Back to Work

Before I go on about my GR8 job, a little recap on what's been going on the last couple of weeks. We went to LA a couple of weekends ago to visit Tim's cousin Beth and her husband Erik. We were looking forward to seeing them but LA - yuck. At least that's what we thought before this visit. As Tim puts it, there are way too many good lookin' people walking around making him feel less attractive. I just don't like that it feels so flat, hot and you can't get anywhere without driving.

BUT - Erik and Beth LOVE dining out and we LOVE eating, that makes for a good trip and a good LA. We did get to see a better side to LA, a softer nicer side. Still lotsa pretty people walking around but eh, we got to eat some good food. Thank you Erik, aka Anthony Bourdain. He was our food/tour guide of LA. He did such a good job we actually...like LA now. I think it's all the good food we ate and Erik kept the alcohol flowing. Gr8 weekend - I like LA!

This weekend back in San Francisco and we got to see our friend Tina from Seattle now relocated in Connecticut. We had dinner at Medjool n the Mission and then a reading from several authors but the one we went for was Amy Tan at the Make Out Room. Yes, we went to a place called the Make Out Room. It was Tina's idea everyone. I had a good time for my first reading. Very cool and I think I may go back. 3$ drafts. Yay! And I did enjoy the readings.

We also got to see Dennis visiting from Hawaii. He's a foodie so we look forward to seeing Dennis. Went to Japan Town and Tim had octopus and kim chee pasta. Ahhh, gotta love Japanese pasta.

So about the job - I started on March 10th and I love it! I get to walk to work everyday. It's a little over a mile one way so I'm getting a least 2 miles of walking each day. Everyone at UCSF is AWESOME. They are all so helpful and enjoy their jobs. Strange. I even have a "buddy". Yes, they assign us a "buddy". It's a good idea but everyone is so nice there it's like I have five buddies.

We're getting ready for a conference in Boston in two weeks so I've been working on different things for that. Looking forward to the trip to Boston. It will be my first time. Very exciting. All in all things are great. I wanted a job I could stay at until I retire and I've found it.

Tim is busy as usual since they are getting ready to launch and is in Seattle for a meeting today. He flew on Virgin America's inaugural flight to Seattle and got the royal treatment. He was going on and on about the flight so maybe he'll muster up the energy and blog it. Something about champagne, red carpet, chocolates and lotsa clapping.

And the race goes on - Message from Barack

So no clear "winner" for the Dem ticket after Tuesday's elections. Great, that just means that Obama will get sucked into Clinton's negative campaigning and the party will get more divided. I'm going to try and keep positive and hope that it won't do too much damage to the Democratic party and the candidate who comes out of this mess will be all that much sharper to defeat McCain.

I'm still saddened over Tuesday and afraid of the road ahead. I'm hoping it won't get too ugly but I'm embracing myself the worse.

Here is a message from Barack's campaign after Tuesday's results - he still gives me hope but it's looking like Clinton is out to squash it and he'll squash back.

We may not know the final outcome of today's voting until morning, but the results so far make one thing clear.

When the dust settles from today's contests, we will maintain our substantial lead in delegates. And thanks to millions of people standing for change, we will keep adding delegates and capture the Democratic nomination.

We knew from the day we began this journey that the road would be long. And we knew what we were up against.

We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we'd see of the politics we're trying to end -- the attacks and distortions that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people's lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope.

But this time -- this year -- it will not work. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high.

Americans need real change.

In the coming weeks, we will begin a great debate about the future of this country with a man who has served it bravely and loves it dearly. And we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the twenty-first century.

John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.

But he should know that it's a call that did not begin with my words. It's the resounding call from every corner of this country, from first-time voters and lifelong cynics, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

And together you and I are going to grow this movement to deliver that change in November.

Thank you,
Barack

Another great weekend in the city

Have I mentioned that we L-O-V-E this city?! Had another great day and started if off with brunch in the Mission at Foreign Cinema with Tim's friend Aaron, Aaron's cousin Anna and her husband TJ. Foreign Cinema was on my list of places to eat and things to do so I was looking forward to this.

The food was great, to be expected from Yelp, and it was great to meet Anna and TJ. They live down in Mountain View (San Jose) and have been to more places than Tim and I who live in the city. Man, we really need to get out of our neighborhood - because there is so much to do and eat in this city. Thank goodness for friends like Aaron who will get us out of the house. Oh, and Aaron doesn't live in the city either. No movies were playing when we were there, they only show movies at night, so maybe one of these nights we'll go back for the full experience.

