Friday, June 27, 2008

Fun Day

So one thing (one of the few) that I'm enjoying about my new job is that we have these things called "Fun Days", one of which happened yesterday. Essentially we clear out of the office for the afternoon and get paid to have a great time. This time around we were going to my boss's tennis club/spa, this enormous hotel/resort/spa place in Berkeley.

11:45am rolls around and we leave the office. We start off with lunch....oh wait, no we start with drinks first. I forgo beer and have a 7&7 and then a cranberry vodka. Super yummy tuna tartare and calamari was shared by the table, and I had the spicy grilled chicken sandwich with garlic fries. Uh, yummy. Dessert was this ridiculous loaf of bread budding in bourbon sauce with toasted pecans, bananas, and vanilla ice cream. Diabetic shock? Yes please.

At 2pm we descend upon the spa, where we're all signed up for 50 minute massages. In the women's spa room my co-worker (the one who I'm not sure whether or not she's a lesbian) strips down totally naked before getting in her robe. I'm not even gonna chalk this up to E v W coast. I'm pretty sure in no geographical region is it normal to see one of your VP's ass.

But I digress. I had the Tibetan Sound Massage, which consisted of a full body massage and then the placement of Tibetan bowls placed over my chakras (?) and then played. Yeah, it was as crazy as it sounds. I figured I could have done the standard Deep Tissue/Therapeutic vein, but I wasn't going to pass up having some Eastern European swimmer-type chick play some bowls on my back. It was hilarious and relaxing at the same time.

After the massage we headed to the pool, where we all proceeded to nap for an hour or so. After that we packed up and headed back to the city, and I was back in my home at 5pm.

All in a hard day's work.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Drinking, Post-College

So I realized another East Coast v West Coast thing that I left off was the beer. East Coast has such delights as Yuengling, but the West Coast....? Varying kinds of deliciousness, all incredibly available. Even the corner market across the street from me has options like Fat Tire, hard ciders, and even 3 Philosophers (yes I know, it's an East Coast beer. Still.). At first I thought this was more of a geographical difference...people here love their beers. Then it was astutely pointed out to me that maybe this isn't coastal as much as it is stage-in-life-related.

I think it's a valid point. College consisted mostly of drinking as much beer as possible in the shortest amount of time. Bud Light, Natty Ice, Keystone Light....the list really goes on. Sometimes there'd be nicer kegs, but I only encountered them at people's houses who had already graduated college. Other notable college drinking experiences include massive amounts of tequila (shudder), jungle juice, and mystery shots that came out of huge, pre-mixed 2L bottles of Sprite. Who was I to care where my beer was brewed, how hoppy it was, or what kind of recycled materials went into the label. Having a beer wasn't always about kicking back and relaxing, and when that was the case you can be damn sure I wasn't drinking Bud Light.

Now, I have a beer or two with dinner or at a bar on the weekdays. I don't want to drink some overly watered, hyper-carbonated liquid passing as beer. Weekends are a different story, but only kind of. I think part of me is still in "college drinking mode", where the typical night goes something like : pregame/party/bar/jumbo slice/pass out. Here everything is, in typical California style, way more laid back, so I've found myself drinking less, with higher quality.

Or maybe my body is enforcing detox on me after 4 years of college, and all that entailed.

Except for Sparks. There will always be Sparks.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Musings

So today marks the first day of Week 5 on the West Coast, and Week 4 at work. It's been an adjustment.

Fair warning: this post will not be about robots, hugging lions, and/or meth heads.

