Kitchen Update - Faucet Frenzy

Who knew Stainless Steel appliances were so much more expensive than chrome, black, or white?  Check out our new kitchen faucet.

This sucker would have been way cheaper if we had gotten the model that was partially black AND stainless steel, aka UGLY!  Seriously though, I spent so much time researching these faucets.  Reviewers of other models I was considering were complaining about too much SPLASH from the faucet when it hit the bottom of the sink.  I was thinking, "It's a sink!  With water!  It's going to SPLASH."  But, of course I got paranoid and went with the model above which is a Hansgrohe Allegro E Single Handle Pullout (model 06460860).  My only concern was that the thing is too tall at 16.5" high at the top, but I think we'll get used to it and people seems to really like it on Amazon reviews.

Another design feature is that the handle only goes back to the vertical position, so you don't have to angle it towards the back wall to get hot water.  Other models have the hot water setting when the handle is pointed toward the wall and some people say they hit their knuckles on the backsplash when it's designed like that.  Plus, you have to reach a little further.

Enough of the faucet.  Here's our kitchen!  Isn't it wonderful?

The recessed lighting is already installed and working, and for those of you who remember, the window is already gone from the back wall.  Hope to get the cabinets in by next week!

...DARY

Just had to finish that thought.

As a new uncle, I've been thinking about all the things little Drew Wu Spring will never have experienced.  When he's a bit older, here's a few questions he should ask, or at the least hear the answers to:

Who's Michael Jordan, Oprah, Pete Sampras, Pavarotti?
What was 9/11 and where were you?
What's Katrina?
Who's Bin Laden, Saddam?
What was it like to live without cell phones?
What's Cats and why was it on Broadway for so long? (the musical)

Bringing it closer to home...
What was Uncle Rico's wedding like?
How did mom and dad meet?
What was great-grandma like?

It's just crazy to think of all the things he will never have experienced.  But of course, he'll have just as many new experiences.

On a related note, I wonder what types of questions my parents would want me to ask.
Please feel free to add more questions in the comments.

Appliances Have Landed

As of this afternoon, all major appliances have arrived and are sitting in our garage. We went with a hodge podge in terms of manufacturers, but they are matching stainless steal.  From left to right:  LG gas stove + convection oven, Maytag refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher (supposedly the quietest and best bang for your buck) , and Zephyr range hood.

The granite is being cut, the cabinets are coming in 4 weeks, the sink should arrive this week, and we still need to pick the faucet and the drawer/door knobs for the cabinets. Exciting, right?

My Nephew is HERE!

On May 27, 2011 8:52 PM, my nephew arrived! I don't want to steal my sister's thunder so I'll let her announce all the specifics, but his name is Drew Wu Spring.  I like the name, cause while it may be a little odd to some that his first and middle names rhyme, my sister and I share the same rhyming middle name, Lu, so it fits with the same kinda theme.

Angie called me and she and the little guy are doing well.   He has heard our voices already. I can't wait to meet him! Woohoo!

Bean's Preparing For Landing

My sister's water broke this morning!  The little man will hopefully arrive safely in less than 24 hours!  I'm so excited--I was singing myself a little diddy and doing a little dance this morning:  "I'm gonna be an unnnnnnncle!  I'm gonna be an unnnnnncle!  [at Hannah] You're gonna be an auuuuuuntie!"

It's going to be LEGEN...wait for it...

Blue Man's Writer's Block

Just as I was compelled to begin posting again, I've also found it surprisingly difficult to find time to write.  When I do find time, I'm hit with writer's block.  So, I apologize if some of these posts sound forced.  I figure if I keep writing, maybe I'll get into a groove.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that there haven't been topics on which to add my two cents--I've been contemplating laptops for friends and family who've asked for my advice while also being intrigued by Google Chromebooks; we're in the final stages of preparing for the kitchen remodel; the Indy 500 is this Sunday, and tornadoes have ripped through the Midwest.  Additionally, I find myself feeling more and more unsure about my ability to eventually raise a well-mannered, unspoiled child, and give him or her the opportunities he or she deserves.  You can be damn sure she'll be taking violin and/or piano lessons, singing lessons, and dance lessons, but those are NOT cheap!  How did my parents do it?

