Direct reference to the best YouTube video of all time.
I would have written about this sooner, when it was more fresh in my head, but work got kind of busy this week, and doing things that I actually get paid for always comes first.
Last Saturday, my friends and I decided it would be a great day to drive up to Bolinas, which is about an hour or more North of the Bay. We had a bit of a delay in the morning due to some Friday night shenanigans, but by 1pm we had packed some lunches and jumped in the car to head out. Only we weren't heading out, we were actually heading to our other friends house (or dorm room...) to sit on the floor, look at some photographs, and have a cup of coffee. I was getting a little restless to get out of the city, but the coffee was good so I didn't complain.
The six of us cram back into our friends Prius around two o'clock and start driving towards the Golden Gate Bridge. The beers in the trunk are clunking around, and my friend is perched on another friends lap, her head bumping into the roof every time we hit a lump in the road. One of our guy friends insists that we have to stop by the Sutro Baths so we can check out the steps he has been building. After several turnarounds to find the right parking lot, we park and get out of the car. We're more concerned with fixing the beers than seeing Nick's steps, and when we tell him it's too cold to walk down all the stairs to the water where his steps are, he utters some profanity and tells us all how much he hates us. Thanks, Nick.
We finally cross the bridge and I am getting excited to reach our destination. The driver decides to take a detour and drive up the Marin Headlands so we can see where HE has been working. We opt to keep driving when we pass his station. After a bunch of windy curves and wrong turns, we can't figure out how to get back on route 1 - even with a GPS map system in the car. Then it starts to rain.
We get back on the highway, only to get off on Route 1 about five miles later. At this point, it's nearly 3:30 and Bolinas is starting to look more like Canada. We decide that there is no way we're going to make it there with enough time to hike before it gets dark, so against my will, the car heads towards Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a beautiful place to see, once or twice. I've already been three times. I wasn't exactly rooting for it. Luckily we were riding with a bunch of people who didn't want to spend money and balked at the $8 entrance fee.
I suggest looking for The Tourist Club, this brewery a few miles north of Muir Woods that you have to hike to. We check Mason's iPhone to see if we can figure out how to get there, and just when we think we have found the right turn off, Mason decides to keep driving to see "what else is around each corner." At this point the rain is falling harder and hiking doesn't seem like such a good idea, even if it is rewarded by an afternoon in a brewery.
We unanimously decide that our adventure has no real destination or organization, and it would probably be best to head back to the city. When we cross back over the Golden Gate Bridge, the sun is actually shining down on San Francisco. We take this wonderful opportunity to drive up to Coit Tower, because none of us have actually been there yet. We wait in a line of cars for about forty minutes before parking the Prius at the top of Telegraph Hill. Our friend from Sweden is literally in awe by the public self-cleaning toilet, which he doesn't stop talking about for the rest of the evening. Three of us decide to pay the $5 to get to the top of the tower, where we enjoy looking down on the fancy North Beach roof decks. The view of Marin is pretty crazy, because you can actually see the cloud of rain that we just drove through for two hours.
After a few more jaunts in the self-cleaning toilet, we cram back into the Prius once again and head home to prepare a lovely meal of roasted vegetables, qinuoa, a big green salad, and pork chops. After such a long day, I decide that passing out on the couch after dinner is way better than trekking to a concert in the Mission that is most likely sold out, if not crowded to the point where I can't even dance.
All in all, it was quite an adventure.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Cyclical Weathered Social Calendar
It's hard to classify seasons in San Francisco, because the the weather here is pretty off from the rest of the state (and country). I'm not sure what the exact scientific reason is, but I think it has something to do with being wedged between the Bay and the Pacific Ocean. I think it goes something like this:
Winter: Mid December to Late February
Spring: March
Summer #1: April to early June
Fall: June to mid-August
Summer #2: September through November
I'm from New York, so I didn't think winter here would be too bad. And it doesn't even snow, so how bad can it get, right? WRONG. One February, our heating bill was $610. No joke. Well, that's also because this girl that was subletting from us left her window open with the heater on for like a week. Now are heating bills don't really go past $250. But we live in a big house, with two heaters, so it's impossible to get the entire house warmed up. And our house is definitely colder than the outside! It's all about layering in this city.
