20 days in sunny December

A lot has happened in the 20 days since my last post so this may be a big one.
Thursday 7th December - Stem Cell research
I had a meeting with a new faculty member, Dr. Hui Yang, following her talk at the graduate seminar the week before. She's recruiting students for three projects she's working on involving data mining; analyzing protein folding, nutrigenomics and stem cells. After talking about each area, we agreed that I would join the stem cell research on an informal basis starting next semester. It sounds really interesting and it's collaborative with biologists at UCSF which will make it much more interesting, and a more valuable experience. Over the winter break I need to read up on stem cells and data mining and start thinking about what I can do.
Friday 8th December - Sushi and Beer Pong
Concerned that we were becoming too boring and old, Madeline and I met up with Michelle and Chris for Sushi near Russian Hill. Great food and sake was followed by a quick taxi ride (in the rain!) to Bar none, where we played some drinking games - beer pong, darts etc.
Saturday 9th - Sunday 10th December - Planning
Hangover from hell. Planning for Paddy and Tickle's arrival in Starbucks and Emilie's hot tub in the rain. I worked on my biology essay.
Tuesday 12th December - Take home #1
In the evening my programming team and I (so cool!) presented our coursework for OOP which went well, then we went for dinner with the lecturer.
Following dinner I had a lecture and received the first of two take home finals, for which I had a week to answer a range of questions. Finals each semester are a new concept, but thankfully American universities aren't quite as perverse as English ones, and value understanding over memory power. With Paddy and Tickle arriving in less than 24 hours, I panicked - staying up until 3am reassuring myself that it wasn't such a bad exam and that I'd have time to get it done.
Wednesday 13th December - The big arrival
When Pearly et al. came to visit in September; we were still finding our feet, living in a sketchy apartment, out of the city, with new jobs and responsibilities mounting. As a result didn't have much time to plan, prepare or entertain, but it was a great few days and wonderful to have a good friend come and stay, with Madeline, Manuel and I!
This time we were better prepared; living in a beautiful new apartment in the city, settled in our day to day lives and more than ready to hang out with another couple! We'd been excited for Paddy and Tickle arriving since they threw the idea into the world a few weeks earlier, and that excitement peaked as I met them in SFO airport, a little later than planned c/o British Airways. The short drive home gave us chance for a little bit of a catch up, as I explained that the weather wasn't normally so grim. Madeline got home from work; we went to the store, cooked and chatted over a nice bottle of white.
Thursday 14th December - Essay due and take home #2
I took the day off work to finish my essay and work on my first take home. I got my second take home later in the evening and came home to stir fry c/o Paddy and Katy. We thought about getting a film, but P and I just watched Zoolander as K and M slept.
Friday 15th December - Mexican and Mission
I worked all day, but took the night off from study to join Madeline in showing P&K their first bit of SF night life. Taxied to the mission district to meet Emilie, Kelly and friends for Mexican food. Went to Casanova bar while we waited for a table, taking down our first pint of "disgusting" American beer - Anchor Steam. Meal was excellent - a range of things for them to try, although Paddy was less than impressed by the margaritas. Got it all for a mysteriously cheap $30, then on to more bars for pool, more terrible American beer and good times.
Saturday 16th December - Biking over the GG to Sausalito + James Bond
More on this when I have photos.
Tuesday 19th December - Cal vs. Furman (Basketball)
Likewise.
Wednesday 20th December - Shopping, Lake Merced, Ocean Beach and vomiting
I had to go to campus to hand in my bio final, dropping P&K at the mall. Following an unsuccessful shop, we strolled around the lake in the sun before playing on the beach - even having a little paddle!
Madeline left for home, so it was down to P,K and I to have a big night out. We bought some steak, which I BBQed, some veg and chips and threw together the best meal ever. Drinking games with cards followed and then I got a call from Rocco saying that some of the comp sci gang were in town - we joined them, had some tequila, sambuca, Guinness etc. Paddy and I threw up; Katie went drink for drink and was fine. Surprisingly great night.
Thursday 21st December - Hangovers + shopping in the rain
We got up at 1pm feeling terrible. I needed to do some shopping, as did P&K so we made our way to the new mall on Market Street for some retail therapy. Big success all round followed by trip to the store - sausage pasta + film,
Friday 22nd December - Wine tasting in Sonoma
Earlier in the week, Paddy made the huge call to go wine tasting up north. We looked into Napa but after speaking to my friend Andy, decided that a day trip to Sonoma would work just as well. A leisurely morning and drive north found us in the visitors centre by midday. Very friendly man made some suggestions what we could do with the day, and we followed his advice, heading into the town centre for wine and cheese tasting, shopping and lunch. After lunch we drove north towards the top of the valley to a winery we had heard did tours of the vineyard and good tasting. The place was amazing; 90 acres of biodiverse vineyards set on the side of mount Sonoma - an extinct volcano. The tour was cheap, informative and almost exclusively for us, (it's the off season - just one other couple). It ended with some tasting, (amazing!) and a few purchases in the shop. The drive home was wonderful; we'd had a perfect day to end the holiday, were warmed by some amazing wine and food, and had some spectacular views of the city by night as we drove back across the GG. Store for food, salmon for dinner as I prepped the car, film, (V for Vendetta - V. good) and bed.
Saturday 23rd December - Drive to Encinitas and Pizza Night
I picked Emilie up at 5am after packing the car and saying farewell to P&K. Sad to see them go, but hopefully they won't be away for long! Long drive south on the 5; 500 miles, 8.5 hours. I drove as far as I could but the heat of southern California paired with 3 hours sleep and a stupidly early morning saw me tag out for Emilie to bring in the last 45 minutes. Eventless drive with the exception of me throwing an entire green tea around the car, stepping in dog poo, having a nightmare with the petrol pump and generally being a liability.
I slept through the afternoon, being woken by Madeline announcing that everyone was in the car waiting for me. I smelled terrible and felt worse so was grudgingly allowed to shower.
Pizza night is a Johnson family tradition before Christmas where they go to Edith and Don's for pizza. It's a simple concept which works. Good night, amazing pizza, home to bed.
Sunday 24th December - Day with the White's in LA
Woken with enough time to shower this morning! Drove up with Michelle and Kevin for a midday arrival. Football in the garden with the boys, trampolining, skating, a little present opening and a great meal saw us through to 7pm. We've just got back, wrapped our last presents, I'm writing this, and the Johnson's are watching 24.
Monday 25th December - Happy Christmas...
...to you all, from Madeline and I! Mandy and Dave, you sound to be having a wonderful time; I hope you're finding Christmas in the sun as weird as I am! You can look forward to recieveing a christmas/30th birthday present (!) when you return...maybe...
Mum, Dad and Mel, I hope you have a lovely day and like the presents. I would love to be home right now, but I guess we've done Christmas for this year. We're both looking forward to all your visits very soon :)

We hope you all have a great day; our thoughts will be with you. x

Homeless people and why to avoid peanut butter

My fascination with homeless people/drug addicts, et al. continues. Madeline was worried that my primary motivation for getting a new camera was to take photos of said people, capturing a snap shot of their record less lives in exchange for a dollar or half toasted bagel with peanut butter, (more on the death spread later). Her worries were of course unfounded, but I did capture this a week or so ago from the safety of our car, (locked and in gear).

