Disappointed but hopeful

Looks like I’ll be heading back to Southern California a hell of a lot sooner than I had planned. This does not change, in any way, my desire to live in San Francisco or Sacremento, but a potential job is rather more important than I realized. Hopefully I get the Apple Store Genius Bar job in Rancho Cucamonga at the Victoria Gardens mall, and then have some opportunity for transfer to a Northern California location in the not so distant future.

I got to play vagrant for a week or so, and didn’t hear from any other prospective employers, including any of the Apple stores in this area. The incredible hospitality of my brother and his fiance was/is much appreciated, as well as the night spent on Andrew’s couch. Hopefully I’ll be back sooner than later.

-Max

Sushi Night!

I don’t have much to say about dinner last night, other than that it was absolutely incredible and I forgot to take pictures after starting to eat. Home made sushi night with Brian, Vanesa, and Beatrice.

Beatrice made an awesome custard with mushrooms and green onions in it.

Vanesa made a very very good Miso soup with seaweed and Shitake mushrooms.

Not sure who found these little pickled (I think) octopi, but they were really delicious and the daikon radish salad Vanesa made went very well with them.

Finally, the sushi was great, and seemed incredibly fresh. It was apparently purchased at a Japanese fish market somewhere here in Sacramento. We had Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail (I think) and Uni (Sea Urchin). Totally. Tasty. I think the rice was made by Beatrice, then rolled and topped by Vanesa.

When we finished all the sushi, Vanesa cut the left over fish, and a half an avocado for a little extra treat.

Oh yeah, Brian poured the Sake. He and I were a HUGE help in making the feast possible...

After all was said and done, a little green tea ice cream and an episode of Project Runway (That’s the fashion one right?) topped off the night well. 

All in all, a super successful and fun time in Sacramento.

-Max

Hina's Tea House

2319 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95816, Phone: 916-443-9100
Open Monday - Thursday 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, Friday - Saturday 9:00 am till late, Sunday 11 am to 6 pm

Trying a tea place in Sacramento fairly close to my brother’s house called Hina’s Tea.

I’m trying their Kangaroo Lapsang, which many non-tea drinkers may find absolutely disgusting (as would be true with just about any Lapsang tea), but this is definitely an interesting member of the Lapsang family. It’s a little lighter than Lapsang typically are, but the taste is equally as pungent and earthy.

The customer service is definitely good, with a knowledgeable person, possibly the owner, behind the counter ready to give out recommendations based on past tea experiences. Perhaps speed could be helped a bit if she weren’t so talkative to each customer, but friendliness and conversation can hardly be a negative when visiting tea houses like this.

The decor is certainly not what I expected upon hearing the name, but it was a pleasant surprise not walking into a traditional Japanese tea house. Everything is very colorful and fun, with some interesting photographs, of which appear to be Japanese tea fields to the untrained eye, adorning the walls. Nothing is absolutely eye-popping or crazy, but everything seems to fit.

The glassware used is very nice as well. Again, nothing overly extravagant, but practical, appealing to the eye, and easy to grasp without a burn. Though I don’t use any sweetener myself, the pump bottles (hand soap style) of honey are a wonderful idea to keep a honey mess from getting out of hand.

All in all, this was a very good visit to a very nice tea house. I’ll definitely be back to try some of the other more mainstream teas if I am in the area again.

-Max

I think you might be able to order tea from them through http://www.hinastea.com/, but I also highly suggest visiting Tranquil Tea in Downtown Fullerton if you’re in the area.

Beaten but not out.

I’m definitely feeling a little downtrodden right now. Not sure why today is any different than yesterday. 

This morning I went in search of a parking spot that could be a little more permanent. Following my cousin’s suggestion, I drove to the Sunset District. Not exactly the nicest part of San Francisco, but it was a generally residential area with a pretty good amount of foot traffic. The parking restrictions on the street I found were “No Parking from 8:00am-10:00am on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month for street sweeping.” Pretty grand, considering most other places were, at best, once a week street sweeping, and at worst, daily restrictions with widely varied hours. Took me close to an hour of circling about the neighborhood, but I finally got lucky and found a spot.

