November 2022
Summary: October-November staycation continues; vacation with Patrick to Calistoga; Thanksgiving at home with Patrick, Sam, Kerry, and Mom Ryan; Kick Ass Group for Gay Men (Last Rites)
Dates on this page
Tue Nov 1, 2022
Staycation day 4 of 16. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, diced pear; water. First day of heavy rain in a very long time. Mended a brown dress sock by hand. Rode Muni to a doctor appointment; Muni service was very disappointing. I waited 18 minutes for a bus in heavy rain, then decided to take an alternate route which include one transfer and five big blocks of walking that I would not have had to do if Muni were operating as expected. After my doctor appointment the rain stopped, and I had a small, late lunch at Philly Cheesesteaks: half hoagie with chicken and onions (no sweet peppers), unsweetened iced tea: $16.14. I had ordered for here, but the order was mistakenly presented to go, then quickly rectified by the sandwich maker once I mentioned the error. No apology, but she did politely blame the cashier who entered the order. Food and drink were delicious. Rode UCSF shuttle and Muni home. Rested. Patrick and I walked to a Dia de los Muertos celebration at Sunset Mercantile. DJ music and a small number of the usual food and craft vendor booths were present, and there was also a very nice display of ofrendas. The lines for food seemed unusually long, and since it was very cold outside with few places to sit at a table to eat, we walked and rode Muni to Sushi Genki (2543 Noriega Street, 415-753-9383): appetizer: shrimp tempura roll. mains: katsu don donburi and house sake for Patrick, chashu ramen for me. Hot green tea for both. Food was delicious. We could not finish our mains. The shrimp tempura roll was very large in diameter, making it challenging to eat without it falling apart in your chopsticks; best if you can eat it in one bite. The chashu ramen broth had a distinct and pleasant taste of charbroil to it. The chashu was perfect, and the thick noodles had a firm bite that I liked. Service was inattentive but pleasant when it arrived. I had many minutes of trouble getting my green tea refilled, and we had to wait long periods to order and to pay. Mains did not arrive simultaneously and took a bit longer than expected to be delivered, but tolerably so. Patrick had ordered a ton katsu dinner but instead mistakenly got the katsu don donburi, but he did not complain. $70.88 after a $9.00 tip. For delivery it's a reasonable choice; we have ordered delivery from them in the past. For dine-in, there are probably better choices in the area. Try Noriega Teriyaki House. Either way, it's a bit pricey for what you get relative to the competition. Walked home.
Wed Nov 2, 2022
Staycation day 5 of 16. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, blueberries; water. Early lunch: I ate my leftover ramen from last night. Water to drink. Patrick left with Sam on a day trip to Half Moon Bay. I performed computer updates. Long nap. Patrick returned. They didn't make it to Half Moon Bay and instead ran errands. I troubleshot problems with shared Apple Reminders not synching properly; failed. We had dinner at home: margherita pizza (deli pizza previously frozen) with fresh ricotta, herbs, and freshly added orange bell pepper. Water to drink. Afterwards we watched Andor s1:e9 on Disney+. Patrick went to bed and read a bit on his Kindle before sleeping. I washed dishes. More preparation for selling an old MacBook Pro. Continued reviewing voting materials. Late snack: two slices of toasted twisty herbed cheesy bread, water.
Thu Nov 3, 2022
Staycation day 6 of 16. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, blueberries; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Spent the day at Kalmanovitz Library to give Patrick more space at home. Continued reviewing voting materials. Completed a census survey. Midmorning I wanted my favorite Panda Express snack—two veggie spring rolls with dipping sauce—but they were closed. Carmelina's and Caffe Bellini were open, but didn't have a small snack I wanted. Instead I went to Moffitt Cafeteria and had two hash brown triangles with ketchup for under $2. Updates for home websites. Began changes for Patrick's website. Exited the library. On the way I browsed with much interest the historical exhibits in Seeing the Self Anew: How Art and Science Intersect. It included sometimes-startling images from mostly the 16th through 19th centuries illustrating human skeletons, musculature, and forms—so fascinating. Rode Muni and walked to lunch at Sriracha Thai (415-564-7722, 1319 9th Ave): I don't recall the name of the dish, but it was a bowl of yellow curry with thin egg noodles and pieces of chicken breast topped with fried thin egg noodles. I asked before I ordered if it was spicy and was told it was not spicy. It turned out to be spicy. My estimate: 2 of 5 stars. I ate it anyway. There were a few pieces of onion and grated carrot and cilantro in the dish, but otherwise it was disappointingly veggie-free. Service was just okay. Afterwards I needed something to remove the curry lingering in my mouth, so I stopped at Easy Breezy for a wafer cone which included vietnamese coffee and pumpkin custard—so yummy. Rode Muni and walked to Kalmanovitz Library. Continued changes for Patrick's website. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: fettucine with wensleydale, sage, corn, and bacon; water; glass of chardonnay. After dinner we chatted about Patrick's website and I made some changes. We also tried troubleshooting the shared reminders synch problem and failed again. Patrick washed dishes and went to bed. I continued listen to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla. I'm now on chapter 42. Installed replacement ear pads for my Bose QuietComfort 25 (QC25) headphones from Accessory House. This is my second set from Accessory House and the product is of good quality and at a fair price and the installation is relatively easy. Amputagged and placed into service two new USB-C-to-USB-C charging cables.
