It's been a busy two weeks! Work has been really busy (a good thing!) because the client I was on was going through their quarterly review process. I've gotten exposure to what the job is really like and what I'd be doing as a new accountant. The best part is I work with a great group of people and so even when work is frustrating, I enjoy being there.
The other big change is that I'm now staying in Walnut Creek at Kimberly and Jason's house. The lease on the apartment I was subletting ended this week and since I'm only going to be in Cali for two more weeks, it was just easier to stay here for a bit - and they were nice enough to let me!
Last weekend my big outing was up to Berkeley on Saturday to walk around the city and campus, and meet up with a friend for dinner and drinks. Oddly enough, my friend's name is Jordan, so every time I mention her in conversation I have to clarify who it is! I met her in a history class last fall at Michigan and we hit it off because we both love baking and both were visiting San Francisco over Fall Break in October. She moved here after graduating in December and has been working at a small public relations firm. She has been staying at her parent's house up in Napa but she is moving to an apartment in the city this weekend!
Next week I will be starting to work on a new client and I get to travel to Arizona for four days. It's going to be unbelievably hot. Luckily, the hotel that they picked to stay at has a lazy river and water slide! How hilarious is that? Who knows if I'll end up taking advantage of the amenities, but hopefully we get off work early enough one day that I can use it :) I'll let you all know how that goes!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Quirky Things about California
Things I've noticed so far...
1) It has rained three times since I've been here, and by rain I mean a little sprinkle. So there has been no rain, no unbearable heat wave, no tornadoes, AND no earthquakes this summer. Take that Michigan.
2) When you drive into the state along I-80, they check your car for "agricultural products", much like a customs check. Apparently they have one on every interstate as you enter the state! I lied and said I didn't have anything when I very well had THREE apples in my car. Oops.
3) The most depressing thing of all...there are no cider mills in California.
4) Also, as Kimberly pointed out to me, there are no Buffalo Wild Wings either.
5) Even WORSE, no Potbelly Sandwich shops either!
6) It's not that warm. In fact, it's downright cold sometimes. I did a poor job of packing - I brought one fleece blanket and one pair of non-work pants. Yes, just one.
7) No one has ever been to Michigan, except for the people from Michigan who moved here.
8) Oddly enough, I have seen a decent amount of UofM t-shirts and license plate frames. Go Blue!
9) The speed limit is 65 on highways. And people follow it. It's painful!
10) The temperature difference between different parts of the Bay Area is huge. For instance, I work in San Ramon right now which is 30 minutes inland. One day last week I got in my car after work and the temperature was 99 degrees. By the time I got to Oakland, it was 81 degrees, and when I got downtown for the Giants game, it was 72 degrees. You have to wear layers out here!
11) They make you enter your zip code before you pump gas. Why?
There's lots of wonderful differences too, but I just wanted to point out the quirky stuff.
1) It has rained three times since I've been here, and by rain I mean a little sprinkle. So there has been no rain, no unbearable heat wave, no tornadoes, AND no earthquakes this summer. Take that Michigan.
2) When you drive into the state along I-80, they check your car for "agricultural products", much like a customs check. Apparently they have one on every interstate as you enter the state! I lied and said I didn't have anything when I very well had THREE apples in my car. Oops.
3) The most depressing thing of all...there are no cider mills in California.
4) Also, as Kimberly pointed out to me, there are no Buffalo Wild Wings either.
5) Even WORSE, no Potbelly Sandwich shops either!
6) It's not that warm. In fact, it's downright cold sometimes. I did a poor job of packing - I brought one fleece blanket and one pair of non-work pants. Yes, just one.
7) No one has ever been to Michigan, except for the people from Michigan who moved here.
8) Oddly enough, I have seen a decent amount of UofM t-shirts and license plate frames. Go Blue!
9) The speed limit is 65 on highways. And people follow it. It's painful!
10) The temperature difference between different parts of the Bay Area is huge. For instance, I work in San Ramon right now which is 30 minutes inland. One day last week I got in my car after work and the temperature was 99 degrees. By the time I got to Oakland, it was 81 degrees, and when I got downtown for the Giants game, it was 72 degrees. You have to wear layers out here!
11) They make you enter your zip code before you pump gas. Why?
There's lots of wonderful differences too, but I just wanted to point out the quirky stuff.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sisters in San Fran
I had a fantastic weekend. My sister flew down from Seattle on Thursday night so we had 2 and a half days to have fun in San Francisco. We were quite productive!