While I might touch upon those topics in the future, for now I'll just say that Hannah and I are going to see Blue Man Group tomorrow night at Golden Gate Theater.  Being once a Blue Man, it's ironic that I have never seen the show.  I hope it lives up to my expectations. Maybe I'll dress up for the show...

My Current "Uncle" Status:  Not yet!

Bay to Breakers 2011

"That's awesome!" "I don't believe it!"  "You're the man!"  "It's fake!"   These are some of the many different reactions I received on Sunday when I took to the streets for the 100th Bay to Breakers race.  As you can see, I was "dressed" as Obama's Long Birth Certificate.  I was struggling to come up with costume ideas, but my focus was to be some sort of current event that SF people would appreciate as well as be something easy to construct.  (Another idea I thought of was being a Netflix Instant Queue).

The vast majority of people cheered in approval, but there were a few notable moments:

1)  A guy dressed up as the B2B Fun Police wrote me a fake ticket--he was stoked to have written Obama a citation.

2)  Another guy shook my hand and congratulated me as if I was the only person in the whole crowd with his head on straight.  "You da man.  This is real.  This is what's important!  Everyone else here's just a bunch of jokesters."

3) One girl came by, looking insulted, and asked, "Why would you do that?"

I answered, "What are you talking about?"

"Why would you make fun of that?  That's not right!"

I didn't even think someone would interpret the costume that way, but I quickly started laughing since the girl was clearly intoxicated.  I spent a couple minutes explaining to her that I wasn't really making fun of it and she was missing the point.  Eventually, she acquiesced, and I think I made a new friend.  She said, "Ok, well if you're not making fun of it then that's cool.  You're cool."

For those who thought race officials were going to crack down on alcohol consumption and public intoxication, police did take away blatantly open beer cans and broke up public demonstrations of beer binging (circle of friends cheering on one guy laying on the sidewalk as they all poured beer into his mouth) at two different points along the route, but I didn't see any drunk tents or anyone getting escorted off the course.  There's really just no way they can stop it.

So, the moral of the story:  Bay 2 Breakers 2011 was a huge success and the party lives on!

7 Days Till I'm Officially Uncle Rico

My sister is due in 7 days.  For those of you who are related to me or grew up with me, you'll know that means that in 7 days I will officially be Uncle Rico!  Not gonna lie, I'm looking forward to being that crazy Uncle from San Francisco who takes his nephew on super fantastic piggy-back rides and throws fun dance parties.  Angie, can I take him to Bay To Breakers once he learns how to walk? ;)

"...if Coach woulda put me in, we woulda been state champions..."

Uncle Rico

My Latest Affair with Elizabeth Spencer

I'll be the first to admit, moving to the Bay Area and working in consulting has turned me into a wine snob.  For you fellow Bay Area consultants who don't consider yourselves to be wine snobs or haven't turned, fine. Maybe there is a little bit of wine-snobbery inherent in me, flowing through my dark purple-ish veins. But I digress; I love wine.  For those of you who know me, yes I love liquor and beer as well, but this post is dedicated to vino. Specifically, wine tasting, Wine Country, and wine clubs.

Let me introduce you to my latest love affair, Elizabeth Spencer...wine.  Located in the heart of Napa Valley, this winery oozes Sonoma at its heart with its small, welcoming tasting room with a spacious back patio to kick back and taste while seated on comfy wicker couches underneath the sun.  Hannah and I weren't even planning on going there but we had some time to kill between reservations at two other wineries.

Upon walking in we were greeted with a complimentary tasting of their 2010 Rosé of Pinot Noir.  Full disclosure: I have no idea what varietal Rosés are normally made from, but this one was exceptionally yummy.  This was a limited production (4 barrels, or 1,200 bottles) vintage and wasn't your typical overly sweet pink wine.  Bottom line:  We bought a bottle. 




