July 2025
Summary: Game Night at The Academy; Positives & Negatives Exhibit at Queer Arts Featured; Sunday BBQ with Gray and Martin and friends; Dinner with Patrick, Paolo, and Lucie at Delfina; Isaac Julien at the de Young Museum; Academy Forum: Castro Town Hall with Supervisor Mandelman; Housewarming #1; Dinner at Beit Rima and The Academy's 8th Anniversary with Patrick, JY, and Adrian; Chris and Andy help with home repairs; Wayne Thibaud: Art Comes From Art at Legion of Honor; Academy of Wine: Spanish Food and Wine Pairing with Canela
Dates on this page
Tue Jul 1, 2025
Breakfast at home: yogurt with blackberries and sliced banana, mexican vanilla, toasted coconut; one slice of sourdough toast with salted butter; hot water. Shopped online for a new monitor to replace one that recently died. More concrete crack repair in front of our home with Quikrete Concrete Crack Seal in a tube. Lunch: I prepared for myself yakisoba from frozen with assorted fish cake, chunky zucchini, broccoli florets, and sliced red onion; hot water. Afterwards I ate a few bites of Ben and Jerry's Gimme S'mores! ice cream. Finalized the monitor purchase. Worked from home for Recharge Medical: html email build and test, mailing list cleanup, email campaign tool analysis. Dinner at home with Patrick: spring lettuces, beets, and pecan salad with dijon dressing with warm bread, hot water. We watched Fallout s1:e6 on Amazon Prime Video then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one corn on the cob, hot water.
Wed Jul 2, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a veggie omelette with zucchini, broccoli, green onion, carrot; side of half banana; hot water. Midmorning Lani, Rob, and Matt arrived to see our new place. They brought us sweet gifts: chocolate bars, It's It ice cream bars, and plums from Dave and Diane's tree. We gifted them Dandelion chocolate bars and Craftsman and Wolves shoyu chocolate caramels. We gave them a tour of the home and lunched at Dumpling Kitchen: sizzling rice soup (B05), Shanghai-style pan-fried pork buns (S05), steamed chicken and shiitake baos (S17), braised tofu with bok choy (V01), green onion pancake (A05), oolong tea. All food and drink were delicious. Service was very good. Patrick napped. I did some minor caulking in the secondary bathroom and folded laundry that Patrick had washed earlier. Did some work for Recharge Medical: mailing list edits, changes for the USCIS updates html email. In the evening Patrick and I shopped for pillows at various places and made a purchase at Black and Gold then dined at Mezze and Mooore: beet salad, fatoush salad, falafel mezze (5 pieces), mint lemonade for both. Walked home. Rested. Walked to The Academy for Game Night. After the icebreaker, Patrick and I split into different groups. Patrick's group played Poetry for Neanderthals then Where Should We Begin? My group played SKYJO, and I won with beginner's luck. Walked home, stopping at Super Duper Burgers for french fries for me only. Patrick went to bed, then I joined a while later.
Thu Jul 3, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a one-egg scramble with leftover cauliflower and avocado in flour tortilla. Put two new pillows into service. I had intended to do Recharge Medical work today, but I felt very cold and could not do much work. Lunch at home: I prepared for myself pasta shells in marinara with broccoli, side of toasted bread. Dinner at home with Patrick: asparagus and tofu in black bean sauce with steamed rice, hot water. Afterwards I made and drank plum juice using plums from Dave and Diane's tree and gifted via Lani. We watched Fallout s1:e7 then Monsieur Spade s1:e1 both on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick went to bed. Late snack: one bao bun from frozen, water.
Fri Jul 4, 2025
Continued a bit of caulking in the secondary bathroom tub. Cleaned in the primary bathroom with vinegar solution. Breakfast: I prepared for myself a one-egg veggie scramble with green onion, celery, yellow bell pepper, and carrot; one hash brown patty; two small pork sausage links; side of half banana; hot water. More cleaning in both bathrooms with vinegar solution and vacuum. Vacuumed a bit in the office. Discovered a loose piece of slate tile in the secondary bathroom. Weeded notes in my note-taking app. Cleaned up or clarified some old entries in my journal. Lunch: Patrick had avocado salad; I had leftover asparagus and tofu in black bean sauce with steamed rice. Hot water to drink. In the late afternoon we rode Muni and BART to a party at Josh and Sheening's. There were two birthdays for J and V. We met or encountered Hap, Simon T, Hao T, Tim, dog Luna, Kuba, Brandon, and probably more whose names I don't recall. Adam B and Eric T DJed. We enjoyed a grand buffet of various kinds of delicious pupusas, tilapia and potatoes, black beans and rice, chicken salad, fried plantains, chocolate banana bread, birthday cake, and more, all of which served as a very early dinner. We drank red and white sangria. After several hours we headed home, exhausted. It was about an hour each way on Muni and BART. At home we watched a recap of all Jurassic Park films on YouTube. To bed.
