Spring! Garden! Veggies!

It's getting warmer and almost time for t-shirts and shorts (and most definitely flip flops). It also means time to make camping reservations and casino trips. I love this time of year because it no longer gets dark at 5 (when I feel like I'm staying late at work everyday and don't want to do anything once I get out because it's so dark).

And spring also means I get to plant warm climate vegetables in the garden! I've been neglecting the garden because 1) it's been getting dark so early, 2) I get home late from work, and 3) I haven't had to water thanks to the steady Bay Area rain. This past weekend I went to the Flowercraft and picked up some starter seedlings (since slugs and snails and birds have been picking off the ones I grow from seeds). I picked up more cabbage because I think they're beautiful and the last batch made for some good soup. The hard part of gardening is getting rid of all the weeds after letting them go wild for months. I wore my plaid flannel shirt because I knew I'd be doing manly weeding and manly soil-turning and other manly things. It took a couple hours to clear out my two tiny plots.

I love when my plots are nice and tidy. It's much more inviting that way. Below is a photographic inventory of what I've got going in the garden so far. You can bet there'll be more updates soon(ish).


Strawberries


Cauliflowers from last year. One of them finally started to actually get big.


I've been growing zucchinis every year since they produce so much fruit and are so easy to grow. This year I've moved on to round zucchinis.


Three kinds of cherry tomatoes because I'm indecisive. There's a red one, orange one, and yellow one.


Carrots


A mix of regular and Roxanne (red) cabbage


Chard mix


Artichokes, also from last year. There are two plants left after one was dragged into a hole by a gopher.

Not completely wasting my time

Lately I've been trying to spend my time doing things other than being online or at work. Or being online at work. Last week I volunteered at the San Francisco Food Bank. It's kinda fun in an assembly line kinda way. We repackaged bulk granola and brown rice into one-pound bags, which then went into boxes. My job was to do the initial filling of the bags as close to one pound as possible. I've discovered that I've got a knack for this (hitting one pound more often than not) and one of my teammates suggested that I'd be a good drug dealer.

I didn't really think about the people who would be there, but it was surprising that most of the people there were my age or younger. I guess I expected to see more of the mom type (because that's what I see on the news when they do stories on food banks during the holidays?? I don't know).

This year I'm also doing the Adopt-A-Family program at the Raphael House again. My friend Lucie told me about it and I thought it would be nice to contribute. The house is more or less a shelter for homeless children and families in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The program asks that you provide gifts for the children as well as a family gift and a gift card to some place practical like Safeway or Target. Last year I spent way more than I really should have, but it was really fun shopping for my girl and her family (hence the overdoing of the gifts).

My motivations aren't completely altruistic, though. Growing up, we were pretty poor and my parents used services similar to these and lately I've been feeling like I have a responsibility to "give back," as they say. If you have the time or money, you should, too. And not just because it's the holidays, but because I told you to.

You can email Anne at SF Food Bank (more info here) or Anna at Raphael House (more info here) if you are a good, decent person.


This stuff isn't going to repackage itself into one-pound bags.

Fucked up shit

SFist posted an article about Prop 8 Maps, which uses Google Maps to pinpoint people who donated to the Prop 8 campaign. It's kind of fascinating and kind of disheartening to see that so many people donated (I've only scanned San Francisco and San Jose). I hope I don't recognize anyone I know.

Early birthday!

I'm taking a break from the China Diaries to report a perfect early birthday. This morning Patrick woke me up with a breakfast in bed. Eggs, ham and tasty toast. He also crocheted a beanie (!!!!) for me (see below).

After breakfast I was taken to the California Academy of Sciences, which I have been talking about on a regular basis. It was a great mixture of old and new. The T-Rex skeleton, the African Hall, the pendulum and the PENGUINS were there. Penguins pretty much are the bestest things on earth. A few new additions to the Academy included a living roof, a shark and ray pool, a new planetarium and a rain forest. The rain forest is by far my favorite new addition, where birds and butterflies zoom around freely. The only thing that sucked REAL HARD was that my camera crapped out again and I lost all the pictures I took at the Academy. Fucking shit fuck to that, man.

