Texas Gal in San Francisco

The End

2009-11-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

The blogging has ended since my move to Dallas, Texas.
Not that the culture shock of moving here doesn't provide some material, but there is nothing like San Francisco. So I will hold on the the memories of living in my favorite city in the U.S. and the hope that I will return for frequent visits and, fingers crossed, live in CA once again.

Presido

2009-05-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Presidio in San Francisco has been an army base for over 200 years for the Spanish, Mexican and U.S. armies. The reaches of this vast Presido include a forest, beach, airfield, old barracks and buildings and a national cemetery. It is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation area. Brody and I took long hike here are some things we saw:

National cemetery

Tree spire made from fallen trees

End of the airfield/Crissy Field looking out to Alcatraz
A "magazine" that held ammunition
GG Bridge
Old HQ building
Inspiration Point

Brody

Pimp My BART

2009-05-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

One never quite knows what you will come across in this town, especially in and around public transit stations. Coming up on the long escalator of the (surly) Civic Center BART station, I came face to face with a real life pimp - you know one that harkens back to the 70's. He was looking sharp from the hat perched just right to the plaid jacket, shiny shoes and cane - the whole package. It was a site. (I did not however see one of his ladies. I have however seen them on the corners in the Tenderloin ((close to this certain BART station)) and that was a first and hopefully a last - NOT pretty.)

The Mom

2009-05-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

I wanna give a shout out to my mom - she came to visit me a couple weeks ago. We spent a day in the city, going to Coit tower and then a few HOURS in China town. The only time I do those two activities are when visitors come. But I did pick up a couple cute purses (no, not knock-offs). Then we took two days to cruise south on the 1 spending the night in Pacific Grove (cute town inbetween Monterrey and Carmel). We went to the beach and the oldest continuously working light house, cruised 17 mile drives (saw deer on the beah), stopped at the Peach Beach golf shop, spent time in Monterrey and walked the Carmel beach.
Mom has the pictures - she is still learning how to download and email. But see past post for pictures of 17 mile drive.

Coasting with Lana

2009-05-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

In March, I met Lana in Santa Barbara. We went to a wedding reception on the beach (chili as it was), and spent a couple days seeing the sites. It was unfortunately overcast and a little chili but still fun. SB is a great town! Big beaches, one of the largest missions in California and cute boutiques. It seems only the well off get to live there. After a couple days in SB we drove up the coast stopping in a couple cute towns, did a tastings at couple vineyards in Paso Robles, stopped for a tour of Hearst Castle and made our way along the windy Highway 1 to stay the night in Big Sur. The next day we did a quick hike in Big Sur, zippy tour of Carmel and Monterrey stopping for a seafood lunch and on to SF. A great trip and definately a good one for anyone who has never bene to CA before and has a couple days to spend sight seeing along the coast!
(Lana has the pictures..hint to Lana to send them to me)

Redwood National Forest

2009-04-29T11:34:00.001-07:00

Brandon and I took a weekend to visit the Redwood National Forest. It is about a 5 hr drive north. The drive itself was beautiful; all the mountains were green since the rainy season was just ending. The are quite a few redwood forests in Northern California but we wanted to see the official one. Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world - 30 plus stories tall - and the largest living organisms on earth. They are known as "the giants". It was so neat walking among them - wind whispering through the branches, fog hanging close to offer moisture - and ferns that are 5 feet tall.

Just outside of the park is a tiny town named Orick that was seemingly populated by a goat, a sheep and lots of "wood artistry". Cue music from Deliverance. Oh and lots of elk - the biggest elk I've ever seen.

Laid off Life

2009-04-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am really not doing a good job at keeping this thing loaded with new posts. However, there is lots to add. First and foremost, I was laid off at the end of Feb. No job and still too busy to blog? Well, yes in fact! But now life has settle a bit so here come the postings.

First, a glance of what laid off life in Nor Cal looks like (in ski season anyway). April 1, a friend and I hit the slopes for a mid-week ski season. It was great- fresh snow and only a few people to share the mountain with. We went to Alpine Meadows - apparently it is the home of the Jamaican Ski Team. I didn't see anyone from the ski team.

Snowboard or Bust

2009-02-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

Last month, my sister (Amanda), her husband (Anthony) and Brandon and I headed to Tahoe for a little snowboarding. My sister and I had never boarded (she had never been on a ski mountain) so we signed up for a 4 hour lesson. This is basically how the day went for us:
"There is no way I am going to get this"
"Help"
"Do I have to fall in order to stop?"
"Ouch"
"I am never going to off the bunny slope"
"This is soooo frustrating!"
"Oh no! Is it broken??"

