christmas

a good time in texas:

• flight to dfw delayed by snow fall but got to taste mom's delicious east meets west leftovers!
• buon giorno coffee, wii, and hot tub with hs people.  saving "frozen custard" for my next visit.
• "it's complicated" with the family.
• taiwanese lunch and hot pot with family friends.
• sewing lessons from mom.  made a cute handbag with her help!   (and then she made one for my sister to match and another "dressier" version for me)  awesome!
• fun day with mom and sister -- massages, lunch, and shopping.  :)
  

good times.

winter solstice

the days are getting longer. 

• dinner with sibo and work people at my tofu house.  nice.
• holiday party at p&j's.  nice homemade gifts -- marshmallows, bacon chocolate caramels, and irish cream.  crazy.
  
• rusty wells yoga and samovar catchup with lauren, joined by andreas.
• the hard nut in berkeley.
• whole grain baking. pear bran muffins, oatmeal blueberry buttermilk pancakes, and whole wheat gingerbread.
  

life notes

• cab ride home on a rainy night.  the driver tells me this:  americans think rain is miserable.  in pakistan, we think it's a beautiful thing.  then he recites poetry in urdu.  it's supposed to mean something about how the world is swaying like it's drunk.  then he tells me to enjoy nature, to go camping and enjoy absolute silence.
• exhausted from late night and weekend work.  trying to be a better manager of people.  also, on communicating my expectations more effectively.  and being decisive.  
• matt's and my second beer is ready to drink!  it's a porter, and it's got a nice flavor.
• informal sun holiday party in menlo park.
• relaxing bubble bath with candles. 
  

parents in town

nice visit with parents.

• delicious things eaten.  hot pot, ton kiang, koi palace.
• point reyes
• conservatory of flowers and botanical garden
• suchada thai massage

yay!

giving up before the fight's over

• first set of applications submitted.  i kind of "gave up," rather than fighting to the end.  i hope that's okay.
• chabot space & science center with m.  not a whole lot of content, but cool telescopes and 2 movies ("wonders of ancient egypt" and "secrets of the mayan sky").  it felt like 3rd grade.
• checked out a few new (to me) eateries:  bar tartine, gialina pizzaria, langkawi

 

i spy... on my neighbors

both my downstairs and next-door neighbors take the j train to and from the financial district.  (just like me!)

i just pretend i don't see them to avoid awkward conversation. 

mostly, i'm embarrassed that i've forgotten next-door neighbor's name.  it's also embarrassing that my kitchen window faces their living room and laundry room windows.  (i can see that next-door neighbor has good book and wine taste.)  last night, next-door neighbor's wife was ironing shirts while i was trying to flatten out pizza dough.  we avoided eye contact.  what if i had smiled and waved instead? 

maybe i'll say hi next time i see them. 

notes

october came by quickly.  things that i remember happening:

• watched:  barbarian invasions, how i met your mother, mad men
• cooked:  leek and chard tart, cioppino, chicken stuffed with spinach and goat cheese,  french onion soup,  hearty winter vegetable soup, red lentil soup, brussels sprouts barigoule,
• new places tried:  oliveto, lavash, sentinal, intelligensia coffee, hi-tea
• celebrating matt's birthday at pinnacles national monument
  

autumn notes

hi, fall.

• cold weather foods. found a handmade dumpling place in the sunset. there are asian ladies in the back room wrapping the dumplings. they only speak mandarin but are super friendly about helping you find the frozen dumplings you want. i'll definitely be back!
• recent creations. fig, proscuitto, goatcheese, and carmelized onion sandwich, pasta e fagioli, and curried chicken pot pie.
• homeless. there was a homeless dude camped out between my neighbors' and my building, right behind the compost bin. i called the police. i'm not sure what i was supposed to do, i guess i could have let him stay. i wonder where he's sleeping on this rainy night.
• books read. finished unaccustomed earth, skimmed brewing books, started his exellency (george washington biography), and bought a whole grain baking book.
• movies watched. there will be blood and the informant.
• new restaurants in the neighborhood, chilango and starbelly. i'll be back, chilango.
• science museums are fun. i'm co-blogging with matt.