On Friday, after Katie had shopped downtown for the day while I was at work, we went out for the night in Jack London Square. We had dinner and drinks at a great restaurant called Bocanova. Then on Saturday we got up and took the ferry into downtown. I had never taken the ferry before but it was pretty nice! It's just a 30 minute ride to the Ferry Building, so the commute isn't that much longer than what it takes for me to ride BART. Unfortunately though, it's twice as expensive. So the boat dropped us off at the Ferry Building where the Farmer's Market was going on. This farmer's market is like the mecca on Saturdays in the city. It was so crowded! But there's also tons of vendors so you can pretty much find anything you want, and more. We started off with breakfast, a doughnut muffin and apricot jam pocket. Side note: guess what Pioneer Woman's recipe was for today? Muffins That Taste Like Doughnuts..mmm. At the market we stocked up on all sorts of picnic supplies and then headed off to Golden Gate Park.
Just outside of GG Park, we rented bikes (the park is waaay too big to walk around). So we biked into the park and found a place close to all the museums to have a picnic! Here's our masterpiece of a picnic lunch, complete with sourdough and rosemary herb bread, gruyere and chevre cheeses, proscuitto, wild arugula lettuce, a peach, almonds, olives, dark chocolate, and a travel container of Chardonnay. Best lunch ever! Also, check out the Michigan beach towel/picnic blanket. Go Blue! After eating and people watching for awhile, we headed over to the de Young Museum, a pretty new art museum at the park. Part of the building is a 9-story tower that's free to access and has beautiful views of the city, so we headed up to take a look. Here are some of the pictures from atop the tower:
Needing to burn off some of the calories from lunch, we continued to bike around the park for an hour and then turned in our rentals. We walked over to Alamo Square, home to the Painted Ladies, which might be familiar from the Full House opening credits.
It was time to make our way back to Oakland to get cleaned up for dinner! That night we headed back down to the Mission district where we met Jordan's friend, fraternity brother, and fellow Rochester native Andy and his girlfriend for dinner and sangria. We went to a tapas restaurant and ordered the meat platter, which is literally what it sounds like. I think I ate more meat than night then I usually do in a two weeks, but it was so good! Afterwards we headed over to a bar in the mission to meet up with one of Katie's Clemson/Seattle friends for a bit before we had to catch BART back to Oakland! That's one of the few unfortunate things about BART - that it doesn't run past midnight so you pretty much have to fend for yourself and cab it if you end up staying in the city past then.
Sunday was even more adventurous than Saturday. I drove over not one, not two, but three Bay Area bridges, including the Golden Gate bridge. It might not sound all that impressive to you, but I had been terrified all summer to even attempt to drive into the city. Good thing we were just passing through on our way up to Muir Woods, a national park about 15 minutes north of San Francisco. It's one of the few places in the Bay Area that has the giant redwood trees. It was beautiful! Katie and I even did a little bit of strenuous hiking in the park around Muir Woods. I'm still sore today! We made it up to the Panoramic Trail where you supposedly can see the ocean. We weren't that lucky. Look at the view though!
After about 2 and half hours at Muir Woods, we hopped in the car and headed back to Oakland where I dropped Katie off at the airport. Then I pigged out on all the leftover picnic supplies, including the bar of chocolate. It was a great weekend.
On Friday, after Katie had shopped downtown for the day while I was at work, we went out for the night in Jack London Square. We had dinner and drinks at a great restaurant called Bocanova. Then on Saturday we got up and took the ferry into downtown. I had never taken the ferry before but it was pretty nice! It's just a 30 minute ride to the Ferry Building, so the commute isn't that much longer than what it takes for me to ride BART. Unfortunately though, it's twice as expensive. So the boat dropped us off at the Ferry Building where the Farmer's Market was going on. This farmer's market is like the mecca on Saturdays in the city. It was so crowded! But there's also tons of vendors so you can pretty much find anything you want, and more. We started off with breakfast, a doughnut muffin and apricot jam pocket. Side note: guess what Pioneer Woman's recipe was for today? Muffins That Taste Like Doughnuts..mmm. At the market we stocked up on all sorts of picnic supplies and then headed off to Golden Gate Park.
Just outside of GG Park, we rented bikes (the park is waaay too big to walk around). So we biked into the park and found a place close to all the museums to have a picnic! Here's our masterpiece of a picnic lunch, complete with sourdough and rosemary herb bread, gruyere and chevre cheeses, proscuitto, wild arugula lettuce, a peach, almonds, olives, dark chocolate, and a travel container of Chardonnay. Best lunch ever! Also, check out the Michigan beach towel/picnic blanket. Go Blue! After eating and people watching for awhile, we headed over to the de Young Museum, a pretty new art museum at the park. Part of the building is a 9-story tower that's free to access and has beautiful views of the city, so we headed up to take a look. Here are some of the pictures from atop the tower:
Needing to burn off some of the calories from lunch, we continued to bike around the park for an hour and then turned in our rentals. We walked over to Alamo Square, home to the Painted Ladies, which might be familiar from the Full House opening credits.
