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!

We Made It - The first 3 Days!

New Years Eve marks our third day here in San Francisco.  We just finished having lunch in the apartment and before I doze off into my afternoon siesta, I wanted to write a quick update.


The last 778 miles from my last post went smoothly and on schedule.  We spent Monday evening in Fresno with Dexter.  While we missed Malen and the kids, it was exciting to see their new HUGE home.  We had a lovely dinner at an all-you-can eat sushi joint, which was really good :)  Dex warned us against leaving too early for the city because of the fog so we set off the next morning by 7:30am.


Our last leg was only 180 miles so given our average 650 miles days, this was nothing.  We were all so excited and extremely weary from all the driving.  Here are a few pics (although non with Dex! I can't believe we forgot to take a few pictures while we were with him!):

Anna's a trooper in the car.

We made it to California!!!

The Mojave desert - glad we didn't run out of gas around here.

This was on our last day of driving after our stop with Dexter in Fresno. It was bright and sunny and umm, we we glad to get out of the somewhat depressing US-99 - the industrial agriculture heartland of CA.

Crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco!  $4 to get across the bridge to our new home :)

At 10:30am it was a bit foggy.

Driving through the city on our way to North Beach.

Classic newbies, we were so excited to see the signs to North Beach.

Our street!! A steep incline on a residential block just steps from all the action.

The gang dances in celebration.  Our view is of the financial district - since its south facing, we get a ton of sun!

After we arrived, we took a walk around the block and relaxed for a bit before we started the next phase of unpacking.  It was a long day.  We got in at around 10:30am then picked up the Penske truck and then our stuff from ABF then returned the truck.  We were done by 11pm and we were spent.  At least we got that over with right away.

The next day (yesterday), we went to Anna's school in the morning to meet her teachers and hang out with her new friends.  The school is about 5 blocks from our apartment and it was so great to walk!  Anna had a great time and I'm thrilled that she has such wonderful teachers.  The afternoon consisted of more unpacking and we've essentially repeated that same schedule today.  After our afternoon nap, we're going to go out and be tourists :) I can't wait!!

Happy New Year everyone!! 2009 was amazing and I can't wait to see what amazing things 2010 will bring :)

1850 Miles In

We made it to Flagstaff, Arizona this afternoon.  It's been an epic trip and we are so grateful to have dodged a treacherous winter blizzard that has ravaged the country from coast to coast.  We hit a few spots of flurries earlier on in the trip but nothing that slowed us down too much - the main catch was that we had to leave on Christmas day.

Here is the summary by leg:

LEG ONE - MI / IN / IL / MO:  We bid farewell to the midwest in classic midwest winter style - cloudy with a chance of flurries.  The landscape here was familiar though we proudly caught a few shots of wind farms along the way.  From my parents house on Christmas day, we swung by Holt to spend Christmas morning with Zane's family.  It was a bittersweet way to leave Michigan - we set off at 10:30am and arrived in St. Louis by 6pm.  We caught a glimpse of the famous arc - our gateway to the west :) and enjoyed a quiet dinner at the Sheraton's restaurant, which we were so happy was open!

Hello Illinois! Check out that weather!!

Ominous clouds - PLEASE don't snow!

Wait - how long do I have to stay back here, again?!

We made it to St. Louis! Time to have some Christmas Dinner :)

She doesn't have any siblings but she does have a dog...

LEG TWO - MO / OK:  I was the first one up and volunteered to take the morning shifts.  At 5:45am Sasa popped his head out from under the bed and gave me the "you're crazy to be up this early" look.  We got the troops out the door and on the road by 6:30 - not a bad transition time for the day after Christmas.  The drive itself was uneventful until about 4 hours into the trip when we suddenly hit a patch of highway that was still covered in snow.  It was sunny and clear but the landscape was clearly hit by a bad storm - we spotted at least 2 dozen cars on the side of the road. The less then optimal roads slowed us down by an hour. So, we decided to take a long lunch in Tulsa to make up for the stressful delay :)

On our way out of Missouri

Anna watches a movie - Thanks for the outfit G&G Williamson and DVD player, Grandma Lisa!!

LEG THREE - TX / NM / AZ: The landscape here quickly became scenic.  Anna was fascinated by the red rocks and the plants and trees of the desert.  At one point, she asked, "Can I have a drink? I'm thisty 'cause I'm in the desert."  She's been a great road traveler.  Not a single complaint - just one request  yesterday for us to stop early and get a hotel.  She was done with the car for the day :)

Climbing up to 6,000 ft towards Flagstaff.

Hanging out in downtown Flagstaff today.

Sasa: HUH?!

Tomorrow, we're headed to Fresno, CA to spend the night with our good friend, Dexter :)  From there, we'll be 3 hrs 15 mins from San Francisco! Woot!

T-3: Ode to the Sentimental

The road trip is consuming my thoughts.  I'm so excited yet I'm equally worried about the weather. How will we best pack up the car? Have I finished that packing list yet? etc. etc.

Meanwhile, work continues at a frantic pace - surprisingly, I actually remembered to pack up all my files and books this evening.  It's my second to last day in that office and while part of me will miss those colleagues,   I'm thrilled to leave that commute behind.

On the ride home, I reminded myself to get the car cleaned.  The thought of going on a road trip with a dirty car irritates me, which I realize is slightly crazy.

Then, I remembered to breath and get a freakin' grip.  What's the point of all the excitement if you can't actually sit back and enjoy it?  Zane was on his way to visit with his Grandmother and I decided this would be the perfect evening to have a girls night with Anna.  She was the ideal date for a few errands and some much dreaded Christmas shopping.

It occurred to me after a few hours of chatting in the car, catching up on her day over dinner, giving her the update on her new school and teachers - particularly the bit about my joining her for 3 half days in her new class to help with transition - that she is really coming into her own and free from the neurotic genes I was convinced I'd passed on.  She uses words like, "suggest," "actually" and phrases like "I thought about it and.." "have you considered"...I found myself very easily and quite happily conversing with a lovely and hilarious little girl.  I felt totally at peace - that is, until I lost it cracking up when after asking her what she did for lunch, she said, "I don't want to get Lolo in trouble but....he brought me to Wendy's again.  Sorry Mom.  But he really just doesn't know how to cook!"  Comedy.

We ate a light sushi dinner together before braving the stores and getting our Christmas shopping done.  For the first time ever, I actually enjoyed it.

I'm not a particularly sentimental person but in the last days of our time in this little midwest town that I spent a good chunk of my life in, I can't help but think about how I've come full circle with this place.  All my years as an immigrant kid growing up here, I never really felt like I quite fit in.  And I never really felt like I perfectly fit in back in the Philippines either.  And frankly, when I was young, it was a bit of a struggle - this is probably cliche but there's a reason why I chose the title of this post.  Cut me some slack.

Today, I was grateful for what my time here has given me: a place for my daughter to spend the first 5 years of her life.  In particularly, it's given her a chance to get to know her family, and have some grounding in her roots - her mother is, after all, a transplant from Manila, to Michigan, to now, San Francisco.  I guess she's just carrying on the tradition - I'm just happy my experiences are giving me the insight to help guide her through it.

3 more days 'till departure.