San Francisco: Day 2 August 10, 2007
Posted by Carolyn Tang Kmet in San Francisco.add a comment
This entry was posted on Friday, August 10. 2007 and is filed under San Francisco.
The next morning, I woke up early for a run. I wanted to go find that bench I used to sit on during my college days. I remember I’d make a PB&J sandwich, grab a juice box and drive down to Sausalito to watch the sunset on that bench. It made me feel rich. I headed down to the water, ran along the docks, past the ferry landing, past the still-shuttered shops and…past that bench. I did a couple loops around Gaylords and headed back in, capping it off at 3 miles. Great run!
After showering, we headed out for breakfast at Sartaj India Cafe. Fluffy eggs spiced with curry, cumin, cilantro and I don’t know what else, rolled snuggly into a fresh roti. Freshly made chai with soy milk. And great uncle Basi, who gave us free refills and who knew everyone who walked through the door. Breakfast was followed by a quick shopping excursion, then back to the apartment for a round of Settlers of Catan and It’s Its.
And then it was off to the rehersal. You know how there are always great stories that will be passed along from mother to daughter, from brother to niece, etc.? There were two sweet moments that I know I’ll share with Brady and Eva’s future kids. The first was when they recited their vows. They had written their vows together, and there could not have been any more perfect words. Especially when they each said, “Thank you for loving me as I am, and welcoming me into your heart and into your family.” I just about cried hearing that…but the best part was when Eva ad-libbed and said, “I promise to cover you with hershey’s kisses.” The other moment that sticks out in my memory, was when they rehersed the bit where the father gives the bride away. Chinese men are notoriously dispassionate and emotionally unexpressive. Much fun was had as Mrs. Fung demostrated to Mr. Fung how he should hug Eva. For his attempt, Mr. Fung obediently hugged and patted Eva before giving her hand to Brady. He may not have understood why the rest of the bridal party giggled incessantly at his attempt.
Finally, it was time for dinner. We piled back into the car and sped across the Bay Bridge, where I took one of my favorite shots of the weekend. I had been playing with the color temperature setting on my camera to compensate for the rehersal room’s warm yellow light, and I’d forgotten to switch it back to auto. The result? Beautiful blue steel.
Dinner was a feast at the Hong Kong East Ocean Restaurant in Emeryville, one of my all-time favorite Chinese restaurants with a stunning view of the Bay, starched white tablecloths and silver-plated dragon rests for my chopsticks. We had jellyfish, smoked chicken, peking duck, shark fin soup, lobster, and even more dishes than I can remember. Good thing I remembered to take a picture of the menu. I do distictly remember, the look on Brady’s face when we yelled “Bradyyyyyyy!” and the look on Candy’s face when Will said, Aussie accent intact, “Protect!”
Candy and I crashed in Eva’s suite that night…we chatted, had a quick drink at the ritzy Clift San Francisco Hotel, and hit the sack. I begged a morning run and got the rather comfy couch all to myself.
San Francisco: Day 1 August 9, 2007
Posted by Carolyn Tang Kmet in San Francisco.add a comment
Last Wednesday, I gave the final to my eMarketing class…it was so bittersweet. I was overjoyed to be done, but sad that it was over. It was one of the most demanding jobs I’ve ever attempted. The preparation alone meant I slept an average of four hours a night for the entire month. If I wasn’t preparing a three-hour lecture, I was grading. If I wasn’t grading, I was writing up an exam, or a quiz. The textbook was terrible, the few examples that were given were out-of-date and uninteresting. Or, they simply didn’t exist anymore.
But all that effort was worth it, as student after student came up to shake my hand and say thank you. One even gave me a thank you card and a gift, and many of them said it was the best class they ever took. It was so worth it to hear them laugh, hear them think, and see excitement in their eyes. They were mostly seniors, so their grades were no longer their main concern. That’s what made it fun.
When I got home that night around 10p, I opened a bottle of wine and sat down for a cram session of grading. Grades were due in by Friday, and my flight for San Fran left at 7am. Neil was coming to pick me up at 5:30a. I had about three hours to grade 19 finals. I finished, but I was spent. Got two hours of sleep and woke up to the doorman buzzing me. Slept through my alarm and Neil’s phone call. Thank God Neil got the doorman to keep buzzing me until I woke up!
Zip over to Midway and boarded the plane to OAK. I think it was probably a smooth flight, but I don’t know. I slept the whole way. Got to Oakland, called Brady, called Mona…explained that what I really wanted to do was to sit still and not do anything. I wanted to enter in my grades and just sit still. “You what?” asked Brady, incredulously. “You what?!” shouted Mona, in disbelief.
“I just want to sit still and read, I haven’t had a chance in 30 days to do nothing, and that’s what I want to do,” I stated simply.
And boy, did it feel good. I headed over to get a bread bowl of clam chowder, a bottle of lime-hinted water and a window seat. And I sat and read “Saving Fish From Drowning” for three hours straight. By the time Manish and Neha’s plane arrived, all the stress of the past month had melted away and I was my smiling, silly self again.
Mona picked us up at the curb, and we headed to her apartment in Sausalito. Wonderful! It was a cozy one-bedroom that overlooked the bay, with a nice fireplace and within walking distance of Caldonia. Caldonia is the street where locals get their grocery shopping done, gather for coffee, and take yoga classes. Charming boutiques, a tiny movie theater, it’s perfect really. We spent a couple hours playing with Avni while Mona prepared a veggie lasagna. Then we went for a stroll, and by the time we came back, Rahoul was home and it was time for dinner. I slept well that night.
Catango's Weblog 