Spring here sort of comes and goes in the month of March. I would define spring as when you can stop worrying about bringing a jacket to work, and you can throw on a thin scarf or vest instead. The sun starts to come out, the days get longer, and life is just more pleasant. And the air smells different! Somehow cleaner. Spring reminds me of softball, and boozing during the day, and dusk in the park.
But before you know it, Summer #1 is here! That means April flowers, trips to the beach, Memorial Day, Bay to Breakers, all the fun stuff! You find excuses to take an hour and a half lunch just so you can be outside for longer. AND, you don't even need to bring a coat out at night!
Unfortunately, what should be summer everywhere else in the country is pretty gross in SF and a lot more like the fall. A friend once rhymed, "June is gloom, July's a lie, and August is the foggiest." And that's pretty much how it goes. I feel bad when people come to visit during the summer and they pack all these shorts and tank tops, only to realize they should be wearing jeans, boots, and a Northface. Summer is definitely a time to escape the city and get some sun from all the other gorgeous spots in NoCal (or elsewhere).
Fortunately, summer comes back for round 2 at the end of August! I consider September and October to be the coupling months. The weather is still nice so you can wear cute clothes when you go out, and people are out and about doing things because they know they are about to hunker down in their apartment for the depths of winter (though, most would fare better hunkering down somewhere that heat is already paid for). It's also common to couple up with someone right before winter, that way you have an extra warm body in your bed. But by the time winter is over and spring rolls back in, the relationship loses it's initial value and you find yourself eager to get out and hit the single life!
And that, my friends, is the basis of the cyclical weathered social calendar.
Winter: Mid December to Late February
Spring: March
Summer #1: April to early June
Fall: June to mid-August
Summer #2: September through November
I'm from New York, so I didn't think winter here would be too bad. And it doesn't even snow, so how bad can it get, right? WRONG. One February, our heating bill was $610. No joke. Well, that's also because this girl that was subletting from us left her window open with the heater on for like a week. Now are heating bills don't really go past $250. But we live in a big house, with two heaters, so it's impossible to get the entire house warmed up. And our house is definitely colder than the outside! It's all about layering in this city.
Spring here sort of comes and goes in the month of March. I would define spring as when you can stop worrying about bringing a jacket to work, and you can throw on a thin scarf or vest instead. The sun starts to come out, the days get longer, and life is just more pleasant. And the air smells different! Somehow cleaner. Spring reminds me of softball, and boozing during the day, and dusk in the park.
But before you know it, Summer #1 is here! That means April flowers, trips to the beach, Memorial Day, Bay to Breakers, all the fun stuff! You find excuses to take an hour and a half lunch just so you can be outside for longer. AND, you don't even need to bring a coat out at night!
Unfortunately, what should be summer everywhere else in the country is pretty gross in SF and a lot more like the fall. A friend once rhymed, "June is gloom, July's a lie, and August is the foggiest." And that's pretty much how it goes. I feel bad when people come to visit during the summer and they pack all these shorts and tank tops, only to realize they should be wearing jeans, boots, and a Northface. Summer is definitely a time to escape the city and get some sun from all the other gorgeous spots in NoCal (or elsewhere).
Fortunately, summer comes back for round 2 at the end of August! I consider September and October to be the coupling months. The weather is still nice so you can wear cute clothes when you go out, and people are out and about doing things because they know they are about to hunker down in their apartment for the depths of winter (though, most would fare better hunkering down somewhere that heat is already paid for). It's also common to couple up with someone right before winter, that way you have an extra warm body in your bed. But by the time winter is over and spring rolls back in, the relationship loses it's initial value and you find yourself eager to get out and hit the single life!
And that, my friends, is the basis of the cyclical weathered social calendar.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Dear SF MUNI 5 line driver,
I understand that the hours suck and the monotonous routine probably gets to you. I understand that you have to deal with people refusing to pay fare or sneaking on in the back. I even understand that the occasional wack job will spit on you. And I know you get paid next to nothing for putting up with this crap. But can you at least try to protect the safety of your passengers when a lewd dope fiend starts harassing everyone on the bus, including the mother and her baby sitting next to him?
It's really not asking too much. I know you heard what was going on because I think someone waiting outside for the bus could have heard what this asshole was screaming. Don't you think you could have maybe stopped the bus at some point and told this guy to get off? Or maybe you could have radioed a police officer? I mean, for crying out loud, this guy was screaming that he had a gun on him!
