I am Super Special Awesome!
First a huge thanks to ad_exia and triplepunch for the postcards! ♥ ♥ ♥ Thank you so so so so much for thinking of me, I really like getting postcards.
After spending a day taking BART and the buses of San Francisco, I can now say with a lot of certainty I would break things if I had to live in CA. 2x my BART ticket would not work and I had to see an agent. Getting an agent's attention and then having them fix the problem took an inordinate amount of time. I've had an easier time getting a Japanese station person to fix my tickets so I can transfer from my free JR pass to my Suica card. And it was faster. ~.~ And the buses... In general I hate buses. I would rather walk a mile than take one in Kyoto. (unless it is late enough that most of the tourist sights are closed, as then they finally don't stop every single block ~.~ ) But at least the buses in Kyoto now and in most other places can make change, and when they can't they have large signs sharing this. San Francisco does not, so it was not until I had ALREADY put in my 2nd dollar I was told the machine will not make change. "We want to steal your money for our budget shortfall, have a nice day!"
It was lovely seeing kellyhime and I really enjoyed Herbivore as well as the movie ♥ Those chocolate cupcakes were so good, I wish I had another one. ;;_;; And it was also great to see my friends from college, Mark and Laura. We had a great time at Cafe Gratitude, which was also a real treat and felt very San Francisco.
I've had a nice time talking to my SiL about her garden and should have an easier time with some of my own crop questions. I also got to hear what a dehydrator sounds like and it was surprisingly... not as loud as I expected. It makes me anxious and excited to see my gardens when I get home. Plus on the 17th we get our first CSA share! :D Yeah for local vegetables!
On the cat front, I've been getting daily updates on Basil from Pia the amazing Vet/Veterinary Assistant where Basil is staying. I admit, having met Pia I felt so much better about leaving Basil there. He's eating, sleeping and acting like a normal cat. He's been curling up in the box I brought for him and seems... cat like. I hope he is not angry at me when I get him home. I am a little anxious for Cookie since she is alone. I'm trying to convince my mother she ought to go and check on Cookie since I would do the same for her cats.
After spending a day taking BART and the buses of San Francisco, I can now say with a lot of certainty I would break things if I had to live in CA. 2x my BART ticket would not work and I had to see an agent. Getting an agent's attention and then having them fix the problem took an inordinate amount of time. I've had an easier time getting a Japanese station person to fix my tickets so I can transfer from my free JR pass to my Suica card. And it was faster. ~.~ And the buses... In general I hate buses. I would rather walk a mile than take one in Kyoto. (unless it is late enough that most of the tourist sights are closed, as then they finally don't stop every single block ~.~ ) But at least the buses in Kyoto now and in most other places can make change, and when they can't they have large signs sharing this. San Francisco does not, so it was not until I had ALREADY put in my 2nd dollar I was told the machine will not make change. "We want to steal your money for our budget shortfall, have a nice day!"
It was lovely seeing kellyhime and I really enjoyed Herbivore as well as the movie ♥ Those chocolate cupcakes were so good, I wish I had another one. ;;_;; And it was also great to see my friends from college, Mark and Laura. We had a great time at Cafe Gratitude, which was also a real treat and felt very San Francisco.
I've had a nice time talking to my SiL about her garden and should have an easier time with some of my own crop questions. I also got to hear what a dehydrator sounds like and it was surprisingly... not as loud as I expected. It makes me anxious and excited to see my gardens when I get home. Plus on the 17th we get our first CSA share! :D Yeah for local vegetables!
On the cat front, I've been getting daily updates on Basil from Pia the amazing Vet/Veterinary Assistant where Basil is staying. I admit, having met Pia I felt so much better about leaving Basil there. He's eating, sleeping and acting like a normal cat. He's been curling up in the box I brought for him and seems... cat like. I hope he is not angry at me when I get him home. I am a little anxious for Cookie since she is alone. I'm trying to convince my mother she ought to go and check on Cookie since I would do the same for her cats.