September 2013
Summary: Chicago and New York vacation ends; Photo walks and wine tasting in Napa with Phil, Drew, and Kitho; Paul's birthday party at Pisco Lounge; Happy Together 2.0: Jeff and Thom Get Married (for Real), 30th Folsom Street Fair
Dates on this page
Sun Sep 1, 2013
Slept in. Pre-brunch: a pear. I had planned to brunch at Katz's but instead I brunched at Pok Pok: kuaytiaw khua kai, kafae boraan iced, about $16. Rode the subway to 42nd St-Bryant Park then walked to Sky Room for a Michael Cohen rooftop lounge party not realizing until I had arrived that almost no one arrives to this event until several hours after its official start time. The view and the space were both very nice, but there were only 9 others there, so I left. Elsewhere Brian was ordering visitor passes for later today to the 9/11 Memorial on the web, so I agreed to join, but not for dinner based on my location, then took the subway to Chambers Street. Very fast dinner at P.J. Clarke's (212-285-1500, 4 World Financial): veggie burger with white cheddar, iced tea: $19.43 before a $3 tip. Met Judy, Larry, Brian, and Kelly at the entrance, and we visited the 9/11 Memorial. We rested on west-facing benches overlooking the river for a bit, then got drinks and nachos at SouthwestNY/Black Hound (212-945-0528, 301 South End Avenue). Brian ordered Uber for us back to LES where we split. Nap. Private party. To bed.
Mon Sep 2, 2013
Slept in. Wifi speedtest result at Holiday Inn LES: just under 3 Mbps down and up. Spent the day hanging out with Brian, Kelly, Judy, and Larry before their departure tonight for Europe. We talked about Montreal (BK likes, many restaurants, byob), Toronto (BK says meh but they do have good Chinese food), Guy Fieri, The Simpsons season 11, episode 3, "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner" and larb gai michelada. Brian stayed home to keep last-minute laundry in progress. The rest of us walked to Katz's Deli, saw a line longer than we wanted to wait, and instead ate brunch at Remedy, a diner with different but equally fine food. They left via Uber around 6:45 PM. I returned to the hotel and napped for a long time. While foraging, I happened upon Mission Chinese 10 mins before closing and was seated immediately with no grumpiness like you might expect. Broccoli beef brisket (tasty), Laura Palmer (strong), white rice with barley, water. To bed late.
Tue Sep 3, 2013
Slept in. Started getting a very mild cough and sore throat last night and which remained when I awoke. Walked to Ippudo (65 Fourth Avenue, New York, New York). Yamitsuki goma kyuri (Japanese cucumber seasoned with Ippudo's original sesame oil dressing, $8), akamaru modern (The original silky "Tonkotsu" (pork) soup noodles topped with Ippudo's secret "Umami Dama" miso paste, pork chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil; $14) with kakuni (braised pork belly, $4): $28.31 before tip. Walked to Columbus Circle, rented a bike from Bike and Roll: about $31 for 2 hours with insurance, used a helmet borrowed from Brian and Kelly and bicycle gloves and water bottle that I brought from home. I did a loop along the major streets through the park, and 2 hours was perfect. I had time to rest and stop to see a few things along the way even though I didn't get a lock. Back to the hotel to shower and rest. Met Pete S for dinner at Yum Yum (212-956-9415, 658 9th Avenue, New York, New York): pineapple fried rice and soda for him, cashew tofu and thai iced tea for me. Dessert: green tea ice cream and fried bananas with coconut ice cream. $39.74 before a $6.50 tip. Among other things, we talked about Next to Normal and Elephant and Castle. Afterwards Pete and I walked to Broadway Comedy Club (318 W. 53rd St., New York, New York 10019), stopping briefly to browse at a very gay underwear store. Drew, Phil, and Reggie met us there a little late. The others were all there coincidentally to see Jamin Lin, and I went along, meeting Rene, Michael, and Matthew in addition to Jamin. Afterwards we wanted to get a drink and stopped in briefly at Therapy but a show was in progress and it was louder than we had wanted. We moved to Industry, which was better so we stayed, and Phil encountered an old acquaintance Devon. Drew, Phil, and I shared a cab to our respective homes: $22.50 after a $4 tip.
