Day 120: cosmic rita

Palomino's. I haven't been to one of these since I lived still lived in Westwood. What's so great about it? The cheap happy hour drinks, the half off bar food. The cheap thin crust prosciutto pizza, the artichoke dip, the gorgonzola potato wedges, the calamari, the mussels...

I may have overdone it while in college and even almost (just almost!) got tired of the place, but boy, does this bring back memories (it helps that they even use the same furniture and artwork here as the one in Westwood)

Day 119: discarded

Found myself at the Discarded to Divine event tonight, which consisted of a runway show and auction to benefit the St. Vincent DePaul Society in San Francisco, thanks to some free tickets from the other half since she played a part in putting this whole shebang together.

Basically, the pieces that were up for auction were originally donated clothing, table cloths, etc etc that were redesigned by fashion designers into something "divine," which were then auctioned off throughout the night.
The pieces brought in modest amounts, ranging from $300 to $1500. I mean, I'd never pay that much for any piece of clothing, but hey, it's for a good cause. Plus, thanks to some mingling and a strategic 'leaving the party' time, I was able to pick up the most important thing on my way out tonight...free gift bags!

Day 118: I need to cook more

I was inspired by a fancy restaurant I made my way to last weekend to try my hand at
replicating their macaroni and cheese tonight. When looking up their ingredients, I had run into some craft (not Kraft)cheeses I had never heard of, namely gruyere, fontina, and some foreign sounding thing called "cheddar."

just so you know, that's my gruyere, biatch!

Borrowing from other mac and cheese recipes I found online, I was able to concoct a piecemeal recipe that sounded like it would work. Here's what I used:
1 pound elbow macaroni or other pasta
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces Gruyere, grated (2 cups)
8 ounces Fontina, grated (2 cups)
4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (1 cup)
1/4 pound fresh tomatoes (2 small)
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs
(OPTIONAL): bacon bits and garlic

Begin by heating the milk in a saucepan. Don't let it boil.

Next, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a pot and added flour. Constantly stir and slowly add milk until the clumps are gone and the mixture becomes thick.

Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese to the mixture and continue stirring that until it becomes thick and creamy.


Add the pasta and keep mixing until it's coated in the cheese mixture. Add it to a baking dish when finished.


Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and combine them with the bread crumbs (and bacon bits and garlic, if you so choose). Sprinkle on top.


Bake at 375 degrees and 30-35 minutes later, you'll get a taste of Mark's Patented (but stolen initially) Mac and Cheese!

Day 117: poor, poor camera

I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to cameras. Seems that after one drop, Sony digital cameras tend to decide to stop functioning.

Then again, I do realize that I could avoid the whole camera breaking thing if I just didn't let them drop in the first place.

This almost warrants me to denounce my brand loyalty and make waste of all my Sony memory sticks. But who will I turn to next? Suggestions, anyone?

Day 116: tick tock (not that stupid ke$ha song)

Thanks to a myBART contest and an unbelievable stroke of luck, we were able to score a some free tickets to the dress rehearsal of the live production of Peter Pan in San Francisco.

The tent theater itself was fairly small, giving every seat a decent view of the completely round stage. However given the tiny venue, the production was still grand with costumes and props animated backdrops projected onto the tent walls and a completely functional stage with moving sets.

Well, almost. This being a dress rehearsal, they still had to work out some bugs. Multiple times I noticed the mechanical stage props getting stuck and not disappearing when they're supposed to and actors' costumes getting stuck on their way off the stage. The stairwell off the stage was crushed by marching pirates (and almost led to a potentially disastrous but still hilarious fall), and they even had to "pause" the performance because Peter Pan's harness got stuck and he wasn't able to fly onto the stage.

Overall, I can't complain about a show that would have cost at minimum $50. Free stuff FTW, people.

Day 115: b.y.o.b.b.

why yes, that is a Krispy Kreme donut on the grill

Went to my first Yelp event today, and it turned out to be a more pleasant experience than I had expected. It was a softball game between yelpers of San Francisco and yelpers of the East Bay, complete with booze and bbq. Being that we had to rep our respective side of the bay, I was at first torn (I grew up in the East Bay...I now live closer to San Francisco!), so the only logical thing would be to root for the team that's winning, right? (but really, my roots will always be in Hayward)

In either case, yelpers are a fun and entertaining bunch to hang out with, so if you've got an account, add me as a friend!

Day 114: sunset soiree

Such things are true whence at college related functions that take place in hotels:
1) There will be alcohol chilling in ice in the tub
2) There will be noise complaints and the threat of being kicked out will become more and more real throughout the night
3) Someone will throw up (and in past experiences, it's usually on me)

But never, never have I seen this happen before.

Kids, kids, part of hotboxing a hotel room is making sure that the smoke doesn't actually leave the room. Sorry you all had to learn the hard way.

Day 113: ballin' with your boss

My largely unremarkable coworkers who seemingly lack a cohesiveness amongst each other have been making strides in alleviating that this past month. Earlier we had a potluck at the boss's near-mansion-size home. Tonight, the company sponsored a bowling tournament, complete with free food (beer still had to be covered by us, unfortunately). But that's more out of the office interaction we've all had since the holiday "party" back in December.

