A Rattlesnake Almost Bit Me

On Sunday I drove over to Salinas to visit my friend Dayna. She lives in Salinas, near Monterey and Carmel.




It has been raining cats and dogs in Northern California so the hills are still loaded with wildflowers. Dayna has been wanting to take me to Garrapata State Park for a hike that starts at the coast highway, goes up, up, up to the top of the mountain for an incredible ocean view, then down, down, down back to an old barn where the trail begins.

We were near the end of our hike, about 1/4 mile from the barn; I was blasting down the trail when suddenly, in mid-step, I heard a very loud and angry rattling! Dayna said I did a funny little u-turn dance in mid air before dashing back up the trail, my eyes as big as saucers, nearly colliding with her. There on the trail before us was a big old rattler!

He looked about as unhappy to see me as I him, and he did his own quick u-turn and slithered back into the brush.

I like reptiles, especially snakes (in fact we saw two more beautiful Striped Racers on the hike as well), but I sure as hell did not want to get bit by a rattlesnake. That would ruin my day.

Later that evening I started obsessing...what if I had gotten bit by that snake? So in case anybody is wondering, this is what you are supposed to do and not do if you get bit by a rattlesnake:

What do I do for initial first aid?

Because most Californians live in rattlesnake country, a snakebite emergency plan should be developed before it is needed. If you are less than one hour from the nearest emergency room, initial treatment is relatively simple:
*Try to calm the victim.
*Gently wash the area with soap and water.
*Apply a cold, wet cloth over the bite.
*Transport to the nearest emergency facility for further treatment.

What should NOT be done after a rattlesnake bite?

Several DON'Ts are very important to remember:
DON'T apply a tourniquet.
DON'T pack the bite area in ice.
DON'T cut the wound with a knife or razor.
DON'T use your mouth to suck out the venom.
DON'T let the victim drink alcohol.
DON'T apply electric shock.

I especially like the DON'T about applying electric shock. Why on earth would you apply electric shock to a snake bite victim? I would have a drink, however, if given half a chance. Isn't there a drink called a Snakebite?

Anyway, after brushing up on the dos and don'ts of snakebites I think I'm ready to get back on the trail.

By the way, Garrapata means tick in Spanish. I didn't see any ticks on Sunday.

Tiny things/the Pygmy Seahorse

Sometimes I feel the modern world is one sensory overload after another...everything is supersized, superloud, superfast. Superobnoxious.

I like to go under the water and be with other creatures. Even though I am an interloper and have to breathe with an apparatus or hold my breath I feel at home. It's pretty clear where we all are on the food chain. I am surrounded by hundreds of little creatures who are all living their daily dramas. It's always exciting to see the big animals, the sharks, whales, dolphins and turtles, but I think the most interesting sea creatures are those that are the tiniest.

Last year in the Solomon Islands I encountered one of the most fascinating and tiniest creatures I have ever met...the pygmy seahorse. It was so small I could barely see it with my naked eye, no more than 1/8" if that, half the size of my little fingernail. Monty from the boat Bilikiki pointed it out to me. It was the same color as the sea fan on which it lived, same knobby texture, the perfect camouflage. I took a picture with my Nikonos V macro lens, not really sure what I was shooting at. I thought Monty was pulling my leg, that I was shooting at nothing.

This male is pregnant with the eggs of its mate. She was elsewhere on the fan, moving about. It took me two dives of staring at this sea fan before I was able to identify these creatures on my own. I hovered next to the fan, perfectly still, hearing my own breathing and my own heartbeat, bubbles slowly ascending from my regulator, staring at the fan, when suddenly a tiny knob of the fan would unwind its tail and relocate itself...the pygmy seahorse on the move.

There are amazing things to see in the world if we stop and look closely enough.

So Complicated

Every year there is a race from San Francisco to Monterey. Last year my pal Synthia and I raced the Hawkfarm and had a GREAT time. We started at noon and finished in Saturday's wee hours. After we finished we rested a while and then sailed the boat back to SF; this took two days. It was a great weekend, simple, uncomplicated, no rush.

