Blog Archives

To soothe my nerves after a trying morning in the office, my dear friend Sarah recommended a new guilty pleasure: Oreo Cakesters.

These little morsels of sugar have the flavor of an Oreo…only puffed up like a balloon animal…if cookies were in fact animals…which they aren’t…although Oreos do make you smile…like a puppy makes you smile…before it makes an Oreo-colored pile on the carpet.

Anyhow…in my month of celebrating new-ness, this new indulgence definitely hit a sweet spot…thanks to Sarah…my new sugar/crack dealer!

October rolled in with a light morning drizzle that created a classic “autumn smell” for my morning commute. For many reasons, this has always been my favorite month of the year.

The skies cleared by midday, and I was able to take a long after-work walk along Mission Street to pick up my car from its 5K check-up. My route along Mission passed the new SF Federal Building, a striking modern building by noted architect Thomas Mayne. The building is heralded for its green features–particularly its natural air conditioning fed by the city’s year-round moderate temps and strong off-shore breezes. The neighborhood around the building is definitely a work-in-progress, with shocking scenes of neglect and homelessness.

This evening, Jeff and I tried a new restaurant to inaugurate a month of new experiences. We visited the recently opened Bistro 9–on 9th Avenue in the Inner Sunset–which specializes in rotisserie and grilled items. Definitely worth a repeat visit.

I find it ironic that the very same credit companies who put so much personal information on credit applications that junk mail becomes fuel for identity theft, that those same companies cannot be bothered to fill out my frickin’ marketing opt-out form.

Of COURSE they will make me work hard to avoid having my name sold off to other junk mailers. Here is a concept…how about asking me to opt-IN before you whore me out and fill my mailbox with more forms that could compromise my identity.

The signs of seasonal change in SF are a bit more subtle than in a four-season climate. But one sure sign is when the summer colors are removed from urban flower beds and replaced with “fall colors”. Appropriately, the flower bed pictured above is situated between a Starbucks, Peets, and Tully’s…all of which have removed their summer drinks with “fall drinks” of pumpkin.

Of course, you can always mark your calendars by the start of the fall TV season. At least one highlight for us…this week, we caught the season premier of “The Office”, which has turned out be one of the most consistently enjoyable shows. (An up-and-coming second favorite is “30 Rock”…which I find amazingly funny.)

On Sunday afternoon, we ate lunch at the Park Chalet, where Golden Gate park meets Ocean Beach. This sunny restaurant is a recent expansion of the popular Beach Chalet. The Park Chalet has a very casual, festive feel…with breezy indoor and outdoor seating. This afternoon, there was a live jazz trio entertaining.

After lunch, we zipped across the street to the beach to see the crowd enjoying the late afternoon sun. I particularly liked the tie-dye salesman (below) with his “magic bus”.

This week, I spent a few short days in northern Virginia. As with most of my trips to VA recently, I ended up spending most of my time working virtually with west coast folks. Nevertheless, I did get to catch up with some of my coworkers from across the country. I always enjoy that camaraderie.

An unexpected highlight of the trip was an invitation to watch an MLS soccer game at RFK Stadium. The matchup was D.C. United hosting Chivas USA. (I don’t pretend to fully understand the story, but it seems that Chivas is a former Mexican team from Guadalajara that was transplanted to Los Angeles…kinda like the Baltimore Colts packing up and moving Indianapolis, Mexico.) Anyhow, my work buddies Josh and Mark–in the center of the photo below–invited me to join them and another of their season ticket friends to see the game, which was chock full of energy, sound, and color.

(Thanks guys!!)

As James mentioned in one of his posts this week, I did get to VA a day earlier than anticipated and was able to visit with James and Ginger a bit out at the Estate. The TV may have been un-notable, but I sure appreciated the conversation. Oh, and yes, I did get to try out their Wii, and play some Wii Sports bowling and baseball. I certainly wasn’t a NATURAL at either game, but what an innovative concept…no wonder they are flying off the shelves.

Unfortunately, the McLean Hilton–like most hotels I seem to land in–can be a bit sterile. Now…if they would just put a Wii in every room!!

By the way, a note to United Airlines and their advertising partner NBC: “You have already reduced the size of aircraft to fill every last seat, made upgrades nearly impossible to find, and even taken away the tiny bag of “party mix” you served with drinks. At least provide me with distracting entertainment. That does NOT mean producing an in-flight show advertising NBC’s exciting fall lineup…and then showing it three times during the flight. That just pisses me off, and it still won’t make me watch “Chuck”…which you showed 2.5-times during the flight.”