And if it isn't your job to protect the passengers on the bus, who's job is it? It's certainly not the woman who started bitching back at this crack head. It's also not the guy who finally yanked him out of his seat and forced him to get off the bus. Both these people risked their own safety and the people around them for doing a job that you obviously couldn't be bothered with.
Did you see the mom and the baby crying as she was trying to escape from sitting next to the wacko? I'm sure you didn't because the bus was very crowded and all the people were probably blocking the view in your mirror. And maybe this woman's tears aren't your problem after all. BUT I THINK IT'S NECESSARY PROTOCOL TO AT LEAST GET ON YOUR NIFTY LITTLE LOUDSPEAKER AND TELL THIS RACIST ASSHOLE TO GET OFF THE BUS BEFORE HE TRIES TO HURT SOMEONE.
By the way, he got on the back, so he obviously didn't pay. I know a lot of people get on the back, but a lot of them (myself included) actually have monthly bus passes and aren't doing anything wrong. The crack heads and hobos that jump on in the back and sneak on without paying... who's monitoring them? Do we need to enlist a hall monitor to check people that get on in the back?
I know there are a lot of good, responsible drivers out there that do their job right and take pride in transporting tons of people every day. So what makes you such a lazy bum? Is there any screening process whatsoever when hiring SF MUNI drivers? There must be.
My biggest pet peeve is when people can't do the job they're hired to do. You signed up for this gig, so play your chosen role in the community and do it right.
Sincerely,
a concerned daily 5 line passenger
It's really not asking too much. I know you heard what was going on because I think someone waiting outside for the bus could have heard what this asshole was screaming. Don't you think you could have maybe stopped the bus at some point and told this guy to get off? Or maybe you could have radioed a police officer? I mean, for crying out loud, this guy was screaming that he had a gun on him!
And if it isn't your job to protect the passengers on the bus, who's job is it? It's certainly not the woman who started bitching back at this crack head. It's also not the guy who finally yanked him out of his seat and forced him to get off the bus. Both these people risked their own safety and the people around them for doing a job that you obviously couldn't be bothered with.
Did you see the mom and the baby crying as she was trying to escape from sitting next to the wacko? I'm sure you didn't because the bus was very crowded and all the people were probably blocking the view in your mirror. And maybe this woman's tears aren't your problem after all. BUT I THINK IT'S NECESSARY PROTOCOL TO AT LEAST GET ON YOUR NIFTY LITTLE LOUDSPEAKER AND TELL THIS RACIST ASSHOLE TO GET OFF THE BUS BEFORE HE TRIES TO HURT SOMEONE.
By the way, he got on the back, so he obviously didn't pay. I know a lot of people get on the back, but a lot of them (myself included) actually have monthly bus passes and aren't doing anything wrong. The crack heads and hobos that jump on in the back and sneak on without paying... who's monitoring them? Do we need to enlist a hall monitor to check people that get on in the back?
I know there are a lot of good, responsible drivers out there that do their job right and take pride in transporting tons of people every day. So what makes you such a lazy bum? Is there any screening process whatsoever when hiring SF MUNI drivers? There must be.
My biggest pet peeve is when people can't do the job they're hired to do. You signed up for this gig, so play your chosen role in the community and do it right.
Sincerely,
a concerned daily 5 line passenger
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A message to those who have experienced sadness
Everyone needs a good cry once in a while to let it all out. Whether it's from a break up, college graduation, the death of loved one, being fired, moving to a new city, anything that can cause reason for a mere tear to shed. If that one tear is not enough, throw yourself a little pity party and cry your eyes out until there are no more tears to shed.
Some good places to cry:
your bed
the shower
on someones shoulder
alone in the car with Alanis Morrisette blaring
Some not so good places to cry:
on the street
on public transportation
at your office
in a restaurant
In order for a successful pity party to take place, you must be alone. You will only feel worse about yourself if you cry in public, because let's face it: nobody looks pretty when they cry. And the first thing that goes through my head when I see somebody crying on the bus is "wow, that sucks. I feel bad for her, but she should really not be out in public looking like that."
