June 2025
Summary: Flamenco Show at Dance Mission Theater; Brock and Spencer at The Academy; Tina Visits; Last Meal at One Market Restaurant; Jamalaya Dinner with Phil, Drew, Tai, and Tina; Sam and Patrick trip to Tomales Bay; Brunch with Lucia and Edgar at Original Joe's; Guerneville weekend at JY and Adrian's; Dinner at L'Ardoise and Queer Comedy Showcase Pride Edition at The Academy with Chris and Andy; Pretty In Pink: 2nd Annual Pride Saturday Garden Party at The Academy; Above It All at Charmaine's.
Dates on this page
Sun Jun 1, 2025
Exhausted from last night, I remained in bed all morning and skipped breakfast and lunch. In the afternoon, I had a small snack: some unsalted roasted peanuts and a dried peach slice, then Patrick and I attended a flamenco show at Dance Mission Theater: Theatre Flamenco 2025: A Compas Flamenco Spring Showcase. While waiting for the performance to begin, they played flamenco music but we also heard a frequent and loud screeching noise alongside the music. We tolerated it for a while, but after a while I asked the person in the booth if it was feedback. I was told it was not feedback but rather a fan and that it would be turned on soon. He suggested I speak with the manager, so I did, saying that the noise was deeply unpleasant and I was considering leaving and asking for a refund, and the manager thanked me for the feedback and within a few minutes the screeching had stopped. The performance began, and there was no more screeching. When Patrick had purchased the tickets, there was no indication online that the performance was entirely of student performers, so we had purchased tickets thinking that these were professional performers. They were not. We do enjoy supporting local arts now and then, but we feel this was clear misrepresentation. The show was entertaining. The singer and guitarist were excellent as were the costumes. The fifth performance piece, a woman with a scarf, was the best. Direction and choreography seemed to have a clear vision, and the performers' skill ranged from good to well. We stayed until the intermission then left. Afterwards we dined on tapas at Esperpento: two glasses of happy hour sangria, esparragos a la plancha (grilled asparagus), pinchos morunos (pork skewers which included a bit of paella), gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic and oil), croquetas de bacalao (salt cod croquettes with dipping sauce), and complimentary bread with dipping sauce. All food, drink, and service were excellent. $59.88 before a $10.50 tip—one of our more affordable meals lately. Afterwards we walked to Evil Eye for drinks. Patrick had El Gruño (mezcal, fernet branca, ancho reyes, strawberry-balsamic shrub, lemon, ginger beer), I had Drunken Sailor (coconut-washed bourbon, white rum, velvet falernum, cinnamon, grapefruit, lemon, served tall on pebble ice). Afterwards we played a Xenon pinball machine. For the first round the sound did not work, but we reported the problem and they reset the machine and comped us a round and then the sound worked perfectly. We played one more round. We walked and rode Muni home.
Mon Jun 2, 2025
Started laundry. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a hash from hash brown patties and diced, fresh vegetables: red onion, celery, grape and cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, green onions. Hot water to drink. Finished laundry. Changed air purifier pre-filters. Walked and rode Muni to medical appointments. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Errand: hardware store. Changed hours to be Monday to Friday 9 to 5 everywhere. Lunch by myself at Village Pizzeria: mushroom slice, salad with blue cheese dressing, Dr. Pepper. About $11.00. Continued claiming third-party online profiles for Phil. Added "Since 2007" to the clinic description and propagated to all online presences. Walked and rode Muni home. Patrick gave away three Japanese pendant lamps. I gave away an antique desk. Dinner at home with Patrick: grilled cheese with creamy tomato soup, hot water. I processed dirty dishes. We watched various YouTube videos then the remainder of Sarah Silverman: PostMortem on Netflix then What We Do in the Shadows s6:e5 on Hulu. Patrick went to bed. I processed more dirty dishes. I prepared a metal trash can to be rust-proofed using spray enamel. Deep-cleaned the secondary bathroom shower doors and tub with Bar Keeper's Friend More and 0000 steel wool as recommended by Clean That Up on YouTube. It helped, but not completely. Late snack: toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, cherries, hot water.
