All About (mostly about) Tito Nicko

This past week, my brother spent another 4 days with us before heading back to Taiwan. It was a rare and wonderful opportunity for him and Anna to hang out and hang out they did. For me, it lessened the blow around the fact that I really just can't take off from work these days (at least until the first week of March after which I will seriously be planning some much needed R&R).

Over the course of a couple of days, my brother and I were able to catch up on life. Namely, how married life is treating us, balancing work, our parents, cities we see ourselves settling in and reminiscing on crazy childhood stories. What's more, Nicko and Anna were able to bond even further on this trip. My favorite moment was when Anna sighed, held N's hand and said, "I love my Tito Nicko."

Their routine went something like this: Sleep in until about 9:00am, shower up and head out for brunch. Anna never failed to make her uncle proud as she ate every last morsel of her meals - very clearly an appreciation we gained from our Filipino parents who took pride in the fact that they stuffed us silly with food...for every freakin' meal. No wonder why we're such eaters!!

Nicko's favorite brunch place was Mama's. Read his 'review' (email he sent during the day after they got back) here:

Yo, we just had brunch at "Mama's"......I mean damn that was the shizzy. I don't understand why people just don't fight each other waiting in line for that stuff. It's like the crack of American breakfasts.

After brunch, they would come back to the apartment and grab Sasa Boy. It was a well deserved outing for the pup as he was rejected by Nicko at every occasion he offered to snuggle with him at night. He enjoyed success at sneaking into bed with him once, which quickly earned him the nickname, snugglepuss, from Nicko. The weather was awesome the week he was in town so their park visits with Sasa was extended to a couple of hours after which they'd head back to the apartment.

Nicko needed to practice and noted to me how impressed he was that Anna was happy to let him do so after their afternoons at the park. She would applaud his efforts at difficult passes when he was practicing and was filled with questions about his trombone. They played music games and we determined that indeed, Anna has the Javier music gene. She has an excellent ear and great rhythm - the fact that she hums for a great portion of the day is probably the biggest giveaway.

After practicing, they would both take naps...together, all lazy-like on the couch while Zane and I slave away at work. Hahaha. Zane would get home shortly after they woke up and I would scramble like a crazy person to get out of the office at a decent NORMAL hour to meet them for dinner. We had Filipino food at Max's in South SF, Japanese in Japan Town, and tapas at Iluna Basque here in North Beach. Then, Nicko and I typically stayed up late watching the Olympics or Spike TV's special on ALI!! Yea, that was sweet.

Quite a routine, eh?

It was particularly great for me to hear from my big bro how fun and easy it is to hang out with his little niece. His sentiment went something like, "dude, she's so down to do whatever! it's so fun to hang out with her."

In other news this week, I got my hair cut and went to AsiaSF with some friends from work last night! I'm writing you today hung over :) Here are some pics for your entertainment (some from last night, from last weekend at the Palace of Fine Arts and others that didn't make the cut in previous posts):

Christina takes a blow job shot at AsiaSF! HAHAHA

OK, back to normal photos below...

February 5th - Having coffee at Wash. Sq.

Valentines Day, we go to the Palace of Fine Arts and enjoy the sunshine.

Climbers.

We then went into the Exploratorium and played :)

Then we enjoyed the beach before heading home for a nap...

Sasa plays on the beach.

Click here to see the entire album.

Anna took this shot of Sasa...

...and then herself.

Snugglepuss enjoys a nap with his pillow.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Happy Valentines Day & Chinese New Year!

We've been enjoying fantastic weather this Valentines Day weekend and we've been out and about to soak it all in!

We kicked off the weekend on Friday night by heading to our first visit to the San Francisco Ballet.  After work, I whipped up a teriyaki chicken and veggie dinner for Anna while Zane and I enjoyed a glass (or two) of Pinot Grigio with some crackers and cheese.  We hailed a cab and arrived at the Opera House with enough time to explore the beautiful building.

Our seats are definitely in the nose bleed section, but it didn't stop Anna from enjoying herself.  Next time though, I'd like to spring for the better seats - it's a pretty big building so when you say you're willing to sit up in the balcony, you better know just what that means!

Yesterday, we decided to walk the historic Valejo steps and really enjoyed the quaint houses along the way.  We headed up Hyde Street after our serious hike uphill and treated ourselves to some mango ice cream (Zane & Anna) and strawberry ice (me). Yum!  We took a break on a bench near the Hyde street pier and then headed home for an afternoon nap.  :)

Sasa runs up ahead of us on the Valejo steps (these steps are a block from our apt)

Climbing the stairs we look back at the view.

This camera couldn't capture how clearly you could see the Bay Bridge in the background.

At the top of the steps with the Bay Bridge in the background!

