kimmie nguyen:

Living in SF Means... | The Bold Italic

I couldn't have said it better myself. Below are my favorite bits but you have to read the post in its entirety. HILARIOUS. Thanks @joec500 for the send. Love that I can relate to so many of these moments and yet I've never lived in San Francisco.  ;)

*****

1. Living in San Francisco means hearing your neighbors fuck.

The noise comes through the walls, through the ceiling, through the floor. The sound of muffled moans and love murmurs in Spanish, in Cantonese, in Tagalog, in English, in Arabic, in French, in…

2.Living in San Francisco means having an ex-girlfriend that is dating your other ex-girlfriend.

It means having a crush on a girl at Tartine. Having a crush on a bartender with a fancy mustache. Having a crush on a dancer at AsiaSF even though you don’t know if she still has a penis...

3. Living in San Francisco means moving to the Mission and complaining that it's getting gentrified.

It means knowing the Marina actually isn’t that bad after all. Knowing that Nopa is a restaurant and that the neighborhood is called the Western Addition. Knowing that Upper Haight is always about five degrees colder than Lower Haight...

4. Living in San Francisco means continually dealing with impermanence.

It means having places you love close up forever. It means having friends get married and move to Oakland. Friends who leave to join the Peace Corps. Friends who go to rehab. Friends who lose their minds. Friends who move back to wherever the fuck they’re from...

5. Living in San Francisco means embracing any cause for celebration.

It means having a costume box for events like Bay to Breakers, the Love Parade, Burning Man, Halloween, Decompression, the How Weird Street Faire, or whatever new dress-up holiday gets added to the calendar this year. It means accidentally buying blow in the Beauty Bar...

6. Living in San Francisco means waiting an hour for a cab if there's the slightest bit of rain.

It means riding the Night Owl and thinking you’re gonna get mugged by the teenagers in the back. Taking the 22 from the Marina to the Dogpatch and observing the city’s vast spectrum of existence. Sitting on BART and trying not to think about what lives inside those cushions...

7. Living in San Francisco means coming over the Bay Bridge and having your heart race a little when you see the city skyline.

Crossing the Golden Gate and smiling at the way the fog sits right on top of it. Snaking up the 101 and Candlestick Park being the greeting that tells you you’re almost home. It means visiting Middle America and being thought of as some kind of socialist gay hippie...

8. Living in San Francisco means the midday smell of pot.

Cold winter winds that cut right through you. Sweet summer strawberries grown not too far away. Crisp salty air by the ocean. The occasional sound of gunshots. Being able to actually count the number of stars visible in the sky. Warm whiskey and late-night chatter on a new friend’s rooftop...

Better Late Than Not

My generally up-to-date blogs have been running on empty the last two months. Which is an unusual state to be in given the past five years of regular posts. But when big changes arise, it’s always good to hit the pause button and reflect. And well, given the state of things, I didn’t have a choice but to sit in the sidelines and ponder “what next”.

Ah, life. Sometimes you can suck.  

Inspired by @daisysf’s long overdue post last week, I decided a little update would be a nice way to kick-off the start of winter. Hello, cold November rain! Here's a brief rundown of the last few weeks, in case you don't follow my glorious status updates. After the acquisition, I spent a few weeks fretting about interviews and big career moves.  Mother drove me bonkers with her usual questions about my love life or lack thereof.  As if a husband and career come hand in hand? It became so bad that we just stopped talking for a good month. But things finally fell into place after I landed a job at Salesforce.com. No husband yet though. That would be tragic…or just really funny.

In celebration of this new chapter of life, I flew myself out to NYC for mini-expensive vacation. Spent a week hanging out friends, eating great food, visiting museums and relaxing. Though relaxing ended up being a lot of late nights drinking. Love NYC but probably could have done without the extra nights out.

 

Since I’ve been back, it’s been madness. Halloween was a blur and despite not wanting to dress up, I dressed up and did the whole party thing. On top of that, there have been baby showers, birthdays and the start of the new job. It’s been so busy that I *just* unpacked from the trip and hit the gym for the first time in two weeks last night. 

Hurrah, it feels good to be back into my usual routine. Now for a trip home to visit mother...

Warm & Chill: Out the Door

via www.dailycandy.com

I have a slight aversion to expensive Vietnamese food. It just doesn't cost that much to make really great Vietnamese dishes. The ingredients are simple, fresh and rarely difficult to find. While I love the decor at Le Colonial or Slanted Door, I just can't swallow throwing down that much money even for the ambiance. But if I had to choose, the Slanted Door wins hands down. Out the Door is the sister, cafe style version of Slanted Door and a great affordable option for lunch or dinner. Tomorrow the Bush Street location is opening for breakfast. Yay, for a new brunch option with the girlfriends. Some favorite lunch items:

• Salt & Pepper five spice fried chicken wings with jalepeno, garlic and green onion
• Vietnamese crepe with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, tumeric and fish sauce
• Green papaya salad with tofu, pickled carrots, rau ram and roasted peanuts
• Saigon roast pork sandwich with fresh cilantro, pickled carrots and cucumber
• Carmelized prawns with yellow onion, garlic and roasted chili paste

Address: 2232 Bush St @ Fillmore St San Francisco, CA 94115; Phone: 415.923.9575