October 2023
Summary: Castro Street Fair, Staycation. Los Angeles and New Orleans vacations with Patrick, Chris G, and Andy T. First case of COVID. Small earthquake.
Dates on this page
Sun Oct 1, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Did more network troubleshooting. I now suspect a problem with our router; others describe the same problem on internet fora. I decided that rather than try to fix it, I'll probably just get one or two new routers or possibly a new mesh network. Patrick and I rode Muni and walked to the Castro. Upon arriving at Church Street via bus 48 we found that the next J-Church train was 33 minutes. Oh, Muni. We walked to early lunch at Gai: lean gai and thai iced tea for Patrick, thai basil gai and iced vietnamese coffee for me. Another enjoyable meal. We walked to and through Castro Street Fair, encountering no one we knew. We walked to Kerry and Mom Ryan's and visited a while. We walked and rode Muni home. Vacuumed. Archived documents. Sugru project: applied white Sugru to one edge of acrylic shelving because we were occasionally hitting our heads on it—ouch! Cleaned in the bathroom. Updates for home websites. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover chicken pot pie turnovers with side salad, water. I had a glass of red wine. We finished watching Neal Brennan: Blocks on Netflix. After it ended, I said, "We've never seen a standup show end like that!" I washed dishes. We watched The Simpsons s33:e21 on Disney+. Patrick went to bed.
Mon Oct 2, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Huang Lab reviews came in, so I installed redirects and prepped for golive then handed off to Eric to finish while I am away. Chatted with Bernard A who works across the hall and gave him a tour of the office. We parted, agreeing to meet for lunch. Met with Ariel M who helped resolve a problem with dysfuntional network ports. The ethernet port on one Anker docking station seems to have stopped working. Lunch with Bernard A at Perilla (415-564-9980, 836 Irving Street): he had five-spice chicken rice plate. I had beef combo pho. We rode Muni back to UCSF Parnassus. I met with Marley over Zoom to edit a web page. Various task followup. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Sushi Goemon via DoorDash: real crab california maki, salmon avocado maki, spicy tuna maki, inari nigiri, unagi nigiri, miso soup for two. About $60 before tip and other fees. Dessert: frozen homemade tiramisu. Patrick attended a City College Zoom class about color.
Tue Oct 3, 2023
Staycation day 1 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Rode Muni to Golden Gate Park. Visited the de Young Museum, which was free today. I saw The de Young Open 2023 and Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence and visited the tower and the garden. I walked and rode Muni to Tartine for lunch: ham and gruyere hot sandwich, chai latte. About $27 after a $2 tip for counter service. Afterwards I rode Muni and walk to the Conservatory of Flowers. I walked through once before purchasing a $2 audio tour on CloudGuide and walking through again. The audio tour was just okay. It had valuable content, but the content didn't always match the reality. Some of the tour stops did not seem to have numbered stop signs that I could find. The navigation in the app is a bit problematic since it's not clear that you can swipe left to go to the next stop. I kept hitting the back arrow which forced me to Start Tour several times over before I figured out the swiping by happenstance. You can also navigate via the menu in the top right corner, but that's essentially pogosticking. After one stop I just want to go to the next stop, and if you don't know to swipe it's harder than it needs to be. Even if you know to swipe, numbered stop signs existed in the physical world, but in the app there was no corresponding number, so I was never sure I was in the right spot for the right listening. I visited the dahlia garden, then walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: Patrick prepared orzo with leftover chicken pot pie filling. Water to drink. Patrick washed dishes. Afterwards we talked. Patrick went to bed.
Wed Oct 4, 2023
Staycation day 2 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Patrick was out of the house in the morning and needed me to remain home to receive packages. The day was unusually warm and breezy. I spent all day researching wifi routers and NAS solutions. Lunch: leftover fusilli with chicken pot pie filling, water. After Patrick returned we did some cleaning in the kitchen cabinets, and he washed everything in it. Afternoon snack: an orange-and-cream popsicle. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Calibur via DoorDash: we each had a single burger. Patrick had his with a fried egg, carmelized onions, and cheddar. I had mine with cheddar and carmelized onions. Tallow fries. Water to drink. Patrick also had a root beer. Almost no dishes! Afterwards we watched Ahsoka s1:e8 (season finale) on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. I ordered a ticket for tomorrow on the SFMOMA website. The ticket ordering process was really, really awful. Late snack: tortilla chips with guac, water.