The day ended with Amanda falling and fracturing her wrist in two places (this with the wrist guards on).

I hit the bunny slope the next day hoping Brandon's instruction would help. It didn't. I ended my day with a hard fall that left me sitting funny for two weeks and so frustrated I wanted to cry.

So guess you could say it was BUST!

We might go up for another day - I haven't yet decided if I attempt boarding or stick to skiing.

Ding Ding Goes the Trolley!

2009-01-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

I rode the trolley car for the first time since living here! Really, just the tourists ride it and if/when someone who lives here needs to ride it, it is always packed of camera touting tourists and there is no way to inch on. I was down in Fisherman's Warf watching the national championship game with some friends and since the trolley stop was one block away and the route is one block from my apt I took it rather then walking up a long very steep hill (I get enough of that). Luckily the tourists were at dinner or something and I could actually get on. Ding ding!

Vistor's Views

2008-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Jeralyn came to visit me for a weekend in Nov. We had GREAT weather for our city tour day. We walked fisherman's warf, took a boat cruise of the bay (and under the bridge), walked the thousand steps (or at least is seemed like it) to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, and walked through North Beach for tea tasting in China town. (Pictoral narrative below).
The next day was very foggy and chilly for our drive up the coast on Highway 1 to Point Reyes National Seashore park. During our foggy coastal adventure, we walked down and up stairs the equals a 30 story building that lead to the Point Reyes Lighthouse which sits on the foggiest and windiest point in North America.

View of Embaradero and the Bay Bridge from the stairs to Coit Tower/Telegraph Hill

Container ship in the heading to port (view from Telegraph Hill)

Coit Tower - a monument to fire fighters

Ghiradelli Square near Fisherman's Warf

Chinatown Lanterns

Tea for Two Please

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I trust you all had a wonderful time with family and/or friends. I stayed in CA this year. My brother Sam has a good friend who is a chef and owns a cooking school in the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley. He cooked up an excellent gourmet Thanksgiving dinner for 21 people who came together at my brother's house. YUM.

Dog Day Out

2008-11-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

Virtual tour guide, Brody, wants to show you around:

Berkeley Pier
Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field BeachPalace of Fine Arts

Oakland Boardwalk/Marshland

First Snow

2008-10-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

I've heard great things about Tahoe in the summer - so Brandon took me for a weekend trip to celebrate my birthday hoping to catch the tail end of summer. We arrived and so did fall at the exact same time. It rained all night Friday leaving the mountain tops white - the first snow- and us a little chilly in the 45 degree weather. So movies, football, driving the lake and gambling filled our time there. Sunday was a nice day however and we were able to do a little nature walk and go to the Konkee Salmon Festival to learn about and watch the salmon swimming up river to spawn.

So Tahoe is a for sure next summer!

101 South

2008-09-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend and no real plans so we head down the 101/Pacific Coast Highway. It is a beautiful drive through hills, valleys and along the coast. Our first photo op is a random gathering of large sculptures of extinct animals. We continue to wind our way toward the coast - happening upon the Bolinas Light House (not working) but neat none the less then onward to Santa Cruz. After purusing the shops and filling up on fish tacos (a must have in Santa Cruz) we headed to the board walk/beach which has been rated America's best entertainment park (think Coney Island/"Big"). Traffic/parking was beyond insane so we headed 10 min. south to the quaint town of Capitola. The town was a buzz as it was not only Labor Day weekend but the start of the Begonia Festival. They make big Begonia floats on the river and have a juding contest After soaking up some sun on the beach and waling around town we called it a day and headed home.

The Love Boat!

2008-09-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

San Francisco is a port of call for many cruise lines and being my office is on the Bay and near all the ports/docks it isn't uncommon to see cruise ships. Walking to work today it was hard to miss a gargantuan cruise ship seemly parked at the end the street. This boat is larger than any building around.. and now the horn blows. Too bad I am working and not setting sail.

Picture below taken a while ago from the Bay Bridge of bay and a cruise ship (this is a small one).