george washington

there are a lot of things i like about matt. 

one thing -- we can have a serious, half-hour conversation about calculating the probability that george washington's pee is in our five gallon batch of beer.

facts.  there is approximately 10^21 liters of H20, the average person pees 4 x 10^4 liters, and there are 20 liters in 5 gallons of beer. 

solution.  there is approximately 1 / 10^16 chance that any of george washington's pee is in our beer.

beer o'clock and life notes

matt and i bought a "beer kit."  we attended a class at brewcraft, our local homebrew shop.  our first experiment is a pale ale.  feeling excited.

 

reading:

• this article about east vs. west attitudes about the role of government in business is interesting.
• cadillac desert, a book about water policy and the west.  a great article from grist, explaining the situation.
• how to change the world, a book about social entrepreneurship.

met an amazing woman.  she had three children at a young age.  she raised them, worked, and took one class per quarter at UC Davis for 17 years until she graduated with a degree in political science.  pretty cool.

 

corner office.  i got moved from my corner office (with view of bay bridge) to another corner office (with a view angel island).  come to think of it, i've always had a corner office, even in menlo park.  though, that was just had view of el camino real and a parking lot.

holy buni empire, 2009

suzanne took this picture from amy and amartya's wedding. everyone looks good. i like it a lot.

the less i do, the less i do

it's inertia. 

 

camping at costanoa with matt and the gang, slightly south of pescadero.  fancy camping.  the bathrooms had heated floors, showers, and saunas. 

 

trying to get my application together is slow going.

cooking notes

recent meals prepared:

• white spinach lasagna.  modified the cook's illustrated recipe to include broccoli and carrots, went lighter on the cheese, and used whole wheat lasgna noodles.
• ratatouille.  also a cook's illustrated recipe. used dried instead of fresh herbs.  i'm very pleased, it tastes great!
• cold shanghai noodles, inspired by this blog post.  i used somen instead of ramen.  i think ramen would have been better. 
  

burning man

i went to burning man this year.

 

 

things i enjoyed:

• art cars.  i liked seeing all of the creative and cute vehicles driving around -- dragons, bumble bees, jellyfish, pirate ships.
• surprise.  trying to get to places and being distracted by so many wonderful things along the way.  for example, on a simple excursion to visit some friends, matt and i also tried some homebrew, hula hooped, waited in line to climb up the staircase of a fire truck, ate watermelon, and swung on couch-swings.
• riding bikes in any direction on the playa.  a little scary in the dark, but pretty fun.
• cool art. playing on cool art.
• fire.  watching the man burn.  seriously awesome.
• relax.  with matt, emily, derek.

things i didn't enjoy:

• dry.  i felt constantly thirsty --> constantly drinking water --> constantly peeing. 
• sandstorms, whiteouts.
• slumdog.  feeling a little bit like i'm pretending to live in a shanty town of a developing country.

 

a good experience, but probably not enough to repeat.

 

texas

i was in texas two weekends ago for amy and amartya's wedding.  impressions:

• beautifully coordinated
• nice to see everyone, especially vivian.  inspired to learn more about gardening at a community garden and to make beer.
• it wasn't enough time with the family.  each visit is shorter and the time in between is longer.

westerns

i watched a lot of tv when i was a kid, many of them westerns:

• the lone ranger.  the black and white version that ran in the fifties.  high-oh silver!  it's about a masked texas ranger, his american indian friend tonto, and his horse silver righting injustices in the wild west.
• the rifleman, my favorite. it's about a widowed rancher raising his son.
• bonanza.  it's about the cartwright family and their life on the ponderosa ranch.
• little house on the prairie. adapted from the laura ingalls wilder books. 
• grizzly adams.  a wilderness man and his grizzly bear friend.
• there was dr. quinn, medicine woman when i was a bit older.