Wed Sep 4, 2013
Slept in. Checked out of Holiday Inn LES. At checkout I reported three issues which I did not consider problems: 1. the wireless forces me to relogin each day or perhaps each session, which is annoying but no different than other hotel wireless. 2. the deadbolt on my room (#810) did not close properly because the door was installed improperly. 3. the room key did not work consistently in the door or elevator, perhaps a problem with the reader: it usually took 3 or 4 tries before working, whereas the key worked consistently in the reader by the main entrance. The hotel is new and very well-designed. Power outlets are plentiful making it very convenient to plug stuff in: laptop, phone, battery charger, iron. The air conditioning unit was simple to use and worked well. The space in 810 was a bit cramped, especially at the bathroom sink, but workable. The iron did indeed drip less when, as instructed, I let it heat for a few minutes before using. I checked in to Brian and Kelly's place, then got blueberry pancakes and water at Clinton Street Baking Company after a 25-ish-minute wait. Back to Brian and Kelly's to rest and catch up on journaling and make plans. Added $20 to my mta card to receive a $21 credit. Subway F train to York Street Station in Brooklyn, walked back to Manhattan Island via the Brooklyn Bridge, taking lots of photos along the way. After crossing the bridge, I stopped to eat trail mix I had brought with me and drank water from my klean kanteen. Then I walked through parts of Chinatown, stopping at Vegetarian Dim Sum House where I ate mock ha gow, a half order of egg rolls, and purchased steamed rice to go. I then stopped at Prosperity Dumpling for some pork and chive dumplings in soup ($3) to go, Kossar's for an onion bialy (90 cents), Doughnut Plant for a coconut cream yeast doughnut (filled). Back to Brian and Kelly's place. Ate dumpling soup. The soup dumplings from Prosperity Dumpling are very flavorful. Each dumpling is larger than I can fit in my mouth, and so I found it awkward to eat, the thick wrapper falling apart somewhat inelegantly every time I took a bite of half a dumpling. The chive-embedded meat holds together well and contains only a tiny amount of gristle. Nap. Acoustica Electronica with Joeski at Santos Party House. The event was scheduled to start at 9:00 PM, but as it turns out the doors open at 9 and they give you a little time to get drinks and listen to the DJ and experience a bit of pre-show before the performance which started at 9:50 PM and lasted until about 11:00 PM. This was my favorite event on this Chicago and NYC trip. Acoustica Electronica takes place in a nightclub and combines theater, opera, classical music, rock music, electronica, acrobatics, and more. The performance is also interactive in that you're encouraged to interact with the performers in a limited way, and you're also encouraged to dance before, during, and after the performance. Performances take place on the stage but also on the floor and in different areas of the space sometimes at the same time. Sometimes you're an arm's length away from a performer, sometimes you're face to face with one, and other times you're watching a group of them on the large stage. Inside I laughed at all the people trying to vidcapture the experience on their smartphones because they got confused about where they should be filming at any particular moment. Lesson for those people: you're experiencing something that cannot possibly be suitably captured with your phone, so stop recording and put it away already. I got a discount ticket on Timeout's website for $9, but when it ended I felt it was easily worth 4 times as much. What I liked most about it was that they were reinventing performing arts in a very energetic and openminded way like nothing I had ever seen or even heard about before. From a lights and sound perspective, the show seems extremely complicated and technically challenging, but I could not detect any flaws. You might think that having performers be so close to the audience would cause problems, but they seem to have everything figured out, and it seems to work. The show is moving from NYC to Boston soon, so catch them if you can. I'm quite convinced that you've never experienced anything like it before. My favorite part was the act just before the intermission (which I won't describe because I don't want to spoil it). Late meal: steamed rice with leftover broccoli beef brisket, Doughnut Plant coconut creme yeast. Watched parts of movies on iTunes.
Thu Sep 5, 2013
Slept and rested, needed it. Caught up on journaling. Planned transit from LES to Fire Island Pines, then also from Fire Island Pines to JFK. The best thing seemed to be the MTA custom directions. fairyschedule.com provided instructions from Penn Station but I didn't want to travel there on the subway when I could get to an LIRR station further along more directly via J train. Realized after some time that Arlene's Grocery is indeed an event venue and bar (sometimes gay) and not a grocery; this was very confusing to me. Lunch by myself at Brian and Kelly's: the Kossar's bialy from yesterday was too hard to eat, so I steamed it and it was better. Leftover egg roll from Vegetarian Dim Sum House. Got tired of resting. Walked to Cheeky Sandwiches for a shrimp po-boy ($8.50) and an order of beignets (3 for $1). The po-boy was spicier than I had expected, but I ate it all pretty quickly. The beignets were not exactly like the ones at Cafe du Monde but they were tasty nonetheless and with a great price. This restaurant defies categorization for its type of service. Here there is no greeter. You order with the person behind the counter then seat yourself. Your food is brought to you, and you pay after you finish eating. A staffperson might ask you during your meal if you need anything such as a water refill. Errands: got cash from a 7-Eleven ATM, bought paper plates because I used a few in Brian and Kelly's place, bought travel toothpaste because I was running out. Drinks at Flatiron Lounge with Koko. Dinner at Cafeteria with Drew: blue crab roll with potato chips and white grape martini for both.