Labor Day Fun

2008-09-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hope all had a great Labor Day weekend! So it is the "close" of the summer in a way for some but just the beginning for us in SF. If you plan to visit SF do so in Sept. and Oct, our summer. Labor Day weekend was a kick off to summer for sure, good weather and good times. After a lovely breakfast with Catherine Q and b-friend visiting from Dallas, we ferried over to Sausalito for the Sausalito Arts Festival - it was fabulous dahlings. Sunday we hit the Pacific Coast Highway and headed south to Santa Cruz, after cruising the downtown shops and loading up on fish tacos we attempted the beach/board walk (Santa Cruz boardwalk is rated tops for amusement parks- old school rides and all) but the traffic & parking was beyond nuts so we drove 10 min south to the cute town of Capitola. Capitola was a buzz as it was the first day of the Begonia Festival. We found a spot on the beach and soaked up the sun, walked around town then headed to Berkeley for the rest of the weekend to hang out with Brody. Definately a mini-vacation.

Summer Party

2008-08-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Know what is grand about living here? The fact that our office summer party was at a winery. Cross the Golden Gate, drive through Marin and you will find yourself in the wine country- perhaps on a sunny patio with a nice lunch, great wine, bocce ball and beautiful gardens. At least that is what part of my day was last Friday.

Winter Beach Day

2008-08-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

July and some of August is winter in San Francisco - what does winter (in July of all months) mean? Foggy, breezy and chilly. Sometimes foggy during the AM but even at 6 pm there can be a low hanging fog in downtown and by chilly I mean lows in the 50's and highs in the 60's (particularly in SF proper). But this winter hasn't been that bad- we've had some really good days.

The past two Saturdays have been clear even at the beach and warmish - while Sundays turn overcast and chilly. Taking advantage of the nice weather the last two Saturdays, me, Brody, Anna and Foster have hit Ft. Funston Beach. Ft. because in the old days is was a Fort but there aren't noticable remains of a fort. Anyway, while people are welcome, it is a dog beach. Brody and Foster have so much fun wading through the waves, finding drift wood and playing ball on the beach. And I got a suntan.

So while all my friends in Texas were melting in the 106 degree heat this past Saturday we were enjoying a day at the sunny beach.

San Francisco Twins

2008-07-29T09:22:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not, there is a Wikipedia page on the fine ladies below- the San Francisco Twins -Marian and Vivian Brown. The twins are famous locally and have been in movies and commercials throughout the years. I was fortunate to interact with them personally when I went to a Nob Hill restaurant where, I am told, they dine every Tuesday and Thursday at the same table in the front window. They are very talkative and a new friend will quickly learn their life story. And yes, they do dress a like - everyday.

Concert Cameo

2008-07-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I went to a GREAT concert- "Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeshi & The Soul Stew Revivial"- and Carlos Santana made a cameo appearance. Very cool! I heard Santana lives in the area. Do yourself a big favor and go see Trucks and Tedeshi (but no promises on who might show up for an on stage jam session).

Any Given (Sunny) Sunday

2008-07-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

Any sunny Sunday (and most likely Saturday) if you go to Dolores Park in the Misson neighborhood (home of hipsters, youngsters, musicians and cheaper housing) it will be a major hipster scene. People hanging out on blankets, BBQing, playing frisbee, etc.

A few Sunday's ago we went for a friend's birthday party. We were sitting our blanket in a nice sunny spot and all of a sudden a band started playing right in front of us (see first picture). A random sort- I wish I could remember their name-something like Brass Reformation - they were something like a downsized high school band. Within a few minutes our wide open space filled with a crowd, some dancing. They played for a while and as they played a gang on bicycles comes riding up - low and behold they were a music group too! The Bicycle Music Festival hit the "stage" after the other band. They powered the mics, amps by riding bikes.

Just another day in the park.

Bay to Breakers

2008-07-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

The annual Bay to Breakers run is basically halloween in May. Pretty much anything goes- even naked old men (why is it always the gross old guys?). The fun run starts at the bay, winds through the city into Golden Gate park and ending near Ocean Beach. I didn't participate but did head to the park for a little bit to see what there was to see.

Anniversary/ Golden Gate Bridge

2008-07-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I realized that it was my one-year anniversary of moving to San Francisco. WOW. Doesn't seem like a year already, that is for sure.

So in (blog) celebration of my first anniversary of being a San Francisan, here are some pictures I've taken of the famous Golden Gate Bridge.

(Many more postings to catch up on/to come.)

Tip

2008-05-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Throughout the years I've heard those not from San Francisco call it Frisco and I've always cringed, knowing the people SF hate that. Well, here is the official word of caution from the SFGate's Visitors Guide. Consider yourself enlightened.

