Crazy Hot

Yesterday it reached 91 degrees in San Francisco. People here just don't know what to do when it gets that hot. All around the office people were talking about how they could not go outside because it was too damn hot. Today is still pretty warm for San Francisco, around 80 degrees, I think.

In any case, I left the office a little bit early yesterday (surprise!) to attend a knitting event at my local yarn store, Urban Knitting Studio http://www.urbanknitting.com/. It was called Knit and Wine. Nothing wrong with that combo! There was a fire on Treasure Island so there was horrific traffic yesterday on the Bay Bridge and downtown San Francisco. I have never seen it like that before, bumper to bumper with NO movement. It took me an hour to get to the event from my office. What should have been less than a $10 cab ride turned into almost $25! I was going to get out and walk, but I had a whole bunch of work crap with me and I was in a not so great neighborhood, so I ended up forking over the fare with sadness. But, at least the event was great.

Strange things I have eaten, or Spam, Spam, Spam.

So, my crazy husband was devastated to learn that we will be out of town when the 7th Annual Spam Musubi Eating Contest is occurring in San Francisco. We learned that last year's winning contestant managed to eat only 5 musubis in 5 minutes, a record at which my husband only said "Gah, ridiculous!"

For those who may not know, Spam musubis are basically a slab of grilled Spam in teriyaki sauce laid on top of a bed of rice and wrapped in seaweed - essentially, Spam sushi. Here's a link to a picture of one: http://ukumillion.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/spam-musubi-thumb.jpg
They are incredibly popular in Hawaii, which is like the Spam eating capital of the world.

I admit that I have eaten Spam in my lifetime, and even enjoyed it. It got me to thinking of some of the other strange things I have eaten. I am a big proponent of at least attempting to try something once before I shun it. Here's a small sampling of my "Strange Foods I Have Eaten" list: Monkfish liver (a Japanese delicacy), steak tartare (fancy way of saying raw beef), tongue, bone marrow, preserved duck egg (blech!), escargot, frog's legs, foie gras, jellyfish, pig's feet, tripe, and dried cuttlefish. Looking at this list, maybe this is why some people elect to become vegetarian! I do draw the line at things that are still alive when eaten. Once in Korea, I saw someone eat a live baby octopus. It was not a pretty sight. Then, on a travel show, I saw someone eat a really fat live caterpillar grub thing - not for me.

San Francisco is awesome.

Here are those pictures from our walk in Golden Gate Park. These are from the Dahlia Garden that is replanted each year and from the Conservatory which is right by the Dahlia Garden. Enjoy!

Oh My Chihuly!

Yesterday, we went to the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park to check out the Chihuly glass exhibit. It was amazing and beautiful. We kicked ourselves because we forgot our camera at home. I managed to take some shaky shots with my Blackberry, so am sharing what I have. I should really make it point to just carry around one of our small cameras in my bag at all times because it always seems we don't have a camera when we need one!

In the same day, I was surprised by the kindness of my fellow humans. My husband and I stopped at a small donut shop in the Inner Sunset to pick up some pastries for our friends who stayed with us this weekend. When we went in, there was an old blind man who definitely had seen better days and seemed like he wasn't quite all there. He was shouting out his orders and yelling other incomprehensible stuff. The lady behind the counter (the owner, I think) brought him his hot cocoa and donut and set the food up for him at his small table. Then, she went back, got out some money from the register and walked back to him, pressing the money into his hand. She told him to take the money back as a refund because someone had just come in and paid for his food. Of course, no one really had. It is clear from the shop that she is just barely scraping by herself, and to see this act of complete generosity made me smile. I know I am pretty cynical, but sometimes, people really do surprise me.

Today, my husband and I took another walk in Golden Gate Park because the day was gorgeous! We walked by some of our favorite places - the Dahlia Garden (which is in full bloom and really worth a look) and the Conservatory. Will post some pictures we took later (yes, this time we had the camera!).

Shoot! Sick again!

Had to stay home from work for a couple of days because of a cold. I don't know, but it seems like I am getting sick a lot these days. I went to the doctor about this phenomenon and he said it could be stress related. Big surprise.

Anyway, I just recently finished knitting a new scarf. Where I live, it is always scarf weather! We all get freaked out if the temperature hits the 80s, even in the summertime.

Uh oh

Instead of working all weekend like I should have, I did other stuff. Friends came to stay with us and we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Aperto on Saturday, breakfast in the Haight this morning and a long tour of Golden Gate Park. Makes me think that I should be changing jobs so I get to enjoy weekends without feeling guilty! Now, must get to work!

Peonage

So if you take a look at my profile, which isn't quite complete, you will see that I have listed my occupation as "Corporate Peon." Here's a definition from Wikipedia: "The words peon and peonage are derived from the Spanish peón (pe'on). It has a range of meanings but its primary usuage is to describe laborers with little control over their employment conditions."

Definition fits like a glove!

My first post

So, I am starting a blog. Never thought I would do it, and I doubt anyone will read this, but excited about it!