The Bay, looking south from the top of the steps.

Someday, we'll live here...

Or here...how cute is this?!

This was a charming boutique couture wedding dress shop on Hyde St in Russian Hill

Sasa takes a break with us on the bench too...it was a ridiculous sight.

Zane has the rest of the day planned out for us, on this lovely Sunday.  It's 11am as I round out this post and we've all had a fabulously stress-free morning.  This week, Tito Nicko comes back for a few more days before he heads back to Taiwan and we're all SO EXCITED!

Have a great week, everyone! 

Whizzing By

Phew.  Made it through the week - while this blog is a good way for us to take a minute to reflect on all the wonderful things that we experience every week, it's nearly impossible to get a moment on the computer without it having to do with work!  It's a battle to stay off of ANY monitor when I'm with Z & A, unless of course, it's the series premier of LOST!!

The bit news is that last weekend, my brother and Dad came into town - it was great to hang out with my favorite Javier men.  I'm sure it won't come as a surprise for me to report that we ate very good food, and a lot of it :)  It dawned on me, hanging out with Nicko, that he and I are getting old - particularly when we discuss our parents' health and the pending full retirement of our father who, we've been informed, will be visiting his children across the globe if he's not hangin' with his boys in the Philippines.  He plans to sell the EL house and it's weird to think how the house we grow up in won't be the 'base' anymore...

We met up with Dex and Papa's very good friends, Tito Butch et al and Tito Mel & Tita Lilia.  It's great to know that we have 'family' in the bay area to visit - we're especially excited that on any given Sunday we have doors to knock on to request a full fledged Filipino brunch :) (Note that I'm kind of joking about that but am mostly serious.)

I'll let the pictures posted below tell the story.  Click the picture below and it will take you to the picasa album.

Nicko + Papa

In other news, we enjoyed our first visit to the famous Exploratorium (Hands-on science) museum located at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina district.  We got a full year membership as a gift from the De Leon family - we were SO EXCITED when we got our cards in the mail.  We've been talking about visiting there and the California Academy of Science (Natural History) since we arrived - what a wonderful surprise!

Our visit ended up being a bit of a premature celebration of the weekend as we attended their After Dark series of 'cutting edge adult focused subject matter with mixed drinks and cocktails'.  Basically, Anna was pretty much the only kid there but barring the special side presentations of 'adult content' and cocktails, the entire museum was available for her to check out.  It was a ton of fun!  We ended the evening by finally trying out Sushi on North Beach a mainstay in the area for 3 decades. The owner if Japanese and I love how the staff was able to say where they get their fresh fish and which that evening was absolutely fresh.  YUM!

We've all just woken up from a nap to find the sky clear and sunny.  Headin' out!! Tito Nicko is back in a few weeks for a few more days before he finally heads back out to Taiwan...

All About Food: Rounding Out Month 1

It's been quite a first month here in the city by the bay. Since our last post, we've continued to sink into our new lives here, loving it more with each passing day. As true Michigan transplants, we've been relatively un-phased by the low-50s and rainy weather we've been having for the past week although have questioned at some points whether we moved to Seattle?

Our walk to work/school has been slightly hampered this week with all this rain. Nothing major for me and Anna but Zane has arrived in the office uncomfortably...damp. One day, we summoned some help and took a cab :) It was a good introduction to a service that I'm sure we'll use again in the future. Aside from a smokey smelling interior, the driver was polite and we were updated on the fact that cabs can now take credit cards. Good to know!

The quick recap from last weekend goes something like this: we ate a lot. Unashamed by my love of food and finding whole in the wall yummy restaurants, we had our fill.

Friday: Original US Restaurant with Anna. I worked from home and decided to take Anna out for a lunch treat, which was just around the corner. Anna ordered a bowl of spaghetti and I, a dish of spaghetti with clams. The pasta was cooked a perfect 'al dente' (a basic I had failed to enjoy in any Italian restaurant back in Michigan) and the clams were fresh. To top it off, our waiter spoke Italian and it was fun for me to brush up and get to know the owners of a local business.

Saturday: We headed to the famous Ferry Building Saturday Farmer's Market to see / meet the local produce, meat, cheese, etc purveyors. I LOVE markets! Walking through, we couldn't resist trying out the Imperial Tea Court. They are the exclusive source for some of the most sought after teas on the market - I am told that the original Tea Court is in chinatown. I tried a lovely jasmine oolong tea (admittedly I'm not much of a tea connoisseur) and Zane tried their chilled green tea. What I did note was the type of tea cups that they used (they had to teach me how to use it) - they are one serving tea cups with lids that allow the tea leaves to steep directly in the small cup.

