Half Moon Bay

I've lived in the Bay Area for just about 4 years now, and I've never ventured out to Half Moon Bay. Last Sunday, I took my brand new Nikon SLR along with me, as I joined my friend Toan, and his former USF classmates, Francis, See, Joelle and Sabrina, for a walk along Pillar Point at Half Moon Bay. Our guidebook didn't do a great job getting us to Pillar Point, but a friendly fisherman, who was just about to kayak into the bay to catch crab, pointed us in the right direction. We arrived and parked in a cramped parking lot. As we walked towards the beach, dogs of all shapes and sizes trotted past with their owners. The sky was a bit overcast, but as we turned the bend, the Pacific Ocean and sky opened up to us. If it weren't for the windchill, I felt as if it were May not February! At the end of Pillar Point, we discovered tidepools, and Francis picked up a FAT pink starfish. I don't recommend molesting starfish like he did! We ended the hike with lunch at the Hawaiian Ono Grill - we ordered what the big lady in the Hawaiian floral print muu muu did -- the #24 (teriyaki chicken and kalbi beef with macaroni salad and two scoops of rice). We headed back up Hwy 92. Did you ever notice that there are a lot of places to get pony rides in Half Moon Bay? Why is that? We stopped at the intersection of Hwy 92 and 35 to go hiking at Crystal Springs trail, which the guidebook rated a 7. What a mistake! From the road, you could see how beautiful Crystal Springs is, but there's a green chainlink fence keeping you at least 100 feet from the water. We felt like prisoners escaping Folsom! So skip Crystal Springs.

Ghetto Valentine's

Just in time for Valentine's Day, NPR aired Nancy Mullane's piece on Ghetto Gourmet. She even interviewed the health inspector who's putting the heat on Jer's tail. I would have preferred Nancy give props to Fred (for performing classical guitar on V-Day), Kamau (for his stand-up comedy on 2/6) and Quinn (for playing the blues you hear as the music for the report); but hey, GG went national again in less than a month! I can't complain. Here are picts if you missed the last two dinners:

Disneyland

Spending V-day at the original happiest place on earth.

(Left) I've found my Prince Frog, er, Toad!

(Right) Disneyland confines all smokers to obscure pockets off the beaten track.

Paradise Screamer, looks worse than it looks.

Shrunken Ned offers Fred the recipe for Jungle Juice to cure his ailments.

Busting out of the slammer in Toon Town.

Where's Christopher Robbin?

Quick recaps

Saw the SF Ballet's "Swan Lake" last Friday and it was worth standing room only tickets! Yuan Yuan Tan is amazing, her arms moved so gracefully like the wings of a bird, and the lush costumes were gorgeous! I can't wait for Program 7 "Sylvia"!

This past Monday night, Pete and Jen hosted the most recent Ghetto Gourmet. Twenty-eight diners, including a reporter from NPR, cozied up in their beautiful arts and crafts bungalow in North Berkeley. Max the boxer filled in for Shinobi the pitbull, and the pink "Answer Me" Jesus answered diners' questions, "Will tonight be a good dinner?" to which Jesus replied "Let me ask my father." Check back to see when NPR will air "This American Life" starring Ghetto Gourmet next week!

Surprised Fred with Sing-Along "Mary Poppins" at the Castro Theater. It's running until this Thursday, for $15 general admission. Only a handful of folks, mostly kids, dressed up as chimney sweeps. I think most of us reading this blog have only seen MP on our tv sets since MP debuted in 1964, and so watching it on the big screen was quite delightful. Also, having the lyrics appear on-screen help you realize how clever and surprisingly mature the songs are. I don't remember Mrs. Banks having freckles, nor Mary Poppins being so vain!

I Heart Oakland

I love living in Oakland (and Berkeley), especially when I have days like last Saturday where I spent my day running around the lively districts Oakland has to offer. For starters, I had an Ethiopian lunch at Asmara with Danielle in the Temescal district, on the corner of 51st and Telegraph; the district was recently featured in a fall issue of Sunset magazine. She had the lamb (#21) and I got the chicken with mustard greens (#23), both served on injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread and eating utensil. Other points of interest in the Temescal district include Sagrada (for the devoted), Article Pract (for the knitters), and Dona Tomas (mother restaurant to my fave 4th street eatery, Tacubaya).

D and I parted ways at the Ashby BART and I headed back to the Lakeshore district, where the Lake Merritt Farmer's Market was winding down. I wanted to hit Maribel's before meeting up with Marie. Unfortunately, Maribel's stops accepting clothes at 2pm, and so instead of unloading a bag of clothes, I lugged it back to my car. I popped in on my favorite gift shop, Juniper Tree, where Votivo candles, fine soaps, and Cavallini stationery tempted my wallet. I resisted. My car was parked in front of Ear-Witness, a charming little store that sells new and used CDs, LPs and movies. The last time I was in, I got the "Clueless" soundtrack on CD for $5 (I had it on tape)!