Thu Oct 5, 2023
Staycation day 3 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries; hot water. Rode Muni and walked to Montgomery Street Station. Walked to The Bird for lunch, but it was too crowded, so instead I walked to The Grove and had a breakfast sandwich (egg and cheese with arugula) and a hash brown. Iced tea to drink. I love the chunkiness of the hash brown. Service is excellent and friendly. Afterwards I walked to SFMOMA. Yayoi Kusama's Infinite Love was open for a member preview, but I'm not a member and did not want to join. I saw Yayoi Kusama: Aspiring to Pumpkin’s Love, the Love in My Heart. I saw just about everything I could, including much of which I had seen before: Afterimages: Echoes of the 1960s from the Fisher and SFMOMA Collections; Twin Walls Mural Company, Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams; Living Wall; Sitting on Chrome: Mario Ayala, rafa esparza, and Guadalupe Rosales; Kinship: Photography and Connection; Sea Change: Photographs from the Collection; New Work: Fernando Palma Rodríguez; Marshall Brown Projects: Dequindre Civic Academy; Marshall Brown Projects: Dequindre Civic Academy; What Matters: A Proposition in Eight Rooms; Hung Liu: Witness; Alexander Calder: Dissonant Harmony; Sadie Barnette: SPACE/TIME (2022); Freeform: Experiencing Abstraction; German Art After 1960. Afterwards I rode Muni to the Castro and met Patrick at Sisters Coffee Shop. We walked to dinner at Starbelly, eating inside rather than in the back patio because this is one of the few days of the year when you want air-conditioning. Cocktails: mezcal margarita for Patrick, patio punch for me. We shared a bowl of gazpacho and a roasted summer corn pizza with Aleppo chile on the side. Both dishes were a bit spicy, but I was able to eat them. We rode Muni home then watched Extrapolations s1:e6 on Apple TV+. Extrapolations is essentially Black Mirror in the context of climate change. Patrick went to bed. I washed a few dishes.
Fri Oct 6, 2023
Staycation day 4 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries; hot water. Did a bit of IDAM approval work today because I was the only person available to do it following Rodney's recent retirement. Eric asked gently, and I was near my laptop and didn't mind. Rode Muni and walked to Powell Street Station. Like the past two days, today was unusually hot weather. Walked to lunch at Wise Sons Deli: classic smoked salmon on sesame bagel, iced coffee. Visited the Contemporary Jewish Museum on free day. I saw Mika Rottenberg: Spaghetti Blockchain (wonderfully and thoughtfully bizarre! I wish they had put arrows on the ground, tho.), RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped (I recognized very few of the artists, and there were no adjacent labels), L'Chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15 (informative to see how seemingly everything about the building is imbued with meaning), Annie Albagli: We Become [Vessels] (in which the piece creates such a connection with the earth), Lamp of the Covenant: Dave Lane. Afterwards I visited the California Historical Society's 24/7 sidewalk-accessed exhibits, which are better visited online. I purchased a birthday card and a set of conversation cards at the gift shop. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: hard shell pork tacos with fixins, water. I also had a glass of wine. We watched TOP 10 QUESTIONS Before LOKI Season 2 (No Spoilers!) via New Rockstars and Loki - Season 1 ULTIMATE RECAP! via Film Cram! both on YouTube then Loki s2:e1 on Disney+. I washed dishes at a break in the middle. Dessert while watching: Patrick's tiramisu, previously frozen. I walked in place while watching. Patrick went to bed.
Sat Oct 7, 2023
Staycation day 5 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, blueberries; hot water. Day 4 of unusually hot weather. Interment and luncheon planning. Continued technology research. Lunch at home with Patrick: tacos redux. Afternoon snack: an orange creamsicle. Dinner at home with Patrick: Martha Stewart Test Kitchen's Scandinavian shrimp salad, water. I also had a glass of white wine. I washed dishes. We watched The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one navel orange then later some unsalted cashews then chicken nuggets made with chicken, chickpeas, and cauliflower.
Sun Oct 8, 2023
Staycation day 6 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, raisins; hot water. The weather turned cool today. Began packing for a trip. More interment and luncheon planning. Polished my dark brown Vionic Branxton shoes. Repaired my Volt Lava Boots with hand stitching because the stitching had come loose from one flap. Patrick and I walked to lunch at Chalos: spicy chicken and spinach with boiled egg both fried for Patrick, beef and three cheese both baked for me. Bombon for Patrick, chai tea latte for me. Walked home, stopping at Asian American Food for frozen dumplings and potstickers. Cut my hair, showered. Dinner at home with Patrick: linguine with beef ragu, water. I also had two glasses of white wine. Dessert for me only: Patrick's frozen tiramisu. We watched various YouTube videos: Matteo Lane & Sam Morril Make Deep Dish At Lou Malnati's, Touring with John Mulaney ! "Killing Too Hard" - Full Documentary via Dan Levy, Inside a Futuristic Home with Detachable Rooms | Unique Spaces | Architectural Digest. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one navel orange, water. I washed dishes. Later snack: two slices of sourdough toast with grated mexican cheeses and diced red onion left over from taco night. Water to drink.
