SF Trip Highlights
8 o'clock, April 16, 2003
- Catching up on “self-inflated neo-pro” gossip with Susan and Heather.
- Touring Blowfish warehouse and being intrigued by repurposing of various industrial technologies for home use.
- Getting strong dose of Cool Brittania at Susan’s favorite trendy soap shop in Union Square.
- Drinking lemonade at SF MOMA café and nearly figuring out beginning of middle of novel.
- Getting worst service ever at former favorite restaurant Park Chow on 9th. (Former due, however, not to service on this occasion, but to removal from menu of bruschetta that, at three-month intervals, served as sole source of vitamin C while living in Japan and England.)
- Finding two almost-suitable-for-mailing ING Barings post cards and one from some trendy gym in the back of The Little Shamrock on Lincoln, and deciding that I can get away with almost this trip, since everyone has Golden Gate Bridge postcards already.
- Listening to Fran’s capsule summary of domestic and international politics, pivoting on wonder at and outrage over stupidity and ignorance of “other seventy percent”. Resolving to hassle Brandon into getting Fran to start a blog.
- Waking to weather suitable only for playing video games. Discovering that Civilization monkey is still on back. Retaining enough will power not to buy Macintosh version of Civ III.
- Nearly freezing to death in Pac Bell Park while watching Giants and Dodgers alternately play beautiful and terrible baseball. (Hot dogs not bad, though.)
- Taking abuse from cabbie for leaving with game tied at top of eighth.
- Watching ninth through twelfth innings in comfort of Brandon and Fran’s living room.
- Seeing Jonathan Rhys Meyers play not particularly creepy character at all in Bend It Like Beckham. Reflecting on advantages adhering to talented actors whose faces do not appear to have rolled off Madison Avenue assembly line.
- Talking futures of scholarly communication and automobile manufacture with Brandon in car on way down to San Jose.
- Failing to interest Mom in McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales.
- Failing to write post cards until en route to airport Tuesday.
- Discovering that all mail drops in San Jose airport have been removed, presumably for security reasons.
- Mailing aforementioned post cards, including two addressed to Seattle, from my apartment, in Seattle.
- With the help of gin, tonic, muttar paneer tikka masala, and considerable quantity of “World Peace” tea, clearing sinuses and finally figuring out most of beginning of middle of novel.
- Finding that combination of obsolete British safety razor (Wilkinson Sword) and trendy British shaving cream (Lush Razorantium) actually works, unlike combinations attempted last several years.
Welcome back! Sounds like you had fun. And good luck with the sinuses.