Sunday: We headed down to Polk street in Russian Hill and were really just picking up some paint at Cole Hardware when we spotted Aux Delices, a Vietnamese restaurant across the way. The very friendly and charming waitress (I am still allowed to say that?) recommended an out of this world carmel glazed chicken and beef curry (I'm forgetting already). Yum. It was a charming very local place...after only one month here, we're starting to distinguish ourselves as 'locals' avoiding like snobs, the tourist traps.

The following work week, we basically felt stuffed but extremely pleased :) We've consistently been breaking down our grocery shopping between Trader Joe's and local produce shops. Particularly those in chinatown where I can get fruit and vegetables at a fraction of the cost anywhere else. In fact, I should say that our grocery bill is significantly cheaper than it was in Michigan - honestly, the quality of food (organic, local, etc) and low cost that we get at Trader Joe's makes me want to audition for their commercials.

Another point about last week was the bit of time I spent with my girlfriends, Alexa and Rachel. Unfortunately, I missed hanging out with Megan and little Maya but hope to get the (little) girls together soon. After moving from Ann Arbor to EL (before eventually moving out here) there was a good chunk of time there where I really didn't have a chance to hang out with friends. It felt AMAZING to catch up with some sensational women - haven't caught up with Rachel (who I went to high school with) in ages and still haven't heard about the rest of Alexa's trip after she stood with me in the Philippines. Just wanted to note to self how important a woman's friends are and how refreshing it was to shoot the s*** with them. Meanwhile, Zane and Anna didn't miss me as they went swimming at the local pool and perused books at the library :) Win-win for all!

Haven't gotten to this weekend's summary yet but the highlights include:

1. Finally getting our bed. Z & I didn't bring our bed cross country so we've been crashing on the couch pull-out. It's pretty comfortable but it was starting to get ridiculous. We're finally using our pottery barn sheets that have been in their original packaging since August!! On that note, I'm still behind finishing up sending out wedding thank you cards that I'm slightly disgusted with myself.
2. Gettin' Decorated: We're not quite done but we've come a long way in terms of getting curtains up, wall shelves, a bit of painting (as I've alluded to above), and displaying pics. Still need to pick a wedding picture of two to frame!
3. Glide - We attended church this morning at an amazing community church. I'm essentially at a lost for words regarding how moving it was for me - it's a radically inclusive church that nurtures all spiritual paths. More importantly there is an emphasis on community and belonging to one another - there are lots of volunteer opportunities in high-risk communities I'd like to get Anna exposed to. More on this in following posts. Thanks to Rachel, for bringing us :)

We all just woke up from an afternoon nap an hour or so ago. Zane and I had afternoon tea while Anna had cup of milk and some oreos or AH-reos as she pronounces it. We're gearing up for another busy work/school week but in the meantime enjoying the last few hours of the weekend.

Ok, this is it for now - sorry to family for being behind on posts!! My Dad, brother and Dexter are coming to visit this week so it should be another epic week in San Francisco :)

49 Mile Scenic Drive

We're putting our DK San Francisco and Northern California book to use.  Today, we followed a portion of the 49 Mile Scenic Drive and really got a wonderful overview of the city.  For us, it's a great starting off point in terms of prioritizing areas in the city to explore.

The first thought that comes to mind is: wow - we're really downtown.  A good portion of the scenic drive route are roads that the three of us walk on a daily basis.  Namely roads around North Beach, Chinatown, the Financial District (me) and the Embarcadero (Zane). In other words, half of the route is essentially 'home'.

The second thought that comes to mind relates to the microclimates of San Francisco - particularly just how distinct they are.  Note to self: wear layers.  Depending on the area, it can get damn cold and windy!

The third thought that comes to mind is how active people are around here.  And rightfully so - I'm sure you can find God somewhere in these incredible hills and sights on a run.  I'm totally inspired.  When I saw folks running up the windy path up to Twin Peaks I was utterly green with envy at their fitness. Sign me up.

So on to the adventure:

We started off our day in the Presidio.  And actually, I should say that we weren't planning on taking on the drive.  After a two mile walk along the Presidio Promenade passing Crissy Field and ending up at the Golden Gate Bridge, Anna and I realized we weren't exactly dressed for the weather.  In other words, we were freezing our little butts off and walking around outside all day as we did the previous weekend just wasn't going to happen.  So, I reverted to our book and off we went.

Our favorite sites on the west side of the city: (1) Baker Beach, (2) Golden Gate Park, (3) Twin Peaks, (4) The Mission and (5) Ocean Beach / The Great Hwy.  We kind of blew past these sites, spending a bit of time in each area keeping in mind that we will likely spend some time out here for a little bit of beachy goodness just a few miles from our downtown home.

