Week of April 18th 2011: Conversatory of Flowers & the Wicked Plants Exhibit

I have literally had this post half written for a few weeks now. Normally when I procrastinate a post it's because the experience wasn't particularly memorable but that wasn't the case at all this time. I've had so many changes in my life the last 2 months and it's been really nice to just live in the present, get used to my new job, and have fun with new and old friends. It's nice to be in a place where I can worry a little less and work on making the things I enjoy doing a priority. However, I don't want to lose site of my blog and now that I've given myself the leeway to not write about things that aren't as interesting, I'm really excited to share all of my other new adventures with you.

The Conservatory of Flowers is a beautifully frosted greenhouse in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I’d driven or walked past the building so many times (it’s near Stanyan, where Fell enters the park), but I never knew what was in it until a friend told me about the Wicked Plants exhibit that was going on. We decided to get a small group together and check it out.

As the name suggests, the Wicked Plants exhibit focuses on deadly or harmful plants, some of which are quite common. There are some plants you encounter every day such as tobacco, some that you’ve read about in history such as the Hemlock that was used to execute Socrates. The exhibit had big signs with stories about all of the deadly plants they were featuring.

There were also some interactive exhibits like one where you had to guess which seed wasn't poisonous (and they had caju so I got to tell them all about how the fruit tastes since it's so common in Brazil) as well as a stand to get temporary tattoos which my friends and I had too much fun with.

After checking out the Wicked Plants exhibit, we decided to walk around the rest of the Conservatory. We really enjoyed one of the rooms that had a pond in the middle and several Venus fly traps. At one point, I was trying to look into a Venus fly trap when a drop of water from the ceiling (it was raining outside) landed on my shoulder which caused me to scream and jump, much to the enjoyment of my friends.

We ended the night by grabbing a glass of wine and going back towards the exhibit to listen to some live music. It was a really fun and knowledgeable exhibit to check out - I'm just sad it took me so long to write this post since it just ended October 30th and maybe I could have encouraged some of my readers to go see it.

So - I guess this means I'm back. I don't make any promises but I do want to get back in the saddle and share my adventures with everyone!

New Layout!!!

So - I was going to put up a post about some new thing I've done, but I didn't have any of the pictures on me so instead you get a new layout! Look how fun and interactive it all is!

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Nikki's New Things

I've been hemming and hawing on this one for a while. A little over a year ago, when I started this blog, I really needed some sort of drive to get me out of the house and exploring an area that I'd lived in for 6 years and really didn't know that well. By creating a concrete, measurable goal, I had instantly motivated myself to explore more.

It was pretty remarkable how quickly my perspective changed. Whenever I made plans I thought about what I hadn't done or seen before. I planned trips to explore new places or find new things in the old. I tried new restaurants. I made new friends. I changed my perspective. I think about the way I approach things now - the way I get excited about doing something new or different - and I love it. I couldn't imagine my life being any other way right now.

In the past year, I've written about 75 posts. Even if you take out the ones where I talk about my life or a holiday, it's still well above 52 - the number of weeks in a year - and the blog is only in April right now. It's become really clear to me that some weeks I do a whole lot of new things and other weeks I'm struggling on Sunday to think of a new thing to squeeze in. I love writing but I want to write about the interesting things I do, not just write a review on a place I didn't care for in order to meet a self imposed quota.

So - the bottom line is, I'm not getting rid of the blog, but I am getting rid of the "one thing a week" rule. I've also decided to enforce this on all posts going forward. It may seem like the easy way out but I think it will make the blog more exciting. I'm only going to write about the things that were really exciting - that made me think, got my heart racing, or just left me so satisfied that the memory has remained crystal clear months after the fact - which means the posts on here will be more interesting as well.

A Year of New Things, Part II

I'm sure you're all wondering why I would do a second post on the same topic. Honestly, it wasn't something I'd planned. I spent weeks writing and re-writing the last one and I think the end result summed up perfectly what my year had been like. That's the thing about looking backward - it's so much easier to sum up your experiences when you're looking at them a year, a month, or even a week after. I know what I learned, but this is still the beginning of my story.

As some of you may have noticed, aside from the other "A Year of New Things" post, I hadn't written much since early September when I had been putting something up every few days. Well, my life got turned around in a really exciting way. One of the resolutions I hadn't put up here was to get a new job, and I finally had. In less than a week I will be starting a whole new challenge and learning completely new things as I work on my real career. Between preparing for that and yet another trip, I've definitely had a stroke of writer's block.

But - this post is about being forward looking. Now that I've touched down on U.S. soil, I've been able to think about what all of this means to me. When I was in a state of job search limbo I didn't want to commit to anything long term since I hadn't limited my search to the Bay Area. The possibility of moving was another thing that had spurred this blog - I needed to do everything I wanted to do in this area in case I was leaving. Well, now that I'm staying, it's interesting to look forward about what that means. I can finally get the De Young membership that I wanted, or look for a real art studio. I will be around to see Mission Cliffs expand their gym. Some day I will go to Fleur de Lys. 

Those are all things that I hope to do in the next year, while still keeping up with this blog. However, I know this transition will take some time to get used to. As I adjust to a changing schedule and focus on new challenges, I think writer's block may start being a little more common for me. It's hard to look back when there is so much looking forward to do. I'm not leaving this blog by the wayside, but if you don't see a post from me for a little while just know that I'm still here adjusting, thinking, and planning new things to do. Hopefully it won't be long before I get my words back - I put enough of them in this post at least. 

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.