Fri Nov 4, 2022
Staycation day 7 of 16. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, blueberries; water. Patrick and I completed the U.S. Census American Community Survey as well as our mail-in ballots for the forthcoming election. For lunch I ordered sandwiches from Lou's and walked to pick them up. Veggie and Zapp's potato chips for Patrick, CBR with no jalapeno spread and maui-onion-flavored potato chips for me. Water to drink. Installed iOS and iPadOS 16.1 for all devices then read more about iOS 16's features. Made a Microsoft Word document accessible for Patrick's website: press kit. Dinner at home with Patrick: broccoli fritatta with mozzarella, orange pepper, and red onion with cream biscuit; water. Dessert: I had 8 ounces of sparkling lemonade made with sparkling water, squeeze of half a lemon, and simple syrup. Patrick had lychee ice cream with toasted slivered almonds. We watched Star Trek: The Original Series s2:e5 The Apple on Paramount+ then Joe List: Being Attacked by Panic via Comedy Central Stand-up on YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. I continued listening to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla, reaching the end of chapter 54 (The Town-Ho’s Story).
Sat Nov 5, 2022
Staycation day 8 of 16. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, diced half banana; water. Adjusted the bobbin case thread tension, which I had long suspected was not correct but long feared adjusting it since many guides say you should never adjust it yourself. I turned the flathead screw with the green paint clockwise a quarter of a full revolution and it turned out to be just right. Sewing projects: I created two jackets for handwarmers from the legs of blue corduroy pants. I repaired and reinforced the carrying case for Patrick's tai chi practice swords. Cleaned. Vacuumed multiple rooms. Lunch at home with Patrick: Patrick had a banana, bacon, and peanut butter sandwich (which he somehow knew was Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich), I had leftover fettucine with wensleydale, sage, corn, and bacon. Water to drink. I washed dishes. Updated my medic alert info (but did not print new ones since the latest print is only about two weeks old). Changed air purifier pre-filters. Filed clothes that Patrick had washed and folded earlier while continuing to listen to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla, reaching the end of chapter 56 (Of the Less Erroneous Pictures of Whales, and the True Pictures of Whaling Scenes). Cleaned the bathroom. Cut my hair, cleaned the bathroom, showered. Dinner at home with Patrick: veggie burgers on brioche buns with Wensleydale and red onion and a side of platanos maduros, water. Dessert for me only: a little bit of Polly Ann's lychee ice cream. Afterwards we watched Star Trek The Next Generation s2:e15 Pen Pals. I washed dishes. We watched Star Trek Enterprise s1:e13 Dear Doctor. Patrick went to bed.
Sun Nov 6, 2022
Staycation day 9 of 16. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, diced half banana; water. Packed for a forthcoming trip. Lunch: a smal amount of rice from Patrick's leftover katsu don donburi. Then a little later Patrick had a toasted sandwich made from bacon and leftover fritatta, and I had a toasted sandwich made from shredded mozzarella and red onions and sage that Patrick had sauteed yesterday. Water to drink. Continued packing. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: spiced green lentils over steamed rice with cream biscuits, water. We watched Star Trek Enterprise s2:e22 Cogenitor on Paramount+. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: a small amount of maui-onion-flavored potato chips; water. I continued listening to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla, reaching the end of chapter 66 (The Shark Massacre).
Mon Nov 7, 2022
Staycation day 10 of 16 and vacation day 1 of 5. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, slivered and toasted almonds, diced half banana; water. Rainy day. Sol Food: camarones criolla with garlic tostones and ponche for Patrick, pollo al horno with fries and pinto beans and limonada fresca for me. Food and drink were delightful and delicious. We liked everything here: the large menu, the decor, the food and drink. We continued to and enjoyed visiting the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center. The current exhibit was The Spark of Schulz: A Centennial Celebration which gathered tribute comics—my favorite was Bill Watterson's "A Boy and His Tiger." We drove to and checked in to room 226 at the Mount View Hotel. Settled. Dinner at Evangeline. House-cultured butter and Bouchon Bakery baguette: $5. San Pelligrino: $9. Drinks: Esplanade Manhattan (bourbon and rye blend, noilly prat, angostura bitters, Luxardo cherries): $18 for Patrick. Evangeline Paloma (tequila, pamplemousse, grapefruit, lime): $16 for me. Appetizer: chilled medley of blanched and chilled cauliflowers, radishes, frisée, endive, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kale buttermilk dressing: $18. Mains: Patrick had chicken gumbo yaya (grill andouille sausage, delta white rice, scallion): $26. I had braised Niman Ranch pork shoulder, butternut squash purée, braised red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, toasted pepitas, maple syrup glaze: $29. I could not finish my pork shoulder. Service by Raul was very good. Walked back to Mount View Hotel.