It used to be that if you referred to the City (the preferred term for San Francisco) as Frisco, it signalled you as an ignorant rube. In the last few years, though, there's been a small and quiet revolution underfoot to liberate it as a term of endearment. However, saying "Frisco" when referring to San Francisco has not yet achieved mainstream status, so a good bit of advice is this: don't use "Frisco"...

Olympic Torch (Protests)

2008-04-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today the city of San Franciso joined the ranks of London and Paris as host cities to the Olympic Torch. If you have been at all watching the news, people have come out in droves to protest the lack human rights in China and specifically China's involvement in Tibet. On Monday, the SF protests began with 3 people scaling the Golden Gate Bridge to unfurl Free Tibet signs. Thousands were expected today along the reported Torch route. The route was to go along the Embarcadero (along the bay waterfront) from AT&T Park up to Fisherman's Warf and back to downtown for a closing ceremony. My office is on Embarcadero so I went out to see what there was to see. Unfortunately, due to the protests the route of the torch run was changed at the last minute but I did see the protestors and suppporters.

City Walks - City Views

2008-04-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

High above the Sunset District of SF lays Grandview Park. It is a 820 foot hill representing what use to be an outcrop of the sand dunes that filled the area. With hundreds of years of erosion and the fact the Sunset neighborhood cuts off the hill's source of ocean sand, the underlying chert rock is being exposed. Franciscan chert rock formations which formed the hill when it was part of the ocean floor are estimated to be 140 million years old. The park offers great views of the Pacific Ocean, downtown, the Golden Gate Bridge & Marin headlands. Leading up into the park is a gorgeous mosaic tiled stairway created as a neighborhood project.

Berkeley vs U.S. Marines

2008-04-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is kind of old news but a couple months ago, the Berkeley City Council sent a letter to a downtown Marine recruiting office alerting them that they were not welcome and they needed to leave-- using language similar to "unwelcome intruders". In true Berkeley fashion, a protest ensued. The protest brought out Code Pink which is an anti-war women's group amongst others from both sides of the protest. Code Pink camped out on the lawn of city hall with the pro- military group in the park across the street- each with huge American flags with the stars rearranged in the peace symbol. And of course this is happening right across the street from Berkeley High School so once kids let out of school the protest took on a new dimension.

The protest took place about 6 blocks from my brother's house so of course he, a friend and Brody went to check it out. A couple pictures from the protest. You will note the police in riot gear. I hope this doesn't damage any future career or political aspirations Brody may have.

Crabs!

2008-03-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

The massive oil spill in the bay delayed crab fishing for a few weeks but it has been in full swing for a couple months at least. And since I live relatively close to Fisherman's Warf I can have my hands crabby in a matter of minutes. The warf is lined with fresh fish vendors and you can get crab cakes, boiled crab, crab chowder- you get the idea.

(A word of caution- if you are afraid of seagulls do not go to this part of the warf.)

City Site Seeing

2008-03-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

While there is lots to do and see outside of San Francisco, there is also a lot to do and see within the city.

This set of pictures was taken during a day long city hike that took us through the prestigous Pacific Heights neighborhood down the Lyon street stairs (tons of stairs in this city) to the Palace of Fine Arts and along Marina Green.

Danielle Steele's Mansion

Lyon Street Stairs (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi lives along these stairs in a fab house (or she might have just moved to a REALLY FAB private neighborhood - there is some confusion)

Palace of Fine Arts- Built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition

Marina area

Sequoia National Park/Kings Canyon

2008-03-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, Brandon and I took a road trip stopping in Fresno to see his grandma and then heading east a couple hours to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park located in the southern Sierra Nevada range. The the 500,000 acre park is home to Mt. Whitney, the highest in the contiguous U.S. as well as home to the third largest tree in the world - the General Grant Tree. The park also has the largest remaining natural Sequoia grove in the world. It was so beautiful there with tons of snow to play in. Due to recent massive amounts of snow, much of the roads were closed. Those that were open had up to 6 feet of snow banked on each side. There is lots to do year round, look forward to going back in other seasons.

