The universe must be off because over the weekend, I actually heard Matt say that he wouldn’t mind living in SF. Those are words that I never, ever imagined that he would say. In fact, we visited an open house while we were there. It was a beautiful, remodeled house from the early 1900s - located right next to Golden Gate Park, spacious, good-sized yard, and even had a 2-car garage with ample room for a workspace. Too bad the mortgage for the $949k price would mean a complete career change for both of us - or winning the lottery.

Aside from the disappointment that we probably would not be able to afford living in SF (at least in the areas that we liked), we had an amazingly fun and full weekend there. We went to celebrate the wedding of one of Matt’s childhood friends, but the weekend seemed more like a celebration of food and friends (wedding aside). On top of that, the weather was gorgeous - sunny and in the high 60s/low 70s. Women were sunbathing in Dolores Park in bikinis, people were out in summer clothes walking around Golden Gate Park, and my sweater and long-sleeved shirts stayed packed away in my suitcase.

Here’s an overview of our weekend, broken down by meals:

In-N-Out We arrived late Friday night and went directly to the drive-thru of the In-N-Out in Daly City. I still remember when In-N-Out and Krispy Kreme opened up there. Cars lined up around the block, and it’s not exactly the best location for cars to queue up. Glad to see both places still going strong, even Krispy Kreme, which had customers at 10 p.m. We took our food back to Jen and Josh’s place (where we stayed the whole weekend), and Matt was eating his double-double animal style when the clock struck midnight and he turned 30. That probably was his ideal way of spending a birthday.

Zazie’s We walked here from Jen and Josh’s place, and got a great seat right in the window. Apparently there’s a cute patio seating area, but we were too hungry to wait for an opening. As always, I have a hard time deciding between something sweet and something savory, so Jen and I teamed up and shared Zazie’s buttermilk pancakes (which made me want to find a better recipe pancake recipe to try at home) and an egg dish (two poached eggs on an English muffin, with spinach and mushrooms). My stomach is growling right now just thinking about the food. Definitely a place I’d go to again, although with so many other places in SF to try, we probably won’t get the chance. It was during this meal that Matt uttered the words that will be forever ingrained in my brain: “I would actually consider living here.” Because we were seeing cute places within walking distance of Jen and Josh’s place, the appeal of SF was definitely going up for Matt.

Underdog Hot Dogs We introduced Jen and Josh to geocaching and they had a blast! We tried to find one on the UCSF campus but failed at that, but redeemed ourselves by finding one at Kezar Stadium (although that find should be attributed to geocachers “Dr. Clue” who we ran into at the cache site). Maybe it was the warm weather or the hard work, but Jen and I agreed that it was time for boba. On our way to get drinks, we stopped at Underdog Hot Dogs - a small, narrow hot dog place that has something for everyone: organic meat dogs, veggie dogs, AND vegan dogs. The dogs are small sausages, but thick and packed with flavor. The place is teensy-tiny and can be easily missed, but it’s a great find for a quick bite.

I don’t remember the name of the boba place we went to, but it was Jen’s favorite. She and I are boba snobs, so I knew I could trust her judgment. We had tried to find this place two years ago when we were last in town, but we ended up going to a random boba place that was not satisfying at all. As Jen put it, she was quite traumatized.

Berkeley The wedding was on Saturday, but the ceremony and reception were done in less than 4 hours. As the reception wrapped up, we brainstormed about where to go next. A bunch of Matt’s guy friends (and some significant others) had flown in from LA and New York, and we wouldn’t have time together the next day. We crammed into two cars and headed to Berkeley, where we knew places would be open late, and the prices would be cheap. Some people went straight for a favorite hot dog joint, but Matt and I were dogged out and went for yogurt instead. We got sidetracked by a Philly cheesesteak place, so we got a cheesesteak and chili cheese fries in addition to yogurt. I had never seen so many students wearing school gear - Cal sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, etc. Lots of Asian kids giving their parents plenty to boast about. We spent the rest of the night hanging out on campus, sitting outside a closed dining hall, and enjoying a rare moment all together.

