December 2022
Summary: Met with Susie at Tartine Inner Sunset; staycation begins; gumbo dinner with Patrick, Chris, and Andy at their place; Black Wakanda at Alamo Drafthouse; dinner with Patrick, Chris, Nate, Phil, Drew, and Tai at home; Christmas Eve dinner at 54 Mint; Christmas day lunch and presents with Patrick, Sam, Kerry, and Mom Ryan; New Year's Eve at home with Patrick, Glass Onion, and sparkling wine.
Dates on this page
Thu Dec 1, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Mission Bay. Residencies website help: added Instagram feed on its own page. Siteimprove work. Review inbox work. D7 styling work. Errand: Walgreens. Rode in Eric's car with Levi and Deborah to a Dean's Office · Office of Administration staff appreciation event at Presidio Bowl. The rear seat heaters made for a very pleasant ride for me and Deborah in the back. At the bowling alley we ate three kinds of pizza, tortilla chips and medium salsa, churros with caramel (or dulce de leche?) dipping sauce, and chocolate chip cookies (cakey). Various drinks were also covered. We used two alleys. During play some encountered minor physical issues, so about half ended up not or no longer playing, but we all still had fun. Bo seemed to be the best bowler of us all, and most of us did well for not being frequent bowlers. I fell in the middleish. Karen struggled a lot throughout but finally got a strike. A fun day. Afterwards I was dropped at the nearby Muni stop where I caught the 43 then the 66 home. Dinner at home with Patrick: sweet potato fritters with harissa sour cream, side kale-pomegranate salad, water, red wine. Afterwards we finished watching Esther Povitsky: Hot For My Name - Full Special via Comedy Central Stand-Up then a trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, both on YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Fri Dec 2, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Began steps to stop using an old email address of mine. Siteimprove linkchecking. Lunch at Moffitt Cafe: dim sum, water from my water bottle. MJML template work. Afternoon snack: nachos no jalapenos from Carmelina's. It was delicious and a much larger portion than I had expected. I ended up throwing away about two-thirds of it. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: braised baby bok choy with crispy tofu, water. I washed dishes. We watched Street Food: USA s1:e3 (New York) on Netflix instant watch. I walked in place while watching. Patrick went to bed.
Sat Dec 3, 2022
Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Unloaded and edited images from my phone and uploaded them to Flickr. Prepared for selling more stuff we no longer need. Upgraded from iOS 16.1.1 to 16.1.2 on my iPhone 12 mini. Lunch at home: I prepared for myself a Wise Sons sesame bagel sandwich with leftover sweet potato latke, lettuce, harissa spread, cream cheese; one Whole Foods chocolate-covered, crushed-candy-cane-covered, chocolate sandwich cookie; water. Dinner at home with Patrick: balsamic farro salad with roasted figs, water, red wine. We watched movie trailers and standup comedy on YouTube then The Simpsons s33:e9 on Hulu Basic Plan. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: two veggie spring rolls from frozen with duck sauce, red seedless grapes, water. Recently Patrick has been making meals from The Weekly Vegan Meal Plan by Kylie Perrotti, and they all have been turning out really well. He has been planning meals at home to be vegan, and we still eat whatever we like when we dine out. He says it's for primarily ethical, environmental reasons.
Sun Dec 4, 2022
Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Nap. Cut my hair, showered. Rode Muni with Patrick to the Castro. On the way there I realized I had forgotten my phone. We bought a few Christmas ornaments at Cliff's Variety. Lunch at home: I prepared for myself noodles with leftover coconut curry, water. Dinner at Santeria with Patrick. Cocktails: reposado mezcal margarita for Patrick, salted paloma for me. A food deliverer brought us chips and salsa. We later learned that they aren't complimentary and we agreed to have it added to our bill anyway. We shared three small plates: chicken enchiladas verdes (creamy green tomatillo sauce, melted cheese, served with side of crispy cauliflower), croquetas de atun (albacore tuna, yukon potatoes, bell pepper, avocado aioli, organic eggs), flautas (chicken tinga, lettuce, cotija cheese, guacachile salsa). Dessert: churros (dusted in cinnamon and sugar, dulce de leche dipping sauce). They ended up not remembering to add the chips and salsa to our bill. Food was delicious. Service was good except for the sole error. About $110 after tip. Rode Muni home. Nothing bad came from me being without my phone.
