Ken has gone...

One of my very best friends left us today. Ken never said goodbye and I'm glad. Because he has not gone forever. He has become immortal to us and he lives on through our recollections and conversations about him. Maybe he will even listen to some of those conversations, and invisibly deliver one of his trademark grins. He fought a dignified battle against his illness but never stopped being Ken. Always the life and soul even though his own was slowly ebbing away.

It was 04:30 GMT today that he stepped over. My faith is that his feet touched down in a far better place, a perfect place. No matter how much joy the spirits around us already share, theirs will be increased with the addition of a spirit so warm so full of love, the joy of living and completely unselfish as Ken was here. I envy them now as they gather round this unique soul that they are blessed to have go and be with them.

Thank you Ken for allowing our lives to be touched by yours. For making us laugh when we thought we couldn't. For sharing your wisdom when we were confused. And for allowing us the priviledge to forever carry you with us now in our hearts and souls.

Gwaan Peterkin!

...But we will always miss you...

Work hard, Play hard, innit!

It was very still in the city as I got up this morning. Clouds were hanging over the bay as if they were protecting some fantastic surprise that would be revealed to us in due time. Still manic at work. This will be something of a constant theme over the next few days in view of all the additional work going through the agency. One of the girls in Creative had her birthday today. JC got up at 6 this morning and baked her a cake. How sweet is that!

Had my second session at the Gym with my new personal trainer today and got down to some serious training. I was fairly pleased with my performance and somewhat encouraged that I was still a fit as I was after missing out on regular training since the end of February. Apparently I'm "really strong" according to my trainer. I think she was just being complimentary.

Went out with a couple of our friends here in San Francisco to dinner at Roy's restaurant. It's an amazingly good Hawaiian Fusion restaurant that I would recommend to you if ever you are in San Francisco and fancy something unusual but delightfully palatable. We started with cocktails and finished with a deliciously naughty chocolate soufflé. Service was cheerful and inobtrusive and the environment was perfect for conversation.

All work and no play

We’ve won a large piece of additional business at work which is going to involve diving in head first to get the work done. This means that it has been a pretty manic day today and also there are a couple of people out of the office ill which has impacted on the way we had to manage our work today. I took a lunch break anyway just to keep things clear in my head and wondered down to the Apple Store. I managed to leave with the same amount of dollars I walked into the store with. Good job it wasn’t a shoe shop or it may have ended differently!

It’s been quite overcast today and a few people have developed colds and sniffles. Hopefully I’ll escape it all. We had it confirmed today that the ship with our personal effects has indeed docked here. Whoop!!! Whoop!!!! Yay!! Now we just have to see how long customs are going to spend on clearing all our stuff. Slowly, slowly, catchy m……

Dull and overcast
in Montgomery St.

Two More For the Road

Hoping to tick off the annoyance of having to take our driving tests all over again, we leave our downtown apartment and catch the train to our new address to pick up the hire car that we left in our garage overnight. My test is at 09.25 and we arrive at the DMV in good time to complete my registration. It's odd being able to drive myself to my own driving test without an instructor. But hey, we be in California now!

Once the examiner is on board, I fire up the warp engines, check the deflector shields and check the mirrors for to make sure there are no Romulan warbirds within the sector. I plot a course for 20 minutes of fun and propel my instructor and I into hyper-traffic.

I looked right, I looked left, I turned right, I turned left. I went everywhere she told me to drive and we never found whatever it was she was looking for. She did however, tell me I had passed my test when we got back to the centre.

Now it was Antonella's turn. She was booked to go at 10:15. Not trying to put you under any additional stress or anything, but she was left sat waiting in the car until 11:30 before her examiner showed. Off she went across the forecourt, resisting the urge to pull a handbrake turn and opting instead for a well executed display of reverse driving in a straight line.
Antonella pulls off the reverse manouvre.

I wondered if Antonella would keep it low-key or would she treat her examiner to a show of sassy Italian roadmanship. After not too many minutes they returned, car still shiny and new-looking. Another pass then!

Antonella with papers in hand

So that's most of the major stuff completed now so back to work for me. I had booked a day of from work but decided to work from home the rest of the day to make sure I was staying ahead of everything. It turnrd out to be quite a busy afternoon. Oh, the rose? It was growing in the garden at the test centre next to where I sat while waiting for Antonella.

Oh What a Gay Day!

This morning we walked up to O'Farrell Street to collect a hire car we had reserved. As we crossed Market Street, crowds were already gathering for the parades on this the 2nd and last day of the San Francisco Gay Pride Annual Celebrations. We could have stopped and chosen a really good spot to see evertything, but we had to make picking up the car a priority. You see, we are taking our "behind the wheel" California driving tests tomorrow and need a car to do so. It's quite weird really, that we can go and hire a car and drive it on our UK licenses, but we won't be able to drive our own car when it arrives unless we have Californian licences. Oh well, best not to try and understand the logic and just get on with it.

We find a place to park and make our way down to Market Street where the groups of people have now become crowds and from the noise, the parade is obviously in full swing.

