January 2015
Summary: Cousins Reunion at Honma House, surgery recovery, surgery recovery ends, return to work
Dates on this page
Thu Jan 1, 2015
Pre-breakfast: one golden delicious apple. Breakfast: leftover indian food. Surgery recovery activities all day. Lunch: leftover indian food. Patrick and I walked around McCoppin Square and back. Snack: tortilla chips with guacamole. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover chicken and vegetable soup, white wine, water. Dessert: hot chocolate with whipped cream. Watched more of Solaris (1972) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. We got to 49 minutes left and I couldn't take anymore.
Fri Jan 2, 2015
Pre-breakfast: one pink lady apple. Surgery recovery activities all day. Breakfast: english muffin with cream cheese, 4 ounces of prune juice mixed with water. Walked to Safeway on Taraval for a few groceries stopping at Taraval Pizzeria for lunch: a mushroom slice and water along the way. Rode Muni on the way back, stopping at El Burrito Express for a burrito for Patrick. Rested. Finished watching Solaris (1972) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Dinner at home with Patrick: hard-shell tacos. Began playing RealMyst: Masterpiece Edition on my iMac in OS X.
Sat Jan 3, 2015
Surgery recovery activities all day. Breakfast at home: egg and smoked cheddar on english muffin, water. Encountered the problem in which all the web bookmarks saved to my iPhone 6 Plus home screens looked like white boxes with placeholder icons (circles and Xes). Apple forum discussion thread 6541583 solved it for me: problem is resolved after changing Settings > General > Language & Region > iPhone Language to English UK, then change it back to English. Walked to lunch at Grubbin' with Patrick: spicy mouth waterin' for him, fishin' for me, san pellegrino for both: about $28. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftovers from Grubbin' and Patrick's mashed butternut squash with chinese five spice, honey, salt, pepper, butter. Watched half of The Trip to Italy on Netflix DVD but stopped because I grew tired of it. It was not very different than The Trip; just different scenery. Back to Netflix it goes.
Sun Jan 4, 2015
Breakfast at home with Patrick: egg and cheese on biscuit, water. This morning Patrick reported that a mouse was making rustling noises outside our back door. He had seen it, and this had never before occurred in the sevenish years we have lived here. We surmised that it came from one of two places: (a) Maybe it had come up from a drainpipe. A grate covered the drain, but it was not secured and could easily have been pushed up by the mouse to permit it to leave the drain if it had originated there. After presumably leaving the drain, it would be unable to lift the grate to permit it to return. The other possibility was (b) it arrived from further back in our back yard where there are lots of grass and trees where small animals might live undetected. The path between our back door and the rest of the back yard is a set of concrete steps. Since it's a small mouse, it's possible that it easily came down the stairs, perhaps falling down them, and not knowing that there was no easy way to return and not big enough or strong enough to leap up the stairs it descended. Not knowing exactly what to do, we thought about it and came to no good conclusion. The sounds seemed like paws scratching at the door, which seemed harmless, so no immediate action was taken, and we decided to investigate solutions soon. I walked for 90 minutes to Noriega and back, discovering a 4-month-old donut shop called Twisted Donuts & Coffee where I bought several donuts and received some donut holes for free. I also discovered a place at 16th and Noriega that sells a chinese donut called youtiao. Lunch at home with Patrick: burrito. Dessert: Nutty Monkey (nutella, fresh banana, hazelnut in a raised donut). The other donuts we saved for later: The Bubbly Donut (chocolate champagne frosting on a cake donut), cake donut with rainbow sprinkles with (strawberry?) glaze, cake donut with shredded coconut on chocolate glaze. Patrick and I drove to East Palo Alto to pick up three DROPPAR at Ikea. We then drove to Sunnyvale for Cousins Reunion at Honma House with Akemi, Kiana, Matthew, Jeremy, Lani, Rob, Katie, Nathan, Tina, David, Jessica, David, Claudia, Angel, and Dex. We exchanged secret Santa gifts. (1) Jeremy received a woven bag made from reused materials and inside was a graham crackers box and inside that was chocolate bear wrapped in foil. (2) Lani received a Sure Clip nail clipper with built-in magnifier light [from Tina]. (3) Kiana received a Starbucks mug, a snowman christmas tree ornament, and a Starbucks coffee cozy [from Dex]. (4) Claudia received a large silver night light [from the Honmas]. (5) Angel received a Darth Maul