Hannah and I went through the rest of the actual tasting flight and eventually signed up for their wine club.  We couldn't resist! Our pourer's name was Miguel, from the Mission district of SF, and was friendly, fun, and attentive.  He actually spent more time talking to us than a few other visitors who didn't seem to be enjoying themselves as much, but that's their loss!  We also got to sign one of their mega bottles on display for becoming a member, and later came back with new friends that we made at another winery to give them free tastings, and of course, taste again ourselves!

Wow, so this post quickly turned into a Yelp-like review, which I wasn't intending.  The point I wanted to make was that while I am in love with a new winery, I'm not a wine snob at heart.  My taste buds might be snobby, but living near California's Wine Country has just allowed me to try a lot of wines and learn what makes each of them different, both in price, aroma, and flavor.

Also, the experience you get at each winery is unique and adds something special to the wine itself.  I don't mind paying $30 for a bottle from the winery when opening it months later brings me back to the gorgeous, sunny day that Hannah and I bought it from a nice guy named Miguel, who also loves the wine.  Similarly, a bad experience at a winery will pretty much guarantee that I'll never buy any of their bottles--no matter how good it might be. So, POOH on you, Rutherford Hill Winery!

For those of you counting, we're back up to 4 wine clubs:  Imagery, Chateau St. Jean, Tin Barn, and Elizabeth Spencer.  Cheers to Bay to Breakers weekend!


Update:  With the Blogger snafu last week I think this post got un-published.  This was originally posted on May 13, 2011.

New Hobbies

As a new homeowner in the suburbs, I've acquired some new hobbies--some by choice, others by necessity.  As I think of them I'll try to post.

New Hobby #1:  Watching my new sprinkler water the lawn.

Fun:  Thinking how I will succeed in making the grass turn green.

Not Fun:  Simultaneously thinking about how my water bill is going up...by the second.

I curse that this is one of my chores now, yet I want to succeed!

Feeling inspired...or compelled?

Last time I posted here was 3.5 year ago from London. A lot has changed. But most importantly, Google is still on top! :) Yes, I know it depends on who you ask, but try not to think about it too much and just embrace the Google-verse.

I'll be sharing about married life, living in the burbs in our new house, and whatever else comes to mind.

Best news as of late: I'm going to be an UNCLE in 12 days! Check out my nephew's site!

A Sunday in London

Regent's Park

Kite Flying and Scooter Riding

Gorilla Kingdom at the London Zoo

This camel looked hilarious

Ice Glasses and Good Times

Thuan: Are these made of ICE???

Popped collar. You know what that means...

Sloppily dancing with my new friend Janette from Amsterdam/South Africa

London Day and Night

Picadilly Circus just a few blocks from my hotel

Ice Bar: A map of the Underground in Ice

Good Morning, London

I love it when I get into the office at 10:10 AM after a night of heavy drinking and I'm the first one in the office. Gotta love PwC. :)

Look RIGHT!

I almost got hit by a car when coming back from lunch today because I instinctively looked LEFT before crossing the street. My British coworker said, "Stop!" right before it whizzed by. Damn! I HATE crossing the streets here!

Otherwise, things are great. :)

Mind The Gap

I arrived in London yesterday morning. All I can say is, what an amazing city! Way cooler than Prague!

As we were landing into Heathrow Airport, I had a great view of the city as the sun was rising. I could see the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and Millennium Bridge crossing the Thames.

I don't know if it is the jet lag or what, but I am having trouble understanding people here. From the passport control woman to the taxi driver, to the concierge and the guy at the front desk. I kept saying, "Sorry, what?" For the most part I'd understand it the second time around. If not, I'd just smile and nod politely. I'm sure they're thinking, "Stupid American."

It's only my second time in London, so pardon my dorky tourist spirit cause I'm sure these are newbie things to notice, but I like them:

- I take the "Tube" to the office everyday day from Green Park to Holborn Station on the Picadilly Line using my Oyster card, making sure to "Mind the Gap" and find my "Way Out".

- In the Taxi yesterday, the cabbie said, "It might take longer than usual, traffic's bloody murder right now." It took me a second to absorb what he actually said. I thought, "bloody murder? That's AWESOME!" In the States we'd probably say something like, "traffic freaking sucks." How crass. Ha!