It was time to make our way back to Oakland to get cleaned up for dinner! That night we headed back down to the Mission district where we met Jordan's friend, fraternity brother, and fellow Rochester native Andy and his girlfriend for dinner and sangria. We went to a tapas restaurant and ordered the meat platter, which is literally what it sounds like. I think I ate more meat than night then I usually do in a two weeks, but it was so good! Afterwards we headed over to a bar in the mission to meet up with one of Katie's Clemson/Seattle friends for a bit before we had to catch BART back to Oakland! That's one of the few unfortunate things about BART - that it doesn't run past midnight so you pretty much have to fend for yourself and cab it if you end up staying in the city past then.
Sunday was even more adventurous than Saturday. I drove over not one, not two, but three Bay Area bridges, including the Golden Gate bridge. It might not sound all that impressive to you, but I had been terrified all summer to even attempt to drive into the city. Good thing we were just passing through on our way up to Muir Woods, a national park about 15 minutes north of San Francisco. It's one of the few places in the Bay Area that has the giant redwood trees. It was beautiful! Katie and I even did a little bit of strenuous hiking in the park around Muir Woods. I'm still sore today! We made it up to the Panoramic Trail where you supposedly can see the ocean. We weren't that lucky. Look at the view though!
After about 2 and half hours at Muir Woods, we hopped in the car and headed back to Oakland where I dropped Katie off at the airport. Then I pigged out on all the leftover picnic supplies, including the bar of chocolate. It was a great weekend.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Wine Country
I spent a big chunk of the day on Saturday up in Napa, going wine tasting. It was wonderful :) Kimberly and Jason were heading up to their favorite winery, Trefethen, to pick up their quarterly shipment since they're wine club members. Members get free tastings too! My favorite wine was probably the Quandary, which is a blend of 3 different white wines with a fruity taste. After Trefethen, we headed over to another of of their favorites, Napa Cellars. I really liked that one. It had a laid back vibe and the guy who served us was really nice and informative. Plus, he gave us sufficiently more than the standard 4 tastings, so maybe that's why I liked it so much!! I ended up buying a bottle of red wine from there (which was also a blend of 3 different wines, oddly enough). The weather was absolutely gorgeous up there and I can't wait to go back again!
On Sunday I headed back out to Walnut Creek to watch the World Cup final and hang out with Jordan's cousin Melissa and her fiance Eric at Kimberly's house. All in all it was a super relaxing weekend. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from Napa, I guess I was to busy drinking. Maybe next time!
On Sunday I headed back out to Walnut Creek to watch the World Cup final and hang out with Jordan's cousin Melissa and her fiance Eric at Kimberly's house. All in all it was a super relaxing weekend. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from Napa, I guess I was to busy drinking. Maybe next time!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Fourth of July Weekend, Part 2
Another long delay in between posts, sorry! It's been a busy week. I started out at the client on Tuesday in San Ramon which is about a 30 minute drive from my apartment. So far it's going really well! The team seems like a fun group and I'll be out there for a month.
I'm catching up a bit but my mom and I did squeeze even more things into last weekend. On Saturday we drove down to Monterey, which should only be 2 hours from here but it was more like 3 with traffic. Monterey is right on the Pacific coast, which is BEAUTIFUL! Unfortunately I didn't think Monterey was that wonderful. It was super crowded and it was very very touristy. There's only so many stores with t-shirts and trinkets that you can look at. There are a lot of activities you can do in the area: biking, swimming, whale watching, and going to the aquarium. But we were only there for the night so we just walked around for a bit and decided to leave.
We headed south toward the 17 Mile Drive, which is the coastal drive through the Pebble Beach golf course property. There are beaches, picnic sites, and lookout points along the way, and the view was incredible. The last stop on the drive is the Pebble Beach lodge, where Judes and I got out to look around. No golfing for us though! Here are some pictures:
On Sunday we headed into Carmel-by-the-sea, which is at the end of the 17 Mile Drive, south of Monterey. It's such an adorable town! There's tons of great boutique shops, cute restaurants and bed & breakfasts, and it's right on the beach! We were smart to get into town early because by noon the traffic getting into the city was backed up for a mile. We shopped around for a bit, grabbed lunch, and then decided to head up highway 1 back to San Francisco!
