in no particular order…
1) I am elated that Hillary won New Hampshire!!!!! She looks so happy. But…what was she wearing today?? As my roommate said, a carpet? Maybe a window curtain. It’s ok. Carpet, curtain or not, she won!
Also, check out this video of her being defending her likability (and being quite personable) – and Obama making a slightly snide comment that may have worked against him in NH.
2) I just sampled Trader Joe’s peppermint oreos (officially called candy-cane joe joe’s) and let me tell you, they are absolutely fantastic.
3) I have almost played The Raveonette’s Christmas Song to death. Almost. Coincidentally, my other favorite discovery is The Killer’s A Great Big Sled…both are Christmas-y although I didn’t hear of them until this past weekend. Ooooo. I just realized point number two is sort of Christmas-related as well. Maybe I just want the holidays to come back that badly.
…
Monday.
My head is spinning with a sudden influx of activities. Wedding coordination for craiggers bride. Asst. producer/location scout for short 5 min film. Research the feasibility of starting a business w/3 friends. French class begins this week. Class for work. Need to actually read my book over consecutive days bc I keep on forgetting the details. Starting a dinner club with roommate. Brother and gf visiting Labor Day wkend. Going to LA in a few weeks.
And to top it off, I actually have a significant project at work right now.
Friday?
let’s be green
Found these notes I had jotted down from a talk on green housing at the Commonwealth Club:
- According to the EPA, people spend 90% of their time indoors (and 65% of that is at home). Now that is really scary. 90%?? I think of myself as a lover of the outdoors, but my main time outdoors is soccer, and getting from place to place. So I might be at 90% too?
- Indoor air is four times more polluted than outdoor air. Yeeks.
- If everyone in the US changed one lightbulb to a carbon efficient one, the energy savings would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the street. To note: there has been a push for the public to switch to these newer lightbulbs. Notably, Wal-Mart’s made it a goal too. I am bad though, I haven’t switched but I will try (if they fit) next time a bulb burns out.
- Cities are three degrees warmer than they should be because of the black asphalt, and reflections off of roofs.
Tap water is also making a comeback, which I think is funny, but all in all great. It’s the new black, kids. No, it’s not the new black kids. I just had to go back to this posting and add a comma. Man, I really love grammar! 
Anyway. Let’s pretend I didn’t buy myself a bottle of Crystal Geyser yesterday…
nb and chinatown faves
I was telling some friends about my mission to find the best bbq pork bun in Chinatown, and the best tiramisu in North Beach, and one suggested that I post my findings here. I originally intended to list all my SF faves, but that’s just not possible…there are way too many categories so I’ll just stick to my environs for now.
1. Steamed BBQ Pork Bun/any steamed Chinese bun/congee: Good Mong Kwok on Stockton at Washington. The window says “Nice Dim Sum” and the store has an orange awning. Cheap. Best all around bakery in Chinatown for sure.
2. Baked BBQ Pork Bun: Golden Gate Bakery, on Grant at Jackson.
3. Other Baked Chinese buns (yes, really, there is a need for three separate listings of this): Napoleon Bakery on Stockton at Washington.
4. Tiramisu: Cafe Greco – it’s the least liquor-ish tasting, which I prefer.
5. Best dessert in NB: Sacrapantina at Stella’s Bakery on Columbus. I’ve turned a-many onto it. Skip the gelato shops here…they’re no good.
6. Italian: Avoid the touristy places on Columbus and hit up Trattoria Contandina on Union at Mason.
7. Other restaurant in NB: The House. One of my favorite restaurants in the city, and conveniently located close by!
8. Bar: Rogue, North Star for the casuals; 15 Romolo for something a bit more zipped up…although actually I haven’t been there for awhile. Impala’s worth checking out if you want to dance.
9. Hidden-sort-of secret: Filbert Steps. But go down them, not up.
10. Sandwiches: The Nature Stop on Grant – a small grocery store with organic tendencies. Do note, however, that these sandwiches are vegematarian. Oh, they have a great salad bar too.
Wowee how did it become 1am already? Time to sleep!
my jaunt back east
I’m finally home after a trip home to DC and a business trip to Boston. I liked the exercise of describing my life in colors; here’s a round-about account of my past 10 days in names:
1. Ben Olsen – My hero. I think I witnessed my first hat trick as my new love Ben lead DC United to a 4-2 victory over the NY Red Bulls. Really sad SF doesn’t have a soccer team.
2. Andrew W. Mellon – Thank you for founding the National Gallery of Art. I’m particularly impressed with his selflessness: he insisted that his personal name be separate from the museum’s name so that other collectors would contribute their pieces as well, increasing the greatness of the museum.
3. Joan Miro – Amy came to visit me in Boston for the weekend and she spotted a Miro gallery on Newbury St. I was in heaven. AND…I realized that he signs his name with an exclamation point at the end! I do that too if I make cards or something, and put my name on the back. No wonder I love his stuff so much 
4. Samuel Adams et al – Had a blast on Boston’s Freedom Trail. Yes, I did just say I had a blast.
5. Kimpton – I stayed at three hotels over five nights because I’m so damn picky. I was finally satisfied at Nine Zero, this really cool, modern spot with amenities like a complimentary wine hour (wines chosen by Leslie Sbracco no less!), complimentary shoe shines, impeccable customer service, a pillow service (Amy and I selected the buckwheat, spinal adjustment and water pillows one night…they ran out of the magnet ones haha) and much more. I am now Kimpton’s number one advocate.