- My first time to the office, I took a taxi. Here's a play-by-play of the ride: Left the hotel and drove by Hyde Park and then passed Buckingham Palace during the changing of the guards, went by Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Big Ben to cruise along the Thames with a view of the London Eye, all the different museums along the water, then ducked back in to the city to eventually arrive at the PwC building at Plumtree Court. (The fact that I was excited to see all of those things after 1 hour of sleep on a 9+ hour flight must say SOMETHING!)

- The cars driving on the left side of the road is still totally weird. I'm scared everytime I cross the street, even when the words "Look Right" and "Look Left" are printed on the sidewalk.

- I stare at all the posters in the Underground that advertise all the different plays and musicals currently playing. Phantom and Les Mis are STILL running. Wicked is a "New Musical" supposedly although it's been out for a while in the States, and Lion King, Mama Mia, Avenue Q, and The Lord Of The Rings are others playing. I want to go!

- Multiply the price of everything by 2. Holy S*#@!

Damn it's good to be on expense in London. :) I just gotta get over this jet lag.

A Fine Saturday with Alba

What a weekend! My friend Alba (third from the right) came to visit Prague with 4 of her friends. They are studying German in Berlin, but are students at the University of Barcelona. It was refreshing to hang out with students again. It reminded me of what it was like to be in college—being semi-naïve to the "real world," willing to meet anyone and everyone, and being as adventurous as possible on a tight budget. It's amazing how much you can do with so little money. I remember having that sense of, "What have I got to lose? I'm invincible." :) Ok, I admit, maybe I still feel that way today.

The answer to the question, "What have I got to lose?" came on Saturday and was in the amount of 25 bucks. We weren't so invincible when we had our run-in with the Czech police.

I met the Spaniards at their youth hostel and we were recommended to take the tram into the old city center. My new Spanish friends supposedly had some sort of student ticket they thought would be valid on the tram. I was naïve and figured I could just hop on and pay when I got on the tram, or even just get by without paying since it was a relatively short ride. Damn, was I wrong!

When we were about to get off, these two 40 year old guys wearing plain clothes came over to us and flashed some silly looking ring at us. Initially, we thought they were trying to sell us something, but they then said, "Your tickets, please."

I'm thinking, "Ok, I'll just pay for my ticket now."

When they all showed their student tickets and I said I didn't have one, they said, "500 koruna [25 dollars]. Each of you."

"Whaaaaaaat? No way!" We all figured they were kidding. My friend's "tickets" apparently were no good and they wanted to charge us a fine for just hopping on. Our first reaction was that they were phonies--trying to take innocent tourists' money. These guys look like chumps! At least they could have been dressed in a uniform or something!

I was calm and just asked, "Can we just pay the regular price? We are just tourists and we didn't know any better. We are not trying to cheat you."

"You can pay 500 each. [While pointing at each of us] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of you…3,000 total."

"Come on. We are just poor students!"

This went on for awhile. They wouldn't let us off where we wanted, but they eventually had us get off when they saw two cops near a stop. Neither my new friends nor I had that much cash. They're all poor students, and I've had so many cash expenditures while working here, I literally had zero left in my checking account. So, going to the ATM was NOT an option.

The cops sucked. They barely said anything, but they took our ID's (It seems to be the only thing cops do, but I won't get into that discussion now). By now Alba was furious cause she was positive they were just taking advantage of us, WHICH THEY WERE.

After about 10 minutes, the cops confirmed, "Yes. 3,000 koruna. Or, we take you to jail." Other than that they said nothing. It was so aggravating cause I wanted someone ELSE to validate the fine, but everyone around us was acting like nothing was happening--completely ignoring the 6 random tourists trying to negotiate in broken English.

We felt like we were getting screwed over, so I eventually called the hotel and told the front desk our situation. Unfortunately, they confirmed that it WAS legitimate and that this fine is the penalty when you board a tram without paying.

Fine. We've already wasted an hour. I just want to forget about this. I'll pay. There's no point in drawing this out any longer. I called my buddy, Nausher, and told him the mess we had gotten into. Like a savior, he took a taxi to where we were and brought 3,000 koruna. We paid and just like that we were free to go.

