Chez Panisse

Ron took me to Chez Panisse in Berkeley tonight for my birthday dinner. And let me tell you it was YUM. I've been wanting to go for years now and it might have been the end of our relationship if he didn't pull out the reservation this time. I joke. But only mildly. I've been dying to go and it didn't disappoint. We got the most romantic table right in the front window. And as I sat enjoying an asparagus tart shaped like a slice of pizza and spit roasted chicken with morel mushroom sauce, I realized that this would be the most expensive dinner I would eat for the next several years.

We have eaten in some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, mainly for birthdays and anniversaries. There was the neverending dinner under the bigtop canapy at Fleur de Lys, the best crack-duck ever at Applewood Inn, the imprompu fireworks at Forbes Island, the proposal extravaganza at Julias Castle, the stoned waiters at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, the talkative man dining alone next to us at Silks, and the all consuming all scrumptious lobster pot pie at Michael Mina. God, I love food. And we have been so lucky to live and eat in the foodie wonderland of the Bay Area.

But not all dinners have to be expensive, we've had a thousand amazing meals on the cheap, in dives, tacquerias, and taco trucks that have been just as good if only that they are simple and warm and under 5 bucks. I really can't wait for authentic italian pasta, fresh french cheese, indian masala, thai gang panang,....and on and on. Real food from around the world instead of food from around the world eaten in a mall food court. Doesn't quite compare. I'm sorry I don't mean to spoil your Yokohama rice bowl : ) eat up!

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Laptop

Check it out, my new laptop! It's an Asus Eee PC 904HA. Ron got it for my birthday so I can blog up a storm and stay connected to our family by skype via a built in webcam. And it's only 8.9 inches and under 2lbs so its mini-sized which is perfect for travel. It has 160 GB Hard Drive for our gazillion photos and a 6 cell battery which should last up to 5-6 hours of regular use.

So far I love everything about it except for the page up key is placed where the right shift key should be so as I write I end up the previous driving me crazy line and turning it into a jumbled mess. It's really I'm almost ready to just put everything in lowercase. See what I mean!

Edit: they no longer sell the version I originally bought but they have a new version ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-MU27-BK that is 10.1" display with a larger 250GB hard drive. It even comes in colors: pink, white, blue, black. All for less than $350, you can't beat it as a traveling companion, and you can always stay connected!

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Party Like a Rockstar

Last nite we threw a party in our loft to say farewell to our friends. It was a pretty good turnout, even a last minute surprise visit from a NY colleague, although a few notable exceptions were no-shows, you know who you are and we are mad. Mad I tell you.

We advertised it as BYOB since we are unapologetically being cheap and saving every dime for our trip. But everyone brought over so much beer, wine, and alcohol we need to throw another party to get through it all! Seriously if we drank it all we may never get through packing or just end up labeling every box incorrectly or incoherently like "odd socks make good puppets". Now that I think of it, I could probably use another Vodka-Rockstar right now...

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Travel Medical Insurance

I'm researching travel medical insurance so we are covered in the event of illness or in need of emergency evacuation.

The three front runners are:
1. IMG - Patriot International
2. Travel Guard
3. World Nomads

IMG is looking the best due to the ability of adding up to two months emergency coverage when we return to the US, as well as a competitive price relative to benefits. But I don't know, this is not really my forte. Reading the fine print of policies has not been the funnest part of the trip planning for sure.

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Relativity

I wonder how fast the trip will be. Not in actual days and weeks but in relative time. How a Sunday morning can seem long and luxurious or a Monday at work is dreadful and never-ending. Some weeks are short and some are fast. And different days feel different. I like the feel of Thursdays and Saturdays the most. So much hope and optimistic anticipation in those days.

But how will a whole year feel on the road? I don’t know how to measure a year. I can barely remember what I was doing last month let alone last year. It was probably a pretty typical drumbeat of: Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep. Dinner. Drinks. Movie. Chores. Rinse. Repeat.

Geez, that sounds rather boring, doesn't it?! But what makes life LIFE is what happens in between all that. The laughs, the pauses, the tastes, the shocks, the shivers, the snuggles, the sneezes, and the string of amazements that come outta nowhere. That is what you live for.

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Grande Cup of Change

I gave notice at work today. I could probably have spent my entire career there. But whether it's next week or 30 years from now I would have left the job eventually. Change is inevitable. I just so happened to pull the trigger a little early. It was really tough telling my boss I was leaving. My heart pounding, like I was breaking up with someone I still loved. I've had so much opportunity, to build a Fortune 100 eCommerce business from the ground up. They've nurtured me, and believed in me. It's been a great 9+ years but now, alas, it's time to hit the road. Time to forge my own path. No lattes delivered to my corner office where I'm going.

Okay, so no one ever brought me coffee and my office window looks out over a pretty unspectacular parking lot. A girl can embellish ; )

I have a feeling this is just the sort of change I need in my life right now, it will open up a thousand unimagined possibilities. Stepping off the treadmill to see that there are many miles ahead still and many more forks in the road to wander down.

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Sacrifices

In a bid to save money I've totally changed my lifestyle and downgraded so many things it's ridiculous.

• I have given up my Laura Mercier foundation and buy my make-up at Walgreen's
  
• I have banned Whole Foods for Trader Joe's, and a little begrudgingly, I even choke down Charles Shaw
  
• I pack my lunch for work, like I did in the 6th grade. Sandwich and pickle. Yogurt. Banana.
  
• I smuggle liquor into shows in a flask. Sorry, but one cocktail in a San Francisco venue is $12!
  
• I steal sugar packets from Starbucks. They can spare 'em.
  
• I've stopped getting regular pedicures, waxes, and haircuts. Much to Ron's dismay.
• I walk everywhere including 2 miles to and from work to cut down on transportation costs.
  
• I eat out at a real restaurant only once/week. Trust me, this is a big improvement from the 3-4 times we used to!
• I use little bottles of hotel shampoo and conditioner.
• I find myself taking free food anywhere I can. Saving that free bagel from a work breakfast for a lunch later on.
  
• I wash and reuse ziploc bags as many times as I can.
• And most importantly, I haven't bought a single new thing for months unless it's going with me on the trip.
  

All the little things are totally adding up. The only habit we can't seem to break is the cleaning lady. After Ron and I work a super long day neither of us want to come home to cook and clean afterwards. We love the fresh smell of fake lemons from a newly cleaned apartment and just pop in a couple frozen indian dinners and put our feet up . Of course, when we don't have jobs, there's no excuse for this luxury. I'll have to break out the feather duster (wherever it may be) and I think Ron would look smashing in those pink, rubber gloves. Getting a good mental image...

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