Sat Jul 5, 2025
Breakfast at home: one-egg carrot scramble with green onions in corn-flour tortilla, hot water. Installed replacement drawer pulls. Continued deep-cleaning the sliding glass door track in the primary bathroom. It looked like it hadn't been deep-cleaned in years. Lunch: I prepared for myself a veggie stir-fry with carrot, celery, firm tofu, broccoli, red onion, green onion, and Soy Vay Veri Veri teriyaki sauce, and served it over leftover steamed white rice. I began creating trivia cards for our home. In the late afternoon Patrick and I walked to and briefly visited a free photography exhibit called Positives & Negatives: Memories From Castro Camera in the Time of Harvey Milk at Queer Arts Featured (575 Castro Street). The show opened last night, and it contains photos in and around the Castro in the 1970s. We enjoyed what we saw and ran out of time, expecting to return for a deeper look. We walked to Alamo Drafthouse New Mission for dinner and Jurassic World: Rebirth. Iced tea for Patrick, lemonade no ice for me. We shared popcorn and a kale salad. The salad seems to have gotten smaller since we last remember it. Service by Luca S was very good. We mistakenly received popcorn that had some kind of topping, but the problem was quickly rectified; we don't know how the problem occurred. The film's scheduled start time was 6:00 p.m. The film's runtime was 2 hours 13 minutes. We received a last call notice for food and drink orders at 7:28 p.m. We enjoyed the film while realizing that it has mostly the same plot as all the previous films. Walked home. Patrick went to bed. I set up a new monitor in the office. I had to swap my docking station with Patrick's because I forgot to check that his docking station had the correct ports for the new monitor. I also installed updates for computers and portable devices.
Sun Jul 6, 2025
Breakfast: leftover veggie stir-fry with rice; cottage cheese with blackberries, sliced banana, and roasted and slivered almonds; hot water. Midday, Patrick and I walked to a dinner party at Gray and Martin's. It was a feast, really. Sangak with some kind of dairy-based dip with chickpeas, grilled broccolini, pesto radiatore, charred mushrooms, short ribs, matcha basque cheesecake with strawberries, cherry almond frangipane tart. Everything was delicious, and we enjoyed all the company, which (I think?) included Gray, Martin, Drew C, Tin D, Tim, Monty H, David, Keith B, William, Keith R, and Ken. Walked home. Patrick and I walked to dinner at Delfina with Paolo and Lucie: spring sformato, insalata di campo, two spring onion pizzas (one gluten-free), two glasses of Edoardo Dottori Collebianco, verdecchio, pappardelle and duck sugo, sparkling water. At the end of our meal our server brought us a complimentary dish: parmesan rind gnocchi with truffle. All food, drink, and service were excellent. Walked home. I was late for Facetime chat with Lani and Dex.
Mon Jul 7, 2025
Walked to Cafe de Casa for late breakfast: ham and cheese sandwich, latte. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Mailing list cleanup all day. No lunch since I had a late breakfast. Walked and rode Muni to Peak Design where Kyle and Zona did a great job helping me decide how best to resolve the problem of a sticky strap on my 15-inch Everyday Messenger (original Kickstarter). After some discussion, I decided to accept a new strap from a current 15-inch Everyday Messenger, which I will sew into place. They allowed me to keep the old strap in case I needed to later return the entire bag for warranty repair; it would be less confusing that way, it seemed. Walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from The Little Chihuahua via Doordash: regular burrito for Patrick (whole wheat, grilled vegetables, whole black beans, no mexican rice, add avocado), salmon burrito for me (whole wheat, whole black beans), hot water to drink. My salmon burrito included a crema which was a little too spicy for me, but I ate it anyway. It was also not as hot as I had wanted, but there was no good way to reheat it quickly, so I just ate it less warm than I would have liked. We watched Fallout s1:e8 (season finale) on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick went to bed. I continued mailing list cleanup. To bed late.
Tue Jul 8, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a deli applewood ham and cheddar tostada on flour-corn tortillas; hot water. Recharge Medical work from home: unsubscribe form tweaks, more mailing list work. Midmorning Patrick and I walked and rode Muni to the de Young Museum to see the Isaac Julien exhibit, which we enjoyed. I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I was falling asleep during parts of some films and was feeling off-kilter all day long. We lunched in the museum's counter service restaurant. Patrick had a white albacore tuna sandwich with potato chips and iced tea, I had a prawn roll with potato chips, pickle slice, and arnold palmer. About $70 for the meal. Delicious but pricey for what you get. I walked and rode Muni home. Patrick walked and rode Muni to Kerry and his mom's place then to groceries at Whole Foods. Rested. Did more weeding of notes in my notetaking app. Dinner at home with Patrick: tangy veggie wrap with spinach, carrots, red peppers, and red onions. Dessert: It's It cappuccino. We watched various YouTube videos then The Bear s4:e1 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. More backups and updates for home devices. Analyzed and adjusted thermostat settings for the living room. Continued weeding notes in my notetaking app. Caught up on journaling.
