...of the "catch up" variety.
Jesse and I have been busy. Looking back, though, it wasn't all that interesting.. it just took up all of our time. From November through January, we were trying to buy a house. Unfortunately, it fell through due to forces outside our control. We continue to have the worst home-buying luck of anyone we know. So we're taking a break at the moment. We had planned to go to two open houses yesterday, but decided last-minute that we're just not ready to try again. It's exhausting.
We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary on January 27th. We went to Pacific Grove, and spent some time exploring neighboring Monterey and Carmel. It was a very peaceful trip. Jesse was sick, but he was a sport and went anyway, so we kept it very low-key. Our fanciest meal was at Passionfish, which was a recommendation from our friend, Rob. The food was totally delicious, so if you're ever in the area, go there. But skip their desserts, because they weren't very impressive.
Last week, I travelled to Seattle for a conference. I had to share a hotel room, which I was originally worried about, but it turned out to be the best part of the trip. My roommate and I got along very well, and were practically attached at the hip the whole time. The weather was nice -- pretty much like being in the Bay Area in February. Kind of cold, drizzly one day, but surprisingly mild for the most part. The conference helped me to realize how huge my company is. The 6,000 conference attendees represented only 7.5% of the total number of company employees. However, keep in mind that those attendees represent over 18x the number of employees at our subsidiary. We're so tiny!
What else? ...After being around thousands of people all last week (or having at least one person there for 99% of the time), I am really treasuring that I have occasionally been alone over the past couple of days. I generally find myself with songs stuck in my head. They're usually very peaceful slow songs, adding to the calm. Specifically, Paolo Nutini's "Last Request." I found this song on YouTube while I was hunting around for Jehro videos. Jehro and Paolo Nutini do a really nice duet, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Oh, that reminds me of something very notable -- Jesse and I went to a Tori Amos concert in December. We went with one of his friends, and it was unanimous - this was a *fantastic* concert. Tori has graduated to full-blown rockstar status, if you ask me (and since you're reading my blog, it's kind of like you did ask..) So, from this post, my two album recommendations are Paolo Nutini "These Streets," and Tori Amos "American Doll Posse." And, if you haven't heard it yet, definitely get Jehro's self-titled album. It's excellent warm weather music, so you might want to wait until Summer. I'll try to remind you when the weather gets nicer...you won't regret it.
That's all I have for this edition of Ketchup. Please tune in again later to see if there's anything else happening. I can't guarantee there will be, unfortunately. =)