We went to Park Chow for lunch since it was right there on 9th Ave. If I had to give it a Yelp rating, it would get three and a half stars. The spiced apple cider and calamari were good, but my Thai-style noodle entree was a soupy mess. Patrick thought his eggplant parmesan was "mediocre," and this from someone who LOVES his eggplants.

Afterwards we went to San Jose to join Micah and Kelsey for a romp at Christmas in the Park and dinner at Johnny Rockets. I love that my old co-workers are still there because I get hooked up! We ended the night with hot chocolate and some Rock Band.

Thanks for an awesome day, monkey!

(Since I lost all the pictures I took with the DSLR, all photos were taken with my phone.)

Saturday morning on the N. Everyone must have partied real hard the night before.


New beanie made with love


Astroman Patrick


Rain forest. It'll frizz your hair, 4realz


Anaconda. It dont want none unless you got buns, hon.


So-so Thai noodles and eggplant parm

Regarding Prop 8

This morning I checked the results for Prop 8, hoping that there was a chance it had failed. The margin was a lot smaller, but it still passed.

I'm at a loss to understand the amount of hate it takes to want to change a constitution specifically to discriminate. While walking home from BART last night, Patrick and I saw some kid jumping up and down shouting "YES ON 8, MOTHERFUCKERS!!" He didn't look old enough to vote. Why would it affect him aside from validating his hate? But that's beside the point of this post.

An overwhelming feeling of camaraderie overtook me during the course of this election. Everyone I knew pumped their fists for Obama because it was time for a change. But presidential election aside, people were also rooting for the failure of Prop 8. I was so touched by the amount of support from close friends, family, co-workers and total strangers. Even celebrities and big corporations gave their support for a cause they thought was worthy of their attention. Though I don't have as much at stake in the failure of Prop 8 as the people who have fought for their marriages, it was still a very personal matter at the core.

Getting texts and calls from my friends asking about the status Prop 8 last night meant the world to me. The disappointment in the faces of my happily married straight friends as they found out Prop 8 was winning meant the world to me. Reading all the posts from people voicing their outrage of Prop 8 meant the world to me. I'm honored to have these people in my life and feel that with this much support.

We lost this battle, but won one as well last night. One step at a time.


One day I'll get a chance to make many horrible marriage decisions like Britney.

The California Academy of Sciences

I read an article on SFGate.com about the opening of the new California Academy of Sciences today and I can't wait to visit it for myself. I'm really excited about the swamp, rain forest, and living rooftop exhibits. The sustainable design is wonderfully sci-fi, most notably the rooftop where there are living plants which acts as insulation against weather for the Academy.

The coolest thing of all, however, is the penguin exhibit. This exhibit has always been a favorite of mine. PENGUINS! The new Academy outdoes itself this time around with a live, streaming cam feed of the penguin habitat. That's right: STREAMING. How awesome is that?

Below are some photos I found on Flickr. I'm definitely bringing my camera.













Bonus photo:


On a side note: Lysol wipes are amazing! I used one sheet to wipe off my dirty keyboard, scanner, table, and even the garbage can before I threw it away. I've got a full canister waiting for me and I can't wait to use them.

A Sunday afternoon WTF

So I was reading SFGate.com and there's an article about Gavin Newsom's wedding to a rich, blonde bimbo. Ok, so it's SF Gate and I guess Gavin Newsom is the mayor of San Francisco so it's kinda almost relevant to write about his wedding, right? But, uh, did they have to get former SF mayor Willie Brown to write it? The article reminds me of Gizmodo's liveblogging of an Apple event, except it's not entertaining and there's no iPhone hype afterwards. Oh, but Huey Lewis played at the wedding! That was pretty exciting.

Here's a sample of the article:

The theme of the wedding is "Out of Africa," Montana style.

So I had to get a new outfit for the wedding: white silk and linen sun blazer, white Riviera collar shirt, Brioni khakis and brown-and-white spectator pumps.

Robert Redford would be proud.

Bravo, Willie!

SRSLY, SFGate, WTF?