General Grant Tree

Inside a fallen tree that has been used as a bar and a bunk room throughout the past century.
Snow shoeing

Tahoe or Bust

2008-03-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

The mountains got some great snow this ski season and I finally made it there a couple weekends ago . I've skied Tahoe a few time throughout the years and I love it. It is so pretty there! A group of 10 friends went- we rented a house on the North side of the lake. It took us 12 hrs! to get there - should be 3 and a half- but due to somewhat bad weather the roads were closed 2 times throughout the night for hours at a time. Nonetheless we had a great time and I am ready to go back. Fresh snow, light crowds and good weather made it an awesome time to go sking.

Lake Tahoe (taken from house)

Lake Tahoe taken from top of Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley was site of Olympics at some point in the 60's or 70's?
Me at the top.

Monks Walking

2008-02-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

It is not everyday and in every city that you can peer out your office window and see a group of Asian Monks strolling down the side walk. Much less one that has a "bling" watch and talking on the phone.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2008-02-13T13:02:00.001-08:00

In a city that is home to the largest population of Chinese people outside of China, the Chinese/Lunar New Year is a pretty big deal. The official Chinese New Year parade with the dragons and all is slated for next weekend. Much like the Macy's Day Parade, one can buy seats in the stands or line the street. I would like to see it- just depends on the crowds and how long I can handle it. But to kick off the new year celebration my roommates and I went to a dumpling making party. There are tons of people packed into a small apt working in shifts to make homemade Chinese dumplings - I would guess we made about 500. Although a little messy it worth it when we boiled and ate them. So good!

A side note: One would think that everywhere you go in the SF area you would meet dot.com-ers. This is probably a good assumption but I haven't yet (maybe I am not getting out enough) nonethless, met a bunch of internet types at this party- Google, Yahoo, music software co, etc. Guess now I can feel complete. :)

Bolinas

2008-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

The rain gave us a reprive this weekend so we headed to the beach. We went north through Marin along the windy roads to a tiny funky town called Bolinas. It is tucked away and the locals would like to keep it hidden but the when the surf is up, surfers come in droves. Surf was up this Sunday. While Sam and friend surfed, Brody and I hung out on the beach. It was a beautful day!

Holiday! Celebrate!

2008-01-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a fun NYE celebration!
My family spent Christmas in IL (no snow!). Brody was still minding the manger and wasn't able to join us.

I was here to celebrate my first New Year's Eve as a San Franciscan. I hosted a NYE soiree at my apartment which included a midnight toast on the rooftop overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the lights of the city. Here's to a great 2008!!

Long Time No Blog- Central Coast

2007-12-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

Things got a bit busy and haven't had time to update the blog. Since my last blog the news has been an earthquake, I was on the BART so didn't feel it, and a massive and devestating oil spill in the bay.

Other than that, took a trip to the central coast (half way between SF and LA). To get there we drove down the beautiful, windy and foggy Highway 1 through Big Sur. After stopping for a lunch and a hike in the huge redwoods of Big Sur, we continued down the coast to a small town named Cambria. This area of CA has some beautiful coast line, on which the Elephant Seals were coming ashore for mating. When we there in early Dec. the male seals were arriving - females come in a month later - and were sharping their battle skills with a few rounds of practice fighting. This gets them into condition to literally battle each other to win the right to mate. Apparently they come ashore in the same area every year. We went to see them but you can hear them barking first and then see their incredibly huge bodies laying on the sand. One little guy got up really close to where we were he was so cute!

San Simeon cove is in this area as well. We were going to kayak but it was so foggy that morning you couldn't see more than 10 feet and there was some surf that didn't allow us to get out/or get in. Right above San Simeon cove is the Hearst Castle (of the publishing magnet Randolf Hearst) and ranch. Pretty interesting place even has a National Geographic movie about it- there is a main house, 3 smaller houses, the famous outdoor neptune pool and an amazing indoor pool.

Also did some wine tasting Paso Robles. It was a beautful day to be in the vineyards.

Fleet Week Report

2007-10-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

There was too much going on over the weekend and I didn't get down to the warf to the ships and sailors but I certainly saw the planes! Sunday we gathered at a park near the Marina/Gold Gate Bridge and got to experience a great air show. The planes got so close that we could see the pilot's helmets and if I had a potato launcher could hit one easily. Twists, and turns and flying upside down and formations.. very cool stuff!

