Visiting the Bay Area
I flew down to Oakland on Tuesday and I've been having a great time seeing friends and driving around to see what's changed and what hasn't.
When I got in, I picked up my rental car and drove to Andrew's house in Alameda where I would be staying two nights. When his wife Amy came home, we went to Zachary's in Oakland. (It was okay--I'm not that crazy about deep-dish pizza.) That evening, Andrew and I watched a DVD of Goodbye Lenin, a German film about a guy whose mother goes into a coma just before the Berlin Wall fell and wakes up 9 months later. She was a supporter of socialism and has a bad heart so he recreates the world of less than a year earlier to prevent her being upset.
Before I came down here I didn't do enough preparation--i.e., making specific plans with people--so I didn't have anything arranged for Wednesday. However, Andrew is working weird hours this week and had the day off, so we ran some errands (I wanted to drop off a couple of blouses at Seams to Fit, and he needed a haircut); then we went to Genki Sushi for lunch (I hadn't had sushi since leaving Oakland). We were going to go to a movie in the afternoon but Andrew was sleepy, so we went back to his house and he slept. I read for a while and then, for dinner, I went to visit my friend Lenore (who will, I hope, soon have a LiveJournal account).
On Thursday morning, I packed up my stuff to move to my second host. I managed to get in touch with my friend Chen (the 'ch' is pronounced like in Chanukah) and we hung out at her place for a while and then went to lunch. After that, I was sleepy and didn't have anything to do, so I drove up to one of my favorite places, Point Isabel, and just listened to the radio and dozed for a while until it was nearly time to go to my new hosts (Dianna and Michael)'s house. We chatted for a while and Dianna made a nice dinner and then we all went to catamorphism's for a games party being held in my honor. It was really cool to see some of the Berkeley Games Club people (and some others, including yakkette that I knew) there again and to play games with them. I had gotten a ride there with Dianna but she had to leave early. Michael came separately but he also left before I was ready to go, so catamorphism gave me a ride home.
Today, I'm having lunch with some former fellow paralegal students (Maksuda and Muslimah); I'm meeting them at PF Chang's in Bay Street, Emeryville at 11:00, so I'm posting this from the Barnes & Noble Cafe in the same complex. Later I'll be having coffee or something with another friend from my paralegal classes (Deborah). In the evening, Dianna and I (and possibly Michael) are planning to go see a movie or, possibly have some people over to play games.
Tomorrow, I'll be having lunch and playing games with rdiamond and badiamond for the afternoon; in the evening it's off to sea chanteys in San Francisco with catamorphism and possibly one or two others (if anyone wants to join us, let me know!).
It's so great to be down here again. I've really missed the Bay Area. I'm open to the idea that, by the end of three years, I may have put down roots enough to consider Portland my home, but so far I can't imagine not returning here.
When I got in, I picked up my rental car and drove to Andrew's house in Alameda where I would be staying two nights. When his wife Amy came home, we went to Zachary's in Oakland. (It was okay--I'm not that crazy about deep-dish pizza.) That evening, Andrew and I watched a DVD of Goodbye Lenin, a German film about a guy whose mother goes into a coma just before the Berlin Wall fell and wakes up 9 months later. She was a supporter of socialism and has a bad heart so he recreates the world of less than a year earlier to prevent her being upset.
Before I came down here I didn't do enough preparation--i.e., making specific plans with people--so I didn't have anything arranged for Wednesday. However, Andrew is working weird hours this week and had the day off, so we ran some errands (I wanted to drop off a couple of blouses at Seams to Fit, and he needed a haircut); then we went to Genki Sushi for lunch (I hadn't had sushi since leaving Oakland). We were going to go to a movie in the afternoon but Andrew was sleepy, so we went back to his house and he slept. I read for a while and then, for dinner, I went to visit my friend Lenore (who will, I hope, soon have a LiveJournal account).
On Thursday morning, I packed up my stuff to move to my second host. I managed to get in touch with my friend Chen (the 'ch' is pronounced like in Chanukah) and we hung out at her place for a while and then went to lunch. After that, I was sleepy and didn't have anything to do, so I drove up to one of my favorite places, Point Isabel, and just listened to the radio and dozed for a while until it was nearly time to go to my new hosts (Dianna and Michael)'s house. We chatted for a while and Dianna made a nice dinner and then we all went to catamorphism's for a games party being held in my honor. It was really cool to see some of the Berkeley Games Club people (and some others, including yakkette that I knew) there again and to play games with them. I had gotten a ride there with Dianna but she had to leave early. Michael came separately but he also left before I was ready to go, so catamorphism gave me a ride home.
Today, I'm having lunch with some former fellow paralegal students (Maksuda and Muslimah); I'm meeting them at PF Chang's in Bay Street, Emeryville at 11:00, so I'm posting this from the Barnes & Noble Cafe in the same complex. Later I'll be having coffee or something with another friend from my paralegal classes (Deborah). In the evening, Dianna and I (and possibly Michael) are planning to go see a movie or, possibly have some people over to play games.
Tomorrow, I'll be having lunch and playing games with rdiamond and badiamond for the afternoon; in the evening it's off to sea chanteys in San Francisco with catamorphism and possibly one or two others (if anyone wants to join us, let me know!).
It's so great to be down here again. I've really missed the Bay Area. I'm open to the idea that, by the end of three years, I may have put down roots enough to consider Portland my home, but so far I can't imagine not returning here.