There is just so much I want to know, understand and ask. One question which has been recurring is how do they survive during a cold night with one shoe and possibly a blanket? We had our first really cold night last week, and I spent a not inconsiderable time wondering what tog rating our duvet was, and whether we should invest in a winter season cover. It seems a little pathetic in comparison.
On a more positive note, here is a picture of a dog on the beach.

My interesting fact of the week is that peanut butter is one of the most carcinogenic products you can buy. Apparently there is a mold that grows on it which is the carcinogen and the FDA, (US Food and Drug Admin') nearly banned it because it's so bad!

World Aids Day

The sign reads: "Each Blue Flag Represents 40,000 people living with HIV in the world, 2.3 million are under the age of 15. There are an estimated 39.5-47 million people living in the world. This year over 3 million people died in 2006 from HIV."
Big shout out to Amy and Dave who are fighting the aids war on the front line!

While I was taking this photos I was propositioned. I gladly accepted, and left campus with a smile on my face:

del.icio.us

Yesterday one of the guys I work with was showing me how to configure Entourage in OS X, and he needed some instructions from a webpage he knew existed.
He pulled up a browser window, typed in http://del.icio.us/hisname/ and was presented with a list of his bookmarks from which he selected the site he needed and we were done.

How strange to do that rather than go straight to Google?!

I'd heard of del.icio.us but never really thought about using it. Like most things online, I generally hold back until I'm shown something that impresses me, and yesterday was the turn of del.icio.us.

I signed up today, and have begun bookmarking my life:
http://del.icio.us/bendalziel/

I instantly installed the Firefox plug-in which makes everything so easy. It's such a clever idea; a way to explore the web without searching, a way to always have access to your bookmarks, another way to remotely hold data you need, another step towards the future of the net. It's a way to remember useful google search results I guess, and that's a good thing. I think I'm going to enjoy using it.

I always get the feeling though, that these applications should be interlinked. In a perfect world, I just want a single online identity, just one avitar, just one set of information. I'm fed up signing up to new communities and inputting the same data all the time. I want my Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Bebo, del.icio.us, gmail, calendar, hotmail, webmail etc. to have a single me. I'm fed up signing in. Would it be possible to establish an online framework into which these communities, applications and tools could plug-in? I know it's not good for the industry, but I love google because from one sign-in I get a personalised homepage, email, calendar, documents... The list is growing. I have such a rich online experience, I want it to be centered on me. RSS is helping, and I love my personalised homepage, but its too much work!

I want my blog to allow me to upload presentations and papers on the day I give them or hand them in; better still, I want them to link to the document so that I can edit it online. Thinking about it, I probably can...

I'm reluctant to buy a new USB memory pen because pretty soon I'm hoping I won't ever have to move anything around on it. Everything should be stored remotely and be accessible anywhere. This is probably going to happen faster in San Francisco as Google makes the city wireless. Thinking forward to Vista, there is so much I'd change about the file system of XP, I hope they've nailed it. There's no need to have a "My Pictures" folder - we have Flickr. "My Videos" - YouTube. "My Documents" - Google Documents and Spreadsheets. Bookmarks - del-icio-us. The other stuff will soon go onto remote web space. There has to be an easy way to make money out of this big transition. I'll let you know when I have the million $ idea.

It'd be really nice to have Picassa online. Somewhere to put your pics straight from the camera, store the original, but then save off edited versions, again remotely. I've got loads of photos I want to put online but they're at home and I don't have the tools to edit them here. That sentence shouldn't be happening.

Post-thanksgiving fun

Friday
When we got back to Encinitas on Friday, we took a little time out; I played basketball, we checked emails etc. but Madeline couldn't wait very long before we made our way over to Don and Edith's house. She's incredibly close to her grandparents; so long periods away from them are not a good thing.

We hung out at their house for a little while, chatting and drinking combo, before the time came to bring them back home for a family meal. Greg barbequed some tri-tip, which was accompanied by broccoli, jacket potatoes and salad. Madeline made some cookies and Greg took Don and Edith home. We tried to watch the new pixar film, "Cars" but we all slept through it. Lovely to have a good nights sleep, although the bed looked tiny compared to our Cal King!

Saturday
Lazy morning followed by compulsory trip to Gap outlet. Madeline, Emilie and Kathleen stocked up on fitness clothing and I got some new jeans. Big success. We had planned to go for a hike/meal in the afternoon but time was against us so we settled for just the hike. Beautiful lagoon-side hike, still sunny and ample photo opportunities.

We got so carried away with the camera we nearly missed the sun set. Only caught it from a distance, but still...

Emilie and Kathleen had raced off ahead of us with margaritas in their sights but as the saying goes, more haste less speed. They didn't manage to make their way over the road, never found the beach, couldn't get up to the bar, stepped in the stinking, festering lagoon water and were literally shit on. We don't know what the offending bird was because Kathleen was technically blind, (only sunglasses-too dark) and thankfully Emilie wasn't looking up.
While all this was going on, Greg, Madeline and I were strolling along the beautiful beach taking photos and wondering where they had got to. We picked them up from the other side of the lagoon some time later. Margaritas made everything seem a lot better, and we made our way home.

Madeline had arranged to meet up with Lilly, Amy, and George etc. so the rest of us went in search of pool. Emilie forgot her ID so we fell back on Denny and Anne, (family friends) who have a HUGE house with an amazing pool table! Denny cracked open the drinks, we played cards and were encouraged to go whale watching!

Another day over, we went back home, I met Amy, we had cookies, and went to bed.

Sunday
We were invited to breakfast by Edith and Don, and met them at Coco's around 10am. Good food all round, the American's really know how to eat! The afternoon was reserved for the San Diego Chargers game, playing host to the Oakland Raiders. Chips and guacamole made for another enjoyable afternoon in front of the TV.

And then it was pretty much time to go to the airport. Trouble free flight home, although we missed Madeline's TV program! I did some work and then went to bed. Exhausted!

