Having no job meant I could surf on weekday mornings. Troy and I took advantage of that and we could be found often (at least a few times a week) either at our usual spot at Linda Mar in Pacifica or here at 38th in Santa Cruz.
My dear friends from AVSH shared a wonderful dinner at Gochi and then presented me with this Princess Cake (marzipan!) from Schubert's in SF. Thanks so much to Nic, Marman, Ate & Chris B (and Justin & Curtis). I will dearly miss
On MLK Day weekend, a group of us headed up to Tahoe for a Ski Trip! This marked just the second time I had been up there for the snow and, I must say, we've had a bit of a rough patch in terms of getting any sort of quality snow. We did our best to make the most of it and that included bringing the mahjong set and getting a few rounds in after dinner.
This trip also marked the first time I ever hit the slopes on back to back days. While it took a fair bit of energy, I somehow made it through the weekend uninjured and had an awesome time out there with the gang!
Continuing with the food exploits, Patricia from AVSH suggested I try out Sumika in Los Altos so we grabbed a bite to eat at this delicious restaurant. On the list of things devoured: oyako don, chicken karaage, yaki onigiri, yakitori, etc. Unfortunately, I only got a picture of the black sesame panna cotta. All delicious. Highly recommended!
Continuing on with the work farewell, I had a lovely lunch with the R&D Techs, who took me out Redwood Catering. I'm so sad I didn't know we worked so close to this place that prepares delicious food (including the salmon seen above)! Jessie, Mheng, Gabe, et. al. I am privileged to have worked with you guys!
Justin decided to cook a bunch of food and throw a party at his apartment in honour of it being a random weekend in January (and since he would be in and out of town fairly consistently for the several weeks following). I think you can say we had a pretty good time enjoying each other's company, eating and drinking and having great conversation! I miss you all!
The farewell Cali tour rolled onward with the next event being a seafood boil at Troy & Lori's. Shrimp, mussels, clams and potatoes comprised the first round. And then the main event: crab!
Extreme outdoor mahjong requires a Go Pro being strapped to your chest (as Troy demonstrates here).
And on a fine January afternoon, the movers came to take away a bunch of my belongings so that they could be placed on a slow boat to NZ.
Continuing on with more farewell Abbott activities, I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Bonchon with Khine. She had to steal my thunder and quit Abbott the day before my last day. Thanks for your friendship and for this pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream which we devoured in the parking lot outside CVS. Good times!
Relocating meant I had to say goodbye not only to some very special people, but also some belongings which I just couldn't bring along with me. Aloha to my motorcycle for being a trusted steed. I'm glad we got to enjoy one last beautiful ride (to Pescadero) and I wish you all the best to whomever owns you now.
Brent, thanks so much for making the time to hang out with me in the last few weeks I spent in Cali. I cherish the friendship we've shared for all these years and despite not seeing much of each other in our first several years in Nor Cal, we've certainly done our best to make up for lost time in the last few. All the best to you and Mary and I hope, Oneworld willing, you'll come on down for a visit! Oh, by the way, those delicious, vegan cinnamon rolls you see above come from Cinnaholic in Berkeley! Definitely worth the drive out there (even more so with great company).
My final "Foodie Friday" with the Prometheus gang. Again, definitely miss you guys and hope we'll get a chance to hang out again soon wherever that may be. P.S. Hat tip to Molby's mom for shutting down her restaurant (Famous Food in Sunnyvale) and for cooking up some tasty Chinese cuisine!
These flybys of Pacifica never get old.
And neither does going to Punahou Carnival! Especially since it must have been at least 8 years since my last visit.
The moment I stepped onto campus, I got a wonderful feeling of nostalgia. And even though I'm a bit older and less attracted to the games and rides...
Doesn't mean I appreciate the atmosphere any less. It just means I head straight for the food. First on the hit list: lamb/beef gyro.
In honour of all my friends, Ka Punahou and otherwise, who I spent an inordinate amount of time during high school with in this very building.
And after scarfing down a teri burger, I turned my attention to this simple bowl of Saimin.
And then, onward to this bowl of Portuguese Bean Soup (which we waited a heck of a long time for).
Steph, I'm glad I got to introduce you to the spectacle of Punahou Carnival. And to the Punahou Carnival Malasada. Hope you enjoyed the experience and look forward to the next!
The "We all came to Punahou Carnival, bumped into each other and you should have come too Deryck" photo.
And the cherry on top (or, rather, belt busting finale), the Hawaiian plate: Lau lau, rice, lomi salmon, pineapple, Okinawan sweet potato, poi and haupia. Onolicious!
And to cap it off on my final night in the SF Bay Area: Cindy's orange fudge ripple ice cream. I will dearly miss you all FBW/FBS crew: Lisa, Amy, Randy, Bernie, Cindy, Aly, Evan, Justin, Brooks, Molby, Troy, Lori, Logan and Thomas. A hui hou kākou.
Such an awesome, if bittersweet, month of fun and fellowship. Thanks to everyone who I had an opportunity to spend a bit of time with over the past several weeks. Hopefully we will see each other once again in the near future! Surf camp Southern Hemisphere!!!
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