truly the end of my san francisco rotation

Continuing from the last post:
On Friday (August 9), I met up with another Cal classmate, Katrine, for lunch.  We went to Sushirrito which serves what are basically sushi burritos.  YUM!  I can't believe we hadn't seen each other since Cal graduation so many years ago.  We had fun reminiscing and sharing what had gone on in the interim years.

katrine and me after lunch

That night, I got to go to another Giants game, this time courtesy of Trudy and Steve.  The occasion was Steve's brother Bob's visit.  They played the Orioles, and sadly lost in the top of the 10th.  It was hard to watch them come from behind in the bottom of the 9th and get within one hit of a win...

bob, steve, trudy, and me

wow, prime seats!

I got off the MUNI at the Embarcadero Station on the way home and walked back over to the water to see the Bay Bridge lights - I'd seen them from afar and had heard of them even living in Atlanta, so I decided to take the opportunity of being downtown after dark to go check them out.  Verdict: very cool.

bay bridge lights

Saturday afternoon I headed across the bay to meet Shannon and Paul, and Elena arrived not long after I did.  We wandered into Oakland Chinatown for lunch at our favorite Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) joint - I knew it from my CIBC (Chinese Independent Baptist Church) days, Shannon and Paul had discovered it shortly after moving to Oakland.  We strolled along the waterfront through Jack London Square and eventually headed south to Shannon and Paul's place.  It's in a former I-don't-know-what building on the site of former boatworks, with a yard full of what Paul termed shrapnel.  Out the back is a community garden and waterfront access including a quirky pier and a small beach.

me, elena, paul, and shannon

silly cousins on the beach

paul laughing about a huge pile of "shrapnel"

That Sunday was the first morning service for Reality SF since the first time I'd attended - Summer Nights had ended.  I met up with Liz and after lunch with a bunch of people, the two of us headed out to Ocean Beach.  It was cold and windy, as one might expect in San Francisco, but still beautiful.

me and liz, freezing at ocean beach

ocean beach panorama

I walked home a couple times during my last week of work, taking Howard Street for a change of scenery.  Along the way, I discovered a mural I hadn't seen before, and it has become my favorite.  I think I just like all the colors and I think the funny round birds are really cute.  No, I don't think they look like Angry Birds.

i have a favorite mural now - this one (no, not the billboard)

Wednesday after work I took BART to San Leandro where I met Yvonne and her daughter Annalise.  Yvonne is a good friend from CIBC days, we've kept in contact as we've both moved around.  We had Halal Chinese food at Annalise's favorite restaurant near their old house in Union City.

me, annalise, and yvonne

Thursday I had lunch with a friend I met through Stefan at Reality SF - Duygu visited Reality my second time there.  She is an incredibly friendly girl, originally from Turkey, who was in San Francisco to get her MBA through Hult International Business School's San Francisco campus.  She has lived in several other countries en route to this.  We had a great time hanging out and I look forward to keeping in touch with her as her adventures continue - she graduated the next day!

duygu and me

After work, I met up with Geoff, a friend from Tahoe.  He happened to be in the Bay Area because he had flown to the East Coast for an extended weekend and flew in and out of SFO.  We headed up to Twin Peaks and just sat on the wall at the observation area and enjoyed the view, watching the fog wrap around us reaching toward downtown from either side.

the red rectangle is the house where i lived, as seen from twin peaks

twin peaks panorama with fog reaching around on either side.

After dinner in the Mission, we made our way out to Ocean Beach in the cold and fog.  There, we found Stefan making himself a birthday bonfire.  Duygu showed up later and had her first ever S'More, and Geoff and I ended the evening helping her move from her apartment near the beach to a new place in the Mission.

ocean beach bonfire with liz, stefan, duygu, and geoff

My last day of work finished a little bit early, and my parents and Trudy met me at work when I got off.  We went back to Trudy and Steve's house to wait for Steve to get home.  While we waited, I finished packing up my stuff and packed it all into the trunk of my father's car.  When Steve got home from work, we piled into one car and went to the big Off the Grid Friday night setup at Fort Mason.  It was huge, with about 20 food trucks and tons of people.

my parents, steve, trudy, and me with chicken and rice

friday night off the grid is really crowded!

We were thoroughly stuffed with treats from the Peruvian truck, the Nepalese truck, and a couple others.  Before we went back, we stopped back at the Embarcadero and took in the Bay Bridge lights from the Exploratorium pier.

steve, my mother, trudy, and my father with the bay bridge lights in the background

We could see inside parts of the Exploratorium since there was a party of some sort going on in there.  One thing we saw was this toothpick art, a kinetic sculpture in progress since 1974 when the artist was only 14.  It not only has some moving features (propellers, for example) but also has multiple "tours" for pingpong balls.  Click here for a video of the tours (narrated by the artist).