Fri Sep 6, 2013
Slept in. Breakfast: leftover blue crab roll from Cafeteria. Still feeling under the weather, so I stayed in and rested some. Let Brian and Kelly's housecleaner into the apartment. Visited the High Line, starting at the north end and walking to the south end. Foraged, ended up having a late lunch at Benny's Burritos (212-633-9210, 113 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10014): one shrimp taco, chips and salsa, peach margarita: about $14 after a $2 tip. Subway to Brian and Kelly's place, napped. Dinner and a show at Lucky Cheng's. Barhopped briefly in Hell's Kitchen but did not stay long. Watched Star Trek Into Darkness again on iTunes on my MacBook Air. To bed very late.
Sat Sep 7, 2013
Slept in. The sore throat is going away but I still have a cough. Checked out of Brian and Kelly's, dropped off a FedEx package. Subway M train to Sutphin Blvd Archer Ave. LIRR to Sayville Station. Shuttle van to the ferry dock ($5). Ferry to Fire Island Pines. Got lost trying to find my hotel. Checked in with Luke at The Madison. Luke was friendly and gave me lots of great advice. I met other guests Jeff, Marcello, Arturo, Carlos. Snack at Canteen: french fries oddly served in a single layer on a paper plate instead of a bowl, tap water (about $5). Walked to Cherry Grove first along the boardwalk then along the beach, asking for directions from strangers along the way. I walked Lewis to Ivy then found my way haphazardly to The Belvedere. The event tonight is The 2nd Annual Spartacus and Mr. Nude Belvedere Contest. Open bar with ? vodka and Bulldog gin. I met and chatted with Philip, Jack, Chris, Shawn, Chad, Michael x 3, Todd. Someone gave me this list of nearby towns for gay vacationing: Ogunquit, Maine; Rehobeth Beach, Deleware; New Hope, Pennsylvania; Sawgatauk, Michigan. Met Steven, Matthew, Doug (who resembles both Star Trek TNG's Q and David Letterman), Bob. Chatted with Chad and Jason. Afterwards Chad and I went to the nearby Dworld Underwear Party at The Ice Palace. A fire broke out near the party, and I decided that that was a good time to leave. At a nearby restaurant I ate a mushroom slice and drank tap water (about $5). Chad joined but did not eat. He waited with me for the 2:05 AM water taxi. To bed very late.
Sun Sep 8, 2013
Slept in. No more sore throat, but I still have a mild cough. Wifi speed test: 6.83 Mbps down, 1.99 Mbps up—nice. Lunch by myself at Pines Pizza: turkey, avocado, lettuce, tomato on poppyseed bun; water (about $10). Jason and Chad walked the beach from Cherry Grove to the Pines. Lunch with Jason and Chad at Blue Whale. Jason had a cobb salad add chicken no onion no tomatoes with vinaigrette instead of ranch dressing. Chad had a burger medium rare with fries. I ate some fries from Chad's plate. Afterwards they wanted to see my hotel so I gave them a tour. Nap. Snack at Canteen: mac and cheese. Tasty and oddly served in a single layer on a paper plate rather than in a bowl. Low tea at Blue Whale. Encountered Sparkle (Alex C), met Rainbow (Michael S), Dan, Richard, Jesse, bartender Stavros, Benji, Richard, and someone else whose name I can't recall. Middle tea at Sip N Twirl with housemonster. Dinner at Pines Bistro with housemonster. I was still mostly full from the mac and cheese and ate very little. (I had not expected to be eating dinner so soon.) During our dinner a neighboring table's small service dog bit our waitress, which created an awkward situation particularly because they were not apologetic about it. Afterwards we returned to housemonster for more drinks. Later Rainbow and I went to The Pavilion and watched showtunes clips with about 40 others. Rainbow frequently sang along. To bed very late.
Mon Sep 9, 2013
Slept in. Still have a cough. Breakfast to go from Canteen: breakfast burrito with pico de gallo, large coffee with half and half ($16). Enjoyed my meal at the beach. Back to the dock, watched the 11:00 ferry leave. Encountered Dan, followed him home to say goodbye to Alex and Michael. Packed. Last-minute sunbathing on the rooftop deck at The Madison. Wifi speed test: 6.43 Mbps down, 3.75 Mbps up—nice. Shower. Checked out of The Madison wth Mike. Ferry from Fire Island Pines to Sayville. Shuttle van from the dock to the LIRR train station ($5). LIRR from Sayville Station to Jamaica Station ($9.75). On the train I caught up on journaling. Airtrain from Jamaica Station to JFK ($5). Meal at Blue Smoke: crispy chicken sandwich with fries, iced tea. About $21 before a $2 tip. Service was friendly but inattentive at key points. Virgin flight 29 from JFK to SFO. Arrived at SFO at 10:00 PM. Baggage claim. Uber home. Late meal: one tamale, cup of Whole Foods deli minestrone.