Mon Oct 9, 2023
Staycation day 7 of 7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, golden raisins, dried pineapple; hot water. Finished interment and luncheon communications projects with Lani: thank you card, memorial service program. All day: continued packing for a trip. Lunch: leftover beef ragu in toasted hamburger bun—does one call that a sloppy Giuseppe? Water to drink. Finished packing. Sam stopped by briefly after he and Patrick returned from visiting Mom Ryan and running other errands. Dinner at home with Patrick: Rao's frozen veggie pizza to which Patrick added leftover taco meat. Water to drink. Dessert for me only: Patrick's frozen tiramisu. We tried watching Moonlighting on Hulu because I've been reading so much about its streaming debut in news. It appears in Hulu, but confusingly it's still not available until midnight tonight, and that wasn't clear at the main listing screen. We watched Moonlighting s1:e2 Gunfight at the So So Corral via Jhes Lorg on YouTube. It took longer than I had expected to find it. The episode was incomplete near the end, which was disappointing. We then watched various other YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Tue Oct 10, 2023
Vacation day 1 of 10. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted shaved coconut, golden raisins; hot water. Patrick and I rode Lyft to SFO, chatting with driver Michael also from Mornings With Michael which he said was a financial podcast but which I was later unable to find easily in Apple Podcasts. Delta Airlines flight to LAX was uneventful. We sat in row 10 in Comfort Plus aka Comfort+, and Patrick said it was the most legroom he has ever experienced on a plane. We rode a free shuttle to the LAXit lot for rideshare and taxi, and this ride seemed like it took 20 or 30 minutes. We took a 47-minute Lyft ride to check in at Palihouse West Hollywood. We arrived early and had expected to check our bags then return later for proper check-in, but our room was available and they let us have it early. We settled a bit then walked to Joan's on Third for lunch: we shared a short rib sandwich and a chinese chicken salad. Patrick drank an iced latte, and I drank a hot chai latte. All food and drink were delicious. I thought the pork in the sandwich was a bit too salty and the bread a bit too buttery, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. We rode Lyft from Joan's to Urban Light at LACMA. There was a lot of construction in the area when we alighted. We were expecting to purchase tickets for the museum, but luckily it was free admission today. We saw just about everything except most of the pavilion exhibits. We also saw Central Meridian (The Garage) and Chris Burden's Metropolis II. At a break in the middle, we stopped for beverages at Ray's and Stark Bar: Patrick had a lemonade, I had a hot Jasmine tea. We walked to West 6th Street then rode Lyft to the Original Farmer's Market where we browsed. We walked to Trader Joe's to purchase bottled water, then walked back to Palihouse along West 3rd Street. We rested or napped. We walked to dinner at Melanie: sparkling water; two glasses of Reale Cardamone; tater tots with ketchup and chipotle aioli and grana padano; gem lettuce salad with asian pear, parm reg, and sherry vinaigrette; and a three-item charcuterie and cheese platter: jamon serrano, red hawk, sottocenere al tartufo. We had a really nice time. The dining room can get quite noisy when full. Before dining we confirmed they had an organic wine. We returned to the room.
Wed Oct 11, 2023
Vacation day 2 of 11. Woke at Palihouse West Hollywood. Breakfast with Patrick at Lobby Lounge Café and Bar: we each had oatmeal with sliced banana and cinnamon. Patrick drank coffee; I drank decaf. We also shared a croissant with Nutella and raspberry jam. The oatmeal was lukewarm and runny, but we did not complain because we didn't want to wait. Checked out. Rode Lyft to LAX. Along the way we encountered heavy traffic which worsened in the last mile to the airport and during which several emergency vehicles forced their way through including one which was labeled BOMB SQUAD, which I thought was ominous. After many minutes of sitting in standstill traffic we agreed with our driver that the best thing for us to do was to walk the remaining distance. He drove us as close as he could then dropped us off. As we walked toward the terminal, we passed a group of emergency response people and vehicles in the LAXit area, then later we encountered closed sections of parts of Terminal 1 or 2 guarded by police. We finally arrived at Terminal 3 and passed through the security checkpoint arriving at our gate 25 minutes before boarding. Delta flight from LAX to MSY (New Orleans) was uneventful. For lunch we enjoyed pasta fagiole (Patrick) and veggie lasagne (Frank), each with side salad and packaged double chocolate chip cookie (but I saved my cookie for later). We were also served beverages and various snacks before and after lunch. Patrick was particularly happy to be in New Orleans again after our last trip in 2018. We rode Lyft to Uptown, arriving at an Airbnb to which Andy T, arrived from Boston, had already checked us in. We saw many Halloween decorations along the way. Patrick and I settled and unpacked. Chris G arrived from San Francisco about an hour after us. Soon we walked along Magazine Street hunting for food with no reservations. We dined at Shaya and had a great time: Road to Kfar (5), Rhubarbie Dreamhouse, Maker's Mark, Old Fashioned, sparkling water (2), mushroom hummus, crispy halloumi, fattoush salad, lamb kofte kebab, chicken, pear a porter. Neil H at the bar was our terrific server. We returned to the Airbnb and slept soon after.
