Happy New Year! in the City

I can't believe that I am back to work tomorrow. It is a bummer that the holidays are over. I waited for a long time, and it came and then it was over fairly quickly. Mijo explained that spending Thanksgiving in Australia maybe the reason why the Holiday season felt so short? He's maybe right.

However short it felt, I did enjoy Christmas. For one thing, I got to see the Nutcracker once again and I discovered that the views from the balcony seats were not as bad as I thought it would be. I've attended the festive Grace Cathedral's Men and Boy's choir caroling tradition which I am including in my Christmas to-do in San Francisco list from now on. I never though I'd enjoy trimming our Christmas tree and found some unique ornaments. I also took so many good pictures of friends and photos of the holiday scenes in the city especially the Christmas trees on street corners. Here are my favorites:

This is the tree in Union Square and is undoubtedly the mother of all trees in the city. Thousands of twinkling LED lights illuminate this giant Shasta fir. where the lighting ceremony happens on Friday after Thankgiving. Locals and tourists alike, dressed in their holiday gear, flock around this tree to have their photos taken. According to the UCSF Beniof f Children's Hospital, this tree has raised almost $900k the past years for the hospital's Compass Care. So it is not only the most festive tree in the city, it is also a good fundraiser. This tree is equally stunning during the day as it is at night.

This one can be seen around the Ghirardelli Square plaza. I was showing an out of town friend around the Fisherman's Wharf area when I chanced upon this scene.

We were walking from the Opera house to the train station when I noticed a a bunch of people were congregating in front of the cityhall. That's when I saw this tree. Luckily, I had my handy camera with me.

This one can be seen on California and Kearny Sts. around the A.P. Gianini plaza infront of the former Bank of America building. The tree has a warm orange color that shimmers and can be noticed from within a three block radius.

I saw this angle from Kearny St using my iPhone.

This is my modest tree at home. Since I am staying in town for Christmas, I thought getting a real tree would be a great addition inside the house for the holidays. I trimmed this tree using a variety of hand painted ornaments, candy canes, LED lights and greeting cards from friends and loved ones.

Happy New Year everyone.

~ rl

Ornaments in the City, Part 2

I finally found the ornament I was looking for, and I found two.

I was told that a couple of stores sell special holiday ornaments and there I might find what I was looking for - a Babushka doll ornament. Why am I obssessing about these type of ornaments? I still don't know. Maybe in my mind, these dolls epitomize what a winter scene truly is because they're from Russia? I did check out those stores. While I knew they sell decorative items that cost more than the average price, I was surprised to learn that most of their ornaments are extremely expensive. It was a relief to discover that they don't carry my ornaments.

This story ended well because I found a couple of unlikely stores that have them. I was ecstatic, of course.

This is kind of a Russian doll but it works for me. It has a modern twist because of its simple patterns and minimal color. It comes in three sizes in frosted orange, frosted silver and shiny silver. They're currently on-sale at CB2.






We were on our way to our favorite Ethiopian cafe on Valencia St. when I saw these beautiful Babushka dolls on display inside a store window. They're the traditional ones with lively colors and they come in a box of three in small, medium and large sizes. I got them from Serendipity on Valencia @ 20th Sts.




~rl

Ornaments in the City

We got a much bigger tree this year, about 7 feet tall.

The ornaments we had from last year's looked inadequate to accessorize the tree so we went shopping for more. We found a lot of hand painted wooden toy soldier and shiny glass ornaments, although I was really looking for Russian dolls or something similar to it. I haven't found one yet. I should have bought the ones I saw at a toy store inside the Royal Arcade in Melbourne! I was told that Gumps on Post St. should have a good variety of quality ornaments and it should include Russian dolls.

I never thought ornament collecting can be this fun and addicting. Maybe I should make it a holiday tradition, much like seeing the Nutcracker or drinking spiced latte during Christmastime, from now on?

~rl

(The photo above is a wooden toy soldier ornament which is part of a set of six soldiers.)

Baseball in the City

I took Wednesday off from work to see the Giants parade. I figured, how often does a local team win a World Series? It turned out, over a million people had the same thing in mind.

I've never been part of anything this big in my entire life. Imagine what it felt like for a guy like me, originally from a small town outside Manila, standing in the middle of what could be over a million crowd waiting to welcome the heroes of his adopted city? It was an overwhelming feeling of pride and joy. Everyone was happy, talking and sharing their excitement with people next to them, hugging strangers, and smiling while wearing clothes of black and orange in color.

I got to the corner of Montgomery and Clay Sts after Mijo and I had coffee together, around 7:30a. It is close to where the parade was supposed to start. There were already masses of people who have claimed the strategic locations where the view is the best during the parade.

Since the parade was not going to start until 11am, and D and H, who were supposed to meet up with me haven't shown up, I did a who has the best slogan among the crowd contest . Here's the top 3 that made my wait a fun one.

"Yes Tim (Lincecum), I will marry you!!!"

- by a young lady in her office outfit wearing an orange scarf.

"Fear the Beard"

- referring to beard of 3 of the Giants' Pitchers

"Let Tim smoke!"

- referring to the Giants' pitcher's misdemeanor pot charges

For the others, they've waited a lifetime to see the San Francisco Giants clinch the World Series title. For me, the wait was only 10 years. My wait started when they moved the franchise from the city's Candlestick park into the AT&T park in 2000.

