instead of replacing the tire. Yay, again!

The cost for this extraordinary and speedy service? $30.

So, Toyota of Berkeley blew it. It's obvious to us the tire was damaged when they sold us the car. That's fine, they may not have known that. But their follow up sucks. Normal wear and tear? On a new car? Pfzzt. They really missed an opportunity to deliver on their promises of great service. All they had to do was, first of all, take responsiblity for the tire. Don't tell us it was "normal wear and tear" on a brand new car. Then, fix the tire. We weren't demanding they fix it for free, we would have been happy to pay them for the repair. We weren't even expecting them to do it right then and there. They could have said "we'd be happy to fix it on Tuesday." But they didn't. They blew us off, pissed us off and sent us elsewhere. So I guess elsewhere is where we will be going when it's time for a new car again.

We're really looking forward to that customer satisfaction survey from Toyota.

Fuzzy But Still #1

We're in California for just 2 more weeks continues...

Last night we had dinner with our fabulous friends David Tayler and Hanneke van Proosdij.

We are so excited that their new recording has been #1 at Magnatune since it was released a week ago. It's a completely gorgeous album, you should buy it right now.

Yes, that is the worst photo of them ever because I forgot to take my camera so John used his cell phone which is several generations behind the current in-phone photo technology. But I just had to have a photo so it will do.

We had dinner at Dona Tomas in Oakland. It's on the edge of a neighborhood that is borderline slum so parking and walking to the restaurant was a little icky. But it's also a few blocks away from a posh neighborhood so the restaurant was full of trendy suv-driving 21st century yuppies with their badly behaved toddlers.

The restaurant was so noisy, incredibly loud, that conversation was very difficult. It's complete chaos. The food was very good. Actually my pork was the definition of bland but everyone else said theirs was excellent. But we won't be going back because it's just too loud.

Inspite of the noise, we had a great time because we love hanging out with David and Hanneke.

Two at Two

We're in California for a few more weeks continues...

Last night, I took the Bart into San Francisco to have dinner with one of my favorite friends, Sarah.

She's as beautiful and fun as ever. It's great to have some girl time.

We had dinner at Two, formerly Hawthorne Lane. I had had lunch there a few weeks ago and was not impressed. But I think I chose the wrong thing on the menu that day because dinner last night was great.

The decor still reminds me of an upscale version of the Tiki Room at Disneyland and the yellow formica tables are not really my taste. But the food is fabulous, the service is friendly and excellent and we had a great time.

Yes, those are photos of our dessert. Dessert! The choices were strangely mundane. A root beer float? An ice cream sundae? Sure, why not. I get tired of complicated dessert choices. Just give me ice cream. And I love that they give you the whole bottle of gourmet root beer to top off the dessert. It was completely fabulous.

Of course, now that I had a root beer float I can't eat for the rest of the week. But it was worth it.