Then I packed up my backpack with just the necessities, which actually means I pulled out all the crap I usually carry with me, and hopped on what I think is called the Muni for $2.00. Pretty freakin cool, the Muni. It’s sort of a subway, but it mostly travels above ground on the rails. Really, it functions more like a bus than what I imagine a train to be.  Anyway, it took me from where I parked across town to the area called Mission Bay (I think. Might really be SoMa.). This is where the Flip Video offices are. I was going to send in my Flip MinoHD to be repaired, but when I saw the address, I thought I’d drop it off in person. I also thought I might try to get a job with them. The walk off the Muni to their office was very short, but the office building they were in was nothing short of maze-like, though I’m sure now that I’ve been there it would be much easier to navigate. I knocked on the door, some girl came out. I explained why I was there, she took the box I had packed it up in, and went back in and shut the door. Pretty much no communication and certainly no talk about my mention about looking for a job. I guess as long as my camera gets fixed, I’ll be happy. She probably didn’t have any hiring capacity anyway, and from the glimpse I got through the door, it didn’t seem like anyone else was really inside.

Now I sit in a Starbucks typing away and trying to figure out my next move on this Friday afternoon. Brian and Vanesa are having an awesome Sushi Night at their house in Sacramento. I’d really love to go there and join in the fun, but I definitely will not be giving up my parking spot. Pretty sure there’s a public transit way of getting from here to there. That might be another adventure.

As for the feeling down and out bit. I’ve definitely not yet given up, but I kinda see how ridiculous this plan was. I’ll be sticking it out for at least a full week, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to last longer than that. Worst case scenario, I’ll have a good story, some interesting experiences, and a more intimate knowledge of the lay of the land here in San Francisco when I actually do make the move. Wish me luck, though, because I really want this to work out.

Time to figure out how to get to Brian’s house tonight.

-Max

P.S. It feels good to write again. I’ll definitely start including some pictures to break up the monotony of words (for you ADD internet kids), but if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Sometimes You Gotsta Go

Sometimes you gotsta go.

I was sleeping quite well in the spot that I found in the Tenderloin District for several hours. I woke up at 1:30am for no apparent reason, and after several minutes I realized that really, REALLY had to use a restroom. I got out of my car and took a walk to the Walgreens nearby, hoping it to be a 24 hour establishment. If only I were so lucky. Next step was to look on Yelp for any open places nearby. This, of course, yielded no results. My last attempt, which I thought was quite a grand idea, was to download the iPhone app, SitorSquat: Bathroom Finder. Again, no luck in finding anything that was open at 2:00am on a Thursday night. Now, here I am, sitting in my car, no bottles to pee in (which will certainly be remedied for emergency situations ASAP), no nearby bathrooms, and a bladder that wants to explode.

My only thought now is:

WHERE IS THE NEAREST DENNY’S

iPhone told me there was definitely NOT one within walking distance. Fine, I’ll give up this spot for some much needed relief. I drove to the Denny’s nearest me, and again could not fucking find a place to park. Some guy kept getting in and out of his car, turning it on, then off, then on, then reverse lights, then back off, then he went inside. Fuck him. Finally found a spot way further away than I was okay with, got inside Denny’s, peed, then looked at the menu. I figured I could eat something. I ordered the least expensive thing on the menu, aside from a bowl of soup or a drink. One build your own slam: Bacon, Sunny Side Up Eggs, Hashbrowns, English Muffin. How much was all this shitty food? $7.99 plus tax. Wowzers. Most of the appetizers were $10.00 or more. 

Moral of this story?

If you’re gonna live out of your car, carry a couple extra bottles just in case. Also, don’t ever go to the Denny’s on Mission Street across from the Mel’s Diner. I’d bet that the Mel’s is the same price and way better food.