Mon Dec 5, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Mission Bay. Siteimprove work. 1:1 with Eric. Followup on various tasks. Orgchart work. Lunch with Chris D at his workplace. There was another break-in at his office, so he was unable to leave while the lock was being fixed, so I got Greek food from a food truck and brought it over and we ate and chatted in his office. We talked about holiday gatherings, Christmas trees and ornaments and music, Whamageddon, burglaries, door locks, New Orleans, Mexico, covid, health, media servers, Macs, fruit flies, and more. A very nice chat and lunch. Back to the office. More orgchart work. Read NNGroup's email newsletter. Person page work: Ryan J and Nathan D. More Siteimprove work: remove bad markup. Rode Muni home, taking the underground route. Total time door to door: 1 hour 15 minutes. When I arrived home, I saw that Patrick had earlier completed initial setup of a medium-sized artificial Christmas tree with built-in lights from Balsam Hill (Frosted Alpine Balsam Fir Tree). Dinner at home with Patrick: risotto with carrot and mushroom bolognese, red wine, water. I washed dishes. Patrick went to bed. Computer updates for home devices and websites. Updates for Patrick's website. Added items that Patrick sent me for the denylist. Washed more dishes. Late snack: red seedless grapes.
Tue Dec 6, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, blueberries; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Mission Bay. Worked a bit on the shuttle: Siteimprove linkchecking, followup with request to change email address in Acquia Cloud account. Html email work. Sent an email for Eric from the dean's email account. Designed 2x6 templates 2-up on 4x6 for Chroma Photobooth photos. Lunch at Publico (Eric) and Peasant Pies (Levi and Frank), eating outdoors. I had chicken and rice soup. Levi had two pies: one seafood and the other spinach and feta. Eric had soft tacos. Chroma edits. Siteimprove work. Edited a news story for Levi. UCSF shuttle from Mission Bay to Parnassus. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: warm pearled couscous salad with roasted grapes and crispy beets, water, red wine. Dessert: one Whole Foods chocolate-covered, crushed-candy-cane-covered, chocolate sandwich cookie each. Afterwards we watched various YouTube videos then Street Food: USA s1:e4 (New Orleans) on Netflix instant watch then The Simpsons s30:e10 on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: tortilla chips with garlic dip; red seedless grapes; water.
Wed Dec 7, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, blueberries; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. HTML email work. Siteimprove followup. Accessibility webinar. Siteimprove work all day. Chatted briefly with Levi about a news story he was about to post. Small lunch: #11 beef taco from Carmelina's, water from my water bottle. Met with Arezou to handle changes to the CCB website. Met with Deborah to create a comp of headshots for a news story. Dean's Office Holiday Reception at the Faculty-Alumni House. A Chroma Photobooth enabled groups to take photos; I created the template for the printouts. There was much food and drink: riesling, cab, beer, and various non-alcoholic drinks; mini egg rolls, dumplings, and other hot appetizers; a beautifully presented tuna dip shaped like a fish with thinly sliced cucumber halves as scales; cheese and crackers; and much more. Sweets included tiramisu, petit fours, chocolate cake, and more. Dean Kathy said a few nice words, and there was a raffle with several gift card prizes. It was a good time. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: red lentil balls with golden cauliflower puree, water. Dessert: leftover sweets from the reception. We watched Reservation Dogs s1:e4 on Hulu Basic Plan then Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy: 18. The Prime Directive and Postcolonialism on Hoopla. To bed for both; I was exhausted.