Arizmendi Bakery Having gotten home late the night before, Matt and I slept in until 10 a.m. The timing worked out for us to meet up briefly with our friends Manus, Annette and their daughter Julia, who we had never met. They were on their way to a wedding, but we grabbed pastries from Arizmendi Bakery. Once Manus and Annette left, Matt and I walked a couple blocks to Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. As a student, I often spent Sunday afternoons here, lying on the grass and studying (but more often than not, falling asleep). My blueberry coffee cake was good, but Matt’s pecan roll was even better. Sweet, crispy, and buttery. Yum. We attempted to walk off our weekend’s worth of food by checking out the remodeled Academy of Sciences building and the DeYoung Museum.

Blondie’s Pizza One friend from LA, Dennis, was not scheduled to fly out until later that evening, so we went downtown with him. Downtown SF was SO crowded, probably because everyone was out enjoying the great weather. I realized then that downtown SF is a good place for first-time SF tourists, but definitely is not what SF is all about. We stopped at Blondie’s Pizza - a place where Annette took me and Trish during our trips to SF back in high school. Prices have gone up, and the menu has expanded. The visit took a disturbing turn when a woman went around to customers, asking for help, and pulling up her shirt to show a urine bag attached to her body.

Chau residence OK, so this isn’t really a restaurant,  but we had an impromptu dinner at Manus and Annette’s place that night after dropping Dennis off at the airport. Manus threw together a meatloaf, salad, bread, and even baked an apple-chocolate chip bread. The last time we had seen them, Annette was pregnant with Julia - and now, she’s 18 months old. What a cutie. It’s always good to meet up with old friends - especially the kind of friends whose conversations don’t revolve solely around the old days. It’s weird to see them as parents, since I still think of Annette as being the silly, dorky girl I first met at church camp in high school. Now, she’s a silly, dorky girl who is also a mom. :)

Tartine Bakery I can FINALLY say that I’ve been to Tartine Bakery! I’ve recommended this place to quite a few people, although I had never been there myself. Tartine did not disappoint. Matt and I started off our “date day” at Tartine, where fortunately we didn’t have to wait in a long line AND we got a seat. I ordered a cup of bread pudding, topped with slivers of baked apples. Oh man, it was the best bread pudding I have ever had, probably because it tasted more like (and had the consistency of) flan, of which I’m a fan. I totally should have ordered a bowl. Matt got a coconut cream tart, which was super sweet for 9:30 a.m. The cream was sitting on top of a crust that was lined with chocolate and caramel. Based on Jen’s recommendation, we split a plain croissant that tasted good even 9 hours later when we finished it at the airport. Talk about buttery. Unfortunately, with only two people, we could only order so many things. Can’t wait to try more next time around!

Ike’s Place After finding a tricky geocache (where we hiked up a steep hill because we didn’t see the steps on the other side of the hill), we were ready for lunch. Right before we left for SF, I looked up some places on Yelp.com that had been highly rated. One of the top ones was Ike’s Place - a popular sandwich hole-in-the-wall that has been featured on the TV show Man vs. Food. Matt is a huge sandwich fan, so I jotted this place down. The funny thing is - one of my friends from SF, Alonso, used to take karate with a guy named Ike. I never met him, but it’s hard to forget that name. I’m sure there is more than one guy named Ike in SF, but I e-mailed Alonso anyway to ask if this Ike was “his” Ike. Sure enough, it was the same Ike - and he is now Matt’s new hero. Ike’s “thing” is the Dirty Sauce, which is a garlicky, herby sauce that is baked right into the bread. So yummy. Ike even has sandwiches with mozarella sticks tucked in them. Oh man.

