House of Air

Last week I was out in California for an all-hands meeting at the headquarters of my new company. I flew out Monday night and was on the same flight as two others in my company who were making connections in Denver. After sharing a cab and checking in to the hotel, I stopped at the CVS down the block to get the Schwarzkopf "göt2b glued" hairspray which is essential for a properly righteous Mohawk.

Tuesday and Wednesday were meetings most of the day with some brainstorming and road map type stuff. Tuesday night we went to the CTO's house and had delicious catered Indian food. Wednesday we went to Caffe Riace in Palo Alto for another delicious meal served outside on their patio. I worked from the Mountain View headquarters again on Thursday. It's in the same building as Mozilla, which is pretty neat. Pat came to meet me for dinner at the Cantankerous Fish Thursday night and we both enjoyed the seafood jambalaya. Then Pat gave me a lift into San Francisco in his new Honda Fit.

I met up with Tess Thursday night. We hung out at her place for a bit and then ventured to a bar called Zeitgeist when her roommate went to bed. We talked a long time and stayed until closing. Friday I attempted to work from Rock Nation Cafe, but their wifi, which was working fine for the others, would not work at all for me. Sigh. Thus is my coffee shop wifi experience. So I walked twenty minutes straight back to my airbnb room and worked from there using the gym downstairs' fast wifi. I had a yummy but very carb-y lunch at Pete's BBQ on Mission, adding to the rotisserie theme of this trip.

The room I rented through airbnb was in a very central location in The Mission and really very comfortable. Probably my favorite SF airbnb room so far, although I've had several good ones. My hosts were very friendly and the place was nicely decorated and pleasant.

After work Friday Pat picked me up and we drove to House of Air and jumped around on trampolines for an hour. It was a lot of fun. It's a lot more physically taxing than one might imagine. I would definitely do it again. The prices are also very reasonable.

We stopped at Mel's Drive-In to eat afterward. Pat looked at the menu and declared "I'm going to order the nastiest thing on here". We ate gluttonously. Afterward we drove to Pat's to drop off the car and then went out looking for a bar, ending at at The Attic and again stayed very late talking and drinking in the dark dive bar.

I slept in Saturday, hit a coffee shop in the morning and then Limòn for Peruvian rotisserie chicken, which was extremely delicious. I then tried to take the Muni to Golden Gate Park, but only managed half of the trip as the N was not running due to construction, so I just walked the second half from Market St into Golden Gate park. I saw an entertaining duo busking and then walked around enjoying the sunshine and warm weather while listening to The Tallis Scholars on my headphones and taking some time to sit in the rose garden and do nothing for a while.

I managed to work the Muni properly to get back to The Mission with time for a brief nap, mohawk creation, and then over a few blocks to Pizzeria Delfina for my cousin Andrew's 27th birthday celebration dinner. Ed had put us on the list an hour and half ahead of time but even then it was another hour before they could seat us. We ordered a bunch of various pizzas and sides and had a nice long meal.

Sunday I got up a bit earlier, searched the SF Gate for events and found that there was a International Chocolate Salon happening at Fort Mason. So I took a Muni up there and walked around the area a bit. I didn't know precisely where it was and I went through the Farmer's Market first but eventually found it. Tickets were $30, ouch! I figured since it was largely a marketing gimmick that entry would be free. I hesitated but decided the hell with it and went in. There were a few dozen tables and lots of free samples to be had and expensive bars to be purchased. My favorites were Kallari for its unique and very raw flavor and New Tree for their cinnamon bar. The Saratoga Chocolates caramels were extremely delicious as well, but they were something like $2 a pop so forget about it.

I should also mention that I was feeling techy/startupy and decided to try the OKCupid locals feature where they show you matches in your neighborhood. One of my matches was working in one of the booths at the salon and we txted back and forth a bit, but she was too busy meticulously filling trays with truffles and I couldn't get her attention. It was a fun twist though especially in SF where there's a high concentration of good matches for me.

After that Ed joined me and we walked a ways along the coast line there and talked technology. Toward late afternoon we took the bus back to The Mission and I checked out Ed and Emily's great new apartment which overlooks Dolores Park. Ed had another food suggestion with a super-long wait. I tried to order an Ike's sandwich but it was a 90 minute wait. Instead, I just went back to Limòn for more rotisserie! Then one last stop to grab my stuff and I was off to the airport.

Waiting to board I realized my flight would arrive after the last RTD bus back to the park and ride where I left my car. Drat. Planning fail. I had to call my assistant Brianna to come pick me up. Note to self for next time.