Damn. At the end of the day none of us were really angry about the amount of the fine--25 dollars wasn't going to break anyone's bank--it was the fact that they weren't understanding at all. I know they're just doing their job, but it sucked being so vulnerable…such easy targets. My only consolation is that those two chumps' jobs must suck, and I hope every honest tourist they fine gives them as much hell as possible. And seriously, aren't there bigger fish to fry? Aren't there more serious crimes being committed? Bah.

Needless to say, we soon forgot and got drunk off of beer and tequila shots. Alba and her friends would try to pay me back today, but that's another story in itself!

Random thoughts:
1. I realize that story doesn't compare to the time I was in Greece, "Is BIG, no?" but I don't think anything will ever top that.
2. Drunken McFlurries are still as delicious as I remember.
3. Maybe something is lost in the translation, but for a city full of tourists, Czech waiters are typically NOT very friendly.
4. I'm getting excited to go home for a weekend. I hope it doesn't totally tire me out.

A Different Side of Praha

We found a neighborhood away from all the tourists last night. I felt like I was in a completely new city--staring at the buildings, many of which reminded me of the apartment buildings in San Francisco, only taller with bigger features. There appeared to be the occasional restaurant every few blocks and much more family-oriented, instead of being on top of one other with flashy signs, lights, traffic, and filled with tourists. I thought, "Hmmm, I could live HERE." We pulled up to the restaurant, called Aromi, and little did I know, we were in for a treat. We had all kinds of seafood, wine, chocolate soufflé, and grappa. I was drunk come dessert. :)

Ha, I actually just Googled Aromi and this came up: "Aromi is located in the heart of Vinohrady quarter, one of the most desirable residential areas of Prague, filled with restaurants and antique shops."

So I guess I'm not the only one who'd like to live there. I'd want to live there if I were a student or a resident of the Czech Republic. A study abroad program would have been amazing in Praha as well. However, for now, I still prefer living in San Francisco.

Hefeweizen from the Bottle?

I felt like a student again--backpacking through Europe on an overnight train. Friday night I hopped on a train to Augsburg, Germany to visit my good friend Philip. I was in a sleeper car for 9 hours and eventually arrived at 5:30am on Saturday. I was so tired but still very excited to be there.

Phil recently moved into a new apartment. The funniest thing is that he built his own "closet." It's actually just a shelf he built in his room, but it looks like a display at a department store. I pretended to go shopping through his clothes and tried things on.


I wish I spoke German cause Saturday night a bunch of Philip's friends came over to celebrate his birthday. Everyone spoke English but they were speaking German to each other the whole time. I wonder if it's annoying for them to have to speak English to me. They're probably like, "You're in Germany! It's your turn to speak German with an American accent!" It was still fun though since I've met most of Phil's close friends on previous visits.


That's Phil's roommate, Matthias, with a bunch of pretzels someone brought. German pretzels are sooo good. Phil also made Leberkäse, which translated means to liver cheese, but has neither liver nor cheese. It's the ham/spam looking thing on the plate in the picture above.

It was interesting, we bought a few cases of beer and I cracked one of the hefeweizens open and started drinking out of the bottle. Everyone kept on asking me, "Don't you need a glass for that?"

Me: "Nah, it's ok. I'll just drink for the bottle. Everyone else is."

German: "No, there's a special glass for the hefeweizen."

Me: "I know. It's ok though. Thanks."

After a while it became quite apparent that it was ill-advised, if not unacceptable, to drink the precious hefeweizen straight from the bottle. Moritz also showed me how to properly swivel the last few drops while pouring to get all of the yeast that settles on the bottom. The hefeweizen glasses are pretty sweet.

I woke up thirsty the next morning so I had another beer. Phil thought it was funny to drink beer for breakfast so he took a picture (you can see the Erdinger Hefe-Weizen glass).



Oh, how the Germans love their beer. Oh, how I love beer. Beer beer beer.
I hope to go to Munich in late September for Oktoberfest. Anyone care to join?