Thu Dec 8, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Worked from home. Email on Acid account setup for Wan-Yu and Shondell. Reported new issues to Staffbase Support. Followup with a MB facilities report. Submitted more vacation leave requests. Set up Patrick's ring light to improve Zoom calls; it works. Met with Wan-Yu and reviewed Staffbase and EOA. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftover carrot and mushroom bolognese with freshly made fettucine, water. D7 styling: small fix to laundry line class. D7: webedit fix: paste with right-click context menu fails with error for Arezou R. Attempted to configure Google Analytics 4 for our school websites but encountered some issues. Eric and I will review it together in January. Deleted lots of policies we no longer needed in Siteimprove. Reviewed a document Eric created that describes how we set up automated listservs. One of my comments: "Few people realize how valuable this work is. Thank you!" Lots of Siteimprove policy work. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Mandalay via Uber Eats: balada, half crispy chicken, tea leaf salad, mandalay special noodles. Water and red wine to drink. The salad and the noodles each required tossing—some assembly required. We enjoyed the unusual flavors we don't often find in other cuisines. Every dish was excellent, but the tea leaf salad was a standout to me—so crisp and fresh. I washed dishes. Afterwards we watched Street Food: USA s1:e5 (Oahu) on Netflix instant watch then one third of Bullet Train on Netflix instant watch. Patrick went to bed. Wood butter butcher block treatment.
Fri Dec 9, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni and walked to Tartine Inner Sunset, met with Susie for about an hour catching up on life following the start of the pandemic—a nice time. Met with Eric about new listserv requests. Upgraded Docker Desktop for Mac from 4.13.1 to 4.15.0—no problems. Submitted nine requests for new listservs for Eric. Lunch: panda bowl from Panda Express: half fried rice with half chow mein, honey sesame chicken which was delicious and which I tried for the first time, but I thought it was too sweet. Orgchart work. Met with Levi and Eric to discuss the UFD. We built the UFD email. Completed the bulk of the GDrive Cleanout Project. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftovers from Mandalay and the holiday reception, water. Cocktails: bourbon milk punch. Dessert: one small scoop each of Straus Family Creamery snickerdoodle ice cream. Patrick topped his with bits of Chocolove frosted gingerbread chocolate. Afterwards we finished watching Bullet Train on Netflix instant watch.
Sat Dec 10, 2022
Vacation day 1 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Recharge work: website and forms: add AB1278 notice. Small bite: leftover mandalay special noodles, water. Listed items online to sell or give away. Small bite: leftover carrot and mushroom bolognese with fettucine, water. All morning Patrick prepped ingredients for making gumbo, which we're taking to Chris and Andy's place to make dinner. While we made gumbo, we enjoyed old fashioneds, sliced apple, cheddar, and candied pecans. The gumbo included a level ice cream scoop of white rice and chicken and andouille sausage that was not too spicy for me. We started cooking around 3:00 p.m. and finished around 7:00 p.m. We had a salad of arugula, parsnips, and sliced dates. The gumbo was served with red wine and home-bake francese rolls and butter. For dessert, a pear and cranberry crisp. A fine evening.
Sun Dec 11, 2022
Vacation day 2 of 30. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half pear; water. Listed items online to sell or give away. Lunch: leftover risotto with carrot and mushroom bolognese, water. Midafternoon small bite: leftover warm pearled couscous salad with roasted grapes and crispy beets, water. Patrick and I had midafternoon tea with previously frozen cranberry muffins and Republic of Tea holiday-flavored teas. I napped. Dinner at home with Patrick: ramen with Thai basil pesto, water. We watched Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio on Netflix instant watch with Martha Stewart's Movie-Theater-Style Popcorn and a small scoop of Straus Family Creamery snickerdoodle ice cream. We used Marsh Hen Mill indigo popcorn which popped poorly and was a disappointment. I washed dishes during a break in the middle. Patrick went to bed.
Mon Dec 12, 2022
Vacation day 3 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, unsalted pistachios, cacao nibs, flax meal, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, blueberries; water. Early lunchtime small meal: leftover risotto with carrot and mushroom bolognese with leftover warm pearled couscous salad with roasted grapes and crispy beets, water. Rode Muni to the Castro. Shopped. Stopped at Tanglad for a small bite: spring rolls with peanut sauce, coconut water. The spring rolls have crunchy wonton skins embedded, and I enjoyed having this additional flavor and texture. I don't know any other place that does this. Rode Muni to a dentist appointment. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: seared trumpet mushrooms with beet puree, water, red wine. I washed dishes. Dessert: leftover pear and cranberry crisp. Patrick had his with a scoop of Straus Family Creamery snickerdoodle ice cream. We watched 22 minutes of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema on Netflix instant watch. Patrick went to bed. I washed more dishes.