It's true! The only way to get out all the tears without any inhibitions is to be completely alone. One or two close girl friends is okay, but eventually they will have nothing left to say than "I'm sorry, it will be okay." And all you can think is, this will never be okay.
It's okay to be sad. And if you feel like you're more sad than you should be, there's always Prozac. But it will get better. And life goes on. And you find something else to be happy about. So stay strong!
And I've got news for the men out there who insist that crying is for sissies: sensitivity is way more attractive than macho bravado. Trust me on this one.
Some good places to cry:
your bed
the shower
on someones shoulder
alone in the car with Alanis Morrisette blaring
Some not so good places to cry:
on the street
on public transportation
at your office
in a restaurant
In order for a successful pity party to take place, you must be alone. You will only feel worse about yourself if you cry in public, because let's face it: nobody looks pretty when they cry. And the first thing that goes through my head when I see somebody crying on the bus is "wow, that sucks. I feel bad for her, but she should really not be out in public looking like that."
It's true! The only way to get out all the tears without any inhibitions is to be completely alone. One or two close girl friends is okay, but eventually they will have nothing left to say than "I'm sorry, it will be okay." And all you can think is, this will never be okay.
It's okay to be sad. And if you feel like you're more sad than you should be, there's always Prozac. But it will get better. And life goes on. And you find something else to be happy about. So stay strong!
And I've got news for the men out there who insist that crying is for sissies: sensitivity is way more attractive than macho bravado. Trust me on this one.
Monday, March 9, 2009
I want my hour back.
It's that time of year again... SPRING FORWARD!
As my roommate and I were treading home from our friend's house party on Saturday evening (Sunday morning), I looked down at my phone and realized it was 4:00am. After a couple of seconds of confusion mixed with impressiveness that I was able to stay out that late, I realized that it must be Daylight Savings.
I have a very love/hate relationship with Daylight Savings in the Spring. I love it because that means we get an extra hour of sunlight at night, which means that I would be so depressed by the cold darkness on my way home from work every day, which means my general disposition is sunny (pun intended).
I hate it because come Monday morning, you're getting up an hour earlier than what you're used to, which means it's nearly impossible to get out of bed on time. Also, I feel like I have been jipped of a full weekend. I want 48 hours in my weekend - not 47! Give me my hour back! Also, maybe if I had come home at 3am after partying Saturday night, I wouldn't have been so groggy the next morning. But the fact that it was 4am, and nearly 4:30 by the time I ate the contents of the refrigerator and went to sleep.
Maybe it should be a national rule that the Monday after Daylight Savings weekend, nobody has to go into work until 10am. That way, we will all be refreshed and ready to work as though the hour robbery never occurred.
As my roommate and I were treading home from our friend's house party on Saturday evening (Sunday morning), I looked down at my phone and realized it was 4:00am. After a couple of seconds of confusion mixed with impressiveness that I was able to stay out that late, I realized that it must be Daylight Savings.
I have a very love/hate relationship with Daylight Savings in the Spring. I love it because that means we get an extra hour of sunlight at night, which means that I would be so depressed by the cold darkness on my way home from work every day, which means my general disposition is sunny (pun intended).
I hate it because come Monday morning, you're getting up an hour earlier than what you're used to, which means it's nearly impossible to get out of bed on time. Also, I feel like I have been jipped of a full weekend. I want 48 hours in my weekend - not 47! Give me my hour back! Also, maybe if I had come home at 3am after partying Saturday night, I wouldn't have been so groggy the next morning. But the fact that it was 4am, and nearly 4:30 by the time I ate the contents of the refrigerator and went to sleep.
Maybe it should be a national rule that the Monday after Daylight Savings weekend, nobody has to go into work until 10am. That way, we will all be refreshed and ready to work as though the hour robbery never occurred.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Yummies - Volume 1
I love cooking for people, especially when it turns out right.
There's something about providing friends and loved ones with a home cook meal that just makes my heart warm. I learned everything I know about cooking from my mother. And one or two things from my dad (like putting tin foil over an omelet to make it cook more evenly). My mom is an incredible cook, and she could probably do it for a living but it would take the fun out of it. She is very inventive with flavor and incredibly good at improvising if you don't have all the ingredients. I'd like to say I take after her in that way.