Tue Jun 3, 2025
Deep-cleaned my AirPods Pro 2nd Generation because one of them failed to charge as expected. Vacuumed in various lower level rooms. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself yogurt with mexican vanilla, diced peach, and peppermint oil; cherries; hot water. The peppermint oil was an experiment and did not work well with this; I would not do it again. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Spent the morning with Drew revising copy on the I-693 page, including Spanish translation via Google Translate. Afterwards Drew showed me the garden, and there I ate a sandwich I had brought: black forest ham with cheddar, lettuce, and mayo on a poppy seed bagel. The clinic wifi does not reach to the garden, unfortunately, but I was able to connect via iPhone personal hotspot. I loved sitting and working in the garden because it was sunny and warm and protected from cool winds. Walked and rode Muni home. Just before turning the corner onto the street where I live, I noticed a lot of rushing water flowing in the gutter down Castro Street. As I continued, I noticed that this water was coming from what appeared to be a broken water main. About a dozen men were standing doing nothing. Some warning cones stood at certain points, and one man was directing traffic. Several trucks with flashing lights were parked nearby. It seemed obvious to me that workers performing repairs in the street had mistakenly hit a water main. Probably hundreds of gallons of water per minute were being ejected. At home for the rest of the night our water worked inconsistently or sputtered or had low pressure or became cloudy. In the primary bathroom I mounted a ceiling hook from which we plan to hang a macrame plant hanger and plant. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Perilla: I had five-spice chicken pho. Patrick had five-spice chicken vermicelli with imperial rolls. We each had a thai iced tea. The thai iced tea seemed pricey—$7.50—but when it arrived it was an extra large size, perhaps 24 ounces, instead of the usual 16 ounces, so that made it more acceptable. All food and drink were delicious. Afterwards we mounted a magnetic Mundial knife rack to the kitchen wall, but I again encountered problems with the mount. The wall studs turned out to not be in the location we thought. I attempted to install anchors, but they did not behave as expected. The insertion end broke immediately after I began to screw it in, then after I removed the broken piece and tried again it went in partway but then stalled before it was fully inserted and simply wore away the surrounding drywall. I trimmed the anchor further, used WetNFix, and tried the mount again, but the screws failed to stop turning after being fully inserted. I removed everything, reapplied more WetNFix, then decided to wait overnight and try again tomorrow. Continued more Recharge Medical work, same as earlier today.
Wed Jun 4, 2025
Breakfast at home with Patrick: Patrick had oatmeal with diced half peach. I had a poppy seed bagel with cream cheese and sliced half peach. Hot water to drink. Mounted the magnetic Mundial knife rack that failed to mount properly yesterday. Today it held better. The left side with WetNFix and without an anchor held better than the right side with WetNFix and an anchor. It's still a tad insecure on the right side, but I think it will hold for at least a few weeks. Did more research on using a clear gloss spray enamel to protect a new metal trash can from rust. The instructions to say to use it only when humidity is less than 65%. I guess I will have to wait for a September or October afternoon? Maybe a really warm day could work as well. So frustrating to have to wait that long. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Continued resolving online presence issues. Lunch with Drew and Tai at Cordon Bleu Restaurant (415-673-5637, 1574 California Street, cash only). I had #5. They shared #5. We shared a side of broccoli. Hot tea for all. All food and drink were delicious. A #5 plate is huge. It includes five-spice chicken on the bone, a lot of rice, meat gravy on top of the rice, several pieces of bbq pork (which they call 1 shish kebab), one (8-inch?) imperial roll, country salad, and nuoc mam. I took leftovers back to the office. Continued rewriting the I-693 page, including using ChatGPT to rewrite it for a second-grade reading level in order to make it easier for people for whom English is not their first language and to make it easier to translate to other languages. Walked and rode Muni home. Napped. Dinner at home with Patrick: Delfina frozen pizza from Epicurean Trader, hot water. Today Patrick completed repotting of several houseplants and installed one in a golden planter in the dining room. Another one was hung in the macrame plant hanger in the primary bathroom. We prepared linens for a house guest. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned in the kitchen. Patrick and I attended Spencer and Brock at The Academy, an event with Dee Spencer and Jason Brock entertaining us with song and music. We don't recall the exact order of the songs, but we remember these: L-O-V-E, All The Man That I Need, Patrick suggested Patti LaBelle's On My Own, Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me, My Guy, Gimme a Break. They took a break before continuing: Total Eclipse of the Heart, New York State of Mind. There was a lot of trouble with the microphone and sound system—crackley or reverby—and part of the show was done without microphone or sound system. Jason Brock sounded as great as we remember and made us laugh with jokes and witty turns of lyrics. Don Berger of Regency Limousine, limo driver for many celebrities, was in attendance, same like the last time we saw Dee and Jason perform in December 2018, and he told a few jokes which made us all laugh. Patrick and I enjoyed cocktails during the evening. Walked home.
Thu Jun 5, 2025
Tina visits, day 1 of 5. Patrick and I attempted to breakfast at Epicurean Trader but they were out of breakfast sandwiches. We walked to Wooden Spoon but they did not open for another 17 minutes. We went to Peet's: chocolate croissant and latte for Patrick, bacon and egg sandwich and chai latte for me. Afterwards we stopped again at Epicurean Trader for a gift then returned home. Tina arrived via Lyft and is staying with us a few days. We got her settled and chatted a bit before Patrick left to visit his mom. Not long after Tina and I did an urban hike to Corona Heights Park and enjoyed the sun and views. We all returned home, chatted for a bit, then walked to lunch at Le Marais Bakery. Avocado croissant toast and cold black coffee for Tina, forestiere crepe and tap water for Patrick, saumon crepe and tap water for me. We shared a chocolate chip cookie and a pain suisse. All food and drink were delicious. Afterwards we got groceries for dinner at Bi-Rite Market then a quart of tiramisu ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery. Walked home. Patrick napped. Tina made tea. Tina and I made changes to her website. Patrick worked on the dinner plan for Saturday. Dinner at home with Patrick and Tina: deli pappardelle with purple asparagus, basil, and grated lemon rind; herb slab focaccia with salted butter, Lodi sparkling chardonnay (the bottle gifted to us from Pang (and Ben). Dessert: chocolate. Afterwards Tina read our fortunes using three tarot card decks. After a while I fell sleepy and went to bed.