When we got back to the Bay area mom and I had dinner in Jack London Square, right by my apartment in Oakland. On Monday we spent some time in the East Bay and then hung out by the pool for a few hours! We had sunny weather all weekend, but it was actually quite chilly. So we took advantage of the fact that it was finally up to 80 degrees. Around dinner time I had to say goodbye to mom and go back to the apartment to get ready for work in the morning. I'm so glad I got to spend time with her for a few days and see more of California.
I've got a busy weekend ahead and then Katie will be visiting next weekend! Wooo!
I'm catching up a bit but my mom and I did squeeze even more things into last weekend. On Saturday we drove down to Monterey, which should only be 2 hours from here but it was more like 3 with traffic. Monterey is right on the Pacific coast, which is BEAUTIFUL! Unfortunately I didn't think Monterey was that wonderful. It was super crowded and it was very very touristy. There's only so many stores with t-shirts and trinkets that you can look at. There are a lot of activities you can do in the area: biking, swimming, whale watching, and going to the aquarium. But we were only there for the night so we just walked around for a bit and decided to leave.
We headed south toward the 17 Mile Drive, which is the coastal drive through the Pebble Beach golf course property. There are beaches, picnic sites, and lookout points along the way, and the view was incredible. The last stop on the drive is the Pebble Beach lodge, where Judes and I got out to look around. No golfing for us though! Here are some pictures:
On Sunday we headed into Carmel-by-the-sea, which is at the end of the 17 Mile Drive, south of Monterey. It's such an adorable town! There's tons of great boutique shops, cute restaurants and bed & breakfasts, and it's right on the beach! We were smart to get into town early because by noon the traffic getting into the city was backed up for a mile. We shopped around for a bit, grabbed lunch, and then decided to head up highway 1 back to San Francisco!
When we got back to the Bay area mom and I had dinner in Jack London Square, right by my apartment in Oakland. On Monday we spent some time in the East Bay and then hung out by the pool for a few hours! We had sunny weather all weekend, but it was actually quite chilly. So we took advantage of the fact that it was finally up to 80 degrees. Around dinner time I had to say goodbye to mom and go back to the apartment to get ready for work in the morning. I'm so glad I got to spend time with her for a few days and see more of California.
I've got a busy weekend ahead and then Katie will be visiting next weekend! Wooo!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fourth of July Weekend, Part 1
I apologize for not posting anything in awhile. My mom came to visit for the weekend so we've been busy doing lots of fun stuff, with very little internet access. But happy belated Independence Day! I enjoyed a wonderful 4 and a half day weekend, thanks to no work on Friday or Monday and not much work to do on Thursday! Here's a recap of what I did Wednesday through Friday:
Wednesday was the day that mom flew in, but I actually had a busy day on my own. My "buddy", who is a first-year accountant who's tasked with helping me out, invited me to a Giants game with the team that I'll be working on for most of the summer. It was nice to take a break from the intern project and it was my first experience at AT&T Park! It was gorgeous (as long as you were sitting in the sun), but the Giants sucked. I think they lost 8-1, I lost track after awhile. Not that I really cared because the Tigers will always be my team :) Here's a quick picture I took of the view from our seats:
After the game I headed back to the office to finish up our project and then finally met up with mom!! I was so happy to see her. I was tired from a long day and still had work in the morning, so we just went and got some food and then watched TV in the hotel. Even though I claim to not be much of a TV fan, whenever I'm around one now I'm glued since I don't have one in my apartment.
On Thursday we presented our intern project to a group of partners in the office and then I finished up a few things before leaving at 1! The hotel we were staying at downtown was in the Union Square area, which is where all the big name stores and shopping is. We wandered around through some stores that night and I bought not one, but two new pairs of shoes: a pair of good walking shoes and a pair of heels to go with the only suit I brought to California. Why I chose to bring the one suit that didn't have shoes to match is beyond me, but oh well.
Friday was our BIG day. I still can't believe how much we did! We got up early and boarded a cable car to take us to the Fisherman's Wharf area. Yes, I finally got to ride a cable car! It certainly isn't the most efficient means of transportation, but it was fun. We were smart and each bought the 1-day passport that gets you unlimited rides on both the cable cars and buses in the city. After getting to Fisherman's Wharf we walked around and ate breakfast at the sourdough bread factory. They had the cutest loaves shaped like animals!
We trekked on over to Ghirardelli Square, and then caught a bus to go to the Marina district, which is closer to the Golden Gate Bridge. This is the area of the city where a ton of young professionals live, and one of the places Jordan and I are considering getting an apartment next year. It's a really cute area with adorable townhouses, a beautiful waterfront, and a cute downtown area with shops and cafes. Not far away was the Cow Hollow district, home to the Union Street shops (not to be confused with Union Square). We visited a bunch of boutique stores, and even a few bridal shops, but I ended up just buying a summer dress that was on sale.