From there we walked down Mission St. to an art gallery in the wonderful San Francisco sun. The weather was absolutely perfect. There was an Elliott Smith, tortured musician who killed himself with two stabs to the chest, photography exhibit. Thanks again to Aaron, Tim and I would have never even thought to go to something like this. That humongous t.v. sucks all life and motivation for us to leave the house.

After the gallery we got into Anna and TJ's Prius and headed out to Inner Sunset for some coffee. Aaron heard about a coffee shop that had Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee (super duper yummy coffee that sells for $48/lb) so we were off to our next destination. So we cross the city to Inner Sunset only to find that the coffee shop closed an hour or so earlier. What to do next...

Anna and TJ had had these amazing truffles from a shop in the North Beach neighborhood so...next stop North Beach! We all loaded up in the Prius and crossed the city again to go up to North Beach, or Little Italy. I have been wanting to check this neighborhood out because I have heard of all the great restaurants and cute shops but I'm lazy and that t.v. sucks me in. Our house is so damn comfortable I really need to make it more uncomfortable so we get out more often.

The truffles WERE amazing and we got to sit and chat a bit more to think about our next stop. Where to next...so many things to do in this city. Well, how about a drink the end the day. There were tons of places the problem was which one to choose from and we ended up at a sort of pub. I cannot remember the name at all therefore no photo that I could snag off Google Images (our camera is still dead from the day before and Tim being Tim has no idea where the charger is - I have no idea how he makes it through the day without me.)

After our drinks we piled into the Prius again and headed back to the Mission to get Aaron's car and go back home. We said our good-byes to Anna and TJ (thanks guys - it was awesome to spend the day with you) and headed back to Inner Richmond. Our day did not end there. Oh no. In Tim and Wendy fashion, we got some take-out from Eva's Hawaiian Cafe for dinner and I got to be reunited with the t.v. It missed me. We said our good-byes to Aaron and he headed back to Napa.

What an amazing day. There is so much to do and my list of places to eat just keeps getting longer, at least I can cross one thing off from today. Although, Anna and TJ told us about a bar in the Haight so I need to add that to the list. It's a draw. Not a bad problem to have though.

Thank you to Anna, TJ, and Aaron. We had a great day!

Mini Cooper Superstars

Yesterday was a Saturday Mini Cooper Cruise with the Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts. Tim's co-worker Coyote just bought a new Mini and joined the club so we tagged along for the cruise. Yes, Tim works with someone named "Coyote" and I went on a club event. I'm attending club events - San Francisco is changing me. The pictures we have are not the best since we lost the charge on our camera after three pictures. To give you a better idea there were 36 Minis on the cruise. Despite my allergy to clubs, I do have to admit I had a lot of fun and Tim was able to drive with other Mini owners who love driving FAST on those windy roads.

I not only enjoyed the ride but this club is organized. Jill, you would be impressed. There was a color map and also points on the map that showed the estimated time of arrival, cumulative mileage and directions. AND all of this was in a booklet that even had a notes page. I was telling Tim that I have worked with people in the non-profit field that could not even put something together this professional looking for their job let along a hobby. I was impressed. One more thing - they also have radios. Drivers let everyone know if there is a cyclist ahead, walkers, or as they called them "bohemians". I like these people, they are more sarcastic than me.

We didn't go the whole way (124 miles) and left the group at Petaluma. According to their map we went 69 miles most of it on Highway 1 with views of the ocean and rolling hills. It was a beautiful ride and we got a lot of stares and smiles from passerbys. Tim loved it and was honking away at everyone and waving like he was Ms. Mini Cooper San Francisco. The boy likes the attention.

It was fun to be in this group of 36 Minis zipping along the country roads of Marin. I didn't have to be as uptight about Tim speeding and felt safer that there was a group looking out for us. And more cars pulled over to let our little convoy by whereas when it's just Tim in his one Mini we don't always get people pulling over to let him pass. We not only enjoyed it but like I said earlier, the smiles of people watching our convoy drive by was just as enjoyable.

So it looks like Tim will be joining the club and we'll get to go on rides at least once a month and Ms. Mini Cooper San Francisco can go out and meet his public.