Fri Jun 6, 2025
Tina visits, day 2 of 5. Tina, Patrick, and I walked to a late breakfast at Wooden Spoon (2172 Market Street): we shared: fried chicken and biscuit, swedish society pancakes, salmon scramble. Cappuccino for Tina, coffee with cream and sugar for me, orange juice for Patrick. All food and drink were delicious with one exception: the biscuits were drier than expected compared to the high quality of all the other dishes, and we believe it was due to being reheated too many times. Service by Santiago F was excellent. Afterwards we walked to buy groceries at Whole Foods then walked home. Rested. I caught up on journaling. Reused styrofoam from a Blueair 411 replacement filter to line my Solo New York laptop bag with extra padding at the bottom. Two 2-inch strips side by side fit perfectly, and I cut it with a large cook's knife. It replaced a spare pillowcase. Patrick prepped for tomorrow's dinner. Weeded Google Drive. No lunch. Early afternoon snack: slices of herb slab focaccia with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomato, parm regg, and basil. Afternoon nap for Patrick and me but I didn't actually fall asleep. Dressed for dinner. Tina, Patrick, and I rode Lyft to One Market Restaurant to celebrate its legacy before it permanently closes on June 11. We arrived a bit early and got drinks at the bar: 2 happy hour La Fronteras for Patrick and me, 1 glass of tempranillo for Tina. We waited in a short line to check in and Tina recognized worker Larry who returned from Atlanta to work just this week. We were seated near the back and adjacent to Quinn McKenna's table as requested, and Tina visited their table to say hello. Tony G and his fiancee Dani arrived to join our table. The drag show began. Bobby Friday hosted and performed alongside other performers Bebe Sweetbriar, Ehra Amaya, and Pearlteese. Bobby Friday sang the first song which was "Material Girl" by Madonna. Our table and Quinn's table seemed to have received all service after all other tables. The meal was $65 prix fixe, three courses, and the drag show was included. All the performers did a great job, and we saw costume reveals, death drops, and cartwheels. In the middle of the performance Bobby Friday asked for a volunteer to live their drag performance dream, and Dani volunteered and did fantastic with "Man, I Feel Like a Woman." All the tips she received was donated to benefit a local transgender organization. First course: summer bean salad with basil, mint, marcona almonds, burrata. Main course: your choice of pan-seared Alaskan halibut with fresh corn "polenta," summer squash, herb emulsion or applewood-smoked bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with sauteed apples, dandelion persillade, salsify, cider reduction. Dessert: strawberry "shortcake" with lemon cream, strawberry sauce. Last song was We Are Family by Sister Sledge. We took a photo with Chef Mark Dommen. The meal was perfect. There was some confusion over the splitting of the bill due to an error on my part; I had mistakenly thought that Tina's, Patrick's, and my dinner had already been paid, but we sorted it and everything was correct at the end. Complimentary vanilla cream caramels with the receipt. Upon exiting, we were very surprised to encounter a very large raccoon. We rode Lyft home.
Sat Jun 7, 2025
Tina visits, day 3 of 5. Breakfast at home for me only: leftover pappardelle with asparagus and lemon, leftover pho broth, leftover five-spice chicken, hot water. Weeded and uploaded photos to Flickr. Vacuumed the lower level. Prepared, labeled, and installed a travel shampoo bottle in the secondary bathroom for myself. Midmorning snack: cherries. Lunch: slices of herb slab focaccia with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomato, parm regg, and basil. Tina also made me an earl grey tea latte with orange rind. Afternoon coffee. We processed photos and uploaded to Flickr. Patrick woke from a nap, and we three helped him cook dinner while snacking on small snacks and sipping various alcohols or cocktails. Dinner at home with Patrick, Tina, Tai, Drew, Phil: shrimp and andouille jambalaya, fried okra, lettuces with scallion-buttermilk dressing, warm French bread with salted butter, pecan macarons with Humphrey Slocombe vietnamese coffee ice cream. They brought two bottles of wine. Everything was delicious.
Sun Jun 8, 2025
Tina visits, day 4 of 5. Patrick and Tina made us breakfast: pancakes with sliced banana and chocolate chips. Later we walked to the Crystal Fair at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park (1199 9th Avenue). We browsed half of the large room, and Patrick and Tina made some purchases. We met Matthew and Gavin from The Chaga Company. Afterwards we walked to lunch at Underdogs Tres (1224 9th Avenue): Mexican Burrito (chicken, beans, salsa) and watermelon agua fresca for Patrick, carne asada burrito and horchata for Tina, fried egg taco Nick's Way and watermelon agua fresca for me. We started by sharing a slice of coconut cream pie. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Tess W was good. Afterwards we walked home. Tina remained at home while Patrick and I walked and rode Muni to Alamo Drafthouse New Mission to see The Phoenician Scheme for which we had already had tickets before we learned that Tina was visiting and we could not secure another ticket in time. Water and popcorn. We enjoyed the film and briefly saw Tim and Tom while exiting the theatre. Walked home. Rested. Later we walked and rode Muni to Wayfare Tavern in their new location at 201 Post Street. Manhattan for Patrick, Nourishing Nectars for Tina and Frank. We shared a green goddess salad (gem lettuce, california grapefruit, french breakfast radish, tarragon, nasturtium, crispy breadcrumbs), ham hock croquettes (egg yolk jam, bread-and-butter pickles), Mary's organic fried chicken (roasted garlic, crispy wood herbs, meyer lemon), spring pea rigatoni (english peas, morels, creme fraiche, crispy speck, pecorino, mint), grilled asparagus (sauce charon, crispy shallots). With the mains we all drank Domaine Des Griffes, 2023, Sancerre, France. We shared a slice of chocolate Swiss roll. Patrick had an espresso. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Krista aka Krizia M was very good. Rode Lyft home.