Tue Dec 13, 2022
Vacation day 4 of 30. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, toasted and crushed hazelnuts, flax meal, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, blueberries; water. PDF work for Recharge for Drew: form update then accessibility remediation. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftover red lentil balls with golden cauliflower puree, water. Patrick also had a small cup of leftover gumbo with a side of andouille. We rode Muni to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Mission for our first time seeing a film in a theater since March 2020—a 2:15 p.m. showing of Black Wakanda. We ate popcorn with butter. Patrick had a Dr. Pepper. I had tap water. Service by Sierra was very good. The theater was almost empty. Afterwards we had planned to eat dinner at Bottega but it was unexpectedly closed even though we could see some people inside doing something. We instead ate at Valencia Pizza and Pasta (415-642-1882, 801 Valencia Street): hot chocolate for Patrick, pinot noir for me. Kale caesar salad. 10-inch, build-your-own tomato sauce pizza with pepperoni, mushroom, and carmelized onions. Patrick had a Peroni beer with the pizza course. Service was good, and food and drink were delicious. The wine was a very generous pour. Rode Muni home.
Wed Dec 14, 2022
Vacation day 5 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, toasted and crushed hazelnuts, flax meal, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, blueberries; water. Christmas cards prep. Installed EPSView by etresoft in order to get EPS previews in Mac Finder—it works and I did not need to restart. Replaced two photos in mini photo frames and hung them on the Christmas tree. Lunch at home with Patrick: Patrick had gumbo; I had leftover ramen with Thai basil pesto. Water to drink. Today Patrick baked Bay Laurel Pound Cake from a recipe by Familystyle Food. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover white rice with previously frozen red beans, water. I washed dishes. Dessert: one slice each of pound cake. I had four ounces of warm milk with mine. Afterwards we watched Moonlighting s2:e10 Twas the Episode Before Christmas on YouTube. Patrick went to bed. Prepared Christmas cards for sending. Recharge dev web work: change new patient forms pdf. Late snack: veggie spring rolls from frozen with dipping sauce, water.
Thu Dec 15, 2022
Vacation day 6 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, toasted and crushed hazelnuts, flax meal, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, golden raisins; water. Lunch at home by myself: steamed white rice with previously frozen red beans, water. Errands: pharmacy, bakery. Walked around town a lot with no particular aim. Rode Muni home. Patrick made potato latkes using a Russ and Daughters recipe in preparation for a dinner we're hosting on Sunday. There was a miscommunication about the yield. The recipe said "5" but it didn't say five what. Patrick doubled the recipe before realizing that the doubling resulted in 30 latkes. We ordered delivery from Lazy Susan via Uber Eats: hot and sour soup, pork and veggie potstickers, general tso's chicken, shrimp fried rice. We noticed this time that the fried rice includes charred corn, which you don't usually see in Chinese restaurants. The potstickers were free—a reward for being a frequent customer. I washed dishes. We cleaned. We watched various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed.
Fri Dec 16, 2022
Vacation day 7 of 30. Breakfast with Patrick: we split two pastries from B Patisserie: one chocolate-almond-banana croissant and one kouign amann, both heated. Half cups of decaf coffee with milk to drink. Later I had my usual medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, toasted and crushed hazelnuts, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, golden raisins; water. Today Patrick prepared Southern rum balls, chocolate gingerbread cookies, and braised cola and bourbon brisket. For lunch we ate leftovers from Lazy Susan. For dinner we ordered delivery from Papa Mak's via Uber Eats: burgers, fries, and onion rings. I found a small bone while eating my burger. Cocktails: ranch water. Afterwards we watched trailers for Barbie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse and Moonlighting s3:e8 (It's a Wonderful Job) on YouTube. I washed dishes. Patrick went to bed. I babysat the brisket while it cooled, which was a bit of work to cool it quickly. I removed the brisket whole into a separate container which was sealed with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge. I then tried to cool the gravy by placing it in a pitcher then placing the pitcher into a steel bowl with an ice water bath, but the pitcher was plastic and too insulating. Instead I washed the steel bowl, then used the sink as an ice water bath, and this was effective. To bed a little after 11 p.m.
