My town, my car, my dad.

I spent yesterday driving around town with one of Jane's friends, Lily, who just recently moved to San Francisco and is looking for an apartment. I figured it would be fun to cruise around the City and check out a few neighborhoods and give her a local's perspective on where might be a fun place to live. We kind of made a circle around North Beach, the Marina, Nob Hill, Pac Heights, the Presidio, Laurel Heights, Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset, Hayes Valley, Protrero Hill, and back to the Mission.

We took the roadster out and had the top down. The sun was bright and shiny. We had lunch with one of her friends in the Ferry Building, and Dinner with one of my friends in the Mission. A pretty productive day.

Two blocks away from home, I heard and awful squealing noise coming from the rear of my car. At first I thought it might be a noise coming from the bus I just passed up, but as I made a turn down the avenue, the sound followed me as the bus trailed off. Not good.

This has been one of my biggest fears for a while. Something happening to my car. And like most things I obsessively worry about, it's probably not as bad as the worst case scenario in my head. In fact, nothing is; I have a pretty wild imagination. So today, I called around and settled on a mechanic's shop in Daly City and decided to bring the car in.

I asked my dad for a ride. Turns out he has a AAA card, so he stopped by and made use of one of his free tows. My dad was being a little bit of his cooky self. Before we left he said he forgot something at home. He was fidgeting a little. When I asked him what it was, he mumbled something, and I could tell he was getting uncomfortable. After a little bit of prying he confessed he left his supplements at home, "I take something every half hour." Oh, Dad. Anyway, I convinced him to stay, and thankfully the tow truck came pretty quick. We dropped the car off, I told my dad to stay in the car, and afterwards we had lunch at In-N-Out.

Of course he was being a little weird there, too. I think we confused the hell out of the cashier after I gave her my dad's order, which he promptly changed. Twice. It was super-crowded inside, so we got a table outside. My dad happily munched away on his protein-style double double. And proceded to stuff his face with french fries.

We talked a little bit about stuff going on at home, his recent trip to Hawaii with my brother, my brother's girlfriend, and my brother's kids. Talked a little bit about my work situation and other random stuff. And for the most part, we got along. It's definitely a breath of fresh air when you can hang out with a parent without driving each other crazy.

I'm a chicken.

You are what you eat, right? I just had myself some Safeway rotisserie goodness. And I bought a ton of fruit and veggies. And I ran another two miles this morning. I'd like to think I can keep this up for a while. Let's see where it takes us.

Had my interview yesterday. I thought it went really well. The guy I interviewed with seems like a really cool and experienced dude. It's always great when you get to work under somebody who knows what he's doing—has an eye for aesthetics and is sharp on the business end of things. I think about working under Julie, Daniel, or Janis, how productive I felt working under them, but at the same time was learning and actually having a lot of fun. If I get this gig, it might be the start of something really awesome.

Got a call from Brian on Sunday. Tagged along with the Fire Fly crew and caught the Giants game. Yes, we lost in 10, but it was still fun nonetheless. It was pretty hot, but I still kept my hoodie on, I burn way too easily. But it didn't matter, the Giants got burned and so did I.

I kinda miss having random points of introspection to talk about in my blog. I'll start keeping an eye out for them.

Visited Zynga the other day.

Man. What a campus! And in a way, it feels like home. Nobody dressed up in corporate threads to impress each other. Nobody with that sparkling business first front. People just doing their jobs. And hanging out. In street clothes. And it felt surprisingly San Francisco. Loved it.

Had lunch with a friend who works there now. It was real cool catching up. We joke around and say we see each other once a year. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less. But it's great that we've kept in touch over a good sixteen years or so. That's a really long time. And every time I hear that she's getting ahead in life, it's inspiring.

Just got back from another two-mile run. That's three times this week. I'd like to keep it up for at least three months and get to where I'm running two miles a day. I'm a little beat, but I feel pretty good.

Today I've got a few tiny errands to run. Gonna walk to Peet's and pick up some beans. Maybe grab some food along the way (Subway anyone?). Then I've gotta go get a haircut and an outfit for my interview on Monday.

Getting in shape.

I'm currently taking another crack at getting in shape again. This means upping my physical activity, and dropping my caloric intake. Over the past few days I've been mixing up my breakfasts and lunches with black forest ham and sharp cheddar on english muffins, steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar, and the occasional going out meal. Yesterday I walked over to House of Bagels and got a lox schmear on onion. The day before that I had pho with my mom.