A few East Coast v West Coast observations:
The food:
- East Coast wins every time on any sort of greasy, unhealthy, delicious food. Fries, pizza, breakfast sandwiches, cheesesteaks.
- West Coast wins on stuff like fruit, bread, veggies, sushi. Cheese, a major part of my diet, remains unchanged--at least so far.
The weather:
- East Coast: Hot, muggy, hazy. How I miss you (sometimes).
- West Coast: Foggy, 50s at night, and people go crazy if it reaches 75 here. Really. Now, this is the Bay Area, so it's a bit skewed from the rest of the region, but still. Sometimes all I want is to not have to wear a jacket at night in June and not know it's summer because it feels like early October.
The people:
- East Coast: Fast walking, fast talking. Two things sorely missing here. Generally more sarcastic, wittier, and motivated (what people here would call 'mean' and 'tense').
- West Coast: I have seen more crazy ass hobos here that I ever have. I feel like people say "Oh, [insert neighborhood name] is really sketchy and full of hobos, but [their neighborhood] is really okay, mostly." Seeing as how this has been said about nearly every single neighborhood in this city, I'm convinced that you can't escape the crazies. Solution? Walk fast and wear sunglasses. People here also talk pretty slowly, and sarcasm is a trait sorely lacking. On the other hand, they're also significantly smiley-er, more easy-going/laid back about stuff.

Any other rampant stereotypes I'm missing?

Work is.........also a big adjustment. I'm starting to think that maybe I'm getting a bit too far from my anthropology/public health roots. More on that later, when I'm not at work.

Random life updates:

After 2 weeks of having a broken bed (thanks, Matt Shiel, for testing out the sturdiness of my bed by leaping on it, elbow first), I got to manhandle a drill yesterday, and now said bed is completely stable. Who am I kidding? I drilled one little piece, Adam did the actual design/work. I swept up the sawdust (hooray gender roles!).

Went to a "Southern" restaurant Saturday night. Great cornbread, good drinks, good okra....worst ribs ever. Like they were covered in pasta sauce. Some of you know how serious I get about my ribs, and I'm sad to say that of the 3 places I've tried here (2 supposedly known for ribs/bbq) I've been disappointed every time. Truly heartbreaking.

After a 2 week quest, discovered that the convenience store across the street from me has Pizza Pringles. Don't judge me.

Also just had Thai Tea (Jenee!!) and Strawberry Basil ice cream. AMAZING. Come visit and I'll take you there.


And for those of you who I haven't spoken to in a while due to various trips across Alaska, working at tea shops in NC, being professional Fools, etc, I promise a phone call/email is coming soon soon soon!

Edit: The East Coast also has my button.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

RoboGames: The World's Greatest Minds and Their Robots

Saturday, June 14th. An "exhibition pier" at Fort Mason, in view of the Golden Gate Bridge. At first you might think it's an unassuming, low-hanging building. But no....

It's RoboGames, the biggest international robot competition. And it was AWESOME.

I honestly don't even know where to start. It was your quintessential nerd-fest. I saw more men with pony tails, Star Wars references (complete with home-made, fully functional/talking [?] R2D2s), "got robots?" stickers, and assured life-long virgins in that room that I thought humanly possible. I think one of the defining moments was during the Sumo Wrestling...with robots....when one of the Asian kids beat some white kid and pointed to his "Team Korea" patch on his track jacket. Only then did I realize that people literally traveled the world to be in this low-budg robot festival. And the people were hi-larious. You had your slutty goth girls, your mutton-chops sporting, wife beater wearing guys in their 30s, and then, of course, the swarm of pasty, gamers' body, bi-focal wearing tweens and teens. And it wasn't even a situation where you laugh at your surroundings. Moreso, it was the fact that these are the kids who get teased by the jocks and cheerleaders during school, but here they get to be the cool kid with the winning robot who has people cheering for them. I know it sounds corny, but it was heartening that these kids had a weekend where they weren't outcasts, but instead were among hundreds of their own.

But enough about that....on to the robots.

The highlight of the day, for me, was seeing the battles. There was the big plexiglass arena with bleachers all around it where the spectators could cheer on their robot of choice. There's nothing like cheering on a 340 pound piece of metal when it destroys another robot. My personal favorite was this lighter-weight one that had pointy clamps that SET THE OTHER ROBOT ON FIRE. Bad. Ass.

The little mini robot men that kind of looked like scaled down Optimus Primes that raced on this little board were also pretty sweet, especially the Korean one (of course) that started break dancing after it crossed the finish line.