I thought about culinary school at one point while I was living in SF, so I sent away for some information. I then decided I didn't want to go to school for cooking because it would ruin it for me. I still get phone calls from the culinary school every month offering me a tour of the campus.
So instead I cook fancy meals for my boyfriend, friends, and roommates. Last night I grilled swordfish, which I cooked perfectly if I do say so myself. It takes about 6 minutes on each side, with the heat on high. If your using a grill pan, make sure it's really hot before you put them on. It was marinated for two hours in soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, and garlic (recipe came from mom). I bought 4 HUGE steaks - enough to serve 8 people - and it was only $20 from the farmers market fish stand! I also made some orzo with tomato and basil, and some roasted asparagus with leeks. Everyone loved it! Which of course made me really happy.
My friends and I try to do pot luck parties every few weeks, and we've had some great success stories. Even if you don't think you know how to cook, it's really easy to be a sous chef, and every good chef needs an assistant. For example, I really don't like chopping onions so I usually give that job to someone else. Last night my boyfriend (who claims he doesn't know how to cook) helped me trim the asparagus, which I think is really fun because they snap perfectly on their own. He didn't agree but he did it anyway.
I also encourage you to make your own salad dressing. My mom makes all her own salad dressing in a little mini-cuisine art. One year I put all the recipes together and laminated them in a book and called it "All Dressed Up." She loved it (who wouldn't?). Anyway, if you don't have a mini cuisine art, you can just put some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, and lemon juice in a cup and stir it with a fork very quickly. Makes for a tasty vinaigrette!
For more recipes, check back next month!
There's something about providing friends and loved ones with a home cook meal that just makes my heart warm. I learned everything I know about cooking from my mother. And one or two things from my dad (like putting tin foil over an omelet to make it cook more evenly). My mom is an incredible cook, and she could probably do it for a living but it would take the fun out of it. She is very inventive with flavor and incredibly good at improvising if you don't have all the ingredients. I'd like to say I take after her in that way.
I thought about culinary school at one point while I was living in SF, so I sent away for some information. I then decided I didn't want to go to school for cooking because it would ruin it for me. I still get phone calls from the culinary school every month offering me a tour of the campus.
So instead I cook fancy meals for my boyfriend, friends, and roommates. Last night I grilled swordfish, which I cooked perfectly if I do say so myself. It takes about 6 minutes on each side, with the heat on high. If your using a grill pan, make sure it's really hot before you put them on. It was marinated for two hours in soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, and garlic (recipe came from mom). I bought 4 HUGE steaks - enough to serve 8 people - and it was only $20 from the farmers market fish stand! I also made some orzo with tomato and basil, and some roasted asparagus with leeks. Everyone loved it! Which of course made me really happy.
My friends and I try to do pot luck parties every few weeks, and we've had some great success stories. Even if you don't think you know how to cook, it's really easy to be a sous chef, and every good chef needs an assistant. For example, I really don't like chopping onions so I usually give that job to someone else. Last night my boyfriend (who claims he doesn't know how to cook) helped me trim the asparagus, which I think is really fun because they snap perfectly on their own. He didn't agree but he did it anyway.
I also encourage you to make your own salad dressing. My mom makes all her own salad dressing in a little mini-cuisine art. One year I put all the recipes together and laminated them in a book and called it "All Dressed Up." She loved it (who wouldn't?). Anyway, if you don't have a mini cuisine art, you can just put some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, and lemon juice in a cup and stir it with a fork very quickly. Makes for a tasty vinaigrette!
For more recipes, check back next month!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Doctor Dot to the Badge
(Title is a shout out to Deepti, Cassidy, and Dani)
My faith in our health care system has been recently been restored. I know what you're thinking: "you're probably the only person in American who can honestly say that." And maybe you're right, but maybe I just have awesome doctors with a pretty decent insurance plan.
Case Study 1: Dr. Bickel, hand surgeon.