I've also been trying to cut my dinner calories for dinner. Last week I had a few nights of rotisserie chicken with rice and steamed veggies. Though every now and then, I'll throw in a burrito from Gordo's. But at least I don't get the super.

What's more, I'm cutting down on cigarettes and soda. I've had maybe one pack of cigarettes over the past month. That's down from a pack a week. And with soda, I read this article in the New York Times about the pitfalls of eating too much sugar. Expanding waistlines. Fatty livers. All kinds of health problems I could do without.

As for getting physical, I just took another two-mile run this morning (nothing cures a hangover like a good run). My short term goal is to run two miles every other day, with the eventual goal of running two miles everyday. The last time I picked up running again, I think I was pushing too hard on distance. I was so beat up after a nine-mile run, I couldn't run for the next couple weeks and lost the momentum I'd built to get up to that point. So this time, I'm focusing more on daily consistency in hopes to raise my BMI.

Last night I was at Fire Fly for the first time in a couple of months. It was good seeing some people I hadn't seen in a while. And I have to say, it's difficult turning away free drinks. I bought two beers. Then Calvin bought me a shot of Petron. Then Brian brought me a shot of Scotch from a sampler he got from a coworker. Then Ed bought me a beer. Shaun bought me another one. Ning gave me another one on the house. I barely made it to the bus stop (yes, I'm taking mass transit these days).

I was talking to Ning. Man, she's a sweetheart. Ning is one of the bartenders at Fire Fly. She opened her restaurant Baan Thai (four stars on Yelp) sometime last year. I helped her write the menu. I wasn't sure how much license she was giving me in terms of her menu, so I varied it. Some items I was a little more liberal with (Drunken noodles—"No ID required", Crying Chicken Salad—"No tears, we promise"). She tells me last night, it turns out the menu items I took the most artistic license with are actually the items people on Yelp recommend the most. Direct response copy in action. Awesome.

As for taking the bus, the first one passed me by even though I was at the bus stop. The second and last bus of the night I had to flag down like a taxi. There were two really drunk girls on there. And then there was me. The ride is actually really convenient. It picks me up a block away from my apartment and takes me three blocks away from my bar. And I don't have to worry about driving home drunk.

The first time I thought about taking the bus was when I went with Ryan to Off the Grid. I figured parking there would be a nightmare, and the bus stop is just a few blocks away from my apartment, and drops you off right in front of Fort Mason. Last week, I met up with some Words with Friends players, and took the MUNI and the BART to meet up with them at Lake Chalet in Oakland. That wasn't a bad ride at all. And last night seemed as good a night as any to take the bus to Fire Fly. Definitely wouldn't mind doing it again.

Dreams are weird.

I've had a couple terrifying dreams recently. The first makes more sense than the other. But both left me equally disturbed.

The first dream had to do with my car. In my dream, I'm in my garage, the car facing the garage door. I slam on my gas pedal. But my car is in the reverse gear, so my car shoots backwards into the wall. Both my car and I are devastated. Halfway through the dream I realize, wait a second, this is only a dream. And I'm instantly relieved.

The second dream has to do with a chick I used to date. In my dream, I get home from a night of drinking. I'm about to call up my cousin, but while flipping through my iPhone contacts list, I come across the name of a girl I used to date. I think to myself, "Huh, I haven't talked to her in a while. Let's say hi." She picks up the phone. I tell her I was thinking of her and wanted to say hi. She tells me that she thinks its inappropriate that I call her considering the things I said in our last conversation and hangs up. At that point I wake up and can't go to sleep.

Funny thing is, in our last conversation, things went really well. And we left it at that. But what she said in my dream still bothered me enough to wake me at six in the morning. I have to remind myself that this didn't really happen. And naturally, as most people do with dreams, I want to know the meaning behind it.

Miserable. And looking up.

There's something awful about being sick on a plane. It's like the Spanish inquisition. Helplessly strapped to your cramped seat. Pressure building in your ears like some kind of torture device. Both hours and miles stretching out the way reality does in a black hole.

That was my flight back to San Francisco.

But hey, overall the past week hasn't been too bad. I felt pretty good about a couple of phone interviews I had with Company X. I expect to know if I made it to the next cut by Tuesday at the latest.

I was able to run a few errands yesterday, despite my health. Catching up on a few Yelp reviews of places I went to during my travels. And trying to get healthy again and go back to an oatmeal diet.

We may also have the vacant apartment rented out. FINALLY. Big sigh of relief if that works out.

The sun is just starting to shine today. It's the middle of April, and it's felt more like winter up to this point. I'm definitely looking forward to better weather and a brighter tomorrow.