Blogs from San Francisco, California, United States, North America - page 212

Our day began with Eddie the Filipino breakfast man. After coming to the discouraging realization that breakfast hour was not forthcoming on our floor, the Boy and the Girl ventured to higher levels in search of coffee and OJ. Fortunately, we came across Eddie. Little did we know that a simple request for caffeine would result in a tray overflowing with oversized scones, two variations of croissants, danishes, butter, juice, bananas... etc. Well-fed and well-rested, we ventured southbound on I-101 towards the Tech-Mecca - Silicon Valley! To quote the kid in The Incredibles, "It was totally WICKED!!" Our first stop - "The Mothership" a.k.a. Apple Headquarters on 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. (Programmers can feel free to chuckle now.) Our charm didn't get us past the receptionist, however the trip was not altogether "fruitless" - after ... read more

The adventure has begun. I’m at Ruth and Praveen’s house in San Francisco….Pacifica, to be more exact. It’s very early here, but I’m still on Missouri time, so it’s not quite so early for me. Ruth and Praveen are still asleep and I’m wandering around in the dark trying to locate light switches and coffee makers. Mostly, I’m trying to locate my luggage…. But I’m getting ahead of myself with that story. This adventure is beginning to be adventuresome a little too soon if you ask me. Jay got me to the St. Louis Airport yesterday with plenty of time to spare even though it had started to snow before we left the house around 5 am. He dropped me off and I sat around watching it snow and waiting for my flight to board. The ... read more

Its strange because i really felt a few days back that this journal should not be continued with. I have just (for the first time) showed it to Elaine who said she thought it was good and that it should continue. Whats weird though is that reading it again makes me think it might be worth carrying on with because it triggers nice memories of some of the things i have done and it might be good to have a permanent record of all that. Whether i do continue is hard to say right now, but at least i can see some value in doing so.... read more

Alcatraz for me was the thing that i most wanted to see in San Francisco before i came, i had first seen the Clint Eastwood film when i was a young child and was always fascinated with the place. We went there on the boat to the island and were able to go inside the cell block, where we experienced a 35 audio tour of the cell block. The audio tour was excellent and gave a great insight into the life that the prisoners in there had. Even those who were not in isolation must have faced gruelling days all of the time. The cells were small and cramped and all were single cells. Toughest of all was "The Hole" in D Block where prisoners went when they were in isoaltion, they were shut in without ... read more

Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Handbasket? Counting today, there are six ... count 'em ... six days before we leave. And we're already in trouble. My mother arrives from New Mexico tomorrow. At least that means someone will clean the bathroom. Try as you may, you just can't stop the woman. This afternoon, I have to find a way to shove a 12-pound turkey into my refrigerator. Some dork (namely, me) decided that since we'd be in-country on T-day, we should have an early Thanksgiving before we left. Some people would prioritize packing. I prioritize stuffing. This pretty much sums up my world view. Work for each of us leading up to departure is ... well, work people are probably reading this. You all know we love you. And we hope ... read more