action figure [from the Honmas]. (6) David (of Tina and David) received an iPhone 3GS with assorted accessories [from Frank]. (7) Akemi received a dvd of The Big Lebowski and a four-disc compact disc set of Genesis [from Rob]. (8) Akemi choosing for Rob (who was temporarily absent) received a small plush football [from Angel], an Avengers Rubik's cube [from Jessica and David?], and a bobblehead picture frame in the form of a monkey [from Jessica]. (9) Dex received a Coach gift box containing wooden earrings with intricately carved kangaroos [from Jessica]. (10) Katie received a cookbook called Great Good Food [from Dex]. (11) Matthew received a tauntaun sleeping bag and a very large cardboard box [from Frank]. (12) Nathan received a Harry & David gift box which contained various kinds of candy and a craft flower [from Kiana]. (13) Frank received a box of Deavas Belgian organic fair-trade chocolates [from Tina and David]. (14) David (of Jessica and David) stole the iPhone 3GS and accessories from David (of Tina and David) [given by Frank]. David (of Tina and David) stole Great Good Food from Katie [given by Dex]. Katie selected a new gift: two necklaces, a paper snowflake, a small decorative jewel or rock of some kind, a pedometer, and a castanet [from Akemi]. (15) Tina received an ornamental Chinese scroll [from Claudia]. (16) Jessica received a game called Mille Bournes [from Nathan]. (17) Patrick stole the Starbucks mug, a snowman christmas tree ornament, and a Starbucks coffee cozy from Kiana [given by Dex]. Kiana stole the iPhone 3GS with assorted accessories [given by Frank] from David (of Jessica and David), and she is its final owner. David (of Jessica and David) stole Mille Bournes from Jessica [given by Nathan]. Jessica wanted the iPhone 3GS with assorted accessories but could not steal it because Kiana was its third and final owner according to our game rules. Jessica selected a new gift: a 3-D puzzle of reindeer [from Katie]. (1) Jeremy received a Thermodo thermometer for Android and iPhone [from Frank]. One gift remained: a large box of Lindt chocolates [from Tina and David]. I learned later that Jessica traded the 3-D puzzle with Kiana for a car charger (since she didn't have a car yet). The Honmas hosted a delicious dinner: rice, steamed broccoli, spinach salad, ham, Hawaiian sweet bread rolls, various beverages. Dessert: chocolate cake [I think brought by Tina and David]. Drove home. Upon arrival Patrick and I heard noises from the mouse outside our back door that were different than the noises this morning. As Patrick went to bed, I told him that in the morning I would remove the screen from our window to permit me to crawl outside so that I could deal with the mouse. (We didn't want to open the door because we thought it might run inside.) Late snack: two donuts from Twisted Donut & Coffee: (a) rainbow sprinkles with strawberry glaze on a cake donut, (b) one blueberry donut hole. Both were sinfully delicious. I realized from sounds near the back door that it sounded like the mouse was chewing through wood, which made our mouse problem significantly more pressing than before. I removed the screen from the adjacent window and peeked outside. Indeed, the mouse had chewed or clawed away large holes at the bottoms of both sides of our door frame, presumably seeking an exit of its creation. I realized I had to deal with the mouse before going to bed. I investigated trapping options on the web and came across a lot of different solutions, and several of them gave me an idea. In the garage I had some unused, new, plastic paint buckets. I took one and its lid, smeared butter in its bottom and a little bit on the sides near the bottom, tied a string to the handle, crawled out the window, laid the bucket on its side in the area where the mouse was located, and placed a small bit of cheese inside. Within a few minutes the mouse had emerged from its hiding place behind an outdoor floor mat hanging off the edge of a low wall, and once I saw it enter the bucket, I pulled on the string to turn the bucket upright. Success on the first attempt! I had trapped the mouse, and it was unable to escape the bucket due to the slippery butter. Oddly, it ignored the cheese. I think it would have entered the bucket with no bait; just to explore a new object in its territory. While searching Google for "what to do with a caught mouse" I realized that what I caught is more likely a vole than a mouse. Upon further reading, I identified our vole as a microtus oregoni, aka creeping vole or Oregon vole or Oregon meadow mouse, but Wikipedia says it is found only as far south as Mendocino. I confirmed that the mouse/vole was still in the bucket before going to bed. I did not put the lid on. I still don't know what to do with it now that it has been caught. Very late meal: leftovers. To bed very late.