Planes, Ships & Sailors

2007-10-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the official start of Fleet Week. Fleet Week happens every year the weekend before Columbus Day when the military returns to their home base. Families welcome home their sailors/pilots, the is a parade of ships, civilians get to tour the ship decks, and F-16 Viper, F-22 Raptor, the Blue Angels and others will be performing in air shows. Yesterday, they conducted a survey flight- it was sooo loud and the window in my office rattled. Today was their first air show. We went to the office building roof top to watch part of it. Pretty cool stuff! Even with this being the most liberal, anti-military city, people still get excited and there are quite a few roof top parties to watch the air show. Of course there are some - a few- that blog complaints and wonder why the city puts up with the noise and it is glamorizing killing machines etc... idiots.

A Small World

2007-10-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

I was at dinner last night with a few people who Paul Allen connected me with. (Thanks Paul-great people!) Anyway, some how I got onto the story about how my apartment fell through the day after I moved here... in the middle of the story another gal joined our group... I continued the story and she blurts out-- I know this story!... she is friends with the chic that I was supposed to live with!! A little uncomfortable. She apparently knew all about this and told me that I handled the situation really well (I said I know). She too was supposed to move into the place but backed out due to the noise that came from the strip dance lessons studio below the apartment from 7-10 pm everyday.

The Ocean

2007-10-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

This Saturday (I am resisting commenting on the embarrassing UT loss) I went to the ocean for the first time since I moved here. Yeah, I live by the ocean and I see the Bay on a daily basis but not the ocean. A friend and I took our dogs to an area called Ft. Funston (didn't see a fort), a long stretch of dog friendly beach that is just south of Ocean Beach along the Great Highway. It was Brody's first time at the ocean. It was great-- the tide was out so it gave Brody the opportunity to get his paws wet and without having to go for a swim. Next, doggie surf lessons!

Also took the boys/dogs to Golden Gate Park on Sunday. Golden Gate THE best city park in America.

81 Days

2007-09-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Since I left Dallas I have felt I was living in an alternate world. Not the world of Lori I know or the life of the Lori I know but an alternate person and life.. kind of like an out of body experience. Yesterday, 81 days into being in San Francisco, it became my existence. Nothing prompted it.. just sitting at my desk and the feeling/thought came over me... this is now my life.
Maybe because I am in a routine, the daily grind per say, who knows but it certainly feels better than being outside of myself.

Bike & Wine

2007-09-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

This Sunday a little group which included my brother Sam, his housemate Brenden, his girlfriend in from Australia Nikki, and Brenden's friend Chris, and I headed to a town called Healdsburg in Sonoma County (about 1 hr away) for a bike ride/wine tour. There are many wineries to choose from but due to a later than desirable start only got to three. We biked about 15 min between each stop. Below are pictures of the adventure. As you can see the vines are full of grapes.. it is harvest time.

Hook 'Em

2007-09-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my first UT football watching experience outside of the great state. Many in our gang (via my brother) are Texas Exes. We all went to the Blue Light- official site of the Texas Exes watching parties for the TX/TCU game. Tons of orange. There were more UT fans there than at the game watching parties I've been to in Dallas. But of course the only way to see a UT game here is pay per view so we have no option. We will be back again next weekend for another game. Hopefully the Horns will show up for the whole game this Saturday.

Landmarks

2007-09-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

Two of SF's landmarks: Coit Tower and TransAmerica Building. Took these one evening when I was walking to look at an apt. You can see these from anywhere you are in the city.

Visitors In the Night

2007-09-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Visitors are a good reason to have a nice dinner. Unfortunately (or is it?) my kitchen is too small to make a nice dinner but luckily there are several highly-rated restaurants within a couple blocks of my place. So here is to Brian & Wendy (by the way, you guys are now "Brendy"), Kasey by way of NY, and Roosh & Scott who were all in town over a two week period. So good to see you all and so odd to see you in my new town! Other visitors always welcome- there are many restaurants to discover!

Hot

2007-08-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

Two months in SF temps. and I have already gotten "soft". I was down in LA yesterday for a corporate off site. It got up to 88 degrees there. I thought is was pretty hot and slightly humid- I am going to die in the Dallas heat over Labor Day!!

Carmel

2007-08-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

A little triva for you: What is the official name of Carmel? Carmel by-the-Sea. Who was Carmel's famous former mayor? Clint Eastwood.

