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torquillIt was quite a day.
The train coming up was plagued with all sorts of routine delays -- switching problems, dispatch errors, work crews near the tracks, track congestion, you name it. We still got in only a half hour late, which was pretty good, all things considered. It gave me only twenty minutes for lunch, but I did that, managed a trip to my locker, and got to lab only a minute or two late.
The trip back also had problems -- or rather, a single large problem, in that its Sacramento-bound counterpart had encountered a "trespasser" on the tracks. It took less time than I would have expected to clear the fatality and process the scene, but we were still sitting motionless for an hour or so. Not the best day for Amtrak.
I had lunch at Raja. I was hoping to get in and out of there quickly, and I was going to ask a server how fast they could turn me over... until the manager spotted me hovering and said simply, "Help yourself" and waved at the buffet. Okay then. The "14 items" on the table included salad and naan, but there was enough that I was able to eat decently. The daal alone made it worth going; it was pleasantly hot, not hugely so, and had some very subtle seasonings that really, really worked with the papadum. (I tend to like daal more stewlike than as watery as this was, but I can deal.) If I go back and they don't have any beef or lamb (they had only chicken and veggies) I may spend my $7 on daal, rice, and papadum, and be pretty happy.
I got out of there in 20 minutes sharp, because I grabbed food, sat down, was served water somewhere between those, and just walked up to pay at the end. The manager did approach me once to ask how it was, and was pleased when I told him later at the buffet table that I liked the daal, but otherwise left me alone. I did feel like if I needed anything, though, all I had to do was make the slightest indication and he'd be right there.
The manager himself -- I assume that's who it was, he seemed like it -- was very polite, conscientious, and attentive. He was also, if I don't miss my guess, Sikh. The food was still the Pakistani-style type I'm used to, with no tomatoes or cream anywhere, which made me grateful. It also wasn't nearly as hot as Daawat makes things, which may be a nod to the fact that it's a block from the Memorial Union and bus terminal, and probably sees a lot of new students and even parents. I don't think all of the Indian food in Davis is that mild, but I'm not surprised Raja is.
Lab today was done by the guest lecturer, Dr. Ali Ahmedi, a personable sort of fellow. He ran us through grafting and budding techniques, ran class (if anything) better than Dave Burger, and all of us felt pretty satisfied and relaxed by the end. We grafted two roses (one of mine was Olympiad T-buds, the other was unknown chip buds, two per plant) and did a bench whip graft on Chardonnay grapes. The TA muttered that the rootstock was looking pretty gross, but I'm guessing that's because the wood had been in the fridge for many weeks... it looked viable enough. All of my grafts seemed to satisfy Dr. Ahmedi, who said they'd probably all take. It should be fun to watch.
After that I tooled around with Shayna, or however she spells it, who's in my Prop class and helps TA my PlAnat class; we went to put some more air in my front tire, then she led me over to the Davis Co-op, the big grocery, which I had never seen. My conclusion was that it was very similar to a Whole Foods, except about a third as expensive (I got away with a wedge of dry jack for $3). I may pay the $20 for membership just so that I can get good snacks there for cheap.
That trip wore me out enough that I didn't stick around to garden... I coaxed my tired thighs into one last sprint for the train, which was late to start with. I parked my bike in a place that I now realize will leave it sticky all over, and I need to make sure that I bring a couple of paper towels soaked in isopropyl alcohol to wipe it down with on Tuesday. Even Davis has a lot to learn about proper species for street trees.
One thing I noticed while waiting for the train, however, was the birds. A whole flock was settling to roost for the night in the trees right across the track from the station, and when a flash of white caught my eye, I started to look more closely. Black crow-sized birds, white bellies and wing underbars, long diamond-shaped tails and weird calls...
They were magpies.
A whole set of magpies. Not the single one I saw in Napa years and years ago. A few dozen of them, all soaring in and flashing their bars and long tailfeathers as they came in to land, one after another. I'm under the impression that magpies are not native to our part of the world, and that they've been steadily creeping down from the north, but I have no idea where they started or when. Then again, we didn't have crows here in Concord until the mid-90's, so we may have magpies here soon as well.
I like magpies. Odd birds.
I'm hoping to have more time to update during the day next week -- these all-in-one posts get long.
The train coming up was plagued with all sorts of routine delays -- switching problems, dispatch errors, work crews near the tracks, track congestion, you name it. We still got in only a half hour late, which was pretty good, all things considered. It gave me only twenty minutes for lunch, but I did that, managed a trip to my locker, and got to lab only a minute or two late.