As I watch the people parade by, I wonder for a moment if there are any straight people at all in the police force? Whatever am I thinking. That wasn't very PC I scold myself. Anyhow, the weather is great and everyone is in festive mood as Gay Men, Lesbians, Trans-Genders, and others I hadn't really considered before, threw themselves whole heartedly into celebrating the embracing of diversity.

If you'd like to see more pictures, click this link for a selection from the day.

Right. Now some practice at driving around on the roads before tomorrow. We've been here 7 weeks now and this will be the first time either of us has driven in all that time. In fact the last time I drove a car was on the 1st of May this year!

We took turns each just driving around and getting accustomed to the traffic flow and road layouts before stooping for a late lunch in Cole Valley. We ate out in the garden of a small restaurant that is probably going to become our local when we move, especially for Brunch on Sundays. Antonella had steak and I had crab benedict. MMMmmmm!!

I took this picture as Antonella crested a hill. This radio transmitter sits on the next hill along from Twin Peaks. That whole area with twin Peaks attracts a lot of fog and you can see it here literally sitting on the hill and cutting off the base of the transmitter from view.

Well that's it for the weekend. I should read some more of my highway code now so that hopefully I'll know what I'm doing tomorrow.

Over and Out of it

Feeling absolutely wrecked today. Got to bed at 03:30 this morning so I took it nice and easy today.
One nice thing about being in a high-rise apartment is the birds-eye-view you get of everything. Including being able to watch the fog rolling in.



In fact I'm so out of it, I won't be going out tonight. Now where is that TV remote?...

It's Friday

Summer in the city

Yet another hot day in the city. As expected, work was very full-on today. The whole city looks and feels like it's on holiday, but the phones keep on ringing and Clients keep on saying "I want it now please!"

I had my 1st gym session with my personal trainer today. I had a lunctime session which was also a induction and goal setting exercise. My trainer measured me, prodded and weighed me before taking me through some stretches after I completed my warm-up. She also worked out a meal plan for me so that I can get the best levels of energy to maintain the level of fitness I want.

It was a bit like taking a car into a garage for a full diagnostics and service except you can't leave your body there then go and pick it up later. The only downside so far is you have to bring your own towels! But I can live with that. Had a really busy afternoon which involve doing a tiny bit of work in the audio-visual suite. Quite impressive considering I have absolutely no AV skills.








As I got ready to leave work I noticed how much the weather had changed from earlier in the day. The fog had started to roll in and the sun had decided to take a well-earned break.

The fog is taking hold


Went out with Antonella in the evening to see Lake House at the Metreon. It was a bit of a treat for her as she is a bit of a Keannu Reaves fan. On our way home in the night. the fog was hanging over parts of downton San Francisco. It was pretty amazing to see how it affected the lights of the city at night.

Market t'ing

Today kicked off with a Management meeting in the office. Lots to achieve, but then, that should always be the case. It’s another hot day and some of the people here in the office are saying it is unusually hot for San Francisco. Me? Loving it!

Just after lunchtime I wandered down to the Farmer’s Market that takes place in the Galleria every Thursday. The Galleria is an enclosed shopping arcade next to our office building. There is a selection of fresh produce on sale today as always. Fruit, vegetables, cheese and mountains of cherries. They taste really good too. I settled on some nectarines before posting a couple of letters on the way back to the office.

I had a meeting with the Academic Director of the Art Institute of California at the end of the afternoon. The Institute is down by the Civic Centre in Market Street just where the area is getting a little “sketchy” as the locals here say. I still prefer “dodgy” but I suppose time will tell.

Feeling a little tired this evening so I’ll just chill tonight and get ready for Friday which will be very, very full as far as work is concerned.

Space Travel and All That Jazz

Main office entrance
Didn't slide out of bed until 7:00 this morning after a marathon session going through figures and scenarios for work last night. After my shower and breakfast, I stepped out into the very big wide world of San Francisco. Well, maybe big is misleading. Yes, spacious is a better way. As I walk along the sidewalk - that's what they call the pavement here - I'm feeling quite mellow. It's already quite warm as the sun displays itself in an uninterrupted way that wasn't too common whilst in London. Suddenly, WARNING, Shields Up, Prepare for head-on collision!!!

Walking on the pavement here is a little more tactical than it is in London. People have so much personal space here in general and they like to use it all up. Sort of revel in it. You're walking behind someone and although they might be, traveling in a general forward direction some of the movement is still worryingly erratic on the lateral axis of travel. 4 feet seems to be the approximate personal space bubble around everyone. While lost in my idyllic musing of how glorious the weather was and how beautiful everything looked, I had inadvertedly wandered perilously close to the oncoming pedestrian's personal space bubble. After she performed her impromptu rendition of Riverdance and burnt a little rubber as she came to a full stop, we both smiled sheepishly at each other as I continued to navigate around her being careful not to knock her over as we were now passing within a traumatically close 2 feet of personal space.
My Desk

Thankfully, I survived and she seemed relatively unscathed too. Still, I bet she stops by the space depot later to check there has been no damage to her starboard shields!

I joined the Gym today and signed up for some personal training sessions. It's a 24 hour gym so no excuses about work getting in the way of my fitness program. It's quite swish and spacious and the new members gift package was quite impressive. It's right next door to the office so it is ultra accessible. Also, compared to what I was used to in London the subscriptions are an absolute steal.

