A US reunion tour - SF, Tampa, and Chicago

During my trip back to Seattle, I was also able to visit a few other cities: San Francisco, where I used to live, Tampa, where a lot of my friends moved to, and Chicago, where I might live in the future.

How many meals can I fit into 24 hours in SF?
Just a few hours after leaving Scott's wedding in Seattle, I had an early flight to San Francisco. It felt strange to be in my old neighborhood again (Lower Pacific Heights), a year and a half after leaving. My first stop was the Mission district to pick up Isaac's keys from Benson, because Isaac and Tien were out of town. They let me stay in their place anyway, which was just down the street from my old apartment, near Polk street.

When I got to their place, I forgot which apartment they lived in and tried to open the door to an apartment on the wrong floor. I thought it was the 4th floor, but it was the 3rd. I had the right location on the floor though! At 10am I'm sure whoever was in room 401 was a bit concerned that someone (me) was fumbling with keys, trying to break in.

It was really nice to be back in SF. There's just something very unique about the city...the Victorian apartments, the ridiculously steep hills, the people speaking Spanish everywhere, the crackheads and homeless people, the naked guys wandering around the Castro...it's the place where the unique (aka crazy) go to be more unique (aka more crazy) than everyone else. After spending so much time in a more conservative country like Poland, I couldn't help but be shocked by some of it, even though I used to see it everyday when I lived in SF.

I love this city!!!

Steepest hill in the city...the cars basically tip over if you sneeze on them

My 24 hours in SF were very sunny.  I got in touch with old friends, but before meeting them, I sat on Isaac's couch, watching HDTV on a big screen. It had been a while, and I loved it, since my TV in Poland is low def and super tiny.

I was able to do lunch at one of my favorite restaurants with my old room mate Ben, his fiancee Julia, and our friend Wendy at Burma Superstar. I don't even know how to describe Burmese food except that it's really good. Maybe a mix of Thai and Indian?  I don't know. But, wow, it's dang good. The salad, sumosa soup, and chicken and shrimp casserole...the best.

Ohhhh yeaaaaa....

Pictures cannot describe how good this food is

To enjoy the nice weather, we went to Zeitgeist, a bar in Noe Valley with a nice beer garden and a lot of "alternative" people...bikers (both choppers and road bikes), hipsters, frat guys, pierced and tattooed people, and everything in between.  A perfect eclectic SF mix. Add to it Ben with his Lululemon sweater (so trendy, my friend!), and there was a little of everything. After a couple beers and some really good home made tamales from a woman pushing around a big cooler full of them, we went to Ben and Julia's place in Noe Valley. We hung out with Ben's brother and his wife and 2 kids. The kids were really funny. I had to explain to the oldest, 3 year old Trent, who my favorite Disney princess is (apparently he asks everyone - and apparently we are going to have to fight over Ariel). He also fed me imaginary alligator eye balls, which were delicious. We grabbed some real dinner of sweet maize sandwiches with pulled pork, tomato and avocado from Pica Pica. Wow!  It's nice to get this kind of food that we don't have much of in Warsaw.

Tamale from the Tamale Lady

Maize sandwich

I was able to pick up a chicken and lamb shwarma and a Bob's apple fritter on my way home, capping off a great 24 hours of eating. When David Thai visited me a couple years ago, Ben ate his apple fritter when David left it on the counter overnight. David woke up looking forward to his fritter, but when he went to the counter it was gone. Ben was standing off to the side licking his fingers with a big smile on his face.  He thought it was a gift for him.  Whoops! So I brought one back to Seattle for DT to make up for it.

24 hours after I landed in SF, I was back at the airport to go home for a nice Easter BBQ dinner. I sure missed SF, and even though I was only there for 24 hours, it was well worth it.

Wedding and beaches in Tampa
After a few more days in Seattle, the next stop was a week in Tampa...for Megan and Lonnie's wedding, some work meetings, and to see old friends who worked in San Jose with me a couple years back.  About half of my friends from San Jose moved to Tampa for work, so it was nice to see all of them.  We took a couple days to relax on the beach, ride jetskis, meet with friends, and hang out in the sun...you know, things you can't do in Poland too often (actually, as I write this, it's in the high 70s outside, in May).

Jet skiing in Tampa

We all used to hang out in San Jose all the time

I also thought I'd do a little training for the triathlon while there.  I didn't swim, but I tried to run on a couple of the mornings.  It turns out that running in the Florida humidity during the day is not a good idea.  Especially when there are alligators along the road!  No joke, I saw 3 alligators on one of my runs.  I can promise you that I have never run faster when that tired.  I was even thinking about how to run away from them if they started chasing me.  Someone once told me that you have to run zig-zag...that gators can outrun you in a straight line, but they have a hard time turning back and forth.  When I got home, I read this article, and for some reason I believe this one more that what "someone once told me" (because to be honest, I don't even remember who once told me or if anyone really told me at all...maybe I just dreamed it).  Good thing no alligator attacked me, or I'd look really silly running zig-zag, just before getting eaten.