Tue Sep 10, 2013
Slept in. Still have a cough. Breakfast at home with Patrick: oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh, sliced banana and milk; hot water. Unpacked, reviewed paper mail received, did laundry, did some housecleaning. Cut my hair, showered, archived documents. Lunch at home by myself: steamed rice with stir-fried green chard, spinach, and arugula with garlic in vegetable broth, water. More unpacking and laundry. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: I made cashew tofu with garlic and green onions, steamed rice, hot water. Folded laundry.
Wed Sep 11, 2013
Took a sick day because I still have a cough. Breakfast: leftover cashew tofu with steamed rice. Walked to the drug store and bought more cold medicines. Lunch at King of Thai Noodle: egg noodle soup with vegetables, hot tea. Rested. Laundry. Did some reviewing of work email. Dinner at home with Patrick: split peas with pork shank, hot water. Watched about the first hour of Star Trek Into Darkness via iTunes purchase with Patrick. Encountered the loss of a journal file, Time Machine failed to restore it due to error code -6584. I did some troubleshooting. My iMac has been hanging frequently since my return. Restarting my iMac and ensuring that volumes were mounting correctly appears to have resolved it. In the interim I restored most of the missing file via CrashPlan local.
Thu Sep 12, 2013
Day 10 of a cold. Took a sick day again. Breakfast: stir-fried green chard, spinach, and arugula with garlic; steamed rice; hot water. Did some reviewing of work email. Lunch at home: stir-fried spinach, arugula, cabbage, garlic, and two kinds of mushrooms with steamed white rice; hot water. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: small pizza, leftover split peas with pork shank over steamed white rice, hot water. Finished watching Star Trek Into Darkness via iTunes purchase with Patrick. Late meal: leftovers from lunch, tortilla chips.
Fri Sep 13, 2013
Day 11 of a cold. Took a sick day again. Reviewed some work emails. Breakfast: tortilla chips, black bean and jack cheese tamale. Watched The Adventures of Tintin (2011) on Netflix instant watch. Meal: small bowl of deli minestrone soup. Watched movies on Netflix instant watch, troubleshooting HD playing as well. Dinner at home with Patrick.
Sat Sep 14, 2013
Day 12 of a cold. Slept in. Breakfast at home with Patrick: eggs and vegan sausage with croissant from frozen. Dinner at home with Patrick. Late meal: veggie burger and fries.
Sun Sep 15, 2013
Day 13 of a cold. Breakfast at home: two eggs scrambled with mushrooms, green onions, and mixed white grated cheeses; two hash browns; one vegan sausage; hot water. Troubleshot problems with Time Capsule and Time Machine due to old backups from computers we no longer own taking up space and not automatically removed or otherwise handled by Time Machine. Resolved them by deleting the old sparsebundles using sudo—this took a really long time (like overnight). Amputagged two t-shirts and mended by hand broken seams in my gray jacket. Dinner at Warakubune with Patrick: about $50 total before tip no alcohol. Bought two pies from Green Chile Kitchen to bring to work tomorrow as part of the OSACA summer pie fest.
Mon Sep 16, 2013
Day 14 of a cold. Breakfast at home: granola with unsweetened soy milk. First day of work following vacation and 3 sick days. I brought two pies to the office as part of our summer pie fest. They were lemon buttermilk and green chile apple from Green Chile Kitchen at 15th and Church. Spent the whole day catching up on email. Small web edits for the PharmD team. Listserv management and ICRD work. Filed pcard paperwork with La'Trece. Followup with Tran about PGP problems with an external hard drive. Calendar management. Reviewed a site migration for Ed C. Helped Lisa with scanner problems. Answered a question from a recent grad about when access to services ends. Followup with ITS about surplus pickup (Mac Pro). Lunch from Carmelina's: one bean and cheese taco. Lab site work for Arkin. Answered a question from an entering student about encryption. Followup with Shirin about the welcome packet. Followup with Facilities about some cardkey issues. Answered a Drupal question for James. Management activities. Followup with The Archive team about one of my recent uploads. More ICRD and cardkey work. Dinner at home with Patrick: tacos with fillings: vegan sausage, refried beans, cabbage, mixed white grated cheeses, tomato, and avocado; hot water.
Tue Sep 17, 2013
Breakfast at home: coconut chia granola with diced braeburn apple. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. SCWG meeting. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Mostly more catching up on email. Followup with JCB about yesterday's followup. Followup with student VC about a new resource email account request. More followup with yesterday's issue with The Archive. More followup with yesterday's payment to Ed F issue. More ICRD and cardkey followup. Thanked Rick C for fixing a SiteSucker problem I had reported. Small web edits for Karen H and Robin C. Followup with Cindy about the AMCP poster. Met briefly with Eric, reviewed important topics following my return from vacation. We also swapped zendev and zen. Lunch at Artesano: chopped salad, water from my Contigo water bottle. Bought cookies at Bryan's for this afternoon's meeting. Met briefly with Eric. We switched zendev and zen for Nadav's team. Users helping users meeting. Reported lag on pharm to John K. More Karen and Robin edits. Calendar management. Arkin site edits. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: taco night leftovers, black bean and jack cheese tamales; hot water. Dessert: cookies and pie, milk. Answered questions for Drew about promo videos and business name.
