Junblog

November 2, 2009

Creamy and Crunchy Cap’n Crunch Crème Brûlée

It was not my first choice. I actually had no other choice. It was about two in the afternoon at Little Skillet’s Halloween street food frenzy at Ritch Street and the Crème Brûlée Cart was down to his last six cups. I am more of a vanilla bean or a Grand Marnier type. But a…

October 30, 2009

Peter Pan and the Girl in a Flamenco Dress at Farley’s Annual Pet Fest

Stanford met a very pretty young lady over the weekend. She was wearing a lovely red Flamenco dress with matching lovely red earrings and red shoes. And what was Stanford wearing? A charming Peter Pan outfit with a matching dagger! They met while waiting to have their photographs taken at Farley’s 19th Annual Pet Fest.…

October 28, 2009

The Lucha Libre Look

As we were walking down 24th Street in the Mission after indulging in delicious Dynamo Donuts, we stumbled upon a colorful array of Lucha libre masks at Mixcoatl. Lucha libre is Mexican free wrestling. Luchador for Halloween, perhaps? Or maybe Jack Black? Mixcoatl sells traditional and contemporary Mexican art and jewelry in the Mission.

October 27, 2009

Which Broom?

Which broom? I was a bit disappointed to see that Cole Fox in downtown San Francisco doesn’t carry the good ol’ walis tambo I grew up with back in the Philippines. Nonetheless, their window display is super cool! So defying gravity. Walis tambo is a popular Philippine soft broom made from dried stalks of grass…

October 25, 2009

Dynamo Donuts

Glazed. Chocolate Glazed. Custard filled. Creme filled. Cruller. Cake. Donuts are one of my favorite things. And the list just got even longer now that I have discovered Dynamo Donuts at 24th Street in the Mission. Over the weekend, I feasted on vanilla bean, coconut, lemon pistachio and maple glazed bacon apple. Okay, I know…

October 20, 2009

The Art of Drawing with Chalk at the Yerba Buena Gardens

There’s a certain art to drawing with chalk. It involves only one thing: simply having a lot of fun and I learned it last Sunday from the kids at the Yerba Buena Gardens. I was planning to check out a couple museums but ended up spending quite a big chunk of time watching and taking…

October 17, 2009

Kasa’s Kati Rolls

I love Indian food. I love spicy curries and masalas with warm basmati rice and naan bread. Lately, I discovered a new Indian treat: flaky and buttery rotis at Kasa. They wrap rotis around tasty chicken tikka masala or lamb curry with marinated onions and chutney to make tasty kati rolls. Dip these rolls in…

October 13, 2009

Photoshop World Las Vegas

My first Photoshop World in Las Vegas was a real treat. It was an intense training camp packed with tons of really cool stuff. It was so intense I hardly had the time to hit the slots! It was a bit overwhelming and intimidating at the start. I recently started getting more serious about photography…

October 10, 2009

On Leaving Silicon Valley and Starting Over

I finally did it. After over four years of bunny suits, graveyard shifts, short weekends and transpacific travels, I am leaving Silicon Valley. I am finally moving on. Demanding 10-hour-minimum-work-days and the frustrating drop-all-your-weekend-plans-we-don’t-care-about-your-personal-life attitude have taken all the fun out of doing research. I am just so burned out. For too long I’ve been…

October 6, 2009

On Spraining My Arm While Flutter Kicking

Swimming is a lot of work. Seriously. I sprained my left arm last night and both of my legs were sore this morning from too much flutter kicking. After an exhausting swim class I thought, a triathlon may very well be too lofty a goal. I am learning how to swim (again) at UCSF’s Bakar Fitness and Recreation Center in Mission Bay. The indoor pool is heated, the facilities are clean and the center is two blocks away from home, what do I have to lose? I originally signed up for a basic swim class but when I learned last night that it’s really designed for beginners I kicked it…

September 28, 2009

On Being a Gleek and Coming Out

Watching the hilarious new comedy Glee brings back a lot of memories about high school. Sadly, however, it brings back horrible memories of very tumultuous times. I seriously hated high school. I was, obviously, one of those Kurt Hummel types but not quite exactly. Unlike Kurt Hummel, I was not a trendy fashionista back in high school. I think the trendiest piece of fashion I owned was a pair of Tretorn shoes. And unlike Kurt Hummel, I was not part of Glee Club. I remember wanting so badly to be part of Glee because almost everyone who was friendly to me was part of it. But, alas I could not…

September 24, 2009

Balmy Street Murals

In the middle of bustling Mission neighborhood, tucked away in quiet Balmy Street between 24th and 25th, you will find the colorful Mission District Murals. Balmy Street is home to over 30 vibrant murals painted on building walls, fences, windows and garage doors. The murals are widely diverse in theme and subject matter. There are…

September 20, 2009

Il Trovatore at the Ballpark

A picnic of fried chicken, garlic fries and strawberry shortcake. A beautiful ballpark by the bay. And an elegant production of Il Trovatore. Where can you have all three in one place? Only in San Francisco. It was a real San Francisco treat to be one of the 25,000 opera fans at AT&T park who…

September 16, 2009

Richard Avedon at the MOMA

Richard Avedon is a genius. I stood blown away by his portrait of dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Just blown away. The portrait is one of over 200 photographs in the Avedon retrospective currently on exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. From Marilyn Monroe to Barack Obama, the exhibit is an amazing retrospective that…

September 10, 2009

Spice Quest

San Francisco’s diversity still amazes me. I think you can pretty much buy anything in the city. Just the other day, Dennis and I were on a quest for a certain Peruvian spice. Our dear friend Manuel made us this really tasty classic Peruvian chicken dish called Aji de Gallina. We loved it so much…

September 9, 2009

On Gay Marriage and Health Care

I hate to admit it but I have become a very impassive supporter of gay marriage and the health care system overhaul. Although these are issues that are very dear and important to me, I have become very apathetic, maybe because I have become too jaded after Proposition 8 passed in California. Or maybe because I just don’t think there’s an immediate need or a clear benefit for Dennis and I to get married. But I think I need to step it up and be more active in supporting these issues. More so now that I just learned that Dennis and I can be denied of a right. Since we…