This year my dear Tom is doing the race on a hot sled built by our friend Dan Newland. Tom has to make everything so damn complicated. He doesn't want to drive his car to Alameda and leave it there because he wants to get picked up in Monterey so he doesn't have to sail back. He needed to find a ride to Alameda and he enlisted Synthia's help. Luckily I had to work so I was out of the loop. She was going to drop him off "on her way" up to San Francisco. It's not on her way. But she managed to find some other sucker to give Tom a ride. OK, so Tom has his ride to the boat.

Here's Dan's boat Pegasus, she's a beauty!!

I planned to be in Monterey on Saturday to hike and spend time with my friend Dayna. I offered to pick Tom up in Monterey Saturday day/night and he could stay with us, then I would drive him home Sunday morning. No, Tom wants to fly in a WWII plane Saturday and go to a party in Santa Cruz Saturday night. In order to accommodate his schedule so he COULD spend time with us (me, Dayna and her boyfriend Jack) Dayna and I moved our hiking date from Saturday to Sunday. Of course that means I'm no longer available to pick him up in Monterey because I won't be there. He enlisted his mom and brother to pick him up in Monterey and take him to his WWII flight in Gilroy. They will drive him back to Santa Cruz for his party and I'll meet him there to bring him home.

Synthia will race Eyrie from SF to Monterey, rest, then sail the boat back to San Francisco. I like her style.

UPDATE: Tom finished around 9:00pm Friday. Synthia finished around 2:00am Saturday. That's a fast boat vs. slow boat for ya.

Those Wacky Finns #1

My father's father came from Finland. We have Finnish friends and relatives. Take it from me, Finns do some crazy things. The examples are numerous. Recently I was recalling an interview that I heard on the CBC. They were talking to a guest and I recognized the Finnish accent immediately so my interest was piqued. I listened knowing I would not be disappointed.

The guest was the conductor of an all-male shouting chorus. In 1987 in the community of Oulu the men had nothing to do. Maybe it was winter or something. Usually Finns drink a lot and become depressed in the winter so I have to hand it to these guys for wanting to be different. They decided to form a choir but alas, they could not sing. They could shout however, and the men's shouting choir was born.

They shout "deconstructed versions of random music, and, occasionally, legal proceedings or trade agreements." The conductor was a good-natured chap who seemed a little surprised and amused by the success they have maintained over the years. I recommend you check out their website. You can listen to their version of The Star Spangled Banner. They also have a video which is a must-see.

It seems they only played in the U.S. once, in 2000 at the Bang On A Can festival in New York. It's about time they came back, don't you think?

wacky finns, shouting chorus, Mieskuoro Huutaat

KABOOM!

Every year one of our local radio stations hosts a spectacular firework display. For them it's an all day affair with booths, bands, etc.; fun for the whole family. For me it is a good excuse to hang out on the boat with good friends. A LOT of people take their boats out on the water, set the anchor, bonk into each other and watch the show. Too many yahoos on the water for my taste, and since my boat lives at a marina near the show why bother to leave? If we anchored we would only be able to fit about 8 people aboard; if we stay at the dock we can have an endless number of guests. We have one of the smallest boats at the marina but one of the biggest parties. This year my friends Greg and Molly showed up with their three kids, two girls 4 and 3, and their little boy of 10 months.

The kids being there was my favorite part of the evening. Watching them watch the fireworks was the best. They were completely enthralled, especially the baby William. He was so darn cute as he sat on mommy's lap, pacifier in his mouth, eyes big as saucers watching the show. The little girls Nicole and Angela shared the beanbag chair in the cockpit and oohed and aahed throughout.

The fireworks are synchronized to music. In fact, you can download the entire fireworks show from the KFOG website. They advertised it as being the biggest fireworks show ever in the history of California. They used 7 tons of pyrotechnics. Wow!

Customer Service?????

