one of those perfect sf afternoons for a housewarming bbq in our backyard with plenty of sun, grill fixins, booze and good people. we may have 8000 plates, patties and plastic cups leftover (thank you costco), so i guess this is just the first of many grillings/soirees to come

listening

currently listening to slacker and songza for my musical mood swings

*how great is that last video?? i had forgotten all about la blogotheque and their great video series. check out the 'take away show' series if live/behind the scenes performances are your thing

sights + sounds

*both bands rocked it in concerted at bottom of the hill!

if you were here...

we could be sitting on this bench

sipping on this

munching on this

sharing this

...but youre not so i had to eat it all by myself 

(come visit!)

here from here and here and here

so. the move.

coming up on the 1 week mark in my new apt, i cant help but feel like this was all too...easy? no housing nightmares or lost luggage, no crazy roommates or emotional breakdowns (so far...)

i absolutely adore my new place with its homey vibe, in unit washe/dryer (!!), amazing light, cuddly cat, SPACE and old rambling charm

being back feels completely confusing - comfortable and natural while somehow terrifying and alien. but i'm excited to start setting down roots and settling in. who knows how long ill stay...a year? a few? forever? but its nice to feel sf can be home if i want it to be

walking home the other night, i thought this was the first BIG thing ive done in a while for ME and me alone. not for family, or a boy, or a friend, or my career, or any practical reason. just because. and it feels right

tuesday tunes

china adventure part two: beijing
joining the throngs of other tourists to explore the endless alleys, temples and courtyards of the forbidden palace / soaking up the local culinary culture with some vegetarian eats and of course some peking duck / wandering through the evening hustle and bustle of the endless neighborhoods / successfully scaling 7km of the great wall across 22 different towers spanning restored and original sections of the wall dating back 600 yrs / snapping some street scenes / nice try beijing, but i know my cable cars / enjoying my last meal in beijing before my flight back to hk with a few other hostelers at a bbq spot in our neighborhood / hk may be big, bright and glitzy on the outside, but much of the housing is cramped and slightly matrix-esque

 

china was such a whirlwind! after spending a week in hong kong at the ultra swank shangri-la hotel for mostly work and a bit of play, i switched gears and made my way up into mainland china to spend a few days solo exploring beijing, hostel style. i admit i wasn't immediately smitten with china - something about the unbelievably large and pushy crowds, ugly 70s style architecture that lined most of the main streets, sewage smells and the constantly being gawked at just didnt scream MUST LIVE HERE. but after getting off the beaten path (figuratively and literally) and into the quiet back alley hutong neighborhoods, china grew on me. just the right blend of ny-on-speed and traditional asia...something for every mood. *traveling just happened to be right smack in the middle of my move across country and some crazy work drama so i was all sorts of emotional anyways

china part one: hong kong
my hk hotel that i didnt end up leaving for 4 straight days until the conference ended and i found time to recover from an unfortunate dim sum food poisoning experience and explore the city / having a drink at the highest bar in the world / part of my soul died a little when we walked through the dry market and saw all the shark fins, big and small, in every single store to be sold for the traditional delicacy shark fin soup / couldnt get over those neon lights OR the fact that they had a different carpet for each day at the hotel(!)*basically how we all kept track of what day it was during the conference / stunning view on a rare clear day from victoria peak on hk island...sweat from extreme heat and humidity not pictured / avenue of the stars, asias answer to hollywood boulevard / heading up the cable car on lantau island to see buddha on a dramatically sunny yet stormy afternoon / escaped the crowds at a monastery just in time for afternoon prayers

more beijing pics to come!