Sat Dec 17, 2022
Vacation day 8 of 30. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, blueberries; water. I made candy cane rice krispies treats. Instead of candy canes, however, which can be difficult to unwrap in bulk when they are individually shrinkwrapped (skintight), I used one pound of peppermint starlights, which were also individually shrinkwrapped but easier to open. Crushing them with a rolling pin and a gallon ziploc bag did not go well because it left small dents in the wooden rolling pin and because the starlights would not break easily and because when they did they would pierce the plastic, leaking starlight dust and creating a mess. I switched to the food processor method which was also not ideal because it created too much starlight dust while trying to eliminate all the whole candies. Pulsing for 2 to 4 seconds seemed to work better than pulsing for less than 2 seconds. Following the Kellogg's recipe, everything else went as expected. Next time I think it would be best to stick with the thinnest candy canes you can find that are easily unwrapped (e.g., in plastic pouches rather than skintight) and which can be broken by hand or chopped with a chef's knife. This would give the right balance of control over chunk size without taking more time than needed. Or, find crushed peppermint candy for baking, such as Brach's, Sarah's, or Atkinson's—but it's much more expensive. Midmorning snack: slice of warmed Bay Laurel Pound Cake, water. Later snack: an orange. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftovers from last night. Vacuumed. Arranged and succeeded at getting rid of extra paper and reusable bags. Today Patrick prepared more dishes for tomorrow's dinner: baked macaroni and cheese, chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Lemonade via Uber Eats: Patrick had a spicy ahi tuna poke bowl and a side of seasoned potato chips and a lavender elderflower lemonade. I had an ahi tuna poke bowl. Our poke bowls are different from the last time we remember. These bowls are shallower and were not as fresh. The avocado in mine was fully brown on the outside and bright green when I sliced it. They seemed hastily put together. We watched Reservation Dogs s1:e5 on Hulu Basic Plan. Today Patrick prepared sesame challah rolls, and after Res Dogs he did the braiding and the return to fridge for the second rising. We finished watching Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema on Netflix instant watch. Patrick went to bed. I washed more dishes. Today I learned (or possibly relearned) that macaroni doesn't always mean just elbow macaroni.
Sun Dec 18, 2022
Vacation day 9 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, blueberries; water. Dinner party prep all day: cleaning, washing glassware that has been unused for some time, gift sweets tin prep, etc. Lunch with Patrick: delivery from Boudin Bakeries via Uber Eats. Patrick had half turkey avocado on multigrain with tomato soup. I had half pesto chicken with caesar salad. Small holiday dinner party at home with Patrick, Nate, Chris, Drew, Phil, and Tai. Patrick prepared all the dinner menu dishes from scratch, having started four days ago. I helped a lot by washing dishes. We finished an already opened bottle of 2019 Castello di Amarosa zingaro old vine zinfandel then a 2019 Ram's Gate syrah. The hors d'oeuvres: Mediterranean beet dip (labneh with beets, za'atar, and medjool dates), walnut dip (walunts, pomegranate, red peppers, and spices), rosemary crackers, taralli. The dinner menu: beet, fennel, and apple salad; potato latkes with sour cream and salmon roe; braised cola and bourbon brisket; baked macaroni and cheese; honey-glazed spiced carrots; sesame challah rolls; chocolate bourbon pecan pie. The meal was intentionally a Hanukkah meal since this evening fell when Hanukkah begins even though none of us are Jewish. Patrick will save portions to share with Sam later. I made custom menus and place cards using a HypoTypo typeface called Santa's Sleigh which worked well except certain character combinations like Ch needed manual kerning and I thought the ampersand, while beautifully formed, was comically too large. Ampersands very rarely need such a grand presence. We sent everyone home with holiday tins filled with my candy cane rice krispies treats (of which I have a fondness and which I sometimes make during the season) and Patrick's southern rum balls and chocolate gingerbread cookies. Patrick went to bed. I washed lots of dishes.
