i'm back!

I'm back from a week-long stint in Portugal - about four days in Lisbon and three in Albufeira.  I've got one day left of summer vacation tomorrow before I start class on Tuesday!  Yikes! Anyways, I hope to post pictures soon.  

In the meantime, here's my shocker for the day - one of my favorite comic strips, For Better or For Worse is ending today!  I can't believe it!  I've read this comic for as long as I can remember, and I'm a bit moved looking back on my years spent with the Patterson family.  I guess Lynn Johnston is starting with whole new material, but I'm still sad to see the story end...

long weekend recap

After finishing up work on Friday, Lauren and I departed on a redeye flight for a long weekend in upstate NY.  I didn't know what to expect from upstate NY, but thankfully it ended up being surprisingly fun.

Friday:

- Board 11:00PM flight to Syracuse, with a one hour layover in Chicago.

Saturday:

- Arrive in Syracuse at 9:30AM.  Picked up our rental car, a white Mustang, and headed out to Vernon Downs Hotel.  Unfortunately, even though we called ahead numerous times, we still had to wait almost two hours in the lobby before getting to check into our room, as their standard check-in time is 3:00PM.  In the meantime, we watched Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, which was pretty good.

- Attended wedding at Hamilton College in their campus chapel.

- After resting for a bit, we took the wedding trolley to the reception at the Oneida Community Mansion House, which used to host a some kind of wild free-sex social experiment.

Sunday:

- I was extremely excited once I learned we were only 30 miles away from Cooperstown, NY - the National Baseball Hall of Fame!  It was awesome, and Lauren was nice enough to be patient with me as I went through the entire museum (although I easily could have spent double the four hours we were there).

- Checked into Artful Lodger, our B&B in Clinton, NY.

- Watched Tropic Thunder - awesome movie!

- Got some mediocre pizza which we had to eat on the floor of our B&B room as we didn't feel like sitting outside with some other people in the living room area.

Monday:

- After my day of baseball, it was Lauren's turn to decide the itinerary.  We ended back near Cooperstown to visit the Bear Pond Winery, Ommegang Brewery and the Fly Creek Cider Mill, all really fun destinations.

- Our 7:30PM flight out of Syracuse was delayed, such that we barely made our connecting flight in Dulles before landing in San Francisco at about 1:00AM.

- Took the shuttle bus back to Anza Parking and finally returned back home!

All in all, a great weekend!

last day

:(  Today was the last day of my summer position at Cooley.  I had an incredible time, and was extremely sad to say bye to everyone.  I was planning on leaving right after lunch, but ended up staying until almost 3:00PM to say my farewells (although I did get totally lost on the second floor - there were parts where I seriously had no idea where I was).

Foodwise, I had my last lunch today at the Village Pub in Woodside.  Very fancy place.  Although the pub burger came highly recommended, I can't say it was all that incredible.  Highlights were the corn soup with fritters, the duck liver mousse, and the apricot sorbet.  It was nice though, to have a final lunch with a bunch of awesome associates without partner supervision.

Anyways, I'm off to upstate NY tonight, taking a red-eye flight to Syracuse (layover in Chicago) for a wedding in Clinton.  After that, I'll be back in the Bay for a few days, then in Chicago, and finally departing for Portugal on Sunday.

last full week in sf

And it's been a busy one. Monday night was dinner at Delfina (warning - loud website. why!?). Last night, we had dinner at my old manager's home in Russian Hill. I picked up Pauline's Pizza, which made it onto Michael Bauer's top six pizza places in the Bay Area. Tonight I'm planning on meeting up with classmates at Zeitgeist, and tomorrow my sister is having us over for dinner at her house. Finally, on Friday, Lauren and I take the red-eye flight to Syracuse for a wedding in upstate New York.

cooley coworkers

Have I mentioned how awesome my coworkers are at Cooley? They are really awesome, especially in my quad.

weekend highlights

Before I forget, here is the recap for this past weekend:

Friday 8/8:
- Last day of work for all of the other summer associates. I'll miss everyone a lot, but hopefully I'll see everyone next year when I return (hopefully to Cooley but at least to the Bay Area)!
- Went to two house parties - one in Palo Alto and one in SF. Upon stepping on a scale at one of them, I learned I've gained 20 lbs. in the last few months!

Saturday 8/9:
- Went for a short run outside. I think I've been having back pains when I run as a result of the added weight and my knee (which I may have reinjured last week at office Olympics).
- Lunch at Barracuda Japanese Restaraunt for a birthday party. All you can drink Sunny Delight mimosas for $6 and some decent rolls.
- Dinner at Bushi Tei. We met up with Jason, Misty, my sister and Gerald. Gerald was visiting from NY and was the celebrity guest of the evening at our table (but not at the restaraunt, as Mr. Hanes of Hanes was also there). Dinner was fabulous and it was great to catch up with J and Misty, who are expecting soon!
- Drinks at Mauna Loa. We were pretty wiped out after a four hour dinner, so I couldn't stay out too late.

Sunday 8/10:
- Lunch at Beretta. It was a family event where we had lunch with Winnie, Jennifer, Emily and baby Matthew (who gets more and more adorable).
- After lunch we visited the Designs Within Reach warehouse sale at Fort Mason. I score an Eclipse Lamp for $20 and a Primary Pouf (a really beat up one) for $10.
- Dropped by the Ferry Plaza building. I picked up some gifts and we also snacked on Acme bread and cheese from Cowgirl Creamery - the cave-aged Gruyere may have been the best Gruyere I've ever had.
- Watched Definitely Maybe. Not too bad, but very predictable.
- Ordered Thai delivery from a place in the Mission. It wasn't Osha, but it was still pretty tasty.

i'm terrible

I can't believe I've barely been posting to my blog this entire summer. I had such high expectations, as all I planned to do (and all I did do) was eat, explore and have fun. I'll try my best to catch up, but no promises as I just haven't been good about posting ever since I left NY.