did any one else watch these shows too?

dolores park

i live near dolores park.  it sits between three neighborhoods:  the mission (mexicans, hipsters), noe valley (yuppies, young families), and the castro (gay men).  a silly analysis by sfgate.

personality

i revisit personality tests every once in a while when i'm thinking about what kind of work suits me.  i've taken a couple of them over the years:

• myers-briggs type indicator. 16 personality types that vary along four dimensions:  introversion / extroversion, sensing / intuition, thinking / feeling, and judgement / perception. 
• enneagram.  9 core personality types.

i'm a bit skeptical about them sometimes, but overall, i think they can be pretty helpful for giving you new ways to think about yourself and how you relate to / work with other people.  i like that the enneagram is flexible enough to allow for growth and change.

 

according to these guys, i'm an infj and a type six. 

 

rinse, wash, repeat

last, last weekend:

• fri.  work.
• sat.  mission beach cafe and mall madness with sammy, jimmy, and harry.  foraging at home depot for monkey hut materials (burning man).  sushi zone dinner.
• sun.  visiting annie and baby lexi.  work.

last weekend:

• fri.  date with kat.  panko crusted-pork chops with summer squash, mini-cupcakes from sweet.
• sat.  universal cafe brunch.  thrift store rummaging for burning man wear, yamo, made halibut with mango salsa.
• sun.  twenty mile bike ride at the tour de peninsula!  santa ramen.  work.  black bean, corn, and mango tacos.

this weekend:

• fri.  mall date.  out the door and julie and julia.
• sat.  bike ride to little skillet, farmer's market, drinks at zeitgeist, and salmon with mushrooms, green beans, polenta and tomato salad.
• sun.  mission beach cafe coffee and pastries, marin hike.

reframing

it's funny how easy it is change someone's behavior by changing their self-perception.  i guess the trick is how to change someone's self-perception.  with clothing?  with flattery?

 

a recent example:  matt bought some fancy motorcycle gear (jacket, gloves, helmet) for me.  after walking around (and riding) with the new gear, i started to think more seriously about taking a motorcycle class. 

 

summer, don't go!

it's already mid-july.  oh my.

 

goings ons:

• sociable friday.  zante indian pizza & maggie mudd's ice cream with matt's out of town friend; (awkwardly?) avoiding eric and bidding brendan good bye.
• east bay bike ride, 18 miles.  rated easy, but it was hard for me.  windy, twisty and steep.  a wonderful downhill part with views of san francisco and the bay!  rewarded self with tara's (earl grey and lavender) ice cream in berkeley.
• work
• tomato, mushroom, sausage & black garlic with pasta.  very delicious!

there are eight tomatoes growing on my fire-escape!  two of them are starting to turn a beautiful pink-red.  :)

lawyerly thoughts of the day

preliminary thoughts.

• stress.  i don't deal very well with stressful situations.  i think the law path (more so than other paths) is really stressful.  stressful in terms of competitiveness in school, competitiveness on the job market, etc.  i think the public interest path, because it is so uncertain, would be particularly stressful.
• oversupply.  the job market for lawyers is shrinking.  we read about it in the papers every day -- firms are deferring new hires. 
• status.  law (regardless of track), is really rigid and fixated on status, more so than other fields.  the people who went to the best schools, who made law review, got the best grades, went to the most reputable firms / organizations succeed.  it's not that i don't think i couldn't make it (i have full confidence i can beat a game based on grades and smarts), it's that i don't enjoy that way of thinking and that kind of environment.  i don't want to be "one of them."
• high school debate.  i was on a competitive high school debate team, and i didn't enjoy it.  i liked learning about issues very broadly, connecting them together, and thinking about ways to "fix" things.  but i disliked, especially, debating procedural kinds of issues ("topicality" if anyone remembers). 

but there are still elements of law that are appealing to me.  like, learning and using a specific "tool" or skill rather than learning about things broadly.  specifically, i think i'd be better at reading / writing rather than more quantitative stuff.  also, maybe i can overcome the things i mentioned if i have focus, if i can keep my eye on public interest / environmental law.

