Summer in New York

Hot. Humid. Sun. Rain. Lighting. Thunder. I understand that this is New York summer. Maybe a little bit more dramatic than usual.

Big rain clouds hover on some parts of the city. Where they cover, the sky goes dark and it pours. During heavy down pours, even people with umbrella gave up walking because you would be totally drenched except your head! Ask me!

Rain or not, the ladies are in their summer apparels. Tank tops, short skirts and sandals. Don't dress like this when visiting SF in the summer. You need sweat shirt and thick pants. Don't forget the parka!

I didn't have an umbrella yesterday and I got wet like a cat that was scooped out of the water. I remembered to take a big umbrella from the hotel lobby this morning but it was perfectly sunny. Sigh!

I was cooped up in the hotel for the past two nights but today I'm set free. Thank you Weather God! Happy Hour at the Whiskey Blue Bar with the office folks. Dinner at the Sea Grill at the Rockefeller Center with my cousins.

Not a bad way to end this visit. No complaints.

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A Joy Ride through City Streets

Happy Friday Folks. BART had a problem during the afternoon commute which stopped all the trains going south last Friday. Everyone all had to off board at the 24th Street station. BART did not mention where we could go from there. Just get out, good bye, good luck.

Poor commuters spilled out to the streets above the station and flooded the plaza. 24th and Mission. Where the heck is this place? We were like little lost ants trying to figure out our next move.

I figured that one of the buses will get me out of there. I caught a bus, 49 I think, hoping that it was going south since it said Alemany which I recognized. I asked this guy next to me if this bus would take me anywhere near Glenn Park, City College or Daly City. He told me that I should have caught 14 or 26. Oops, wrong bus. But what the heck, it was going south so I decided to ride for a while. After some stops, the nice guy told me that I really should be getting off. I wisely listened.

I waited for bus 14 or 26 next. 26 came but turned the corner before it stopped. I chased after it, got on and asked the driver the same question. Funny he didn't know but another nice passenger told me that the bus would take me to Balboa Park, and from there I could take 29 or 54 to go to the Daly City BART station.

At the Balboa Park station, I noticed more people were coming out of the station. BART still wasn't running. The sidewalk was crammed with people. The street was jammed with cars and packed buses. I squeezed on the 54 along with other poor souls who were trying to find the way home. It was a long way home.

But, I had an interesting ride through the streets of San Francisco. How often do I get to do that? I went through valleys and climbed the hills. I knew I was going the right way because I saw fog waiting at the horizon.

It took me almost 2 hours to get home on Friday. Can't complain though. I at least know that there is a way to and from work if BART does decide to go on strike.

So I think there is a message in this. I'm going to buy a lotto ticket and here are my numbers: 49, 14, 26, 29, 54 and the mega 4(for my 4 rides).

Pinot: Flat or Sideway?

"You Drink, We Flatten" says this sign above a booth at the Justin Herman Plaza. People stopped by to check out the flat wine bottles with the wine labels still intact. The bottles were quite unique and they made little wind-chime sound in the soft breeze. I think they make good a conversation piece especially if you're the one who drank the wine beforehand.

I asked the lady how she made them. She said the process required high heat but also had to be taken slowly -- about 24 hours to flatten the bottles.

So What Do You Do With Flat Bottles? Besides showing them off, you can use it as cheese trays, small plates or spoon rest. Cool. I better hurry up and bottom-up.

So I'm thinking that I can flatten the double magnum Wente wine that Nancy gave me. It will be pretty impressive, but I'll have to drink it first. I think it's 4 750ML equivalent.

Wine and cheese, anyone?

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A Conversation Between Dogs

Deja Vu

SOMA. My turf from 2000-2003. I Walked down from Market on 2nd Street to meet Mike at the 21st Amendment this afternoon. For a brief moment, it felt like I was still working in that area because everything is so familiar.

It has been more than 5 years since I walked on this street. Things did not change all that much. Starbucks still there; Subway, the credit union, Tempura House, the Irish pub, the camera shop, the copy place, Maya, the little coffee shop, the corner parking lot all still left standing... The 21st Amendment is still around serving its summer watermelon beer. Hey, we're in another economic downturn. Hmmm... did I have a Ground Hog's Day?

But, Nothing stands still. Wondering what happened to the folks who used to work with me. Are they better or worse off today?

How about myself? So much has changed in my life in the past 6 years. I visited my old turf two jobs later. Wow. Wondering where I will be or what I will be doing this time next year...

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