So what was up with me not writing one little bit while I was gone? I'm not sure what it is about being surrounded by family 24/7, but I tend to put alot of things on pause when it happens, and then have a hard time hitting play when I finally get a moment to myself. Anyway, I had a wonderful 3 weeks off from my freelance gig, and they wanted me to come back, so many of my money worries and frantic preparations for being unemployed again were all for naught. But it's sort of a mixed blessing, as I'm feeling somewhat ready to move on but don't have another place to go. That's another story entirely that I'll save for another time. And thanks to the god-awful heat wave enveloping LA right now, I barely have the energy to post, let alone make this coherent in paragraphs so I'm going to switch to bullets now.
Here's the list of San Francisco highlights:
- Many many touristy things with my brother, wife and their three kids. I saw it from newcomer's eyes (i.e. no commuting to work on MUNI every day), and sort of fell for it all over again, and it made me a teeny bit sad. It all looked so pretty. The bridge, Golden Gate Park, the Marin Headlands, the Ferry Building, Union Square, North Beach. Wah. But that icy cold fog that crept around us in the morning was enough to remind me of a major reason to love L.A..
- Got to see SuperspecialK for the first time in a year. I didn't see enough of her, but it was still wonderful to spend time with one of my very best friends in the world again. We had drinks on the frozen tundra that is the roof of her old building, where we shared so many laughs, memories and more than a few bottles of wine and it felt like years ago. Sniff.
- Hung out at some of the new spots in my sister's hood. A new bar on Divisadero that was actually there when I left but I never made it to, and dinner with my friend Heidi at a great new restaurant that I wish was down here. And when did I ever think I would say such a thing, given my culinary love affair with Los Angeles?
- Managed to get an eye infection while in SF. A bad one. Not your common garden pinkeye, but a cornea complication that I believe is from my contacts. It was VERY painful. It was equally painful trying to navigate the acute care facilities in SF while trying to get an appt. with a specialist. But I won't jump on my soapbox and rant about the hassles of short-term health insurance now. Now I'm forced to wear my dorky glasses circa 1996 for a long time. And I need an L.A. follow up to ensure that it's really and truly gone. Does anyone have an ophthalmologist they love here?
- Went to a wine tasting hosted by my friend Jamie. Sat out in the sun on one of those rare, but-so-glorious-when-they-happen hot summer days in San Francisco and sampled at least 5 or 6 bottles with yummy cheese, fruit and chocolate pairings. I've had worse days.
- Had a whole 1.5 days with my niece Jordan all to myself. We got mani/pedis, saw The Devil Wears Prada (loved it!), had an Udon lunch in Japantown, took a long walk all the way to the bridge and back along Crissy Field, and baked the most delicious cake from the San Francisco Firefighter's cookbook. I'll try and remember to post the recipe on that other blog of mine. (But don't hold your breath.)
So that was week 1 and 2. Stay tuned for details on week 3.
