December 2018
Summary: Feel the Force Nightlife at Calacademy with Patrick; Daddy's Boy Onesie Xmas Party with Patrick; Watched the Santa Skivvies Run with Patrick; Mr. S Holiday Party at Oasis with Patrick; Joey Alexander Trio at SFJAZZ with Patrick; Tim and Tom's Super Modern Holiday Party with Patrick; Laugh Your Gays Off free comedy at Midnight Sun with Patrick; explored Union Square holiday lights and Winter Walk with Patrick; Ghirardelli Square with Patrick, Kerry, and Mom Ryan; The Golden Girls Live at The Victoria Theatre with Patrick; SFMOMA with Patrick; Adam Shulman: A Charlie Brown Christmas at SFJAZZ with Patrick; Getaround, appetizers, Filoli, dinner, and house party with Patrick, Chris G, Andy T; Jason Brock's 6th Annual Holiday Show at Martuni's; Walt Disney Family Museum with Patrick; Christmas Eve dinner with Patrick at Jeanne D'Arc in the Cornell Hotel de France; Christmas brunch at home with Patrick, Sam, Kerry, and Mom Ryan; Christmas dinner at The Cavalier with Patrick; If Beale Street Could Talk with Patrick; Kabuki Baths with Patrick
Dates on this page
Sat Dec 1, 2018
Slept in. Breakfast at home with Patrick: rye sandwich with basil, egg, and cheese for Patrick; english muffin instead of rye for me; 8 ounces of orange juice for both. Lots of house chores, including vacuum-dusting and cleaning the handheld vacuum's filter. Tested all alarms (smoke and CO2). Lunch: leftover jambalaya. Wrapped a gift. Prepped a kitchenware warranty return for delivery, including altering a box for a custom fit. Posted unwanted packing supplies online to give away. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover spiced black lentils with jambalaya and half of a boiled egg, Hint. Watched The Greatest Showman on Netflix DVD with Patrick and popcorn from a saucepan. I had trouble making the popcorn because it didn't pop as fluffily as it used to. We think the kernels are too old. Shopped online for a new jacket.
Sun Dec 2, 2018
Breakfast at home: one-egg omelette with cheese blend and fines herbes on a slice of rye, leftover rosemary biscuits, one pint of hot water. Long nap. Snack: tortilla chips with guacamole. Dinner at home with Patrick: mahi mahi, tomato, and zucchini en papillote with breaded, deep-fried quinoa; ciabatta; san pell for Patrick; Hint for me. We had some trouble getting the mahi mahi to cook properly because with en papillote you can't see or easily test the doneness—there seems to be some guesswork involving a lot of variables. Eventually with one retry it finished cooking and was a delicious meal. Dessert: raspberry-cherry Jell-O with whipped cream from a can. Afterwards we watched Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series part 15 on purchased DVD. Archived documents.
Mon Dec 3, 2018
No breakfast before leaving home. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Breakfast from The View Cafe: bacon, egg, and cheddar on croissant, half Odwalla C Monster. Finalized scientific poster presentation templates and made them live and performed related followup tasks. Checked our Google Analytics before performing Browserstack sweep in IE. We still have about 7% of visitors using IE9 or IE11. 45% of Windows users are using a version of Windows older than Windows 10. Styling work: microsites identity retheme: IE11 for Windows sweep. Lunch: two small mandarin oranges. Afternoon snack: popcorn and half Odwalla C Monster. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Mt. Zion. Walked to meet Patrick at The Social Study (1795 Geary Blvd). We had planned to have drinks here, but there was a Women's Night scheduled for this time, so instead we got drinks at The Progress: California Dreamin' (california gin, green almond liqueur, poppy amaro, lemon) for Patrick, Kingston (plum rum, lime, cinnamon, candy cap) for me. Afterwards we dined at table 31 at State Bird Provisions (1529 Fillmore St). Patrick had made reservations for this meal a long time ago. Temescal Kolsch for Patrick, glass of Stolpman syrah for me. We shared the half order of the state bird and a bunch of other items that we can't remember because there were too many details and we ate eight other items. Everything was delicious. There was some overabundance of spicy dishes, which was disappointing for me, but everything was so exquisitely prepared that it didn't ruin the evening. A woman seated next to our table required gluten-free food, which seemed harder to accommodate than my preference for non-spicy foods, so I didn't complain, really. For dessert we shared an egg nog ice cream sandwich which included vanilla macaron, rum raisin, and candied pecan. Coffee was available only by the French press, which was larger than we needed (Patrick only) so we skipped coffee. We enjoyed the newness and differentness of this Western dim sum experience and would definitely return. $154.37 after a $22 tip. Our server was Jess R. who was terrific, but we were also helped by many other staff members who were also great.
Tue Dec 4, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: scrambled eggs with zucchini, hash brown with ketchup, toast with butter, mandarin orange slices, 8 ounces of orange juice. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Susie shared coffee cake with the office. Completed migration of QBC and grad programs external database feeds from sysbio.ucsf.edu to biochem.ucsf.edu with Terran O. Styling work: microsites identity retheme: IE9 and IE11 for Windows sweep. Lunch at Rigolo with Patrick: build-your-own pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, bacon, and mushroom; caesar salad; iced tea for Patrick, hot water for me. About $27 after a $3 discount via Fivestars. Resolved a strange problem in which a few emails sent to my personal email account were mistakenly appearing in my work email account since Saturday. Something very strange was happening and for some time I could not figure out what it was. But I think I resolved it by removing the inactivated listing for my work email account in Apple Mail or the Accounts system preferences pane. I think the Apple Mail configuration was somehow corrupted. This problem could have been so much worse in terms of privacy. Rode UberX home. Dinner at home with Patrick: chicken tacos. Unpacked an order of C-IN2. Installed Airfoil and Airfoil Satellite for Mac for Patrick. It took me some time to realize that I needed to increase the master volume in the Sounds system preferences pane, but it does work. No need for Airplay 2. House chores. Late snack: leftover raspberry-cherry Jell-O.
