12 years ago
The apartment hunting experience in San Francisco was absolutely crazy. Obviously, we focused on Craigslist. Each open house we arrived at had more people attending than the next.
With a scheduled appointment, we found ourselves in Pacific Heights. It has parking. It has laundry in the building. It's a fine size. It's in a great neighborhood. We're within walking distance to Russian Hill and Fillmore. We have the most amazing view.
We move 3 weeks from today. Holy. Crap.
John matched at his #1 choice of residency, the University of California, San Francisco. We had a good feeling about it and that was confirmed at noon yesterday. Now, we have less than 90 days to find an apartment and move west. 
I have the most amazing grandparents. Ever. My grandfather is 88 and is just the sweetest, most charismatic person ever. He wins EVERYONE'S hearts. My grandmother is my mother's mother. She hasn't been doing so well lately. Her dementia has been progressively worsening for years. In October, she fell. This weekend, my grandfather said that the day it happened, she very clearly said "Hank, I think I broke my leg."
Since then she has been in a nursing home. It is absolutely heart-wrenching to see my grandfather take care of her. He lived this several years ago with his brother several so has a very clear picture of this road. He is panicked and frustrated and sad and scared and lonely. In October when she was in the hospital, I heard him whisper to her that when she was better, they'd take a vacation- just the 2 of them. It chokes me up just typing this.
Holy Crap. 19 days left. John got a call from his number one choice of residency programs and they indicated he would match there. On one level, I'm beyond happy because we got our #1 choice. You cannot imagine how hard he has worked for the last 8 years to make this happen. On the other hand, I feel a little robbed of the excitement that was supposed to be March 17. While, it will still be exciting but the text from John with the information just wasn't the same experience.
Our house is on the market. Think of the down payment as a sunk cost, at this point. All we can hope is that someone likes it and offer above our mortgage's pay-off amount.
53 days until John finds out where he has matched for his residency program for neurological surgery. Top 3 contenders:
- University of California, San Francisco
- Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard)
- New York Presbyterian (Columbia)
- University of Washington
106 days until graduation.
John and I hiked Providence Canyon recently and had an amazing time. About 3 hours outside of Atlanta, it's a great day trip. We're headed back for when the leaves change.
I was in Montreal recently and although my understanding is that the city is safe, I was either pickpocketed or a good samaritan found my wallet but forgot to mail it back to me. Either way, it's gone.
A few recommendations when you have a spare 10 minutes.
- Take an inventory of your wallet now
- Toss out old, expired items you don't need
- Record every single thing you plan on keeping from your AAA card to major credit cards
- Record the correpsonding US and International phone numbers for each card
- Document your driver's license number and expiration date
- Save this file if you feel comfortable or print it and leave it in a safe place in your home
- Make a copy of your driver's license and car insurance (if you keep that in your wallet)
- Oh and don't even think about carrying your social security card in your wallet. That should stay at home!
Doing these steps now will prevent you from having to rack your brain when something happens. Everything is in one place when need it.
Update this document every 6 months.
Trust me. It's worth spending the time.
Cheers!
I ordered this print from le papier studio for my husband for Valentine's Day. While I think it ultimately turned out really well, it was really hard to find a frame. The description said the print measured 5x7. There was no way it would have fit into a 5x7 frame as it was way too long. Also, even if it did, there was too much white space on the sides. I went with the 5x5 frame below and am hapy with how it turned out. The frame is from Sam Flax. It was the last one of its kind- it didn't even have a box anymore.
I've actually had a hard time finding frames for the etsy prints I've ordered recently. Two sets of prints from different dealers required 8.5 x 11 frames. Cute frames of this size are not easy to find. I wish etsy dealers would consider sizing their images so they fit standard sized frames well.
Words cannot express what today means. I am deeply thankful for Obama for so many reasons.
Hope everyone had a Happy Chris-ma-hanu-kwanza-kah and has a safe and happy new year!
I made this recipe last night complements of Whole Foods:
Red Lentils with Garlic and Onion
Serves 6
Make sure to add the salt to these lentils only after they're cooked. If added before, it will take longer for them to get tender.
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked red lentils, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 cups cooked brown Basmati rice
Put lentils, turmeric and 4 cups water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are very soft and pulpy, about 25 minutes. Add salt to lentils after cooking, then purée in blender and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until golden brown, taking care not to burn them. Add onion mixture to lentils and stir well. Serve hot, with basmati rice on the side.
My notes. I had lentils that were already halved so there was no need for me to puree them. Sweet! Also, I served the dish with pita bread, rather than rise.
Lastly, this recipe would have been tough had I not used my handy, new device from Crate and Barrel.
I was at Rockefeller Center last night to watch NBC's coverage. It was unreal!
Here are a few more pictures from last night.
Video below is of when Virginia was called and Obama won the presidency. Sorry if this gives you vertigo.
Anyone else feel like their life is standing still until Wednesday?
I used Alton Brown's sugar cookie recipe. They are not too crisp nor too sweet. The sweetness is clutch considering there are three layers of icing on these babies.
I walked out of Marta on Friday and saw a huge rainbow. It was a complete arch that went across the entire sky!
For our second year, John and I went to Sunday in the Park at Oakland Cemetary. It's a nice little event and was even more interesting this year because we got to see residual tornado damage.
Lastly on our walk back towards Grant Park you can find Mona Lisa:
I got out the vote early today. In an out in 15 minutes. Pretty good experience overall. Vote Obama-Biden!
The minute I saw the drum diagram t-shirt at Slowshirt's, I knew I had to get one for John. The fit is great and it came very quickly. Huge rave!
View from my hotel room this week:
Times Square (Vote!):
After a bizarre dinner at Cafe 6 Sixty, John and I got ice cream at Jake's in Irwin Street Market. I, your standard Chocolate Slap Yo Mama while John tried a new Unfor'goat'able. Goat cheese and blackberry ice cream. Pricey, but worth it.
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