Mon Dec 19, 2022
Vacation day 10 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Walked to Fletch and Tina's place to say hello, meet Mason in person, chat, and drop off a sweets tin. Jennie also happened to be there, too. Rode Muni, stopping at UCSF Parnassus solely to use the bathroom. Rode Muni to Powell Street station to shop. Midafternoon snack at The Melt: classic melt, lemonade. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftovers from last night, water. Patrick washed dishes. We watched Street Food: USA s1:e6 (Miami) on Netflix instant watch.
Tue Dec 20, 2022
A MyShake alert in the middle of the night woke us, but we don't recall feeling any shaking. Vacation day 11 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Helped Patrick wrap many gifts. Lunch: leftovers. Nap. Dinner: leftovers. I washed dishes. Cocktails: orange bourbon smash. We watched various YouTube videos including Matteo Lane: The Advice Special | FULL SPECIAL via Matteo Lane which was very funny. Patrick went to bed.
Wed Dec 21, 2022
Vacation day 12 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Resolved a problem with an automatic renewal of SSL certificates with my web and mail hosting provider. At first I thought it wasn't something that I could fix on my own, but upon logging in I found a panel where I could manually renew the certs. I only had to select the mail domain and request a renewal and within a few minutes that fixed it for all of them. I reported the problem, and they said it rarely happens due to "server connectivity, busy server and DCV records." Walked to lunch at Dim Sum Club (415-592-8938, 2237 Taraval Street) by myself: hong kong style wonton egg noodle soup, jasmine tea. You don't have to have a membership to eat here. The place was full. I waited about 10 minutes for a table. Tea is $1.50 per person. A 15% service charge was automatically included in my bill. Food and drink were delicious. The wontons seemed particularly fresh with plump shrimp. Walked home. Dinner at home with Patrick: burrito bowl with stewed mushrooms, water, white wine. Dessert: we shared a chocolate gingerbread cookie and we each had a candy cane rice krispies treat. I washed dishes. We watched various YouTube videos then Reservation Dogs s1:e6 on Hulu Basic Plan.
Thu Dec 22, 2022
Vacation day 13 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Lunch: leftovers from last night, water. Walked to the mailbox then walked in the neighborhood looking for a small snack to buy but bought nothing. Walked home. Small web edit for Johnny for Recharge. Printed new return address labels. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Pacific Catch via Uber Eats: ahi tuna burger and seasoned fries for Patrick, wagyu burger and seasoned fries for me. The seasoned fries were too spicy for me and ignoring the spiciness they were still overly seasoned. The burgers were both barely warm, but were originally perfectly cooked. Patrick washed the few dishes we had. We watched Matteo Lane make fun on the Mall of America on YouTube then we watched Wednesday s1:e1 on Netflix instant watch. Wood butter butcher block treatment. Recharge dev work: the same small web edit, then updates, then uninstalled deprecated modules: RDF, Quick Edit. Installed CKEditor5 (fin composer require drupal/ckeditor5). Uninstalled modules that CKEditor 4 depended on, then uninstalled CKEditor 4. Switched admin theme from Seven to Claro. Made backups of today's work.