Wed Dec 5, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: apple turnover from frozen; yogurt with hazelnuts, chopped pecans, ginger syrup, date syrup, cinnamon; darjeeling tea with milk. Gave away unneeded packing supplies to Tina G via Nextdoor. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Styling work: microsites identity retheme: mostly image credits rework and print styles fixes for person pages, master: styling for referenced entity edit item links. 1:1 with Eric. Followup with Alexa about process refinements for PharmD Ed newsletter production. Helped Rebecca with a listserv request. Helped Marley with a CP news article. Rode Uber Pool home. Dinner at home with Patrick: meatballs in marinara with capellini, tap water, red wine. Dessert: one Trader Joe's dark-chocolate-covered peppermint Joe Joe each.
Thu Dec 6, 2018
Breakfast at home: one apple, leftover pizza and salad, water. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Styling work: microsites identity retheme: BrowserStack sweep (IE11 and Edge). Lunch at desk: leftovers from last night's dinner. No one seems to have documented the CSS problem that column-gap when specified as a percentage is ignored by Internet Explorer 11 (IE11). At least that what seems to be the case. The workaround I used is to specify a desirable minimum size using pixels on the line before. IE11 will ignore when specified as a percentage. Other browsers such as Chrome and Safari will use the percentage value when specified after the line with the pixels value. Helped Joel with changing email address settings in admissions interview reply forms in Qualtrics. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Walked to dinner at Nopalito with Patrick: tamale, tacos arabe puebla, quesadilla roja with side of crema, margarita for Patrick, mezcal paloma for me. We liked everything but it was a little difficult to negotiate with the server to find items that weren't spicy. Despite reassurances, the quesadilla roja was the last item to arrive, and it was only thing we ordered that was not spicy at all yet it was served with the crema that was suggested for cooling anything that might be spicy. I'd return, but with some caution and wariness. $67.14 before an $11 tip. Afterwards we visited Calacademy for the Star-Wars-themed Feel the Force Nightlife. Storm troopers kept the lines in order—the voice units within them seemed very realistic. Inside we saw R2-D2 units posing for photos, a show featuring Star Wars characters in light saber duels, a screen near the planetarium projected Star Wars scenes. Food and drink were also themed, but just by changing the name: Hoth sangria, Finn fish and chips. We first visited Morrison Planetarium since we had purchased plantarium show tickets in advance, $3 each extra on top of the Calacademy $22 admission. The show was presented live by Benjamin Grant of Daily Overview. It was a worldwide tour of interesting satellite images inspired by the overview effect—the sensation that astronauts experience when given the opportunity to look down and view the Earth from outer space. We enjoyed the show. We explored everywhere except the rainforest room which Patrick said he didn't need to do. We saw the ice rink outside. Rode UberX home.
Fri Dec 7, 2018
Breakfast at home: scrambled eggs, hash browns and ketchup, ciabatta slices with rosemary butter, 5 ounces of orange juice. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Styling work: microsites identity retheme: revisited image sizes work, made a small adjustment, did more checking. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Lunch at Cafe Bellini: mushroom grilled cheese and french fries with ketchup, water from my water bottle: $7.54. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Mission Center Building. Inaugural meeting of the Drupal Developers Friday Forum (DDFF) with Eric G, Eric D, James H, Jayson J, Carol, and Alice F. Afterwards Eric G, Eric D, James H, Jayson J, and I went to Wooden Nickel for drinks. We met James's girlfriend Christina. The bartender accidentally poured one too many pints of sour and gave it to our table as a gift. We talked about Elon Musk, assassin drones, television, movies. I noted these film recommendations to watch or rewatch: Strangers With Candy, Gilmore Girls, Better Off Dead. James wants to borrow our Showtime Twin Peaks when we're done. UCSF shuttle from Mission Center Building to Parnassus. Walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: cheddar cheeseburgers with crinkle-cut fries from frozen, Hint.
Sat Dec 8, 2018
Breakfast at home: one apple, one egg over easy with Spice Ace herbes de provence and pink himalayan salt powder served as a sandwich with ciabatta slices, 8 ounces of orange juice, one pint of hot water. House chores. Lunch: tortilla chips with guacamole, leftover meatballs in marinara with capellini. Cut my hair, showered. Nap. As I woke Patrick began to nap. Small dinner, twice in sessions: Patrick earlier made yellow curry chicken which I ate with jasmine rice from a packet, hot water. Recharge Medical work: image editing, including how to create a four-point star filter effect. Sent a gift order. Nap. Patrick and I rode UberX to SoMa for a party at 415 10th Street called Daddy's Boy Onesie Xmas Party. Patrick wore an Eeyore onesie. I wore a Chewbacca onesie. We met chris mike youssef kevin nathanial zack and elves colby and jake. Rode UberX home.
