Thursday, April 3, 2025
Cleaned the primary bathroom. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself two eggs scrambled with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, sliced chicken breast, white cheddar, and dill with a side of rustic sourdough toast and butter; hot water to drink. I took apart one Anderson window crank to see how it worked. It came apart by undoing a single screw. There was a lot of metal dust inside. I vacuumed and washed the parts. Wiped the closet surfaces with dish soap solution after Patrick emptied it to organize it. Restored the window crank to operation. Cleaned dining chair feet then applied felt pads to them. Mounted the silver square mirror to the dining room north wall using a 75-pound, earthquake safety, three-pin gold hanger. Nap. Shower. Patrick and I rode Muni to our first time to Downtown First Thursday on 2nd Street between Market and Howard Streets. We had intended to meet Suzan and Tim there, but it turned out to be too crowded, and we were unable to meet. It did not help that the Apple Maps feature embedded in Messages failed with error "No Location Found" when attempting to show me the location that Suzan had shared. I encountered Edgar M and chatted briefly with him, and he met Patrick for the first time. I thought I saw Phillip H but wasn't sure. Upon entering we were confused and uncertain whether anyone was supposed to check the free tickets we obtained through Eventbrite. There was a long line at the nearby info booth, so we asked there and were told that we did not need to check in anywhere. The ticket lets us spin a wheel for a prize like a gift card. It was a long line, so we skipped it. We got our IDs checked in order to get wristbands. We saw people waiting in a very long line to get a (free?) tote bag screenprinted on the spot with I presume a design of your choice among the six or so choices. We saw a man in an amazing articulating dinosaur costume fitted with light blue el wire. We quickly browsed all the food trucks but then decided to dine in a restaurant because we didn't want to stand in the cold while eating. We dined at North India: prawn biryani, kashmiri chicken, plain naan, two masala chais. The biryani was very spicy, but we did not complain. Service was earnest and awkward. For example, the manager seated us but knocked over the rose vase which spilled water across the table. Fortunately the water didn't land on either of us. He was nonchalant about the accident, and I don't believe he apologized. Later a server asked to take my nearly empty chai cup and when I hesitated because I couldn't remember if I had finished he changed his mind and even though I said he could take it he walked away. Another server smiled more than a beauty pageant contestant. The food was delicious but the biryani too spicy for me and no indication that it would be. The restroom is in a regrettable condition. The restroom door handle is loose, and there were other small maintenance issues I now cannot recall. We walked to entered 111 Minna Gallery and encountered an excellent lion dance performance. We saw Bob the Drag Queen perform as DJ, and I especially enjoyed Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back. It started to get too crowded for us, so we left to less crowded spaces. We tried to get drinks anywhere, but every place had lines or crowds that did not seem worth it to us. We encountered the karaoke stage and heard two different singers who sang unpleasantly. I had to plug my ears. A DJ near the Market Street entrance played and scratched over modern electronica and was really good. Eventually we tired and walked and rode Muni home. Patrick went to bed. I stayed up and cleaned a pan I had burned at breakfast. I used Comet, Noxon, and Brasso. Comet was the most effective. Noxon is best for finishing. I have only started using Brasso and have not yet decided how best it is to be used.