Post Covid Outings

After the health crisis subsides and everyone’s allowed back into the world like normal again, we’ll visit new places and return to old favorites!

Cracked and Battered

 

Sobo Ramen

 

Anchor and Hope

 

The Trident

Caviar Deviled Eggs!

 

Telegraph Beer Garden

 

Redwood City: Pulgas Water Temple, Old Port Lobster Shack

Hotels for Pulgas Trip:

Hotel Nia

Rosewood Sand Hill

Park James

Hotel Lucent

 

The Rockin’ Crawfish

 

Cityscape San Francisco

 

LA Weekender – Bosch Trip

Lake Tahoe Trip

 

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

 

Wonderfully Wild Trip: The Living Desert Zoo

 

Big Sur

And more to come!

Rock ‘n Roll Vegas 2016

It was bigger and better this year. The highlight was seeing Britney again and finally getting to taste Raising Canes. So delicious, probably not the best pre-race meal, but I digress. This year we didn’t have to contend with baseball cap man standing in front of us for Britney, but we did deal with Indian Steven Spielberg shamelessly filming the whole show a row in front of us. All in all it was a very fun show, and we still had a great time. The race itself was rain free this time.

The remix challenge was more of the same. A cool concert from Kalloepie and long lines for beer. We spent less time here because we were pretty over it at that point. We just wanted to get back to the room so we could make our way to the concert. We didn’t get VIP this time, so we’d have to contend with the lines. But as savvy as we are, we found a hitch in the line, and the security guard just waved us right on through to the front.

Kalloipe in action

The hotel was abysmal- We’ll never stay at the Flamingo again. They gave us a smoking room because they gave ours to another person who showed up earlier than we did. Even though I specifically told them we’d be arriving to check in later, they just said screw all that and gave our room up. So we moved rooms the next day, but it wasn’t much of an upgrade. We saved money, and the finish line was right by the entrance, so it had its perks for sure.

The expo was legit too. Not sure why people were taking pictures in front of a video screen…

A quick note about travel during the race weekend- you have to request Ubers at designated locations. No more picking up right off the strip anymore. This takes some getting used to.

Last, we noticed the corral setup was much different this year and will need to be changed. Instead of giving us a time to line up in our group, we had a color to correspond with our pace. We were told to arrive at a certain time after the Snoop Dog concert, but this was all located at the same place. So the place was overcrowded with non-racers, and they closed the gates to the corals very early. So we ended up waiting with group 2, or corral green, whatever it was. It was very unorganized, and made all our planning useless.

We didn’t forget, here are you pics!

Golden Gate Half

Question: So how do you get back into running after a few months off moving to San Francisco?

Answer: Sign up for 2 half marathons on a whim, 7 days apart.

Yes, we go hard. Melissa had this idea that we should check out a race that’s close to home. It’s a no brainer, really. The starting line is a quick Uber ride away, we don’t need a hotel, and we could be back recuperating in our apartment in no time. Not to mention our scenic run would be a great welcome to the city, officially. So I said sure, even though we have Rock n’ Roll Vegas half and 5K Remix Challenge next weekend. Did I mention we go hard?

The race went really well. We ran our best time on not much training either. The 1 minute run, 1 minute 1 walk routine proves extremely useful. The only downside was the drizzle for most of first 6 miles. But the rest of the run was very enjoyable. Running along the Golden Gate Bridge was spectacular! We also got to run along the beach and Fort Point, where the famous scene in Vertigo took place (glad I didn’t have to jump into raging waters that day). Great waves there too.

The Donald

How the f*ck did this happen?!

Well simple, there are racists, there are misogynists, there are… assholes. They all voted, can you believe that? What does this mean for our future children? How is it that the media impacted the election in such a major way ?

We’ve been scratching our heads over this. I for one am a bit cynical when it comes to journalism leading up to this night, but I’m also an optimist. So my hope was that America would make the right, no brainer choice. Melissa is a bit more a realist when it comes to these things. She’s shared some amazing articles via Media.com regarding women’s and feminists’ feelings on this election year. Stuff that really open my eyes to the everyday struggles women experience at the hands of these idiotic Trump supporters. The shared sentiment is that this megalomaniacal narcissist will win the election. Not because he’s good at playing the “real” candidate card, but because many others share his racist views. And unfortunately, they outnumber the sensible people in this country.

Analyzing the numbers, we saw that mostly white people voted for Trump… I mean that’s no surprise. The debates did nothing, and were fairly pointless in swaying voters. But even when you break it down a bit further, we had bitter Bernie butt hurts upset that “crooked Hillary” earned the democratic nomination, reportedly write in Harambe or Paul Ryan or Chuck Norris or JoJo from Good Times a few thousand times. This is why we can’t have nice things.

So we have racists to thank for this. We’d also thank dumbasses who wrote in non-sensical candidates if they had half a brain to realize the irony in their selections. But I for one would definitely thank the news media for ruining this election year with it’s literal one-sided coverage. Regardless of how negative some of that coverage was, it was overwhelmingly helpful press. Supporters saw him get bashed on TV, and they came to the rescue by voting. Undecided voters got too much of him, and thought the most important person must be the guy on TV all the time.

There were numbers showing that more than 75% of stories were Trump related- CNN wanted ratings. NBC has already been in Trump’s pocket- The Apprentice, a show that pedestaled Trump’s persona as this great man for all the rednecks to look up too. Fox.. well they just follow the Republican. So there was no chance for Clinton aside from the small, smart articles that spoke the truth about this sham of an election. The failure of quality journalism, and the failure of people to seek out quality journalism is part to blame for all this.