Sun Dec 9, 2018
Rode UberX to the Castro. Walked to an early breakfast at our first visit to Wooden Spoon (2172 Market Street). We shared a house hash (poached egg, short ribs, kabocha squash, spinach, pickled vegetables, coconut creamed corn) and granola crunch french toast (brioche, whipped cream, raspberries, maple syrup). Coffee for Patrick, hot earl gray tea for me. I accidentally spilled my tea and insisted on cleaning the mess myself. The portions were very large; we were unable to finish everything. All the food was delicious. Patrick particularly liked the coffee. We enjoyed the cuteness and orderliness of the decor. Service by Kat C was a bit slow. At the start of our meal there seemed to be only one waitperson available for the entire restaurant; by the end of our meal there were two. $39.22 before a $7 tip. We stopped at Noe and Market and watched the Santa's Village people setting up for Santa's Village and the Santa Skivvies Run. We walked in the Castro and browsed in Dog Eared Books then returned to Santa's Village where a larger crowd had gathered. We saw Scott Wiener and others make announcements from a small stage. Georg Lester and another photographer separately took our photo, both with our permission. Afterwards we rode Muni F streetcar to 5th and Market then stopped at Union Square to see the Christmas tree and ice rink. We walked to The North Face #1 (180 Post Street) so that I could return a boys Vortex Triclimate jacket that I had gotten a few weeks ago but was ultimately dissatisfied with because the hood covered my eyes when I raised my head and because the zippers on the hand pockets dug into the bottoms of my wrists when I rested my hands inside. Next Patrick got a grande peppermint mocha at Starbucks at Bush and Grant. In the restroom at Starbucks I particularly liked the design of the sink. A single polished chrome bar delivers soap, water, and dryer in an elegant and intuitive manner. We walked to Mr. S Leather (415-863-7764, 385 8th Street), passing through Yerba Buena Gardens. At Mr. S Patrick bought a neoprene bulldog harness in black. We walked to Rolo and shopped there but found nothing of interest to buy. We rode UberX to the Castro. We walked in the Castro before stopping at Hamburger Mary's for drinks and an appetizer: bloody mary for Patrick, peach mary margarita (or as my receipt says, "margarira") for me, nachos. We had ordered the nachos with the steak option, but it did not arrive with the steak and they did not charge us for it. Service was erroneous in this regard and also very slow, particularly at the start where we waited about 20 minutes before anyone helped us after we were seated. $31.05 before a $6 tip. Rode UberX home with Patrick. Watched Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series part 16 on purchased DVD with Patrick. Patrick napped. Light dinner at home with Patrick: leftover taco fillings with new tortillas, Hint. Browsed Instagram and YouTube together on my iPhone X on the couch with Patrick.
Mon Dec 10, 2018
Breakfast at home: I made a French-Mexican sloppy joe breakfast sandwich on english muffin, 8 ounces of orange juice. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Implemented target="_blank" security fixes in database and code. Resolved warnings in microsites identity retheme database and code. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Mt. Zion. Walked to lunch at Woodhouse Fish Company (415-437-CRAB, 1914 Fillmore Street): two-piece fish and chips with side of cole slaw, water. Service by Jennifer P was excellent. $16.90 before a $3.50 tip. Bought spices at Spice Ace (415-885-3038, 1821 Steiner Street). I had forgotten that technically they weren't open since it was a Monday but they were restocking shelves and were happy to make a sale nonetheless. Walked and rode UCSF shuttle from Mt. Zion to Laurel Heights. Rode Uber Pool to SoMa. Met Patrick for couples counseling. Rode UberX to the Mission. Dinner at Gracias Madre with Patrick: I had ordered a smokey purista but I mistakenly received a purista picante not knowing I had the wrong drink. It was too spicy, so Patrick and I switched drinks. He had ordered a mojito. His entree: flautas, my entree: enchiladas. Food and drink were delicious, a bit too spicy for me. Service by Daniela N was very good. $65.10 before an $11 tip. Rode UberX home.
Tue Dec 11, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: oatmeal with fixins, hot Tazo zen green tea. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Brand identity work all day: informal sign templates. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Mt. Zion. Lunch at My Father's Kitchen with Patrick. Helped Joel with some web content issues twice throughout the day. Patrick had #11 (bún chả thịt nướng – marinated grilled pork and meatballs served with rice vermicelli, fresh herbs, fish sauce, and roasted peanuts). I had #6 (phở bò đặc biệt – beef rice noodle soup special rare eye of round steak, brisket, and flank). Thai iced teas for both. Service was very good. $35.81 before a 15% tip. UCSF shuttle from Mt. Zion to Laurel Heights. Created a UCSF color scheme for the sidebar in Slack. Walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, Hint. Dessert: one TJ's candy cane Joe Joe each, Bailey's on the rocks for me. We watched s4:e8 of Superstore on Hulu Basic Plan.
Wed Dec 12, 2018
Breakfast at home: Patrick prepared for me two apple turnovers from frozen with hot Tazo darjeeling tea. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Followup with golive of SOP brand identity signs page: emails to Taryn I and Julie E. Followup with Terran O about biochem people feeds which went down briefly today. Styling work: another quicklinks fix. Lunch at JCCSF: steak sandwich, fries and ketchup, water from my water bottle. Today I noticed that my meal was again slightly colder than expected even though I told the woman at the register that I was going to sit outside to eat. Set up dbts redirects that should have been set up a long time ago but never were. Alexa requested a new html email template and following some Slack chat I prepared that for her. Lots of task followup, particularly with CPT. John K implemented the redirects I requested some time ago. Errands: mailed a package in a UPS drop box, Walgreens. Walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: chicken cacciatore with tortiglioni, tap water, red wine. Filed clothes that Patrick had washed and folded earlier.
Thu Dec 13, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: scrambled eggs with vegetables, half english muffin with butter, 8 ounces of orange juice. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Sometime midmorning we noticed outside our windows a lot of atypical activity: sirens, standstill traffic, lots of people looking off toward California Street. Over the next few hours we realized something was happening, especially when helicopters started hovering nearby. My office building at UCSF Laurel Heights is just a ways away from the Jewish Community Center and I found a notice on their website that that building was being evacuated due to a bomb threat against the SF Fire Credit Union building across the street from the JCC. Around noon I received an SMS alert from UCSF WarnMe asking people in the northern half of the UCSF Laurel Heights building to move to the southen half while reheating my lunch in the microwave and then complied. I lunched while sitting at a table outside of The View Cafe: leftover tortiglioni with last week's leftover meatballs in marinara, water. Afterwards I met Eric and Levi in 416 where we worked and chatted for some time. Grant arrived a little later. Around 12:46 pm we were given an all clear notice and returned to 218 to continue working. James and I chatted through issues surrounding the setup of test domains with the microsites identity retheme. I continued implementing old dbts redirects that should have been in place a long time ago. Later I performed linkcheck resolution in Siteimprove. Rode Muni 1 to Polk Street where I had hoped to catch bus route 19 to Market Street but both the shelter display and my phone told me the next bus would not arrive for 27 minutes, so I walked to Market Street and then to my SoMa destination in about 23 minutes. Upon arriving at Basil Thai (415-552-8999, 1175 Folsom Street), I realized from the Find My Friends app that Patrick likely overslept an afternoon nap. I tried calling and texting but he didn't awaken until I used the Find My iPhone app to force his phone to make a loud alarm-like noise. He woke, apologized, showered, and rode UberX to the restaurant while I browsed on my phone. Dinner at Basil Thai (1175 Folsom Street) with Patrick: crispy rolls, pork pad see yew, basil bliss (Patron Anejo, pineapple, basil leaves, fresh lime) for Patrick, mojito (Bacardi rum, fresh mint leaves, lime, sugar) for me. $48.23 before an $8 tip. Afterwards we attended the Mr. S Leather Holiday Party at Oasis which was lively but I nonetheless found myself bored. Rode UberX home.