The day continued into dinner at the Stinking Rose, a garlic-themed place that stanks you up from the inside out. It was delicious, and we met a kind of hilarious Dutch couple looking to "party hardy." Their words.

The night descended into seeing a TERRIBLE punk-ish band (think Fall Out Boy meets Good Charlotte/every other punk band from high school), complete with the requisite Asian lead singer and puffy, longer haired, glasses & sweater-vest wearing bass player. So good, and yet so bad. It was a solid day, one that we paid for on Sunday.

Note: the Dutch couple did not come to this concert...we sent them to the Mission.

RANT: Dunkin' Donuts doesn't exist here. All I wanted Sunday morning was a bacon egg & cheese on a croissant, with maybe a Dunkaccino or a Coolatta thrown in the mix. But NO! All people want here is stupid vegan scones with soy cheese and crumbled fake meat. FAIL.

I've wasted enough time at work. Expect more in the coming days.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Lion Hugz

Because who doesn't want a little lion lovin'?



Note: this is safe for work.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Incident of The MethHead in the Night

Last Tuesday I went to dinner in Lower Haight with Alex Chan. We went to a cute Thai place, had amazing sangria, and lots of good conversation. Sounds like a good night, right?

I leave dinner feeling good. I hop on my bike (see previous post for photo evidence) and begin pedaling my way home. I head down Fillmore and go to turn on Waller. At this corner there is a meth head with her shopping card. She starts going out into the street, where I have to bike by her. I say "excuse me", she turns towards me and...

THROWS HER WATER ALL OVER ME.






Yeah.


Since I was on my bike she was aiming at a moving target, so she missed the face shot, but got my leg and back pretty good. Half of me wanted to tell her to go eff herself, but the other half, the one scared of a meth addled psychosis, won over and kept pedaling. I shot her a look, but she was too busy shouting "get away from me! You stay away from me!" My pleasure, crazy. I also did the highly scientific "rub and smell" to ensure that I had in fact been hit with water, not urine or bathtub booze.

At the time I was a bit shaken up, but now hilarity has won over. After all, not many people can say they were aquatically assaulted on their bikes.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

First Ramblings/A Move Across the Country

Yes, I've started a blog. I'm guessing many of you weren't surprised. I decided to start the blog because 2 weeks ago yesterday I moved 3,000 miles across the country to San Francisco, CA, leaving many of my family and friends behind (hi guys!) to venture into the land of burritos, liberal thinking, and birkenstocks. I had a job (more on that to come) lined up, no house, and managed to make the move with 3 suitcases and a backpack.

Let's break this up a bit better for organization's sake.

First day:

I get to San Francisco at 1pm PST after 10 hours of traveling. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Apparently though this makes little difference in my day's activities, as I hop on Adam's bike as soon as I get in to go check out an apartment, the first of 2 viewings that day. The place was...eh. Dirty, living with a somewhat strange younger couple who talked about chore wheels and greenhouses. I have nothing against either, but it just wasn't a right fit. Fast forward about 20 minutes later and I'm at the corner of 19th and Valencia. I call the guy to view the 2nd place, and I look up to hear a phone ringing on a guy standing on a door stoop. Good timing. Adam's come along for the ride/I made him, and we take a tour of the place. It's bright, sunny, hardwood floors, and the guy showing it is pretty cool. Adam asks if he goes to The Phoenix, an Irish bar next door where Erin works. He does, and he knows Erin, even saying to Adam, "Oh you're the roommate who's moving out?" This connection is what gives me the In to this place, and on Monday I hand over my first rent and deposit check, with a movein date of June 1st.

Some quick photos....

My room. Yes, I have a bay window. It's a gorgeous room, with a big closet and Craigslist-acquired furniture. It's also in the best location I could ask for. 3 blocks to the BART (SF's metro), and within 2 blocks of some of the best food, bars, and boutiques I've been to. I'm living in the Mission district, with a heavy Hispanic population, balanced out by hipsters. I am neither, but I'm loving it regardless.