adventures in lululand

goings ons: 

• celebratory dinner at pauline's with emily, derek, and matt.
• $20 haircut at a hair-cutting school, an "a-line bob".  cute and cheap.  will go back again.
• jane's birthday dinner at destino.  reminds me of that spanish language learning series, "destinos!"
• read.  finished james baldwin's go tell it on the mountain.  i'm not really sure what inspired me to pick it up at the airport.  it's pretty heavy stuff for the airplane.  beautifully written.  i'd probably have a deeper understanding if i knew the bible a little bit better.  last week, i finished haruki murakami's what i talk about when i talk about running.  i enjoyed his self-deprecating style and his analogy between running and writing.  also, a collection of yoshihiro tatsumi's short comics good-bye.  moving. i'd highly recommend it.
• made.  oven-steamed salmon and mushrooms.  zongzi.  corn chowder.
• chatted and thought about the law and the practice of environmental law with vivian.  i think it's clearer (and more confusing) to me now.  one manager at work suggested looking at it like this: school provides a "set of tools". think about which tools will best get me what i want (or think i want).  i can't help but feel that legal tools might fit me more than business -type tools.  but i can't be sure.  afterall, high school debate (which many of my friends liken law school to) wasn't my favorite activity.  also, as an outsider, i see the legal world as slow-moving, anti-innovative, and anti-doing.  those are my law and career thoughts of the day.

hoodoo voodoo

matt introduced me to the great american southwest by motorcycle. highlights:

• grand! canyon! sixty miles of unpaved road to toroweap to peek over cliffs and to sleep under stars. watching the not-so-distant thunderstorm from our campsite near pt. imperial around the north rim.
  
• following our silent, aloof navaho boy-guide through winding, red-walled antelope canyon.
• indendence day. wading in lake powell and camping on the shores (sort of) of remote warm creek bay. (after rejecting the chaotic, crowded, "primitive" camping at lone rock.)
• pleasant highway drive to bryce canyon, where we hoo-ed at hoodoos on a 3 mi. hike and slept in the trees below.
• zion, where all the landmarks were obviously renamed by mormons. easy emerald pools hike and strenuous (also scary) angels landing hike. overcame fear of walking up rocks with cliffs on both sides, sort of.
• las vegas. eating at "nob hill," the bellagio buffet, and some asian fusion place. lazy river and pools. gameworks fun hunting dinosuars, shooting asteroids, and dancing to DDR. walked across the brooklyn bridge and ascended the eiffel tower!

riding as a motorcycle passenger for long distances is actually quite nice. since the helmet and wind kept me from talking, i could just be alone with my thoughts. mostly, i thought about career / school stuff and how i'm like / unlike my parents. matt and i talked about other motorcyclists, the moon vs. stars (light of the full moon mostly blocked the stars), foreign tourists (especially hearty german ones), the spectrum of ways to enjoy the outdoors (e.g., RVs versus ultra light-weight backpacking), and more.

cooking adventures

along the lines of making jam... i've been trying to learn how to cook or preserve "food scraps".  like, re-using extra ingredients from recipes. recent cooking adventures include:

• roasted chicken. then froze the bones until i had time to make chicken stock.  one chicken really goes a long way.  basically, my mom tells me to do this every time we discuss easy cooking.  four years later, check, done!  i'll be incorporating this into my food prep routine.
  
• pickled carrots.
• stuffed peppers, vaguely adapting from this, this, and this.
• steamed corn on the cob and sauteed summer squash.  some vegetables don't need much cooking.
  
• polenta with zucchini and tomatoes.  it's really easy, and really delicious, like a summer version of a mushroom ragout with polenta that i've made.
  