Tue Nov 8, 2022
Staycation day 11 of 16 and vacation day 2 of 5. Illy espresso for Patrick from a machine in our room. Complimentary breakfast in the room: three kinds of quick breads (sunflower-seed- encrusted pumpkin; banana; lemon), decaf, coffee, Mandarin oranges. Patrick and I walked in cold and rainy downtown Calistoga. Our visits included the Contemporary Arts Gallery, Copperfield Books, the Napa River, Holy Assumption Monastery, and Sharpsteen Museum. We walked to lunch at Buster's Southern Barbecue: pulled pork sandwich and baked beans and large hot chocolate for Patrick, tri-tip sandwich and mac salad and large chai latte for me. Counter service, then tables indoors with ceiling fans. There was a very long wait—about 15 minutes—for our hot drinks partly due to a large order of four hot chocolates just before us. So when we finally ate, our food was not very hot. Food and drink were delicious. I could not finish my sandwich. On the walk back to Mount View Hotel we stopped briefly to look in the windows at Ca'Toga Gallery, which was closed. Back at the hotel, Patrick and I relaxed in the hot tub for 15 minutes. Showers in the room afterwards. We napped. We canceled a reservation for dinner at Sam's Social Club because I wanted lighter fare since we had been having many meat-heavy meals lately. Dinner at Calistoga Thai Kitchen: fresh rolls with peanut sauce to share, panang curry chicken with rice and hot jasmine tea for Patrick, garlic pepper tofu with rice and hot decaf earl grey tea for me. Food and drink was delicious. My food was not very hot, but I did not complain. Walked back to Mount View Hotel. We rewatched and re-enjoyed Jurassic Park III almost from the beginning on HBO. Patrick went to bed. I troubleshot problems with an old brew installation on my account on Patrick's laptop. I quit troubleshooting after a while when I realized it would be easier to compare with my work laptop side by side, so it would be easier to wait to do when I returned home.
Wed Nov 9, 2022
Staycation day 12 of 16 and vacation day 3 of 5. Illy espresso for Patrick from a machine in our room. Complimentary breakfast in the room: three kinds of quick breads (sunflower-seed- encrusted pumpkin; banana; lemon), decaf, coffee, Mandarin oranges. We also shared a banana that we brought from home. Later we visited Castello di Amorosa with a great tour and tasting (The Diamond Mountain Estate and Wine Tasting) by the charming Alexander S (who reminded both Patrick and me independently of our friend Chris D). In the castle we saw farm animals, detailed metalwork for various fixtures, a catapult, the chapel, the great hall, the reconstruction in progress of a building that had burned in a recent fire, metal wine storage and processing tanks, hundreds or maybe thousands of wine barrels stored in many underground passageways and rooms, an armory, a torture chamber, and many amazing murals. Outside we felt and heard in the distance two large trees in the process of being felled. We had the first public tasting direct from the barrel of the 2021 cabernet sauvignon which was delicious. At our tasting we we each tasted five wines, or up to ten if sharing glasses with a partner. I liked everything I tasted. We bought 12 bottles of various wines, which automatically enrolled us in their wine club. Afterwards we drove to and lunched at Model Bakery (1357 Main Street, St. Helena): chicken asiago panini and raspberry milk tea for Patrick, turkey and brie on cranberry walnut and black tea latte for me. We bought six english muffins to take home. We dropped the english muffins in the car then walked to, visited, and enjoyed the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum (1490 Library Lane). We drove to, visited, and enjoyed the 1881 Napa Wine History Museum and Oakville Grocery (7856 St. Helena Hwy, Oakville). We returned to Mount View Hotel. Rested. I drove us to dinner at Fleetwood (1880 Lincoln Avenue). Cocktails: Patrick had a spicy prickly pear margarita (blanco tequila, prickly pear puree, jalapeno syrup, fresh lime juice), I had a pearfectini (grey goose pear vodka, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, simple syrup). We shared fried olives with marcona almonds $9; seasonal chopped salad (oak grilled onion, salami, blue cheese, mustard dressing) $17; hen of the woods pizza (thyme, fontal, truffle oil) $23. Service by Sarah was excellent. I drove home. To bed early.
Thu Nov 10, 2022
Staycation day 13 of 16 and vacation day 4 of 5. Illy espresso for Patrick and me from a machine in our room. We needed variety in breakfast, so we chose to forego our included breakfast in the room. Breakfast at Calistoga Roastery: Patrick had a bacon breakfast sandwich and a cafe au lait; I had Bob's Red Mill cranberry-orange oatmeal with milk and a chai tea latte. We walked to and looked in the windows at Sam's General Store (109 Wappo Ave). Returned to Mount View Hotel. Rested in the room. We visited Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort (1507 Lincoln Avenue), Mudslingers treatment for two. Afterwards we lunched at the adjacent House of Better. Fish tacos and watermelon agua fresca for Patrick, soft chicken taco and lemonade for me. Returned to Mount View Hotel then bought ice cream at Calistoga Creamery. Patrick had one scoop split between dark chocolate and cookies and cream in a cup. I had Madagascar coffee in a waffle cone. We ate in the hotel's pool area. We rested in the room then later walked to dinner at Lovina (1107 Cedar Street). Patrick had an IPA; I had a flight of four three-ounce pours of red wines. Appetizers: house-made fresh ricotta (candy cap root beer mushroom honey, crostini): $16; Maine lobster bisque with lobster claw salad: $20. Entrees: Patrick had spicy heritage pork and beef bolognese (fresh fettuccine, mirepoix, calabrian chili, parmesan, breadcrumbs): $39. I had Mary's free-range chicken (almond couscous with honey lemon vinaigrette, grilled asparagus, carrot emulsion, dijon beurre blanc): $47. Dessert: we shared the Hot Mess (flourless chocolate brownie, salted caramel, toasted house made marshmallow cream, brandied cherries, pistachio gelato): $19. There was a long delay—maybe 15 minutes?—between when our server (initials NS) dropped off our receipt and when she returned to pick up the payment. Walked to Mount View Hotel. We watched about the last third of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on television (HBO?). Patrick grew too tired and went to bed before the film finished.