Oh right, roommates. There's Westin, who is 26ish?, works as a pizza cook but wants to get into tech stuff, is very tall and quiet with the occasional sarcastic zinger in there. I've seen him maybe twice in the past week, but he's a cool guy.

Greg is 27, works in construction, and is also quite laidback. The construction aspect has come in handy as he built a soundproofing thing on one side of my wall (which would have sliding doors, but is now just sheet rock). We got a beer together earlier last week, but beyond that haven't seen him too often.

Adrienne is 20, an anthropology major (that's right) at SF State, and works at Nordstrom. She's really sweet and also just moved in, and we're getting along well so far. In general I couldn't be happier with my living situation.

This is the view from my room, looking out onto Twin Peaks. It's pretty beautiful. It looks hilly here, but the Mission is actually really flat, which is useful when....
I'm on my bike! Yes, the red Schwinn was left behind on the East Coast, and the Centurion has taken its place. Besides some asshole stealing my bike light it's been a positive experience. It's light and fast, and more importantly teal, and is basically how I get everywhere around here.

I guess I'm still supposed to be writing about my first day. It can be summed up rather quickly. After the apartment viewings me, Adam, and Matt went to go see an Oakland A's game against the Red Sox. A's won, and it was a one-hitter. Pretty great.

Day 2:

We wake up and get breakfast at St. Francis, a delicious and historic soda fountain place 3 blocks away. This is also the day of Carnaval in the Mission, so when we walk outside one of the first things we see is 12 or so scantily clad girls rehearsing a dance routine. This is also the slowest moving parade ever, as it took them the entire time we were at breakfast to move 1.5 blocks. I guess everything really does move slower in California.

The rest of the week was nice and low-key. After the fair we went to Taco Sunday at Matt's house, where I ate my body weight in mini-tacos and played beer pong. For those of you who don't know, I'm terrible at beer pong, and graduating from college hasn't changed this. Monday-Thursday was spent finding my bike, stalking Craigslist for furniture, and exploring the city.

Friday was....BIRTHDAY DAY. It kicked off with getting more brunch at St. Francis, followed by a trip to Thrift Town to find a costume for Matt's house's SpeakyEasy themed party. I decided to forgo the flapper dress and went for the Jersey housewife look, complete with velour one-piece jumper, tacky belt, and gold chains. Maybe I was more 80s than 20s, but it worked. The party was really fun, and I even had friends there! This being less than 1 week into Operation: MATC (Move Across the Country) I was pleased to not be awkwardly standing in a corner perusing the bookshelfs and making smalltalk with the landlord. It was kind of a non-birthday birthday, but I can't complain seeing as how velour jumpers and french toast was involved.

The rest of the weekend was kind of a blah blah blah sit around and eat blahblah move into the new apartment, and was too uneventful to relate here.

The next Monday, June 2nd, I started my new job. I'm working at a tiny boutique tech firm right in the heart of the Financial District, literally 20 steps from my BART stop. So far I'm loving it. It's only 6 other people, and they're all incredibly nice and laidback. The president is kind of a Steve Jobs/geeky dad figure, who is pretty soft-spoken and easy going. My supervisor is an early 30s mom who is totally the "cool mom" type...fun, nice, and relaxed. The other VP is your standard sarcastic woman who I can't tell if she's a lesbian, living with her dog and commenting on everything going on in the office. The media director is an ex-cheerleader/the girl who interviewed. She's predictably sweet and bubbly. The intern is 22, insanely talkative, but really nice--we've gotten lunch and gone on food-finding adventures this week, and she's given me lots of good suggestions on places to go in the city, as well as the office gossip (obviously). The people are cool, and so far the work has been easy and low-pressure, so I'm pleased with how it's going. Hopefully it'll stay this course and not turn into a crazy, high-stress environment like where I was before. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but am optimistic.

I still have so much more to write about, but will hold off for now. I don't want to get carpal tunnel, and I don't want yall's eyes to bleed from reading so much. I'm hoping to keep this thing updated a few times a week so that you can all keep e-tabs on me and so that I have a place to tell all the little stories that happen to me, so let's hope I keep to that timetable.

Alright, first entry....done.


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