A couple weekend's ago I took a break from unpacking and headed south to Carmel to see a friend of mine from college who was in town with her kiddos visiting her mother. She lives in Carmel Valley. Saturday we went to Monterrey (connects to Carmel) and walked along the sea board, fisherman's warf, through Cannery Row - once the busiest cannery for sardines along the coast- and visited the Monterrey Aquarium. Very cool aquarium. Sunday was a beautiful fog-free day. We drove to downtown Carmel, along Carmel beach, part of the beautiful 17 mile drive through Pacific Grove, around Pebble Beach, and to the Carmel Misson. (Highway 101- the main highway I drove down to Carmel is the first highway in CA-- it was the path inbetween each misson in CA, from San Diego up to San Francisco. The path/highway is marked with old bells.)

The sunshine also enticed me to drop the top on the car and head up Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) for my drive back to SF. The highway goes through tons of farmland so I bought fresh fruit and veggies at one of the many produce stands that sprinkle the highway, made a pit stop for fish tacos in Santa Cruz, and stopped at a beach and to watch about 50 windsurfers taking advantage of the very windy day.

Pictures:

Seals in Monterrey Bay

Carmel Beach

Overlooking Clint Eastwood's property

17 Mile Drive/Pacific Grove

The Lone Cypress Ghost Tree
Pebble Beach (don't know which hole)

Carmel Misson

Wind Surfers

Morning Walk

2007-08-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

With my move into the city I now get to enjoy a 20 min commute. (I have no idea how I got up in time everyday to do the hour commute from East Bay). I get on the bus at my corner, one of my co-workers calls it the yuppie bus- nice diamonds, nice shoes, hip clothes- as it is full of 20/30 somethings heading downtown. As I am crammed on the standing-room only bus I hope to at least face the direction of the bay so I can look out from the hilltop on Alcatraz, the old docked warships and the boats in the bay. I get off the bus in front of the famed City Lights Bookstore in North Beach and walk 10 min to the office. My walk consists of passing strip joints, "novelty shops", a tattoo parlor, and a few restaurants that had to close after a landslide about 3 months ago. After my stroll down erotica lane and just has I head down the hill, I get a glimpse of the Bay Bridge and the huge white cranes across the water in the Oakland Harbor.

I have walked home the last couple of days- a few hills and a few huffs and puffs later I home. One day I hope to wake up early enough to walk down hill to work. An hour of cardio a day will be good for me!

Commute

2007-08-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

My commute in the morning from Berkeley is about an hour but I can't really consider it a real commute as I walk 10-12 min to the Berkeley BART, (hopefully just in time for train) rode BART for 25 min, then walked another 10 min to the office. Once in SF, I walk through a shopping area (danger!), two parks, and past 6 coffee places on my way to the office. One of the parks plays host to the older Japanese generation's morning workouts. They walk around the paths doing knee-raises, swinging arms, swiveling hips-- basically make sure the joints continue to work. Here are a few park pics sans "workout" shots.

Sam's House/Brody's Backyard

2007-08-15T15:47:00.001-07:00

Berkeley style- where I stayed the first month I was here.

Around Berkeley

2007-08-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

Click on photo for larger view.

Random

2007-07-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

1) i think i am living in England during the 80's- yesterday on the BART-- a very skinny guy with mussy hair, bright yellew long-john-esque shirt under a royal blue sleevesless zip up sweatshirt with a hood, bright pink skinny jeans, black argyle socks, and sherbert colored converse -
we made out (J/J!!!)

2) the other day walking home from BART a saw a lady down the side walk a block away. she was yelling as if she was in a nasty fight with someone- non stop yelling obscenities telling someone to shut up, etc. but no one was there. she had a cart that she pushed about 2 feet and then walk back and dragged her roller suitcase up to the cart, and repeat .., all the way down the street. Yesteday morning she happened to be doing the same routine at 7 am in front of the house. Apparently the other roommates have heard her for the last few days early in the AM. lucky for us we are in her path from the nut house to the looney bin. Yes, this is Berzerkeley.

3) last night on the BART, a guy who looked like Bruce Jenner but sported the best long Dorothy Hamil or was it a long page boy - yep, let's go with page boy cut- sat next to me. Of course he starts talking to me.. "I just had the best day".. as I note the CZs decorating his ears.. "I had a review today and they made me office manager!" then I notice his well manicured long nails with a fresh coat of clear polish... "i've been working hard and now I am office manager of an HR Block- as hi points to his HR Block lapel pin". Somehow he ties this to his family/daugther (Uh- what? daughter?) and shows me a wallet picture of his daughter and then one of his niece. Leaving me wondering what his teenage daughter thinks of his hair.
Thankfully we were coming up quickly to my stop.