Mon Jan 5, 2015
Breakfast at home: egg and cheese on biscuit, water. Snack: two donut holes. Errands: bank, Kaiser lab visit, car wash, gas station. Cleaned our home entrance of mold. Small meal: leftover chicken and vegetable soup, 4 ounces of prune juice mixed with water. Dinner at home with Patrick: cow burritos and breaded fried halibut burritos, water, Chandon. Pre-dessert: one Deavas chocolate each. Dessert: we split the last of our small box of donuts from Twisted Donuts & Coffee: champagne chocolate on cake donut—delicious!
Tue Jan 6, 2015
Breakfast at home: granola with yogurt and soy milk, water. Began using Faerie Goatmother cinnamon oatmeal soap. It's really wonderful. Patrick gave me a ride to the Castro so that I could mail a letter and run an errand at Cliff's Variety. Rode Muni home. Lunch at home: bean and rice burrito. Encountered a water leak in Patrick's bedroom, put buckets to catch the drips. I left a voicemail for the landlord. Checked upstairs; Brooke said their dishwasher had somehow overflowed and flooded their kitchen. Followed up with the landlord by email later. I had planned to take the mouse or vole to the Animal Control office as that office had recommended when I had called, but it already was not seeming very well, so Patrick released it further back in our back yard. Small meal: leftover mashed butternut squash, a biscuit with coconut spread. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: tomato pesto mozzarella pizza from frozen; beet salad with blue cheese dressing, pistachios, green onions, balsamic vinegar. Watched about 57 minutes of Boyhood (2014) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. So far I love it. We ate popcorn from a saucepan with the film. We had to make two batches because the first one did not turn out correctly. Also: one Deavas chocolate each.
Wed Jan 7, 2015
Breakfast at home: granola with diced apple and soy milk, water. Our landlord stopped by briefly to check on the water leak problem and the chewed door frame problem. Midmorning snack: leftover beet salad, four ounces of prune juice mixed with water. Walked for a long time in the Sunset, stopping at Taraval Pizza for a slice of pine nut and feta. Drank water from my Contigo water bottle. Home. Rested. Snack: arare, water. Used Caviar for the first time to order delivery from places with online ordering that are new to us after having tried GrubHub and EAT24. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Shanghai Dumpling King on Ocean Avenue. I scheduled it for delivery between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm, and it arrived somewhere around 5:50 pm—nice. Finished watching Boyhood (2014) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. I liked it a lot. Lately I've also been playing realMyst Masterpiece Edition on OS X and also reading a recent gift from Jenny: The Circle by Dave Eggers. Late snack: bean and cheese quesadilla with one leftover piece of fried halibut; four ounces of prune juice mixed with water.
Thu Jan 8, 2015
Slept in. Breakfast at home: leftover chicken soup, water. Walked. Stopped at Grubbin' for a Sweet Mouth Waterin' sandwich and a small order of fries. Water from my Contigo water bottle. Received an unwanted phone call from 480-387-0397—some kind of survey offering a cruise. According to the Do Not Call Registry surveyors not selling things are permitted to call you and do not need to abide by the Do Not Call rules. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: Patrick made tofu in preserved black bean sauce and steamed rice, and we ate that with leftovers from last night's dinner. Finished reading The Circle by Dave Eggers.