Fri Dec 23, 2022
Vacation day 14 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni to Noe Valley, walked 24th Street browsing shops here and there. Rode a J-Church train to 18th Street then walked to lunch at Ramenwell: signature pork ramen level 0, water. The ramen is delicious with a very generous slab of pork and pork bits throughout. The noodles are perfectly cooked, perfectly chewy. Afterwards I walked more in the Mission then rode Muni to Union Square, visiting holiday scenes: the ice skating rink, the Union Square tree, the sugar castle in the Westin St. Francis, the Garden Court at the Palace Hotel. Rode Muni home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: farro spaghetti with kale, roma tomatoes and mushrooms; white wine; water. Dessert: candy cane rice krispies treats for me, southern rum ball for Patrick. Afterwards we watched Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas (2017) on Kanopy. It was very entertaining and enlightening, and the sound and editing were spot on. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Sat Dec 24, 2022
Vacation day 15 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, apple-juice-infused dried cherries; water. Cleaned the bathroom. Cut my hair, showered. Cleaned the bathroom. Lunch at home: half of a half remainder of a sweet mouth-waterin sandwich Patrick ate yesterday from Grubbin, corn chips, water. Rode Muni with Patrick to Powell Street Station. We walked in Union Square visiting some of the same holiday sights I saw yesterday. Dinner at 54 Mint (415-543-5100, 16 Mint Plaza): prix fixe Christmas Eve menu. We opted for the optional wine/alcohol pairing. Sparkling water. Bevenuto: crostino, crème fiaiche, caviar (Beluga Transatlantic Vodka Martini). Antipasto: Tartare di capesante: scallop, avocado, taro chip, sesame citrus emulsion (2021 Filanda Rose Brut Riserva, Bortolomiol). Pasta: Pappardelle frutti di mare: homemade pappardelle, crab, shrimp, crisp zucchini (2020 Schiava, St. Magdalener). Piatto principale (choice of one): Guazzetto: maine lobster, snapper, mussles, clams (2010 Faro, Palari) or Filetto di manzo: filet mignon, truffle mashed potato, assorted mushroom ragu (2012 Sassella Riserva "Stella Retica" Ar.Pe.Pe). We both chose the filetto, mine medium, Patrick's medium rare. Dolce: Panettone: panettone pudding, fior di latte ice cream, pomegranate (Passito delle Lipari "Ben Rye" Donnalugata). All food and drink were excellent. There were some long delays between courses for which our server Antonio was genuinely apologetic, but we were in a festive mood and not in a rush, so it didn't bother us. Afterwards we rode UberX home.
Sun Dec 25, 2022
Insomnia last night. Vacation day 16 of 30. Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Christmas Lunch with Patrick, Sam, Kerry, and Mom Ryan: Parker House rolls; celery root, carrot, and potato gratin; roasted squash and kale salad with spiced pecans, cranberries, and maple syrup; braised apples with saffron and cider; milk-braised pork shoulder with herbs and lemon; upside-down pear gingerbread cake with whipped cream. We opened gifts while Sam left to return home to get something he forgot. Sam returned. After a while everyone departed. I washed lots of dishes and cleaned. Patrick returned home from delivering a plate of food at Simmone's. We both were still full from lunch and skipped dinner. Rested a bit. Patrick and I opened presents while drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows and eating candy cane rice krispies treats. We watched Prague, Czechia Christmas Markets - Day Walk - 4K 60fps with Captions via Prowalk Tours and Amazon Echo - SNL via Saturday Night Live both on YouTube then The Simpsons s28e10 The Nightmare After Krustmas on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: leftover farro spaghetti with kale, water.
Mon Dec 26, 2022
Vacation day 17 of 30. Ran in place to The Slanted Screen (2006) on Kanopy. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, apple-juice-infused dried cherries; water. Lunch: leftover farro spaghetti with kale, water. More post-Christmas cleanup and tidying. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: quinoa-stuffed poblano peppers, water. Dessert: leftover upside-down pear gingerbread cake with whipped cream with Sonoma Portworks white port chardonnay from Chris and Nate. We watched standup comedy on YouTube.
Tue Dec 27, 2022
Vacation day 18 of 30. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, apple-juice-infused dried cherries; water. Began a project to document measurements for all my pants and jeans so that I can better find clothes that fit me. Lunch: leftovers, water. Dinner at home with Patrick: harissa-spiced lentils with garlic challah, water. Dessert: leftover upside-down pear gingerbread cake with whipped cream. I also had a small glass of Sonoma Portworks white port chardonnay from Chris and Nate. We watched Reservation Dogs s1:e7 on Hulu Basic Plan then Matteo Lane videos on YouTube.
Wed Dec 28, 2022
Vacation day 19 of 30. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, apple-juice-infused dried cherries; water. To give Patrick more time at home alone I walked to El Cafe for lunch (breakfast wrap) then to the library then to West Portal then to Stern Grove then home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: sesame-soy mushrooms with coconut-milk grits, water. Cocktails: apple cider bourbons. We watched Wednesday s1:e2 on Netflix instant watch then The Simpsons s28e11 on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: two Whole Foods egg rolls from frozen, water. These egg rolls don't come with any dipping sauce.
