A Year of New Things

Today is the 1 year anniversary of my blog. When I think of the person I was when I started this blog and who I am today, I am astonished at how far I've come. This blog like many pieces of writing or artwork came out of a painful experience. Without going into detail, I was frustrated with a lot of things in my life and felt that nothing was going well for me. In every direction, I had hit a wall.

And then something happened... in one experience I suddenly realized everything was going to be ok. For me it was as simple as making new friends at my gym. I remembered how social I could be, how easily I was able to meet people and fall into a friendly banter. Things were really bad for me and then, suddenly, they weren't. At some point you have to live your life again.

The idea for doing a new thing a week was my way of making lemonade out of my rough patch. It started when one day I wanted to go on and adventure and all of my friends were busy. I realized that I had to entertain myself. That being on my own was about to start happening with much more frequency, and that I had a laundry list of things I wanted to do and see the Bay Area. From there, my things to do changed. They became ways to connect with friends, fall in love with a beautiful city, meet people, make mistakes, learn that some people change, learn that some people don't, stay in touch, move on, and learn so much about the person that I am going to spend the rest of my life taking care of - me.

I've learned the most important lesson in the past year. Your life isn't going to get better unless you make it better yourself. It's hard for me to find the words to get the idea across. I know it wasn't about loving myself, confidence isn't something I lack. It was about independence. It was about making myself happy. I grew so accustomed to needing other people to make me happy. In the last year, I learned how to have a better outlook, not get upset so easily, and if there was no one to hang out with - learning how to enjoy a day or evening to myself. Once I learned how to do that, everything else fell into place.

I'm sure this post sounds like I'm ending things, but this adventure that I'm on is just beginning. This has been one of the most incredible years of my life and I can owe a good deal to what I've done here. As many things as I've done this year - so much of it was just putting myself in a better place to appreciate what comes next. It would be a shame to end this here because I think this next year is going to be really exciting.

Week of April 11th 2011: CSSC - Progressive Grounds

Two coffee posts in a row? Maybe I actually got some studying done! Well, tried to at least...

Taste - 2. This was the first coffee I actually didn't like. Not that it was horrendous... it just didn't come close to living up to the standard I'd gotten used to. I'd gotten to the point where I'd really started liking the taste of coffee and *GASP* that meant I was going to be a little more choosey. This was also about the time I stopped being able to drink the coffee at work every single day and found I need to stop at Starbucks or Peet's a once or twice when I was especially tired. But it was also when I realized....

Buzz - 1... that I didn't really love lattes anymore. If you've ever gotten coffee with me, you'll realize how huge this was. My cups of coffee where more like coffee ice cream than a beverage that is supposed to appropriately start your day. This was the cup of coffee that did it for me. I felt so sluggish and lazy after drinking it because the heavy dairy was just slowing me down. I actually went home and made myself a cup of Ritual coffee just to wake up from my Progressive Grounds coffee.

Presentation - 2. Standard latte in a glass cup. I almost feel like I should dock one for the glass cup thing... That weirds me up. Coffee belongs in ceramic if it's not in a cardboard to go cup. I don't pour beer into a coffee mug or wine into a blue party cup so don't put my coffee in a pint glass. 

Ambiance - 2. I was so excited to walk into a coffee shop where many people were working on their laptops. That was until I sat down and they all judged me because I was the only on that didn't have a Mac. Ok, maybe they weren't judging me but I got a distinct "Why are you in our coffee shop and why don't you have a Mac Book Pro or iPad like the rest of us?" feeling... Other than that - the shop was nicely decorated and had nice pillows to sit on and plenty of space. The people just didn't seem to warm. 

Food - 3. I got the gingerbread cookie you see to your right. It was tasty but maybe a little dry. This was another place that had a full sandwich/salad menu that I didn't take advantage of so it may be worth checking out for that.

Selection - 4. There was a full coffee menu and food as mentioned above so you definitely had choices in that regard. However, I don't think they had specific coffee roasts if you're into that thing (which apparently I am now. Great, I'm a coffee snob all of a sudden...)

Study - 2. It had all of the makings of a good study place but I just couldn't focus. I blame this half on what must have been a decaf coffee and half on the Apple glares.

Novelty - 4. It's starting to seem like it's harder to find a place with real food, plenty of space, and that welcomes people to hang out all day on their laptops (as long as you have a Mac). Sure, it wasn't for me but I don't discount that it may be more comfortable for someone else.

Overall - 2. I think I made it pretty clear that this place just wasn't for me, but I think there are a lot of people who would enjoy it. If you have a few hours and a device that runs iOS, I think you'd have a great time there... just leave a couple hours free for a nap afterward. 

Week of April 4th 2011: CSSC - Ritual Coffee

I didn't actually study at Ritual Coffee, but I did scout out the potential for it. Ritual coffee is where I met Tim for our most recent (which means we are long overdue) conversation. Below are our my observations:

Taste - 4. I was really excited that they had Brazilian coffee. It's actually really hard to find (I found out later that this is just because they don't make specialized blends like most coffee shops get and that Ritual specifically grows theirs). However, there were two options and I went for the slightly cheaper one which I think made a difference. It didn't taste quite as bold as some of the ones I've bought in Brazil. 

