Puerto Alegre

I was reminded again yesterday of what a great spot Puerto Alegre is. The food, the people, the ambience. Yum.

Stairs to Coit Tower

Yesterday, after lunch, two coworkers and I headed a few blocks over to Levi Plaza and the base of the steps to Coit Tower.


We had a lovely and invigorating walk to the top of the hill.

Grand Ballroom

After the Hank III concert "experience," I promised to vent about the venue -- the Hyatt Regency's Grand Ballroom. Bottom line: do NOT go there!


Yelp spoke. I didn't listen.

A wedding or a prom or a fancy party would work beautifully there. But concerts? No.

We arrived shortly after the 8 p.m. start time to find a line that stretched for many blocks and was barely moving. I asked a security guard what was going on, he said everyone showed up at once and the folks doing the pat downs were overwhelmed. Fine. Brian and I went next door for a drink. Hour later? The line hasn't shrunk at all and we're about to miss the headliner. Luckily, I sweet-talked the same security guard who let us skip the line. Once inside, I learned there were four toilets for the sold-out crowd of about 1,000 people. Do NOT go there.

Reality TV

Despite some evidence to the contrary, I'm quite picky about my reality TV. America's Next Top Model? Love it. Survivor? Never miss it. (Until this season ... somehow I missed hearing about it.) The Biggest Loser? I find it inspiring. Say what you will, but you really should check it out. I struggle with 15 pounds, so I don't know how these people do it. It's terribly impressive.

Brian and Bread

You learn new things about someone when you share an apartment. (And this is my blog, not Brian's, so you'll only hear my perspective on that.)

Brian LOVES bread. He probably eats two loaves a week. This is difficult for me as I try to avoid bread to lose weight, but that's another story.


I found this bread maker on Craigslist and will let you know how it goes.

Swan Lake

When I was 15, I fell in love with Swan Lake. I watched from backstage and was completely mesmerized. That experience led to several years of working as a dresser -- helping dancers in and out of their costumes, providing a needle and thread for emergencies and doing laundry.

I've had season tickets to the incredible San Francisco Ballet Company for about eight years now, but this is the first time they've done Swan Lake and it's a totally revamped production -- new choreography, sets and costumes. It was eye-poppingly beautiful.

Hank III

Hank III is the grandson of Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams, Jr. He performed Saturday at the Hyatt Regency's Grand Ballroom (I will rant about this terrible venue later ...). If you like old-fashioned, hee-haw, hillbilly music with lyrics I won't reproduce here, Hank's the guy for you. His band was tight and well-rehearsed and Hank played a solid 1-1/2 hours of kickin' country music before starting his heavy metal set. Sorry, but two songs of set #2 was more than enough for me and Brian and a bunch of other people who left early.