Jen’s Neighbors

A weekend in SF

nobody@vox.com(Joy) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:34:43 -0600

It's been months since Matt and I have both been in SF for a full weekend, a three day weekend such as this no less! My hope for the weekend is to cross some things off the list that we've been meaning to do for month ago, some good quality time outside and do a bit of exploring. What I've discovered recently is that since we've been in SF for awhile we've gotten into routines that keep us from trying new things or checking out stuff we had our our list when we first moved here. If you hadn't guessed, Matt and I have a tendency to be creatures of habit, breaking out of them can be a bit tough for us primarily because Matt is comfortable with the way they are and I generally get a bit stressed out about things that don't fit perfectly in a box.

So this weekend will be filled with things like:

Taking the ferry to Angel Island for a hike (we've never done this before)
Breakfast at Universal Cafe (been recommended to me by multiple people, never gone)
Lunch one day at East Coast West Deli (a place Matt saw on Check Please and has been dying to go)
Drop his plant off at his new office (I'd like to see it and since he's riding his bike to work, the plant is still at home)
Spend some time with friends (were counting on Rachel to find us something to do, she's so good that way)
Do a little shopping (our crazy weekend in Mpls resulted in Matt losing his dress shoes, no surprise here...)
Watch "I'm Not There" (which Neflix sent us probably 3 months ago and we have yet to watch)
Look into some flights for some upcoming weddings in Nashville and Arizone to see if we can afford to go
Get a Costco membership (exciting stuff here..)
Finish up a few proposals (since meetings all day don't allow me to get any work done)

Along with all of the normal things we need to do like laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Matt keeps reminding me that we only have three days but I wouldn't be me if I didn't try to do a 100 hours of things in 72 hours :)

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A light at the end of the tunnel

nobody@vox.com(Trevor) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:38:14 -0600

If you are on the fence about the election, I implore you to watch Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Quite simply, it was amazing. This country needs to turn things around, which will not be an easy task - given the last eight years. Sen. Obama clearly gives us the best chance to get back on track.

Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC

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YouTube Makes Its Way To The Big(ger) Screen

nobody@vox.com(Patty) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:03:48 -0600

I can now search and watch YouTube videos on Tivo. The quality is not so bad, surprisingly.
And yes, that is someone familiar on the laptop screen.

YouTube on both screens - ThanksTivo!

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Denver feels like a big city right now!

nobody@vox.com(moopdog) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:16:06 -0600

Some quick thoughts about the convention, and working downtown during all the mayhem:

First off, we saw Barack drive by us last night! He was smiling and waving out the window, and all the people on the 16th Street Mall went crazy. Jen was about 5 feet from him. It was quite cool.

This does not feel like Denver. It feels more like New York, what with the thousands of extra people and media from all over the world.

There are cops everywhere. They set up a temporary command unit underneath the library. Many of them are carrying machine guns, or dressed in riot gear. They look ready to bust some heads.

Every single leftist organization is represented in full force. Some right-wing nutsos, too. The protesters all hang out near the library, which is pretty cool.

MSNBC is broadcasting live, outdoors, right across the street from Union Station. Quite odd. I'd love to grab a beer with Keith Olberman.

A fellow librarian gave Sean Penn a cigarette.

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Where all the magic happens

nobody@vox.com(Matthew) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:30:40 -0600

photo.jpg

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My new office... Yay!

nobody@vox.com(Matthew) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:05:46 -0600

photo.jpg

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Big Daddy Elk

nobody@vox.com(moopdog) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:04:28 -0600

At some point I plan on writing about my great backpacking experience from a few weeks back (including getting stuck on an exposed ridge in a horrible thunderstorm), but for now, here's a picture of an elk we found at a stream:

Elk

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QotD: There's No Place Like Home

nobody@vox.com(Joy) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:02:19 -0600

What's your definition of home?
Submitted by NayNay72

It's just like the saying - "home is where the heart is". Since all the people that have a special place in my heart either live or are from Minnesota, that will always be home. San Francisco, I love ya but Minnie will always be home.

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Point Reyes hike last weekend

nobody@vox.com(Matthew) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:21:04 -0600

IMG_0240

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A Hop Skip & A Jump Across Three Time Zones and 25 years

nobody@vox.com(Patty) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:27:00 -0600

A couple of nights ago we were on the internet searching for 1) SCUBA conditions for Monterey and 2.) airfares for Christmas trips to see family and coordinate our crazy travel schedules.

We didn't find the dive conditions for Monterey and we didn't figure out or book our holiday flights yet, but we did find a screamin' good deal on a quickie trip to Hawaii. So...being rather impulsive, we just pulled out the credit card and booked it: a direct flight from SFO to Kona and two nights at the Waikoloha Resort and Spa! It was just too cheap to pass up. This is the second time I've used Expedia's "Last Minute Deals" and booked a great vacation for a lot less than you'd imagine.

Plus, as things often work for us, we found a quirky little dive company that would take us out on short notice and seemed particular suited to our personalities and skills. The owner even has a blog. So we booked one of our three days here as a diving day and packed our bags for the Big Island of Hawaii.

After a three hour delay for some mechanical problems, a few too many glasses of red wine on the plane (we upgraded to First Class for a few thousand miles), and a too short nap, we finally arrived in Hawaii yesterday afternoon.

I used to live here on the Big Island ages ago when I was too young to appreciate it. Things have changed, but not as dramatically as I feared. It's funny to think that it was almost 25 years ago that I drove on this island road. Tomorrow we're driving up to closer to where I used to live in Waimea. It should be fun.

Friday we hung out at the hotel, swam in the warm ocean and had dinner outside with tiki torches glowing and our feet in the sand at the Fairmont Orchid. Our room is very nice and the bed is heavenly. I slept like a rock last night.

Today was the dive day and we went SCUBA diving for the first time as each other's dive buddies. The first dive of the day was sort of a bust for me because of the strong current and my guzzling of air like I was a Hummer drinking gasoline. But the second dive was great! I'll post more on that later, when I can download more pictures (I forgot the media card reader at home). In the meantime, I was able to pull a couple of shots off the Blackberry camera for a teaser illustration to this post.

Aloha!

Sadly, we fly back home tomorrow night at 10 PM local time, arriving at SFO at 6:15 AM Monday morning. Just in time to get back to work.

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