March Recap

I felt very fortunate to find a new job pretty quickly and was able to delay my start date so I could go to Austin for SXSW. It was a huge effort to find a place to stay during the conference. Luckily my friend Ruth connected me to someone on Twitter who was also looking for a roommate.   I met a lot of new people and hung out with some old friends. 

Since I'm writing this in October and just re-capping the past year, here are the quick highlights:

-Meeting up with Ruth and dancing our butts off.
-Riding bikes to have dinner at Uchi with my old coworker, Mike.
-Seeing Seth MacFarlane promote "Ted" with Marky Mark as his special guest.
-Enjoying a Bloody Mary at the Iron Cactus with my hotel-mate Kim O. from Colorado.
-Anthony Bourdain's session on "Digital Debauchery."

After Austin I got to spent some time in Chicago. I finally got to see pregnant Mandy and meet her daughter.

Lisa also rallied Dan and Ducky to hang out. I continued onward to Ann Arbor to see Joc and Jake, even got to spend some time in the Arb, and I spent the rest of the weekend with Dana, Joe and the parents in Detroit.

This Van Gogh painting pretty much sums up the theme of the vacation.

The first day of the new job finally came and for the first 4 days I commuted about 1 1/2  - 2 hours each way to Burlingame.  Luckily they moved the office to San Francisco the following week.

I also snuck in a fun weekend in Tahoe before the end of the month.  Kim B. and Matt were visiting from Colorado so we rented a cabin that ended up being near the Cal Neva.  We had wedding pictures taken at this stump.

January/February Recap

Better late than never! 2012 is almost half over so I'm doing the quick recap...

Mid-January, I created a couple linocut postcard-sized prints for my friend's company. The Golden Gate Bridge and Sutro Tower were the themes of the postcards.

I also held a demo/workshop during their Waza developer event at Yoshi's. Definitely a fun experience! Other guest artists included a 3-D origami artist and a photographer with a Mammoth Polaroid camera. Todd designed a Fillmore sized poster for the Waza and the musical guest.

Devotchka performed at the end of the night.

I also lost my job at CHOW.com and spent the next couple of months looking for a new job and enjoyed the much needed break from working.

A New Year - 2012

We had a very mellow New Year's Eve with one of the highlights being the purchase of a new front loader washer and dryer. Whoo hoo!

Next stop CU Sushi in Berkeley. It was cheap and good and filled the craving. So we remember: Philadelphia Roll (Cream cheese, asparagus, avocado fresh salmon on top) and the Green Monster (Shrimp tempura, masago inside avocado on top). They've got a lot of baked rolls for people who are so into the raw fish rolls.

Afterwards we joined the crew at Todd & Becky's house for an East Coast New Year's at 9pm. We left a little bit after that to spend Midnight at our own house. It was a really clear night so we could see the fireworks in San Francisco.

Another Christmas Dinner

We had too much fun on Christmas that the morning after yielded a few bad hangovers. Kevin made a ham, I made a couple veggie dishes, Andrea brought a broccoli cheese and rice casserole, and Becky came with her "ugly" balls. Then there was Sean who didn't stop pouring lemondrop shots made with rosemary infused simple syrup...

Tailgate

Also another tradition is the Michigan - Wisconsin game. Unfortunately because of changes to the Big 10 the two teams don't play each other. At least it was victory for both teams and Michigan finally beat Ohio State!

Tofurkey Thanksgiving

Tony hosted his 7th(?) Thanksgiving in the Sunset. Good food, good people and Tofurkey made for a great Thanksgiving.

Honeymoon

We spent an amazing 2+ weeks in around the island of Phuket, Thailand. We spent the first 4 days in Khao Lak at the JW Marriot. This resort had 3km of pool! We also visited Patong (whoa!), Phi Phi Islands, and Krabi penninsula. Our lazy days were filled with gigantic breakfasts, naps, more food, more naps, beaches, kayaking, swimming and hiking. More details and pictures someday!