Fri Nov 11, 2022
Staycation day 14 of 16 and vacation day 5 of 5. Illy espresso for Patrick and me from a machine in our room. We needed variety in breakfast, so we chose to forego our included breakfast in the room. Breakfast at Calistoga Roastery: Patrick had a bacon breakfast sandwich and chocolate croissant with a mocha; I had a bacon breakfast sandwich and Bob's Red Mill cranberry-orange oatmeal with milk with decaf coffee with milk. We walked around other parts of Calistoga we hadn't seen then returned to Mount View Hotel. Packed and checked out. Drove to and visited Culinary Institute of America (CIA), including the culinary garden, the Marketplace shop, and the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum. Classes and events related to Napa Valley Film Festival were in progress. Afterwards we visited Oxbow Public Market (610 First Street, Napa) and lunched at Milestone Provisions: Patrick had a fried chicken sandwich with fries; I had chicken tenders with fries and ketchup and honey dijon dipping sauce. The fried chicken was perfect—very hot temperature, crispy outside, juicy and tender inside. The chicken, the honey dijon, and the fries all seemed to be slightly spicy, but I was able to tolerate them. Unsweetened iced tea for both. We bought some non-perishable groceries at Hudson Greens and Goods. Drove home, unpacked. Here's my review of Mount View Hotel. We stayed in luxury room 226 with windows facing south-southwest. Overall we enjoyed our stay. Check-in was friendly, welcoming, and easy. We were told that we could park in the 3-hour zone on the street in front of the hotel for the entirety of our stay since no one from the city was ticketing, and that turned out to be true. There is no elevator. Our room was up one flight of stairs with a turn, which we did not mind managing by ourselves. In the room the bathroom has a very noisy fan which I thought was too loud but which some might think is a feature. The large, ornate wardrobe contained an extra blanket, which I needed since Patrick prefers to keep the room temperature cool while we sleep. They accommodated my request for no down or feather bedding, and many bed pillows of various firmnesses were available in the room. A small living room leads into the bedroom, and there is no door or partition to permit one to sleep while the other is awake. A television is mounted strategically so that it can be viewed either from the living room couch or the bedroom bed. It at first seems like a horrible design decision, but upon use it's quite practical. We were told at check-in that there was no traditional housekeeping service due to the drought and COVID, and that you could call the front desk for any services needed, and this did not bother us. A programmable safe in the room was problematic because it had a manual lock mechanism rather than a motorized one. The safe door was closed when we arrived, so I was unable to open it to give it a new code. We called the front desk and they arrived and opened it, but I didn't know I needed to set the code before I closed the door, and the door had closed, so we had to go through the front desk unlock process again. It took a few tries to understand how the mechanism worked, but it eventually did work. We visited the hot tub once at night for 15 minutes, and it was enjoyable. Looking outside room 226's windows, in the distance are hills covered with evergreen trees, then closer in town the trees are deciduous and brightly colored in yellows and reds this time of year. Looking directly down we saw outdoor storage for the hotel, which was not pleasant to look at. The room had one heater in the ceiling, and it seemed modern and worked pretty well and struggled to heat only the furthest bedroom end of the room and the bathroom. The room included complimentary glasses of wine each evening, of which we did not make use since we have not been consuming a lot of wine lately. The room included complimentary light breakfast each day, which we used and enjoyed on two mornings. The room included an Illy automatic espresso machine which we used and enjoyed except that the amount it delivered was tiny, even for espresso. We successfully worked around this by simply running each pod twice. During our visit we encountered very few other guests. For example, we had the hot tub entirely to ourselves, and we rarely had to wait for help at the front desk. One evening I tried to reach the front desk by telephone and got no answer then tried a few minutes later with the same result, but it wasn't a problem since we simply resolved the issue in the morning. The room had power outlets but not always in a convenient place, e.g., there were none available near the bedside nightstands. I had brought an extension cord in anticipation of this situation. To use a laptop in the living room, we had to temporarily move the couch to plug in the extension cord, which prevented us from using one lamp, and this did not bother us since there was otherwise adequate lighting. Wifi was surprisingly good for a hotel—about 25 Mbps down and up—but on several occasions my session would time out and I would have to log in again, and this is what I think caused me to receive "conflicted copy" errors with using Standard Notes in a web browser. We were able to easily walk to almost everything in Calistoga we wanted to visit. Calistoga also has a free, on-demand-by-phone-call shuttle within a specific service area, but we did not use it. We did not make use of the pool, which I was surprised to learn was heated, and both the pool and hot tub were open 24/7. In all, Mount View Hotel is a fine place to stay. For our next visit to Calistoga we might stay here but we might also consider Embrace. Dinner at home with Patrick: Del Popolo frozen pizza, water. Afterwards we watched Andor s1:e10 on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Sat Nov 12, 2022