Thanksgiving

We're just about to sit down for dinner with Madeline's family and Grandparents so I'll just quickly outline the events over the past 3 days. Madeline, Emilie and I flew down on Wednesday evening from Oakland Airport into San Diego. Madeline doubted we'd ever make our flight at times, but we cruised it, making time for a beer and burrito before we flew. We tried to help Madeline with her Berkeley essay, but still more to do before the Dec 1st deadline. Nice flight, drinks and peanuts a bonus.

Met by Greg and Kathleen at San Diego airport, where we tucked straight into a packed lunch before striding onto Big Bear; three hours, 11:30pm arrival. The drive up to big bear is very long, very steep and very tiring. Met by the gathered family, good to see everyone again. Time to catch up before settling down for the night.
Thursday = Thanksgiving. Found out from Wikipedia on Tuesday that it's basically the European Harvest festival but Americanized, (like the spelling mom? :-).

Got up nice and early, (woken by Chris and Jamal) then the boys went fishing, leaving the women of the family to prep the feast. Fishing was amazing, obviously we didn’t catch anything but it was so picturesque, warm and sunny.

Gone Fishin'
On the drive back from fishing, as we were deciding how much we could lie about the quantity/size of our fictional catch, we caught the women strolling around the lake, so we parked up and joined them.

Big Bear Lake
Back to the cabin for bumper pool, Super Nintendo (so cool! I remember playing SNES with Neil Sullivan when I was 10), Pride and Prejudice and relaxing. Thanksgiving food was brought out to the table; we gave thanks, and got stuck in.

After some pumpkin pie, we all headed down to a local school for the annual football game. The whole family got involved, including Madeline's 80 year old grandma who featured in one of the key plays leading to our victory! On the drive back, we spotted the sky turning orange, pulled into the side of the road and had an impromptu photo competition.

Sunset over the lake
As the evening set in, the competitiveness continued with a game of Pictionary; quite possibly the most frantic/disorganized/chaotic game I’ve ever witnessed.
This morning was a little more relaxed as a jigsaw took shape. I played with Chris and Jamal, we had some turkey soup and cleaned the cabin.

Chris

Greg Sweeping the Roof
The ride home was cramped but lifted by a visit to El Pollo Loco, (Mexican food). I played a little basketball, then Madeline and I went to see Edith and Don before bringing them back for dinner, and here we are! Mum, I’ll look into the Student loan, I hope everyone is well. Paddy/Tickle, we’re so excited!

Birthday weekend

Friday, we went to a bar to play pool, a local tried to get in a fight with me, I was beaten at pool, we came home and went to bed.
Saturday, we went to Treasure Island to take some photos:

Madeline had her hair cut, badly, and we went to Palo Alto. Grabbed some food as a warm up for the Stanford vs. Northwestern game, turned up to the game to discover it was on Friday night. Disappointment all round, miserable drive home via Ikea to lighten the mood. Met up with Emilie and Kelly in North beach, drinking, pool, fun. Attempt to go to Lesbian night at the Cat club, but too late and expensive.

Sunday, we didn't do very much. I played with photos, Madeline read, we shopped and then I cooked a stir fry. We've had better weekends...

Yesterday, (Tuesday) I went for a Korean BBQ with the guys for work which was lovely. It turned out to be a nice day so I spent a couple of hours at the beach unwinding, taking some photos and generally enjoying not doing anything productive. Madeline had a friend in town so went for drinks, and I worked on my programming assignment which is going well.

We fly out of Oakland tonight for a few days in Encinitas/Big Bear for thanksgiving. Back on Sunday to resume life in the fast lane!

New Wok!

I'll do a weekend blog on Monday sometime, but for now I'll report on the overwhelming success of my new wok (from Ikea on Saturday)/cookbook (from Melanie for my Birthday combo.
We went for the first recipe from the 'poultry' chapter which was Chicken and Black Bean something or other. We shopped for ingredients this morning and were pretty successful with the exception of the elusive and disconcertingly vaguely named "Chinese 5 Spice".
This is what went in it, (click the picture to see it bigger, with notes).

And it looked a little like this:

Tasted amazing, although the beans needed a little longer, and the ginger wasn't as finely sliced as it probably should have been, resulting in a Russian Roulette type situation with similar looking slices of onion. So big success all round; thank you Mel!

22

Yesterday was my birthday. First off a big thank you for all the cards, facebook/myspace messages and emails; a real delight to receive, especially when it was such a hectic day.

I was in work at 8am until I met with my professor at 12:20. Following guidance from him, I spent the afternoon in the Library preparing a demo for a presentation I would give later in the evening. I had class from 4-7, gave my presentation, got positive feedback, and went for a very quick beer with my programming team at Chevy’s. Back to class from 7-9:30pm where we had a number of talks on different algorithms, of particular interest was the talk on genetic algorithms.

Then I drove home, and stumbled into the house completely drained and very hungry! I hadn't seen Madeline all day and was yet to open any presents, but it was worth the wait. Madeline had prepared a lovely meal, and had my present laid out on the table...a scrabble board spelling out the words "Stanford B'Ball Tickets"!!! There was a little confusion as I misread it as Stanford Ball tickets, which would have been a little disappointing, but after clarification, euphoria set in!

So this Saturday, we're going down to Palo Alto to watch Stanford host Northwestern. It's an evening 'tip-off' so we're hoping to sneak a little Thai food in either pre or post. Best thing ever! I don't like to go on about it, in fairness it's a little embarrassing, but check out the Stanford Men's Basketball website, and think about any premier sports teams in Durham. How much cooler would Grey rugby be with press conferences?!

So for my birthday, I decided it was time to replace my dead camera, to make these entries more visually appealing. Although it should be here by Thursday, I’m not holding out much hope because of Amazon.com payment issues. Should it ever arrive, I will be the proud owner of a Panasonic DMC-FZ7!

It's nice to have had an afternoon with little else to do but pen a blog. I had lunch on a bench in the quad, sat in the warming sun, listening to the Ricky Gervais podcast and watching humming birds dart around. Yesterday I fell asleep on a different bench but in a similar situation. That takes my "locations I've fallen asleep in, on campus" up to 3: the J Paul Leonard Library, the Ceasar Charves Student Center and a bench in the quad. I wonder where the 4th may be...

I'm going to do some revision for a biology exam I have tomorrow, then go to a class from 5-7 and then home. Hope eveyone is well. Ben x

Midterms, Caffine and "Rugby"

It's been a while, so I'll quickly recap on some of the goings on in our “exciting” lives!

