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...