Wed Sep 18, 2013
Had trouble sleeping last night, don't know why. Breakfast: coconut chia granola with fresh, sliced banana; hot water. Rode my bike to UCSF Laurel Heights. Linkchecking, kiosk work. Chatted with Joe C about self study web needs. Submitted a ticket to ITS to change Danielle's telephone display name from a previous employee to her name. Attempted to understand my latest changes in git. Calendar management. Sent Jason H and Ami J feedback on the new police department website in development, a request from Ami from a while back. ICRD work. Late lunch at the JCC: vegetable panini, french fries, water from my Contigo water bottle. The Archive work. Linkchecking. Distributed licenses for InDesign CS6 (perpetual) for Lucia, Cindy, and Danielle; Tran will install. Calendar management. Began inquiries about EZproxy with the library team. Management activities. Followup with Doug C about photo consents. Doug recently announced that our definition of directory information as it pertains to FERPA now includes photo, so we no longer need to secure consent for taking photos of students in all class years but we still need to be careful to not publish photos of students that have requested a full block of all information (but there are none currently at UCSF). Listserv management. Followup with Orlando about the Adobe Acrobat deal. Reported laggy behavior of pharm to John K and ccd Eric. Updated the current students calendar and other calendar items. Worked late. Dinner by myself at Rigolo: penne in tomato sauce with vegetables and grilled shrimp, side slices of baguette, hot water. Rode my bike home.
Thu Sep 19, 2013
Breakfast at home: coconut chia granola with 2% milk. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. First day of classes. A student exam was taking place in my office this morning, so I worked on my laptop in the workroom area. Linkchecking, kiosk work. Followup with Orlando about the Adobe Acrobat deal. Followup with Doug C about photo consents. Made some edits to Rodney's presentation. Orientation begins today. Intro to OSACA meeting. Reported pharm down to Eric. Began work on the new self study website for Joe C. Followup with the library team about EZproxy. Lunch: extra box lunch from orientation: roast turkey on pretzel roll, penne pasta salad, potato chips, water from my klean kanteen. Followup with Eric L about my firewall whitelist request. Followup with David J about process for handing off content. Followup with Tran about installing Acrobat XI Pro and about the decryption of an external hard drive. Small web edit to /curr/core/y3q1 for Conan and Cindy. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home: I made a vegetable stir-fry and ate it with jasmine rice from a pouch. Chatted online with Jerbro, reviewed phone options but did not purchase at midnight when the iPhone 5s ordering became available. Late snack: cookie from lunch warmed and warm 2% milk.
Fri Sep 20, 2013
Day 18 with a cold. Breakfast: hemp granola with fresh raspberries and 2% milk. Rode Muni to work. Reported laggy behavior of pharm to John K and ccd Eric. Self study website work: package build, web page edits. Followup with student AJ's questions about tech reqs. Updated the ECAP brochure for Mitra and Cindy. Reported timing issues with the kiosk to Rodney. Posted updated fall final schedules for Lucia. Asked the comm team for feedback on bios: first-person or third-person? Sent Cindy my short bio. Self study website work for Joe C. Quick lunch from Panda Express: panda bowl with mixed vegetables and chow mein. My fortune: Be quicker of mind than of tongue. Responded to student DB about ISP problems. Management activities. Pharm chem website updates for Millo. Management activities. Calendar management. Followup with student VC about a new resource account. Rodney and I gave our technology services presentation to the new students. Orientation photo shoot with Rick: A through L. More processing of emails that arrived over vacation. Announced to SCWG the comparison of online community solutions at UCSF Google document I created and shared. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home: brown rice spaghetti with pesto and diced tomato. Watched World War Z on Netflix DVD with Patrick and popcorn.
Sat Sep 21, 2013
House chores: 3 loads of laundry, archived documents, spackled holes in walls, prepped old hard drive enclosures for giving away, ironing, trash removal. Brunch at home: two eggs scrambled with albacore tuna from a can, green onions, rosemary, mixed white grated cheeses; two pieces of spelt toast; two hash browns; hot black tea; 8 ounces of orange juice; hot water. More house chores: deep-cleaned a saucepan, phone and mifi research, cleaned up xmarks bookmarks. Snack: warm tortilla chips with mixed white grated cheeses. Cut my hair, showered. Nap. Had a dinner date scheduled for tonight but it was canceled. Late dinner at home: shoestring fries; veggie burger on pretzel bun; corn off the cob with diced green onions, salt, and pepper; hot water. Phone research.