Fri Jan 9, 2015
Today I installed an extension for Chrome called Block Site and decided to block any site I encounter that has a news headline that contains hyperbole (e.g., Business Insider: "LG's New Washing Machine Is The Most Exciting Thing To Happen To Laundry In Years"; LAist: "Worst Nightmare: Woman Plunging Office Toilet Discovers A Boa Constrictor"—this is certainly a bad nightmare, but obviously not the worst possible), promises an article that most probably just wastes my time (e.g., Bored Panda: "These 5 Women Are The Last Living People Born In 1800s" and "12+ Awesome Pet Cones That Your Pet Will Hate Even More"), indicates a listicle (e.g., Bored Panda: "These 5 Women Are The Last Living People Born In 1800s" and "12+ Awesome Pet Cones That Your Pet Will Hate Even More"), or is clickbait (e.g., Dangerous Minds: "Just how beautiful was Karen Carpenter's voice? Listen to her isolated vocal tracks and find out"; TED: "What your doctor won't disclose"; Psychology Today: "Myths About Circumcision You Likely Believe"). In addition, I'm unfollowing on Facebook those that make these appear on my wall, which is by me following them and them sharing it directly or by liking it on someone else's wall. I hope that I will end up with only personal news that my friends create themselves, but I expect that by the end of it I will have unfollowed every Facebook friend I have. We'll see how this experiment goes. In examining my own posts, I was very surprised to find that I follow my new rules extremely well. Most of my posts seem to be my own photos. Extreme headlines require extreme corrections. Another scourge the web has birthed is poor editing. I'm not yet ready to block any site that contains grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors, but it's just so sighworthy that attention to the correct use of language has plummeted in the last two decades (coinciding with the birth of the web). Breakfast at home: Patrick prepared for me one egg over easy, one slice of toast with coconut spread, one hash brown with ketchup, and one sausage link. Water to drink. Began reading Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs by Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre, which is probably an appropriate followup to The Circle by Dave Eggers. Rode Muni to West Portal. Walked throughout West Portal and a little bit of St. Francis Wood. Ran an errand at the hardware store. Rode Muni home. Scanned and corrected an old photo from Patrick's childhood. Decided to abandon Evernote for sharing a grocery list with Patrick because it doesn't sync to the cloud immediately like Notational Velocity / Simplenote. I was at the hardware store and didn't have access to the data I entered in Evernote at home. My workflow: open Evernote desktop application, add data, close Evernote. I expected it to sync automatically before closing, but I later found that there's no automatic way of doing this immediately. You either have to manually ask it to sync or you have to wait at least five minutes before closing Evernote. Or, you have to use Evernote via the web, which is a much slower process since their "remember me for one week" feature while logging in did not work for me. All this doesn't work for me, so it's back to Notational Velocity and Simplenote. I stopped reading Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs after flipping through most of it. It just didn't interest me as much as I thought it might. Dinner at home with Patrick. We grew tired of our online ordering options for restaurants, so tonight we ordered by telephone from Roti in West Portal. They promised delivery in 45 to 60 minutes and delivered in a little over an hour. I made some changes to our home network, got everything working the way I wanted.
Sat Jan 10, 2015
Breakfast at home: leftover mexican rice, refried beans, and shredded cheese; four ounces of prune juice mixed with water; water. Archived medical paperwork. Lunch: leftover indian food from last night. I found a hyperbole-listicle headline today: Next Advisor: "The 7 Most Amazing Credit Cards If You Have Excellent Credit." Walked to Safeway on Taraval and back, picking up some groceries along the way. Snack: an apple. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover indian food from last night. Dessert: black cherry gelato. Watched 48 minutes of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) on Netflix DVD.
Sun Jan 11, 2015
Breakfast at home: granola with soy milk, water. Stopped using NetUse Traffic Monitor on a daily basis due to recent home network changes and due to no longer needing or wanting to know how much data is entering or leaving. Made a few more changes to the home network. Walked with Patrick to Noriega. Lunch at China North Dumpling; our first time there: pan-fried pork buns, shrimp and chive dumplings, fennel dumplings, hot tea. Donuts and coffee at Twisted Donut and Coffee: cream puff for me, strawberry-glazed cake donut for Patrick, sumatra coffee for Patrick. We bought a few others and took them home. Our landlord stopped by to examine some issues we reported. We agreed he will replace the venetian blinds and some window moulding in Patrick's room. Scanned some old photos. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftovers. Dessert: we split a custard-filled chocolate-frosted yeast-raised donut. Finished reading When I Knew, edited by Robert Trachtenberg. I think Chris and Nate gave this book to me just before moving out of San Francisco. My favorite was Brett Freedman's.
Mon Jan 12, 2015
Breakfast at home: half each of donuts from Twisted Donut and Coffee: orange-glazed cake donut, cinnamon-crumb cake donut, water. Desmond from ITS helped me resolve a problem with a Windows 7 activation key. Walked to Lakeshore Plaza and back, dropping off an unneeded cable at Green Citizen. Snack: prunes, pistachios. Scanned some old photos. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared chicken-broth-based mushroom and onion risotto from a box. Watched part of Cooking French: The Cuisine of Paris and Northern France on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Played more of realMyst: Masterpiece Edition for Mac.