• freezing fresh herbs, bacon, sausage, bread, everything.

sorry to bore you guys.  this is partly a log to look back on one day and see where i found a particular recipe.

ice cream

i love ice cream.  i love ice creameries.  a list:

• bi-rite.  1.5 blocks away and so good.
• mitchell's.  so many flavors, so delicious.
• xanath.  a newbie.  i'm not sold.
• humphrey slocombe.  interesting combinations of flavors.
• bombay indian ice cream.  interesting flavors.
  
• ici.  cute, delicious.
• tara's.  they ramp up the essential taste of each flavor.  wonderful!
• fenton's.  how can you not love the black and tan.  and it's in up!

what are your favorites?

school

as anyone who knows me knows, i've been thinking about returning to school for quite some time. in the past four years, i've considered the following masters or professional programs:

• information science
• museum science
• library science
• urban planning
• public policy
• public health
• law
• business administration
• education
• social welfare
• acupuncture
• medicine

and in the past 2 months, i've been researching public policy programs and business programs with strong non-profit and public sector-focus. i thought i'd put thoughts of law school behind me...

...but they're coming back.

lately (meaning the past 5 days), i've been wondering about whether a career in environmental law would be a good fit for me. these thoughts are informed by the following:

• on earth day, my company brought in a presenter from a baykeeper advocacy group. they litigate to keep the bay clean. i felt really inspired by the organization.
• my recreational and personal interests continually intersect with conservation and environmental protection (whether its growing vegetables on my fire escape or camping / hiking). that kind of lifestyle is important to me.
• i think a lot about my "working style" and what kind of "leader" i am. i'm good in small groups, but work best alone. not so great at "managing" large tasks, "motivating" people to reach an outcome, or implementing plans. i wonder if that means legal work (rather than management -- whether it's nonprofit or for-profit) would be a better fit personality and work-style wise for me.
• i communicate best on paper and worst in person.
• i don't like direct conflict in day to day interactions. but i like having something to fight against or to fight about.

i don't know if those are compelling enough reasons to retake the LSAT and apply to law school. but, i feel kind of good about them.

anyway, those are my most recent career and school thoughts. thought i'd document them for posterity and share them with you!

week end notes

• mostly girls.  drinks and dessert with kat, melissa, matt
• volunteering. trail restoration and maintenance with sydney
• berkeley fun.  ici, wine tasting, and shopping with sydney
• delicious food.  udupi palace with sydney and matt, my new favorite indian joint
• movie.  watched objectified (documentary about industrial design) with jimmy's gang
• errands.
• relax.  pandemic and home-made pizza with pete and jane.

home made

here's to sinking to another level of domesticity...

 

i made brandied cherries and apricot jam with all of the fruit last weekend.  it was actually quite easy and the jars are beautiful! 

 

the tomatoes on my fire escape are getting bigger.  i can't wait to eat them :)

a fed bear is a dead bear

this weekend, matt and i went on a 3 day hike in kings canyon national park. a description from sierra south:


it was really nice to revisit the sierras and to go on another backpacking trip. and it made me want hike the full john muir trail, again.

a day by day descrption of our adventure:

cooking

• saving.  it started out as a way to save money.  i found i could do well even with just $25 of groceries a week.
• health.  restaurant food can often be too oily / salty and meat-focused.  i get a better balance by cooking at home.
• variety.  it's hard to sample lots of little things at restaurants.
• creating.  it's nice to create dishes (or entire meals) through my own efforts.  a mini project every day.
• meditating.  i really like having the kitchen to myself, turning up the music, chopping things up, and putting it all together. 
• puzzle.  i like figuring out how to repurpose leftovers or how to make new dishes from pantry items + the fewest number of new items.
• friends.  i like making things for friends and food is a great excuse to get together.

week summary

• catch up with katherine and irena
• menlo park farewells
• crazy space- and animal- themed boardgames with brendan, dan, john, joanna
• brunch at mission beach cafe with drew, susan, and matt
• shopping for gear -- motorcycles and camping
• au revoir simone
• picking nectarines, apricots, and cherries with matt & gang

summer days

i love may and june!

 

matt's sister, megan, was in town this week. fun times.

