coffee break

gonna leave you guys for a while, just for 10 days. i need to be somewhere for work. will try to post pictures, but it’s cold there. nothing nice to take pictures of, except the fall fashion. hopefully this place i’m flying to dresses. they better, nothing better to do there…

no corporate card. this would be interesting…

i miss the $1.50 muni. honestly, with just $1.50 i can go all over the city for just that; i can transfer to any public commute and see the the side of the city. my new favorite place there is haight street and the golden gate park. of course the f train takes you around the heart of market, to the oh so full of tourist embarcardero to the uptown and upscale vanness and finally to the diverse and gay filled castro. i love taking the f although it takes ages just to reach the other end, market could be a drag specially near the downtown area but still, it’s one of those muni rides that will take you on the most beautiful places in san francisco. of course, the 33 is still the best find for me. specially the view at dolores park in the evening, over looking the bay bridge and golden gate bridge.

roaming the streets of a new city,  you find new and interesting places to eat, shop or even hang out. going out, all i have with me is my atm and my new xperia. this phone have saved me from being lost. gps rules, that’s all i can say. i was able to find those small cafes that serves amazing artichoke and spinach panini and mazing coffee. and it’s a good thing too that the city has a good and extensive coverage of points of interest.

it’s has been almost 3 weeks since i came back, i miss it but it’s always good to be back to the place i call home.

listening to:
Affection – Lisa Stansfield : Mighty Love

so i gave in.

this trip is all about comfort, so i got myself a first class ticket and just 1 luggage with the exception of my carryon and laptop bag. i don’t want another harrowing experience i used to have during business trips, the hassle of narrow seats, smelly passengers and uncomfortable reclining chairs. and the luggage carrousel, how many times had my luggage been mishandled, topped (is my luggage a bottom? i wonder), gangbanged, stepped on and all imaginable abuse. but i love this wine colored luggage, it has been with me for 4 years, 8 trips, full of trinkets, fashion forward finds, and shoes. decided to just bring 1 luggage with me for 2 reasons. 1, i don’t want to make it difficult for me, tagging 2 luggage. 2, to limit myself from shopping. i stuffed this one with clothes good for the 4 weeks i plan to stay here. half of which is for the tropical, manila like weather in miami, and half is for the winter chills of new york and san francisco. somewhere along the lines of me and rocky playing in the ginormous parks and being buried in snow, we have extended our vacation to 6 weeks.

the hard part is, being here and not shop. specially during the after christmas, after new year sale where all retailers have big sale, up to 70% off. passing at gucci at union square, i was almost tempted buying the canvass tote with leather trim in brightly colored handles (s/s 2009). my sales associate readily took the bag i have (which i bought from her) for safekeeping, and toured me with at the new gucci location at trump tower. she knows my affection to large totes and took me at the men’s bag showing off their new collection and sale items. i almost, almost handed her my card when mom came in. i don’t know if it were a save or a huge mistake, with the bag marked down 20% off.

san francisco is a different story. mom joined me here to visit her sister. i  left them to themselves as i tour the city alone. after a week, mom went back to miami and i was left here, all free, at least shopping wise. macy’s, h&m, hollister, gap, banana republic, old navy and bloomingdale’s. these became my tourist destination. no big brands bag as tita will tell on me. so the problem is now, luggage space. solution? a new luggage. i love, love, LOVE my new luggage. it’s from heys, super lightweight and durable, in leopard print. it’s so spunky and out there, i will definitely not have any difficulty looking for it. i think it’s a blessing in disguise that i only brought with me 1 luggage.what would be difficult is going to the airport with 2 big luggage, a big kennel with rocky in it and my carryon.

i’’m sad that i need to drug rocky again. but i have to. he has fully recovered arriving here in san francisco, and now we are going back home. no place like it.