When the Giants won, their fans won as well. Congratulations SF Giants!

~rl

(The photo above was taken on Montgomery St in San Francisco during the World Series champions parade of the Giants)

Opera in the City - Madama Butterfly

I didn't like the 1st act. I am not sure if it is because I needed to warm up to Cio-cio-san's voice or the uncomfortable feeling caused by a sharp pebble inside my shoe.
It took me awhile to find the appropriate shoes for this event. Not those with rubber soles because they have to sound sophisticated when I walk on the marble floors of the Opera House. Not that the clacking sound can be heard easily because it just gets lost with the other noise echoing inside the opera hall. Mijo also thinks it is obsessive compulsive. I think so too. It was a lot easier when I was younger when my choices were between a pair of black school shoes and a pair of tennis shoes. But I'm not in Novaliches anymore, I thought to myself.
A few minutes after we left the house, I felt something inside the shoes. Something hard. Something small and sort of sharp. Because I didn't want to bend down to undo my shoes, doing so will wrinkle my jacket and my shirt, I decided that I'll take care of it as soon as we get to the opera. We took BART that night so just imagine how uncomfortable it was walking to the Glen Park station and from the Civic Center station to the Opera house.
From afar, I could see the facade of the Cityhall and the Opera house bathed in orange lights in honor of the SF Giants. They were playing that night against the Phillies. The thought of the Giants and the scenery in the Civic Center provided the needed distraction from the pain caused by the sharp pebble.
Finally, Cio-cio san gets married with Pinkerton and then the moment I was waiting for, Intermission. I ran to the nearest men's room to undo my shoes without any care if it will wrinkle my shirt. I remember it was extra hard to bend down. It must be the extra weight, it must be age? But what a relief when I took out the culprit!
When I went back to my seat and I can see Mijo smiling sensing the big difference. It was as if he saw a whole new different person. A few seats away, a group of people was gathered around and then they all cheered and clapped. I was told the Giants just won another one-run win against the Phillies.
Act 2 was superb and the sharp pebble made the difference. :D
~rl
(The photo above was taken inside the War Memorial Opera House. Taking pictures is not allowed but I thought I can get away with this since the performance of Madama Butterfly has not started yet.)

Change of Season in the City

It is Tuesday and I wish I were motivated to do great things at work today. I've been trying hard but it isn't working.
Am I due for a vacation? I think I am though in my opinion, it is an extravance to take a trip during recession. Aside from the money one needs to spend for an exotic trip, I dread playing catch-up at work because I always end up working more hours when I go back to the office.
Maybe it is lack of sleep? I’ve been on grave yard shift for two days at the Command Center for the company’s bi-annual worldwide release so perhaps it is just harder to recover and get back to normal bed time at this age?
Some people say that moods are associated with the weather. There must be some truth to that since the season is changing. It is still fall but I can already smell winter in the air.
Should I go on a long break and get a haircut for tomorrow’s plan to see the Opera? Maybe I should.
~rl
(The photo above was taken around the Ferry Building farmer's market in San Francisco, CA)

Ceviche tostada in the City

This weekend is one of those rare weekends where I am pager-free, errand-free, and Salvadoran-free. Mijo had to go across the Bay to visit his mom so after our short trip to the farmers market to have breakfast and shop for the week's essentials early in the morning, I had the entire day to myself. I went to the tennis courts to practice serving for half an hour, took a shower, and went to the library to pick up the photography books I requested online.
Since the man of the kitchen is gone for the day, I thought of preparing a little something something for my snack slash late lunch that is light but doesn't require a lot of cooking. I made something close to what is called a ceviche tostada, something that I learned from the Salvadoran. The good thing about being with someone from a different background, that is, from a Latin American heritage, I not only immerse myself with the Spanish language, I also get to adapt my taste buds to their rich cuisine.
At least, this is how my version went.

Corn tortilla. Start by toasting this thin shell made of corn. This is commonly called corn tortilla or plainly a tostada. It usually comes in several varieties depending on the corn used to make the tortilla.
I used the yellow corn variety that is already crunchy so all I have to do is lightly toast it in the convection oven.



Ceviche. Put the ceviche on top of the tostada. Ceviche is a dish generally served in coastal Latin American restaurants, is made of raw fish marinated in lime juice.

For this snack, I used sea bass since I needed a white fish meat that does not smell too fishy. The meat of this fish gets silky as it cooks in lime which is perfect for ceviche.



Tomato Salsa. For Latin American food connoisseurs, this is called pico de gallo. In California, this is plainly called salsa.
For this dish, I diced two medium sized ripe tomatoes that I bought from the farmers market. One small onion, diced. Sprigs of cilantro or chinese parsley, chopped. One small lemon, juiced. Salt and pepper to taste.


Guacamole. This is just another name for avocado. This fruit adds that creamy texture to Latin American food.
For this recipe, I used a medium sized ripe avocado. The one I got from the farmers market is a variety that stays green even when ripe. Serve it mashed, squeeze a small lemon and add two tablespoons of the tomato salsa to add color.



Viola!
Add tabasco hot sauce, salt and pepper as condiment. For this one, I used a Chili oil made of sesame seed to add that Asian twist into this Latin American comfort food.
Buen provecho!



~rl