Day of iPhone sadness :(

I could barely sleep last night, imagining a new iPhone up against my ear. This morning, waking up to an alarm set an hour earlier than usual, I got up and was out the door by 7:15 so I could get in line about half an hour before the 8 am sale time. Approaching the AT&T store across the street from my office there was hope. The line seemed short, but the closer I got the longer it got. I didn't want to stand in that long of a line so I went up Market Street to the next closest one. The line was even longer and I think might have been two or three deep.

Since it was about an hour and a half before I usually show up to the office, I decided to go back to the Mission to see what the line was like at the AT&T store there. At this point desperation started setting in. I NEED AN iPHONE! When I saw the line, which extended the length of the long Mission block, the possibility of me being an iPhone owner died a horrible, bloody death. I haven't given up yet. I'll try again at lunch. Maybe I'll even try the Apple store, though I couldn't the lines being any shorter. But now there's a new dilemma. Black or white?

It's blazin' hot

San Francisco's been hit with a couple days with summer-grade weather (93˚ right now). It's a welcomed change from the freezing May weather we've been having lately. It does, however, make me super sweaty when I'm riding my bike and dries out my plots at the community garden super fast so I have to go water it everyday. Other than that, I can't complain. Summer in the city...it's a nice feeling.

Today's also the perfect kind of day for frozen yogurt. Everyone else seems to think so as well.




Gone in a couple minutes.

SRSLY, Mother Nature, I'm gonna kick your ass

The weather in San Francisco has been completely horrible lately, especially for allergy sufferers. A few weeks back we had awesome hot, park weather which lasted for all of 3 or 4 days. Then the wind picked up, and the weather dropped to WINTER LOWS, then the trees and plants started blooming. Thank you, Mother Nature, for my clogged sinuses, for the goopy, watery, itchy eyes that I have to pry open every morning, and for the annoying headaches...I HATE YOU.

Also, my neck's been fucked up and that's made me extra cranky about all this. Luckily, it's supposed to be really nice this weekend. Hopefully the nice weather will extend down to Big Sur, where I'll be camping. Of course, it's supposed to rain tonight before we get to the nice weather. Sigh.

On a side note, Sheila loves the Counting Crows.

Dim sum!

Dim sum, the perfect feast for gluttons. It was a little over a year ago that Pooh and I had this great meal, as retold here, and today we relived it. As last time, we ordered way too much. It was good, though. I hate pronouncing the dishes correctly in Chinese because the person taking our order will inevitably respond in Chinese. This proves to be a problem since I'll reply in English with "I don't understand" and a chuckle. I end up feeling like I've disappointed them and feel guilty (both because I can't speak the language of my people and I let the years of Chinese school my parents put me through go to waste).

After dim sum Pooh bought a tea infuser and we went searching for teas. We found The Aroma Tea Shop, which is a kind of tea tasting bar. We picked out a couple different kinds and tried them with the rest of the people at the bar. I ended buying a flower tea combo set and 4 oz. of chrysanthemum tea (just like grandma used to make). I'm sipping on some right now. Delicious!


Flower tea buds


Dried chrysanthemum flowers ready for brewing


Wall of tea

Today might be the end of the world

I woke up this morning to a strange, loud whistling noise. It wasn't unlike a kettle that's ready. Once I became oriented, I realized it was the wind. Outside, a huge pool of rainwater collected at the corner of my block, something that's never happened before. See, growing up in California, I've never really experienced weather. Fifty degrees is way too cold, 80 is too hot. A 15 mph gust is too strong for comfort.

In the two blocks it took me to get to BART this morning, I became completely soaked. My umbrella was useless in the 40-60 mph winds so I put it away and secured my faux fur-lined parka hood. By the time I got to work, I had raisin hands.

I pray the huge windows behind me don't implode and impale me with shards of glass.

I love New York, but I still love SF more

Every time I make a visit to NY, I love it a little more. It's the city that doesn't know how to be boring (though I can't say that for myself when I'm there). The 4am bar closing time kicks my ass every time.

The best part about New York is hangin' with my main bitch, Uyen. She was nice enough to let me stay with her the whole week I was there. "Ban, ma," she would say. Thanks to her I now know how to make eggrolls (why didn't I take pictures of them??!).