• dinner parteez.  executive chef matt 's menu:  spinach walnut pear salad, beef stroganoff and asparagus, apple strudel.  pete and jane's menu:  chicken with milk, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, and almond soup.
• good eats -- pizzeria del fina, tartine, universal cafe, and humphrey slocombe.
• mt. tam hike and kites at stinson beach.
• wandering around the sunday streets route.

goings ons

last last weekend, back in texas

• drove to austin with michael, visiting the czech stop in west, texas and cafe mozart's near the lake.  linford's wedding reception, the first of us to finally "grow up."  not much time to see anyone.
• eating with the family at the usual places -- ren ji and tokyo one.
• iron chef and smash brothers brawl adventuring with michelle.

 

last weekend, everywhere but san francisco

• staying around the neighborhood -- pakwan, chai at samovar, and up at the castro theater
• a long bike ride to belmont and caltrain back.  30 miles, a personal record! 
• jimmy's birthday in berkeley
• maker faire via bart and bike
• stir fry and star trek at home

things i learned about new england or specifically, about rockport, ma

• rockport shoes are made in rockport, maine not rockport, massachusetts where we stayed.
• roundabouts are called "rotaries."
• there is a town hall (painted in white) and w/ quaint church (and steeple) in every town.  a super-quick google search -- "imagining new england" by joseph conforti.
• on-ramps are short causing the right hand lane of freeway to be a scary place.
• all houses look cute and picturesque.  like something i'd call my "country estate," complete with stable and servants quarters.
• there are lots of fair, white-skinned people.  it's been such a long time.
• candy stores at every turn!

nice weekend attending graduation and meeting matt's family.

week end review

• malaise. don't know why.
• made some simple, veg meals this week. broccoli with pasta from chez panisse vegetables; green curry with asparagus, fresh peas, and tofu; tomato and egg stir fry; carrot soup.
• magik magik orchestra & hauschka at the swedish american music hall. great show, great venue! dinner at la med, drinks at orbit room.
• work is busy. sigh.
• shalimar and star trek with matt's motorcycle gang. you can get drinks at the kabuki, cool huh?
• bike ride across golden gate bridge to sausalito and the ferry back. sunshine, ice cream, what more could i want?

recently

• seoul garden and ladytron show.  fun overall!  disappointed by ladytron, but happy for introduction to the faint.
• big sur camping.  nice to sleep next to a creek, yummy food, halo around the moon, beautiful / steep alternate hike, warning for not carrying proper insurance by military base people.
• chez panisse to celebrate a great year!  simple but delicious food.

hitachino nest

hitachino nest, white ale.

tried this weekend, cute and delicious!

doing okay

happenings and thoughts:

• not feeling super-excited about life right now.  no reason.  it'll pass, i know.
• layoff scare.  okay so far.
• catch up and italian with drew.  cheesy cute place.
• unbelievably awesome date in the mission with margaret.  mission street food, cancun taqueria, and mission pie.
• low key with matt.  takeout and star trek.  i likee.
• berkeley daze with matt.  short fire trail hike behind clark kerr campus, cheese board, and lawrence hall of science. 
• another fun mission date.  ritual, spork and gossip with lisa. 
• sunday streets with matt and company.  i was terrified to bike in the city and wasn't going to go. changed my mind at last minute and am so happy about it.  ran around bases at the ball park, taylor's, the ramp and back.
• chickpeas and cous cous, zucchini, and watermelon.  (not all together)
• enjoying flora's and naureen's recommendations.  the eyre affair, the book thief, and the gay talese reader. 

farm box

for the past 8 or so months, i've been getting a monthly (now bi-monthly) box of local, organic produce from farm fresh to you.  it's a hugely popular bay area CSA (community supported agriculture).

how it works:  choose a box size (small, regular, big) and frequency (weekly, bi-monthly, monthly, etc.).  then food is delivered to your doorstep.  the standard box is mostly veggies and some fruit, but you can specify if you want more fruit or more veggies.  you get whatever is harvested from the member farms that week.

things i like about this:

• seasonality.  learning about what grows when. 
  