Two weekends ago, (3rd-5th Nov) I was deep into midterm stress, and Madeline was preparing for the GRE. The GRE is the exam I took earlier in the year, in London as part of my application process, and with Madeline applying to Berkeley and SFSU, she has to take it as well. We spent almost the whole weekend on a Starbucks 'bar' crawl, studying, drinking coffee/chai tea and soaking up the Star-B's lifestyle. It turned out to be an awesome weekend, both productive and relaxing. We love sitting at a table in the window, and watching the busy city rush by, particularly in the early evening. It’s one of the real highlights of city living, which never fails to fill me with delight. It’s like we’re in Central Perk, but in San Francisco...and without the big park...or Gunther...

The following Tuesday I had to give a presentation on Computational Complexity, Madeline did the GRE on Wednesday and I had my big Biology midterm on Thursday. Solid week.

We started last weekend with a fairly hardcore drinking session on Friday night. Madeline and I headed out to play pool, try some different bars and just unwind after what had been a busy week for us both. We made friends with an English bar manager at our local, found a band playing in a bar/launderette, and kicked some ass in doubles pool with a random couple.
Saturday morning was one of the lowest points in my life. I think it must have been a bad pint, because I felt as close to death as I ever have. Sleep saved me from some of the pain, but when we finally woke up, I found I was an hour late for the trial match I was meant to be playing in for Berkeley on Treasure Island. A quick bagel and milk breakfast saw me arrive 'ready' to play in the third half. Apparently I scored Berkeley's 100th ever try, but other than that I left despondent with Rugby, deciding to hang up my boots for a little while - they played me on the wing which was the final straw. It's a completely different game to what I enjoy, and what I'm used to. It's slow, physical and unintelligent rugby. Pretty much all the backs moves aim directly towards the break down which we've just come from, to speed up the awkward period in between rucking, (badly) or malling, before ultimately rucking. The American guys who are new(ish) to the game are all like Army Alex in the freshers trial match. Loud, aggressive and mildly inappropriate. Their American Football background is reflected in their inability to remain calm when contact training is mentioned in training, and the whole squad is taking it more seriously than an NFL team in the build up to a Super Bowl. This is pre-season, (it starts in January/February sometime) and on Monday they met for a video analysis of the pitiful display of rugby we'd tragically been a part of on Saturday. As a coach, I'd be trying to forget it ever happened, not freeze framing every slow phase and terrible running line/support/lack of it.
A final note on rugby before I bring this rant to a close and feel a little better, is that there seems to be a bit of a discipline problem. Not a Charles getting sent off in the Flood-lit cup kind of problem, more a, "I really can't cope with all this physicality without getting a little bit hurt and lashing out" problem. The controlled discipline of rugby and how to cause pain without being sent off are foreign concepts here.
There are some great guys, some very talented individuals, and some great intentions, but I'm not enjoying it enough to make it a worthwhile commitment. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not GCRFC, and that will forever lead to disappointment with rugby in the future.

This week is the final week before a well-earned thanksgiving break. We're both exhausted and eager to relax with Madeline's family for a few days. We fly down on Wednesday, take a day in the family cabin up in Big Bear, and fly back up over the weekend sometime. Lovely!

"The balls which weren't wide looked dangerous"!

Quote of the weekend from Rahman, the captain of Marin CC.

Friday night was Kelly's Halloween party; Madeline and I went as a white trash bride and groom. Big success, minus the Southern Comfort which turned out to be a bad idea. Saturday morning, I was rudely awoken by Andy, who was on his way to pick me up for the cricket match I was 100% sure was on Sunday.

We drove to Marin, just north of the GG bridge, stopping briefly to pick up breakfast, (1/4 watermelon and a snickers). The cricket was awesome. Loads of the guys were English, great fun and refreshingly funny and easy going. I haven't played a proper game in my life; I don't think drunkenly standing in the outfield denying Charles boundary shots in Cambridge really counts.


So I made up numbers for Marin who were playing against a hybrid Pig & Whistle/Dylan's team, (both bars in the city). Fielding was a joy; the weather was amazing, the field was surrounded by lagoons and lush green mountains, and only rarely would the ball interfere with my day dreaming. A dropped catch at point blank range followed by a pickup and lucky run out prompted a change of attitude as I began to get more into the game.

Rahman, perhaps a little naively, slotted me in with the second to last over of the first innings. I'd told him I'd bowled in high school, but little did he know that my bowling extended only as far as the dizzy heights of indoor cricket with a tennis ball, aged 13/14.

Following an over characterized by inconsistency, with a hint of potential, Rahman thanked me and made a quick mental note not to believe me again. Our next stint at the wicket saw me opening, in my first real bout of batting since my 12 not out at the end of the 2006 Grey A/B fixture. I continued my frankly undeserved form by knocking the ball around some what convincingly until I chose to let one through, purposefully retiring myself for the good of the game. I lost count of how many runs/boundaries I slotted, but as the day wore on, I established the total in my own mind as approaching 50...maybe.

For our final bout in the field, we found ourselves short of a wicket keeper. Riding high on the success of my batting, and eager to prolong the box wearing further, I stepped up to the mark. The first ball passed the batsman, passed me and then the boundary. Rahman cursed his trusting demeanor! Things picked up following a few tips, and sneaked in 2 catches to restore some of my pride.

Saturday night, Madeline went out with friends, and I attempted to tackle my take home mid-term. Sunday was pretty slow. I worked, Madeline went to get her nails done, (a present from her friend Michelle) and we watched TV. Another weekend gone.



The big news of this week involves a certain Dr. Paddy Shaw-Brown, and Miss Katy Tickle! Rumor has it that they may be visiting Madeline and around mid-December which gives me Goosebumps it’s so exciting!

Things going well

I've been meaning to write a very positive blog about life in SF, but I've been too busy! I've had exams, a mid term assignment, a new gym membership, Halloween preparations and countless other little things to juggle over the past week, but it's been the best yet. The weather here is wonderful at the moment; warm sunny days and mild-to-crisp autumnal nights. I sort of miss rain, but I’m comforted by my customized Google desktop that the world isn’t going to run out of water just yet:



I decided earlier in the week that I really needed to focus on my studies and brush off the mid-semester slump. The healthy body, healthy mind idea resulted in me joining Gold’s gym with Madeline. We’ve been a couple of times, most notably at 6am on Wednesday morning! It’s a fascinating place, full primarily of huge gay men, and very different to Edge Hill. I’m not sure I’m completely sold on it, but it’s only a short walk from our apartment, so we can’t really complain.

Homeless people are interesting me at the moment. As it’s getting a bit colder, I’m beginning to worry for the regulars at the onramp for the 101, and the guy who sleeps in the doorway down the street. I can’t help but spend far too long wondering what they go through, what they did to end up on the street and just exactly how crazy they all are. Nothing really prepares you for city life like this. It just makes me realize how sheltered Durham was, and how lucky I was to grow up in the suburbs :)

On the way to the car the other morning, I passed a guy strung out on drugs looking very worried, the guy who sleeps in the doorway, several remnants of smashed car windows and a still-warm pile of human defecation. It sounds terrible, but we live in a nice area, and I feel safe and happy in our street. Weird.