Fri Dec 14, 2018
Breakfast at home: leftover chicken curry with steamed white rice. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Various task followup. Comms prep: microsites identity retheme available for testing announcement. Lots of calendar management. Resolved a listserv ownership issue for Rodney. Plancomm team holiday lunch at Murray Circle at Cavallo Point. I rode with Susie, Eric drove Levi and Grant, and James drove on his own. We talked about holiday plans, spouses, pasta, the Polar Bear Skate, hatchbacks, verrines, Napoleon Dynamite and the Netflix prize, and more. I had a corned beef sandwich and fries and saved half of it to go. Susie gave me a ride home. Helped Alexa deliver a holiday html email from OEIS. Dinner at home with Patrick: steamed white rice with leftover chicken cacciatore off the bone, tap water with orange peel, red wine. Dessert: one TJ's candy cane joe joe each. Watched Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series part 17 on purchased DVD with Patrick and microwave popcorn.
Sat Dec 15, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: I fashioned my leftover sandwich from yesterday's lunch into a scrambled eggs with fines herbes with corned beef and toast. Patrick made recipe called Perfect Pot Roast from Epicurious. Lunch: I had leftover chicken curry and steamed rice, Patrick had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Watched Superstore s4:e9 on Hulu Basic Plan with Patrick. Napped with Patrick. Rode UberX to dinner at Lers Ros (415-874-9661, 307 Hayes Street) in Hayes Valley: pad woon sen, kao mun kai tod, thai iced tea for both. Service by Bovonan was fine. $36.78 before a $6 tip. Walked with Patrick to SFJAZZ to see Joey Alexander Trio, which was Joey Alexander on piano, Kriss Funn on bass, Kendrick Scott on drums, and special guest Chris Potter on saxophone. The concert was terrific. We always enjoy seeing Joey Alexander play live. Afterwards we rode UberX to a house party adjacent to Duboce Park where we met or encountered the cat tim tom galen brendon jy adrian andy m ray f james k phil eric craig d rajeev and probably a few more that I cannot recall now. This was our first time to Tim and Tom's place. The cat affected Patrick more than me. We held out as long as we could.
Sun Dec 16, 2018
Nap. Accompanied Patrick via UberX to his beard trim appointment at Refinery Grooming Club. We rode UberX from the Mission to the Castro. Along the way we passed the Tom and Jerry Goldstein house which was lavishly adorned with giant Christmas decor. We wanted to hang out in a coffee shop, but Philz was too crowded. We went instead to Castro Tarts where we easily found seats and ordered cold pork spring rolls and dipping sauce, cafe au lait for Patrick, mint tisane for me. We left because the front door was kept open and the cold bothered us. We walked to Cafe Flore which was warmer. Spiced cider for Patrick, peppermint hot chocolate for me. My drink tasted slightly sour, but I couldn't tell for certain and Patrick couldn't either. I drank only half of it. We weren't helped for about 20 minutes after sitting. A server later explained that he didn't realize that we had just sat. After some time I realized that there were several leaks in the ceiling. Water dripped on a bench and onto the floor a few inches from my chair. The staff did not seem to notice or care. Weird. We had planned to dine at Hi Tops, but it was too crowded. After some walking around, we decided to eat at Poesia. Sparkling water and happy hour negroni and eggplant parm for Patrick, tap water and pollo al limone with sauteed potatoes and kale for me. Service was great at the start and then slow and occasionally incorrect thereafter. (A staff member whom we think might be new to the restaurant delivered clean tableware that was intended for another table before later removing it and delivering it to the right table.) $62.93 before a $10 tip. Afterwards we attended Laugh Your Gays Off, a new comedy night at Midnight Sun. Stephen G met us at the bar. The event saw mixed results. Some of the comedians were among the worst standup comedy I have ever seen, but others were great. At times there were microphone feedback problems, which some performers resolved by stepping down from the stage. After the host's intro and two comedians half of the people who arrived for the event had left. We stuck it out til the end, and it did get better despite no indication that it would. Rode UberX home.
Mon Dec 17, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: labneh and zaatar tartine with cucumber, 8 ounces of orange juice. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Comms prep: microsites identity retheme available for testing announcement. CPT followup: UCSF IT completed the A-Z listing, so now all followup tasks are complete. Authorize.net followup with James J, Joel, and Cindy. Lunch at desk: leftover beef pot roast and tortiglioni. Rode Uber Pool to SoMa. Met Patrick for couples counseling. Dinner at Montesacro Pinseria-Enoteca (415-795-3040, 510 Stevenson Street) with Patrick: glass of 2010 sagrantino di montefalco adanti for Patrick, glass of Di Lenardo Vineyards 2017 refosco for me. We shared rucola e parmigiano (wild arugula, shaved parmigiano reggiano, lemon and extra virgin olive oil) and casal bertone (mozzarella, crispy guanciale, pecorino, sardinian corbezzolo honey). Dessert: pinsa con crema ai pistacchi di bronte. We loved this experience. The feel seemed very Italian to Patrick. Food, drink, and service by Sonja were all delightful. $82.70 before a $12 tip. Afterwards we walked in Union Square, seeing puppies and kittens in the windows at Macy's, the Union Square Christmas tree, the ice rink, the window displays at Tiffany's, the Christmas tree at Neiman Marcus, the Winter Walk area, the lobby at the St. Francis, the Apple Store, and more. Rode UberX home.
