Hot Car, Empty Safeways

I had the car cleaned on Sunday.




There is a Garage just up the road from me where some nice Mexicans will clean your car for you, inside and out, for $35! This is great for me, as I have no facilities to clean my car here, and even if I did, I am hopeless at that kind of thing. I still own another car in the UK and my Dad cleans it every Sunday. My car here is worth about 10 times the cost of the car back home, and the car here gets cleaned here once a year if it's lucky. I think it does look magnificent now though. The thing about cleaning cars in this area though, is that because it's so dry here, they only last about a day before the dust starts building up on them again. So the photo above needed to be taken quickly, before it lost it's shine as usual!


Temperature was well over 30c at it's height today, which is uncomfortable for me. I struggled to hold the car's steering wheel today, as the inside had heated up so much when it was in the parking lot. When the weather is very hot here, sometimes the flaky electricity supply gives out, because everyone has their air con on, and we all have to melt in the heat. Happily that, as far as I know has never happened in this apartment complex. But when I was leaving the underground garage today to go to my yoga class (very Californian, I know!), the electric garage doors stuck halfway and all the lights went out. They all came back on after about 15 seconds, but looking at the disturbed clocks and computer equipment in the apartment, it seems the power went off again for quite a time over lunchtime. Thankfully, I missed all that and did not have to survive without aircon. I did try again, to do without it today, by getting the windows open early. But I have realised that anything over about 24c and you can't get by without the aircon - well, not comfortably anyway. This place is an office as well as a home after all!


A trip to boring old Safeways at Rivermark Plaza on Sunday, I was there about 9.30am, which is VERY early for me. But, like a lot of the Bay Area there is a lot of building going on in this area, local infrastructure is getting stretched, and the parking lot at Safeways can be a nightmare later on.


And, horror - they are re-arranging Safeways! I'm bad enough at shopping at the best of times, I don't need re-arranging! There were lots of empty shelves and the ex-pat UK food section got moved. I had a few moments of terror when I thought it may be gone altogether, I thought, maybe they are not making enough money selling chocolate digestives and typoo tea. But happily, the section had just been re-located. There was not a lot there on Sunday though, good thing I had previously stocked up and didn't need too much. I have the Hob Nobs already - so didn't buy them!