Staycation day 15 of 16. Slept in. Medium bowl of oatmeal with evaporated milk, roasted and unsalted chopped almonds, cacao nibs, flax meal, raisins; water. Lunch at home: leftover pizza from last night, one toasted Model Bakery english muffin. The english muffin was delicious, and it left my fingers oily, which didn't bother me but I thought it unusual. It didn't need butter, but I tried it both without and with. Rested in bed—not quite a nap since I didn't fall asleep. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Lazy Susan via Uber Eats: small hot and sour soup, spring rolls, veggie chow mein, orange chicken, beef and broccoli—all delicious. Patrick washed dishes. I installed iOS and iPadOS 16.1.1 on my devices. We watched various YouTube videos including half of Whitney Cummings: I Love You. Patrick went to bed. I did maintenance on Patrick's laptop, including creating some missing symlinks and including troubleshooting and resolving brew and vim issues by reinstalling brew and by running brew reinstall ruby vim to reinstall vim.
Sun Nov 13, 2022
Staycation day 16 of 16. Slept in. Medium bowl of oatmeal with evaporated milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, raisins; water. After a long time of encountering and enduring problems related to scrolling with using the Standard Notes web app in the latest versions of both Firefox and Safari, I figured out today the solution: use app.standardnotes.com instead of app.standardnotes.org. On the General tab in macOS System Preferences it also helps to have the Show Scroll Bars setting set to "Automatically based on mouse or trackpad." Lunch: Patrick made for himself a Model Bakery english muffin sandwich with a veggie patty and an egg. I had leftover chow mein. Water to drink. Afternoon snack: potato crisps, water. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: brown rice with Lazy Susan chinese food leftovers from last night. We watched Doubt on Netflix DVD. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Pantry organization. Canceled our Netflix DVD subscription since we were no longer excited by the DVD offerings. We still have until the end of the month, so I ordered at least one more disc. Resolved a problem with the RSS feed on the Lodestar Quarterly website. Began setting up Google Analytics 4 for some personal websites. Late snack: fire-roasted corn off the cob from frozen, water.
Mon Nov 14, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with evaporated milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, raisins; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. 128 items in my inbox. Began catching up on messages in email and Slack and Teams. Followup with Arezou R about name issues completed. Responded to a question from Erika C about encryption clinics. Lots of junk email removal and calendar management. Followup with Shondell M about automated listservs. Granted access to Kim C to edit the PC Intranet website. Updated the Seed Award page for Shalimar. Provided Stephanie H updated digital letterhead. Worked with Levi to cancel tomorrow's Equity and Inclusion event then spent most of the rest of the day troubleshooting and resolving a problem with duplicate messages appearing every 10 minutes. Lunch: leftover beef with broccoli and brown rice, water. Later I also had a salted soft warm pretzel with jalapeno cheddar dipping sauce from Moffitt Cafe. Zoomed again with Levi in an attempt to send a followup message to the cancellation message, but we encountered a blocking issue and there was a fire alarm in my building at Parnassus, so I had to leave. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: vegetarian red beans and steamed rice, water. Dessert: Wooden Table chai chocolate cookies. I had a glass of white wine. I washed dishes. We watched Cabinet of Curiosities s1:e3 on Netflix instant watch. Patrick went to bed a bit later than usual.
Tue Nov 15, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with evaporated milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, raisins; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. UCSF shuttle from Parnassus to Mission Bay. Followup with recent issues. Tried logging in to Siteimprove Frontier and failed I think due to SSO not being connected. Responded to a strange request to access a Sharepoint folder. Followup with Levi and Eric to yesterday's event issues. Calendar management. Late lunch at Gott's with Eric: chicken sandwich and iced tea for Eric, cobb salad and lemonade no ice for me. We sat in the sun, which was much hotter than I had expected. Late in the day to accommodate office moves by Angelie and James Bo, Eric and I moved our team's belongings from 33T to 33L and put some stuff in locked storage adjacent to where Deborah normally sits. UCSF shuttle from Mission Bay to Parnassus with mostly very heavy traffic. Rode Muni home. It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home today. Dinner at home with Patrick: soy-glazed tofu and mushrooms with soba noodles, red wine for Patrick, white wine for me, water for both. Dessert: Wooden Table chai chocolate cookies. I continued listen to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla. I'm now on chapter 74.