Thu Oct 12, 2023
Vacation day 3 of 11. Patrick and I broke fast at La Boulangerie. We each had yogurt and granola parfait and decaf with cream. The parfait is served in a banana split bowl rather than a cup, and it is delicious. When I asked where the restroom was a worker told me where and she called me sweetie. We stopped for groceries at Zara's Lil' Giant Supermarket & Po-boys then returned to our Airbnb. I wrote in my journal. Chris and Andy who woke a little later than us left for La Boulangerie and returned then departed again for a self-guided walking tour in the Garden District. At 11:00 a.m., Michele and family friend Greg picked up Patrick and me and drove us all to lunch at Katie's in MidCity: Bradbird pizza (marinara sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham and bacon) for Michele and Greg; Patrick and I shared fried green tomatoes with remoulade and a cochon du lait po boy. Iced tea all around. We Facetimed with Kristyn just before the food arrived then with Mom Ryan after the meal. All food and drink were delicious. They drove us back to the Airbnb and departed. Patrick rested, and I napped. Chris and Andy returned. We rode Lyft to the Bywater neighborhood with a driver who amused us with stories from his life. We explored on foot, visiting Crescent Park via Piety Crossing and seeing the nearby gardens and wharf. We crossed back and continued walking, randomly stopping for a round of happy hour drinks at JusTini's: one old fashioned and three French 75s. We loved the chandeliers and decor, the gold accents throughout, the messages on the walls. We chatted pleasantly with bartender Cassidy. We briefly met charming owner Jessica Robinson. Chris had a hot sausage taco. We paid and tipped, and I realized only later that an 18% tip is included automatically; we did not mind. We walked to dinner at Bywater American Bistro (aka BABS), which we chose after having a great experience in 2018 at sister restaurant Compère Lapin. We shared two appetizers: (a) blackened octopus with sweet potato coconut puree and (b) burrata with marinated tomatoes, soppresata, and grilled bread. Andy and I each had cavatelli with shrimp, rundown sauce, and soft herbs. Chris had chicken fra diavolo with semolina gnocchi. Patrick had wagyu beef lasagne with fontina fonduta. One round of drinks (La Nerthe, Francois Villard, Daou, and a Three Amigos). We enjoyed our meal. Service by Christian H to table 36 was excellent. We rode Lyft to The Vintage at 3121 Magazine Street and had six kinds of beignet for dessert: traditional plain, matcha cream, smores, pumpkin pie, raspberry, apples with brie. We enjoyed all the flavors. Rode Lyft to the Airbnb and slept soon after.
Fri Oct 13, 2023
Vacation day 4 of 11. Patrick and I had oatmeal with milk, sliced almonds, and diced half banana. I wrote in my journal. Chris, Andy, Patrick, and I rode Lyft to Tableau and walked in the French Quarter browsing shops. Restroom. At Faulkner House Books we bought some books. Then at lunchtime we waited in line at Galatoire's. While waiting we encountered some confusion at the doorway due to a very large party arriving. I chatted briefly with a smartly dressed man and woman couple behind us who were also confused. I did my best to explain, and the woman told me, "You are cute as a button!" and I again forgot to say thank you. Inside, we learned that the very large party had a Barbie theme. There was pink everywhere on a very long table in the middle of the dining room. We were seated nearby. Bread and butter. We shared soufflé potatoes ($9, crispy potato puffs, béarnaise sauce), duck crepe ($14, roasted duck, homemade boursin cheese port-cherry reduction, pistachios), and oysters en brochette ($17, fried oysters, bacon, meunière butter). Entrees: Chris G and me each: shrimp etouffée ($26, louisiana shrimp, shellfish stock trinity, green onions, light brown roux, steamed rice), Patrick: chicken creole ($26, roasted half chicken, stewed tomatoes, creole seasoning, steamed rice), Andy T: stuffed eggplant ($28, louisiana jumbo lump crab, boiled shrimp, béchamel sauce, green onions, grilled eggplant). Our soufflé potatoes were cold, but we didn't bother to send them back or complain. The duck crepe was okay. The oysters en brochette had fatty bacon in the middle that was not crisp. Patrick said his chicken creole was okay. Andy found the shrimp etouffe was underseasoned. Everyone was dressed fancier than we were. One table had a group of men in suits. The Barbie table was almost entirely fancifully dressed women. Afterwards we walked in the French Quarter, browsing shops here and there. While waiting for Patrick or Andy browsing inside a store, Chris and I watched a man driving a donkey pulling a carriage with passengers. The driver finished saying something to his passengers then turned to Chris and me and bellowed, "Are you looking at my ass?!" and I laughed and clapped my hands in appreciation. Later we all stopped at CC's for beverages and restroom. Rode Lyft home. Napped. We walked and rode the streetcar to Crescent City Blues & BBQ Fest. Tab Benoit was playing when we arrived. We got food and drink and watched and listened. We left the festival and visited Josephine Estelle, choosing the quieter bar on the left rather than the noisier bar on the right. Drink. We rode Lyft to the Airbnb. Weary, we soon went to bed.
