Night Shift
I had Thursday off but had a photography gig from 6-10 for a Project by Project fundraising event. So I got a little taste of what it’s like to work a night shift. I used to do this all the time at Disneyland but it’s been a while.
I spent most of the day running errands but took some time to have a tasty Chinese breakfast with my pal Matt from work. We were talking about Chinatown the day before and decided to meet up for porridge and fried dough since he had the day off too.
In the afternoon, I tidied up the house and then headed out to 111 Minna for the PbP event. The event had a slow start but picked up by 8.
They sold discounted tickets to their annual Plate by Plate event and took some donations for their sponsored organization.
Unfortunately, I didn’t think it was necessary to eat before the event so I was pretty hungry by the end of the night. I didn’t actually eat “dinner” until afterward at the bar across the street. What an amateur move. Luckily, I didn’t have too many of their $5 punch drinks because that microwaved corn dog was not very good and not very satisfying.
Here are the photos from the event.
On Tuesday at lunch I got an email from Dot that said that she had some free Giants tickets for that night. I called Jes to see if was interested and he said, “Sure.” So, I emailed her back and found out that she actually had 4. So, at 3:30, I asked Steph if she wanted to join us since her husband works right by the ballpark too and they were in.
We continued our pre-game snacks upstairs while we waited for Steph’s husband to arrive. We eventually went to the game with a good happy buzz and enjoyed the last 5 innings. Not bad for a Tuesday night. Being spontaneous totally rules.
Jimmy turned 36 earlier this month and Eleen threw him a BBQ a week later (5/15). The food was tasty, the usual peeps were there, and the dogs were outnumbered by babies this year.
Vyl and Bang brought Rowan and he was a new and improved happy-fresh baby. It’s cool to see how he’s changed so much since I last saw him a month ago.
Koa and Brando had a nice afternoon in the backyard until the end of the evening. I don’t know exactly what triggered it but I watched them get into a full-on brawl. Jes had to break it up and ended up getting bit/nipped by Brando in the process. Brando also got nipped on the ear and was bleeding. So of course, they got separated. Bleeding Brando got all the sympathy while Koa was stuck in the sideyard with everyone stopping by saying, “Be a good dog, Koa”. I felt horrible.
On Saturday, we took a little trip to Napa with the Agustins. We picked up sandwiches from Genova and looked for a place to picnic. At first, we stopped at Mondavi hoping to just sit outside in the sun to enjoy our sandwiches but that didn’t work out. The security guard came by and said they didn’t have a permit for it and proceeded to stand there until we packed up and left. We took a drive down the street and decided to just stop off the side of a small road for an impromptu picnic next to the railroad tracks. It turned out to be the perfect spot.
The next stop was Opus One where we got scolded for trying to throw our trash in their restroom. The front desk lady said they only had one trash can but she was lying. We found a dumpster out back and also 3 more trashcans in the restroom. Well, we still got a tasting and enjoyed a glass of wine with a beautiful view of the area.
The barrel tasting event was fun and Eleen had a good time tasting all the cheese too. Beemster was her favorite that day.
We also met the actual winemaker. She looked so normal and younger than we imagined. She was also so friendly and happy to talk to us about the different wines.
Before dinner, we stopped Alpha Omega for one more tasting and some time out in the sun. They have a pretty cool patio overlooking a big fountain/pool area. I also found out that they actually have a real picnic area! I think we’ll be back there the next time we have some sandwiches to eat.
For dinner, we went to Bar Terra. My favorite was the soft jidori egg and uni in a savory broth. Mm…what a nice way to end the day.
I admit that when I was in high school, I wanted to one day be one of Janet Jackson’s backup dancers. She had the best videos with really cool choreography. Patty and I loved her and we watched videos from the Rhythm Nation album over and over again in 9th grade. In college, she came out with a couple more albums and I spent hours listening to one of her CDs while I studied. A few months ago when we heard that she was going to be on tour with her “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” show, we bought tickets and last night was the big night.
We drove up early to have dinner at Firenze Osteria (belongs to Top Chef Fan Favorite, Fabio Viviani) that was just down the street from the venue. We had a really yummy dinner and the gnocchi are really good there. Then we parked and got to the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal City around 8:30 and there wasn’t anyone opening for her, which made it a little weird since the tickets said “8:15” but Janet didn’t appear until 9:20. She just dedicated two songs to the audience and played the videos for us before coming on stage. She was dressed in a white tank and black pants and was sporting a new short haircut. The show was kept simple with 6 backup dancers, lights, and a band. She looked great at 44 years of age and danced and sang her heart out. Loved that she performed all her #1s with the signature choreography from her videos. They also showed a short slideshow of Janet and Michael as kids toward the end. It got me a little choked up. Patty and I had such a great time. The tickets were pricey but totally worth the experience.
On Thursday morning, Stephanie informed me that Mai was driving up for a 4-day weekend. So we rounded up the troops and had an impromptu HH at Marc 49. Mai stopped by the hospital during the last hour of work and then we all met up for some wine and cheese.
Afterward, Teresa, Steph, and I walked ourselves to the BART station. The best part of DST is having just enough daylight to safely stumble home. On our way, we stopped at Jack in the Box. I don’t remember the last time I had gone there but my chicken pita was tasty that night.
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