Mon Jun 9, 2025
Tina visits, day 5 of 5. Patrick hunted and gathered pastries from Tartine, Craftsman and Wolves, and Cafe de Casa before Tina and I awoke. We ate them with coffee and hot water. Patrick and Tina printed astrological natal charts for us all and reviewed them. I caught up on journaling and uploaded photos to Flickr. Lunch at home with Sam, Tina, and Patrick: salad, garlic bread, and leftover jambalaya. I napped. Walked to dinner at Dumpling Kitchen (544 Castro Street) with Patrick and Tina: hot jasmine tea, hot and sour soup, green onion pancake, shanghai-style steamed pork dumplings, shanghai-style pan-fried pork buns, shanghai-style steamed sticky rice shumai, steamed beef shumai, steamed chicken and shiitake baos. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Anita was very good. While there we encountered Brian and Jose and said hello. Afterwards, Patrick, Tina, and I walked to Hot Cookie and bought six cookies home and ate half of each. Tina leaves very early tomorrow morning, so I said goodbye before sleeping.
Tue Jun 10, 2025
Breakfast at home: yogurt with toasted coconut, mexican vanilla, flax meal, toasted and sliced almonds, and golden raisins; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Drew and I worked more on revising the I-693 page. Walked and rode Muni to lunch by myself at RT Rotisserie: chicken soup, lemonade. Walked and rode Muni home. Stomach did not feel well, so I napped most of the afternoon. At dinner, I was still feeling unwell, so only Patrick ate: black bean and avocado tacos. We watched a recap of Gladiator on YouTube then part of Gladiator II on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick went to bed. Today I listened to the recent John Mulaney episode on Marc Maron's WTF podcast. I tagged Tina's recent photos on Flickr, read news, then went to bed.
Wed Jun 11, 2025
Stomach felt fine this morning. Breakfast at home: yogurt with toasted coconut, mexican vanilla, flax meal, toasted and slivered almonds, and golden raisins; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Drew and I worked on claiming business profiles, Gmail canned text templates, outdoor banners, and more. Lunch with Tai and Drew at Golden Horse Restaurant. Removed old staff photos from the website which were on the filesystem but not displayed on pages. Drew set up the Adobe account and I got access to all Adobe apps. I made a square version of Phil's headshot then replaced it everywhere I could find and access. I drafted new outdoor banners and a wall poster for new lab testing services. Today Sam and Patrick took a day trip to Nick's Cove and Tomales Bay. Walked and rode Muni home. Later Patrick and I walked to dinner at Tavola Rustica: strawberry and frisee salad with vinaigrette, margherita pizza with speck. Patrick drank a glass of D'Avalo Nero. I had a glass of Gamay. $75. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Jonny P was very good. While dining, Patrick needed more charge in his iPhone, and I used a short USB-C-to-USB-C cable that I always carry to give him some charge from my iPhone. Walked home. Along the way we noticed Rikki's opening night had an extremely long line. We finished watching Gladiator II on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick had tiramisu ice cream. Patrick went to bed.
Thu Jun 12, 2025
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a two-egg veggie omelette with red bell pepper, celery, spinach, green onions; two slices of bacon; hot water. Mounted a hook in the kitchen for the mandoline. Prepared for mounting the paper towel holder on a board on the inside of a cabinet door. In the garage, I sprayed enamel onto a metal trash can to prevent rust. I untangled pull cords for blinds in the stairwell. Lunch: I prepared for myself tonkatsu ramen with spinach, mushrooms, and green onions and half of the soup base packet. Walked to Cliff's Variety and purchased wood cut to order and hinges and a 5/64-inch drill bit. Completed the paper towel holder project in the kitchen. Began a project to mount a framed corkboard to a wall with hinges: sanded wooden supports. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Memphis Minnie's via DoorDash: Two-Way Combo for Patrick (smoked fried chicken, tri-tip, mac and cheese, pit-smoked beans, corn bread), BBQ chicken caesar salad and cornbread muffin for me. We watched The Wild Robot on Netflix. We shared leftover cookies from Hot Cookie which Patrick had frozen. Facetime chat with Lani and Dex. Late dessert: three teaspoons of tiramisu ice cream.