6. Edward Hopper – The MFA currently features a Hopper exhibit that is amazing and does a great job of taking you through his career. I realized that a painting can be lonely. The audio guide called him an “inbetween artist” – love that.
7. Mr. Sunshine – Oh. My. Goodness. It was sunny. And warm. And I had flip flops on. And wore shorts. And a tank top. Oh summertime…
8. Mr. Hand-made Pasta – Ok I’m obviously stretching the names theme right now. But anyway, I’m really into pastas now! Who woulda thunk. Went to Rocca in the South End and had some delicious…spaghetti. If it’s hand-made with love, it makes a difference.
I’ll end on 8 because it’s lucky
roygbiv
It’s Memorial Day Weekend and you know what that means kids…yes, yes, you too can break out those white pants until Labor Day. Speaking of color – if you consider white a color - I thought I’d take the time to tell you about my life through the colors of the rainbow.
Red – I’m currently drinking hot water in a red mug. You know me – plain hot water is my beverage of choice.
Orange – I just applied my favorite ChapStick, Ultra SPF 30. I love it because it tastes sort of like lemon. So not orange, but it has an orange wrapper.
Yellow – Played soccer for 2 hours last night so feeling pretty healthy and active. Makes me happy.
Green – My wallet hurts; I had a $14 glass of pinor noir at the Redroom Room last night. I didn’t realize I suddenly lived in NYC.
Blue – In 2 weeks, I’m flying JetBlue to DC (before going to Boston for work). I’m super excited to go berry picking, watch a DC United game and of course, visit the National Gallery of Art again.
Indigo/Violet – Limo tour of Napa tomorrow
things i want to do
For some reason, I feel if I publish this list, I will be more likely to follow through. Join me, join me.
1) SFMOMA. Docent tour of Picasso exhibit before it closes on 5/28 (I already did the audio guide). Also look at the permanent exhibits.
2) DeYoung/Legion. There’s a Vivienne Westwood exhibit going on at the DeYoung.
3) Any sort of fruit picking. Cherries are in season right now! (I’m going tomorrow yay and will definitely hit up Butler’s Orchard in good ol MD when I go back in June and July)
4) Seasonal vegetable cooking club, a la Alice Waters and other Bay area chefs. Calling all interested persons! Cook using the month’s seasonal vegetable.
5) Foreign films with a historical basis. I just saw The Lives of Others (Academy Award winner for best foreign film – it’s German). Phenomenal. You must watch it now.
6) Wine club. I saw this craigslist ad for one, thought it might interesting to check out.
7) La Corneta. According to the coworkers, the best, cheap Mexican in the city, and the Glen Park location is far superior.
8 ) Run. Running (ok, who am I kidding, jogging) Bay to Breakers this Sunday and then the plan is to train for the Nike Women’s half marathon in October.
9) Napa. Another visit sometime this summer would be nice.
10) Visit Austin and Miami. I am crossing one off my list though – going to Boston for work mid-June.
11) Take a class. There’s an art history one through Berkeley. Or French through City College. Ok this is the least likely, I have major issues commiting, i.e. that Mandarin class…I blame it on that weekly Chicago travel though.
12) Actually attend my book club.
How fun!
love the muni
I rode the bus today instead of walking everywhere because I was exhausted from a super late night and intense soccer in the a.m. (note to self: take those damn iron pills). Below are my Muni thoughts of the day:
1. The 15 has ceased to run!!! It is replaced by the 9. This threw my comprehensive Muni knowledge off kilter for a moment. Difficult to believe, I know. If they ever get rid of the 45, I will be beside myself. By the way, what a funny saying.
2. Do you ever wonder if the Muni drivers are embarassed when they have to run off to the Porta-Potties in the middle of a run? It’s obvious that they’re using the loo…if I were one I’d be so self-aware of the entire bus waiting for me to come back.
3. I rode through Chinatown TWICE today and didn’t get annoyed! It’s because I snagged a seat in the back and didn’t have to deal with the pushy Chinese grannies. I am making you all a promise right here – that will never be me.
ick
Spam is just no good.
1) I had it for the first time yesterday, thinking it was ham, and spit it out immediately. Actually, this was probably my punishment for considering ham. Had it been ham, the poor pig probably would have grown up with no joy in its life — penned up, mucking around in its own urine, and crying itself to sleep every night. But I’m currently in Maryland, so I temporarily lost my west coast sensibilities.
Anyway, spam is just gross, salty, gross, and salty.
2) I just deleted 92 spam messages from my gmail. Merely seeing the spam build-up in my email account causes me great ire — I realize the messages go to another folder, but it still bothers me to see so much junk mail. My gmail used to be relatively spam free until my sister gave the address away to the symphony earlier this year, opening the flood gates to the spammers of the world. Sad.
Down with spam!
nouns of assemblage
The classic: a gaggle of geese / The cutest: a romp of otters / The funniest: a smack of jellyfish / The weirdest: a rhumba of rattlesnakes
And then…the invented: a spackle of snowmen
Perfect for the holiday season! Words really are quite fascinating.