School is going really well at the moment. I'm so busy, I have to enjoy it or I'd be deported. This weekend is typically busy; Kelly's Halloween party tonight, getting a credit card on Sat and playing CRICKET(?!) on Sunday. The cricket is against Marin, just North of the Golden Gate, for a team my English/programming friend Andy plays for. Should be fun.

In other news, Madeline is thinking of applying to SF State to study for her teaching credential next year. It'd be so cool to car-pool to school together, and it'd be nice to have similar schedules. OK, well I'm excited to hear reports of mum's new car, and I'm glad to see Dad has been putting pics up. What's the link to your Lancashire Trail map?

Two wheels are better than Four!

Yesterday began just like most others Thursdays. I worked from 8-12, doing my little bit for the world of technical support, had lunch and revised for my weekly Biology exam. Madeline came home early for a dentist appointment she didn't have, we went for a run, and I went to class.

After class, I was invited to go to the club house of the San Francisco Motorcycle club down on 18th and Folsom. An English guy I do two of my courses with, Andy, is kind of into his bikes, as is his wife, and there were rumors of $2 beers.

We only stayed for a couple of beers, (it was a school night!) but at the end, Andy decided it was too dangerous a walk home for me, so he gave me a ride back on his hog!

It was only like 7 blocks, but wow! Don’t worry mum, we can’t afford so much as a bicycle :)

It’s lovely and sunny here at the moment, 27 degrees until next Tuesday according to the BBC. I think Madeline and I are going to run on the beach this evening, then out to a house party at Kelly’s house. Saturday is Madeline and Ria’s joint birthday party, which should be lovely with the weather like this.

So this morning was a little hurried as my commute was elongated by traffic on the 101. Fridays are always pretty quiet at work, but today, Scott has his almost 3 year old daughter in work with him. She was a little bit scared of me at first but we just played on my skateboard so I think we’re friends. She got in trouble because I gave her some of my breakfast muffin; I don’t think it was very fair, she said please and everything!

On the photo front, my camera is dead, and so pictures of the rocker will have to wait! Mandy, diving sounds awesome! You know when you found out that you’re “not heavy enough to compensate for the weight of my SCUBA tank in the water”? Did you just sink and end up lying on your back at the bottom of the quarry? We should Skype up to the max soon. We literally haven’t spoken since Christmas.

Sorry I haven’t been in touch with many of the Durham posse. I will improve, I promise. I hope you’re all doing well, Simon, how did the 3month review go? I was thinking of you on Wednesday. I hope you’re looking after Katie and Darius well. What’s Katie doing in the big smoke? Is she working? Jamie/Owen, I’ve got contacts here now, so be sure to pencil SF in on your world tour. I’ve been spreading the gospel of Milltown’s Grace all over the place. AJ/Helen, Madeline and I seriously can’t wait for you to get here. We’ve got so many things we want to do with you guys. Paddy, I hope PWC is going really well for you, I’m sure you’re making waves.
Tickle, Dan I hate you both for having fun in Durham still. It’s painful to see pictures from nights out and hear stories of B’ball/netball/rugby related success. I hope you’re making the most of the MCR and really enjoying 4th year. Ok, finally I have some work to do today and Ella, (Scotts daughter) has left, so I will bid you all farewell.

Love to all, Ben x

Greg comes to visit and Madeline's 23rd

Greg, (Madeline's dad) flew in on Wednesday afternoon and met up with Madeline in El Cerrito to check out her school. After a brief detour to pick up her birthday present, (DVD player) they headed back to the city and we finally got chance to show someone round our new place! He was really impressed, complementing us on our excellent eye for style and quality :)

We went to play pool at the local gay/biker/Irish bar, where Madeline and I had drinks bought for us by a random gay couple a few nights previously. Emilie arrived shortly after us, and a pool contest ensued. After Greg and I had established ourselves as the losers, we wandered up to a new Thai restaurant called Basil, (conflicts over its pronunciation are frequent). Post-dinner we went back to our apartment for ice-cream, and a good night’s sleep.

Madeline went to work at first light leaving Greg and I to pick up breakfast near inner-sunset. I left him at 9:30ish where he was due to be picked up by Denny, Fred and Jed, and went to work. He's up north until Wednesday, putting in the foundations for Denny's new 'Barn' on his property.

---

This month always makes me smile because there is a full 2 year age gap between Madeline and I. Saturday started with a home cooked muffin breakfast, and was quickly followed by an escape to a project meeting. I left Madeline at the mall but we met up around midday to continue shopping. Big success in Gap as usual, then home to order blown up photos for the frames we got earlier in the month. At 6pm we wandered down to 2nd and Folsom for our first sample of Indian food in the city, (Mehfil Indian). Really, really good but very different from English Indian cuisine.

Another short walk through the city, which looked beautiful by night, led us to the Actors Theatre, where I had tickets held for the second night of Death of a Salesman. Madeline had tried to get me to read it after she studied it in England, but I had failed. I knew it was going to be a little glum, but I didn't account for such a powerful performance which quite frankly brought the night to a close! Sunday was work day for me. I had to write some algorithms in Small Talk which was surprisingly rewarding. We picked up some cushions for the couch, and finally watched the end of the Virgin Suicides, (a little disappointing, given my love of the book and soundtrack). We really must watch something a little more cheerful! This week should be busy as always, and this weekend, Kelly is having a house party (Fri), and Madeline is doing her big joint birthday day/night out with Ria (Sat). Sunday looks like another busy catch-up-on-work day.

USA vs Uruguay

Last weekend, (6th-8th Oct), Madeline and I went down to Stanford with the guys from Berkeley to watch the final American world cup qualifier between USA and Uruguay. We drove down with big Timm S-M, and picked up subs on the way after a thorough search of the local area for a burrito shop.
Stanford is amazing; their football stadium is massive! It is the equivalent of the 'stand' at Durham City, except it belongs to them. It used to be an 80,000 capacity but it's just been reduced to a more manageable 50,000 to make it nicer.


The Stanford Stadium

So unfortunately, the world cup qualifier didn't require quite as much space, so it fell back on Stanford’s purpose built rugby facility, the Steuber Rugby Stadium. Again I'd like to draw a swift comparison with Durham, apparently one of the elite Universities in the UK, where the men's 1st XV train on what can only be described as a field of shit.