"rolling through the bay"

nighttime view from the exploratorium pier

We went back to Steve and Trudy's, put the bike rack and my bike on the back of the car, and headed back to my parents' place in Cupertino.

last couple weeks in SF

I finished my last post on a Tuesday.  The next day, July 31, I got on a cable car when I got off work, just so I could say I did...  since my MUNI pass was going to run out that day and it would cost me $6 without the pass!  I took it up California Street to Powell and was intending to take the Powell Street cable car down to Market.  Unfortunately, there was a cable issue and the Powell Street car wasn't running, so I took the shuttle bus that was running instead.  I wanted to end up near the cable car turnaround because there was a planned mini-reunion of former employees of MCG Architecture.  Seven of us turned up to hang out at Cable Car City Pub & Cafe.  Four of them I hadn't seen in fifteen years!

california street cable car after i got off

former mcg coworkers: ed, naomi, me, cristina, dennis, jim, and melinda

Thursday evening I got together with Sarah and Esther again since Sarah was visiting from LA. I took BART from work to the Mission to meet them at La Taqueria.  Apparently it's been featured in Sunset Magazine for its amazing tacos.  The tacos were tasty, but I wouldn't have traveled too far to get them.  We followed our tacos with a walk up and down Mission before stopping at Mission Pie.  We got a slice of Apricot Frangipane and one of Mixed Berry Pie, and took them with us to Mitchell's Ice Cream so we had pie and ice cream for dessert.

sarah, esther, and me at mission pie

Friday after work I took BART out to Pleasant Hill and took a bus close to Libby's house.  I walked to my car (Libby and family were not home) and headed up to Tahoe.  I arrived at Lisa's condo while she was at work, so I just sat outside and enjoyed the lake and sky view for a while before heading to bed.

big dipper and north star over the lake from lisa's balcony

The next morning, I met Kelly at Alpina Cafe to hang out and catch up.  Kelly is a PT who finished her DPT shortly before I started.  She grew up in Tahoe and I met her through Sierra Community Church.

kelly and me outside alpina

I headed straight from Alpina to Danielle and Matt's house out in Meyers.  Danielle was hugely pregnant when I saw her in June, so this time I got to meet little K.  Matt's brother Mike was visiting and helping Matt work on their house.

me, danielle, mike, baby k, and matt

After Danielle and I took a walk with the baby boy, I rushed back to Lisa's, changed into my swimsuit, and ran out the back door with Lisa's paddleboard to meet Michelle.  Michelle is a PT with whom I worked at Emerald Bay Physical Therapy.  She now works in Minden for Bodywise Physical Therapy.  We had a six hour paddling adventure including lots of wind and choppy water.  We paddled about nine miles, from Lisa's to the very far end of Baldwin Beach where we met another Tahoe friend, Tiffany, and her boyfriend Matt.

clockwise from top - sunset from the paddleboard; michelle on her board;
me, tiffany, and michelle; view from baldwin beach

I was exhausted by the time we got back.  After a good night's sleep, I got to hang out with Lisa briefly in the morning before going to Sierra Community Church.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear the music was all songs I knew.  I enjoyed Dan's message on NOT minding my own business, and was happy to say hello to a bunch of friends before heading back to the Bay Area.  I left my car at Walnut Creek Auto Pros to get serviced that week to prepare for the long drive back to Atlanta.  Libby (back in town) picked me up there and we got an hour or so to just relax before she brought me to BART so I could get back to San Francisco in time to go to Reality Church SF - I'd been attending every Sunday since June 30 and I only had a couple Sundays left in San Francisco.  The first Sunday I went was a morning service, but the next weeks had been their Summer Nights evening services, with fun gatherings afterwards including snacks and games.

Tuesday I got off just before lunchtime and took Caltrain down to Mountain View where I met my parents.  We headed over to the Googleplex to have lunch with my cousin Kien Man.  This was now my second "Google lunch" but my first time at the headquarters.

google features clockwise from upper left: electric car charging stations; google bikes
everywhere; mock cable car inside; crazy smoker truck at the bbq where we ate

kien, my parents, and me

we stopped to check out the funny droid/ dessert sculptures

Wednesday I went to Berkeley after work and wandered around the Cal campus before meeting my friend Liz (from Reality Church SF) for dinner.  While there, I headed up to the 9th floor of Wurster Hall, the architecture building.  I remembered my friend Sarah (with whom I share a birthday) from Chinese Independent Baptist Church in Oakland had been posting photos on Instagram from Wurster this summer, so I posted a comment on one of those photos saying I was in Wurster.  Sure enough, within an hour Sarah had gotten the message and replied.  We eventually were able to meet up and I found out Sarah had graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Design and was taking a summer Architecture course at Cal as a precursor to applying for Masters programs in Architecture.  Sarah headed back to studio in Wurster while Liz and I enjoyed our La Burrita dinner.

old familiar view from 9th floor wurster

my birthday buddy sarah and me

Thursday lunch I met another former MCG coworker, Howard.  He works for an architecture firm just south of Market, so it was an easy bike ride for him to come meet me.  I wanted to check out a place called Sushirrito but the line was out the door, so we settled (quite happily) for Vietnamese food around the corner.

me and howard after yummy vietnamese food

After work the same day, I met up with Sandra, another high school friend I hadn't seen in a long time.  She was in Alan's (my brother's) class.  We grabbed cups of tea in the Ferry Building and just hung out on the ferry pier behind.  I had never been back there during commute hour, it's kind of cool to see the large numbers of people using the ferries.

sandra and me with the larkspur ferry loading behind us

After dinner, I walked down to Mission Bar to meet a friend from church and play pool.  I ended up also meeting three new friends and had a great time.

view over dolores park after dark

kate, alan, liz, stefan, and me

My final week in San Francisco will fill the next post...

starting with week six...