We’ll need to fully digest this crap sandwich over the next few days. We honestly need to think about how we’ll raise a black kid in a world that could be rocked by this presidency. Being in California, we may not see a whole lot of fallout, but I still worry about people around me. I don’t want to keep checking over my shoulder for someone who thinks I or some of my coworkers don’t belong here.

The joke is over. It actually happened. Now we’ll see how the world handles this.

 

Sunday Morning Quiche

I’ve been pronouncing it wrong for a long time. Thanks for helping me out, honey.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/quiche/

Ditka Dash 2015

Once in awhile, you’ve got a have a “fun run.” These are low pressure races, usually with comical themes that don’t mean anything. They’re just opportunities to get out and see some friends, or dress up funny. Melissa and I don’t really put a lot of time training for these kinds of races. As long as the medal is cool, and there’s little effort in getting to it, we’re all for it. So our home town of Chicago has this thing called the Ditka Dash. Mike Ditka was a legendary TE for the Bears in the  early 60s, eventually winning the NFL Championship in ’63, and 2 Superbowls with the Cowboys years later (1 as a player, 1 as an assistant coach). He also head coached the best football team in history, the ’85 Bears. If you don’t recognize it already, we’re big Bears fans. So hey, let’s run this race and get some swag, eh?

 

Shipwreck SF

All the debauchery you could possibly want without sharing partners in a dungeon called “Satan’s Playpen.” This dirty but tame fan fiction reading is fast approaching legendary status in the Bay Area. Tucked away in Upper Haight exists a little bookshop called the Booksmith. There on the first Thursday night of each month, a poetry slam of sorts is held. An erotic fan fiction reading called Shipwreck.

The creative minds of short story writers, bloggers, and poets submit their reimagining of classic novels for dirty minds every month. They are chosen and given the chance the have their pieces read in front of a small audience at the back of the bookstore. The audience then gets to vote on their favorite, gross tale.

This post can’t do it justice. It’s just one of those things you have to experience to fully appreciate. It’s quite brilliant writing. To top it all off, social media use is encouraged during the show. Check them out here:

 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/shipwrecksf?src=hash

and here:

Tweets by Booksmith

and one of our favorite readers:

Tweets by baruchisonfire

Cum on by if you’re in the bay area, and please order their book. A lot of hard work and erections made the project possible.

http://www.booksmith.com/shipwrecksf

 

 

The Final Mile

We finally made it! We had a fairly smooth ride all the way there. We took in some beautiful sites along the way, and admired the strength of our calm cat the entire trip. She is the real MVP for not crying the whole time. Thanks for making this drive bearable, Cocoa.

It’s really amazing to see the ocean and mountains on a daily basis. It still hasn’t sunk in that we traveled across the country a few days ago. We’ve already gotten to see a few locations out here, and the job hunt continues. I’m still working full-time remotely until my new job comes through. Melissa is acing all her phone screens and gearing herself for technical calls and on-site visits. We’ll be settled in very soon, we’re sure.

A couple weeks in, I was able to get a contract role with Tradeshift doing IT engineering for their headquarters. This gave me a chance to see downtown a bit more, and learn how to use the Bart. This city is really interesting. There’s a ton of homeless people around, there are tons of noticeable tourists, people seem more accepting and tolerant, and the area is actually pretty small when you think about it. I recognized places we saw when we ran the Nike race a year ago. We’ll be locals before you know it.

We’ve also gotten very acquainted with hills, and they are getting a lot easier to traverse every day. And we got to see Hilary Clinton at a rally- we’re definitely not in Indiana anymore, and we’re glad about it. Riding up on the Bay Bridge for that final mile made my heart skip a little. I couldn’t believe that we had actually done it. It’s another one of those feelings I’ll never forget.

Pack Up The Cat

We’re getting closer and closer to our move date. With all the interviews we’ve gotten, it feels like this is meant to be, and we aren’t too afraid to pull the trigger. It’s still a bit scary, but it’s do or die time now. Never has a leap of faith felt so good. We are serious about improving our lives, and Indiana just isn’t giving us that opportunity. So it’s time to go.

We’ve gotten just about all the pieces together:
Truck rented – Penske gave us a great deal after I drove a hard bargain against Uhaul’s “lower” prices.

We’ll get through Girl On A Train for sure.

Roomy…

Route mapped– Melissa came up with the optimal route based on ease of terrain and rest stops/gas stations.

Interviews scheduled in person– We’re confident all these phone screens and Skype interviews will materialize into on-site final interviews.

Hotels reserved– Cocoa is a very particular traveler… she only likes certain hotels (ours has an acceptable pet policy).
Air Bnb locked in for a couple weeks– We’ll be staying in an Air Bnb for a couple weeks until our interviews come through. It’ll be great to allow us to settle in.
Cat meds prepared for a bumpy ride– Our biggest worry is that she’ll be crying the whole time. So the vet recommended some sedatives and motion sickness pills. We’ve also go a great carrier to sit her in for the whole ride.

Expect pictures in a later post!

You know who’s good?

Arvydas Sabonis… now that guy could play some basketball in his day.

Why do the commenters find every opportunity to talk about this man? Seriously, it’s random. Like there will be a nice layup made by some time in Oakland, and they’ll say “That’s a move Arvydas used to make,” or “Effortless execution! Who’s that remind you of, Joe?” Or the best one, “I love Arvydas Sabonis.” What’s funny is that he gets more talk than his son, Domantas, at times… at a home game! Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of the best players the sport of basketball has ever seen: Sabonis is a legend in Europe as well. He also sounds like a giant- listen to the following video.

 

Domantas has some big shoes to fill! He’s doing quite well on his own. The genes are certainly showing off for the Zags. We’re looking forward to watching them go deep in the tournament.