Sat Oct 14, 2023
Vacation day 5 of 11. Patrick and I had oatmeal with milk, sliced almonds, and diced half banana. I wrote in my journal. I think we rested in the Airbnb for the morning. We rode Lyft to Commander's Palace. Service by Jaelyn, Logan, David. A three-piece band entertained the room and us personally. At one point midmeal there was a change of water glasses, which none of us had ever seen in a restaurant before. The woman changing the glasses said, "Yeah, it's a Commander's thing." When plates arrived, all plates set within five seconds of each other. Specifically, three at once, then the fourth no more than five seconds later. Appetizers: Patrick and Andy had turtle soup with tableside sherry pour. Chris had shrimp remoulade. I had salad du jour. Entrees: Chris had des allemands catfish muddy waters (crispy corn dusted Louisiana catfish with marinated red cabbage, warm bacon fat fingerling potato salad, and andouille-jalapeño röti), Andy had cochon de lait eggs benedict (16-hour barbecued shoulder of pork over warm buttermilk biscuits, sauce forestière with roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, soft poached hen's eggs and tasso hollandaise), Patrick had wild white shrimp and grits (toasted garlic and lemon seared Gulf shrimp with roasted peppers, sweet onions and grilled kale over stone ground grits with charred red pepper paint and New Orleans style barbeque butter), I had pecan crusted fish (prosecco-poached jumbo lump crab roasted corn, asparagus, grilled kale and melted leeks with whiskey spiked crushed corn cream). Dessert: Chris had the dessert du jour. The rest of us each had creole bread pudding soufflé ("The Queen of Creole Desserts", finished tableside with warm whiskey cream. This was easily the best meal of the trip, and the excellent service was a big part of that. Patrick returned to the Airbnb. Chris, Andy, and I walked to and visited The Southern Food and Beverage Museum then the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The three of us rode a streetcar to our Airbnb. Napped. Dinner at Pizza Domenica: Drinks: I had wine, everyone else had beer. Appetizers to share: woodfired cauliflower and italian chop salad. Pizza: funghi e salsiccia. The kitchen was slammed. They gave us a discount. Afterwards Andy stopped at CVS for water and insect repellent. Dessert: ice cream from Creole Creamery. Walked back to the Airbnb.
Sun Oct 15, 2023
Vacation day 6 of 11. Patrick and I had oatmeal with milk, sliced almonds, and diced half banana; chocolate cookie. The four of us rode Lyft to the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. The day was cooler than yesterday and breezy. We enjoyed the sculpture and the garden. We had not seen the new eastern expansion before, and it was terrific. Afterwards we walked to Cafe du Monde and enjoyed beignets and coffee. We visited the New Orleans Museum of Art and had small bites inside the museum at Cafe Nola by Ralph Brennan: three tacos and a quinoa bowl. We rode Lyft to Crescent City Blues & BBQ Fest, arriving at 3:00 p.m. to catch the end of The Roadmasters with Special Guests and then the start of Trudy Lynn. We rode Lyft to the Airbnb. We rested and watched various YouTube videos. Walked to dinner at Le Petit Grocery. Shared appetizers: fried green tomatoes, blue crab beignets, short rib. Chris had heritage pork tenderloin. Andy had gulf shrimp and grits. Patrick and I shared pan-roasted chicken breast and white bean cassoulet. Shared desserts: butterscotch pudding and a pecan tart. We had attempted to order bread for the table, but they were out. Patrick's chicken was too salty. The other dishes were okay. Patrick said he wouldn't return. We walked to the Airbnb. In our Airbnb we encountered a carbon monoxide alarm beeping, probably due to low battery. After some consternation, the Airbnb host helped us resolve it.
Mon Oct 16, 2023
Vacation day 7 of 11. Patrick and I had oatmeal with milk and sliced almonds. Chris and Andy left early to take a tour of a plantation and the swamps. I also had a glass of blueberry lemonade. Patrick and I walked Prytania and Magazine. Stopped for drinks at PJ's: Patrick had decaf pralines and cream latte, and I had a chai tea latte. We shopped at Dirty Coast, then lunched at Guy's Po-Boys: we had fried shrimp and fried catfish po'boys, both dressed, Barq's in a bottle for Patrick, unsweetened iced tea for me. We ordered small sandwiches but inexplicably received large ones. We walked to Cherry Coffee for two bags of coffee beans and received a house coffee as lagniappe. Walked to the Airbnb. Patrick and I rode Lyft to the Lower Garden district for dinner at Gris-Gris. Cocktails for me: cemetary 75s. Appetizers: bowl of gumbo for Patrick, caesar salad for me. Mains: shrimp and grits for Patrick, cast-iron seared fish for me. Drinks: mocktails. Patrick's shrimp and grits was so salty he couldn't finish it. He mentioned this to our server, and we received a $10.20 discount. Patrick said he'll never return. Dessert at Parish Creamery: Patrick had double chocolate ice cream. We thoroughly enjoyed watching a visiting dog being fed whipped cream by its owner. We rode Lyft home.