listening to:
Viva La Vida – Coldplay : Viva La Vida

i’ve read somewhere that the best way to see a city is by commute. with the exception on new york, i’ve been commuting my way around the cities i visit. the bart and muni have been a joy and i think i get the hang of commuting here with the help of google transit. the bart is easier and more reliable since it’s a train but i have to give props to muni because it’s way cheaper, specially the transfer since i don’t have to pay again. in one of those joy rides i have, i discovered the 33. it goes south in potrero all the way north to presidio near the golden gate bridge. the good thing about this line is, it passes the castro via the 18th, goes to haight and stanyan, all in one ride. stanyan st borders the golden gate park, a huge park similar to central park in new york but smaller. haight is famous for being the hippy street filled with good shopping, small boutiques, hard to find items, and occasional high end shopping. 

so i decided to take that bus again. i started at the golden gate park in haight and stanyan. i saw beautiful old oak trees as tall as a 24 storey building. the breeze in the park was exceptionally cooler than the city which i credit to the abundance of trees and greens. after my park trolling, i hit haight with no idea whatsoever to buy. just boutique hopping. i manage to get some ‘interesting’ pieces, which i think you can’t find in the downtown area. after a long day of shopping at haight st. (janis joplin used to live here!), i treated myself with a nice dinner at castro and 18th st. it’s the busiest part of castro with good upscale restaurants and good clubs. harvey’s at the corner and edge at the other end of the block. i texted tita that i won’t be joining them for dinner. after dinner, i went around and tried the sex shops. it’s castro, what’s a visit without going into these shops? don’t ask if i got something because i won’t tell. when i got home, hello dessert!

i tihink mom told tita my weakness for haagen-dazs. what a nice way to cap dinner with a tub of dark chocolate ice cream. yum!

listening to:
Victor/Victoria Soundtrack – Julie Andrews : Crazy World

i have been blessed having an aunt that’s generous and kind to let me stay at their spare bedroom in san francisco. of course free of charge. my hotel budget got drained when i stayed at the marriott marquis for the new year bash. well i earned tons of hotel points in the upside.

both my aunt and uncle are retired so they just stay at home watching tfc all day. they are avid fans; i really don’t get it, why they pay us$25 for a channel i don’t even give the light of day back at home. and it’s free. the upside is that i get to enjoy home cooking, sorta since they all all this instant things like chicken broth in a can, frozen pizza and toast, even preboiled rice. the downside is, all eyes are on me, when i get home late at night after i roam the city, that shopping bag i have coming home, the delivery form amazon.com of tv series dvds i collect. i’m spoiled rotten here. i wake up to the smell of toast, freshly squeezed oj, and my favorite butter in the whole wide world, queensland. i eat, and leave everything on the table, go back to my room and enjoy high speed internet that’s good for porn. when i go out, uncle drives me to the bart, and i text him back when it’s time to pick me up. but i do chores here. techy stuff like installing software, configuring their wireless lan, tutorials, talking to customer/tech service.

after all of those healthy home cooking, i am craving from something greasy and unhealthy. i invited them for some, arguably the best burger  in the world, in and out burger, for dinner. i have to use smarts and ask tita to look for a table (since it’s full) so i can pick up the tab. just across is krispy kreme, us$6.69 a dozen, cheap if you ask me. i bought a box for breakfast to at least give them a day off preparing my breakfast. on the way home i asked them to drop me at starbucks to hang out as i try to finish my current book. saw this tumbler, got me interested and bought it. though i have 2 starbucks tumblers in manila, but this one is better for 2 reasons. first, it’s a twist seal so no spills even when travelling. and the most important thing is, 28% percent of it is made from post-consumer recycled materials. i somehow feel i’m helping mother earth  by using a recycled material and patronizing products that helps save the environment. hopefully my karmic score would improve to offset all the other things i did. and it comes with a free drink, got myself a venti mocha frap, extra shot of espresso with no whip.

finally, i got to do what i set out in the first place, i went on a training seminar for my iyengar yoga (instructor) at the iyengar yoga institute. getting rusty, but still good enough to teach.

listening to:
Victor/Victoria Soundtrack – Julie Andrews : Le Jazz Hot