The Quiver

Well, we atoned for our day out, Friday; we schlepped the kids up to Swiss Days, and convinced my sister-in-law and her husband that they, too, wanted to experience Swiss Days. With a herd of kids.

I got to get my leather-bound book; we got to eat more <ahem> “Swiss” food; and the kids got to spend their September allowance on bags of marbles at the hand-made games booth (I don’t think any of them had the cash in their hands longer than twenty seconds, some literally two seconds—from my hand to theirs, to the booth-keeper’s). No one died; there were no kids lost in the making of the expedition (although two crashed and fell asleep towards the end); and some of the kids learned to bus surf on the way back to the parking lot.

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On my own tonight in SF. Decided to walk over to Union Square, and then up to Chinatown.

Fun!

I think my Sweetie and the kids would have enjoyed it.

Until it came time to eat, anyway. I mean, really; I’m in Chinatown for crying out loud. What do you expect me to do? Find a Denny’s?! (Actually that establishment is down on Mission between 4th and 5th Streets.)

I don’t remember the name of the place; it was near the (north) end of Chinatown, and a young lady — who claimed (in English) not to speak English — asked if I wanted Dim Sum … at least I’m pretty sure that’s what she meant as she held out a half-sheet of paper and said something like “You hungry? Dim Sum.”

So I found myself the only gaigin in a little family-run restaurant on the second floor. They had many types of dim sum to choose from, and even had such tantalizing dishes as Spicy Jellyfish (appetizer), Steamed Chicken Feet, Kung Po Frog, and Sizzling Frog. I was sorely tempted by the the amphibian dishes, but I wasn’t going to have room for all that food — not if I was going to have jellyfish and hot-n-sour soup, and pot-stickers.

The jellyfish was indeed spicy. I hadn’t counted on it being served cold and slightly pickled, but it was quite tasty, if somewhat … more jiggly than expected.

I can also no longer say I’ve never had dim sum. It was OK, but I like my food with a little more kick. (And maybe a little more wiggle. )

Anyway, it was a nice evening. And now I must a-bed. It’s late, and I don’t know when I will be laying my head on a pillow next, as I’m traveling back to SLC tomorrow.

[Did I mention I had a really tasty macaroon from the Chinese bakery just up the street? Perfect appetizer!]

So, I find myself in San Francisco at LinuxWorld, stuffed to the gills with seafood (pun intended? you decide). I brought my HT and a gain antenna, and have managed to find a couple of local repeaters. Being on the ninth floor helps, I guess, although these tall buildings downtown are playing havoc with my GPSr.

Anyway, here I am in SF, wanting to ride cable-cars, take the Alcatraz tour, drive down Lombard Street, and do all the stereotypical things one does when one finds himself in San Francisco … but I found I’ve left my heart back home with my Sweetie.

Oh, and since I left my laptop home (it does run Linux, so it would be allowed on the exhibition floor, but it’s heavy and the battery is dead), so I’m forced to use TV-Internet to make this post. Let me tell you how painful it is … no, that would be cruel and unusual. Suffice it to say, I miss Firefox, with its tabbed browsing, history, spell-checking, etc. quite a bit.

Anyway, as cliché as it may be, this post is dedicated to my Sweetie: “Wish you were here!”