Tue Oct 17, 2023
Vacation day 8 of 11. Patrick and I had oatmeal with milk and sliced almonds. i also had a glass of blueberry lemonade. Patrick and I walked to La Boulangerie and purchased pralines using a gift card provided by our Airbnb hosts. Returned to our Airbnb. Rode Lyft with Chris, Andy, and Patrick to Riverview Park in Audubon Park. We walked to 6000 St. Charles Avenue to view the Skeleton House. Rode Lyft to lunch at Lilly's Cafe: various kinds of bun: grilled chicken with egg and diet coke for Andy, lemongrass pork and eggroll and vietnamese iced coffee for Chris, lemongrass chicken and eggroll and thai iced tea for Patrick, lemongrass beef and eggroll and iced tea for me. Chris and Andy walked in the Lower Garden District to find Halloween costumes. Patrick and I rode Lyft to the Roosevelt Hotel in the CBD at the former site of Bailey's. We walked to Canal Street and rode Lyft to meet Tony D at Angelo Brocato's on Carrollton Avenue where we enjoyed sweets. Tony had Italian lemon ice and almond cookies, Patrick had a chocolate-dipped cannolo and a single scoop of two flavors of gelato: straciatelli and St. Joseph's chocolate almond. I had one black forrest cookie. Afterwards he drove us to St. Roch Cemetery hoping to visit the prosthetics chapel, but it was locked. Instead we visited family member graves. He dropped us off at the Airbnb. Patrick visited Zara's Grocery to see if they had a new shipment of Hubig's pies (they didn't) while I remained and rested. Chris and Andy returned. Later we all rode Lyft to Cochon Butcher, using the remainder of the gift card. We shared house potato chips, cole slaw, and bread and butter pickles. Chris had the cubano with smoked pork, ham, and swiss. Andy had the porchetta cheese steak sandwich in a pita which they called focaccia. Patrick had a carolina-style bbq pork sandwich. I had the butcher burger. We enjoyed all food and drink. Chris and Andy each got Flying Tiger Jucee Pale Ale. Patrick had iced tea. I had lemonade. Afterwards we walked to Bakery Bar. The walk took us under a darkened underpass that Patrick said could be a bit unsafe, but nothing bad happened. At Bakery Bar we shared two slices of Black and Gold doberge (seven layers of chocolate cake and six layers of salted caramel pudding covered in shiny golden caramel poured fondant icing, garnished with crunchy chocolate cake crumbles), selecting that one because it was the only one made of chocolate cake. Chris and Andy each had a Sazerac, Patrick had a Maverick, I had a Young Flanagan. We rode Lyft back to the Airbnb.
Wed Oct 18, 2023
Vacation day 9 of 11. Breakfast at Cherry Coffee with Chris, Andy, and Patrick: we each had overnight oats. Chris and Andy shared a scone; Patrick and I shared mini chocolate croissants. Coffee or chai. We returned to the Airbnb. Patrick and I walked to Parcels and Post on Magazine Street. Sam arrived later than expected due to a misunderstanding of the work schedule and helped us mail a package home full of gifts and things we no longer wanted to carry on the remainder of our trip. We returned to the Airbnb and packed. We split up. Chris and Andy rode the streetcar and visited the World War II Museum; Patrick and I rode Lyft and visited Audubon Aquarium and lunched at Napoleon House: Patrick had red beans and rice with andouille and a peach italian soda, I had a hot roast beef po'boy with unsweetened iced tea. We sat and peoplewatched in Jackson Square before walking closer to Canal Street and riding Lyft to our Airbnb to meet Chris and Andy. We all briefly chatted with Airbnb owner Mark before our checkout and departure. Lyft to MSY. Late lunch or drinks at Leah Chase: southern fried chicken sandwich with fries for Chris, creole chicken breast with greens and jambalaya for Andy, Patrick and I shared a bowl of creole gumbo. Chris and Andy each had an Abita, Patrick had a margarita, I had a Malibu Voodoo Juice cocktail (Malibu rum, pineapple, sunshine and tropical banana rum added to fresh orange, cranberry and pineapple juices, conjures all our voodoo spirits). Service was very slow, but the food and drink were great. Our gumbo order was for a cup but we mistakenly received a bowl. Delta flight from MSY to LAX was uneventful. We watched How to Train Your Dragon on their entertainment system, which works well except (a) we had to manually synchronize, and (b) the swiping behavior is handled poorly. Dinner on the flight: Patrick had beef pot roast with mashed potatoes and carrots and gravy and side salad; I had breaded chicken breast with carrots and green beans and side salad. Dessert was a packaged pink cookie. Patrick had a glass of cranberry juice; I had a glass of red wine. Upon arrival at LAX, instead of taking the LAXit shuttle, we walked, and this saved us lots of time in traffic and let us exercise. We had difficulty securing a Lyft ride, which forced us to wait 15 minutes before seeing driver results then another 25 minutes before the ride arrived. In the future at LAX I would again walk to LAXit and avoid Lyft entirely and just get in a taxi. Checked in to Palihouse West Hollywood. To bed.
