In 2008 when I was visiting MJ in my first trip to San Francisco we had plans to go up to Napa Valley. Given the distance and crowds, the driver MJ hired for the day made an alternate suggestion: “How about Sonoma Valley instead?” That day was the beginning of us being Sonoma Valley fans. […]
Archive for the ‘life’ Category
Six years in San Francisco
March 25th, 2016 by pleia2
February 2016 marked six years of me living here in San Francisco. It’s hard to believe that much time has passed, but at the same time I feel so at home in my latest adopted city. I sometimes find myself struggling to remember what it was like to live in the suburbs, drive every day […]
December events and a pair of tapestries
January 19th, 2016 by pleia2
In my last post I talked some about the early December tourist stuff that I did. I also partook in several events that gave me a nice, fun distraction when I was looking for some down time after work and book writing. It’s no secret that I like good food, so when a spot opened […]
Local tourist: A mansion, some wine and the 49ers
January 17th, 2016 by pleia2
Some will say that there are tourists and there are travelers. The distinction tends to be that tourists visit the common places and take selfies, while travelers wander off the beaten path and take a more peaceful and thoughtful approach to enjoying their chosen destination. I’m a happy tourist. Even when I’m at home. Back […]
The adventures of 2015
January 1st, 2016 by pleia2
I wasn’t sure what to expect from 2015. Life circumstances meant that I wanted to travel a bit less, which meant being more selective about the conferences I would speak at. At the same time, some amazing opportunities for conferences came up that I couldn’t bring myself to turn down. Meeting new people, visiting countries […]
Star Wars baseball for my 34th birthday
October 7th, 2015 by pleia2
I turned 34 this year. 33 was a good year, full of accomplishments and exciting travel. MJ made sure 34 began well too. On my actual birthday we were both slammed with work, but we were able to meet for dinner down on the peninsula at The Melting Pot in San Mateo. It’s actually at […]
End of Summer Trip Back East
September 16th, 2015 by pleia2
MJ and I spent the first week of September in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. During our trip we visited with an ailing close relative and spent additional time with other family. I’m really thankful for the support of friends, family and colleagues, even if I’ve been cagey about details. It made the best of what […]
Meetup, baseball and kitties
August 6th, 2015 by pleia2
I had fully intended on writing this before sitting in a hotel in Peru, but pre-trip tasks crept up, I had last minute things to finish with work (oh, leaving on a Wednesday!) and sitting on a plane all day is always much more exhausting than I expect it to be. So here we are! […]
SF activities and arrival in Portland, OR
July 18th, 2015 by pleia2
Time at home in San Francisco came to an end this week with a flight to Portland, OR on Friday for some open source gatherings around OSCON. This ended my nearly 2 months without getting on a plane, the longest stretch I’ve gone in over 2 years. My initial intention with this time was to […]
California Tourist
July 5th, 2015 by pleia2
I returned from my latest conference on May 23rd, closing down what had been over 2 years of traveling every month to some kind of conference, event or family gathering. This was the longest stretch of travel I’ve done and I’ve managed to visit a lot of amazing places and meeting some unforgettable people. However, […]