Last week I fired a customer! Yes really, I actually fired a customer! I have never done this before. I work in a sail loft/industrial sewing loft and I work in sales (as opposed to sails which is what I used to do) and customer service. I like customer service because I get off on helping people feel important, happy and satisfied.

OK, do you think I'm basically a good person and not a raging witch? Good, because here's the story of the firing...

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a guy who had worked with us while he was an industrial design student. He said he wanted to work with us in his new capacity as CEO of Trendy Furniture Design Company because we had been so helpful before. So far so good. He sent me drawings of a really cool chair that he wanted us to make out of neoprene. I wish I could show you a photo of the very cool chair, however I signed a non-disclosure agreement and cannot reveal the product. Neoprene is a PAIN IN THE ASS to sew and I told him that, but if he wanted to give it a go we would do our best. I wrote up a contract, he signed it, paid a deposit and we were off.

First problem: the drawings had incomplete measurements. When I asked him for full specs he said he could do one step better, he would actually bring a sample chair that he made out of canvas, stapled together and we could pattern from that. He brought it by, along with his partner...

Second problem: the partner who shall be known as BP (Bad Partner), was tightly wound and was a "hand waver." In other words, every detail is clear in his mind and he assumes it should be clear to everyody else, meanwhile he is unable to verbalize what he means and engages in hand-waving instead of clear, concise directions. Hand wavers get very peeved when asked to elucidate, and this guy was the king of peeve.

Third problem: they kept adding details outside the original scope of the job and I tried to keep track of all of this by taking copious notes. I pointed out to them that this would be a FIRST ARTICLE prototype and would invariably need tweaking so not to expect perfection with the first chair. Such is the way with prototyping. They agreed that a second chair would be made after working out problems in the first.

Fourth problem: they gave me info on the "special" neoprene they wanted and a contact at the company. When I called the rep she didn't know who these guys were or where they got their product info because no such neoprene existed. BP was mad at me for not being able to make his special neoprene magically appear, GP (Good Partner) was cool and asked me what I recommended...

Fifth problem: I recommended something we already had, 2mm neoprene, inexpensive and easy to sew. BP wanted 3mm neoprene, thicker and harder to sew. They decided they wanted the chair lined and asked what I recommended. "Lycra," I said, "it stretches like the neoprene and is breatheable." "Nylon would be better" said BP. OK, have it your way jackass.

We made the chair and I'll be damned if it didn't look pretty darn good. Frankly I was surprised at how good it looked. The thing needed to be stuffed so we called GP and asked him how much to stuff it...

Sixth problem: "Whatever seems right to you, just go ahead" he said. So we did.

He picked it up to take back to work to show BP and review it for changes, etc. We met a few days later and BP was NOT happy. His complaints were:

1) Chair too stuffed. When I told him GP told us to use our discretion he said very snottily "Well I thought it would have been obvious!" So it took them like 3 minutes to unstuff it and why didn't they do this before? Because BP had to bring it to prove to me we're not mind readers?

2) Front of chair was straight but was supposed to be curved. "Ummm...your sample is straight," I said, "we copied it exactly." He must have stood there measuring it 15 times before conceding I was right. "But what about the drawing we sent to you? It shows a curve." When I showed him the drawing the curve was barely visible; this was one of the measurements that had been missing. When I pointed that out to him he snapped "Well I thought it would have been obvious!" Again with the obvious.

3) I had forgotten to include two of the numerous details that they added after the original quote. I told them my bad, we could add them very easily after the fact. BP seemed annoyed that it would be an easy fix.

4) BP did not like the stitching and said it was not perfectly straight. I told them I had warned them about this and that we at the shop felt the stitching was quite good. They brought along a sample of a 1.5mm wesuit and said "We want it to look like this." "No can do," I replied. "This is two layers of 1.5mm neoprene and you instructed us to sew through FOUR layers of 3mm neoprene, big difference."

5) BP wanted to know why chair poofed up whenever he sat on it. I said "Because it is lined with an unbreathable nylon as per your instructions instead of breathable lycra." He was pissed.