Thu Oct 19, 2023
Vacation day 10 of 11. Breakfast at King's Road Coffee and Cafe. We each had a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, sliced banana, and sliced strawberry. Coffee with cream for Patrick, chai latte for me. Returned to Palihouse and rested. Second breakfast at Joan's on Third: buttermilk pancakes, latte for Patrick, Americano with steamed milk for me. Patrick thought these pancakes were the best in the world. Returned to Palihouse. Rode Lyft to Getty Villa, initially and accidentally going to the wrong location. We enjoyed the museum and gardens and stopped at the cafe for unsweetened iced tea and a quick pass through the gift shop before riding Lyft to Sunset Junction in the Silver Lake district. We did not have cellular service when requesting our ride, and the workaround we discovered with help from an employee was to use the museum's wifi. Late lunch at Pine and Crane: we shared dandan noodles, three-cup Jidori chicken, kabocha squash potstickers. Patrick drank taro milk tea, I drank yuzu sparkling water. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and were unable to finish everything. We walked in the neighborhood a while before riding Lyft back to Palihouse West Hollywood. Rested. I sat by the pool and caught up on journaling. After a while Patrick met me and we enjoyed complimentary red licorice, gummy bears, and slightly sweet iced tea. We returned to the room.
Fri Oct 20, 2023
Vacation day 11 of 11. Breakfast at King's Road Coffee and Cafe. We each had a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, sliced banana, and sliced strawberry. Patrick also got a chocolate croissant. Coffee with cream for Patrick, chai latte for me. Checked out of Palihouse West Hollywood. Rode Lyft to LAX. Flight from LAX to SFO. We bought sandwiches in the airport from Jersey Mike's Subs and ate in flight. Mine was veggie, Patrick's was roast beef and provolone. Rode Lyft home. Unpacked.
Sat Oct 21, 2023
Slept in a bit. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, golden raisins; hot water. Folded and stored lots of laundry that Patrick had washed earlier. Stored things unpacked last night. Lunch: pork and vegetable steamed buns from frozen from Asian American Food Company, water. I washed dishes. Patrick napped, and I joined a while later. We arose then rode Lyft to Blondie's Bar. This was our first time going to Litquake. We met or encountered Lori, Anne, Alyse, Carol, Tim, Casey, Chris, and Andy. The conditions weren't great for a reading—no lights (at first) and no amplified sound—but for the most part people made it work. I recorded Patrick's 11 minutes, and he did a great job. Shortly afterwards we encountered Paolo and Lucie and stopped to briefly say hello. Afterwards we dined with Chris and Andy at Pakwan. They arrived in separate cars, and Chris generously gave Patrick and me a ride home. Patrick went to bed. I troubleshot and investigated better spam solutions and DMARC config. Chatted online with my hosting support, and I think I got what I needed for now.
Sun Oct 22, 2023
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, sliced half banana; hot water. Weeded Gmail account messages. Lunch: leftover veggie biryani and naan, water. Cut my hair, showered, cleaned the bathroom, napped. Unloaded vacation photos and began to edit them. Dinner at home with Patrick: Rao's combo pizza to which Patrick added sliced mushrooms and sliced yellow onion. Side salad. Water to drink. We watched Loki s2:e2 on Disney+. I washed dishes at a break in the middle. Patrick went to bed. I chatted on Zoom with Lani and Dex for several hours. Late snack: quesadilla, water.
Mon Oct 23, 2023
Woke with a bit of a sore throat. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, sliced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Caught up on three weeks away from work. Lunch at home with Patrick: delivery from Perilla via DoorDash: thai iced tea and imperial rolls and five-spice chicken vermicelli for Patrick, lemonade and five-spice chicken pho for me. Dinner at home with Patrick: two kinds of dumplings from frozen from Asian American Food Company: pork and chive, shrimp and chinese spinach. Patrick's garlic soy dipping sauce. Water to drink. Patrick attended a class on Zoom. We did not watch any television together, but I watched various YouTube videos on my own. Dessert for me: two afterdinner mints. Still sick at end of day.
Tue Oct 24, 2023
Sick day #2. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, sliced half banana; hot water. Called in sick, slept all day. Lunch: tomato omelette with burger bun toast for Patrick, leftovers from lunch yesterday for me. Water to drink. Dinner at home with Patrick: Patrick and I split one mushroom and onion quesadilla. Side salads, water to drink. Patrick washed dishes. We watched Loki s2:e3 on Disney+ and one-third of Beth Stelling: If You Didn't Want Me Then. Patrick went to bed. I did some catching up on journaling then removed a 4th-generation Time Capsule from service and replaced it with a Netgear 5-port switch.
