Thoughts on Life in NoCal

Some observations of the past week:

#1: On Saturday, a small army of high school/college age young people picketing in front of our neighborhood KFC holding signs bearing the message "Scalded Alive."

I can think of so many ways I'd rather spend my Saturday afternoon.

#2: A gay bar. (I'd never actually seen one before.) With a big sign on the door saying "ATTENTION: You are entering a gay bar! Although we welcome all people, please be aware. . ." And at that point I stopped reading (and walked away, very quickly).

#3: Californians don't do rain. The forecast for the weekend was "overcast", so everyone cancelled all their outdoor plans. Consequently, yesterday the mall was full to overflowing. Worse than the day before Christmas. I'm not joking.

#4: 7.75% sales tax. Not fun!

#5: Pumping my own gas. What the?

#6: A decidedly smaller ratio of Starbucks to -- well, any other store with the audacity to take up a street corner. Last Tuesday I drove two miles each way for a cinnamon dolce latte. And it was uphill in both directions.