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...