Tue Dec 18, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: two eggs over easy, toast with labneh, half sausage. 1:1 with Eric. Followup with Eric G about the recent redirect-service request—it's all done. Updated the Kollman lecture page for Tom F. Handled some comms regarding display problems on pharm. Followup with Dayna about a PCI compliance request. Rebuilt some menu items that were missing for the Education Unit, responded to Liana who reported it. Lunch at b on the go with Patrick: chicken grec sandwich and root beer for Patrick, hot roast beef sandwich and water for me. Afterwards we visited Maison Corbeaux and bought a few items to make classic New Orleans cocktails at home. Walked back to UCSF Laurel Heights. Patrick took off for home. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Walked to a dental appointment. Walked back to Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Rode UberX to Ghirardelli Square (415-474-3938, 900 North Point), meeting Patrick, Kerry, and Mom Ryan. We walked in the square and took a few photos before stopping for ice cream. Kerry had a large classic hot chocolate with whipped cream, Mom Ryan had the world-famous hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream, Patrick and I shared a Twin Peaks: vanilla and chocolate ice cream, handmade hot fudge and marshmallow cream topped with whipped cream, diced almonds and a cherry. $32.90. Afterwards we received complimentary candy cane chocolate samples. We rode separate Uber rides home. Dinner at home with Patrick: beef pot roast that Patrick had made earlier, with mashed potatoes. For dessert we split one candy cane chocolate sample.
Wed Dec 19, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: oatmeal with fixins. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Microsites identity retheme: finding and resolving small issues on test, asked Ruben to set up dns for test calpoison. Early lunch: leftover beef pot roast and mashed potatoes, water from my water bottle. Worked with Eric to prep three brand identity resources announcements then sent two of them. Afternoon snack: Cheez-it crackers. Walked to an errand at Bevmo to get orange flower water for Patrick. Along the way I saw a flash of light in the sky followed by a brightly lit contrail that lasted for maybe 10 minutes or so. I later learned that the contrail is a rarely seen kind of noctilucent cloud. I didn't know what it was but was too busy walking to the bus stop to take a photo. Dinner at home with Patrick. Patrick had an English muffin, half with labneh and herbs de Provence, the other half with butter and peanut butter. I had leftover tomato soup and leftover cacciatore chicken with tortiglioni. For dessert I made a cocktail for myself. It's called The North Pole Cocktail by Half-baked Harvest. We didn't have chocolate syrup so I substituted ginger syrup. The recipe said it makes four servings. I cut everything by 4 since I was making only one, but it still gave me only about 1.5 ounces of liquid so if you ask me the recipe makes only two servings. Recharge Medical work: made an ID card, reviewed next steps for a holiday greeting html email. Late snack: one TJ's candy cane Joe Joe, three half-slices of Semifreddi's rustic sour bread with smoked cheddar, toasted.
Thu Dec 20, 2018
Light breakfast at home: leftover beef pot roast, water. Rode UberX to UCSF Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Microsites identity retheme work: styling. Helped Katherine K with the testing process. Helped Erika C with some editing issues in Experiential. Snack: two mandarin oranges, two pouches of granola bites. Calpoison content strategy Zoom meeting with Eric, Dana, and Judy. Reviewed some presentations from BADCamp earlier this year. Read The Vignelli Canon in PDF. Muni timings were terrible today with me missing every bus by a minute or two on my usual route at every stop and transfer so instead I took alternate routes. Long wait for a 1 or 1BX so I rode Muni 2 to 6th and Clement. Ten-minute wait for the 28R one block away and a 44 just arrived, so I rode the 44 to 9th and Judah. Eighteen-minute wait for the 66, so I waited five minutes and rode the 6 to 14th and Quintara, walked down the steps, missed the 48 at 17th and Quintara by two minutes with no 48 or 66 coming in the next ten minutes so I walked the rest of the way home. Dropped off my bag and refreshed. Rode UberX with Patrick to dinner at Alba Ray's (415-872-9409, 2293 Mission Street). We didn't realize it until after we had ordered, but this became an all-fried meal, taking moderation in moderation. Absinthe Suissesse for Patrick. We shared spoon bread, boudin balls, popcorn shrimp, fried chicken, and beignets. Patrick had a cafe au lait at the end. $71.07 before a $14 tip. We walked to a performance of The Golden Girls Live: The Christmas Episodes at the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th Street) starring Heklina (Dorothy), Matthew Martin (Blanche), D'Arcy Drollinger (Rose), and Holotta Tymes (Sophia) and featuring special guest stars Manuel Caneri and Nancy French with Tom Shaw on the piano. We arrived early and purchased cocktails and popcorn. The seats were comfortable, though the tightness of the seat rows just barely permitted Patrick's long legs to fit. No cupholders made it very tricky to negotiate frequently sitting and standing to permit others to enter the row while holding a drink, napkins, the program, coats, and the other belongings one might have brought, but we managed without spilling anything. Souvenir sippy cups helped. Petrillo Potion for Patrick, a drink containing Fireball for me. The performance included two episodes, which Patrick says matched pretty closely to the television episodes. Instead of commercial breaks we were treated to fun, sing-along Christmas favorites on piano by Tom Shaw. The performance had many hilarious moments, and a good time was had by all. We encountered Stephen G who had attended because his friend Howard had an extra ticket, and I met and chatted with them for a while. Rode UberX home.