Wed Oct 25, 2023
Sick day #3. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, sliced half banana; hot water. Moved jury duty. Called in sick. Napped. Lunch: leftover pho to which I added Momofuku noodles and new chicken broth. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: kicked-up tuna melts, water. Afterwards Patrick painted, then we watched Extrapolations s1:e7 on Apple TV+. Installed tvOS 17 on our Apple TV HD and iOS 17 on my iPhone 12 mini. Patrick went to bed.
Thu Oct 26, 2023
Sick day #4. Tested positive for COVID via home test. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, sliced half banana; hot water. Rested. Lunch at home with Patrick: pho ga from Perilla via DoorDash. Napped. Dinner at home with Patrick: yellow curry chicken with tandoori naan, water. Today Patrick made his first batch of ice cream with a Cuisinart ice cream machine. The flavor: double chocolate. Delicious! Afterwards we watched What We Do in the Shadows s5:e5 on Hulu. Cutting board wood butter treatment. Did some organizing of trip photos and videos.
Fri Oct 27, 2023
Sick day #5. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced pear; hot water. Recovery all day. Lunch: leftover pho ga, water. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover chicken curry with rice and naan, water. Afterwards we watched Extrapolations s1:e8 (season finale) on Apple TV+. Just after we finished watching, a small earthquake struck. I knew instantly it was an earthquake and was prepared to get us both under the dining table, but it stopped after only a few seconds. Later Patrick went to bed. I installed updates for home and work devices. Late snack: one navel orange.
Sat Oct 28, 2023
Sick day #6. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Recovery all day. Lunch: Patrick had leftover kicked-up tuna melt, I had leftover chicken curry with rice. Water to drink. Patrick napped. I had a small leftover kicked-up tuna melt, water. Patrick arose. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Xiao Loong via DoorDash: hot and sour soup, mu shu pork, cashew chicken, white jasmine rice. Water to drink. After we placed our order we learned that Tina coincidentally surprised us with DoorDash orders of pho ga and che dau xanh and two beverages: chrysanthemum pu erh and grass jelly tea and mango frosty. The Xiao Loong order was delicious. The soup was notably very hot (temperature). Patrick's fortune: Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient in nothing. My fortune: Knowledge and not doing are equal to not knowing at all. Dessert for me only: mango frosty. We watched Loki s2:e4 on Disney+. I washed dishes. Patrick went to bed.
Sun Oct 29, 2023
Sick day #7. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Recovery all day. Lunch: Patrick had leftover pho ga, I had leftover cashew chicken with rice. Hot water to drink. Midafternoon snack for me: leftover hot and sour soup. Dinner: Xiao Loong leftovers, water. We watched The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXXIII then Moonlighting s3:e10 then the remainder of Beth Stelling: If You Didn't Want Me Then. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: gouda quesadilla, water. Chatted on Zoom with Lani.
Mon Oct 30, 2023
Sick day #8. Covid home test was positive. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Reported a problem with wysiwyg scrolling to the top after certain actions. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Began work on a design project for Leslie CS: commencement stoles. Added a missing transcript to a news story and corrected its YouTube transcript which had not been edited and contained minor errors. Proofed a news story for Suzan R. Lunch: I made some steamed white rice and ate that with Xiao Loong leftovers and some leftover beans. Midafternoon snack: leftover hot and sour soup. HR update. Dinner at home with Patrick: we prepared together (me preparing, Patrick instructing) caprese and butter lettuce salad with warm bread. I washed dishes. Afterwards we watched Netflix: The Ratcatcher then Poison then we attempted to watch My Name Is Mo'Nique but it was too much repetition and profanity and repetitious profanity for us to get past more than a few minutes. Instead we began watching The Hidden Lives of Pets s1:e4 on Netflix and stopped partway through because Patrick went to bed. Late snack: gouda on sourdough toast, water. Troubleshot a problem with Bluehost: An error has occurred while setting up your hosting. Solution: the support engineer cleared a corrupted serverside cache and about 35 minutes later it was resolved. I was told to wait 20 or 25 minutes, but it took about 35.
Tue Oct 31, 2023
Sick day #9. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted slivered almonds, toasted shaved coconut, diced half banana; hot water. Worked from home. Siteimprove linkchecking, spellchecking, and policy work. Comped a news story image for Suzan then worked with her to finish staging it and publishing it. Edited another news story. Lunch: Patrick had canned chicken soup. I made ramen with vegetables, shrimp, and egg-and-chive dumplings. Met with Nicole to chat about the BP website, then later completed some restructuring and added a page. Followup with Leslie CS about commencement stoles. 1:1 with Eric. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared deli spinach and cheese ravioli with marinara and fresh basil, toast with butter. Water to drink. I washed dishes. Afterwards we watched an old The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror that we hadn't seen then What We Do in the Shadows s5:e6 on Hulu. Patrick went to bed.