Saturday, July 13, after the meeting of mountainboarders, I went for a bike ride with a couple of the same people.  I joined Kody, Dan, and one of Dan's friends to ride out to the SF Marina where we watched the first head to head race of the Louis Vuitton Cup - the precursor to the America's Cup.  It turns out this was the first time the new AC72 boats in use this year had raced head to head.  It's a bit of a long story, if you want to know more, just Google "AC72" and "Louis Vuitton Cup controversy."  This turned out to be far cooler than I expected - watching those boats fly across the water was just short of unbelievable.  After the race was over, we rode to Real Food Company to get sandwiches for lunch.

emirates team new zealand hydrofoiling around 48 mph (wind speeds under 20 mph)

emirates team new zealand and the italian boat luna rossa

me, kody, dan, and yenke enjoying lunch in allyne park

I walked home most days that week, then headed to the south bay for the weekend.  I hung out with Steph at Quickly for boba and snacks on Friday night, then Saturday morning got together with Polly and Alice.  I hadn't seen Polly since her Cal Optometry School graduation, and Alice hadn't seen her for an even longer time. That night my father and I cooked a big pot of duck green curry.  YUM!

polly, alice, and me

Tuesday, July 23, I got together with my second cousins Shannon and Elena and Shannon's boyfriend Paul.  We walked to Belden Place, not far from where I was working, and ate at Belden Taverna.  We took advantage of their happy hour specials and had $1 oysters, sliders, truffle fries, mac and cheese, and some croquettes.  We finished off the evening with gelato in Westfield San Francisco Centre.

me, shannon, paul, and elena

The next night I met my friend Esther after work.  Esther went to Cal for Architecture but I know her from church in Oakland.  We saw each other briefly in my most recent LA weekend, but this time we got to hang out longer.  We headed out to Crissy Field and walked her dogs down to the Wave Organ.  Once we got back to the car, we headed to Joe DiMaggio Playground to experience Off the Grid - a food truck fiesta.  The Wednesday night setup included seven trucks.  We sampled some korean tacos and some sweet potato tater tots from a Vietnamese truck.  Dessert was later - we went to Mitchell's Ice Cream where you take a number and wait in the crowd till they call you.  You can sample lots of flavors, the employees are really patient.  I ended up getting Ube flavored ice cream.  Ube is Phillipine yam, also known as taro.  It was delicious.

esther and me at off the grid: view from the wave organ
mushu veggie and tai chi tofu tacos: mitchell's ube ice cream

On Friday July 26th, my father took Caltrain up to the city and we watched the Giants play the Cubs.  I had never been to AT&T park before, so it was interesting to look around and check it out.  We ate and actually enjoyed ballpark food for dinner, sharing a hot crab sandwich and some fish and chips.   We had a lot of fun even though it was sad to watch the Giants give up the game on an error in the top of the 9th.

before we entered the stadium: nice view of matt cain pitching

even the nosebleed seats have a good view!

After the game I took Caltrain back to Cupertino with my father.  Saturday, I attended my younger Goddaughter's first birthday party.  I then drove my car up to Walnut Creek and parked at Libby's house.  She gave me a ride to BART so I could get back to the city.  That Sunday was "Sunday Streets" in San Francisco, where a long section of Valencia and 24th Streets were closed off to cars, in addition to a bunch of side streets.  Trudy and I cycled down to the street closures and along it to the far end.  We stopped for milkshakes at St. Francis Fountain and Diner.

looking down 24th

big display of low riders on a side street

trudy behind my left ear riding back home

Monday, July 29, I got to observe surgery with Dr. Paul Roache, an orthopedist who is regionally known as a shoulder specialist.  He performed arthroscopic surgeries on two knees in the morning, one an involved meniscus trim and cyst removal and the other an ACL reconstruction.  The afternoon schedule consisted of two shoulders, a sub-acromial decompression and an AC joint resection.  Nice continuity - I got to treat the first patient of the morning (meniscus and cyst removal) for Physical Therapy from that Friday until the day I left.

hanging out in the OR waiting for the next surgery to begin

The next evening after work, I rode BART out to Glen Park Station and got together with Carol, a friend from high school who was a year ahead of me - I hadn't seen her since she graduated!  We went out to Baker Beach and enjoyed the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the ocean side of it before heading into Japantown for dinner.

"sand ladder" from the road to the beach

beauty despite the overcast

after dinner in japantown

My schedule was so busy during my last couple of weeks that I'm sure it will more than fill the next post so I'll stop now.