My new gym

I went to the bank too at lunchtime to change my address details. It wasn't the most straightforward event of the day but top marks to the women who served me for thinking her way "around" the beaurocracy to make it a successful trip for me. A nice touch was the beautifully turned out saxophonist blowing some tender jazz into the summer air. We heard that the container with all our belongings from the UK is still at sea and is now due in the Port here on Saturday 24th. We can't wait for our stuff to arrive. It's been 6 and a half weeks now living out of suitcases and not having our personal belongings to hand.

All that Jazz

It's All Downtown Today

My view from the office
My usual early start today before leaving for the office. I was hoping to acheive a lot at work today and happily, did mange to accomplish quite a bit. Still, there is a lot left to do so i'll be working for a while longer tonight. Did mange to get out and have a lunch break with one of the Creatives from the office. We went to a very buzzy courtyard just behind Sutter Street which has a row of restaurants all next to each other with outdoor and indoor seating available. It felt very Mediterranean, especially with much of the food having a French or Italian theme to it.

We had fried calamari and mussels in coconut and oninon sauce. It was very, very good! It was great to be sitting out in the sun eating and drinking and watching people go leave and arrive as we enjoyed our meal.

The afternoon was very busy though uneventful and after agreeing some last minute plans for tomorrow, packed up my computer and some papers and left to continue work from home. It was a beautiful sunny evening as I walked home with my ipod force-feeding my head with Eminems dulcet tones.

When Antonella got home from yoga, she served a homemade seafood salad which was a nice tasty diversion before I gave in to reality of having to continue working tonight.

She was also quite chuffed that she had taken her bicyle on the bus. The buses have cycle carriers mounted to the front of the bodywork in front of the driver. This means that if you've done enough cycling or the route is probably too hilly, you can stash your bike to the front of the bus and then get onboard and then simply unmount the bike from the bus when you reach your stop. It's really cool to see. Still I've yet to do it myself, but at least Antonella can show me exactly how it all works. Right, it's back to work for me now. I need to grab a few hours before going back to the office in the morning.

Antonella at one with her bike.

A Trip to Golden Gate Park

Had a quick breakfast today before catching the light railway to our new apartment in Cole Valley. Once there, we picked up our mountain bikes and rode off to explore The Golden Gate Park. It's a great stretch of land that is about a mile wide then 3.5 miles running right to the Pacific Ocean. We were careful to look for a route that wasn't too steep. Being San Francisco hills and their steepness is always a very serious consideration when cycling. It's Father's Day today so there are lots of families out picnicing and enjoying the weather.

We decided to follow the outer perimeter road and ride on down to the ocean. It was a sort of reconaissance trip, taking notes of places in the park worth a return visit. We discovered they actually have a waterfall in the park.

Those of you who know Richmond Park in London, England, will know that it lays claim to having deer wandering around it's acreage. And that Hyde Park in London hosts the exotic presence of some very tame Pelicans that will actually come up and let you pet them.

So what do they have in The Golden Gate Park? Bison!!! I'm serious – There we are riding along when we come upon Bison contentedly ruminating in a field! It's a very cool concept though, as long as they don't escape and run wild I suppose.

Anyway, we made it down to the ocean where it was very windy indeed. Heading back, we stopped by one of the lakes in the park for a drink and snack. After cycling back to Frederick Street, we bought a bottle of Malbec to have with dinner back at The Paramount Apartments.

North Beach Street Fair

Antonella and I slept in this morning so we decided to go to the North Beach Street fair for some brunch and entertainment. North Beach is basically the Italian area of San Francisco and was particularly lively with it being the Italy vs. USA World Cup qualifier today.We scouted the foodstalls and settled on a veggie corndog and calamari.

As all the Street fairs we've visited so far, this one was well visited and there was plenty of live music in Washington Square and the surrounding streets. The craft stalls were really good too. Some great wall art was available for sale and we saw some really oustanding photography on sale.

Well we went, we saw, we ate and then we left.

Antonella looking happy after her corn dog

As it was such a glorious day we decided to walk down to the bay and have milk shakes down at the Embarcadero. Antonella had Pistachio while I had Mint Chocolate chip - YUM!!! After sitting by the bay for an hour we walked back up through downtown to our apartment to have one of Antonella's unique, but tasty, culinary creations.

The locals were not about to miss out on some "dollar opportunities"







Haven't been here yet, but will have to give it a go at some point.

So here we are

The weather has been fabulous today. I missed getting out at midday though as I had no time for lunch. I'm constantly getting corrected for using language which could be deemed inappropriate for California. Today I asked one of our designers if he was "...up for some Donkey-work?". If only I could have captured the look on his very worried face as he tried desperately to process quite what I meant by this out of context suggestion. I explained what I meant and all was fine. Got back to the apartment and crashed after a really busy week - and then started this!

We have a great view from our corporate apartment

Antonella spent most of the day at your new apartment getting it ready or when we move in - hopefully in a couple of weeks.

Well this gets me started and it's time to sleep now so that I can really enjoy the weekend.