• new vegetables.  it's forced me to try vegetables i wouldn't have otherwise -- brussel's sprouts, kale, chard, beets, for example.  (and i like them :)
  
• vegetable-centered diet.  it's changed the way i think about food probably for the better. better for personal health as well as the world. here's a first step to vegetable- (rather than meat-) centered eating. 
  
• puzzle.  it's fun to create tasty food using farm box contents and whatever else i have.  it's an opportunity to try new recipes.

i wonder though, especially with farm fresh to you, how much i am supporting local farms.  FFTY seems to be the distributor / marketer of several organic farms (including their own in capay).  it's not quite "straight from the farm." 

also, they can't be particularly "environmentally friendly" if they're making so many deliveries.  who knows.

all i know is i love my veggies.

happenings

gentle beginning to spring.  so i don't forget the last few weeks:

• pizza and beethoven with kat josh and matt.
• pt. reyes by motorcycle and hiking with matt.
• visits from friends -- lauren and sammy.
• gmat, done!
• housewarming, great to see everyone.
• bootcamp.  6:30a is so hard.  skipping about 50%.  need to do better.
• passover with joanna john and co.
• farmer's market and strolling around buena vista park.
• growing tomatoes (early girl, black krim) and basil.  fingers crossed.

disappoint

i'm always disappointed by ramen noodles in san francisco.  i've visited:

• katana-ya -- too heavy and greasy, not very chewy ("q") noodles.
• tanpopo -- just okay, doesn't hit the spot.
• sapporo-ya -- the worst!

 

same with niu rou mian (taiwanese beef noodle soup).  i've tried:

• taiwan restaurant -- watery, noodles not very good.
• taste of formosa -- has a wierd spice and burn-ey taste.

is it just me?  am i missing something?

muni mysteries, vol. ii

• it's sfmta policy to have a bus stop within 4 blocks of any san francisco resident.  interesting, seems like a good policy.
• muni metro.  there's F, J, K, L, M, N, T.  why start with F and where did T come from?

bus line impressions:

• 48 - near door-to-door service from my old apartment to matt's old apartment.  noe valley through mission to potrero along 24th.  frequent, pretty great.
• 33 - the section i used parallels the 48 -- noe valley through mission to potrero along 18th.  frequent, but shadier.
• 35 - nice community bus where everyone knows your name.  older, professional / retired crowd.  diamond heights to market and castro.  a lifesaver for those days i didn't want to walk up or down my hill.
• 24 - an interesting line, cutting through mostly nice parts of town. pacific heights down divisidero to the castro and noe valley. 
• 22 - great line which i'll probably take more often because of my new location.  marina down fillmore to the castro, mission, and potrero.
• 10 - the most well-dressed / professional crowd i've seen on public transit.  potrero through soma to the financial district.
• 9 - the bus from matt's old apartment to the financial district, where i work.  potrero through soma down market.  the financial district crowd definitely took the 10 (except me). all the people from southern-most parts of sf (vistacion valley and the likes) who were working near civic center plaza took this route.  some crazy people.
• 38 - epic!  from financial district through union square, the tenderloin, down geary through japantown to outer richmond.  working class.  interestingly, i believe the 38L (express bus during commuting hours) takes workers from richmond, does not stop in the tenderloin, and deposits them to the financial district.  magic to not have to go stop in that neighborhood!
• 1 - only been on it a couple of times.  financial district through chinatown, pac heights to richmond.  professionals to start and end.  chinatown ladies in between.
• 30 - only taken the section down stockton and montgomery.  lots of chinatown ladies with groceries!
• F - the seats are cushioned, omg.  above ground, nice.  all tourists, not nice.

the little j that could

some of muni's mysteries:

• why does the electronic sign sometimes indicate that the incoming train is simultaneously a J and K?
• why does the automated voice who tells us how long it is until the next train say things that are different from the real-time computer display?
• why is it that that sometimes the automated voice is correct and sometimes the computer display is correct but both are never correct?