Wed Jul 9, 2025
Breakfast: leftover parmesan rind gnocchi with truffle from Delfina; yogurt with blueberries, toasted coconut, roasted and slivered almonds, and flax meal; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Continued email campaign testing and tweaks. Walked and rode Muni home. Late lunch: leftover parmesan rind gnocchi with truffle from Delfina, half sandwich of cheddar and applewood ham, cold water. Patrick and I had a voice call meeting with Ron M. Dinner at Aiso, which opened a week ago. Cocktails: easy split for Patrick, soggy dollar for me. Complimentary surprise course: sandia, which was a large slice of watermelon with mint chiffonade and gourmet salt flakes (Maldon?). We shared: heart of palm fritto (which resembled deep-fried calamari), mango gazpacho, oyster skewers (which had interesting textures and a delightful char), and garlic udon. Dessert: we shared chocolate fondant with vanilla gelato. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Connor G was excellent. Walked home. We watched The Simpsons s34:e4 on Hulu then various YouTube videos.
Thu Jul 10, 2025
Breakfast: cottage cheese with blueberries, leftover salmon burrito, hot water. Chatted on the phone briefly with a handyman whom JY and Adrian recommended to get referrals to other contractors. Vacuumed in the bedroom. Vacuumed the pom poms throw pillow which has been shedding wool threads from the pom poms. Vacuumed a microfiber towel that had a problem with shedding microfibers. Did minor tile grout touchups in the secondary bathroom. Repaired a broken tile in the secondary bathroom with epoxy putty. More concrete crack repair using Quikrete Concrete Crack Seal in a tube. Swept tree debris from the patio. Lunch: microwaved corn on the cob; yakisoba noodles from frozen with carrot, celery, garlic, basil; cold water. Used my sewing machine to repair some small holes in the arms of a dark brown v-neck sweater. Repaired my Kickstarter 15-inch Everyday Messenger strap with sewing by hand then machine. Showered, cleaned the bathroom. Removed a bit of mold around the sink faucet in the primary bathroom with vinegar and dish soap and water solution. Walked to meet Patrick at the place where he gets his eyebrows waxed. Dinner at Tara Indian with Patrick: masala chai for two, paneer korma mild, butter chicken masala mild, kabuli naan, basmati rice. All food and drink were delicious. Service by Cashier 0 was mostly good but neglectful at the end of our meal. Afterwards Patrick and I walked to, attended, and enjoyed at The Academy: Academy Forum: Castro Town Hall with Supervisor Mandelman. Walked home. We watched various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I joined a few hours later.
Fri Jul 11, 2025
Breakfast: breakfast sandwich with one egg, spinach, red onion, basil; yogurt with blueberries, sliced banana, and toasted coconut; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Lab test consent form formatting. For lunch, I ate what I brought from home: ham and cheddar sandwich, potato chips, water from my water bottle. Subscribed to an email campaign provider and ran a test which had two problems I was unable to resolve on my own so I sent the provider a request for support. Mailing list dupes removal. Drew and I edited the lab tests poster. Walked and rode Muni home. At Van Ness Station the train had just arrived when I reached the platform. The sign on the train said S-Shuttle but the sign above the platform said N-Judah. I hesitated a moment and boarded. The doors closed. I walked to the front of the train. A Muni operator was riding and sitting in the front. I asked him if this was an S or an N train. He said it was a shuttle. I told him what I saw. I did not talk to the operator. The train proceeded. The train emerged the tunnel on the N line. Another Muni trip gone wrong in The City That Knows How to Screw Up. The operator announced that the train was now an N train and let out the people who needed to alight due to the error. I stayed on until Duboce Park then alighted and walked the rest of the way home. More Recharge work: added statistics to the mailing list. Dinner at home with Patrick: asparagus and basil pasta, hot water. Dessert: It's It mint. Afterwards we watched various YouTube videos. I left to meet Paul at Moby Dick's and Mark H was there with him. We chatted for several hours there and at Midnight Sun. Mark left, and Paul and I dined at Pasta Panino. Paul had a salmon special; I had french fries with ketchup. At Strut we stumbled upon an art show opening for Ngoc Nguyen with complimentary wine and snacks. We enjoyed the art and the event. We encountered Keith H and chatted with him a while about his filmmaking endeavours. Paul and I finished the night with water at Last Call. A fun evening.