Wed Nov 16, 2022
Ran in place while watching the remainder of Deconstructivist Architects on Kanopy. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blueberries; water. With Eric, list management and html email reminder for today's town hall. Lunch at home: I stir-fried baby bok choy with spinach and added that to reheated leftovers from last night's dinner. Dessert: a tiny piece of cashew praline dark chocolate. List management and build MAK Seed Award html email for Shalimar. Dinner at home with Patrick: grilled cheese sandwiches with sliced tomato salad, water, red wine for Patrick, white wine for me. Dessert: pieces of cashew praline dark chocolate. Afterwards we watched various YouTube videos then Andor s1:e11 on Disney+ then more YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Thu Nov 17, 2022
Stretched while rewatching John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (2018) on Netflix instant watch. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. More list management and MAK Seed Award announcement build. Reviewed and posted two QBI events for Carolina. Various small web content fixes. Granted permissions for Mandy for an additional web editor for Residencies. Reported a mail delivery problem to Logistics. Lunch at home: I prepared for myself a veggie stir-fry using tomato, spinach, basil, frozen vegetables, and a chicken ramen seasoning packet. Water to drink. Content maintenance work. Resolved a problem with Excel crashing and leaving behind a recovered document which created problems with OneDrive sync. Lots of calendar management, especially adding holiday early release items—nice. The new dean is giving us four hours off before certain major holidays, which is an improvement over the previous two hours off. Followup with Pam and Julia about logo issues and white coats. Down to 3 items in my inbox—hooray! Dinner at home with Patrick: sweet potato and peanut curry with brown rice, water, red wine. I washed dishes. We watched 1h44m of Top Gun: Maverick on Netflix DVD and Skinny Pop butter microwave popcorn. Patrick went to bed. I washed more dishes. I continued listen to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla. I'm now on chapter 76.
Fri Nov 18, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Updated a page for Pam (Withdrawal, Leave of Absence, and Readmission Policies). Followup with OSACA about white coats and logos. Eric and I met with CPCS team to discuss the future of their Pills vs. Candy site. Added markup for names in the French language to a news story from October. Small lunch: leftover stir-fry and rice, water from my water bottle. Met with Sushil and Eric about recent events—still no clarity. Long chat with Eric and Levi about recent events. During a break in the middle I got a small meal from Moffit Cafe: turkey and cheese sandwich, french fries with ketchup. Returned to inbox zero. Rode Muni to Duboce Park, walked to Peet's in the Castro. Large Mighty Leaf Winter Solstice hot tea. Around 7:00 p.m. Patrick met me after meeting with Lori and Anne. Patrick and I walked to dinner at Dumpling Kitchen II on Castro Street: hot jasmine tea, glass of Bogle cab sauv for me. We shared steamed giant crab dumplings, steamed shrimp har gow, pan-fried pork buns, shanghai style green onion pancake. The quality of the food was excellent. The giant crab dumplings were awkwardly too large to eat comfortably, but they tasted good, and I'm glad I tried them. We briefly imagined eating them with giant Chinese soup spoons, but of course those don't exist, and you couldn't eat these in one mouthful anyhow. Everything about the har gow and the green onion pancake was perfect. The pan-fried pork buns were not what I expected. I expected dome-shaped buns soft on top and crispy on bottom. These pork buns were cylindrical with a quarter-inch lip on the top, creating a rim to the top into which were sprinkled black sesame seeds and sliced scallions. They were delicious even tho not what I had expected. To me they seemed unique, which is a good thing. The restaurant was busy at 7:00 p.m. on a Friday night—a good sign. I don't recall any music playing. Noise level was moderate. Service was noticeably slow at times but friendly and knowledgeable when it arrived. Double-check your order with your server before they leave to avoid miscommunications. About $60 before an $11.00 tip. We rode UberX home.
Sat Nov 19, 2022
Slept in due to insomnia. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Lunch at Grubbin' with Patrick: spicy mouth waterin' and blood orange San Pell for Patrick, fishin' and pom-orange San Pell for me. We also shared chicken nuggets with two dipping sauces: ranch and honey mustard. House chores: replaced two air purifier filters. Walked to the mailbox and back. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: whole wheat busiate with cauliflower, capers, and lemon; red wine; water. We watched Reservation Dogs s1:e1 on Hulu Basic Plan then Street Food: USA s1:e1 (Los Angeles) on Netflix instant watch. Dessert: a few bites of cashew praline dark chocolate bar. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: pom-vanilla glazed cashews; unroasted, unsalted cashews; small bowl of corn chips.
Sun Nov 20, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blackberries; water. Lunch at home with Patrick: halves of sandwiches leftover from yesterday, reheated. Side of tortilla chips. Water. Spent several hours troubleshooting problems with local dev environments for home websites. Dinner at home with Patrick: greenhouse vegetable stew with garlic bread, water. Afterwards we watched various YouTube videos. Late snack: mango juice mixed with sparkling water, saucepan popcorn without salt.