Next up we hopped on a bus and went to North Beach for lunch. We perused the City Lights bookstore and then took a bus back to Union Square, where we stopped in two more bridal dress stores but I didn't really like anything, or the prices. At that point we quickly decided that a trip up to Sausalito would be nice for dinner. Sausalito is the city just north of San Francisco, across the Bay. You can get to it over the Golden Gate Bridge or by ferry. Not having my car at the time, we went by ferry! It's such a cute little town and would be nice for a weekend getaway. I had been before when I came to visit San Francisco last October with Jordan, and I ended up eating at the same restaurant again! There are great views of the Bay and the city from Sausalito. Here are some pictures:
After dinner we caught the ferry back to the city, stopped at Ghirardelli Square so I could get a cupcake, and got on the bus headed back to the hotel. Whew, what a day.
OH, and I got the best news of all on Friday. We were able to put an advance reservation down for the beach house we wanted for the wedding in Emerald Isle next year. So the wedding is officially June 26th, 2011! Yay!
I'll post again soon about our weekend trip to Monterey/Carmel but for now I have to get ready for my first real day of work tomorrow!
Wednesday was the day that mom flew in, but I actually had a busy day on my own. My "buddy", who is a first-year accountant who's tasked with helping me out, invited me to a Giants game with the team that I'll be working on for most of the summer. It was nice to take a break from the intern project and it was my first experience at AT&T Park! It was gorgeous (as long as you were sitting in the sun), but the Giants sucked. I think they lost 8-1, I lost track after awhile. Not that I really cared because the Tigers will always be my team :) Here's a quick picture I took of the view from our seats:
After the game I headed back to the office to finish up our project and then finally met up with mom!! I was so happy to see her. I was tired from a long day and still had work in the morning, so we just went and got some food and then watched TV in the hotel. Even though I claim to not be much of a TV fan, whenever I'm around one now I'm glued since I don't have one in my apartment.
On Thursday we presented our intern project to a group of partners in the office and then I finished up a few things before leaving at 1! The hotel we were staying at downtown was in the Union Square area, which is where all the big name stores and shopping is. We wandered around through some stores that night and I bought not one, but two new pairs of shoes: a pair of good walking shoes and a pair of heels to go with the only suit I brought to California. Why I chose to bring the one suit that didn't have shoes to match is beyond me, but oh well.
Friday was our BIG day. I still can't believe how much we did! We got up early and boarded a cable car to take us to the Fisherman's Wharf area. Yes, I finally got to ride a cable car! It certainly isn't the most efficient means of transportation, but it was fun. We were smart and each bought the 1-day passport that gets you unlimited rides on both the cable cars and buses in the city. After getting to Fisherman's Wharf we walked around and ate breakfast at the sourdough bread factory. They had the cutest loaves shaped like animals!
We trekked on over to Ghirardelli Square, and then caught a bus to go to the Marina district, which is closer to the Golden Gate Bridge. This is the area of the city where a ton of young professionals live, and one of the places Jordan and I are considering getting an apartment next year. It's a really cute area with adorable townhouses, a beautiful waterfront, and a cute downtown area with shops and cafes. Not far away was the Cow Hollow district, home to the Union Street shops (not to be confused with Union Square). We visited a bunch of boutique stores, and even a few bridal shops, but I ended up just buying a summer dress that was on sale.
Next up we hopped on a bus and went to North Beach for lunch. We perused the City Lights bookstore and then took a bus back to Union Square, where we stopped in two more bridal dress stores but I didn't really like anything, or the prices. At that point we quickly decided that a trip up to Sausalito would be nice for dinner. Sausalito is the city just north of San Francisco, across the Bay. You can get to it over the Golden Gate Bridge or by ferry. Not having my car at the time, we went by ferry! It's such a cute little town and would be nice for a weekend getaway. I had been before when I came to visit San Francisco last October with Jordan, and I ended up eating at the same restaurant again! There are great views of the Bay and the city from Sausalito. Here are some pictures:
After dinner we caught the ferry back to the city, stopped at Ghirardelli Square so I could get a cupcake, and got on the bus headed back to the hotel. Whew, what a day.
OH, and I got the best news of all on Friday. We were able to put an advance reservation down for the beach house we wanted for the wedding in Emerald Isle next year. So the wedding is officially June 26th, 2011! Yay!
I'll post again soon about our weekend trip to Monterey/Carmel but for now I have to get ready for my first real day of work tomorrow!
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