Sun Sep 22, 2013
Day 20 with a cold. Rode Muni L and BART to PDDR's. Met Kitho. Breakfast with Phil, Drew, and Kitho: eggs over easy, omelette with carrot and peas, french toast, fruit soaked in rum. Photo walks and wine tasting in Napa with Phil, Drew, and Kitho: Port Sonoma, Ram's Gate, Gloria Ferrer, Viansa, Jacuzzi. Chatted with Kiana, Akemi, and Lani on the telephone. We drove to Mill Valley then explored the downtown area on foot. Dinner at El Paseo with Phil, Drew, and Kitho: deviled eggs, caesar salad, a 40-ounce porterhouse steak, side of creamed spinach, side of green beans. A very delicious meal in a charming space with excellent service. The boys gave me a ride home.
Mon Sep 23, 2013
Weight training: dumbbell curl. Breakfast at home: granola with fresh raspberries and 2% milk. Rode Muni to work. Linkchecking, kiosk work. Followup with student TH about ChemDraw. Followup on a new resource account that ITS resolved incorrectly—they created an email address different than I had requested (and didn't say why). Chatted briefly with Mike S about WeID—a very unhelpful and unpleasant experience. More self study web page setup for Joe C. Reported to ITS a same name issue for a student. Chatted with Lisa in person and over email about Jawbone Up. Made edits to "Comparison of online community solutions at UCSF" following feedback from Orlando. Responded to a name change request. I think this is the first name change request I have ever denied. Followup with Susie about bios: first-person or third-person? first name or first+last or title+last? faculty member example? Free lunch from orientation activities: burrito and tortilla chips. Usability testing of the new directory website with Beth. Lots of listserv work. Paul's birthday party at Pisco Lounge. Met or encountered irene cory gino stephanie joyce agnes anatalio john jeff david m karl shawn cristiano bart matthew and probably a few others that I can't recall. Many tasty appetizers. Only one bartender, so drink service was very slow. Pisco sours were on special for $5 (instead of $9). I had a loco-ipirinha and something that Phil got me. Late dinner at Chow with Paul, Cory, Karl, Agnes, Anatalio, Bart, Matthew and probably a few others that I can't recall. I ate a summer corn pizza which I liked except that the corn fell everywhere and so it was a bit messy to eat. Walked with Cory and Karl to the Edge for musical mondays night but changed my mind at Castro and Market because my train happened to be arriving soon. Rode Muni L home.
Tue Sep 24, 2013
Awoke with a headache, took some acetominophen. Breakfast to go from Carmelina's: breakfast burrito. Worked at Parnassus today because of meetings taking place there. More processing of inbox from vacation. Chancellor's State of the University address. It's always a pleasure to hear Chancellor Desmond-Hellman speak. Began editing A through L photos. Free lunch left from orientation activities: mini turkey sandwich. Free banana from this morning's meeting. Posted an updated fall elective schedule for Lucia. Troubleshot problems with the USB drive I carry with me everywhere. (It's dead.) Mailed a package at the post office. Late lunch at Posh Bagel: veggie sandwich on sun-dried tomato bagel, water. Encountered graduate Mimosa T and her dog Charlie, said hello. Finished editing A through L photos. Orientation photo shoot with Rick: M through Z. Began editing M through Z photos. Helped Lisa with a question about discontiguous selections in Excel. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Mount Zion. Picked up prescriptions at Kaiser. Encountered David N on the sidewalk, said hello. Rode Muni 24 and L home. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover thai delivery that he ordered last night. Watched part of The Matrix Reloaded (2003) on iTunes via iTunes purchase with Patrick. Dessert: one slice of green chile apple pie, hot water. Reported laggy behavior of pharm to John K and ccd Eric. Caught up on journaling and published for the first time in a long time. In my notes for today I have "Lynn" but I can't recall which Lynn I encountered today and where/when.