Fri Dec 21, 2018
Vacation day. Breakfast at home with Patrick: pain au chocolat and croissant with Jake's Castro Kitchen Fabulously Flirty fig jam, hot darjeeling with milk. Rode Muni to Montgomery Street Station with Patrick. SFMOMA with Patrick. Ate in the museum restaurant on floor 5. We shared two items: chinese chicken and rice noodle salad (napa cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, soy, cashews) and daily special: garganelli with italian meat sauce and grana padano parmesan. The deliverator brought us the wrong dish, and I had to exchange it. The problem was resolved within a few minutes. The salad was spicy even though the menu made no indication of it, but we were hungry and didn't complain. I would not order it again. Rode Muni home. Nap. Rode UberX to dinner at Absinthe with Patrick. Laurentana still water, Green Beast (Absinthe, lime, sugar, cucumber, served tall) for Patrick, Bienvenida (Mezcal, Cynar, blanc vermouth, ginger liqueur, orange bitters, stirred and served on the rocks with a twist of lemon) for me. We shared: garlic pretzels with Vermont cheddar mornay; half french onion soup gratinee; half veggie soup; cow burger (Piedmontese beef chuck and brisket, aïoli, lettuce, red onion, french fries, house-made pickles) with gruyere and mushrooms. Dessert: profiteroles. Patrick had a double espresso at the end. $128.60 before a $21 tip. Afterwards we went to SFJAZZ for a performance of Adam Shulman: A Charlie Brown Christmas with bassist John Wiitala and drummer James Gallagher. The performance was terrific. I particularly liked Gallagher's style and intensity. Between songs Shulman described some of the background of the music which I later reread in greater detail on Wikipedia. I wished that he had mentioned that Guaraldi was born in San Francisco and graduated from Lincoln High School in my neighborhood as well as San Francisco State which is also in my area of town.
Sat Dec 22, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: breakfast sandwich with egg and smoked cheddar, fruit salad, Hint. Nap. Walked about six blocks to pick up a Getaround rental with Patrick. Patrick drove us to Chris and Andy's place. We had appetizers: rum balls, peanut brittle, gummy candies, chocolate nut clusters, white wine, and lettuce wraps with finely diced radish and gruyere. Chris drove us to Filoli. We arrived a little before sunset, enjoying the gardens before exploring the house after dark had settled. Professional carolers and musicians and lots and lots of Christmas trees, wreaths, and garlands set the mood for the season. We stopped for beverages: hot mulled wine for Andy and Patrick, hot spiced cider for Chris and me. We returned to their place. Rumble and (Fluffy?) emerged to dine while Chris prepared a side of potatoes and put the finishing touches on a beef stew with carrots that he had prepared earlier. Red wine, sparkling water. Afterwards they drove us to a nearby house party at Brian and Jason's. We met the dog named Coda as well as Aaron, Brad, Kim, and another Aaron. We returned to Chris and Andy's then Patrick drove him and me home in the Getaround. Gas was $15.
Sun Dec 23, 2018
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a breakfast sandwich with egg, smoked cheddar, herbes de provence, grilled sage-spiced mushrooms; mango smoothie. Archived documents. Lunch: leftover chicken cacciatore with spaghetti-os with meatballs from a can. Nap. Rode UberX to dinner at Canela with Patrick: Half bottle of sangria to start. We had the five-course Christmas tasting menu with only one of the wine pairings: amuse bouche: chef's pintxo (poached shrimp, Spanish olive, garlic-paprika aioli). Next: Patrick chose the beet and persimmon gazpacho, I chose the Christmas salad (red and gold beets, marinated cranberries, hazelnuts, frisee, citrus vinaigrette). Next: crab and sea bass volavan (puff pastry, roasted piquillo pepper cream sauce). Next: 21-day dry-aged ribeye (cava-cranberry jam, potato-vegetable gratin, broccolini). For this course Patrick and I agreed at the server's suggestion to split a glass of the paired wine, which was Costers del Priorat, Petit Pissarres 2015. Dessert: Patrick chose bourbon-pecan pie, I chose churros and chocolate. I thought all the food and drink was perfect. Service was excellent except noticeably slow near the end. (A lot of large groups had arrived over the course of our meal.) The menu had a number of misspellings, such as pinxto instead of pintxo and volovan instead of volaván. This volaván—or vol-au-vent—was not a true vol-au-vent, but it was indeed wrapped in puff pastry, and I didn't care that it seemed to have been misrepresented. $187.71 before a $35 tip. Dinner had taken longer than we had expected, so we hurried to leave. Rode UberX with Patrick to Jason Brock's 6th Annual Holiday Show at Martuni's with Dee Spencer on piano, Ollie Dudek on bass, and ? on drums with special guest Shawn Ryan. The seating was particularly cramped. We had seats in the premium section, which basically meant that we could almost high-five Jason Brock if we all wanted to. By happenstance we shared a table with Don Berger of Regency Limousine, whom we learned was a limo driver for many celebrities, and which we learned because Jason Brock reviewed a rather long list of shoutouts to audience guests, many of whom were local celebrities, politicians, and community leaders. Jason even called out Patrick for Lodestar Quarterly and me as a sidenote to that. Donna Sachet was present, and I had a perfect view of her across the room looking her usual glam. Jason sang a mix of popular favorites like The Christmas Song and Winter Wonderland along with lesser-known Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa songs. Shawn Ryan performed a hilarious rendition of Twelve Days of Christmas. Shawn was amused by a woman who had been watching him through a large mirror on the rear wall since that was easier for her due to her seat position. There was even a round of trivia questions with prizes: Scrabble, a strange kind of camera, and a poop emoji pillow. For one of his numbers, Jason appeared in a full Santa suit and stripped it over the course of the song down to his elegant black and burgundy suit. For an encore he sang Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind," delightfully changing "New York" to "San Francisco" at the very end. He's such a bouyant personality and has such a presence that it's impossible to avoid smiling when he's in the room. Oh, and that incredible voice, too! Singing, music, and jokes were perfection all around from both performers. A fine time. Drinks: The Blue Hawaii (coconut vodka, pineapple, blue curaçao) for Patrick, Cherry Blossom (Cruzan black cherry rum, lemon, sparkling wine) for me. $21.50 before a $4 tip.