Sat Jul 12, 2025
Breakfast at home: leftover asparagus and basil pasta, hot water. Removed stains from tile in the secondary bathroom using Goof Off. Continued work on trivia cards for housewarmings. Lunch: tonkatsu-flavored ramen with red onion, celery, carrots, spinach, tofu; hot water. Carpet stain removal testing and treatment. Unloaded photos from my iPhone 16 Pro and uploaded some of them to Flickr. Patrick and I walked to dinner at Cubita (2516 Mission St) which recently opened where El Techo was. Along the way I realized I had forgotten my wallet at home, but they did not card me. Cocktails: Carajillo (dark rum, mezcal, licor 43, spiced coffee) for me, El Cocodrilo (blanco tequila, italicus, chareau aloe, lime, watermelon cordial) for Patrick. We shared: yuca frita, toston, ceviche caribeno, and pinchos de pollo. No dessert. The amount of food was just right. All food and drink were delicious. The Carajillo is very coffee-forward with coffee beans atop a thick layer of foam float in a short glass. The El Cocodrilo is served in a tall glass with lots of crushed ice, black salt, and a wedge of watermelon. The space has been renovated beautifully. We loved the many doors painted in different shades of pink as well as the hats as decor (though Patrick would have preferred seeing them more widely distributed throughout the space). Many space heaters were on, so we did not feel cold. The cocktail menu leans toward rum, as one might expect from Cuban cuisine. The yuca frita are a tad denser than potatoes and come with a delicious crema that is not spicy. The toston was surprisingly large and served with black beans and a non-spicy salsa. The ceviche was very fresh and had a bit of spiciness that built over time. The pinchos de pollo were full of flavor and extremely tender and included two medium-sized skewers, rice, and a small arugula salad. Service by Miguel V was excellent. Afterwards we walked to Alamo Drafthouse New Mission for Superman (2025). We shared bottomless popcorn and Patrick had a margarita. Water for both. We both enjoyed the film, and I thought it was a very good effort with only a few minor disappointments which I will not yet share since the film is new. Walked home. Patrick went to bed, and I joined a while later.
Sun Jul 13, 2025
No breakfast; not hungry. Cleaned in the primary bathroom. Cut my hair, showered. Cleaned in the primary bathroom. Patrick and I walked to Cliff's and back for some household items. More concrete crack repair in front of our home with Quikrete Concrete Crack Seal in a tube. Recharge Medical work: more email campaign send testing, more mailing list cleanup. Dinner at home with Patrick: spiced carrot and lentil soup with warm walnut wheat bread, hot water. We watched The Bear s4:e2 on Hulu then What We Do in the Shadows s6:e7 on Hulu. Uploaded photos to Flickr. We watched The Simpsons s34:e6 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Late snack: three TJ's miniature pizzas from frozen, water.
Mon Jul 14, 2025
Breakfast at home: slice of walnut bread with salted butter, cottage cheese with blueberries and toasted coconut, hot water. Recharge Medical work: responded to support request for email campaign. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Web page build and golive for lab tests page. Replaced KG's photo. Lunch brought from home: applewood ham and cheddar sandwich on walnut bread, unsalted pretzels, blue corn tortilla chips, a small piece of chocolate with potato chip bits, water. Errand: hardware store. Walked and rode Muni home. Nap. Dinner at Thai Chef with Patrick: two thai iced teas, we shared crispy egg noodles with shrimp, yellow curry with chicken, and one order of jasmine rice. $62 before a 20% tip for PUI. I walked home. Patrick walked to Whole Foods, then Golden Produce, then Safeway seeking okra but did not find it. He eventually found okra at a market in the Mission. I figured out the model number of our Viking range. It took me several hours. When we had it serviced a few months ago the technician was unable to find a label or sticker with the model number. The Viking website did not help very much in helping me identify it, but after lots of digging I found a document describing three locations to check for the label, and one of the locations was correct. For our range, I had to lift the left rear burner grate and drip pan and the label appeared inside on the left. Once I had the model number I returned to the Viking website. It had a page for that model but no other useful info, so I could only confirm its existence there. Searching the web more widely resulted in a few other documents which were helpful: descriptions, spec sheets, but no service manual. We have paper manuals but I was hoping to avoid needing to scan them since it's a fair amount of work. Weeded categories and reminders in my reminder app.
Tue Jul 15, 2025
Amputagged towels and rugs in the primary bathroom. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a one-egg scramble with red bell pepper, celery, green onion; one hash brown from frozen; two sausage links from frozen; four small pieces of walnut bread (end of the loaf); hot water. Processed dirty dishes and cleaned in the kitchen. Packed the old, broken monitor for disposal. Installed an emergency gas shut-off wrench attached to a pipe by the gas meters. I used two 3/16-inch ferrules, a three-foot length of 3/32-inch vinyl-coated galvanized cable, and wrench #2725 from Superior Tool. Total cost: about $15 and 20 minutes to install. Lunch: I prepared for myself yakisoba from frozen with celery, green onion, red onion, corn off the cob from frozen, spinach; hot water. I installed a new garden hose and sprayer, cleaned the garbage bins, and cleaned the sidewalk. Updated and printed medical records cheat sheet. Did some reorganizing of my to do list. Walked and rode Muni to a dentist appointment. Dinner at Underdogs Tres with Patrick using a DoorDash dine-in discount ($23 off minimum $25 spend): Patrick had a pollo asado Mexican burrito con todo, I had a gulf shrimp burrito, we shared chips and salsa. We had two rounds of happy hour margaritas. Walked and rode Muni home. We watched various YouTube videos. To bed.