Wed Sep 25, 2013
Breakfast at home: hemp granola with fresh, diced braeburn apple and 2% milk. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Picked up equipment (camera, laptop, external hard drive), moved some files from my computer to the network. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Distributed account info for P&T email account to student VC. Reopened my problem report with Barracuda not working properly. Kiosk work. Continued editing M through Z photos. Chatted briefly with Eric in person for the first time since my return from vacation. Early lunch to go from The View Cafe: vietnamese bun with vegetarian imperial rolls and fish sauce, water. Finished editing M through Z photos, announced to the OSACA. Followup on pharmchem website firewall whitelist request—all works now. Submitted two more tickets to ITS regarding same or similar name issues with entering students. Responded to Sara G about Google Analytics with Eric doing most of that work. Resolved some permissions issues with the OSACA laptop calendar. Sat in with Eric, John K, and Greg H while John demoed how simplesaml autoassignment of roles worked—nice work. Linkchecking, kiosk work. Supp app work: I accidentally broke backend PDF downloading because while uploading an updated one I was not presented the mapping fields interface. I reported the problem to Lisa. Drupal module updates for apply2012. Lots of email followup from messages that arrived while I was on vacation. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Rode Muni home. Dinner at Caña with Patrick, Phil, Drew, and Kitho: drinks: various cocktails and beer. Patrick asked about aqua frescas but they were unavailable. Appetizers: cod fritters, shrimp with garlic rum sauce, two kinds of empanadas. Entrees: Patrick, Drew, and I had chicken fricassee with saffron rice; Kitho had Angus flank steak; Phil had eggplant and garbanzo stew. Desserts: we shared a chocolate something and a bread pudding of some kind. Service was mixed: mostly very slow (particularly the cocktails) and inattentive (nearly everything seemed to come out of the bar or kitchen too slowly) but occasionally very attentive (water glasses almost always kept full, candles relit after being accidentally extinguished). Service was pleasant when it arrived and occasionally laughable and/or awkward. One example: Phil was pouring his wine glass and our server happened to be pouring his water glass at the same time but because she was watching the wine glass instead of the water glass she accidentally overfilled it, causing water to spill onto the table. We laughed about it with her not at her and she promptly exchanged and refilled the glass even though you could tell Phil didn't care it was wet. Another example: following the appetizers our appetizer plates were taken but not our silverware, then our server asked us if we wanted our silverware changed. (We declined.) Generally, if you're a fine dining restaurant you change it without asking, and if you're not you leave it without asking. Meaning that nobody ever needs to ask. Awkward. Food was delicious but not hot enough temperaturewise in all cases and not special enough to make this a destination, I thought. Patrick felt the chicken fricassee was tasty but wasn't terribly special. The chocolate dessert was just a jumbled mess. I don't remember what we ordered, and I couldn't guess what it was after it had arrived. I enjoyed the bread pudding better, and Patrick had determined that the bread pudding dipped in the chocolate stuff was a nice combo, and I agreed. The dining room was too cold for me; after a few minutes I had put my jacket back on. The boys brought a bottle of Viansa to share. Our total was about $50 per person including tip. The dining room main floor was less than half filled, and the bar had only two or three people. This restaurant shows promise but is probably not polished enough to survive for very long. Perhaps weekends or nights that have live music hold a different outlook. Patrick drove home. Made some quick adjustments to my journal styling so that it is more legible on screen sizes smaller than 400 pixels wide. I pushed the changes live but then realized I can see them correctly on my iMac but they do not appear correctly on my iPhone. Will have to troubleshoot later.
Thu Sep 26, 2013
Breakfast at home: hemp granola with fresh, diced braeburn apple and unsweetened soy milk. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Followup with my problem report with Barracuda not working properly. Followup with Cindy about mvoing the pathway declaration form page. Resolved the dentistry supp app backend PDF problem; I had forgotten to restore the form fields because I had forgotten how the PDF was created. Linkchecking, kiosk work. Calendar management. Followup with same and similar name issues x 3. More followup with my problem report with Barracuda not working properly. Completed pcard paperwork. Pharm chem website edits for Millo. Followup with various staff about student photo issues. Lots of responding to emails received during vacation. Prepped the grads listserv for closure, gave Cindy a heads up. Sent John K another traceroute showing laggy behavior on pharm. Documented our vision statement in Google Docs. Lunch at JCC: vegetable barley, vegetable sandwich, small soft serve: about $10. Responded to a request from Daliah about blank prereq pages in bulk download. Chatted briefly with Eric about the STAR program and other administrata. Notified the comm team about forthcoming Acrobat XI Pro installations. Documented supp app grid view download process in the SOP IT wiki. Installed lots of updates on both my iMac and my MacBook Air. Rode Muni 1 and 24 to the Castro, walked to my eye doctor for my annual exam. Waited for Patrick at Peet's, drank a small masala chai latte. Dinner at Pesce (2223 Market) with Patrick. Our first time dining here. We looked at the menu and thought, hey that's pretty inexpensive for San Francisco. It wasn't until we were seated that we realized it's a small plates restaurant; basically Italian tapas. Patrick had a Peroni, I had an Il Burro (basil vodka, lime, rosemary, ginger ale: $10). Our plates: risotto di mare ($15), cavalo nero (kale caesar salad: $8), gamberoni (mint-lime shrimp with farro and vegetables: $12), tonno (herb-crusted tuna: $16). Dessert: tiramisu ($7). Decaf coffee for Patrick. About $100 total after tip. We liked all our dishes except the tonno which was overly spicy with black peppercorns. The risotto is lighter than you might think with a subtleness in the broth that lets the other ingredients shine. The tomato and salmon offered nice coloring against the white of the rice and white fish. This is a particularly great place for a single diner or for those with light appetites. Plate prices range from $2 to $28. The place was 90% full—a good sign for having been open about 6 to 8 weeks. Service was very good; the only problem was that our water glasses went dry at the end. I had arranged to meet Kitho at The Edge tonight, so Patrick took off for home, and I continued to The Edge where a drag show was going to start at 10:30 PM with a $5 donation. (I donated $5.) I waited about 40 minutes before finding out that Kitho had forgotten his ID at home. He returned home, but then their group no longer had the energy to go out. I switched to Badlands where I had a lemon drop special and danced a bit. Tried to ride Muni home, but the next train was in 20 minutes, so I got a slice of mushroom and tomato pizza at Marcello's, then caught the next train. Home. Fixed the problem with my iPhone by restoring from iTunes backup. Cleaned up old notes in Apple Notes. Wrote in my journal. Made more fixes for responsive journal pages. It's better than yesterday. Not perfect, but it will do for now. To bed late.
