I'm a player

I've been tagged by the Sweetheart of Sacramento, Miss Dolce Chic! Candi is a new friend via blogland and I like her so much. I've never been tagged before, so I've decided to play along.

The goal of this one was to identify 6 quirky items about myself and hope you find it interesting. If not, I don't blame you.

I love making homemade whipped cream.

There, I've said it. Do you know how easy it is to impress your family and friends by simply bringing over homemade whipped cream so that everyone can slather it on their pumpkin pie, or put a dollop in their hot cocoa or in the summer, spoon it into a bowl full of berries?

All you need is one of these easy hand blenders, one pint of heavy whipping cream and a 1/3 cup full of sugar and blend until it gets stiff - about 5 minutes. It refrigerates well for a couple of days.

I used to sing and play guitar in coffee houses.

Here I am with Lisa Dewey. Lisa is a talented singer/songwriter with her own record label. We had a lot of fun singing together and this picture is from 1993. We were at an open-mic night in Santa Cruz, except it was for women only, and they called it, "Open Michelle". I didn't make that up. Fashion note - let's not talk about that.

When I learned how to play the guitar, I happened to have a small obsession with Sinéad O'Connor, so the first song I learned was Black Boys on Mopeds. I tried playing it last night and I can still do it. D, A, G is all it takes. Oh, and I came this close to shaving my head and piercing my nose.

I worked in a bar with my Mom and my brother.

One summer I worked in a bar called the Alpine Inn, a place that attracts cyclists and bikers alike - and my Mom and brother worked there, too. My Mom is a teacher, my brother is a musician and I was about to embark on a road trip so we all wanted some extra cash. We had a really good time and my Mom showed me the ropes as she had worked there the summer prior. Yes, my Mom showed me how to properly pour a draft beer. She called us "The Dream Team" on the days the three of us got to work together (which embarrassed my brother a little bit).

In case you ever happen to be in Portola Valley (on the west side of Palo Alto) and need a cold beer and a decent burger or linguica sandwich, I heartily recommend this place with the carved out picnic tables, peanut shells on the floor and large, outdoor seating area near the creek.

I traveled around the U.S. in a VW van.

I (along with an ex) traveled around eastern Canada and the United States in a 1969 Volkswagen Bus. There were bets - 'they won't last 6 months', but I was determined and lasted one and a half years. In order to last that long I got waitressing jobs in Naples, FL and then Block Island, R.I. It was a great adventure, though being on the road is more tiring than one might expect.

This photo is of me and my friend Nikki, whom I met in Block Island. We were going to the Lollapalooza show at Great Woods near Boston where we saw Jesus Lizard, Cypress Hill, Hole & Sonic Youth. Sinéad was supposed to sing but to my great disappointment, it was hot and she was pregnant and not feeling well. Summer of 1995.

I had a 1954 Chevy.

When I was 27 years old, I wanted to buy an old car. I've always been a car enthusiast and this felt like my time to do something different, more different than the variety of old VW's I'd had up to this point. Here she is - my 1954 Chevy 150 2-door sedan with powerglide. While not the Bel-Air, the 150 was most popular in its day with police, state governments, small businesses, economy minded consumers and hot rodders.

She was robin's egg blue and I used her as my daily driver to Oracle each day. Once after work, I left the Oracle parking lot and was at a stop-light. I noticed that I was behind Larry Ellison and his $100k Mercedes coupe. Wait, why was he getting out of his vehicle? To face me and yell, "NICE CAR"!

I traded my TV & DVD player for a surfboard.

When I was about 30, I lived on my own in Palo Alto in a nice apartment which I had just furnished with my first leather couch, a room just for my printing press, and a new TV and DVD player. The appliances didn't get much use, so when a buddy of mine offered to bring me a new surfboard from the central coast, we worked out a deal. I would trade him my TV & DVD and the new, 8' surfboard would be mine.

It's the only surfboard I've had. I'd like to get a 9'2.

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Please share your quirks, Ana, Clare & Jess!