We're back from San Francisco, back to work and back to fixing up the house. The visit to the west coast wasn't exactly the restful respite I thought it would be. The folks had us running around the whole time when all we really wanted to do was relax and revel in not having to sand or paint anything for a week. Alas, it was not to be. My dad and his wife were decidedly manic the whole time, cooking and puttering around and basically leaving no moment uncommented for the duration. I know most of this was because they were so excited to have us visit, not to mention the enormous Thanksgiving dinner they hosted for us and a bunch of other people. But man, I could have used a couple of days off in there somewhere! Jeannie was reading an article about meth and read off the symptoms of a meth-head and I'll be damned if my folks weren't displaying a majority of the symptoms! They do work in the pharmaceutical industry …

The only day we were really left to our own devices turned out to be the day we went into San Francisco for the day. Once there, we started trudging all over the city and didn't stop for 6 hours. We stuck to the Lower Haight, Fillmore, the Castro, the Mission, Soma, and some unnamed areas along the way. I'm happy to report there are still some genuinely seedy spots in this tiny town. We ran into a cast of characters on Mission Street just below the highway that seemed to be auditioning for roles in New Jack City 2. We had planned to hang late into the night, but by 7 we were too tired and headed back to the Walnut Creek BART station. Consequently, I'm exhausted and trying to get over a rhinovirus I picked up in the East Bay. Even though I ostensibly had someone covering for me while I was out, I somehow have tons of crap to get through to pick up the slack. And that molding isn't painting itself, either. Ugh it's good to be home.