Back in the Bay

This would have been week 51 of being in London, but we spent it back in the SF Bay Area.

We got in late on Wednesday, and headed to Steph’s family home. We were staying there with them, but most of the time Russel and Elaine were in Mexico on a fun trip. We had a nice dinner with them, but I was already full from the food on the flight and really tired from the long day. They were really nice with preparing a veggie stew, and tons of the delicious mango pudding. The next day we went with them to Crouching Tiger for dinner to get some Magic Chili Tofu, which did not disappoint. They still recognized me there after one year away. Steph and I also got Covid boosters on Thursday, and did some grocery shopping since we would be staying at the Lee’s place all week. Those boosters were rough for us, Steph especially.

Friday I went into the office, and it was interesting being back in Burlingame offices. They were just as nice as I remember outside. The insides were pretty much the same as the offices in the UK; standard tech office. I was working with a small team, some of who were from the offices in the UK.

Friday evening we went to see Riley and Rong who have two adorable new identical twins, Tom and Sam. We may have convinced them to give one a goatee to be the mirror universe twin of the other. If they do that they should swap back and forth for the lolz.

Saturday Steph did some martial arts training while I caught up on my real work. We went to a nice big dinner with the board game group friends, and then went back to George’s afterwards. It was great to see them all and catch up.

Sunday we started out at Michael and Michelle’s for book club. We had a wonderful discussion and a ton of people showed up. It was by far the most we’ve had in a discussion for several years, not just since we’ve been in London. Steph had to head out, but I stayed and played Betrayal at House on the Hill. We got a co-op scenario and had great space management, so we had an easy time of it.

Monday we went climbing with Tina and Amit. It was great fun, and we were able to do well on most of the walls. I called it pretty early for me, as I was still dealing with some foot pain, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as I was expecting.

Tuesday I grabbed dinner with Adam and we then walked around Palo Alto. It hadn’t changed much, as expected. I had a huge wave of jet lag hit, and headed back a little early.

Wednesday was at George’s as it had been for a long time. I enjoyed the time together, and we didn’t do much beyond chat, which was nice. Games would have gotten in the way of having good conversations.

Thursday and Friday I wasn’t feeling great and stayed in mostly. Saturday we headed into SF and went to Juniper and Anna’s wedding. It was a good time, but we headed out a little early as Steph wasn’t feeling great. There was a little blockage on the way there, because their wedding was in a hotel at the center of the conference between Xi and Biden.

Sunday we had lunch with Jeff and Patty. They seem to be doing really well, and are enjoying their early retirement. They do seem like they are searching for something more, but I don’t think it needs to be work for them.

Sunday evening we went to George’s again and had a great time doing some karaoke. I sang a few songs that Steph joined me for. Steph sang one of the songs from the Start Trek musical episode, I’m Ready. I really enjoyed spending time with people, especially Paul and Yutong. They seem stressed out by work, which is more clear now that we’ve been away from the bay area for a little while. I hope we can find a good time to spend with them next year.