-Max

Day 1 - I don't know about this...

Had quite the interesting first night here in SF. 

Left Brian and Vanesa’s in Sacremento around 2:00pm but didn’t make it to San Francisco until about 4:30pm due to heavy traffic. Once I finally got into the city, I decided I’d just travel around hoping to find a parking place for the night, for free. I quickly realized this was a much larger task than I had apparently given it credit. Eventually, having scoured much more of the city than I had originally intended because of the craziness that is traffic in the rain plus one way streets, I decided to head to an area that I was at least somewhat familiar with; an area I believe is called The Tenderloin. Finally, at approximately 6:00pm, I found a pretty great spot with a meter that did not need to be paid into until 9:00am the next morning. Another plus was that this spot was rather nearby the cafe called Citizen Cake where I met Lauren from Rancho Cucamonga last time I was up here. Though I don’t have the money to be a patron at this high class cafe, I’ll definitely stop in for a visit (and if I’m lucky, some hot water to make some tea back at my car).

Now that I had a place to leave my car for the night, it was time to find a cheap, delicious meal. Again, harder to find than really makes any sense. I was definitely hoping to find someplace with a 4 dollar burrito or something in that vein, but restaurant after restaurant was out of budget:

$8.00 for Thai

$6.00 for a Hot Dog and Chips

$9.00 for Italian

etc....

A decision needed to be made. I could eat the paltry food that I brought with me to make sure I didn’t starve, or I could keep moving to find SOMETHING. Obviously I kept moving. Eventually I made it over to Market Street, which I suppose is the downtown area. This is when the rain really started coming down. No need to worry, though... I came with an umbrella. As soon as I pulled my umbrella out, a heavy wind started up, leaving my umbrella battered and useless. I found an angle that would allow my umbrella to remain right-side out, while still covering some of myself from the rain, but it was certainly less than satisfactory. Now it was time to begin again my search for food. Up Market Street I went, passing several either totally disgusting (i.e. Carl’s Jr., McDonalds, Burger King) or totally expensive (see more of the above) places. 

Coming up on 7:00pm I decided it was time to turn back because the rain was getting crazy. On my way back I heard some high pitched japanese and giggling. I turned around and there were three small Japanese girls huddled under one even smaller umbrella trying to navigate the rain. I offered my umbrella to one of them (certainly the cutest of the bunch) and she declined. The rain kept coming down and I kept offering. Quickly, I came to realize that English was not a skill any of these girls had. I shoved my umbrella into her hand, and tried to get a phone number out of her. She took the umbrella but didn’t say much. At some point during the walk back down Market, they made a turn, with my umbrella, and I kept on going. I was hoping to maybe work my way into having a couch for the night, but it became clear that this was not going to happen. 

Now, with no umbrella, no dinner, and a heavy rain and wind, I gave up and headed into the aforementioned Burger King to sit and eat a rather terrible and not very satisfying two single cheeseburgers. As I ate, the rain began to come down even harder. Now I sit and type, hoping that the rain will let up some soon, because I’ve got quite a trek ahead of me, and I don’t think my chucks and shorts can handle it without an umbrella....

-Max

P.S. Leave any comments, questions, or suggestions in the comments!

Challenges.

I've never had any real source of adversity in my life; no sense of urgency or fear. Coasting through on my natural gifts with little to no effort has allowed me to get by, but never truly succeed.

This is all going to

change

In one month I will be moving to a new city with no job, no money, no living arrangements, and no friends. This is the time in my life where I have to decide who I am and who I want to be. I don't yet know where this will take me, who I will meet, or what I'll become, but I do know that when I find me, I won't have to ask why I've thrown myself into the deep end.

I can truthfully say (and brag) that I'm smart, savvy, and capable of nearly anything, and must readily admit to my lack of drive and ambition until now.

This is a new beginning

for a new

me.