Since I'm such a food junkie, however, I have to take a moment to rave about our lunch in the inner Sunset at a restaurant called Marnee Thai.  It always seems to be the most unassuming restaurants that have one hell of a punch.  To be sure, this restaurant is a big hit in the city and we have quickly learned to appreciate the metric / resource yelp.com provides.  Their curry was fabulous.  Zane had a red snapper curry mouse, I had their green curry shrimp with noodles and Anna rocked out with their mango fried rice.  One word: YUM.

We toured the Golden Gate Park afterwards despite Anna napping for a bit.  I still can't believe there are buffalo hanging out in that park. Can that be right?  When she woke up, we were on our way up to Twin Peaks and our breath was taken away with the views.  Absolutely amazing. Per usual, our pictures will do more justice to the adventure - check them out here:

49 Mile Scenic Drive

Past Introductions - First Work Week

It's Friday evening and the three of us are parked on the couch in front of the tube.  Zane and I are each enjoying a glass of wine and I'm getting ready to plan out our weekend.  None of us quite have the energy for much else after a busy first work / school week.

Today, I spent the afternoon working from home.  At lunch, I was successful in enrolling Anna in SFUSD.  They have a lottery process for school assignment so we find out in March which school Anna will begin her elementary tenure.

At this point, we're past SF introductions.  I hit the ground running hard on Monday with a crazy work week.  Increased responsibility is not without its stress and anxiety.  I've resigned myself to the constant fight for balance and perspective when it comes to managing my professional life.  As I've said in previous posts, I tend to operate in extremes - on the one hand, I take some perverse passion in working ridiculously hard but feel intense guilt when I'm not as available at home.  This week - as early as it is in the year - was an exercise in fighting for this balance.  I'm chalking up the tough work week to the fact that it's the first one of the year...too much to catch up on.

In other news, we're thrilled with our dramatic change in a more active and community oriented lifestyle.    Two mornings this week, the Z & I both walked Anna to school.  On the other days, we took turns dropping her off and while I walked the remainder of the way to work, Zane has battled the roads on his mountain bike.  He has finally begun to appreciate the real edge on speed I've had on my road bike and indeed, is wishing he had one now.  That said, neither bike will give you an edge on all these damn hills...holy geez are we all building up our quads and hamstrings!

Overall, my initial impressions of this city is that it is much more relaxed than I had anticipated.  People dress very casually - even in the financial district - and the overall 'energy' and pace is quite manageable. After a few short days (realizing this impression can change quickly), the city actually feels quite small and community-like.  I've been spared from bougie douche bags to date and I'm sure the demographic of Anna's school is helping this impression.

We're still settling in at home.  We still need a few key items of furniture but despite this, we're really comfortable.  You really can't beat our location and I can't emphasize enough how much I'm loving our new walking lifestyle.  I feel more human and less.........rock!

So far, we love you, San Francisco!

The following pictures are from last weekend.  We had a delightful surprise visit from our dear Michigan friends Mina, Ramil and Ry-Ry and we toured a good chunk of the north west section of SF (namely parts of North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf and Fort Mason).  It was a relaxing way to hype us up about our first week of work / school! Click the following link to view the album / picture version :)

First Week in SF

2010 Commitments

We've had a lovely first day of 2010.  To be honest, though, I started off in a bit of a haze since Anna woke up at her usual time despite the late NYE (read: early).  We headed off to Washington Square Park to let Sasa have a little bit of doggy fun playing fetch and to let Anna play in the playground.  There, we met a nice couple with two young girls ages 2 and 3 years.  They live a few blocks from us and it was nice to meet a family who have similarly decided to raise their kids and build their lives here in San Francisco.

Afterwards, we headed to Caffe Roma and reflected on our conversation with our new neighbors.  It has reminded me of my 2010 (and beyond) commitments:

1. My family and marriage: I'm committed to prioritizing my time for the most important people in my life - it may seem lame to most but I'm clearing out time in my calendar to make sure I do just this :)
2. Anna's emotional and intellectual growth: Action items are similar with above - specifically, I want to make sure I'm available for Anna and she tees up for kindergarten next year.  Am staying up to date on what material she will be learning and making time to be involved with her schooling & extracurriculars. 
3. My health:  Need to make time for exercise and more actively deal with my penchant for stress and anxiety.  Specifically, I'm committing to getting back to yoga (3 days a week) and 30 minutes a day of some activity (walking, running, general gym time, whatever).  It helps that I get to walk to work.
4. Constantly building our future and not forgetting the joys of living in the present: This is really about keeping balance or perspective in my life.  I tend to operate in extremes so this is a framework I need to maintain somehow.  Any tips on specific action items are welcome :)

I love Anna's choice of outfit :) Here she is at Washington Square's playground.

Sasa enjoys too!