Wed Jul 16, 2025
Breakfast at home: cottage cheese with sliced banana, toasted coconut, and flax meal; sliced banana and peanut butter on sourdough toast; hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Followup with email campaign provider that has not responded to our inquiry since two business days ago. Prepared Walter to send the campaign manually. Showed Walter and Drew how to work with the new mailing list spreadsheet. Ordered new banners. Drafted a new lightbox poster. Walked and rode Muni home, stopping at Walgreen's along the way. Delivery via DoorDash: Popeye's fried chicken, red beans and rice, mac and cheese, two biscuits. We watched The Bear s4:e3 on Hulu then What We Do in the Shadows s6:e8 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I watched more YouTube then went to bed.
Thu Jul 17, 2025
Breakfast at home: leftover medium-grain rice with kashmiri curry from a jar, hot water. Sealed grout along the sink countertop with grout sealer. Applied black Sugru to the ankles of a Pottery Barn Brenner Bar Chair to prevent marks against the baseboard where we keep it. Applied black Sugru to the bottom of a Squatty Potty whose rubber feet had failed to work properly over time. Cleaned from Sugru work. Printed housewarming trivia cards. Printed housewarming food labels. Emptied the paper shredder. Cutting board wood butter treatment. Lunch: celery sticks with peanut butter, leftover Popeye's fried chicken, mac and cheese, hot water. Organized and stored paperwork. Cleaned stairwell windows with vinegar solution. Cleaned the upper level front door and its entryway with vinegar solution then with dish soap solution. Vacuumed the upper level. Cleaned the filter for the small, handheld vacuum. Swept in the garage and on the sidewalk in front of our home and in our entryway. Removed two occurrences of bubble gum from the sidewalk in front of our home using a metal putty knife. Also removed two small occurrences of solid, hard material creating an uneven pavement surface. Hard to tell if these were caused by problematic concrete installers or by strange materials that accumulted later; my guess is the latter. Installed the last drawer pull whose replacement for a defective part arrived today. Took measurements for doors and windows in preparation for exploring the purchase of screens for doors and windows since our new home has screens only on the doors of the balcony. I investigated FlexScreen which sounds amazing but decided against it despite high ratings because of what the one-star reviews said and because there is no guarantee it will work. A few days ago Patrick began cooking for one of our several forthcoming housewarmings. We are splitting up our housewarmings so that we don't have too many people at each, and it reduces anxiety. Today he prepared pralines and chocolate-bourbon truffles and began soaking red beans for red beans and rice. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Mamahuhu via DoorDash: sweet and sour chicken, broccoli and beef, malted milk tea for Patrick, fifty fifty for me. I processed dirty dishes and started the dishwasher. We watched The Bear s4:e4 on Hulu then various YouTube videos including The Only Recap You Need Before Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 via Looper. Patrick went to bed. I did purchasing research on outdoor furniture and medical paper tape.
Fri Jul 18, 2025
Breakfast at home: leftovers from last night's dinner, hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Encountered an eastbound delay of trains in the tunnel between West Portal and Church Street Stations. SPF, DMARC, and DKIM setup for the Recharge Medical work tools domain and for their email campaign provider. Email followup. Discussed I-693 end of service communications. Sent Drew the final for the outdoor sign on wall. Tried using phind.com to build a single-page web app to enable people to share completion of their immigration on social media. Then tried using Adobe Express to generate background images. None of that came to anything useful. Walked and rode Muni to a medical appointment then home. Walked to dinner at Eiji with Patrick: hot sake, katsuo tokyo, gyoza, ebi, dragon roll, negi hama roll, veggie roll. All food and drink were delicious. 4% credit card and debit card fee. Walked home. We rewatched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s2:e10 (season finale) on Paramount+. We watched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s3:e1 on Paramount+. Patrick went to bed. I scanned more paper documents related to our home.
Sat Jul 19, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself one sausage patty from frozen; one hash brown patty from frozen with ketchup; a two-egg scramble with celery, diced red onion, and parsley; one slice of sourdough toast with salted butter; hot water. Housecleaning all day in preparation for one of several forthcoming housewarmings. Resolved a permissions problem (the file may be read-only, or another user may have it open) with an external hard drive. Midday a fire truck briefly appeared in front of our house to attend to a call from a neighboring house. Midafternoon snack: Patrick and I shared one cornbread muffin. I also had some unsalted cashews and a Mexican vanilla soda from scratch. I walked to Cliff's and back for some potting soil. I repotted a plant. I reprinted food labels so that they were larger than before. Patrick and I walked to dinner at Heroic Italian: sauvignon blanc, pinsa with bacon, fettuccine with chicken parmagiana. All food and drink were delicious. Walked home. We watched various YouTube videos then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s3:e2 on Paramount+ then The Simpsons s34:e7 on Hulu. Late beverage: small Mexican vanilla soda.