In July of 2007 I visited some friends in Chicago for a weekend. I became incredibly drunk last night and insisted on starting a physical fight with my fried, Dan. It ended with me trying to kick him, him catching my foot, me losing balance and falling to the ground, landing on my hands as your parents always tell you to do. Ouch. Something snapped in my hand and it was time to go home. I refused to ice it with the frozen steak in Dan's fridge, so I went to bed and woke up with a throbbing pain in my wrist. After using a brace on and off for a couple of months, I decided it must have been a bad sprain and it was all better. Sort of. Fast forward about one year later and I am living in SF with a great job and I finally have health insurance, and my wrist still hurts if I move it a certain way. Enter Dr. Bickel and the x-ray machine. Turns out my scaphoid bone (that little bone that connects your thumb to your wrist) has been broken into two pieces for quite some time. Dr. Bickel tells me I need a surgery that will graft bone from my radius to replace the bone in my scaphoid, that I'll be in a cast for about 7 weeks, then a brace, and will have 12 weeks of physical therapy. And I have to use this machine called a "bone stimulator" for 30 minutes every day. All and all, after insurance coverage everything cost about $600. That's including the 100 pills of vicodin they have me :) The cost without insurance would have been horrifying, my guess is $20,000.
Case Study 2: Dr. Stephanie Scott, family practice, copay: $10
When I first got my health insurance, they assigned some random doctor to me who was cold and stubborn and stuck up and couldn't speak to me in proper English. I called my health care company and was able to be transferred to a lovely woman that I found on Yelp. I made an appointment and went in on a Tuesday morning before work. She gave me all the referrals I needed, including a very painful Hepatitis C vaccine. I recently found out that she is leaving the practice and I will be re-assigned to another female doctor at the office. At least they knew I didn't want a male doc (no offense, Jeremy).
Case Study 3: Dr. Katherine Gregory, Gynecologist, copay: $0
It's pretty obvious that this type of doctor's visit can be awkward or uncomfortable for women, but I have to say I love going to Dr. Gregory. She is efficient, polite, doesn't ask too many weird questions, gets the job done and sends you on your way to the 11th floor for lab work. She then called me less than two days later to give me my test results. Basically, she just makes the experience much more pleasant than expected.
Case Study 4: Dr. Ng, Dermatologist, copay: $10
In and out in ten minutes. I didn't have to undress. I wasn't lectured on wearing sunblock. I was given the prescriptions I needed without any questions asked. And I didn't feel rushed or that anything went overlooked. She also gave me a lollipop.
In conclusion, although our health care system may be severely F'ed up and expensive for those who don't have a health insurance package as economical as mine, it's nice to know that the quality of doctor's hasn't gone down as much as I had expected it would. So, to all you med school students: Keep up the good work! Efficiency and cleanliness are key! And lollipops are always a nice touch.
My faith in our health care system has been recently been restored. I know what you're thinking: "you're probably the only person in American who can honestly say that." And maybe you're right, but maybe I just have awesome doctors with a pretty decent insurance plan.
Case Study 1: Dr. Bickel, hand surgeon.
In July of 2007 I visited some friends in Chicago for a weekend. I became incredibly drunk last night and insisted on starting a physical fight with my fried, Dan. It ended with me trying to kick him, him catching my foot, me losing balance and falling to the ground, landing on my hands as your parents always tell you to do. Ouch. Something snapped in my hand and it was time to go home. I refused to ice it with the frozen steak in Dan's fridge, so I went to bed and woke up with a throbbing pain in my wrist. After using a brace on and off for a couple of months, I decided it must have been a bad sprain and it was all better. Sort of. Fast forward about one year later and I am living in SF with a great job and I finally have health insurance, and my wrist still hurts if I move it a certain way. Enter Dr. Bickel and the x-ray machine. Turns out my scaphoid bone (that little bone that connects your thumb to your wrist) has been broken into two pieces for quite some time. Dr. Bickel tells me I need a surgery that will graft bone from my radius to replace the bone in my scaphoid, that I'll be in a cast for about 7 weeks, then a brace, and will have 12 weeks of physical therapy. And I have to use this machine called a "bone stimulator" for 30 minutes every day. All and all, after insurance coverage everything cost about $600. That's including the 100 pills of vicodin they have me :) The cost without insurance would have been horrifying, my guess is $20,000.
Case Study 2: Dr. Stephanie Scott, family practice, copay: $10
When I first got my health insurance, they assigned some random doctor to me who was cold and stubborn and stuck up and couldn't speak to me in proper English. I called my health care company and was able to be transferred to a lovely woman that I found on Yelp. I made an appointment and went in on a Tuesday morning before work. She gave me all the referrals I needed, including a very painful Hepatitis C vaccine. I recently found out that she is leaving the practice and I will be re-assigned to another female doctor at the office. At least they knew I didn't want a male doc (no offense, Jeremy).