Fri Jun 13, 2025
Breakfast: I prepared for myself two small veggie tacos with celery, mushrooms, red bell pepper, cotija, leftover diced avocado, salsa, sour cream; side of half banana; hot water. Housekeeping: processed dirty dishes, cleaned the stovetop, vacuumed half of the lower level, removed trash and recycling. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Began searching for UV-filtering plexiglass to protect the poster outside from fading. Worked on the new I-693 page: translate to Spanish, Phil review. Lunch: one sumo orange. Walked to Trader Joe's for a few items. Lunch, continued: small Trader Joe's turkey and cheddar sandwich. I-693 translate to Cantonese and Vietnamese, then printed drafts for others to review. Walked and rode Muni home. Cocktails with Patrick: Patrick created a cocktail of his own invention using Condesa Gin. We watched various YouTube videos including some featuring Suzanne Ciani then began watching Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix. Dinner at home with Patrick: roasted asparagus and french fries from frozen with ketchup. Dessert: we each had a tiny amount of tiramisu ice cream. Afterwards we enjoyed the remainder of Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Late snack: peanut-butter-filled pretzel nuggets, one mandarin. Did some deep-cleaning of the kitchen marble countertop.
Sat Jun 14, 2025
Breakfast at home: yogurt with diced peach and Bi-Rite cherry granola; hot water. Cleaned in the secondary bathroom. Cut my hair, showered. Cleaned in the secondary bathroom. Walked and rode Muni to Original Joe's at 601 Union Street to meet Lucia and Edgar for brunch. Cocktails: prosecco for Lucia, Bourbon and Bloom for Edgar, Tropical Joe for me. We shared aranciata, extra marinara. Edgar had a burger and salad. Lucia had salad and spicy rigatoni with marinara. I had jumbo shrimp cocktail. Dessert: Edgar brought us sweet bean rice balls. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Martin was very good. Afterwards we walked the street fair just outside before departing. Walked and rode Muni home. Drinks with Patrick, Tai, Drew, and Phil at The Mix. Afterwards we dined at Thai House Express: four-some combo, pla sam rod (fried fish with three-flavored sauce), shrimp pad see yew, yellow curry chicken, steamed rice, sticky rice, two thai iced teas, bottle of sangria. Dessert: we stopped at Aegean Delights for sweets. We said goodbyes. Walked home. Patrick and I watched part of Gary Gulman: In This Economy? on Amazon Prime Video.
Sun Jun 15, 2025
Breakfast at home: two-egg veggie scramble with celery, spinach, and mushrooms; two hash brown patties with ketchup; one slice of sourdough toast with salted butter; a tiny bowl of yogurt with diced half peach, flax meal, and cinnamon; hot water. Cleaned two bathtubs. This cleaning made me realize that I now prefer Bar Keeper's Friend powder instead of Bar Keeper's Friend More for the tub surfaces. Hand-mended a pair of cream-colored May 2010 Abercrombie Kids sweatpants (lower wolf jaw), which had become holey in a few areas, then mended it more with the machine. Walked to meet Patrick for a visit to Cliff's Variety where we made a few purchases. Hemmed a towel wrap shorter for Patrick. Cleared sewing supplies, vacuumed, and cleaned. Late afternoon snack: leftover snack mix from jambalaya dinner, mexican vanilla soda with splash of coffee. Dinner at home with Patrick: mushroom and tofu stir-fry over steamed rice, hot water. We watched the remainder of Gary Gulman: In This Economy? on Amazon Prime Video then What We Do in the Shadows s6:e6 on Hulu then The Simpsons s34:e3 on Disney+. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Did some weeding of browser bookmarks (old work). Late snack: one bao bun from frozen which reheated in the microwave in one minute and was delicious, Guittard hot cocoa rouge with simple syrup and whole milk.
Mon Jun 16, 2025
Late breakfast: Bi-Rite cherry granola with plain yogurt and milk; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Continued multilingual translations of the I-693 page. Made an ID card for me. Reviewed Phil's profiles on various sites and followed up with one vendor. Errands. I stopped at Trader Joe's to get one item, but the line was abysmally long, so I left without buying anything. Hardware store. Lunch to go from Nobhill Pizza and Schawarma: cheese slice. Walked and rode Muni home. Continued the corkboard project: glued one piece of wood to one side of the corkboard. Sanded the handle of a new watering can (metal body, wooden handle) that we recently put into service. Dinner at home with Patrick: avocado, tuna, and cucumber romaine salad; hot water. Snack: corn chips. Afterwards we did some preparations for housewarming, and Patrick made us Cadillac margaritas, mine with salted rim. We watched What's Next?: The Future With Bill Gates s1:e4 Can You Be Too Rich? on Netflix. Patrick went to bed.
Tue Jun 17, 2025
Breakfast at home: two small sausage links, one hash brown patty, two eggs over easy, one toasted english muffin with salted butter, hot water. Did some cleaning in the primary bathroom: missed some spots from cleaning on Saturday on the inside of the sliding glass door. Continued the corkboard project: applied wood filler and two layers of thin backing cardboard to resolve a problem mounting one hinge in a troublesome spot, glued another piece of wood to the previous piece I had glued to better position the magnet that will hold the corkboard closed against the wall (or, rather, against the metal panel that it is intended to hide). Did some cleaning in the secondary bathroom: sliding door track. Continued the corkboard project: reattached the hinge that had a problem, reattached the magnet, installed wall anchors, removed old felt pads, removed old felt pad adhesive with Goo Gone. Did research for accommodations in Santa Cruz. Dinner at home with Patrick: creamy garlic chicken with spinach skillet with seeded dinner roll; chardonnay. Dessert: one Arizmendi Bakery ricciarelli each. I completed the corkboard project: I glued wooden supports to a cordboard, attached a magnet and hinges, and mounted it to the wall such that the magnet attached to a service panel on the wall. When we needed access to the service panel, we could swing the corkboard on its hinges to reveal the panel. When the corkboard was closed on its hinges, the panel was hidden and the corkboard surface was exposed. We watched part of What's Next?: The Future With Bill Gates s1:e1 What will AI do for us/to us? on Netflix then watched various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I processed a few more dirty dishes then joined him not long afterwards.