Thu Dec 29, 2022
Vacation day 20 of 30. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, golden raisins; water. Uploaded photos to Flickr. Lunch: I had a tiny baked potato with grated Tillamook sharp cheddar and chopped green onions and also a quesadilla. Rode Muni to Powell Street Station with Patrick. We exchanged some items at American Eagle then rode Muni to the Castro and did more clothes shopping. One of Patrick's shoes had developed a hole and he realized his sock was completely soaked, so we stopped at Rolo and he found a wet weather shoe and a pair of socks that he liked. He bought them and changed into them there. We got flautas and margaritas at Santeria. Prickly pear for Patrick, cucumber-basil for me. Dinner at Il Casaro Pizzeria: one glass each of Montepulciano wine, we shared caesar salad and Il Casaro pizza. Dessert: we shared tiramisu. Service was excellent at both places. Rode Muni home. We watched various YouTube videos including Matteo Lane and Sam Morril. Lately the old 4th generation Apple TV HD we got from Chris and Nate has started to fail to start properly. We can work around the problem by restarting it or restarting the Roku TV or both. We might need to replace the Apple TV soon, tho.
Fri Dec 30, 2022
Vacation day 21 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, diced half banana; water. Continued the project to document measurements for all my pants and jeans so that I can better find clothes that fit me. Lunch at home with Patrick: Patrick had leftover sesame-soy mushrooms with coconut-milk grits, I had shrimp wonton soup from frozen. Water to drink. Tried on recently purchased clothing—all too big or a poor fit. Updates for home devices and home websites. Early afternoon snack: egg rolls from frozen. Dinner at home with Patrick: risotto with peas and crispy kale, water. We watched Wednesday s1:e3 on Netflix instant watch then Rick Steves Portugal on YouTube. I washed dishes at a break in between. Dessert: we shared the remainder of a pint of snickerdoodle ice cream. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: blue popcorn using the blue silicone microwave popcorn popper—salt-free, oil-free, butter-free. In trying to get more kernels popped I ended up burning some of it but I ate it anyway.
Sat Dec 31, 2022
Vacation day 22 of 30. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, flax meal, cacao nibs, apple-juice-infused dried cherries; water. Continued the project to document measurements for all my pants and jeans so that I can better find clothes that fit me. Lunch at home with Patrick: various leftovers, water. Watched short YouTube videos of things to watch before you watch Glass Onion. The pants and jeans measurements project is complete. This does not include some suit pants. Some findings: I have too many pants and jeans and probably don't need to buy anything new for a while. Stated measurements such as waist and inseam very rarely match actual measurements. For off-the-rack pants or jeans I probably don't ever need to spend more than $40—perhaps the best advantage of being the size of a twelve-year-old boy. My oldest pair of pants is from May 2000—camouflage cargo pants purchased in a very gay clothing store in Le Marais in Paris. Nearly all my pants have zip flies instead of button flies because I'm almost always forced to buy boys pants in order to get better fits, and boys pants and jeans almost always have zips instead of buttons for convenience. The best-fitting pants that I did not need to alter were a pair of blue corduroys from Zara Boys in 2017, and they cost me $9.99. Oddly, another identical model and size of pants purchased at the same time was half an inch larger in the rear rise. I decided to remove two older pairs of pants from service due to age—they were developing holes. Midafternoon snack: multigrain chips, water. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Dumpling Kitchen via Uber Eats: shanghai-style pan-fried pork buns, mu shu chicken, green onion pancake, wonton soup. Water to drink. We also shared a bottle of Archgate sparkling pinot noir rose that Chris and Nate had given us about a year and a half ago. All food and drink was delicious. We watched Glass Onion on Netflix instant watch. Patrick had microwave popcorn, and we also shared a surprise gift from Tina via Doordash: two pints of Salt and Straw ice cream: one pint was bananas foster and the other was toasted oat milk and cookies. Both were so rich and decadent we only had a little bit tonight and will save the rest for later. Patrick prepared black-eyed peas today for tomorrow's dinner. Lots of rain today.