Tue Jan 13, 2015
Breakfast at home: one-egg smoked cheddar and onion omelet, two hash browns, one english muffin with butter, water. Surgery recovery activities all day. Walked to Noriega. Lunch at Lanna Thai: pad thai wonton, hot tea. Rode Muni to Haight and Stanyan. Walked to McLaren Lodge. Walked through Golden Gate Park taking photos, more or less following walk 27 stopping after passing the Japanese Tea Garden. Walked to La Boulange on Irving Street for refreshment: large chai latte, small heated proscuitto and swiss sandwich—delicious, $9 after tip. Walked to 9th and Judah. Rode Muni home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared a wedge iceburg lettuce salad with pickled julienned carrots and (for me) sliced mushrooms; spinach and garlic thin-crust pizza from frozen; water. Finished watching Cooking French: The Cuisine of Paris and Northern France on Netflix DVD with Patrick.
Wed Jan 14, 2015
Breakfast at home: granola with soy milk and yogurt, water. Surgery recovery activities all day. Mounted pressed flowers on blank greeting cards. Lunch: leftover risotto. Walked to Noriega and back. Rested. Nap. Rode Muni 48 to Noe Valley. Walked. Dinner at Contigo with Paul, Danny, Drew, Romy, Phil. Paul had been here I think once before. The rest of us it was our first time. We sat at a table on the back patio. Heat lamps kept us suitably warm in the otherwise frigid air. We ordered the tasting menu, a few items not on the tasting menu, and several bottles of wine. I thought the food and service and greeters were all excellent but the food is perhaps not the best value. Many at our table were surprised by the high total on the bill, but I wasn't; I felt I had a good sense of what we ordered and what it had cost. What I'd get again (a la carte prices listed here): croqueta de jamon serrano ($3.50 each), dungeness crab salad ($16), carmelized brussels sprouts ($8), patatas bravas ($9), grilled fish fillets ($15). What I'd skip next time: albondigas ($12, delicious but I don't like lamb), monterey xipirons (squid) a la planxa ($15, I don't like the texture of squid), jamon iberico de bellota ($26, severely overpriced for what is basically an ounce of tasty, salty, extremely thinly sliced ham but I wanted to try it anyway), sardine and avocado toast ($3, interesting flavor combinations, but if this is $3 per slice I'd say it's not worth it; you can probably easily make this at home and again I wanted to try it). The bread that comes with the meal as well as with the ham platter is excellent. For dessert we shared the orange cake, the xocolata calenta (hot chocolate), and the amb churros—all very delicious. Before everyone else arrived, I enjoyed a sparkling sangria while waiting. It was tasty, but it felt rather small—perhaps 10 ounces iced for $10. Our bill came to $90 per person after tip partly becuase we chose the $42 per person tasting menu, partly because we ordered a few extra items, partly because we enjoyed several bottles of wine, and partly because one bottle of wine recommended by the server turned out to be $66 and none of us bothered to ask the price before agreeing to it. Other items I'd like to try on another visit: smashed pumpkin torrada (toast) ($13), sauteed greens catalan style ($8), and all the other desserts.
Thu Jan 15, 2015
Surgery recovery activities all day. Accidentally forgot to eat breakfast. Lunch: veggie burger on warm english muffin with smoked cheddar and chimichurri sauce, wedge iceberg lettuce salad with julienned pickled carrots and sliced mushroom. I drove myself to a Kaiser lab visit. I drove to Alta Vista Park and walked around some, my first time to this park. It overlooks a large portion of San Francisco, but none of the views are particularly scenic or iconic. The park seemed popular with dog owners and moms. I found the park remarkably clean. I did not see dog poop or homeless people anywhere, but with some effort I did see some trash hidden in bushes. I was amazed at how clean this park was in comparison to others in San Francisco. Afterwards I drove to Lyon Steps, also my first time visiting. I walked down and up the steps, enjoying the views and gardens. Drove to Ashley's Cafe for a small meal: veggie maki, two chocolate chip cookies (one for here and one to go), medium chai latte: about $14 after tip. The veggie maki and the chai latte were perfect. Service was friendly. The chocolate chip cookie for here had just come out of the oven. The consistency was wrong—too gooey—but I didn't complain. Drove home. House chores. Talked a lot this afternoon and this evening with medical staff in preparation for my procedure on January 20. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared for us prosciutto tortelloni with grilled green onions in creamy truffle sauce, side of wedge iceberg lettuce salad with julienned pickled carrots and (for me) sliced mushroom. Watched 1 hour 10 minutes of Moonrise Kingdom on Netflix DVD with Patrick. I laughed a lot. Snack: popcorn with fine sea salt. For me: one chocolate hazelnut creme de pirouline. Continued work in removing notes from Apple Notes and integrating journal data from it into my journal or moving notes from Apple Notes to Notational Velocity / Simplenote. They are both somewhat untrustworthy when it comes to data loss, but Notational Velocity wins for me because of its friendliness to people who enjoy keyboard shortcuts. I'm quite certain that Apple Notes will never be as versatile in that respect; it's just not in Apple's blood.
