Going to be taking next week off from work (thanks to the whole California-going-broke, Oakland-going-broke, unpaid-furloughs-for-state-workers-and-the-like thing), and I am so looking forward to it. The prospect of ten days in a row of not having the alarm go off at 5:00 am, not having to drag myself out of bed, not having to put on makeup and office-suitable clothes, not having to spend eight-plus hours at a desk under fluourescent lighting... ah, bliss.

Plans so far include going to the Trappist on Friday after work for a couple of beers. (Yay — they currently have the St. Bernardus Prior 8 and Tripel Karmeliet on tap. Pirate likes the Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, but it's a bit strong for me.)

On Saturday, Pirate has an early-afternoon call for work, and I'm planning to spend the day at home hibernating. Sleep, read, pet the cats, maybe weed the garden patch and trim the rosemary, that kind of thing.

Sunday, we're looking at going to the Paramount Theatre for a matinee of Buster Keaton's The General, with live accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Christoph Bull, performing his own original score to the movie.

Monday we're planning to get together with my folks and possibly go to the Penzey's Spices store in San Mateo.

After that, plans are open. I've been going through our copies of Short Bike Rides In and Around San Francisco by Henry "Never Met A Hill I Didn't Love" Kingman* and Road Biking Northern California by John Nagiecki and Kimberly Grob, and several of the rides look like possibilities.

I want to go by Vik's at some point. We haven't been there since they moved, plus I need more katori.

Plus, definitely, time spent in the parks and by Lake Merritt snoozing in the sun, recharging my batteries.

So, so, so looking forward to the time off.


*Not long after we first got the bikes, Pirate and I tried doing the "Planet of the Apes Road" ride from Short Bike Rides. We got about three miles into it (riding through the gusting wind and drifting sand along the Great Highway, with cars blowing past at near-freeway speeds just feet away), to a residential street in Pacifica that we renamed "Armstrong's Tears", before we decided to turn around and head back to town for a much-needed cup of coffee.