11:37p

today
did loads of stuff again today...mainly, shopped around for a white artificial x-mas tree.
'couldn't seem to find the right one, and a couple of the stores I went to didn't even have them.
'might just settle on a green one I saw for $19.99 at Target. it was the perfect size and price....'just wished it was white.
i don't have anything against the green ones...I just wanted to try something different with the decor of
the tree this year.

it worked!
so, I tried those two recipes in my Bon Appetite magazine and they turned out great!
what luck! thank god I stuck to the recipe..sometimes I try to improvise here and there and
it just turns out crappy.
My guinea pigs were quite happy with the turnout, too. :)
we've got quite a lot of leftovers, though.

by the way, the recipes that I tried tonight were:
1. cheese tortellini soup with cannellini, kielbasa and kale
2. mahogany beef stew with red wine and hoisin sauce

...different, but familiar and most importantly: YUMMMMY!!!! :)

boring
so 'gotta wake up early tomorrow morning to get to my parent's house by 9am.
they're replacing the carpet with laminate flooring, so I gotta be there
to babysit the very nice workmen from 9-2p.
I kinda didn't want to do it. In fact, I probably should've just lied to my parents and said that I was busy, but....
THE GUILT was just too much to ignore. ;) hehehe

well, at least i don't have to be bored the entire day.
my dad originally asked me to be there until 5p.
good god, I think I would have to pull my hair out from the boredom!

hmmm...maybe this will give me a chance to finish reading book 3 of harry potter.

on the floor!
so tomorrow night....i'm going OUT!!!
good god! are the planets aligned?!!!! ;)

'going to a friends b-day party at this club in the city...so I get to dance on the floor!
and before that, we'll be getting together with a few friends for some Senegalese (African)
food in the mission. (CHI CHI: the mission is where I took your mama for some Mexican food when she was here)
If you've never been to this restaurant, you gotta go! the food is superb and the
drinks....let me just say that I never thought they could make such a yummy alcoholic drink w/ hibiscus!
it's actually their specialty.

anyhow, the place is called Bissap Baobab. Check it out!
THere's definitely a more down-to-earth/cultural feel to this place. Very much suits the culture of the mission.
You really can't go wrong with any of the dishes.
And of course, top it off with Bananas flambee w/ ice cream for dessert - YUMMM!

la corazon del mission
(translation: the heart of the mission)
man, I miss working in the mission district!
I would get off at the 24th Street/Mission BART station every morning and walk down 24th street (the heart of the mission)
to get to work.
On my way, I would pass
- La Boheme Cafe (the served the best hot Mexican Chocolate)
- Venice Cafe (owned and run by a father/son team for 15+ years...so friendly!)
- Casa Bonampak (a latino folk art store...Nancy, the owner, was one of the most down-to-earth people...she's also a big community organizer in the mission and often used the store for that purpose)
- El Trebol (a Salvadorean restaurant..yummy pupusas and lunch for hella cheap! try $4 for a whole meal!)
- Muddy's (nasty coffee, but cool place to sit and read the paper...or have staff check-ins! our staff was so small that we would often go there to do that)
- Synergy School (an alternative school kiddy-corner from our office. that's where my co-worker met her boyfriend...and now they have a little girl. :) )
- Clooney's (a bar...one of the last remnants of the Irish community that once dominated that area of the mission. I finally walked in there for a drink...during the last year I worked for USP...and Clooney's is right across the street from our office! ;))
- the health food store (i'd go there to buy rice snacks, cashews, a banana, and a chocolate odwalla smoothie....for my breakfast and snacks)

Oh, and of course, the FOOOD:
- King's bakery (cheap bread and pastries! my favorite was their french bread (only 25 cents))
- El Farolito (a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant...the food is sooo good and soo cheap. The line for lunch and afternoon goes out the door everyday!)
- El Papalote (a more hip-looking and healthy Mexican restaurant. The owner, Miguel, knows everyone who walks in..but he could never remember my name! He actually also DJ'ed at Storyville for a while, too.)
..I could really go on and on about where I ate in the mission when I worked there, but that would take forever!

I love that neighborhood! It's a mixture of old San Francisco homes with "mom & pop" stores and lots of non-profit agencies.
It's a neighborhood with so much culture, character, and heart. It's definitely a HUGE difference from the 'burbs!
Unfortunately, gentrification has taken over the neighborhood and continues to do so.
With the rise of dot coms and lofts on the east end of 24th...to the rise in property values of the Noe Valley area on the west end,
so many families (who have lived there for years) are being displaced because they can no longer pay the higher rent.
To add to this, the parking situation on the east end has gotten worse because of the dot commers who work in that area.
They are now taking up residential parking areas.
It's sad really, because all the yuppy folks who come into the neighborhood to enjoy this "culture" really have no
idea where they are or how people have been affected here. To most, it is simply this "cool place" with "cool bars" and "cool cafes", etc.
But there is more.
SO MUCH MORE!

So next time you're eating at Gordon's Eats
or drinking up at the brewery across the street from Gordon's
or sipping a latte at the Starfucks on Bryant and Mariposa
or dancing the night away at The Monkey Bar on Harrison,
(all these places are at the east end of 24th)
....just take a second to think and be critical of where you are.

...just for one second.