Sure the pizza was shitty and the beer flat, but hey, considering how often we see each other out of an office context, I can't complain.

Day 112: the original hazelnut spread

That is the largest supply of nutella in one place I have ever seen. Being here, I suppose I could've tried the crepes that would've been doused in this stuff, but unfortunately, I didn't have $3.75 to spare.

Day 111: keep walking

I'm not sure how I got involved with the Striding Man Society, but I ain't complaining. They sure know how to throw a party.

So I first heard about this event through a Thrillist newsletter (sign up for it!), in which I could sign up for a "Johnnie Walker tasting." I wasn't exactly sure what the event was, but hey I like Johnnie Walker and I like free alcohol even more, so why the hell not?

I wasn't sure what to expect when we drove our way to the boonies of San Francisco, but I guess what I was most surprised to see was a line of 20-30 somethings looking like they just got out of work (read: yuppies...who, I'm assuming all read Thrillist). They led us all to the rooftop where loud music was playing, free cocktails were being served, and caterers were walking around offering mini burger sliders infused with blue cheese, shredded short ribs in a flaky crust, and grilled potato and onion quiche. Not bad, considering this event was technically free (they did ask us for a small donation to a charity).

In their attempt to make Johnnie Walker seem young and hip (this particular brand did happen to be my grandpa's favorite), they prodded us to tweet live from the event using the #johhniewalkertasting hashtag, and to tag the pictures they took of us on facebook.

Like most free tastings, they then held us captive to listen to some guy ramble about the different flavors and aromas you're supposed to be smelling and tasting as you take these small sips of blended scotch whiskey.

I'm sure most of what he was priming us with was mostly propaganda (gotta admit though, the commercials they showed us convinced me to buy a bottle), I did actually learn something while I was there (did you know that the reason Johnnie Walker bottles are square shaped are so they were less likely to break while in transport? And that the reason their label is angled at 20 degrees is so it stands out?)

The best part? We actually got to taste Johnnie Walker Blue Label, which was a goal of mine on my bucket list.

Day 110: she asked for it

In order to promote a bowling social event taking place this Friday, the corporate office sent us a box of these miniature foam bowling pins to give out to everyone as prizes for going. Although I would've rather they spent the money to give me a bigger raise, I figured we might as well make do with what we have.

I think I put it to good use.

However my coworker thought my advertising blitz was "too much," and unfortunately decided to take these newfound decorations down.

She's no fun.

Well, little did she know that I was staying late today, and I knew where she hid the foam pins.


She should feel lucky. She's turned out to be the victim of my first office prank since I worked at Santa Monica. Now, to find some jello and a stapler...

Day 109: I get it, I drive a hoopty pt. 2

Had to happen eventually.

I'm not so worried about it being missing, I'm more worried about the poor sucker who was driving behind me while we were going 90 mph down highway 5 when this thing flew off.

Day 108: I'm getting too old for this

No, I'm not entirely sure why I still attend events for student groups I'm not even involved in anymore, but if it gives me an excuse to drive back and forth to LA and spend time with people I haven't seen in months within a 30 hour timespan, I'll bite.

Day 107: sign of the times (literally)

When this is your selling point to get people to invest in a condo, you know times is tough, man.

Day 106: vertigo

Vertigo on Geary and Polk.

It's been a while since I've had a wild night that involved a seemingly endless supply of liquor, strange stories in a taxi cab, hot and crowded dance floors, late night conversations, and knocking out on the couch next to five other people.

In the midst of all the data analyzing, cubicle lunches, and hours devoted to projects and papers, I really really needed that.

Day 105: twilight

Note: title of the post has nothing to do with that fruity literary sensation.

Just wanted to point out the city of San Jose by dusk, as seen from the 8th floor glass exterior elevators of the Martin Luther King Library. Almost fools you into thinking it's a real city, huh?

Day 104: the season is upon us

"It's more exciting to build wins than to buy them"

Translation: we're a small market team with a bad record, so please don't blame us.

Actually, the A's are doing fairly well in their division thus far, so the fans don't really have that much to complain about. However, as a San Francisco fan, the hate will always rain from me.

Day 103: zip

The British Columbia Department of Tourism, for the sake of promoting tourism to British Columbia, has graciously set up a free zipline through the Embarcadero in San Francisco. We had made an attempt to ride these things previously on Saturday, unfortunately to no avail, thanks to the Disneyland-esque lines and the 500 person per day limit.

Disclaimer: not me

So we learned our lesson, came back today, and thanks to a well crafted excuse to come into work late, I found my way back in line, with a guarantee of getting on this time.

the prospect of having to climb this thing was actually the scariest part

After climbing who knows how many stories up, we strapped up, hooked up to the cable, and were soon experiencing what it felt like to be falling to our deaths

"you all are really missing out!" I yelled to the spectators down there...the awkward part was that I had to walk back past these people after I finished up

this was the best picture I could get while flailing around upside down

Day 102: the streets of San Francisco pt. 2

The one thing I like about San Francisco is that even if you end up spending an hour getting lost somewhere in the city in a strange neighborhood you've never been in and then proceed to spend 15-20 minutes searching for parking while realizing that you made a wrong turn and don't know where your destination is anymore, leaving you to circle around for another 10 or so minutes...

it's still pretty aesthetically pleasing wherever you go.