Case Study 3: Dr. Katherine Gregory, Gynecologist, copay: $0
It's pretty obvious that this type of doctor's visit can be awkward or uncomfortable for women, but I have to say I love going to Dr. Gregory. She is efficient, polite, doesn't ask too many weird questions, gets the job done and sends you on your way to the 11th floor for lab work. She then called me less than two days later to give me my test results. Basically, she just makes the experience much more pleasant than expected.
Case Study 4: Dr. Ng, Dermatologist, copay: $10
In and out in ten minutes. I didn't have to undress. I wasn't lectured on wearing sunblock. I was given the prescriptions I needed without any questions asked. And I didn't feel rushed or that anything went overlooked. She also gave me a lollipop.
In conclusion, although our health care system may be severely F'ed up and expensive for those who don't have a health insurance package as economical as mine, it's nice to know that the quality of doctor's hasn't gone down as much as I had expected it would. So, to all you med school students: Keep up the good work! Efficiency and cleanliness are key! And lollipops are always a nice touch.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Over the bridge and to the woods
With so much excitement in this city, it's easy to get caught up in the frantic of Frisco. But what's great about living here is that I have a wide variety of beautiful nature destinations at my disposal (as long as I can find someone to bum a ride with). Wine country, snowy mountains, seascape, Redwood forest, even suburbia; all within a four hour drive.
Since living here I have been on weekend trips to Tahoe (winter and summer), Napa, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, outside Yosemite, Livermore, and most recently Mendocino. The serenity of escaping to places like this is what keeps me sane.
Even though city life is filled with new and interesting activities, the general day-to-day life of anyone, no matter where you live, can get really monotonous. Working 9-5 in front of a computer all day doesn't help much, but it pays for these trips so I'm not complaining.
I went to Mendocino this weekend with some new friends. Mendocino is about 3.5 hours north of San Francisco. Beach on one side, Redwood forest on the other. You can't beat it. Redwoods can only grow in areas that are near the water because they need the moisture to survive. And Redwoods never die, they just multiply into more smaller Redwood trees that circle around the one that has "died." And there are these endangered orchid-like flowers that only grow in Redwood Forests. And 6-inch long banana slugs. This makes for some really stellar nature walks. Not to mention, Mendocino produces more marijuana that any other U.S. city. No wonder.
That being said, I highly recommend taking the time to get a good group of friends in a car with good gas mileage and escape to somewhere where you to see every bright star in the midnight sky. Camp if you can, or if you're lucky enough to have friends with property somewhere then all you need to provide is booze, food, and maybe Apples to Apples. If you do it right, you'll spend a lot less money that you would staying in the city and running your heating bill or bar hopping in the Mission.
Since living here I have been on weekend trips to Tahoe (winter and summer), Napa, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, outside Yosemite, Livermore, and most recently Mendocino. The serenity of escaping to places like this is what keeps me sane.
Even though city life is filled with new and interesting activities, the general day-to-day life of anyone, no matter where you live, can get really monotonous. Working 9-5 in front of a computer all day doesn't help much, but it pays for these trips so I'm not complaining.
I went to Mendocino this weekend with some new friends. Mendocino is about 3.5 hours north of San Francisco. Beach on one side, Redwood forest on the other. You can't beat it. Redwoods can only grow in areas that are near the water because they need the moisture to survive. And Redwoods never die, they just multiply into more smaller Redwood trees that circle around the one that has "died." And there are these endangered orchid-like flowers that only grow in Redwood Forests. And 6-inch long banana slugs. This makes for some really stellar nature walks. Not to mention, Mendocino produces more marijuana that any other U.S. city. No wonder.
That being said, I highly recommend taking the time to get a good group of friends in a car with good gas mileage and escape to somewhere where you to see every bright star in the midnight sky. Camp if you can, or if you're lucky enough to have friends with property somewhere then all you need to provide is booze, food, and maybe Apples to Apples. If you do it right, you'll spend a lot less money that you would staying in the city and running your heating bill or bar hopping in the Mission.
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