Don't you want to experience BART for yourself?

Punks with Paint

2007-07-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

the top on my car was down on Saturday sitting next to the house in-between the house and the apartments next door. some punk spray painted my car interior. we used olive oil to get the black spray paint off the interior (backseat) - clean as a whistle- but there paint is still on the cloth interior of my top. i called the cops that night and filed a report in case i needed it for insurance. they couldn't believe someone painted the inside of my car. (there are "tags" everywhere here).

i called a professional detailer and showed it to another and they both said he it wouldn't come off and i should call my insurance. i called my insurance and posted a claim. i have an appt to get a new interior liner.

Apartment

2007-07-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Whoohoo! I got into an apartment! This is a good feeling. There aren't that many great apts/roommate situations out there and there are tons of people looking... I am glad to find this one.

The apt is in the Russian Hill neighborhood -one block from a long string of cafes, shops, boutiques, etc and very close to the great Italian restaurants in North Beach, shopping at Union Square and close to the Marina. It is a nice location and a nice apartment. My roommates are around my age one girl is a lawyer, the other in operations at Banana Republic. It is a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath. I get the full bath -sharing the shower with the other girls and they share the half bath. My bedroom is a nice size -closet is decent for SF but not near what I need :/ Of course my luck that there isn't a dishwasher (coin laundry in basement at least) and the kitchen is tiny (I need elbow room when I cook!). There is also a roof top atrium for the building to share- can see the Golden Gate Bridge. I think the bus ride to work will be about 15 min and then a walk of 3 blocks or so. Brody can't live with me... very hard to find pet friendly rentals so he will hang in Berkeley. I am sad about that but I will see him weekly. My car will probably live in Berkeley too. Parking is tough in this hood and I don't want to pay $300 a month for a spot.

Other than that, work is already going full force- and put in some long/late days already. The client was in town for 2 days of meetings last week and much to do. I like the team here and the office in general is really cool- an old brick slaughter warehouse... have have exposed brick everywhere and just build walls where we need them. We are one block from the SF bay in the middle of a bunch of agencies, architect firms, Levi's headquarters, Pottery Barn HQ and Constellation Wines (distro company).

Inside of my office:

The weather continues to be very nice. Saturday Brody and I went for a hike in Tilden Park which is in Berkeley up in the hills. I wouldn't really call it a park rather than hills, trails, lakes, vistas, etc. Planning on another one this weekend.

ipods ruin the flirt

2007-07-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Been here two weeks and just now do I get a glimpse of the supposed hot guys who live in SF. Two cute guys on BART. But how to flirt when all have ipods in the ears?

SF Giants Weren't So

2007-07-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Got free tickets to the Giants vs. Dodgers. Stadium is nice- much like all the new stadiums being built these days. It was neat to see the fog roll into the stadium above home plate. Bonds was a practical no show... guess the whole team was.
9-1 Dodgers.

Here is Berry:

Arrival- June 30

2007-07-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

I arrived to SF safely Saturday AM but worn out. Brody seemed to have
handled being in the crate in the plane’s belly pretty well- he was his
normal self. No rest for the weary … Sat. afternoon until the early hours
of the morning there was a big party at the house for my brother’s
roommate’s b-day but I managed to fall asleep with all the noise (DJ
spinning beneath me in the living room) at 2:30 am- Brody stayed up to
party.

Sunday I washed party dishes for about 2 hours then went to the
Filmore Street Jazz/Arts Festival. We are having great weather so I
actually got a little bit of a sun burn – it is so nice to see the sun
after the endless rain in Dallas. One major bummer is that my awesome
apartment has fallen through. So I am back on the hunt which totally sucks.
Hopefully this is working out for the best. At least I can stay with my
brother until I find the right place. I just know I am going to get tired
of the limited amount of clothes I brought so I hope to find a place and
get my stuff (read clothes and shoes) soon!

Berkeley observances and highlights so far-- I am considering starting a
phlog (photoblog- I made that up):
1) If you aren’t homeless there is a good chance you look/dress like it
anyway
2) Walking to catch the BART (in Berkeley) on my first day of work and from
3 blocks away hear a guy (who I thought was major, serious turrets) cursing
up a storm- using the F word every other word (really) amongst other lovely
words. This disturbance of the peace went on for blocks and blocks. As I
got closer I realized he was yelling at some girl on his phone- great
relationship.

It is actually clear (no fog) here every day so fireworks watching should
be good and warm.