Sun Jul 20, 2025
Breakfast at home: Patrick and I walked to Le Marais. We shared a slice of banana bread. I had a ham and gruyere breakfast croissant with egg and side salad. Patrick had a blueberry pastry. Latte for Patrick, vanilla latte for me. All food and drink were delicious. It always feels so civilized there. Afterwards we purchased a bouquet from Urban Flowers. Completed final preparations for today's housewarming, one of several we are having so that it's less stressful for us than having one giant one. The menu, all prepared by Chef Patrick: red beans with tasso and andouille, red beans (vegetarian), long-grain rice, cornbread (gluten-free), muffuletta wedges, pickled okra, creamy pralines, chocolate-bourbon truffles. In attendance: David, Tai, Drew, Phil, Dave, Quyen, Bran, Peter, Wayne, Tienya, Chris, Nate, Stephen, Richard, Chris, Andy, Julianne, Danae, Paul, Cricket, Shaun, Simon, Suzan, Tim. There were a few last-minute cancellations. Everyone seemed to enjoy the gathering, and we received many housewarming gifts. After everyone had gone, Patrick and I cleaned then watched The Bear s4:e5 on Hulu. We shared a sake-flavored mini Kit Kat that Chris and Nate brought back from Japan for us. Snack: bao bun from frozen with water. Patrick went to bed. Facetime chat with Lani and Dex. Late beverage: warm milk.
Mon Jul 21, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a one-egg scramble with celery, green bell pepper, red onion, and parsley folded into a large flour tortilla. Side of half banana. Hot water to drink. Long nap. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Sent July 2025 Immigration Medical Exam Updates html email campaign using an external email delivery service. Banners payment. Walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at home with Patrick: avocado, tomato, and mint salad; hot water. Dessert: salted caramel mini KitKats. We watched The Bear s4:e6 on Hulu then The Simpsons s34:e8 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed, and I joined several hours later.
Tue Jul 22, 2025
Slept in. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a two-egg veggie scramble with celery, green bell pepper, parsley, and green onion; side of navel orange; one sausage patty from frozen; one hash brown patty from frozen; one slice of sourdough toast with salted butter; hot water. Patrick took a trip by himself today. I unloaded the dishwasher. Cleaned in the kitchen. Patrick helped me resolve a very wobbly kitchen faucet. I didn't have the right tool for it, so I used my hand to tighten a nut underneath. Later for a late lunch I walked to Rossi's Deli and back for a hot pastrami sandwich and A&W cream soda, ate on the balcony during a brief moment of sun. Later I did some tile grout repair in the primary bathroom at the lower right corner of the outside of the tub. Long nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Gai Chicken Rice: crispy Gai with rice with hoi an sweet and tangy sauce no habanero for Patrick, chicken noodle soup with rice noodles no habanero for me. Red wine and hot water to drink. We watched The Bear s4:e7 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed. I cleaned in the kitchen and changed water in flower vases.
Wed Jul 23, 2025
Cleaned in both lower level bathrooms. Breakfast at home: leftover meaty red beans and rice, hot water. Cleaned the balcony railing of nature and the balcony of some housewarming party crumbs. While on the balcony I notice that a nearby neighbor is erecting scaffolding and overheard that they are planning to paint. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Reviewed html email campaign results. Editing a new draft of the N-648 page and a direct-pay membership program agreement. Walked to Trader Joe's to buy lunch and a few other food items to take home. Lunch in the office: TJ's lemon farfalle salad with peas and (spinach?), water from my water bottle, chocolate chip cookie. Staged new N-648 page then sent printouts to Drew and Phil for review and approval. Ordered id cards for Walter (Jun) and me. Walked and rode Muni home. Dinner at Potto with Patrick. Afterwards we walked to Copper for two rounds of drinks then walked home. We watched various YouTube videos.
Thu Jul 24, 2025
Breakfast at home: two small corn tortillas with grated mixed cheeses, Spanish rice made from leftover rice, hot water. The sun didn't show at all this morning, and I didn't feel like doing anything, so that's what I did. Lunch: mac and cheese with corn off the cob from frozen and diced grape tomatoes; hot water. Nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: mushroom quesadillas with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole; hot water. I processed dirty dishes and started the dishwasher. Afterwards we played Finders Keepers (Florence), one of three games gifted to us by Chris and Nate. We successfully finished in a few hours. My Photoshop skills helped a lot and enabled us to keep the materials in mint condition. Patrick went to bed. I archived documents related to the home. Late snack: celery sticks with peanut butter. Cleaned the electric toothbrush with 3% hydrogen peroxide and then dish soap because it was smelling bad.