Fri Jan 16, 2015
Kaiser medicine pickup. The wait at the pharmacy is always so long. Today it was 30 minutes. Breakfast to go at Coco Cafe: egg and cheese on plain bagel, small chai latte. Ate on a bench in the Kaiser French Campus courtyard. Medicine training. Drove to Golden Gate Park and did a long photowalk: Pioneer Log Cabin, Stow Lake, Chinese Pavilion, Spreckels Lake, Bison Paddock, Angler's Lodge, Fly Casting Pools. Lunch by myself at Outerlands: pastrami, cabbage, and gruyere sandwich on absurdly thick bread ($14), absurdly small ginger beer ($3 for 6.8 ounces—ugh!), water, about $23 after tax and tip. Drove home. House chores. Archived medical paperwork. Reviewed photos. Dinner at home with Patrick: Patrick prepared a variation of Food Network's grilled chicken with dijon and meyer lemon and served it with stir-fried kale and mixed greens and a biscuit (from a can) with coconut spread. Dessert: one small chocolate each. Finished watching Moonrise Kingdom on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Watched 46 minutes of A View to a Kill on Netflix instant watch with Patrick. Edited and uploaded photos to Flickr. Late snack: shrimp-flavored Top Ramen with sliced mushrooms and green onions.
Sat Jan 17, 2015
Breakfast at home: one biscuit (from a can) with butter, water. Nap. Lunch at home: leftover tortelloni, water. Finished removing notes from Apple Notes and integrating journal data from it into my journal or moving notes from Apple Notes to Notational Velocity / Simplenote. Snack: lime tortilla chips, corn muffin. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: tuna mac and cheese with green onions, corn muffin, water. Watched more of A View to a Kill on Netflix instant watch with Patrick. Purchased Skyline Weather by Logic Pretzel for iOS because the weather app included with iOS was broken—for weeks it has been showing dashes instead of temperatures. I also wanted a better-designed app that showed hourly and a few days' forecast with minimal tapping. After installing Skyline, I found a forum thread that told me how to fix the default weather app: delete all your cities then readd them. Installed into Chrome the extension called Clickbait Remover for Facebook by markus.waltre. Did some organizing of notes in Notational Velocity. Late snacks: leftover tuna mac and cheese, shrimp-flavored Top Ramen with sliced green onions, water.
Sun Jan 18, 2015
Patrick and I drove to his mom's place and parked. Brunch at Sparky's with Patrick and Mom Ryan. Mom Ryan left for Stonestown. Patrick left to meet Aaron. Walked around the Castro taking photos and window shopping. I encountered Lucia who was walking to brunch with her friend Michael and stopped for a few minutes to chat. I encounted some promoters giving away kettle potato chips and took a bag. I encountered Scott and Andy and we chatted a while. They had just come from brunch at Harvey's and were on their way to REI. I walked more. Midafternoon meal at Slurp! Noodle Bar: Slurp! Ramen, water: $18 after a generous tip. While eating on Slurp!'s television I watched the Seattle Seahawks win the NFC championship against the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks played miserably for 3.5 quarters then came from behind to a very surprising win in overtime that sends them to the Super Bowl. A very exciting victory for the Seahawks. I retrieved the car and drove home. Patrick had already taken Muni home. I edited photos. I attempted to order dinner online from Paxti's Pizza but their online ordering system was not responding, so we gave up on it. Attempted to order dinner online from Goat Hill Pizza. Everything went well until the part where you enter a credit card number and neither this page nor the frame that was embedded in it was encrypted so I gave up on it. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Mozzarella di Bufala via EAT24 which delivered in about 30 minutes. Edited and privately uploaded photos.