I like Maribel's because they give you 50% cash, but I really wanted to unload my clothes before stopping by the Gaia clothes bin, and so I headed to Rockridge for Crossroads Trading Co, where they only give you 35% cash. Just as I was about to pop in on Maison d'etre, I heard someone call out my name. Andrew Chung of Bay Area Classical Harmonies (BACH)! He just moved back to the Bay Area, and is working for a new magazine focused on arts and culture (perfect, right up my alley!) based out of Menlo Park.

After unloading half my bag for $26 and buying my first shot of caffeine for the day at Peaberry's at Market Hall, I headed down College from the Rockridge district to the Elmwood District, at Ashby and College. I had a shopping date, maybe better characterized as mission, with Marie. :) As I was chatting with a friend on the phone, I saw Shinobi on the opposite corner. My eyes followed up Shinobi's leash to see who was "attached", and there was Tim, and right behind Jeremy. I waved them over and we chatted for a short while, especially about the upcoming Monday where NPR would be recording footage for a story on Ghetto Gourmet.

Marie joined me shortly after Jer and Tim headed down back to Alcatraz, and after two hours, we left with at least two pieces each (me with a skirt and sweater, and she with a fabulous dress and skirt). Jeremy's ROCKS! Yes, I admit I go there every other week, only because it's a great place to find my most sought after Anthropologie labels (Moth and Odille) for half or even 75% off. http://www.elmwoodshop.com/pages/stores/jeremys.html Marie and I had pho for dinner at Miss Saigon, back on Grand Avenue, where Fred was playing his gig (rather well too since he had just recovered from the stomach flu I had just had a few days before). Then, I went over to Marie's loft, down by Jack London Square.

Instead of heading straight home that night, I stopped in at the 24 hr Long's (my fave late night place-to-go) on Pleasant Valley Road. As I was leaving I ran into Dave and Ana, together. The last time I ran into Ana was at the Neiman Marcus in Union Square, and I hadn't seen Dave since Jaye and I saw by chance driving through the parking lot at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton. A pleasant surprise. :)

What a day! It was reminiscent of when I lived in Davis. I felt like I did a lot even though I spent my day within a five mile radius. Like Davis, it has the feel of a small college town, you end up running into people you know quite frequently and there are lots of cutesy boutiques and family run restaurants to poke around in. And that's how Oakland is, at least in the North Oakland-Piedmont-Merritt part of it.

Finally, February is here!

Ugh, just got over food poisoning. Was it the awful Seafood Chinese Buffet my parents treated me to ("eat the lobster tail..with melted cheese!") or was it the cold spoonful of my mom's beef barley stew? My stomach stewed angrily Sunday night, and I still went to work with an awful bellyache and other unsavory symptoms. I happened to hold out on barfing for a day and a half. It wasn't until just getting off the phone with Fred Monday night, about 15 minutes before he came over, that my dinner of pappardelle with meat sauce and dessert of Guittard chocolate chips couldn't take the unpleasant conditions of my tummy any longer. They thrust upwards and out, not one, not two, but yes, four times! YUCK. I made sure to brush my teeth 3 times and gargle twice with mouthwash before Fred came over with my white cherry coke Slurpee to watch a young, blonde Val Kilmer and the guy who looks like Sarah-ca (that's what I keep calling Sarah Jessica Parker by accident) in "Real Genius" (1985). Try this: Google "Gabriel Jarret" in the "Images" section of Google.com and I swear to goodness, the first image is Sarah Jessica Parker. How sad is that?

We skipped kung fu last night to watch "Nanny McPhee" at Oakland's historic Grand Lake Theater near Lake Merritt. I loved Angela Lansbury's beak-nosed, and nearly blind character "Great Aunt Adelaide" who can't tell a prancing donkey from a girl! The movie studio has marketed NM to be the new Mary Poppins, but there aren't any wonderfully written songs that carry you through the movie. There is a kite scene, and a spoonful of medicine (alas, not sugar), a grumpy old person (remember the old banker? I suppose Great Aunt Adelaide is the substitute) but that's about it. Nonetheless, I recommend seeing it, as it is a feel good, wholesome movie. The opening scene with the naughty children munching on their baby sister, Agnes, is worth it.

Just 10 more days before we leave for the wonderful world of Disney for Valentine's Day weekend. I can't wait! It's been nearly 20 years since I've been to the Magic Kingdom. This is the first time I've used a travel agent; I just took Sales Management with Guisselle, who runs her family's travel business Mundi Travel (http://www.munditravel.net/). I am currently taking Services Management with her. In class, we used myself as an example of a typical consumer who tries to book their own trip online. I only booked my flight on Jetblue.com since I had a lot of credit. However, I left the hotel, Disneyland tickets and care rental to Guisselle. She showed me how it helpful, convenient, and fast it is to book with a travel agent. Instead of doing tons of research, Guiselle quickly found a hotel and car rental within my budget and preferred location. Our travel package arrived in a commemorative golden organizer, and included keepsake luggage tags and handy lanyards. I'm so looking forward to our romantic getaway! Woo hoo!

http://disney.go.com/home/today/index.html