Day 101: times is tough

Saddest message you've seen ever? Or plain old cop out? (side note, I like how the "Economic Recession" is now capitalized, as if it were now an official event or holiday)

As a frequent patron (Joan Rose, that's patron, not pátron) of Mexican restaurants, this highly saddens me on levels that are even hard for me to describe.

Day 100: another way to describe hot dogs

Mmm, tasty.

That is all.

Day 99: extreme!

As seen outside the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

I don't think it was the whole "DANGER EXTREME MAMMALS" part that was entertaining...it was the fact that when you passed by, the crate was actually moving and there was a thumping coming from within.

What was it in there? A gorilla? A tiger? A giraffe?

Day 98: only in Daly City...

...would the Filipino cd section in the library be larger than opera, country, and jazz/blues.

Maybe it's nothing new to some people, but seriously, I'm not used to living around so many people who are the same race as me. I'd even say it's slightly unnerving.

Eh.

Day 97: where the sun don't shine

I've been finding myself in San Francisco alot these past few days (and today I found myself in Oakland and San Jose as well...while it is fun to be everywhere, the 2+ hours of commute a day are starting to get to me), and today is the only day where the weather just happened to actually be pleasant enough to take a decent picture.

Day 96: that worked out well

Spent the evening at the Metreon tonight. Sure it looks nice from this angle, but in reality, it's only a shell of what it was originally planned to be.

Built in 1999, it was the first of many proposed entertainment centers that touted the latest technologies, hip restaurants and state of the art movie theatres that would be financed by Sony. And for a while, it seemed like a good idea, since big name techie shops were housed there, such as the Microsoft Store, the Discovery Channel Store, and the Playstation Store.

But with that early decade economic crash, the center failed to turn a profit, all the hip stores and restaurants began closing down and in 2006 Sony sold the rights to the property. A few years later, the Playstation store closed, ending any Sony affiliation with the Metreon, and today, all that's left of the multimedia center that could've been are some cheap mall stands and vacant spaces.

On a slightly related note, according to wikipedia, the Metreon "has been the scene of a number of well-publicized shootings. Four people are known to have been shot at the Metreon."

Day 95: dreaming big

Another meshing of dreams today:

Visit Canada again...

...on a cross country RV trip?

Day 94: rainy day in chinatown

My cousin bought a one-way ticket to Germany and is leaving on a jet plane (don't know when she'll be back again) next week. So, to soak up California as much as she can before she leaves halfway across the world, she came to spend a few days up north. We took her around to the typical San Francisco sights, that which includes but is not limited to Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Chinatown, Haight/Ashbury, and of course, the slides.

By next week, she'll be off in a new life in a foreign country, with no concrete plans on what her next step is.

I admire the amount of cajones she's channeling for this venture.

Day 93: the big day

Weddings always make me so emotional.

Especially ones that are staged and used to promote transit usage.


So today I found the opportunity to merge two of my favorite past times, that is, filming cheesy commercials and promoting sustainable transportation. I found myself helping TRANSform, a non-profit group aiming to create world-class transit oriented communities by influencing policy and developing programs to improve the lives of people and the environment. The event the commercial is for TRANSform's Car Free Challenge, a program that challenges participants to lower their average mileage driven to less than 125 miles a month.

Expect more shameless plugging from me in the next few months, as I do plan to be involved with these guys increasingly in the future.

Day 92: Nomoskar, markwidaq!

In an unusual departure from my usual commute back from work, I decided to stop by downtown San Francisco. I needed to go to a particularly touristy spot of the city pick up some postcards since I signed up for PostCrossing, a site that gives you an address to send a postcard to randomly and someone on the other side of the world can do the same for you. I'm supposed to be writing to this girl in Finland, but so far I've kept her waiting a week and a half. Apparently postcards are hard to come by in Oakland and I do actually have some Chicago postcards leftover, though that would probably be a little misleading.

Anyways just some things about this picture: first, is it really tourist season enough that they have to bust out the open top buses? And why are there palm trees growing in the middle of an urban center whose climate consists primarily of mist and fog? And finally, nice car. Acura 3.2TL, cause, ya know, cause Acuras are really nice cars:

Day 91: what a joke

This is something I don't see normally.

What is it?

Complete and utter darkness. You see, usually there's sunlight coming out of these offices, or on rainy days, the emanating brightness of recessed fluorescent bulbs or the glow of the screen of a computer.

Not tonight, not at 11pm when I had been the only one left in the office for at least 4 hours prior. I would have liked to have celebrated April Fools day a bit more appropriately, but unfortunately after 14 and a half hours in that cubicle, my soul was much too drained to think of anything.

So does 6 hours of overtime constitute a day off tomorrow?