Wed Jun 18, 2025
Breakfast at home: waffles with butter, whipped cream, blueberries; side of small yogurt with toasted coconut, roasted and slivered almonds, and flax meal; hot water. Repaired with wood putty a small chip in hardwood flooring in the dining room. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Errand: hardware store. I coded a new blog post for restless legs syndrome (RLS). Met with Phil and Drew for an hour to discuss various issues. At lunch Phil, Drew, and I walked in the neighborhood. Afterwards I stopped by myself at Trader Joe's to pick up hash brown patties. The patties went into the freezer. I ate the bbq chicken wrap on the patio. Water from my water bottle. Walked and rode Muni home. Walked to dinner at Pasta Panino with Patrick: spaghetti con polpette for Patrick, penne bolognese for me, glass of montepulciano and small focaccia and ciabatta with oil and balsamic vinegar for both. All food, drink, and service was very good. $91.11 after tax and tip. Walked home. Housewarming party planning. Patrick had planned to take a bath today in the secondary bathroom. It was the first bath in our new home. We found that the stopper would not work correctly, so he was unable to take the bath. I unscrewed the cover but we could not figure out how to fix it. We'll likely have to call a plumber to fix it. Began altering a new bathrobe from The Company Store. Today's alteration: I 75% completed attaching velcro to the front sides near the neck so that it stays closed better to keep me warm.
Thu Jun 19, 2025
Sam came over to do some laundry that he was not easily able to do at home. Breakfast with Sam and Patrick. We first attempted to breakfast at Orphan Andy's, but they were closed for another hour while they installed a new (range?). We walked toward Mystique Cafe but Patrick looked it up on his phone and determined that they were closed. So we turned around and walked to Wooden Spoon. The Big Spoon and coffee for Patrick, avocado toast and hot chocolate for Sam, salmon soft eggs scramble and hot chocolate for me. Service was notably slow today. At least one table seated after us was served about 10 to 15 minutes earlier than we were, and it's not clear why. Walked home. Patrick and Sam left to visit Patrick's mom and stop at the grocery. I remained home to receive packages and to continue alterations and improvements to my bathrobe from The Company Store. I completed the alteration I began yesterday. Next I removed the belt loops and sewed them back on in a lower position that better matched where my waist was. Next I removed the scratchy The Company Store tag at the neck and used some terrycloth from excess fabric removed from Patrick's towel wrap alteration some days ago to create a hanger loop and sewed it on. Lunch: I prepared for myself fried rice with vegetables, hot water. Alterations and improvements complete for now; it had taken many hours. Cleaned and put away tools following sewing. Cleaned bird poop from the balcony railing using Clean That Up's vinegar solution. Packed for a trip. Dinner at home with Patrick: Eating Well's asparagus, leek, and ricotta frittata; white wine; hot water. Continue packing. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen.
Fri Jun 20, 2025
Breakfast: leftovers from yesterday's lunch, hot water. Continued packing for a trip. Lunch: leftover fritatta, hot water. Patrick and I rented a car and drove to JY and Adrian's Sundance getaway in Guerneville for the weekend. Along the way we stopped at Starbucks for refreshments. We got a tour of the house and property, then took a short walk in the neighborhood with JY. We met Josh and Sheening who returned from R3. JY made us dinner at the house: J. Kenji López-Alt's Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops (Thit Heo Nuong Xa) with steamed rice, salad, nuoc mam, wine. Some of us ate dessert: fruit salad, ube ice cream. We sat in the living room and read and answered questions from cards. To bed.
Sat Jun 21, 2025
Patrick and I woke early and ate danish with coffee. Patrick and I walked to Safeway. Along the way we met gnome-garden neighbor Arlene walking her dog Baxter. At Safeway we bought ingredients for Patrick's preparation of Sunday breakfast. At Safeway we again encountered Arlene then accepted her invitation to ride back in her car. At the house, Sheening and Josh had prepared breakfast: a toasted bagel spread with plain and herbed cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, red onions, and Boichik bagels (sesame and garlic); fruit salad; soft scrambled eggs; bacon and we all enjoyed it. Patrick napped. I joined others in the hot tub. We all drove in two cars to R3 for an event in the spirit of Marsha P. Johnson. $20 each at the door. We lunched there: mahi mahi sandwich and potato chips and non-alcoholic beer for Patrick, cow burger and potato chips and mudslides for me. Josh bought our drinks. The event was well-attended and we enjoyed DJ music, queens, sun, and conversation. Drove back to the house. Patrick and I napped. Next were two house parties. The first was at Paul and Steven's where we also newly met Charlie and Ted. This house was at the top of a hill and had a stunning panoramic view. We enjoyed hearing Paul describe his expansive and well-maintained garden and enjoyed light appetizers with drinks. Next, we all drove to a different house party of people whom Paul and Steven knew. Outdoors a DJ spun adjacent to a dance floor. There was a wide variety of food, to which Paul and Steven contributed several large containers of chicken drumsticks and wings. We ate, drank, and socialized for a few hours. Later we six said our goodbyes and returned to the house. Rested. We watched Justin Willman: Magic Lover.
