The pies live or die with me...

I am the reputed 'baker' of the family. I can't take all the credit though because my sister has busted out with some tasty desserts. However, when the big holidays come around - I usually get assigned the final course. Peter has picked out two fine recipes from Bon Appetit for me to take on:

Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie
Caramelized Apple and Pecan Pie

Personally, I'm excited to cook with whiskey AND to have the chance to bury my big screw-up from last Thanksgiving: soupy pumpkin cheesecake. Delicious in concept but lacking in my execution of it. Cheesecake is pretty hard to mess up - except if you don't allow enough time for it to chill and set, then you get soup. I'll be spending extra time making sure these pies fare better.

taking risks on two wheels

I forced myself to do the bike-caltrain commute one day last week. I told myself that if I didn't do it in the first week on my new contract, I never would. So I did it. And in some ways, that was a risky move. 

I found out that biking down Cesar Chavez at 7AM isn't completely safe. There's no bike lane and most people haven't had their coffee yet. The road has some random gravel and one metal grate on which I nearly bit it.

Made it in plenty of time to catch the bullet train and arrived in Mountain View in about 40 minutes, then a short bike ride to campus. About 75 minutes door to door. And that folks, is as short as this commute gets.

I was prepared with headlight and safety blinker for the return trip but not for the black of night I had to ride in. As I was strengthening my nerve for the return trip with my weak lights and not many street lights in Mountain View, I encountered a fellow biker about to depart towards Caltrain. He offered to guide me, having a powerful headlight and I said yes. 

So there I was with pitch black all around me and blindly following his red safety blinker down some back trails of Mountain View. Forced to keep up because I had no idea where I was and just needed to make the next train home. Did I mention how I by sheer luck wasn't wearing any reflective clothing?

Well, I made it to the train and eventually home, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this post. The return trip on Cesar Chavez was possibly more harrowing with more traffic and less daylight. I'll be exploring alternate routes on my bike for this week.

remember layaway?

I do. Nostalgia floods back in as I think about how I paid for some of my clothes in high school. Falling in love with that outfit and knowing it can be mine because of one great miracle: layaway. I didn't have a credit card. I barely had cash on hand. I had a minimum wage, part-time, after school job that basically paid for my gas but layaway - sweet layaway - allowed me to buy the trendy clothes I just had to own.

This trip down memory lane brought to you by the Sears commercial I just saw advertising layaway. Has it always been around or is it making a comeback in today's rocky financial world? 

Wikipedia says it's making a comeback...

Wall Street Journal is taking notice too...

Special note: I don't know what's more surprising - that I saw a commercial ON LAYAWAY or that I SAW A COMMERCIAL on layaway. Must have lost my remote control...

day x 1 | soda x 2

Wipe my brow and sigh with relief. My employment dance card is full. I've got two contracts to keep things hopping through the holidays, and all the way to June. You're looking at the new UI text writer for Mac Office PowerPoint and Entourage - for the next 8 months that is. Add to that the part-time work I'm already doing in Palo Alto, and I'm booked.

Speaking of...first day in and I'm already booked, booked, booked in 'meet the PM' meetings. Next comes rolling up my sleeves and reviewing specs. Definitely no shortage of work in Mountain View. And I'll admit, I'm excited to work on the next release of Mac Office - sounds like they've got some interesting stuff planned and a fun team working on it. Including me, and my soda intake count that now sits at 2.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Everyone may have been counting down the days to Election Day (including me) but I also had my own countdown going: When will my furniture arrive from Room and Board? The final answer came today with the completed delivery: 2 months, 1 day. 

That's a totally crappy turnaround time considering the standard, non-customized couch I bought showed as "in stock" when I ordered it on their website. To their credit, they worked with me on this and sent me updates in email whenever the date moved (thankfully it only got pushed 2 times). They also eventually compensated with free delivery, and when I asked only charged my card for 30% of the purchase price - payment in full made upon delivery. 

Anyways, now my apartment is (more or less) fully furnished. Just in time for me to start working full time and barely ever be home to enjoy the place. Isn't that just how it always happens...

historical presidential TV ads

These presidential campaign ads from way back are fascinating if you have 5 minutes or an hour to kill on hulu.com.

And you know what, I haven't spent too much time with Hulu.com but kinda makes me wonder why I pay for cable when all my shows are available online. 

urban hike: Noe Valley to Presidio

Friday night I left my car at my sister's in the Presidio but come Sunday (today) it seemed like a good time to get my wheels back on my side of the city. Of the transportation options open to me - bus, bike, or foot - I decided that an urban hike was in order. So I double-knotted my sneakers and headed out the door armed with apple, water, camera, and rain poncho (just in case the rain of yesterday returned). Turned out to be the perfect kind of cool, overcast weather for the 5-mile ramble from Noe Valley to the Presidio. More importantly, I managed to get a good dose of wilderness by detouring through Buena Vista and then Golden Gate Park.

View from Buena Vista park.

Trekking inside Buena Vista park feels a lot like hiking a more remotely-located trail.

Stopped in Golden Gate Park to snap this shot of the Conservatory of Flowers.

stand in line and be counted

With rain pouring down this morning, I considered my options for the day. Movie matinee? Shopping? Read a book? Finish that blog post about DC? And then I remembered that I needed to figure out how to vote. I had registered for vote-by-mail back in March but as the big day loomed - and I still without ballot in hand - finally deemed it time to find an alternative.

A visit to the website for the Office of the Registrar did reveal that I was registered to vote but didn't tell me what to do if my ballot didn't arrive in the mail. I decided to take a chance and just show up to City Hall to vote alongside all the other early voters this Saturday. 

Upon arrival to Room 48 at City Hall - and after a quick consultation with a volunteer to make sure my trip was not in vain - I joined the size-able line I was directed to and settled down for the wait. Everyone seemed genuinely excited to cast their vote. I observed several family units with parents excited to share this American tradition with their recently turned 18-year old child.

Forty minutes in line found me at the front, re-registering to vote, and signing a form promising that I did not receive my mail ballot and, under penalty of perjury, will only vote this one time. I'll admit, that made me a little nervous, even though I had done nothing wrong. After completing the arrow indicating my choice, section for section, form for form, I loaded my ballot into the envelope, licked the envelope seal, handed it to the attendant, and got on with my day.

halloween in the Presidio

My sister and her family moved to the Presidio in August at the same time that I moved to Noe Valley. As halloween approached they heard rumors that trick-or-treating near their home was a notable neighborhood event. My sister organized a little family and friend to-do so we could all share in the fun. 

As night fell, the little ghouls and goblins, and Batmans and Supermans, and fairies and butterflies all came out to collect their due. After the first couple knocks on the door, we decided to gather on the stoop with the big bowl of candy for the constant parade of kids and parents. There were swarms of them! We estimated handing out at least 800 pieces of candy before our reserves ran out and we had to reluctantly close our door to the shining faces spouting 'trick-or-treat!'. 

My nephew Pierson sported a fireman's outfit when I arrived, but then changed over to a fuzzy penguin suit. He ended the night in skeleton pajamas. Although slightly spun up on sugar, Pierson was absolutely charming (as usual) on this holiday. He loved all the activity on the street and earnestly dropped pieces of candy into other kid's jack-o-lantern buckets, often loading them up with more than one piece. With every lull, he would exclaim 'mo kids come?' just excited to hand out more candy. Eventually his parents took him to knock on a few doors himself. Once the streets quieted, Roisin and I headed out for more grown-up halloween activities.