muni, you puzzle me.

spring, you're here!

finally.  i missed you.  glad you're back.

i'm looking forward to longer days, warmer weather, sunshine, tomatoes and non-citrus fruit, camping.

lately

• out of town visitors -- manisha and garett.  really good to see them , to see how we've grown and changed.
• cooking -- fish and beets, lamb and chard
• yoga
• watching -- heroes, how i met your mother, and the documentary about graffiti artist david choe, dirty hands, at sfiaaff.
• studying

i'm still alive

• ticket numero tres, 2009.  each one is more bogus than the last.  this time it's for not turning my wheels on a street with a grade greater than 3%.
  
• made barley, mushroom, and kale soup.  really good and easy recipe!
• trapeze with pt and friends.  a little too scary for me.  ridiculously sore from just climbing up a ladder, swinging by the arms, and hanging upside down.  
• wandered around a cute community space, the randall museum.  inspired to make furniture.
• good eats at samovar and suppenkuche.  drinks at absinthe.
• gmat studying.
  

notes

weekend dates

• sushi at eiji, ice cream at bi-rite creamery, planet earth
• 11 mi. mt. st. helena hike near calistoga, spa soak, and dinner at ad hoc
• studied.  gmat delayed for another three weeks, until i feel comfortable with my score
  

three day weekend

• fri. eat-in.  little star, listening to the rain, and bubble bath.
• sat. snow shoeing, cancelled.  unpacked boxes, walked around the neighborhood, revisited ti couz, and second dinner at fritjz.
• sun. brunch with the girls, tea with kat, climbing with jimmy, study.
• mon. yoga, mission beach cafe, study, and beef stroganoff.

goings ons

recently,

• parking ticket, first of 2009.
• threat of lawsuit from testmasters for posting my lsat books online.  those fuckers.
• made creamy grits and shrimp.  3/4 cup cream and 6T of butter, pretty bad idea.  made crust-less salmon quiche.  pretty good idea.
  
• brussels sprouts are my new favorite vegetable. 
  
• gestalt and ramblas with eddie michael erika matt ann.
• pasta with john jenna.
• read ominvore's dilemma by michael pollen and blindness by jose saramago.  despite omnivore's preachiness, i thought it was a nice look at our food system.  i appreciate that he addressed two things (1) why buy local and (2) fancy food is not just for elites.  i'm not 100% convinced by explanations to 1 and 2, but i'm definitely more aware of my food purchasing decisions.  why do people love blindness so much?  what did i miss?  anyway, i'm taking book suggestions, let me know if you've got anything.  next on my list:  2008 best american nonrequired reading, nudge, kafka on the shore, and the time traveler's wife.  i think i have some graphic novels on hold as well, but there's a long queue.
  
• studying for gmat.
  

bell's palsy

this is what i looked like last week and the week before that.  

i'm about 95% back to normal now.

notes

getting stuck on the first post of the new year.  too much pressure.  i'm just gonna post some goings ons:

• bell's palsy.  left side of face temporarily parazlyed. getting slightly better.  no long-term damage, just an annoyance.  day-to-day, it involves:  continuously tearing eye, drinking out of straw, avoiding people so i don't have to explain why i look sleepy, and taping my left eye shut at night.  before and after pictures when i'm better!
• gmat challenge, march 6.  it's going down. 
• how i met your mother and star trek next generation.
• living together, reconsidered.  matt and i are moving to a sweet flat near church and 18th at the end of the month.  exciting and scary times.

holidaze:

• christmas in texas.  nice to see parents and sis.  a little wierd to see texas friends; i feel more and more out of place.  parent-boyfriend meeting went well.
• started the new year with singing, eating, and tetris.  sound of music sing along, dinner / tetris at rebecca's, brunch / tetris at hongmai's, dim sum with lisa kevin, pizza with matt's motorcycle gang, brunch with john joanna, dinner & drinks with kat, and brunch club time.