Sun Jun 22, 2025
Patrick and I woke early. Patrick ate a banana and drank coffee. Patrick began preparing breakfast, and I helped. Southern drop biscuits from scratch, then buttery grits and a fritatta with andouille and red bell pepper. After breakfast, Patrick and I packed, and everyone cleaned. We all departed for Unti Winery's white wine release party. We enjoyed pizza and cannoli. We bought a case of different wines. We enjoyed the live music and many dogs that came with their owners. We said our goodbyes and drove home. Did some cleaning of the soles of my heated slippers after realizing how dirty they were. Walked to dinner at Takara Sushi (415-626-7864, 4243 18th Street) with Patrick: hot green tea, sweet crab roll, spider roll, crispy cannon roll, snow roll. All food, drink, and service were excellent. Walked home.
Mon Jun 23, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a sausage and egg sandwich on english muffin with fresh black pepper and dried rosemary, side of blueberries with whipped cream from a can, hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Continued translating the I-693 web page. Successfully removed three defunct profiles on Nextdoor by contacting their support team through their web form. Not sure why the same request three weeks ago did not work. Continued editing email templates. Walked to a late lunch at The Little Chihuahua: carne asada quesadilla, watermelon-mint agua fresca: about $13. Wrangled with Phil's doctor Facebook profile, mostly because changing from my profile to his profile causes Facebook to hang. It's not a browser cache issue. Deleting cookies gets me out of the brokenness, but it does not resolve the problem. Happens in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. Facebook app on iPhone behaves similarly, so this is clearly a Facebook problem, and I don't know how to contact support since when logged in as him all Facebook pages hang. Continued editing email templates. Walked and rode Muni home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftovers from Pasta Panino from frozen, hot water. Patrick and I walked to a nearby convenience store for snacks and returned. We watched various YouTube videos then Fallout s1:e1 on Amazon Prime Video then the remainder of What's Next?: The Future With Bill Gates s1:e1 What will AI do for us/to us? on Netflix. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one bao bun from frozen, water.
Tue Jun 24, 2025
Breakfast at home: TJ's belgian waffles with whipped cream and blueberries, TJ's english muffin with salted butter, hot water. Examined energy usage and cost reports. Made changes to the thermostat heat settings after trying everything off since June 1. Vacuumed all floors on both levels. Applied tile grout to patch small holes and cracks in the secondary bathroom. Vacuumed all microfiber towels in an attempt to resolve a problem in which the towels would leave behind microfibers on, for example, glass surfaces like shower doors and mirrors. Laundered microfiber towels. Late lunch: Bi-Rite cherry granola with blueberries and milk. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: tomato, corn, and avocado salad; hot water. We watched Fallout s1:e2 on Amazon Prime Video with snacks. Facetime chat with Lani and Dex. Late snack: sourdough toast with sharp cheddar, hot water.
Wed Jun 25, 2025
More small tile grout repairs; I had missed seeing some spots earlier. Continued troubleshooting problems with the hydronic radiant heat system. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a sausage and egg sandwich on english muffin with fresh black pepper and dried rosemary. Did more cleaning of the soles of my heated slippers. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. More I-693 web page translation work, then made all staged web pages live. Walked to lunch and back: lunch special (cheeseburger, fries, and drink) at Slider Buns—delicious meal, comfortable dining area. Edited email campaign content. Walked and rode Muni home. Light dinner at home with Patrick: grilled cheddar cheese with pesto, sparkling water for Patrick, hot water for me, red wine for both. We reviewed our home warranty contract against our list of things we need or want to fix. We watched Fallout s1:e3 on Amazon Prime Video with snacks. Patrick went to bed. I joined several hours later.
Thu Jun 26, 2025
More hydronic radiant heat testing. Began emptying bamboo storage bins and reorganizing mule chest and nightstand drawers. Applied wood putty to small cracks found in a few drawers. Applied wood putty to scars to the mule chest that occurred during the move. Breakfast: plain yogurt with flax meal, toasted coconut, slivered and roasted almonds, blueberries, banana; hot water. Continued reorganizing stuff. Lunch: Bi-Rite cherry granola with blueberries and milk; toasted english muffin with peanut butter; hot water. Cleaned the primary bathroom and tub. Cut my hair, showered. Cleaned the bathroom. Midafternoon snack: unsalted pretzel twists, water. Ran a test of using Quikrete Concrete Crack Seal in a tube. Swept the outer stairwell. Dinner at home with Patrick: yellow tomato and peach gazpacho with whole wheat boule. Dressed for an event. Walked to Blackbird Bar to meet Scott and Andy for Feathers, Fans & Fur: Drag Burlesque with emcee Fran Zaya. Scheduled to perform: Beef Cakes, Carlota Di Carlo, Fullout Fritzie, Polly Amber Ross, and Rica Shay. We enjoyed the performances and had a great time. Afterwards Patrick and I walked to get pizza slices at Marcello's before walking home.