Buzz - 2. I don't remember how I felt that day but I did buy a pound of it for the house and it just hasn't woken me up as much as I've come to expect from Brazilian coffee. 

Presentation - 4. I didn't get a latte so I didn't get a decorative foam but Tim did and they definitely did a little swirl in it. 

Ambiance - 5. The feel was really nice. There was a friendly, happy feel in the space. The table next to us had a little girl who was dancing and spinning and I know Tim, being a parent, loved that the coffee shop was so welcoming to the girl. 

Food - 4. I got a yummy almond croissant. It was pretty good and I was happy with it.

Selection - 4. They had a decent choice in a beans for a regular roast or a variety of options for how you wanted your coffee prepared.

Study - 3. I didn't study here but I could definitely have seen the potential too. I'd like to head back in the near future and see how easy it is to read for a few hours.

Novelty - 3. Maybe if this was my first coffee shop it would have gotten a higher score but I'm starting to see that a lot of them are similar. They do get an extra point for the Brazilian coffee. I think they change them up too so maybe I am under cutting them.

Overall - 3. Like I said, I would love to go back and check it out with a book, but I think generally it is a great little coffee shop with a lot of unique blends but possibly not too different from some of the others. I would definitely prefer Four Barrell for taste, feel, and proximity. 

Week of April 4th 2011: Sharks Game

Of all of the professional sporting events I could have attended as a kid who grew up in Los Angeles, the only one my family and I really went to were Kings hockey games. My brother loved hockey and had posters of Wayne Gretzky all over his room and because he loved the sport so much, my dad took us to a couple of games. So, I knew that I would eventually have to make it to a Sharks game. When my friend Joe asked if I wanted to attend to the Sharks-Kings game, I knew I had to go.

Unfortunately, since I'd just gotten home from a vacation I couldn't leave work too early to get a head start on the traffic so I showed up to the game a little late. While the Sharks had the lead when I got there, the Kings had just scored a couple of goals so my friends were a little worried that perhaps I was a good luck charm for my home town team.

However, the Kings decided that would be a good time to stop playing the game. The final score ended up being 6-3 and Joe told me I was welcome to attend any Sharks-Kings game I wanted as I was obviously better luck for my rival.

Week of March 28th 2011: Dolores Park

The weekend after my big trip, I realized I had a lot of studying to do and I still hadn't done my new thing so I decided to grab my books, put on my skates (yes, skates. Some people still use those) and make my way over to Dolores Park.

Distance is a funny thing. For the first year and a half that I lived in my very central apartment, aside from trips to the supermarket or gym, I made way into the Mission so infrequently. However, starting this project has shown me how close and easy to get to the Mission is. It was one less barrier to exploring the city. The reason I had never gone to the Mission before was because I always wanted to drive instead of walk and the parking situation made that impossible. Getting over that laziness was essential.

So, I found a spot up on a hill in the park and made myself comfortable - so comfortable in fact that I put away my study guide and took out my Kindle. It was too nice of an afternoon and I wanted to something I enjoyed.

I don't know how long I sat up there reading and people watching, but it was long enough to do a lot of both. The cherry on the top of the afternoon was the guy who rode his speaker-covered bicycle through the park blasting "Paradise City." There were so many different people in the park that day but almost all of them seemed to be entranced by the music. It's the little things that always seem to bring the diverse residents of San Francisco together.

Traveling Revisted

While this post will tie out my most recent trip to Europe, I can guarantee that there are more posts on traveling coming your way (eventually). When I was in Europe, I wrote the first traveling post while sitting under a tree in St. James Park. I was fully engulfed in travel mode at the time and while I made some adjustments before posting it, the entry was really in the heart of what the trip was for me.

It’s been many months since my most recent trip to Europe and several years since my first time on the continent or the last time I went to Brazil. Despite that, I feel like the things I’ve seen are a big part of me. It took the littlest thing to remind me of it too… I love gyros and tatziki and I’ve really only found one place that lives up to my impossible standard for them… because it tastes like what I had in Greece, the first time I ever tried either. The first time I had sashimi, a must for any order I make when I get sushi, was with my cousins in Brazil. Maybe traveling has made me a bit of a snob but I wouldn't give up those tastes for anything.

Traveling has shaped who I am. It’s more than just a hobby or an addiction; it lies deep in my interests and my knowledge. It’s helped me discover my favorite foods and artwork. It's helped me visit friends and have several nights I'll never forget and a few that I'll never remember. I’ve seen and done a lot of cool things on my trips and I’ve become much more open minded about trying and seeing new things. If my first post didn’t encourage you to travel more then maybe this one will.

I think it's time for my blog to go back to my real life for now but don't worry, I will have lots of fun posts about my trips to SoCal, New York and DC to write about soon. I'm also a few weeks away from jetsetting again. I'm finally living out a big travel dream and going to Munich for Octoberfest as well as Vienna and back to London. And I can't wait.