Mon Nov 21, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blackberries; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Nextbus predictions were widely not working this morning, and one bus on my usual route seemed to be missing, so my commute took twice as long as normal. Asana task followup: forwarded an inquiry to TKP team. Completed tasks following an employee departure. Drafted a reply to a message from Conan about content maintenance process. Resolved a problem with duplicate data created by having to reset OneDrive by deleting duplicate folders that OneDrive had archived. Lunch from Panda Express: panda bowl with half chow mein and half mixed vegetables, with mushroom chicken. Water from my water bottle. My fortune: Be the kind of friend you'd be proud to have. Lots of orgchart and people pages work. Upgraded Docker Desktop from 4.12.0 to 4.13.1—successful, no problems. More orgchart work. Met with Eric about orgcharts. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: vegetarian red beans and rice with previously frozen homemade cream biscuits, rosato di sangiovese, water. We watched Anjela Johnson: Mahalo and Goodnight on Amazon Prime Video then Street Food: USA s1:e2 (Portland) on Netflix instant watch. I washed dishes. Patrick went to bed. Continued orgchart work because I didn't want to lose my train of thought. Late snack: saucepan popcorn without salt, water.
Tue Nov 22, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, chopped peanuts, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blackberries; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Mission Bay. Followup on email threads. Published an updated event for Carolina L. Followup on old IT requests. Calendar management. Siteimprove linkchecking. Reviewed organization web pages that Eric made live while I was on vacation. Orgchart work. Lunch at Caffe Central with Karen and Eric: I had a roast beef with cheese sandwich with side salad and water from my water bottle. We sat outside in the sun, and it was warmer than one might expect for late November. Orgchart work. Resolved spacing issues with title lines in basic with people lists. Styling work to create multicolumn people lists for a forthcoming new leadership page. New html email work: holiday early release. Rode Muni home while continuing to listen to a 2018 audiobook recording of Moby Dick via Hoopla. I'm now on chapter 81. Dinner at home with Patrick: sweet potato curry and rice, rosato di sangiovese, water. We watched Cabinet of Curiosities s1:e4 on Netflix instant watch with Martha Stewart's Movie-Theater-Style Popcorn. Newly chatted with Emery on SMS this evening. I learned that he is back in his old place in SoMa, Ted never left, and Francis has moved here as well. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Wed Nov 23, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and toasted and chopped almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Worked from home. Worked half a day. Created two nameplates for Karen. Early lunch: leftover whole wheat busiate with cauliflower, capers, and lemon; water. Updated the Faculty Academic Affairs website for Angelie. List management. Stopped working. Housecleaning. Afternoon snack: crackers and Wensleydale cheese, water. For dinner we tried using a coupon from Goat Hill Pizza, but the link took me to the Potrero Hill store which is outside our delivery area. I tried to order from the West Portal store's website, but the code I had failed either as a gift card or a promo. I called the store to see how I could use my coupon and was told it was only available to use for a pickup order—not delivery. I also tried logging in to the Toast website and the credentials I had stored which had worked in the past no longer worked, and the password reset feature failed to send me an email. We decided to order from a different restaurant, and this Toast aka Toast Tab or maybe ToastTab experience was so terrible I unpublished the email address forwarder I used with Goat Hill Pizza. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Extreme Pizza: sausage and mushroom medium pizza, small caesar salad. While waiting for the delivery we watched various YouTube videos. After dinner we watched Andor s1:e12 (season finale) on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Thu Nov 24, 2022
Thanksgiving day. Patrick had begun cooking Thanksgiving dishes on Sunday, cooking or prepping about two dishes per day, essentially everything homemade. Ran in place to various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and toasted and chopped almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Housecleaning. Prepped with Patrick for the feast. Sam, Kerry, and Mom Ryan joined us. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on YouTube. The feast: warm dinner rolls, shrimp-stuffed mirlitons, sweet potato praline marshmallow casserole, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon vinaigrette, crispy-skinned spatchcocked roasted turkey with giblet gravy, spiced cranberry mold, chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Everything turned out beautifully. Sam gave Kerry and Mom Ryan a ride home. Patrick and I cleaned and stored food. I napped. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftovers. Afterwards we watched Reservation Dogs s1:e2 on Hulu Basic Plan then The Simpsons s33:e7 on Hulu Basic Plan. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Uninstalled Emby Server. Reinstalled Plex Server. Installed Plex HTPC. Reinstalled Plex for Apple TV, iOS, and iPadOS. Uninstalled Plex Server and Plext HTPC after it again failed in the same way a few months ago.