Mon Dec 24, 2018
Breakfast: I prepared myself two eggs over easy with leftover beef pot roast, 8 ounces of mango smoothie. Rode Uber Pool with Patrick to Walt Disney Family Museum. This was Patrick's first pool ride and first time to WDFM. We dropped off our coats and umbrella at coat check then started on the lower level in the exhibit called Home for the Holidays at Carolwood (Nov 15, 2018 to Jan 7, 2019), hearing a terrific, short talk about the large scale model of the Carolwood Drive residence. Afterwards we shared a pulled pork sandwich from Taste Catering at the Walt Disney Cafe. I didn't enjoy the side of slaw that came with it; too mustardy or horseradishy. The pulled pork was reminiscent of kahlua pig. The sandwich had perhaps twice as much meat as it should have, with a differently flavored slaw perhaps better served as a layer in the sandwich than on the side. Root beer for Patrick, tap water for me. $11. We did half of the museum and then took a break to watch a 68-minute film called Christmas with Walt Disney (2009) in which Diane Disney Miller shared Christmas- and winter-themed home movies and other Disney footage with her commentary. Afterwards we quickly browsed the gift shop before continuing to see the second half of the museum. Rode UberX home. Retrieved a package from the doorstep of our upstairs neighbor so that it wouldn't continue to get wet in the rain. Rested, changed. Rode UberX to dinner at Jeanne D'Arc in the Cornell Hotel de France with Patrick: five-course, prix fixe meal: (1) soup: lobster bisque. (2) Patrick chose verdure de saint Cyr-en-Val (little gem lettuce, truffle cheese, avocado, mango, deviled egg, fois gras), I chose régal de Saint Marceau (cold lobster tail, prawns, and scallops with homemade mayonnaise and, I think, guacamole). (3) Patrick chose lapin de Saint Lye-la-foret (rabbit with mushrooms, herbs, and white wine sauce), I chose mets de monseigneur dupanloup (filet mignon with chanterelle sauce). Both entrees came with grilled asparagus and carrots and a kind of gratin. (4) fromages de Saint Paterne (brie, goat cheese, and roquefort). (5) Dessert: Patrick chose gourmandise de trois rois (dark, white, and milk chocolate cake), I chose soufflé Sainte Croix (grand marnier soufflé). $246 before a $49.20 tip. Rode UberX home.
Tue Dec 25, 2018
Christmas day. Patrick and I hosted Christmas brunch. Kerry and Mom Ryan arrived via Uber. Sam arrived a little later. We had: gingerbread, chocolate cinnamon streusel muffins, homemade candied nuts, TJ's chocolate-dipped peppermint Joe Joe's, buttermilk rolls, Patrick's cheesy creamy grits, bourbon-pepper sausage, egg nog, mini quiche florentine, mini kale-cheddar quiche, Scar Pier coffee cream panettone with mocha chocolate chips and coffee cream. Nap. Rode UberX to dinner at The Cavalier with Patrick. We arrived early and agreed to wait in the bar. The Barrister (Eagle Rare bourbon, zucca amaro, vermouth blanc, benedictine) for Patrick, mojito for me. We didn't learn about the holiday libations menu until we arrived at our table. Had we learned about it at the bar we might have ordered from that instead. Multicourse prix fixe dinner: amuse bouche: avocado and cucumber tzatziki (crispy onion rings, lettuce leaves, warm sesame baguette). Appetizers: Patrick chose sauteed gulf shrimp and shishito peppers with creamy garlic polenta and tomato beurre blanc, I chose creamy broccoli soup with smoked creme fraiche and Nueske's bacon. Entrees: Patrick chose the grilled angus ribeye with bagna cauda baked potato gratin and caper chimichurri, I chose the pan-seared alaskan salmon with crispy fingerling potatoes, diver scallops, dungeness crab, and bay shrimp beurre blanc. For the entree course we split one glass of the paired wine—a Littorai pinot noir (Sonoma coast, California, 2017). For the table: sauteed brussels sprouts (white wine, garlic, chili), maple-glazed carrots and parsnips (toasted seeds and candied pecan crumble), and brandied golden delicious applesauce. Dessert: Patrick chose chocolate bread pudding with chantilly cream and coffee custard, I chose pumpkin cranberry pecan upside down cake with vanilla ice cream. Food and drink were excellent. Service was very good but noticeably slow near the end. $267.98 before a $40 tip. I met Ruben. Patrick and I rode UberX home. Computer maintenance: updates.
Wed Dec 26, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: omelette with mixed cheeses, trumpet mushrooms, rosemary, and garlic; buttermilk rolls; hot darjeeling with milk. Walked and rode Muni to UCSF Laurel Heights. Styling work: microsites identity retheme. Lunch: leftovers from last night. Siteimprove work: linkchecking. Asana task review. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. The holiday schedule claimed that shuttles were running every 40 minutes instead of every 20, but it was worse than that. I know because I sat outside in the cold for 30 minutes starting when the next shuttle was supposed to have arrived (because I saw one pass outside my window 40 minutes earlier). Snack from Panda Express: three potstickers with dipping sauce: about $2. Worked from Millberry Union food court then later an S classroom because the library was closed for the holiday break. Rode Uber Pool to Alamo Drafthouse New Mission (2550 Mission Street). Met Patrick. We saw If Beale Street Could Talk. Dr. Pepper for Patrick, Cool Jerk for me. We shared a fennel-sausage pizza and a beet salad. $52.98 before an $11 tip. We both loved the film. Rode UberX home.
