another sports jock ad

Be honest. At the beginning of this TV ad, how many of you initially thought the person was a man in drag?

Largest cities in 9 Bay Area counties

As mentioned in yesterday's blog, I asked if anyone could name the largest city from each of the 9 San Francisco Bay Area counties. It's likely you would have told me to go jump in a lake because I've got nothing better to do with my time. But, for those who eat up this kind of useless information, here they are:

1. Santa Clara - San Jose
2. Alameda - Oakland
3. Contra Costa - Concord
4. San Francisco - San Francisco
5. San Mateo - Daly City
6. Sonoma - Santa Rosa
7. Solano - Vallejo
8. Marin - San Rafael
9. Napa - Napa

I actually did contemplate making future entries with trivia questions, but Cliff Claven immediately came to mind. A female Asian-American Cliff Claven. Not someone I would exactly look up to or aspired to be as a child.

Perish the thought.

San Francisco Bay Area counties

This August will be my 25th year as a San Francisco resident. Wow, a quarter of a century. When I first moved here, the San Francisco Bay Area was just over 4 million residents.

The 2000 census for the 9 county region was 6.7 million. As of July 2006, Wikipedia lists the population at 7.2 million, making it the 5th largest metropolitan area in the U.S.

Geez, that's almost double the size since I first moved here. Despite the high cost of living and the highly competitive job market, I still wouldn't live anywhere else.

Once I started reading about each of the counties, it piqued my curiosity where they ranked in terms of population. When I tallied up the numbers, it really didn't come as a surprise to me. They are (taken from 2000 census listed in Wikipedia):

1. Santa Clara

2. Alameda

3. Contra Costa

4. San Francisco

5. San Mateo

6. Sonoma

7. Solano

8. Marin

9. Napa

Bonus: Can you name the largest city from each county? I know these can be found on the internet, but if you've lived in the Bay Area long enough, at least 5 of them should be obvious. Answers will be posted tomorrow.

What not to wear

At lunch today, I headed to Hillsdale Mall to exchange a blazer I ordered online from J.Jill. I seem to be buying a lot of their clothes lately. Like Eddie Bauer, most of the clothes at regular price are too expensive, so I wait for them to go on sale when the price becomes much more reasonable.

Once I found another blazer (also on sale) to exchange, I was at the counter waiting for the associate to ring up my total, another woman came up to buy a sweater. She initially wasn't going to get it, then she changed her mind. What caught my attention was that she bought the sweater in a size small. Not usually a problem, but the woman was at least my size if not bigger. I'd be bursting seams out of most size small sweaters. She said buying the sweater would make her go on the diet she should be on already.

To me, this makes no sense. I'd wager the $70 she spent on her sweater that she'll never wear it. She'll end up giving it to a friend or donating it. On the other hand, if this was a wedding dress the diet would have started last year. Women wanting to look slender in their wedding dress, that's another part of womanhood I never got. Bust your butt for a year to fit into a dress that several sizes too small for an event that lasts for ONE FRIGGING DAY. Sorry, missy, I have more important things to think about.

After I left J.Jill, I headed to the food court to grab lunch. There's a Japanese place that makes a pretty mean chicken teriyaki bowl (I go light on the teriyaki) that I frequent. On my walk there, I must have seen at least 3 teens wearing henleys and sweaters with the buttons ready to burst. While it's not OK to wear something baggy and hanging, there are more girls that think it's acceptable to wear clothes 2 sizes too small.

Once I got my food, I sat down at one of the tables and in front of me was a girl, probably no older than 20. She was wearing a heavy waist-length fleece lined coat in flip-flops with her midriff showing from the back of her low-cut jeans. I really don't get it. Wear REAL SHOES + top long enough to cover backside = no heavy coat.

When I finished lunch, I got up to leave and I saw two women wearing what looked like their pajamas trying to decide where to eat. Both were in sweats. One of them was wearing a long-sleeved undershirt with no bra underneath. And she wasn't exactly flat-chested.

Where are Stacy and Clinton when you need them?

Red leather recliners are here!

At 11:20 a.m. this morning, I heard outside the window a truck stopped on the street. Like Ralphie on Christmas morning, I immediately went to the window to see if the truck was from Macy's. It was. My Red Ryder BB guns arrived.

The delivery guys brought up and assembled the guns, uh, recliners in about 10 minutes.  .

The rug from Overstock.com (which replaces the torn one from HomeDecoratorsOutlet.com) should arrive in the next 1-2 days.

Pupsicles at the Iditarod

While reading my morning news, I sometimes take at a look at SFGate's Day in Pictures. The picture, courtesy of AP, is taken from this year's Iditarod.

As a mainlander, I know very little about the Iditarod. I went to their website today and it's chock full of information on anything and everything about this longtime winter event. If you buy from the Iditarod store, the purchase is put into a sled rather than a shopping cart.

The race is currently in Day 8, which is about halfway before the finish. If I can convince myself to brave the cold (it's 4 degrees Fahrenheit in Nome right now), I would love to see this event.