Fri Nov 25, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and toasted and chopped almonds, toasted and unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni with Patrick to the Asian Art Museum to see Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk and Delightful Luxury: The Art of Chinese Lacquer. Afterwards we walked in Hayes Valley, lunching on lunch combos at Lers Ros Thai (307 Hayes Street, 415-874-9661): Patrick had pork green curry, bbq chicken on bone, white rice, side salad with a thai iced tea. I had cashew chicken, tofu and mixed vegetables, brown rice, side salad with tap water. $40 before a $7 tip. Service was odd but not awful. Afterwards we got ice cream waffle cones at Salt and Straw: Patrick had almond brittle w/ salted ganache (chocolate coated almond brittle with hunks of creamy chocolate ganache swirled in a vanilla ice cream) and peppermint cocoa (housemade peppermint fondant swirl hand-drizzled in a rich cocoa ice cream). I had almond brittle w/ salted ganache (chocolate coated almond brittle with hunks of creamy chocolate ganache swirled in a vanilla ice cream) and Dwanta's Teremana-spiked eggnog (rich, silky custard ice cream spiked with notes of oaky vanilla from Teremana's reposado tequila and a splash of Amontillado sherry). We bought a half dozen bagels from Wise Sons before riding Muni home. I napped. Dinner at home with Patrick: we had a small meal of leftover pizza, and Patrick also had a leftover shrimp-stuffed mirliton. Water to drink. We watched and enjoyed The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ then “Diamonds Are Forever… But So Is a Plastic Bag” - Sheng Wang - Full Special via Comedy Central Stand-Up on YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Sat Nov 26, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, almond butter, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Today's a Saturday, but I went to work to give Patrick more space at home. Updates for Patrick's website: press kit pdf. Rode Muni and walked home. Snack: corn chips with garlic dip. Cocktails: aviation but with lime instead of lemon (we were out) and with the maraschino liqueur reduced a bit. Dinner at home with Patrick: Thanksgiving leftovers. I had my turkey on a bagel with a slice of colby jack. Dessert: small slices of leftover chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Afterwards we began watching The Fast Runner on Netflix DVD, stopping after about 35 minutes. Then we watched An Architect Reviews the Architecture of Star Wars: Andor via Morphologis on YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Sun Nov 27, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, diced half banana; water. Patrick baked cranberry muffins using leftover fresh cranberries then made a veggie stock. Midmorning snack: muffins. I had mine with hot decaf english breakfast tea. Recently installed Jellyfin Server, the Jellyscrub plug-in for Jellyfin Server, Jellyfin Mobile for iOS, and Infuse for Apple TV (tvOS) to replace Plex and Emby. It wasn't an easy installation, especially the Jellyscrub part, but it's working, and it's free. So far, so good. Lunch at home with Patrick: leftovers including Thanksgiving leftovers, water. More prep for selling stuff online, then listed one item. Dinner at home with Patrick: veggie cheese burgers and fries, water. Cocktails: variation on orange creamsicle. We continued watching The Fast Runner on Netflix DVD. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes.
Mon Nov 28, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blueberries; water. Rode Muni to UCSF Parnassus. Sent the MAK seed award announcement after approval came in. Finished work in Excel creating a comparison of two sets of mailing list data. Completed about half of training: Preventing Harassment & Discrimination: Supervisors + Clery Act and Title IX (California). Lunch from Carmelina's: enchiladas special with pinto beans, rice, pico de gallo, and enchilada sauce; water from my water bottle. Met with Wan-Yu L to review person page edits and talk briefly about email newsletters. Rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: white miso brothy beans, red wine, water. Afterwards we finished watching The Fast Runner on Netflix DVD then we watched Reservation Dogs s1:e3 on Hulu Basic Plan. Patrick went to bed. I washed dishes. Late snack: no-salt saucepan popcorn.
Tue Nov 29, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blueberries; water. Worked from home. Followup discussion in Teams about links opening in new tabs or windows and the icons for them. Followup with Antonio C about department directory entries. 1:1 with Eric. Lunch at home: I prepared for myself a previously frozen biscuit and a turkey sandwich with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and a slice of colby jack cheese. Water to drink. Orgchart work. Dinner at home with Patrick: coconut curry ramen with mushrooms, water. I washed dishes. Afterwards we watched Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice, & 150 Years of Gay Vampires via Matt Baume then Paula Poundstone - The Bright Side of a Nuclear War via Just For Laughs then Crazy Rich Asians Home|Belanda House|Asia's Most Luxurious Mansion|Modern Extraordinary Architecture via Design Seed then Esther Povitsky: Hot For My Name - Full Special via Comedy Central Stand-Up, all on YouTube. Late snack: tortilla chips; unsalted and unroasted cashews, water.
Wed Nov 30, 2022
Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, roasted and unsalted slivered almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, cacao nibs, flax meal, blueberries; water. Worked from home. Followup with UCSF Directory departments update. Followup with Power Automate license problems. Followup with Arezou and Jason about web edits. Continued training: Preventing Harassment & Discrimination: Supervisors + Clery Act and Title IX (California). Lunch at home: turkey sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and a slice of colby jack cheese; plantain chips; pretzel sticks. Water to drink. Continued training. Linkchecking in Siteimprove. Rode Muni to Il Casaro to meet Patrick for dinner. Patrick had left earlier to visit his mom. Unfortunately Il Casaro was unexpectedly closed, so we walked to and dined at Starbelly. Sparkling water; grilled little gems salad with anchovy lemon dressing, hardboiled egg, and pangrattato; pizza margherita with bacon and mushroom; and a cucumber-mint sparkling water for Patrick. Afterwards we walked to Last Rites to attend our first meetup with the social group called Kick Ass Group for Gay Men. We met Tim, Ryan, Robert, Sebastian, Carston, Shane, Travis, Steve, Jimmy, Alan, Will, and more whose names we could not remember. This was perhaps our first time spending a lot of time in a bar since the pandemic started, and we enjoyed ourselves. Patrick had a Zombie Killer. I had a Juracán. Rode UberX home. Updates for Patrick's website.