Thu Dec 27, 2018
Breakfast: leftover applesauce from The Cavalier, leftover pannetone and gingerbread, hot peach cobbler tea. Worked from home today. Performed a review of the School of Pharmacy list of websites. Lots of Asana task review and followup. Updated all Mailchimp templates to have 2019 in the copyright date. Lunch: steak and potato stew from a can, hot water. My MacBook Pro began crashing today. The third time I realized it was something out of the ordinary. Dinner at home with Patrick: tacos with fixins. Afterwards we watched Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable on Netflix instant watch. This was the funniest standup I have ever seen her perform. Spent an hour or two reattempting to confirm that surround sound was working as expected in our home theatre setup, eventually succeeding. Spent another hour trying and failing to find a way to automount network drives that I hadn't already tried, including slozo's Network-listener, autofs, and AutomountMaker, all of which did not work for me. I also resolved a problem with VLC. It would quit upon launch, and deleting the preferences fixed it. I don't recall why I hadn't tried that earlier. Home website maintenance. Recently I discovered rtings.com and find it to be a terrific alternative to The Wirecutter for the specific, fewer categories they cover. rtings.com even helped me realized features about my TCL 32S305 television that I didn't know about.
Fri Dec 28, 2018
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself avocado toast with diced tomatoes and arugula, hot water. Lunch: leftovers. Nap with Patrick. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Shanghai Dumpling King on Ocean via Seamless: shanghai style meat wonton soup, green onion pancake, mu shu pork, lemon chicken, steamed white rice. $45.88 before a $5 cash tip. 5:06 pm order, delivery arrived in 28 minutes. Watched Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series part 18 on purchased DVD with Patrick. Afterwards we watched various clips on YouTube. Tonight we had tickets to attend TABOO + Ben DeLaCreme/Jinkx Monsoon at Oasis but decided at the last minute to not go.
Sat Dec 29, 2018
Breakfast at home with Patrick: cucumber and labneh toast with za'atar, 8 ounces of orange juice for Patrick, 8 ounces of mango smoothie for me. Home maintenance: sanded our primary wooden cutting board, used Block Bros. block oil to condition the cutting board and nearly all our wooden kitchen utensils. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftovers from dinner. Rode UberX with Patrick to Japantown. Massages and communal bath time at Kabuki Springs & Spa: $353.50 after a $40 tip. Afterwards we walked in the Fillmore shopping district, stopping at the new-to-us Philmore Creamery to share a delicious pistachio marzipan affogato, an incredible $3 at happy hour pricing. Dinner at OTD: Einstok Icelandic white ale for Patrick, Dupont Saison Foret for me. We shared: gau choy gau dumplings (shrimp, green garlic, water chestnuts), shaking beef (grass-fed estancia ranch cubed filet mignon, watercress, red onions, lime sauce), dungeness crab cellophane noodles (with garlic, green onion, sesame oil), small white rice for Patrick, small brown rice for me. Dessert: chocolate-peanut-butter cream pie, peanut crumble. $127.51 before a $24 tip. Rode UberX home.
Sun Dec 30, 2018
Breakfast at home: one small pear, leftover dungeness crab cellophane noodles, hot water. Walked to El Cafe for iced tea. Walked and rode Muni to 15th Avenue House. Chatted for a while with Phil, Drew, Danny, and Romy before and after brunch at Hong Kong Lounge (5322 Geary Blvd). Near the end of the meal Danny took off to meet a client. We all walked back to 15th Avenue House and chatted more. I left behind a late birthday gift for Chris. I attempted to ride Muni home, but the arrival prediction times kept changing and no bus appeared. After 20 minutes I gave up and rode UberX home. Dinner at home with Patrick: chicken piccatta with vadouvan carrots, Hint. Late snack: leftover dungeness crab cellophane noodles, hot water. Stopped using Sleep Cycle for iOS after many years of using it continuously, no particular reason why except that my sleep patterns are probably not so erratic as to warrant tracking.
Mon Dec 31, 2018
Vacation day. Breakfast at Wooden Spoon with Patrick, Kerry, and Mom Ryan: pancakes and hot earl gray tea for Mom Ryan, The Big Spoon (eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, pancakes, fruit) and coffee for Patrick, breakfast panini and coffee for Kerry, breakfast panini and hot earl gray tea for me, water all around. $78.43 before a $12 tip. Afterwards we all walked together to Verve Coffee. They continued on a walk then home. Patrick and I stayed in the cafe to read, Patrick with whiskey latte from The Velvet Rage, me with chai tea latte from The Torturer's Apprentice. Rode UberX home. Patrick prepared red beans while I edited and uploaded photos to Flickr. Filed my timesheet. Nap. Rode UberX with Patrick to the Mission. Two rounds of pre-dinner, late evening drinks at Lolinda (415-550-6970, 2518 Mission Street): The Countdown (Japanese whiskey, sea gin, elderflower, salt, soda) for Patrick and Ano Nuevo (tequila, pineapple, lemon, mint, cava, rose water) for me, then Dick Clark (bourbon, campari, aperol, sweet vermouth, salt) for Patrick and Ano Nuevo for me: happy hour pricing all night on new year's eve, $31.60 before a $6 tip. Prix fixe New Year's Eve dinner at Foreign Cinema (2534 Mission Street) with Patrick: amuse bouche: some kind of rice cake thing in some kind of broth on an Asian-style soup spoon. Drinks: glass of Listan Negro (Los Bermejos, Carbonica Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, 2017) for Patrick, glass of Muller-Thurgau (Weingut Mann, Rheinhessen, Germany, 2016) for me. One beau soleil oyster for Patrick. Appetizers: Patrick chose the beef sirloin tartare with burgundy truffle (quail egg, waffled potato gaufrettes, capers, shallots, parsley), I chose the white gulf shrimp tempura (delicata squash, hen of the woods mushrooms, rabe, malt vinegar-fresno chili dipping sauce). Entrees: Patrick chose tea-smoked duck breast with basmati-currant-foie-gras-stuffed quail (pink peppercorns, warren pear, turnips, French caviar lentils, caramel orange sauce), I chose the seared moroccan pacific tuna (jeweled couscous, green beans, toasted hazelnuts, cara cara orange, harissa). Dessert: Patrick chose the gateau brest (hazelnut mousseline, raspberries, toasted almonds, dragon's beard cotton candy), I chose the bombe glacé (vanilla-tart-cherry semifreddo, chocolate sauce, bruleed meringue, graham streusel). A very satisfying meal. $334.82 before a $62 tip. Service by Liz A was excellent.