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Wednesday 29 February 2012

bottomless pit


I am so g.d hungry today.  I would not eat a horse (too many horse friends to eat one, would feel like cannabalism in a weird, personification-type way) but I would happy consume the entire contents of the vending machine on my floor then go looking for sustenance with actual nutritional value.

I think this is because my body is readjusting to a normal person diet after the holiday.  I consumed about 4,000 calories a day on holiday (possibly including drinks…possibly) and now that I'm back to yoghurt and muesli for breakfast my fat cells are all up in my grill, whinging about the starvation state I've thrown them back into.  Also, I'm back on several caffeine hits a day and I have come to the conclusion that coffee is NOT an appetite suppressant.  It just makes me want to eat ALL THE THINGS. 

To be fair, when at work I'm often focussed on lunch.  It's very important to me. 

Top 4 local places for lunch:

Rosa's.  Tasty tasty Thai treats within a 10 minute walk from the office and on Fridays, I can def justify a Chang with lunch. 

ROSA'S.  TASTY AND CUTE

Itsu: I often end up here with a colleague mulling over sushi options.  London sushi is pretty terrible, I have to say, unless you're hitting up a high-end Japanese restaurant.  Also, Itsu is ridic expensive for what it is.  Can't believe it's made my top 4 after those whinges.  But damn, average sushi still makes the best lunch at your desk. 

The Udon Place Around the Corner Whose Name I Do Not Know: Bowl of spicy minced pork ramen?  Yes plz.  Spesh if I'm going to be working late and eating a Twix bar for dinner, this fills you up and comes with a side salad so you feel like you've covered your greens at least a little bit for the day.

Konditor & Cook: pasta-y, salad-y, vege goodness.  I just have to avert my gaze from the cakes.  So hard but you feel like the queen of self control if you can manage it.  Despite the fact you are carrying away something with pasta, mushrooms and cheese.

Yep, I like lunch.  I like it a LOT. 

Tuesday 28 February 2012

san francisco

48 hours was not enough.  I felt like we only nibbled at the edges of this very tasty city, failing to reach the substance of San Francisco.  I want more.

A very jet-lagged P and I arrived in the afternoon, having spent 11 hours on a plane without sleep, sampling celebratory rose champagne that P had organised to be delivered to us in our seats (Virgin Atlantic played the game nicely - no drinking warning for us!  Qantas, take note: we get giggly but are well behaved when sipping bubbly libations at altitude).  Wandering the streets of Chinatown down to a park, we were floating in that odd state of unreality that jetlag gives you, having real trouble watching in the opposite direction for traffic.  Solved the problem as far as we could by nabbing some incredible pork buns from a bakery, then dining out on a greasy burger, sports commentators exclaiming in the background.  I dozed off early, but was woken in the early hours by an insomniac jazz trumpet player.  Surreal.


BUT HOW DO THE CARS GET ROUND THE CORNERS?!  STILL CONFUSED

Actually, that jetlagged sense of unreality followed me for most of the trip (more on that later).  We walked the Golden Gate Bridge the next day (probably compulsory for a tourist) then floated down the waterfront back towards the city.  I was so spacey that I even consented to queue for an hour to visit the Swan Oyster Depot.  Seriously though - WORTH THE WAIT.  We sat at the long bar and scoffed Japanese seeded-Washington oysters, Boudin bread soaked in crab fat, guzzled extremely chilled chardonnay and revoltingly licked our sticky fingers afterwards.  Some kind of seafood bliss. 

VIEW.  AND SKY. COMPELLING CAPTION, NO?

Parts of the urban neighbourhoods, though littered with fantastic, individualistic and creaky architecture, had a feel of decline.  Bars on lower floor windows always make me feel a bit sad, as do signs proclaiming a ban on dealing drugs in the vicinity of an apartment complex (isn't dealing kinda illegal everywhere in the States?!).  We didn't have time to investigate the rest of the Bay area, but I wondered whether the rich live further away and commute into the city.  Wondered whether these lovely buildings are chopped up into rental units with a corresponding decline in care (I'm a renter who generally gives a shit; I know not all tenants take less care than an owner occupier might, but I probably feel less responsibility towards the external surrounds of my house than I might otherwise).  But this (generally) genteel decline also left room for interesting, one-off stores, cafes and bars, rather than being completely littered with chains or franchises.  I know I'd still be happy to live there, with the diverse populace and relaxed yet interesting vibe.

The residents of San Francisco were fascinating.  Urban dogs galore, every park a sniffy, poopy delight for a leashed mutt.  Though mutt isn't strictly correct; most of these dogs looked like thoroughbreds.  They led to wonderful sights like a very old man squirting cleaner on the curb outside his house (whether it was a doggy deterrent or just a curb freshener I'm not sure, but he cared enough to careful squirt each inch of his frontage).  A huge Asian American community with a West Coast sensibility.  So many people in gym gear.  So many hipsters (including my personal favourite who had not one but two vintage cameras slung around his neck). 

I NEED TO ATTEND A GIG HERE.  ALSO, YAY FOR CRAPPY IPHONE FILTERS AYE?

Got to go back. 

Saturday 25 February 2012

back.

I have arrived home from the best month ever. Being home in my own bed feels incredible, but ask me again once I've returned to work on Monday.

So much to say about the most intense, joyous four weeks.  Most importantly, the wedding exceeded all my expectations.  I never expected to feel that much closer to my family and to P's, to have so much sheer joy in having friends in one place.  The way P made me feel that day was truly glorious and memorable in a way I never expected, having been with him for nearly 11 years. 

Schmaltzty enough?  I'll be recapping this past month in piecemeal fashion soon, but I'm glad to be home with my husband in tow so for now, I'm just going to enjoy these last two days of honeymoon.  Back soon.