Fri Jul 25, 2025
Walked to breakfast at Leadbetter's Bake Shop: breakfast sandwich with bacon on plain. The menu confused me at first because what's on the wall doesn't match what's on the laminated menu on the counter, and the wall does not include prices. I saw the wall first then interacted with a person then realized the laminated menu is what I wanted to peruse before ordering. Also, they were running a breakfast sandwich special of pork sausage that is neither on the wall nor the laminated menu. It was obvious to me that there was no espresso machine, but I had to ask to confirm that they have no hot coffee—only cold brew, which is not what I wanted. I was referred to Philz across the street for hot coffee. Inside they have only benches without tables, so it's a bit awkward to eat a large breakfast sandwich out of a paper pouch whether you have a hot or cold coffee or not. They have a parklet with tables, but it was stored and locked. I waited a very long time for my sandwich. It felt like 20 or 30 minutes but was probably about 15? While waiting other customers arrived and left after discovering from the person behind the counter that they did not have hot coffee. After receiving my sandwich I walked across the street to Philz where I waited in a long line while discreetly nibbling my sandwich which was getting cold by the second. After the line did not move for what seemed like five minutes, I abandoned getting a beverage and sat outside at a public seat next to a tree and ate my sandwich. The sandwich was delicious and satisfying, but the overall experience was quite unpleasant. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical, stopping at Souvenir Coffee for a latte with one packet of sugar. Reheated the latte in the clinic's microwave because somehow it wasn't hot. Unwrapped new banners. Chatted with Walter about USCIS exit packets. Lab tests web page updates: added heavy metals panel and lead standalone. I-693 and /visit web page updates to improve SEO against competitors. Mailing list work: added from misc spreadsheet. Walked and rode Muni home. Swept trash and nature in front of the home. Patrick and I walked to dinner with JY and Adrian at Beit Rima. We shared mezze sampler (lebna, muhammara, baba ganoush, hummus, pickles, falafel), batata harra (fried potatoes, garlic, cilantro, spices), chicken shish tawook plate (yogurt marinated chicken, charred onion and red pepper, toum, hummus, mom’s rice, half pita) whole fried branzino (spiced semolina dredge, herb and onion salad, tehina, shutta), and baked halloumi (jalapeno, meyer lemon, herbs). Water and mint lemonade to drink. All food and drink were delicious. I didn't know halloumi was goat and sheep cheese and stopped eating it after a bite. Afterwards we four walked to and attended The Academy's 8th Anniversary Celebration, meeting or encountering many others. After many hours of socializing, Patrick and I said our goodbyes and walked home. An enjoyable evening.
Sat Jul 26, 2025
Poor sleep last night. Breakfast at home: I repaired leftover mexican rice by adding tomato paste, then filled a flour tortilla with some of it and some grated mixed cheeses to make a burrito. Gloomy weather all morning, and I again felt like doing nothing. Napped due to poor sleep last night. Woke in the afternoon. Chicken broth to drink, not because I feel sick but because it felt comforting. In the evening Patrick and I walked to Alamo Drafthouse New Mission to see a 7 p.m. showing of Fantastic Four: First Steps, which we enjoyed, with dinner: we shared popcorn ($11.91) and cow burger (royale) with fries ($20.75). Chocolate shake ($10.35) for Patrick, lemonade ($8.27) no ice for me. $55.70 before an 18% tip. Walked home.
Sun Jul 27, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself one hash brown, one sausage patty, a two-egg florentine omelette with sour cream; hot water. Dusted and vacuumed the upper level. Patrick napped. I vacuumed in the office then spot-cleaned the carpet in the office and the rug in the laundry room. Vacuumed in the office a bit more and in the secondary bathroom. Performed remediation for a calla lily which had a gnat infestation: dried the top layer of soil with a hair dryer on low thrust and medium heat then inserted yellow sticky traps on small sticks. Cleaned in the bathroom. Cut my hair, showered. Cleaned in the bathroom. Walked to lunch with Patrick at Dinosaurs: pork belly sandwich for Patrick, shaking beef sandwich for me, vietnamese iced coffees for both. I forgot to ask for mine to have no jalapenos even though Patrick reminded me to do so just before we ordered, but it was easy to remove them by hand. The sandwiches are served warm. The jalapenos are sliced thicker than we are used to—perhaps 3 mm? Patrick removed some jalapenos and left some on. All food and drink were delicious. Walked home. I swept in front of the home and in the street, including removing cobwebs and dirt from the garage door, the doors to the water and gas meters, the gate, and nearby surfaces. Housewarming communications work. Dusted then vacuumed the lower level hallway and stairs then the primary bedroom and bathroom. More carpet spot-cleaning in the primary bedroom in front of the closet. Dusted the plantation shutters on both sides then vacuumed. Cleaned the soles of my heated slippers with Dawn Powerwash. No dinner, but instead I made Patrick and me Martha Stewart's Orange Vanilla Shake while we watched The Bear s4:e8 on Hulu then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s3:e3 on Paramount+. Patrick went to bed. I watched various YouTube videos. Cleaned in the secondary bathroom: tub. Very late snack: leftover mac and cheese with corn off the cob from frozen. To bed very late.
Mon Jul 28, 2025
Breakfast at home: yogurt with blueberries, toasted coconut, slivered almonds, flax meal; hot water. Chris and Andy came over today and helped us clean and repair and suggest action for many items in our home, including faucets, window cranks, and exhaust vents. We are grateful for their vast experience in home maintenance. Lunch: sandwiches from Rossi's deli. Later I collapsed from exhaustion and napped several hours. Chris and Andy had left. Patrick and I were still full from lunch and instead of dining at our usual time we watched various YouTube videos. Later we had dinner: Patrick had a tartine with banana and cocoa nibs. I had tonkatsu ramen with one egg, fish cake, fresh spinach, and corn off the cob from frozen; sparkling water.