Mon Jan 19, 2015
Breakfast at home: cheese omelette, two hash browns, english muffin with butter. Snack: leftover pizza slice. Finished watching A View to a Kill on Netflix instant watch with Patrick. Snack: leftover pizza slice. Dinner at home with Patrick: Patrick's watercress and chicken soup with udon noodles, water. Watched The Man in the High Tower on Amazon instant video, liked it.
Tue Jan 20, 2015
Patrick drove me to a UCSF hospital visit and picked me up afterward. This was the first time I had ever overheard a doctor give advice to someone to drink water when you're thirsty rather than to drink 8x8 (eight ounces eight times a day). This is also the first time I had ever had a nurse use his smartphone's flashlight feature to look in my mouth. Lunch in recovery: an apple and a turkey sandwich with cheddar. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover chicken-watercress noodle soup.
Wed Jan 21, 2015
Slept in. Procedure recovery activities all day. Brunch: leftover chicken-watercress soup. Snack: a pear, some lightly salted pistachios, 8 ounces of carrot juice. Dinner at home with Patrick: soft corn tortilla tacos with ground beef, beans, green onions, parsley, grated cheese, carrots. Watched part of Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Dessert: sea salt caramel gelato.
Thu Jan 22, 2015
Breakfast at home with Patrick: two eggs over easy, one hash brown, two slices of bacon, one english muffin with butter, water. Procedure recovery activities all day. Lunch: black bean tamale with cheese, 8 ounces of carrot juice, water. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: rigatoni with diced vegetables, bacon, and smoked paprika; water. Dessert: sea salt caramel gelato, raspberry cookie. Watched more of Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour on Netflix DVD with Patrick.
Fri Jan 23, 2015
Breakfast at home: fruit and nut granola, soy milk, water. Rode Sidecar to a Kaiser lab visit. Rode Muni to Powell Street. Watched Interstellar (4K Digital) at AMC Metreon. We both enjoyed it very much. Rode Muni to the Castro. Lunch at Slider Bar: 2-slider lunch special for Patrick: rueben slider and bravocado! slider with side of house salad; 1-slider lunch special for me: old school and caesar salad. Iced tea for each. About $30 after a generous tip. We stopped at the Eureka Valley branch of the public library where Patrick borrowed some books. We rode Muni home. Finished watching Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour on Netflix DVD with Patrick. We both enjoyed it very much. Dessert: sea salt caramel gelato, one chocolate truffle each.
Sat Jan 24, 2015
Breakfast: an apple, prune juice, one cup of Ali'i Pride dark roast coffee. Lunch: tortilla chips with melted shredded cheese, black bean tamale, water. Edited my Zara Boys blue corduroy pants; the left leg was a little too tight. As part of our emergency planning, Patrick and I refilled one and filled four five-gallon containers of water including Water Preserver. To help with this task, I had purchased from Cliff's Variety three plumbing items: snap nipple (short style with aerator fits small snap coupling, Lasco 09-1931NL, $6.39; aerator snap coupler with 1/2-inch MIP for personal showers, Lasco 09-1895, $9.00; and pro-flex stainless braided water connector, appliance, 72-inch length, 3/8-inch comp., 1/2-inch IPS, Lasco 10-0173, $15. These items enabled us to connect a hose to our kitchen faucet which permitted easier filling of our containers. The containers we used were from the Basic 25 Gallon Boxed Water Kit from beprepared.com, $35 (regularly $42, but always seems to be on sale for $35). We store our containers in the garage. Vacuumed. Cut my hair, showered. UberX to Shotwell Street. Dinner at Shotwell House with Romy, Danny, Phil, Drew, Richard, Quyen, Dave.