Fri Jun 27, 2025
Breakfast: I prepared for myself one egg over easy, two pork sausage links from frozen, one hash brown patty from frozen, and toasted whole wheat boule. Trash management. Checked on the concrete crack repair—all still looks well. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Continued editing Gmail templates. Reviewed HIPAA requirements. Cleaned up the USCIS mailing list. Began building an html email template. Removed the wallpaper background image from the website. Walked and rode Muni home. Chris G and Andy T came over to see our new place. They parked in our garage. We gave them a quick tour, then all of us went to dinner at L'Ardoise. Wine: bottle of Mas Combarela 100% Carignan to share. Appetizers to share: charcuterie plate with house-made pates, cornichons, pickled vegetables, grain mustard; sweet corn soup of the day; and lobster and scallop vol au vent (special). Entrees: Andy had traditional leg duck confit with smoked bacon, pommes landaises, and roasted garlic sauce; Chris had pan-seared Black Angus hangar steak with red wine sauce and pommes frites; Patrick had pan-roasted rack of lamb in herbes de Provence, pommes landaises, red wine sauce, and garlic parsley butter; I had rib-eye (special) with pommes landaises. Each plate included a very tiny salad. Desserts to share: apple tarte tatin with whipped cream, caramel, strawberry, and mint leaf; floating island with sliced almonds, caramel, strawberry, and mint leaf. All food and drink were delicious. Service was excellent. Afterwards we four attended Queer Comedy Showcase Pride Edition at The Academy. We enjoyed all the performers: Marcus Williams (also host), Emmanuel Brueh, Loren Kraut, Wonder Dave, and Chelsea Bearce. We walked home, and Chris and Andy did not stay long before returning home.
Sat Jun 28, 2025
Breakfast: I prepared for myself leftover rib-eye with french fries from frozen. (I reheated leftover pommes landaises but ended up ruining them.) Later Patrick and I walked to Fisch and Flore for a small meal: one shrimp taco for Patrick, one fish taco for me. Cocktails for both. Then we attended and enjoyed Pretty In Pink: 2nd Annual Pride Saturday Garden Party at The Academy. Two gogo dancers danced, we took photos in the photo booth, we enjoyed cocktails and socialized, meeting several new people. Walked and rode Muni to dinner at Sausage Factory: chicken parm and sangiovese for Patrick, veggie lasagne and pinot grigio for me. Home. We watched Fallout s1:e4 on Amazon Prime Video then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed, and I joined several hours later.
Sun Jun 29, 2025
Pride Sunday. Patrick had a family emergency to attend to, so I went to Above It All at Charmaine's by myself. DJ Hawthorne did his usual fantastic job spinning the tunes. I encountered Suzan, Tim, East Bay Steven, Lizzi, Leo, Andrew, Valter, and more whose names I forgot. Paul arrived early and snagged great seating on the east side of the building, bringing Jeff C and David M along for the ride. Patrick joined us after a while. We snacked on fish tacos, beef sliders, french fries, and more. Wait staff were frequently confused about whether we could order from our couch even after we had done so many times. When food was brought to us, it was never with any napkins. But these are minor quibbles. We had a great time enjoying the sun and sounds and watching the parade from above. Afterwards Patrick and I walked around the Pride festival at Civic Center, then walked to Hayes Valley for ice cream at Salt and Straw. Patrick had a double scoop of (we can't remember the name) gooey chocolate brownie and coffee with candied nuts. After that, we walked to Whole Foods on Market Street for groceries, then returned home on the F Market bus. Patrick and I returned home and rested. I realized I got a bit more sun than I had expected. My arms had darkened significantly, but there was no actual sunburn. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared basil and ricotta ravioli (deli) with marinara (jar) with fresh basil. Later I joined Paul for barhopping. We had intended to go to The Mix, but the line was too long. Instead we went to Midnight Sun where we encountered Mark H, Tommy (who tended bar at the speakeasy at The Academy), and Sonny (Class of 2011). Then Paul and I went to Last Call where we met Petey and Irwin. Then we went to Moby Dick where we met Raymond and Justin. Afterwards Paul went home and I got a veggie pizza slice at Oz before going home and to bed.
Mon Jun 30, 2025
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a sourdough sandwich with sausage patty from frozen and one scrambled egg; yogurt with blackberries and sliced banana; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Color work. Artbar generation. Removed autoresponder for health@recharge.clinic. Drafted html email for USCIS updates using MJML. Lunch: roast beef and cheddar sandwich with lemonade from Sammy's Cafe. Service was exceptionally polite and caring. The sandwich seems small for the price, but it did have a good portion of roast beef, and it was delicious. Walked and rode Muni home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: roasted cauliflower and avocado soft tacos with cilantro, hot water. Patrick processed dirty dishes. I sanded wood putty filler on the mule chest. Later we watched Fallout s1:e5 on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: two large mozzarella sticks from frozen, one pizza cupcake from frozen. I do not like these snacks very much. The mozza sticks leaked almost all their cheese onto the pan. The pizza cupcake simply tastes weird. Water to drink. Continued html email work a bit.