Tue Jul 29, 2025
Slept in. Tidied following yesterday's home repairs work. Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a breakfast burrito with one egg, leftover mexican rice, yellow onion, spinach, grated mixed cheeses; hot water; leftover sparkling water from last night. Processed laundry that Patrick had started earlier. Processed dirty dishes. Patrick and I walked and rode Muni to the Legion of Honor to see Wayne Thibaud: Art Comes From Art. We tried to get in using reciprocal membership, but it wasn't covered, so our admission fee was $35 each—ouch. We enjoyed the exhibit. We walked to a late lunch at Hard Knox Cafe: fried chicken sandwich with side of red beans and rice and iced tea for Patrick, cow burger, medium, no mustard, add grilled onions, and fries with lemonade for me. The burger arrived well instead of medium, but I didn't care, and we didn't mention it. Service by Susan was perfect, and she chatted briefly with us about Southern roots and foods, notably biscuits. $42.52 before an $8 tip. Walked and rode Muni home. I took a long nap. Dinner at home with Patrick: tuna mac with peas. The tuna was from a can. The mac was from a box with cheese packet. The peas were from a can. Patrick had a normal portion with a glass of white wine. I was still full from lunch and had a very tiny portion and hot water to drink. We watched The Bear s4:e9 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Dessert for Patrick: two mini Japanese KitKats. Patrick went to bed. The top cover of the washlet remote had broken yesterday after it dropped. I repaired it with loops of black gaff tape. Processed dirty dishes. Late snack: two TJ's mini pizzas, hot water.
Wed Jul 30, 2025
Added padding to new shoes (Moab Adventure 3 Mid Waterproof Wide Width, color = earth) because they were painful at one ankle. The padding was cut from a different shoe's insole. I adhered it with 3M mounting squares. Not sure if it will stick, since it's partly on the tongue. We'll see. Breakfast at home: leftover mac and cheese with peas, hot water. Walked and rode Muni to Recharge Medical. Spam management. ID card work. I forgot to order them with a slot punch, so I cut the slot end of old ID badges and we need to tape them to the new badges but they need to order more tape. Discussion about immigrant groups on Facebook. We discovered today our account on Reddit has been suspended for reasons we are unaware, and I submitted an appeal to resolve it. Sean stopped by to put up the new banners but we realized that they are mistakenly not double-sided. I made small changes to the N648 page and made them live. We asked our banner printer if there was a cost-effective way to resolve our banner problem. Website template script updates. Walked and rode Muni home. Rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: tortellini with marinara. We watched The Bear s4:e10 (season finale) on Hulu then What We Do in the Shadows s6:e9 on Hulu then The Simpsons s34:e9 on Hulu then various YouTube videos. Patrick went to bed, and I joined several hours later after archiving documents related to our home and having a late small meal of roasted chicken breast, leftover Mexican rice, and diced and microwaved carrot. Hot water to drink.
Thu Jul 31, 2025
Breakfast at home: I prepared for myself a two-egg veggie scramble (celery, carrot, mushrooms, green onions), one hash brown from frozen, two small sausage links from frozen, one toasted english muffin with salted butter and garlic powder, hot water. Swept in front of the home and in the stairwell. Small lunch: warm blue corn tortilla chips with melted mixed cheeses; side of mini box of raisins; limonata. Errand: walked to Cliff's Variety and Hardware and back. Replaced 50-watt halogen bulbs in the range hood with 5-watt LED bulbs. Patrick napped. Posted a Facebook post for Recharge Medical. Made email security changes. Prepared and submitted paperwork related to our home. Shopped for motion sensor light switches. Snack instead of dinner: Patrick had toast with butter and peanut butter then blue corn tortilla chips. I had mini pizza: english muffin with marinara sauce and mixed grated cheeses, hot water. In the evening we walked to The Academy for Academy of Wine: Spanish Food and Wine Pairing with Canela with Mat and Michael. Primer: croqueta y pan tumaca: bechamel, jamon and chicken; toast with grated tomato and spanish olive oil, paired with Basa Lore Txakolina Blanco. Segundo: seared spanish artichokes: crispy serrano ham and saffron aioli, paired with gin and tonic. Tercer: gambas a la plancha: seared shrimp with spanish sherry, olive oil and lemon, paired with Rioja Blanco Monopole Classico Cuarto: pisto manchego: caramelized onion, zucchini and tomato slowly cooked in spanish olive oil with poached duck egg and chive, paired with Sindicat La Figuera Garnatxa Montsant. Quinta: tarta de requeson: cheesecake with quince sauce and fresh berries, paired with Mata Vermouth Tinto. The event was well-attended, and we enjoyed it very much. Walked home.