The trip back also had problems -- or rather, a single large problem, in that its Sacramento-bound counterpart had encountered a "trespasser" on the tracks. It took less time than I would have expected to clear the fatality and process the scene, but we were still sitting motionless for an hour or so. Not the best day for Amtrak.
I had lunch at Raja. I was hoping to get in and out of there quickly, and I was going to ask a server how fast they could turn me over... until the manager spotted me hovering and said simply, "Help yourself" and waved at the buffet. Okay then. The "14 items" on the table included salad and naan, but there was enough that I was able to eat decently. The daal alone made it worth going; it was pleasantly hot, not hugely so, and had some very subtle seasonings that really, really worked with the papadum. (I tend to like daal more stewlike than as watery as this was, but I can deal.) If I go back and they don't have any beef or lamb (they had only chicken and veggies) I may spend my $7 on daal, rice, and papadum, and be pretty happy.
I got out of there in 20 minutes sharp, because I grabbed food, sat down, was served water somewhere between those, and just walked up to pay at the end. The manager did approach me once to ask how it was, and was pleased when I told him later at the buffet table that I liked the daal, but otherwise left me alone. I did feel like if I needed anything, though, all I had to do was make the slightest indication and he'd be right there.
The manager himself -- I assume that's who it was, he seemed like it -- was very polite, conscientious, and attentive. He was also, if I don't miss my guess, Sikh. The food was still the Pakistani-style type I'm used to, with no tomatoes or cream anywhere, which made me grateful. It also wasn't nearly as hot as Daawat makes things, which may be a nod to the fact that it's a block from the Memorial Union and bus terminal, and probably sees a lot of new students and even parents. I don't think all of the Indian food in Davis is that mild, but I'm not surprised Raja is.
Lab today was done by the guest lecturer, Dr. Ali Ahmedi, a personable sort of fellow. He ran us through grafting and budding techniques, ran class (if anything) better than Dave Burger, and all of us felt pretty satisfied and relaxed by the end. We grafted two roses (one of mine was Olympiad T-buds, the other was unknown chip buds, two per plant) and did a bench whip graft on Chardonnay grapes. The TA muttered that the rootstock was looking pretty gross, but I'm guessing that's because the wood had been in the fridge for many weeks... it looked viable enough. All of my grafts seemed to satisfy Dr. Ahmedi, who said they'd probably all take. It should be fun to watch.
After that I tooled around with Shayna, or however she spells it, who's in my Prop class and helps TA my PlAnat class; we went to put some more air in my front tire, then she led me over to the Davis Co-op, the big grocery, which I had never seen. My conclusion was that it was very similar to a Whole Foods, except about a third as expensive (I got away with a wedge of dry jack for $3). I may pay the $20 for membership just so that I can get good snacks there for cheap.
That trip wore me out enough that I didn't stick around to garden... I coaxed my tired thighs into one last sprint for the train, which was late to start with. I parked my bike in a place that I now realize will leave it sticky all over, and I need to make sure that I bring a couple of paper towels soaked in isopropyl alcohol to wipe it down with on Tuesday. Even Davis has a lot to learn about proper species for street trees.
One thing I noticed while waiting for the train, however, was the birds. A whole flock was settling to roost for the night in the trees right across the track from the station, and when a flash of white caught my eye, I started to look more closely. Black crow-sized birds, white bellies and wing underbars, long diamond-shaped tails and weird calls...
They were magpies.
A whole set of magpies. Not the single one I saw in Napa years and years ago. A few dozen of them, all soaring in and flashing their bars and long tailfeathers as they came in to land, one after another. I'm under the impression that magpies are not native to our part of the world, and that they've been steadily creeping down from the north, but I have no idea where they started or when. Then again, we didn't have crows here in Concord until the mid-90's, so we may have magpies here soon as well.
I like magpies. Odd birds.
I'm hoping to have more time to update during the day next week -- these all-in-one posts get long.
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-14 21:10 (UTC)By the way, you do know who I am, right? I just realized that if you hadn't made the connection, the fact that I know where you live might seem more than a bit creepy :).
no subject
Date: 2006-10-14 22:50 (UTC)I still hope that the magpies will migrate over here eventually... if we don't have ravens like Dublin does, at least we can have another entertaining corbie.
I've also been enjoying watching the cormorants out around the Bay Bridge and the Antioch bridge (Highway 116). And the huge bunches of egrets I can see from the train.
Magpies
Date: 2006-10-17 00:33 (UTC)~M