Buildings are pretty too!

While in San Francisco I got a few shots of some buildings.  Some are okay, some not so okay.  A few of them came out hazy because I snapped them through the windshield of the car. Don't judge me!  So here ya go, a few buildings in San Francisco.

Transamerica Pyramid; tallest skyscraper in San Fran.  I just happened to be walking by it so I snagged this shot.

Chinatown, San Francisco

After the 10k run it was time to eat.  Not just a nibble, I mean eat!  I had my mind on dim sum the whole time I was in SF and I was ready to get to Chinatown to replace the calories I had worked off.  I deserved it right?  We ate at the Imperial Palace Restaurant, their reviews are not so great but I had eaten there several times before and never had a problem.  Thirty bucks for us to eat until we felt like we were about to pop and I even had beer!  I don't know about you but that's a damn hell of a deal!  I was obviously so hungry I failed at taking pictures of the mighty feast.  My sister was able to snap a few teaser shots.

The Hundred Dollar Store

That damn store you can never go to and escape with spending any less than a hundred dollars!

What store could she be talking about?
It must be some high end boutique.

No, no.  I'm talking about THIS:

Mermaid Series: San Francisco

 Another item on my sister's 30 by 30 list is was running a 10k.  She already had a 5k mud run under her belt and she invited me to do a 10k with her.  I was not a runner, WAS being the operative word.  I hadn't run any distance further than two miles since high school.  Why run when I don't have to right?  Well I kinda had to because I told my sister I would.  And then I decided that being 3 years older I was not going to have my little sister pass me up.  And now I kinda like running.  I actually am starting a half marathon running program just for fun.  I don't have the gumption to sign myself up for anything.

The run my sister signed us up for was the Mermaid Series 10k Run in San Francisco.

Yep, that's my bib and running shirt.

Japantown

Before race day we decided to take mom to some shopping and food.  We visited Japantown and spent a good bit of time wandering the area, checking out the shops and finding some yummy food.

The concrete Peace Pagoda designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi was presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka, Japan.

Walking the Bridge

  My little sister made a list, she really likes making lists.  One of her lists is 30 by 30; she picked 30 goals she wants to meet before she turns 30 next year.  I would love to say she will accomplish them all but I think she may fall short on a few.  Which in my eyes is totally okay because she will complete most goals and will be a home owner very soon.  Buying a home was not on her 30 by 30 list and since buying a home is costly (and time consuming/stressing), she may not be able to do the whole list.  One of her goals was to walk the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  So off we went to tick an item off of her list, with mom in tow.  Rain was in the weather prognosticator's report but looks like we scared the rain away.

Our walk started at the opposite end of the bridge.  After a few good shots from this angle we walked on back.

Eating in Little Italy

When my sister told me we were going to San Francisco, we discussed places to have dinner.  She was very keen on having some Italian food.  She is currently taking Italian at school so she wanted to try some of their food.  I am going to admit, I am not a huge pasta or pizza fan.  But that's nothing a little cheese with an extra side of cheese and wine can't fix right?  I want to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures.  I was starving, and was the only one that did any of the 4 hours of driving.  Did I mention the hike through Lombard Street was before dinner?  I know my sister was constantly killing her iPhone taking pictures but I don't have access to her phone and she hasn't posted pictures for me to steal from her.  She emailed me her iPhone photos, so I will be sure to credit the pictures she took.

Pilfered from their website.

My mom wore flowers in her hair.

So here I am driving several hours up north with my final destination being San Francisco.  About an hour from our destination my mom confesses that she has never been to San Francisco!  What?!  How could we not know this?  Granted we never asked and she never just volunteered the information but we live 4 hours away.  I assumed she had already been.  She started with the kids thing late in life so I guessed she had been to San Francisco in her 20's.  We were all shocked!

Book: Grasping at Self Worth

Being a writer, it always makes me happy to see people giving it a go and trying to get their work out there.  I , myself am far to lazy to worry about publishing my rubbish.  Who would pay for it anyways?!  Any how, there are people out there that try.  Bryan is one of those people and I wish him the best of luck.  Bryan Maine recently asked to have a guest spot on my blog.  Never had a guest blogger before but I figured why not.  We exchanged a few emails and he wanted to share an experience from when he first started working in a preschool in Japan.

Before I get to his guest post, I wanted to let everyone know he has a book Grasping at Self Worth that he has written.  It's got a kickstarter page so if you are interested in helping out a fellow writer, check out his kickstarter page here.  Now without further ado, I give you Bryan Maine.

11-11-11

It's that time!

What time???

Time for 11-11-11.  

What the hell is that?

Well, it's the 11th day of the 11th month, so for 11 consecutive hours I take a different photo on the hour.

Why is Susie lagging at blog posts? - Part 4

I couldn't wait to get on the road again... because the life I love is sleeping in my bed.  Oh I couldn't wait to be on the road again.

I woke up sicker than a dog Monday morning.  The plan was to stay one more night in Garden Grove and stay with one of Joey's family members.  But the heat from the previous day and my flu (the beer probably didn't help) had other plans.  Not to mention the A/C dried out my throat and sinuses so bad, I just wanted to die!  So we decided to meet up with Joey's dad for a quick lunch before hitting the road again. I was weary about lunch because breakfast didn't go so well.  Anyone remember Lard-ass?

Why is Susie lagging at blog posts? - Part 3

The big day!

"Time to wake up sleepy head, your brother is getting married today." - me

Mister is being a sleepy bum.

Why is Susie lagging at blog posts? - Part 2

Answer:  Because she was too busy enjoying food, drinks and friends.

Why is Susie lagging at blog posts? - Part 1

When I'm not busy complaining about first world problems, I am off enjoying the first world amenities.  Friday the mister and I drove down to Costa Mesa in preparation for my brother-in-laws wedding.  

Pilfered from Westin