son of soy » San Francisco

KIX to SFO to PDX to SEA to NRT

Rick Elizaga — Fri, 06 May 2005 20:57:15 +0000

Visited the homeland again for 10 days last month to see friends and family: Osaka to San Francisco, then to Washington by way of Portland, then Seattle to Tokyo. Not enough time to see everyone, but I did catch:

Bay Area: Kid-sitting my nephews while their parents attend a wedding.
Above, left: Kite flying on what I thought was a windless day.
Above, right: My sister Marnie showing off her new mehndi.

Washington State: More time with family:

Mom watching the inauguration of the Pope.

Dad wayfinding in the backyard with his RoadMate GPS system and portable battery pack.

My brother Andrew at REI in Seattle, where we attended a presentation by a couple who circumnavigated Iceland in kayaks.

Hisashiburi

Rick Elizaga — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 14:58:24 +0000

It’s been a long time. Sorry I have neglected you, Son of Soy. I’m exhausted from work, moving and travel. Hope to catch up with you tonight after I work off some of this sleep debt.

Update
More photos from my visit to San Francisco, where I cleaned out my old room and said good-bye (for now) to friends:

Friends, Meals, Moving

Rick Elizaga — Wed, 14 Jul 2004 16:36:38 +0000

Many thanks to easy-going buddies Rand and Ed for helping me move my boxes send them up to Washington. The pile included six banker’s boxes full of books and magazines and a pair of 70-pound behemoth bins packed with my junk. Considering how selfish I can be with my own time, I really appreciate Ed and Rand devoting a bit of their lives to my grunt work.

After moving, Rand and I enjoyed noodles and poodi at Burma Super Star on Clement Street. Always excellent.

Later in the afternoon, nephew Chris, his friend Kelly and my cousin Paolo got a quick “Rick’s Tour” of Haight-Ashbury – basically a walk up Haight street to Amoeba records and a brief stop at the new Giant Robot shop. Unfortunately I couldn’t spend more time with them and share more local flavor. But it’s your city now, Paolo!

Over dinner, essential conversation about life’s big matters with Ann. We ate at Rotee, the new Indian/Pakistani place on Haight and Webster. The restaurant that was there before, Bloo, was friendly but a little anemic, like the soothing baby blue they painted on the walls. Rotee has redone the place in energizing orange and red and movie posters from 70′s Pakistani flicks. Service was attentive, friendly and quick. The chicken tikka masala was addictively creamy. The nan was fluffy and light, the prices reasonable. Ann and I traded insights on relationships and when to have children, and my mind felt clearer afterwards.

While the other housemates slept, I had a few minutes to say goodbye to Salli before she moves to Italy, then Australia. One of those, “it was good knowing you… have a nice life!” moments where it’s hard to grasp that you might not see the person again, and nothing you can say seems adequate. Best wishes, Salli!

Finally, little Monchichi (shown here tolerating a hug from Lisa) hung out with me while I packed for Seattle, then slept on my legs all night and kept them warm. I woke up really early to catch my flight, so Monchichi was the only housemate conscious when I left the house. Back in SF in about a week…

Pre-farewell get-together

Rick Elizaga — Sun, 11 Jul 2004 01:40:58 +0000

Relaxing dinner with a few friends at the Indian place on Haight and Fillmore a couple blocks away. Sort of a farewell dinner (probably one of several to come), since all of us will be moving out of San Francisco within the next month. The talk was about housing in the Bay Area and Kyoto, when to have kids (we’re getting to be that age) and gossip (always fun to hear some dirt).
On the way home, stop at the corner store for Häagen Dazs. Back home, steep some tea, pop in a DVD. Like old times.

I’ve been in this house almost eight years.
When I was in middle school, my family had a house in Tacoma. I can still remember how the rooms smelled and how it felt to lean my elbows on the carpet. It will be the same with this place. I’ll miss the light in my windows, the clawfooted tub, the daily rhythms of sharing a home and cooking with housemates. A little sad to let it go and for friends to scatter, but we all seem to be ready for the next part of our lives, and we all have shiny things to look forward to.