Sun Jan 25, 2015
Breakfast at home with Patrick: biscuits from frozen: sweet potato biscuit for me, cheddar biscuit for Patrick. Rode Muni to Powell Street Station. Walked to Union Square. Construction for Central Subway's Union Square / Market Street Station made this walk difficult. When I arrived at Union Square the ice skating rink was being disassembled. Photo opportunities were extremely poor. Danny met me and Denmark arrived shortly afterward. We brunched without reservation and without a reservation at Cafe de la Presse. I had a spinach, feta, and tomato omelette with potatoes and wheat toast; cafe au lait with sugar. We ran errands and shopped: Brooks Brothers, Zara, Niketown, Indochino, Good Vibrations, and more, then walked through Yerba Buena Gardens, taking photos along the way. Denmark departed. Danny and I continued walking up Market Street. At the Twitter building we visited The Market (aka The Market on Market), and at the taco bar I had a beef taco and side of tortilla chips with salsa: about $5. (Danny wasn't hungry.) The taco was tasty. Finding a seat after purchasing was a little bewildering, but now we know how it works: You can eat in the cafe space in the front or in the dining space in the rear past the pizza bar; you cannot eat in the oyster bar dining area unless you are dining with the oyster bar. We continued walking, then visited a Honda dealership and I browsed some of the models that have interested me. Visited Delessio. Back to Shotwell House on foot. UberX from Shotwell House to home. Dinner at home with Patrick: he had leftover pancit, shrimp, and calamari. I had leftover pizza that he ordered yesterday. Watched 101 minutes of Burlesque (2010) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. So far I like it a lot. It's smart, funny, sexy, and not too predictable.
Mon Jan 26, 2015
No breakfast. Drove to Kaiser main campus for a doctor, lab, and pharmacy visit. Drove to 101 Spear Street, met Markus at Yank Sing for brunch. Drove home. Medical followup. Dinner at home with Patrick: cashew chicken with water chestnuts, steamed white rice, water. Finished watching Burlesque (2010) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Archived medical paperwork. Archived tax records. Moved yesterday's photos from the camera to the iMac.
Tue Jan 27, 2015
First day back at work in three months. 1069 messages in my inbox. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Software updates for MacBook Air and iMac. Living Green sustainability meeting. Comm team meeting. Walked with Eric and Kevin to Target then Trader Joe's. Lunch at desk: hummus and veggie wrap, water. Brought the inbox down from 1069 to about 325 messages. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: red beans with vegetables and italian sausage, water. Dessert: one piece of chocolate.
Wed Jan 28, 2015
Breakfast at home: fruit and nut granola, unsweetened soy milk, 8 ounces of orange juice. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Today I brought the inbox down from about 325 to about 150 messages. Met with Kevin and Eric to resolve various issues throughout the day. Lunch to go from Beautifull!: three brown rice onigiri: kale, tea-smoked salmon, curry tofu. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Stopped at the Parnassus office to do software updates and to disable my Outlook account due to a problem with the recent primary email address change. Rode Muni home, chatting with a student on the way. Dinner at home with Patrick: beans and sausage quesatorta, water. Dessert: two pieces of chocolate. Recharge Spa work for Drew: a job posting.
Thu Jan 29, 2015
Breakfast at home: fruit and nut granola, unsweetened soy milk, lowfat milk. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Inbox started at about 150 messages, ended at 40 today. Lunch #1: leftover cashew chicken and steamed rice from home. 1-on-1 with Cindy by telephone. Lunch #2 at the JCC: veggie pizza slice. Today after reading a page on a web accessibilty website I put define:a11y into Google and learned what this abbreviation means. I've been working the web since 1996, and this is the first I have learned of it. I do not like it at all. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. The UCSF shuttle has become significantly unreliable, so today I rode UberX home. Dinner at home with Patrick: pepperoni pizza from frozen, side of white beans and butter leaf lettuce salad. Watched 14 Blades (2014) on Netflix DVD with Patrick.
Fri Jan 30, 2015
Breakfast at home: oatmeal with diced apple, cinnamon, soy milk; whole wheat english muffin with cream cheese; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Laurel Heights. Sprint standup. Inbox followup. Lunch #1: leftover pancit from home. Lunch #2: black bean and cheese tamale. UCSF shuttle from Laurel Heights to Parnassus. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover red beans and rice, water. Watched more of 14 Blades (2014) on Netflix DVD with Patrick and popcorn.
Sat Jan 31, 2015
Breakfast at home: two kinds of granola with yogurt and unsweetened soy milk. Shopping at Bevmo on Geary. Lunch at Pete's Deli and Cafe: avocado and cheese sandwich on whole wheat roll, side of steak fries, water: $10 after tip. Kaiser prescription pickup. A PharmD student working behind the counter recognized my name and thanked me for previously helping her with an infotechnology issue. Home. Shower and nap. Medication organizing. Archived medical paperwork. Dinner at home with Patrick: greek grilled chicken in pita, water, pinot noir. Reported a weird issue to Xbox support via online chat; someone accidentally used my email address when signing up for an account. Finished watching 14 Blades (2014) on Netflix DVD with Patrick. Baddies.