Thanks, also, to my other friends who were nice enough to meet up with me while I was there: Ryan, Caitlin and Jeff, Alicia, Jarron and Ben, Joey, and Ellie, who showed me around Philly.

Though my time in NY was well spent, the heat and humidity got to me. I was so glad to be home and walk out into crisp, cold, dry air. Hello, San Francisco!


When When on the rooftop.


Fun building across from Uyen's apartment in Brooklyn.


Stairway to a hot, sweaty hell.


Young City Fish Balls


Alleyway that looks like other NY alleyways I've been down.


Guilty! (In Philadelphia)


Hangin' by the Delaware River.


FroYo and Andrew's ass (I think).


Lookin' good, feelin' good.

Legally, Panasonic can't promise you anything

Panasonic has a line of semi-rugged laptops called ToughBooks. The campaign for these computers (done by Sigma, I believe) have taken over BART's Montgomery station. There are maybe 6 or 8 different executions—one for each of the models of ToughBooks. These ad are essentially selling us implications...legally, they can't say that you can work wirelessly from anywhere, but it's implied. Similar non-promises are made on the other ads. Great ads or true lies?


Sorry for the crappy phone picture.

iPhone mania finds it way to San Francisco

During lunch, Stephanie takes time out to mimic/make fun of the people who have been waiting for their chance to grab a brand new iPhone. Poor guy under the blanket. He'll never know the ridicule he was subjected to while he was asleep.


Ross tries to use the iPhone's new multi-touch screen. I hear it's scratch resistant.

Bottom of the Hill, or Happy Bday Audrey

It's been a few years since I've been to Bottom of the Hill for a show. I forgot how crowded the tiny venue can get. At certain points, it felt like I was in the steam room at the gym. But having said that, it was definitely worth it.

We went to the Matt and Kim show in celebration of Audrey's 28th. One of the opening bands was The Mall. The drummer made her a bday DVD which made her feel special or something. I asked her if she was a Mallrat, which she responded with a nervous chuckle. You can draw your own conclusions. The second The Mall started playing, a mosh pit pushed and shoved its way to life. Pooh and I stood there, feeling betrayed by our age. It made us feel old and just a little afraid. The surprised came when we spotted a drunked Brian moshing right along with the 17-year-olds.

When Matt and Kim came on, they were all about smiles and funny anecdotes. Kim drummed with a giant smile on her face the WHOLE TIME and Matt stopped in between songs to tell stories about motel ghosts and pizza shaped marshmallows. Three words describe them: Extra Super Fun! No, the exclamation mark is not a typo. I want them to play at my next house party.

The big pay off came after I was dropped off. I spotted a hot dog vendor (yes, at 1 in the morning) selling bacon-wrapped hot dogs on the corner of Mission and 23rd. This bad boy was topped with grilled onions, mayo, ketchup and mustard...in that order.

Mitchell's ice cream is good on a hot day

After an exhausting short game of tennis today (note: don't ever play tennis in your Chuck Taylors or you will suffer), we went to Mitchell's for ice cream. It was a take-a-number-and-wait place. I was #72 and they were at #8. The wait reminded me of my good friend Ross' account of his pizza adventure in Arizona. It was a good 45 minute wait, but I finally got two scoops on a cone. Surprisingly, I got sherbert (sorbet?) because I wanted something light. I couldn't tell if I was bloated from all the water I downed after tennis or extremely dehydrated from the sun, so something not too creamy was in order.



Photo by Audrey

Lazy day, getting cold again

Waking up late on a Sunday is as right as rain. Crawled out of bed and made myself breakfast/brunch for one. Two pancakes and two eggs (I tried to make them over medium, but it didn't turn out that way). There's something very rewarding about cooking for yourself. Baby Char called and wanted to play tennis, so we met at the courts in Dolores Park. We played our shortest game yet, and I already forgot who won...it was a close one, though. Afterwards we stopped by the new Bi-Rite creamery and got a banana split each. The caramelized bananas in it were fantastic! Also, all the hot boys hang out around 18th and Dolores on sunny days.


Pancakes and eggs.


Banana split with caramelized bananas.