I'm BACK!!

Well, ok, I've been back for over a week now, much has happened. many thoughts. many reunions. meals. drinks... much news!
to recap:

* I got back: Monday night to a grand welcome from all the usual suspects I had left in the exact same place 10 weeks early... comforting to know nothing changes much!


*I spent the next week: unable to pry my eyes open or drag myself out of bed before noon. I was sleeping at least 12 hours a night, taking naps, and spending the rest of my time feeling groggy and out of it. I spent many hours sorting through pictures, posting them online, catching up with emails and catching up with friends in person.
~Tuesday night I had sushi with Bobby.
~Wednesday night I ate BBQ pork at Emily's with Jason, Monica and Otto.
~Thursday night I met Glen, Beth, Lori, Bobby, Syd and Co. for Ethiopian before we headed out to see Rebirth Brass Band at the Independent.
~Friday night was Brass Tax at Amnesia, followed by more late night debauchery back at 126.
~Saturday afternoon I paused and finally had enough wits about me to realize I was sad to leave Chad. That night I ate Little Star Pizza at Melvin's which was enough to knock me out. I took a nap, came home and then hung out with Fritz and Syd almost til dawn, then saw Chad online and chatted with him for way too long.
~I spent Sunday on the couch

*Observations on being back in SF:
~I'm home! It's wonderful to be around friends and feel as though I never left.
~I'm not nearly as culture shocked as I expected: mostly things look much cleaner here compared to Asia and there's much more obvious wealth, cars, large homes, nice apartments and housing options. We truly are lucky to live in this country. (in some respects)
~In the first week everything tasted bland and most of my meals were disappointing. I didn't look forward to eating anything. It all tasted heavy, creamy and ... bland. It was not necessarily bland in the "not spicy" sense, but more in the simple sense. There's just not the same complexity and layers of fresh herbs and spices found in western food. Half the flavors in Asian food doesn't even grow in the states! My taste buds are still re acclimating.
~Beer here is delicious!! My first sip of Sierra Nevada startled me. I did not remember it tasting sooo gooood. mmm, good, dark beer.
~The wine is also very plentiful and yummy!

This week I have enough energy to work on plotting my next step.

*I finally bought my ticket for Burning Man.

*I stopped by Blowfish: to see about getting back on the schedule. There WAS a paycheck waiting. Yippy! however, The old manager, who had been there for the last 10 years (and loved me) finally left 3 weeks ago. In the last two weeks they've brought on 5 new people. Shift availability is looking sparse. Most likely they'll hire me back on to pick up shifts but they can't promise anything consistent. We'll see. There's also the slim possibility of doing a 3 month work exchange to their new location in New Zealand. Now, THAT would be rad. But I'm certainly not banking on anything from them. I did stop by earlier this afternoon and they bought me lunch and lots of free sake (so much better than rice wine and lao lao!!) so, they're forgiven which leads me to my next point:

*FREE THINGS! I'm becoming used to the idea of being happily unemployed for a little while. I'm not mentally prepared to throw myself into the job search (UNLESS ANYONE HAS ANY JOB CONNECTIONS I WILL GLADLY TAKE THEM) but it will give me a little time to figure shit out. I am thus obsessed with finding all the coolest free things SF has to offer. (I was a pro when I lived in LA.)
~I went to Yerba Buena for Free First Tuesday. The show was alright. It got me thinking about lots of artsy type things and thoughts that could take up their own blog post so i won't get into it here, cause it would bore most of you.
~Tomorrow I will head over to the Berkeley Museum of Art for Free First Thursday. I've never been, can you believe it? (and How the hell do you get to Berkeley anyways?)
~Here's a way to ride public transportation for FREE with the Bay Area "Spare the Air" Program. Just sign up and they'll let you know on a free day. Plus it's good for the environment.
~I will spend more time cooking and getting creative in the kitchen. I will find friends to cook for me and also to buy me drinks!
~I want to find more outdoorsy stuff and hikes within SF city to inspire me
~Jason and Monica's Clothing Swap is also a good place to start. (I will volunteer!)
~Oh, and I will work for free too, spending more time volunteering at SF Center for Book Arts, to rack up hours for more FREE classes... hmm, I'm beginning to like this theme.
(unfortunately yoga is expensive... so I won't be able to get back into that like i had wanted.)

*More Arty Stuff:
I miss making stuff! I want to use my FREE time to make things but most of my supplies and tools are in storage. I don't even have my sewing machine, my type writer, my polaroid, my exacto blades, my cutting mat, rulers, binding supplies... nothing!
I have decided I will draw! I haven't practiced it regularly in several years. It's a good thing to do. and it's easy and cheap. can go anywhere with me. and can entertain me for hours. It's a good habit to get back into.