Although the stand was far more modest than that of the football, basketball or baseball stadiums, (Stanford Athletic Facilities), it was perfect for what turned out to be a great day of rugby. The game was slow, hampered by a whistle-hungry ref, but the few times the USA got the ball wide, they looked good.

My camera tragically decided enough was enough and stopped working, but spirits were raised by some good old fashioned beers with the left over Uruguayan sandwiches.

A longer-than-normal drive home gave us little opportunity for a rest before Emilie came round and we headed out for a night on the town with the rugby boys. A good time was had by all.

The big move!

Ben is off to another late night class on campus, so I thought it was due time I filled all our faithful correspondents in on what has been happening in our lives.

First and foremost I am proud to announce that we are officially moved into our new apartment! Hurray! The change is like night and day. Our new place has wonderfully high ceilings and naturally lighting galore coming from our very own gorgeous bay
window. Too bad the window doesn’t actually face the bay, it faces shady one way street and another apartment, but it is still beautiful.

Moving was an ordeal. Seeing as we had no furniture or earthly belongings, we had to go around from garage sale to garage sale picking up random things. The first sale we stopped at was a winner. We bought two “retro” chairs. One of them is a funky gold yellow color and actually cool, the other green one is an absolutely hideous green rocker, but Ben adores it and when the lady offered us both chairs for $20, there was no holding back. Getting them both into the car was a whole new adventure but after about 20 minutes of struggle, we managed.

We then hit the goldmine when we stopped at a place that advertised a very sturdy industrial looking desk. The guy was moving out the day and started offering us everything that was left in his house, which included a lovely glass coffee table on wheels and a KING size bed! The bed is incredible. I can lay on one end and Ben on the other and with an outstretched arm he doesn’t even come close to touching me, its brilliant. We offered the guy $100 bucks for everything and left feeling very smug.

Then came the dilemma of how to get everything to the new house. We were initially planning on taking a few trips in my friend’s small truck, but with the oversized bed we were out of luck. So we rented a big uhaul van! We stopped to pick up a few more random items before moving in the next day.

The guy who lived in the rooms before us didn’t clean anything and the landlord didn’t have time to hire someone to come in and do it, so I was thoroughly disappointed. But after a quick run over with a vacuum and rags we moved all our stuff in and really made it feel like home. We are both still in awe that we actually live here, I hope you will all come and visit us so we can show it off! 

We are just a few blocks away from the BART station, so its easy for me to get to work and there seems to be a lot of other attractions within walking distance such as the Civic Center, the Ballet, the Opera and other small theaters, and some smelly homeless people scattered here and there. We are excited for the weekend so we have a better chance to explore the surroundings.

Well once again I have authored a novel, so I best be off to bed. We hope you are all doing well and we send all our love to you. xxx

First Day of Work/Pearly/Moving House

Today was the first day of my new life as an IT helpdesk person. It's IT support for the Creative Arts Department a.k.a. Creative Arts Technical Support a.k.a. CATS. They look after a whole load of high spec Dell PCs, G4 and G5 Apples along with networks, printers, media equipment etc.

I'm glad I took this job because I think I'm going to learn a lot about the real life side of computers, i.e. how to fix them when they inevitably break.

The guys I’m working with are pretty laid back, and the pay is really good considering it’s on campus. I’ve fallen on my feet again it would appear!

In other news, Pearly and friends are leaving tomorrow after a really nice few days. They’ve been wonderful guests and I hope they’ve enjoyed San Francisco. Last night we went for a really good Mexican with them, and tonight Madeline hosted a pizza and movies night in my absence. I’ve been too busy to do much with them since the 49ers game, but hopefully they’ve had a good time exploring the city. They’ve got a couple of days in LA before they fly back on Friday.

Madeline and I move into our new apartment on Saturday so we have the added excitement of furniture shopping and bed buying towards the end of the week. I’ve been on campus from 8am-10pm pretty much so I think I’d better get some beauty sleep.

Mum, we’ve got an idea for your stay in San Diego, but I’ll talk to you about it towards the end of the week. I’ll also get you my new address soon.

49ers

Friday, Tapas meal with David and a few beers. Saturday, project meeting, rugby in Dixon then House party in the city. Late Saturday night, Pearly and friends arrived. Sun morning, lazy breakfast - donuts.

Sun afternoon, 49ers game at monster park!



The 49ers lost, but it was awsome!

Earning some $$$

Yesterday was brilliant! David arrived Wednesday night, so Thursday morning we got up early for a stroll on the beach:



Madeline took the car to work, dropping David off in the city, and me at school. I spent the morning learning about cellular respiration in the Library, and at about 2pm I got some Mediterranean food from the student center.

It's beautiful at the moment - apparently September/August is the best weather here - so I had lunch on the lawn, laying in the sun, listening to Madeline's iPod. Hours passed and I got a phone call about the job I applied for. It was the news we'd been hoping for, 20 hours a week, great experience and finally a financial buffer zone! I lay back, completely happy with the world and basked a little longer.

Just before class at 7pm, I got a coffee and climbed to the top of the student center, (pics later). Watched the sunset then learnt all about genetics. Madeline picked me up and I made an omelet. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Today I've had a lazy morning but am thinking of hitting the library for a little bit. Tonight we're going for a Mexican meal in the Mission district and then for a few celebratory beers.

I've heard nothing from Pearly; I hope he's still coming because I'm going to be lonely at the 49ers game otherwise...

An emotional day

So I finally got hold of the SPCA. They were concerned that the kittens had been alone for so long, and were so young. They asked me to take them in, but made very clear that it was quite likely that they would be euthanized. I had class all evening so I had to cancel a job interview, collect the little guys into a cardboard box and drive them down to San Mateo. The whole drive was accompanied by little cries of distress from the passengers, and futile attempts to control the temperature in the car by me.


The gray one was the best!

The people at the SPCA were very nice, but they don’t have the resources to take in un-weaned kittens. I think it’s the same back home. We agreed that it was better they were put to sleep humanely rather than starving or freezing to death.

I did have the option to wean them myself at home, for which they would have provided the equipment, but we can’t have pets in the apartment due to the contract and Madeline’s allergies.

So I left them in capable hands, and endured the lonely drive home. I made it back to school only 30 minutes after my interview so went in and did surprisingly well. I think the kitten story was a good ice breaker.

Classes all evening, from 4-10pm went smoothly. Today I’m going to learn about the internal details of cells, and do a little programming.

This evening Madeline’s friend David is flying in to spend a few days with us, and this Friday (?), Pearly will arrive in SF for the Californian leg of his American tour with friends.

To add to the emotion of the past few days, I think my beloved flip flops are coming to an end...


In memoriam

A Nest of Joy!