Fri Sep 27, 2013
Weight training: door pull-ups, dumbbell curl. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Breakfast at Palio: egg and cheese wrap, water. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Calendar management. Followup with an email address change for an entering student. Listserv management. Linkchecking, kiosk work. Handled a redirect issue for Cindy and Kylie (pathway declarations). Followup with my problem report with Barracuda not working properly. Responded to a communications question from Sara. Followup with Susan H about Acrobat XI Pro installation. Followup with Debbie A about a lost web page. Resolved a permissions problem with the laptop calendar. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Mt. Zion. Lunch at My Ivy: lemongrass rice plate with shrimp, water. UCSF shuttle from Mt. Zion to Laurel Heights. Lots of linkchecking. Listserv management. Rode Muni 1 and 22 to Duboce Park. Met Cory at Duboce Park Cafe for coffee/tea. Dinner with Cory at Sushi Time. Barhopping: Badlands, Toad Hall, 440. Met or encountered Chris H, Marc C and Jonathan T, paul m, jason p, brandon, bobby, eric and rey, ron. Rode Uber home.
Sat Sep 28, 2013
Happy Together 2.0: Jeff and Thom Get Married (for Real). Met or encountered Scott A, R.K. and Tina, Pax and Ben, John and Amy. Drove Scott A to Cable Car Court then drove home. Early dinner at home with Patrick: deli pizza with customizations, hot water. Finished watching The Matrix Reloaded on iTunes with Patrick. Slept until 4:30 AM. Notes from today in Apple Notes on my phone: "outfit on castro street, scott, bartender kevin, rk, tina, devil wears prada, credit card map send to scott, powershot g12, the inn 923 s van ness, the mermaid parade coney island."
Sun Sep 29, 2013
Slept in after waking at 4:30 AM. Breakfast: two eggs sunny side up with grilled tomato and herbs and mixed cheeses; two hash browns; two pieces of spelt toast; hot water; 8 ounces of orange juice. Rode Muni to Civic Center Station. Met Scott A at Brainwash. 30th Folsom Street Fair. I donated the requested amount ($10), entrance at 12th Street was very easy at around 11:30 AM. Scott and I walked the fair. Weather was excellent with both sun and clouds. Met or encountered azucar scott edgar ben shawn tattoos of elvis and dolly gino charles david sean. Walked to the Mission to PDDR's. Danny and Romy invited us to dinner. Met Sean. Spinach with sasuage in Filipino ketchup sauce over pasta noodles. We drank Verdi Raspberry Sparkletini. Rode Muni home.
Mon Sep 30, 2013
Rode Muni and walked to UCSF Parnassus. Chatted briefly with Sarah P. Breakfast at the cafeteria: veggie and cheese omelette, breakfast potatoes, water. Got my flu shot. Lots of followup on previous issues that came through my inbox. Responded to technology questions from a student. Supp app followup: blank prereq pages. Followup with Susan H about CCSC. Chatted with Rebecca B to resolve an authoring issue. Followup with my problem report with Barracuda not working properly. Followup with a payment problem (Ed F). Kiosk work. Prepared a response to Sarah P's proposal for global consent for photos. Got answers from ITS to a question a student had. What's the time difference between selecting public versus private in UCSF webmail (aka OWA) when logging in? Answer: Selecting public will log you out after 20 minutes of inactivity. Selecting private will log you out after 8 hours of inactivity. Forwarded a feedback request from Lisa to the supp app teams. Added a news item to the pharmchem site for Millo. Added an event to the Kidney Project site for Sara. Late lunch: artichoke pizza slide, small salad, water from my klean kanteen. Lots of computer updates that ITS was supposed to install but didn't. Also verified that all computers were upgraded as I requested and found one that was not. Did some Acrobat XI Pro installations. Since the new computers were installed I now no longer have PGP and admin access. Rode Muni home. Vacuumed. Late dinner at home: one tamale, hot water. Added some info to my September 4 journal entry to give a better description of Acoustica Electronica.