Life Lately - Summer Edition

This has been a summer of somewhat "firsts" - first time going to the San Francisco Opera, trying out Paniq Room (an escape room group game), sailing in San Francisco Bay, taking some new exercise classes, and spending a couple days in Bend, where I went stand-up paddle boarding on my own for the first time. I probably won't do most of these things frequently, but it was fun to give them a try.

I also hit up some area restaurants for the first time: Old Bus Tavern (new-ish gastropub in Bernal), Pampalasa (Filipino food in SoMa), and The Conservatory @ The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay (we were going to hang outside on the terrace but the summer fog got the better of us). All were tasty and places that I'd been meaning to try for some time now... Pampalasa in particular for the link to my Filipino heritage and Old Bus for being written up all over local press. Both spots are undergoing changes but I hope they'll be area mainstays for a while.

On another note, this has been a crazy summer around the country and the world. Who knew US politics could get this crazy? Who knew hate and violence could spread around the world so fast with our technological advances? There have been times, watching the news, where I've felt helpless as to what's going on. But out of recent tragedies, and from watching the DNC speeches over the past week, I've also been more motivated to pay attention and be more participatory in our political system, and to encourage others to do so, so that our voices are heard and have an impact.

Finally, this month marks my four-year anniversary of living in San Francisco! I'm not sure I thought I'd be in the city this long. It is one more year than I lived in New York City (after college) and two more years than I lived in Washington, DC. In each city I've taken time to explore neighborhoods and see what they had to offer, but even after four years here, there are times when I still feel like a tourist in San Francisco. The city has the added bonus of being an easy home base for my West Coast adventures. It's so nice to be in a city that still makes nature and travel accessible. I suppose all of that is a part of what's kept me here for four years and counting.

Listen Up: Fun Podcasts

Serial Season 1 was the first podcast I listened to, and even though I was hooked on it, I didn't really cross over into other shows for a while. This past year, though, has been the Year of the Podcast for me. They're great to listen to while I am commuting, am on the plane when I don't want to be on the wifi, or am running/exercising, cooking, and tidying up. Once in a while I'll even put one on while getting ready in the morning. Here's what I have been loving:

Another Round with Heben and Tracy:

Buzzfeed

I first heard of Another Round last fall when Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to go on it. My husband and I listened to it in the car on the way to Big Sur and really enjoyed her interview. At the time we were just fascinated by what Hillary had to say and how the podcast hosts, Heben and Tracy, asked meaningful questions that had Hillary come off as human and relatable (she even cracked jokes!). So a while later I was thinking of downloading podcasts to listen to on the train, and when I looked up Another Round again, I was impressed by the caliber and variety of guests they featured. For one, they got Daveed Diggs and Lin-Manuel Miranda (separately) from Hamilton. They got Queen Latifah and Padma Lakshmi. And those folks are being real while sharing a drink with Heben and Tracy.

Recode Decode hosted by Kara Swisher:

Recode archive

First, I love Kara Swisher (Hoya Saxa!), and also, Recode is a great site for somone like me, who works in the tech industry). The podcast addresses a good mix of technology, current events and pop culture and they get some heavy hitters to talk to them. Her interview with Kim Kardashian has this priceless quote: "I truly was baffled when people still cared. They have seen me naked 500 times."

Open Account with SuChin Pak:

itunes

Personal finance from one of my childhood MTV heroines - what more could I ask for? This is produced by Umpqua Bank, which I recognize from its fairly new outpost in my SF neighborhood. Ms. Pak holds some fabulous conversations with folks both famous and not-so-much. One of the funnier episodes is "Will Work for Work: Ravi Patel and Lena Waithe" (you've probably seen them on TV) which features the wise words "Negotiation can be fun" and "All you have is your gut and your taste." (I've heard variations of this last one throughout my life - all you have are your integrity and your knowledge... character and intellect... agreed, agreed, agreed.) "Thank You Cake" with Paula Pell is also hilarious. Everyone shares their views on handling money and how they've learned them. But there are so many gems in this series, from an NBA player, a veteran, an immigrant, and a divorced couple, that it's just best to go and get started on it.

Bonus: 
Some new-to-me shows I've started checking out recently:

• Together - conversations hosted by a former divorce lawyer on how to strengthen relationships
• BackStory - episodes on American History; a friend recommended it because they had an episode on Alexander Hamilton
• Marketplace Tech - a quick daily podcast on current tech topics, recommended by a colleague who listens to it on her way to work in the morning

Pokemon Fever (Yes, I'm a Grown Woman)

Pikachu x1000 (Vox article)

I just didn't get into the Pokemon craze at all when I was younger. When I heard about the game coming out I wasn't surprised, but I also didn't pay much attention (for example, I thought it was virtual reality, not augmented reality). Then last Friday, a friend at work said she downloaded it at a family party, and that the Pokemon were even in our office. Later that day, I saw someone on the bus with the game open, apparently searching for Pokemon along our shuttle route. So later that night, after coming home from happy hour, I downloaded it, registered, and found a freakin' Pokemon perched near my armchair.

For much of the weekend I was tagging in at Pokestops and catching Pokemon while walking around San Francisco and even while riding Muni. And I realized how weird and kind of depressing the whole Pokemon story is, but hey, they are oddly cute and the game is oddly addicting. Like many others I enjoy the accidental/not-accidental social aspect of the game. Unlike other apps, you don't connect to social media accounts (yet) to find friends but since the game involves, literally, the real world, you come across a bunch of other people playing it. I was with my husband, standing on the sidewalk (it was empty, we weren't blocking anyone!) and showing him how the game worked. I was catching a Pokemon, and then a car pulled over. He teased me and said the folks in the car would laugh at me, but I knew what they were up to - we all held up our phones with big smiles, excited to be catching these cartoon creatures. I've exchanged quite a few knowing glances with other city dwellers in the last few days. Technology does bring us together, folks.

My favorite feature is the in-depth linkage of the Pokestops to city landmarks. Not only have I found new ones tucked away around San Francisco, but I now know the names of murals, sculptures and buildings that I pass by regularly. The Pokestops are even cooler, in my opinion, than the Pokemon (but I've only just reached Level 5 and haven't started with the gyms yet, I know, I'm lame).

You know what would also be good as augmented reality smartphone games? Monopoly. Mall Madness. Hungry Hungry Hippos. I hope there's some startups out there thinking of these.

Who knows how long this craze will last, or how many new Pokemon names I'll actually remember, but this was fun and made me feel like a kid again.