BP delivered a few more sarcastic comments my way but I wasn't about to react to his rudeness. I told BP and GP I would try to think of some other solutions that would make their chair work and get back to them the following day. In reality, I was CRUSHED! We tried so hard and the chair looked so cool but they, well BP anyway, treated me like I was scum.

I couldn't sleep that night and obsessed about it for hours. No matter how I considered it I kept coming back to the same conclusion...I knew whatever we did they (BP) would not be happy. I knew what I had to do. Better to end it now.

I called GP and broke the news to him; based on our meeting I didn't think we could produce a chair that would satisfy his company. They would have to find another company to make their chair. He was pretty bummed out. We negotiated that he would come and get the chair and we would keep the deposit. He said, "I should probably come alone, shouldn't I?" Aha! So he knew his partner was a jerk.

It was weird when he came in. He seemed kind of sad and embarrassed. I was absolutely elated to be rid of this job from hell that could have been so much worse. But I kept a straight face out of respect for GP and waited until he left before doing the happy dance.

I don't know why, but this whole thing reminded me of one time when I was crabby to a young waitress at Chili's. She was trying hard but kind of screwing up in very minor ways. It would have been easier to be nice and understanding, but I must have been in a bad mood or something because I was a total bitch. I think the look on her face must have been like the look on my face when BP kept reaming me out over minor stuff. What goes around comes around.

Still, it felt GREAT to fire that customer. Hoorah!!!! I love it when I make the right decision.

This rant felt good.

Tonya and Nancy: The Opera

My friend Betty sent me an amusing article because she knows my work pals and I are fascinated by Tonya Harding. Tonya started at the lowest of the low, worked herself up to the highest of the high, an Olympic figure skater for God's sake and a damn good one, then in the most tawdry manner conceivable plunged herself back down into scandal and humiliation. I always felt kind of bad for her when people said stuff like "you can take the girl out of the trailer park but you can't take the trailer park out of the girl," but I understood where they were coming from cuz she's kinda skanky. Is she a comic figure or a tragic figure? And why did (do) some people still like Tonya better than Nancy even though Tonya is a criminal and Nancy is so sweet? Tonya constantly re-invents herself, nevertheless she can't seem to keep herself from backsliding just when it seems she is about to pop out on top once again. She's the archetypal tragic hero, except that she's not dead yet.

Betty's boyfriend works for the Clackamas County Courthouse, that's why Betty keeps us updated on all Tonya's activities...and Tonya is very active. She has really bad taste in men. She also has a web site.

Apparently some Tufts student has written an opera about these two women:

In "Tonya and Nancy: The Opera," Al-Doory provides 18 movements on the scandal that turned the once-dainty sport of figure skating into a soap opera of whacking, wailing and time spent in jail.


Al-Doory's goal is to make the viewers rethink their impression of Harding and Kerrigan, maybe send them away with a tune in their heads.

"Our adviser encouraged us to do a string quartet. I wanted to do something with voice and a story," Al-Doory said, 72 hours before the performance. "I really should have done a string quartet."

Leave it to a student to recognize how the traditional operatic themes of envy, greed and power can be so readily applied to a modern day drama. Nancy got whacked 12 years ago, but it seems like yesterday.

Tortoise and Hare

Here in Silicon Valley everything moves way too fast, that's why I like to do fun things that force me to slow down. One of my favorite pasttimes is sailing. Well, racing to be more precise. Hmmm...guess that's not as slow as it could be. However my boat is old and slow so speed is a relative concept. A couple of years ago my friend Synthia and I decided to race to Hawaii. We were one of the smallest boats in the fleet (28') and it took us 14 days 18 hours to sail the 2,000 miles from San Francisco to Oahu. The largest and fastest boat was 104' and it only took them 5 days! Nevertheless, as a result of our high (i.e. slow boat) rating, we managed to correct out in front of them and beat them by 25 minutes. Heh heh.
Out the Golden Gate, go girlz!

sailboat racing, pacific cup