Mum will be so jealous! This evening, Madeline and I were ready to leave the house to go and sign for our new apartment, when something caught my eye. Madeline freaked out and ran away, but on closer inspection, what Madeline feared were mice, were actually 5 furry little kittens! They were nestled down in a bush, squeaking and fighting with each other.

I wasn't really sure what to do so I tried to find an RSPCA equivalent online to give me advice. It was pretty late, and there was no sign of mummy cat, so I popped the little guys in a cardboard box with some newspaper, (pet rescue prepared me well!).

Without the RSPCA, we knocked on a few doors to ask if anyone near by had a cat. We found an old lady who wanted to come by tomorrow to look at them and a much saner woman who told us there were a lot of stray cats around and they get this kind of thing annually. She said the mum cat would probably be back for them. So after Emilie had arrived and been suitably impressed with their cuteness, we put them back in the bush hopefully, to await mum.

I think it was the right thing to do, but if they are still there tomorrow, I'm going to contact the SPCA. Fingers crossed!

Because I know mum will be interested, there were 4 sandy/ginger colored ones, and one grey/white. I think one was a runt; it wasn't very lively. They didn’t look new born, maybe a few days/a week. It’s really strange that they would just appear like that. The lady down the road said the mum cat may have carried them there. I’m not so sure...

In other news, we had a nice weekend enjoying the sunshine on the beach, and mild evenings in Emilie's hot tub. Tonight we signed for our new apartment, and all is well. Where is Mandy?! :-D

Rugby and a new home

Another busy weekend! On Friday we finally confirmad that we would be taking the apartment we'd been looking at which is a big weight off Madeline's mind. I met up with some guys from Berkeley RFC and drove down to SLO in a 1988 VW camper van! Beers in town then bed; Econolodge.

Early start to tournament HQ, very nice setting, beautiful weather. Big range of ability from complete beginners to old pros. We were in the 3rd division and quite content. Game 1 was lost by 2 points, and we really should have won. I got 2 tries. Game 2 was less close but I got another 2 tries. Game 3 saw the upset of the tournament as we suddenly clicked and I sneaked in 3 tries to secure a unexpected victory. This had the unfortunate side effect of meaning that we progressed from the group stage and had to play in a quater final.

The organiser of the berkely trip down to SLO got in a bit of a tussle and was asked to leave the pitch with a cut above his eye which would later require 16 stiches! Down to 6 men we gladly ended our campaign and hit the beers/tri tip BBQ!

Hotel for showers/food/nap then into town for bar crawl. Much fun was had by all, hangovers all round this morning!

Spent the morning exporing Pismo Beach, (foggy) had some clam chowder and headed back. Project meetin for OOP this evening in a bar, then picked Madeline up. Much needed bed now, then a busy week of school work ahead!

Sacramento!

Last weekend Madeline and I ventured North East to visit some of Madeline's family in the state capital.


The Capital Building in Sacramento

We went out with Hilary and Nick on Sat after a 3+ hour labor-day-weekend/closed-Bay-Bridge traffic enduced journey over the Golden Gate. On Sunday we went to Russ's house for breakfast, (pastries) before heading to the launch of his boat with his family.

Anita water-skied, Marcus wakeboarded, Morgan and Russ showed us how knee boarding should be done, and then Hilary, Madeline and I gave it a shot. It was sooo cool, there's a compilation of the video highlights from the day on my YouTube account.

More later.

New Apartment?

There is a chance this could be our new home in San Francisco! We're trying not to get over excited, but it's pretty cool!

The Deck - Ready for BBQing!


We'd have the upstairs


The bedroom or office; there is another room attached 

Gabriella comes to town

Saturday 26th August
Went to Emilie's apartment to see Gabriella who had arrived earlier in the morning. Set off on a tour of various sights in SF including China town and Haight Ashbury where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we parked near little Italy and walked through China town to Fisherman’s Warf, trying on wigs at the midway point.

Kelly picked us up to save our legs and we made our way back to prepare for the BBQ later that evening. Chicken, steak, salad, veg etc. went well. Tofu didn't. Then back to Emilie's to watch a film, the Wedding Date, before bed.

Sunday 27th August
Emilie plays for a mixed touch football team which she joined through her soccer team. We went to watch her play on a field near Fort Point which is part of a huge disused military base at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. I think the area is now part of the GG National Park, and as such is undeveloped which is nice.
Regrettably, Emilie's team were a man down and were facing very strong opposition. A brief moment of inspiration saw Emilie bulldozer through the defensive line for a 30 yard QB touch down which gave the assembled cheer squad something to shout about!

It wasn't a very nice morning :(

After the game, we made the short drive to Fort Point to show off the Golden Gate in all it's foggy glory. It's always cool when the towers are shrouded in a mysterious fog, and from a distance it doesn't look quite so high up. Mum was disappointed to hear that I couldn't face the whole walk across as they'd put that on the to-do list when they visit in the spring.


Emilie, Gabriella, Madeline and the Golden Gate Bridge

The Exploratorium was next; I had complained that interactive museums weren't as good as ones which were dusty and in class cases but I take it all back. I walked around in awe, with my mouth open and with a child like glint in my eyes. It turns out America is good at two things; Theme Parks and Interactive Museums. I could have spent hours playing with sand and water in the name of science, but regrettably, the girls had a tea date at 2pm. So after a stroll in the grounds we headed off.


Gabriella and Emilie in the grounds of the Exploratorium

The Exploratorium is housed within the walls of San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in the style of a Roman ruin, mutilated and overgrown, in the mood of a Piranesi engraving.


Gabriella, Madeline and I

So the girls headed of for tea and I went home to watch the end of the golf, a college football program and Extreme Engineering!


How Quaint!

We met up after tea in Dolores Park, it was sunny, there was a rap concert of some kind on and there were many dogs mounting each other.


Emilie and Gabriella in Delores Park

Emilie left to go for a run in preparation for her triathlon next month, so Gabriella, Madeline and I went home to get our bathing suits and playing cards to go for a soak in Emilie's hot tub. After a lengthy name critique session, we met up with Kelly and went to a Mediterranean restaurant; very cheap and nice!

Monday 28th August
We had an early start to get Madeline to the BART station for 7:00am, and then headed straight to Oakland airport to bid farewell to Gabriella. Priority boarding, trece and candy added to the excitement of the morning, and she got away safely. Traffic was good heading home so I set about cleaning the house...

Had my first lecture as a graduate student in Computer Performance Evaluation! Small class, but really interesting and very good lecturer. It's nice to do something completely new to me, and it reaffirmed that I am a geek and do love computers. Pasta for dinner.