The rest of the day was pretty full - we meant to go to Fort Point, but the last exit before the Golden Gate Bridge was closed, so we ended up crossing the bridge (which has a toll up to $6 now!!). After a quick nap in Sausalito (where we never even got out of the car), we took a drive that ended up at a Marine Mammal Center. What a cool find! It’s a place that is dedicated to educating people about marine life and, more importantly, to rescue and rehabilitate marine animals. We even got to see some injured seals and sea lions. The nearby beach was full of different sized, smooth, colorful rocks. I’d love to go back one day.

Our trip ended by visiting a few favorite places - Wing Lee Bakery for some dim sum and Sweet Delite for pina colada boba - as well as stopping at Stonestown and SFSU to look for more geocaches. What an awesome, awesome trip!!! The downside is that with all the running around and staying up late, I came back feeling a little under the weather. That happened the last time I went to SF two years ago. Matt says I’m allergic to SF. My response? I better go back more often so I can build up an immunity.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, Matt and I no longer have laptops at home unless we bring our work-issued computers home to use. It took a little while to get used to, but not having easy Internet accessibility actually has been nice. There are e-mails to respond to, pictures to post, blogs to read and write - but the longer I go without a computer at home, the more I like it. I find myself more reluctant to get on the computer when we actually do have one at home, too. I’m working off a laptop that Matt brought home from work, but after this, I’m going out for a much-needed run along Lake Washington. If I didn’t, I’m sure I’d be tempted to write some e-mails, catch up with episodes of “Glee,” or type out a speech that I have scheduled in Toastmasters. The sky is too blue, and the sun is too bright for me to stay inside today.

Last week, my friend Susan came to visit us as part of her road trip from San Diego. I’ve known Susan for many years now. We exchanged letters back in high school, and now keep in touch through each others’ blogs and sporadic e-mails. But to be able to spend a few days with her was a real treat.

One of the things Susan suggested we do was take a beginning modern dance class at Velocity Dance in Capitol Hill. Aside from my 9-week breakdancing class and random outbursts of boogying in capoeira, it has been awhile since I’ve done any formal dancing. I was a little nervous going into the class. Would I even know how to move like I’m supposed to?

As the instructor began the class, I felt my body remembering things that brought me back to the high school days of Footworks. The names of moves that I learned in ballet class back in 4th grade, the muscles that I needed to extend and focus on - everything was coming back. I felt myself moving in ways that I hadn’t moved in ages. The physical activities that I do on a regular basis now are capoeira and the calisthenics class at work (lots of pushups, ab exercises, squats, etc.). My body is accustomed to relying on brute force to get me up and down through a pushup, or to making my body compact yet explosive to execute a kick in capoeira. None of these activities call for stretching or extension of my limbs. Yet that’s what the dance class required of me. It was such a different feeling for my body. But by the end of the class, it felt so good to have focused on keeping my shoulders down, extending my spine, standing up straight. And it felt good to be more conscious about grace and beauty in my movements.

And like with most activities that I do, I had a hard time really giving it my all and letting go because I didn’t feel completely confident in what I was doing. I was more concerned about getting all the moves right, the placement of my feet, the curve of my arms - rather than the emotion and passion behind the dance. As we ended the class, the instructor said, “As you perform this for the last time tonight, imagine that you’re performing for the people you love.” In other words, really get into the movements and FEEL it. OK, I thought. I can do that. But as soon as the first count began, my mind began reciting the movements and counts - all thoughts of feeling dashed from my mind. When I dance or sing in my house, when I don’t have an audience, I really get into what I’m doing. I feel it with every limb, with every fiber in my body - I don’t fear anything. I’d love to get that passion, that emotion, and take it with me wherever I go, in everything I do.

Realistically, I don’t think I’ll be adding a dance class into my weekly routine, but I wouldn’t mind stopping in once in awhile. If anything, taking the class has made me more conscious of my posture - and, I have to admit, it’s making me dance around the house just a little more.