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

San Francisco

I'm writing this on a brand new computer in very new surroundings! On Saturday Madeline and I set off from Encinitas to begin our new lives here in San Francisco. 460 miles later, we arrived and began unpacking. I set about dust busting while Madeline divided up the wardrobe space. Late night pizza from Extreme Pizza which was showing the Chargers game we could have gone to see if we'd stayed an extra day!

Sunday, we found a shopping mall complete with Safeway, (groceries, $$$!) Home Depot, (propane cylinder) and Bank of America. In the afternoon, we went for a surprise brunch for Emilie's 27th birthday. The restaurant had all you can drink mimosas for $6 which set the tone for what turned into a bit of an all day session in the Castro and pier 23.

Today I attempted to dust Madeline’s prehistoric computer, salvaged from her sister’s apartment the day before. Frustrated by Win 2000 and the associated lack of good spec, I managed to convince Madeline that a new computer was a worthy investment. Circuit City had a couple good basic spec computers and on the brink of starvation, we gave in and bought this little beauty. Less than $400 for a pretty well equipped machine.

All this happened post-school-visit. We walked from our apartment in the rough direction of SF State and managed to find it! Madeline had warned me that it wasn’t a very nice campus so we were both pleasantly surprised to find it very well maintained, green and bathed in morning sunlight. We went to the CS department, careers center, gymnasium, student support centre, OIP etc. and I registered for classes. Big success and exciting to see my new home at last! One interesting thing though is that all my lectures are in the evening. This is so that people can study for a masters part time while they remain in work but it’s not to bad as I only have 3 classes I think. It’ll all be a lot clearer when I’ve spoken to my advisor.

In closing, Madeline and I took another leap into commitment by getting a joint bank account. Finally I’ll be able to get hold of some money! Now I’ve managed to get the computer rolling, I’ll be able to start throwing pictures up to decorate these rather bland blogs. Watch this space…

Mid week activity

Tuesday - Bowling
Game 1

1. Madeline
2. Greg
3. Ben
4. Kathleen
   

Game 2

1. Ben (152)
   
2. Madeline
3. Kathleen
4. Greg

Bowling was followed by a take away Mexican, I had a meat burrito.

Wednesday
Kathleen, Alex and I went to the gym AM. I then went in search of a toothbrush and flowers for Edith as an apology for stealing Madeline from her again, (the flowers, not the toothbrush). Post-shopping I attempted to find Don and Edith's house but failed miserably. It took so long that Greg called me to ask why I wasn't back to go surfing! Eventually I found my way home and we hit the surf near Carlsbad. We went at low tide in the hopes of getting good beginners waves, and our patience paid off. All was going well until Greg stood on a stingray and got stung.

He was bleeding quite a bit and the pain was mounting so we headed home. I drove the truck, and it was nice to have the control of a manual gearbox agian.

Back home the wound was soaked in hot water to break down the venom and we showered/changed ready for meatloaf night at Madeline's grandparents house.

Thursday
This morning Madeline was off work so we went shopping for Emilie's 27th birthday present. We've just had dinner after visiting Edith and DOn with cookies, and Alex and I are about to head to the beach to meet up with Russel et. al. for a little body boarding. More later...

Surfing #3

I first attempted surfing in September 2004 and then again in April 2005. I've stood up a couple of times on broken waves, but am constantly frustrated by how terrible I am in the water and how long it is going to take to be able to surf like the natives who cruise around like it is no more taxing than a stroll in the park.

Today saw my third distinct outing, and with a considerable amount of background research behind me courtesy of YouTube and the Extreme Sports TV channel, I had big expectations. After approximately 30 minutes of being beaten up and never once looking cool or in control, I needed to re-think my approach. Alex came out in Greg’s place and showed me how it was done by catching a few little ones. He shared a little advice with me, and recommended that I started off with less ambitious waves.

After a few attempts, I got to my feet and surfed into the shallow water, and after a couple more successful launches, I began refining my technique. It’s still only broken waves, but its progress. More tomorrow I think. After the beach, we went to Sub Palace and then to a house which Greg was working on last time I was over. It’s really nice, only a couple of streets over from Stonesteps beach in Leucadia, and it’s a possible place for my parent to stay when they come over in the spring.

Madeline is in work at the moment until 6pm, and this evening I think we’re going bowling with the family. Yesterday I got put onto Madeline’s phone plan so that we can share minutes now I have a cell phone. She was kind enough to give me her phone upgrade due to my love of gadgets, and she got a nice little one to sub in for her beach-ruined one.

She has another job interview on Monday with a publishing company near my school, so I think we’re going to head up to SF on Saturday now. I got an email off Pearly, and it sounds as though he’s going to be over in September. He’s getting 49ers tickets at the moment. Last night we went for margaritas and Mexican food with Madeline’s friends, (George, Matt, Bree, Smiley and Smiley’s girlfriend) and ended up back at Georges place smoking a hookah. He runs his own business making and exporting hookahs which is pretty cool:

http://www.hookahcompany.com/

Driving is coming along nicely and mum will be pleased to know that I have both new jeans and socks!

Camp White

David and I

This weekend was Camp White. Madeline's family on her mom's side are the Whites, and each year they meet up for a weekend camping on the beach. It's a pretty nice idea, a chance to catch up, do family stuff and have fun in a beautiful setting with great food, ample drink and muchos sun.

This year was my debut although I was well briefed on what to expect and who to impress. Friday was pretty relaxed as we set up camp and kicked back for our first night under canvas. I met Roger, Kathleen's uncle, his daughter, and his grandson David. As the evening moved on, more people arrived, and we tucked into some homemade hamburgers. We went to the beach to cool of a little and I tried to reignite the body boarding flame. The surf got pretty big so Madeline and I spent a little while making sure David wasn’t being killed.


Madeline and cousin Hillary

Saturday started early as my jet lag continued. Greg, Miles, Jake and I drove out to Old Man to try and catch some early morning surf. There was a contest on so we didn’t get near the beach and instead made our way up the coast a little to Trestles where we watched some people tearing it up.

Lunch was followed by another, full family trip to the beach, more body boarding, a little body surfing and some sunbathing. Red faced and weighed down by wet clothes due to a rogue wave, we made our way back to camp for the evening meal. BBQ ribs and beers were awesome.

This morning, I woke early after a restless night in the tent. I convinced Madeline to join me for a walk along the beach which was lovely in the cool air. A relaxing extended breakfast and some goodbyes interspersed with a little football brought a close to event, and now we’re unpacking, showering and getting ready for a grandparents visit. Maybe even some more driving!


Renee, Madeline and I sporting Camp White t-shirts from yester-year

"I want to live in America..."

I made it. I doubted myself on occassions, but here I am, Encinitas! We're off 2 Camp White this weekend, so photos will follow. Best thing ever...