Long Weekend

Thursday 17th
Madeline's brother had suggested that we might likt to visit Point Reyes when the city became a little much for us so last Thursday we set off in search of this National Seashore. First stop was another recommendation, this time from by IBM boss Matt who prompted the coit tower visit, and this time triggered some serious vertigo as we attempted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on foot!

Having so much fun!

Needless to say, we only made it 3rd of the way across, but we got the general idea! Next stop was Point Reyas which I assumed was pretty soon after the GG Bridge. I was wrong. After over an hour on the incredibly hilly and winding Highway 1, we resorted to phoning for back up. Re-motivated by various calls to knowledgeable members of the Johnson family we caught our first glimpses of the area. By this stage, we were both a bit pissed off so we headed straight for the lighthouse in the hopes of a good photo opportunity.


Wow

Our hopes were dashed after a reluctant hike to the bottom where the cheery mustachio man informed us that this was the foggiest spot in northern America. We left quickly and went to a nearby beach to try and salvage some enjoyment from the day. Madeline fell asleep, I collected some rocks and we fell out over $3 soda.

The drive home was much better, Madeline driving, me sleeping; until I woke suddenly, sensing a cherry sales woman at the side of the road. Sure enough, a few hundred meters down the road, there was a little stand selling the finest cherries you ever did see! I stumbled out of the car in a post-sleep coma, handed over money and returned triumphantly with a not inconsiderable bag of Washington cherries!

Stupidly I didn't proof read the truth before announcing to Madeline that I'd paid $8 for the honor (she doesn't even like cherries) and all hell broke loose! Steam had just stopped coming from her ears by the time we got home and we went to pick up her cousin Hilary who was in the city on business, for dinner. Pasta was awsome, (madeline) and that pretty much brought Thursday to a close.

Friday 18th

UC Berkley, Marley + Harper. Carlos. Bad traffic, expensive parking. Greek ampetheatre.



Saturday 19th

Madeline run
Shopping
BBQ
Mall
Emilie's night out, Ambers, Dancing, random guy.



Here



Sunday 20th
Madeline went for tea with Emilie + friends
I slept
Watched Troy

Monday 21st

Finished watching Troy, 1st day of international student stuff
Madeline not in work.

Tuesday 22nd

Madeline starts work, ben makes friend, Abishake

Friday 25th

Madeline out with girls
Bought text books

Madeline Speaks!

Hello all you faithful blogging buddies, it's Madeline here. Ben is outside cooking up some hamburgers and hotdogs on the bbq (very American of him, isnt it?) . Dont worry he has not lost his British charms or humour. So, he has left me with the task of summarizing our life over the past two days....


Ben and his new pride and joy on our deck

Yesterday we decided to do a bit more exploring of the area we live in. I heard that there was a main street within walking distance that had a lot of shops and restaurants and public transportation, so we decided to check it out. We live in the part of the city that is enveloped in fog. San Francisco itself isnt known for its sunshine, but I think we get the worst of the weather. However as Ben optimistically pointed out, this type of weather is moody and it adds character to a place :)

Anyways back to our adventure. We parked and started strolling down Ocean Street. The first thing we came across was a library! I was very excited and immediately secured a membership card. Ben trailed along behind me and looked bored. Unfortunately for him the library was probably the best building on the street. The rest was very ghetto. There was a lot of trash (rubbish:) in the street and every other shop was a Chinese take away. No cute shops, no nice restuarants. However, there was a Mc Donalds, so Ben was happy. After a short lived and disappointing stroll we decided to leave.

Our next destination was a sporting goods store where we bought an American football. We drove down to Golden Gate Park to throw around the ball. Ben and I had been there before with my sister and saw a bunch of people out playing volleyball and soccer in the park and having picnics. However, due to the vastness of the park, we ended up in a completely different area, "Hobo Central". We were surronded by groups of homeless people drinking boxed wine out of the bag, walking around in sleeping bags, and trying to sell us mushrooms. Ben and I were terrified and we departed after passing the ball around twice.

Next it was off to a viewing of the Golden Gate Bridge, which looked spectacular in the misty fog. We drove back home along the coast and stopped off at a beach where we strolled along the rocks and snapped some photos. Came home and barbequed up some veg kebabs on the grill and watched a film. All in all a very interesting day.


Next on the todo list is walking across the monster!

Today has also been very busy. We woke up early because I had a second interview for a job with the Boys & Girls Club in the city. The interview lasted a greuling two hours, but went suprisingly well. Ben was very knowledgeable about interviewing from a course he took at Durham, so he gave me lots of tips that I put to use. I was even able to crack out a few well executed jokes, so fun was had by all. I should know if I have the position by Friday, fingers crossed!

So while I was selling myself to the company, Ben was off exploring the city. Ever since we crossed the Oakland Bridge he has been on a desperate search for flowers to put in his hair, unfortunately there is not an abundance of wild flowers in the city, guess we were born in the wrong decade for such frivilties. Ben went to the top of Coit Tower and took some cool photos and managed to find the big Apple store in the city center (I swear there must be some sort of magnetic pull to him and computers/gadgets/electronics he just cant get enough!).


A view from the top of Coit Tower


After the interview we met up for a very cosmopolitan cup of Starbucks coffee, then cruised the streets some more absolutely mesmorized by the sheer size, beauty, and individuality of the city skyscrapers. Ben took me back to the Apple store to show off his findings and we bought a microphone for skype. Soooo if anyone has skype (especially you John and Chris) we are now all set up to chat! Hurray!


"A very cosmopolitan cup of Star B's"

Due to a toenail that needed trimming being scrounched a little too tightly in my pointy heels, we had to cut the afternoon short and head back on the BART (SF train) back home. Ben spent the afternoon killing ants and attacking the kitchen with a sponge and mop with the BIGGEST grin on his face. (Whoever raised him is an absolute genuis!!) I took care of some paperwork and then we got a little cabin fever and decided to find the nearest beach.

Five minutes down the road we happened upon a beautiful trail that lead us right through the cliffs down to the beach. Ben and I were both taken aback by the tranquil beauty of the sandy shores. We were not expecting such pictoresque beaches this far north. We then went on one of the biggest photo shoots of our lives. We kept trying to one up each other with shots and I think a few came out quite well. (Odds are pretty good in our favor, since we took 160!!). We played a little football and I impressed Ben with my spiral, then we headed back to our place.


One of the better shots from the 160 - More on Flickr

Now that Ive probably bored you to death with this novel, I am going to go enjoy the meal my fabulous boyfriend has prepared for me. I don't think life gets much better than this. Hope all is well at home for all of you! I know Ben is missing his family and friends and sends his love. Keep sending us updates on what is going on with all of you!

xxxxx