Gators lurking in the water

For the wedding, Hien, a good friend that I stayed with (along with Mike and Pascale), was supposed to do a reading. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to make the wedding, so that morning, while in the shower, I get a knock on the bathroom door.  It's Hien, telling me "Hey can you do the reading? It's on your bed. Good luck!"  What???  After the initial shock and the attempts to find someone else to relieve me ("oh, maybe so-and-so can do it, they might want to"), I finally decided to embrace it.  The problem is that I didn't know where to go, what to do, or anything.  I just had the words to read.  I didn't know if Megan knew I was going to do it, and I had never even met Lonnie before...how surprised would he be to see some stranger come up to the altar to read something.  But since Hien is also Asian, maybe nobody would notice.

 

The reverend is watching my every move

Everyone at the wedding (not "everyone that was at the wedding", but "everyone...at the wedding")

The wedding was really nice, and it was so nice to see the international crowd again (from New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Ireland, UK, and all over the US).  Just like old times in San Jose, Rayellen even cooked for dinner for everyone one night.  And guess what...she made chili...with home made tortillas!!!  SCORE!

Home made chili and tortillas!

Overall the trip to Tampa was great, Hien and Laura were amazing hosts (they fed us, Pascale and Mike got a bedroom, and I got my own as well, plus we got to drive his car anytime we wanted).  It was sad to leave them all, but hopefully we'll be back together again someday.


My home town I've never lived in
The last stop on the US tour was Chicago.  This was a very top secret trip, because I wanted to surprise my good friend Meg on her birthday.  Meg, by the way, visited me last year, and owes me a guest blog post.  So stay tuned for her thoughts on Poland and Prague coming soon (so she promised).

Just like all the other times I've visited Chicago, I took the train from the airport to the city, like a local.  I noticed everyone on the L playing "Draw Something" and "Scramble", the only 2 games I play on my iPad.  So I guess it must be cool to play them.  I went to the PwC office to see old friends (and I guess to work).  Kate is back in Chicago, and we realized it was the 7th country we've seen each other in since March 2011.  I also got to see Tiffany's new baby "Storm" and several other old PwC friends.  It always feels like I used to live in Chicago, even though officially I never have, other than the Summer I stayed on Meg and Kim's couch.

Me and Tif's baby Storm

I was supposed to stay with my old roommate Geoff, but he was too busy with work, so I barely saw him.  And when I mean busy, I mean working til 5am on the first night I was there, and 2am on the second night.  At least we caught up for Hawaiian food on my last day.  It was great to eat at all my Chicago favorites (mainly Chicago Bagel Authority, Aloha Eats, and El Burrito Mexicano).

These tots were quite delicious

To surprise Meg, Kim organized everyone to go to a bowling alley for her birthday dinner.  She didn't know anyone would be there, so it was a nice surprise for her to see all her friends.  Then I walked up to the window from the outside, doing my best creeper stare at them while they were inside eating.  Everyone at the table saw me except for Meg.  Finally someone told her to look, and when she did, she screamed and yelled "what the f*&$ are you doing here?!!" loud enough for me to hear through the window.  The last time I was in Chicago, I told Meg I was coming, but surprised everyone else.  So this time it was nice to surprise her.  Earlier that week she told me how great it would be if I could come for her birthday, so it was nice to be able to see her.

Surprising Meg for her birthday

The trip to Chicago was a nice one, although short.  And every time I go there I can't help but think that the next time I'm there, I'll be looking for an apartment.

The flight home was easy, and it's a bit scary how used to long flights I am these days.  There was one scary moment when a guy collapsed, while standing by the toilet.  He threw up while on ground and was unconscious for a bit. I was sleeping when it happened, but woke up during the commotion to see 2 guys helping him...luckily there was a doctor there and the guy ended up being fine. I'm just glad doctors are normal people too and can often be found amongst the regular crowd to help us in times of need.

I have lots of writing to do for my trips to Belgium, Ukraine, Budapest, Copenhagen and Croatia, so I will leave you on that note.  Stay tuned!

There's no place like home

At the passport check during my layover in Germany, the agent scanned through my passport looking for the stamp showing my European entrance date. He looked a bit confused and asked 'how long have you been in Europe'? I looked even more confused than he did, because I didn't know what to say. Maybe because I only had 3 hours of sleep the night before and couldn't think straight, I replied "I don't know, a while?" He didn't looked amused, so I continued "What do you mean?" I didn't know how to answer! What he really wanted was for me to tell him that I live in Poland, and to show him my residence card.  That's because it had been over the 90 day limit of staying in the EU without proper documents. In fact, it had been 16 months since I left Europe at all (unless you count going to the Asia side of Istanbul). That's a long time not to be back home.

The flight to Frankfurt was less than 90 minutes and Frankfurt to Seattle was an easy 10 hours. I passed the time taking short naps, and watching kids movies. I saw Ice Age 2, Johnny English Reborn, and my personal favorite of the 3, the new Muppets movie. It's a bit embarrassing when you watch movies on a personal screen when everyone can see what you're watching...and you're 34 years old, and choosing to watch the Muppets instead of Mission Impossible 4 or some other manly movie. But I figured if Jack Black and Neil Patrick Harris are in it, it's ok to watch. The movie was quite nostalgic and I found myself laughing out loud on the plane to myself, and planning to download episodes of the original Muppet show when I landed.

My parents picked me up at the airport around noon, and after visiting Grandma and feeding her some spaghetti in her nursing home, we went home, I ate a bit, then started (continued) my long day. I tried not to think about the fact that I woke up at 3:30am Poland time that morning, which was 6:30pm Seattle time the night before. As long as I could stay awake until a normal time that night, I could defeat jet lag before it had a chance to get me.

View of Mt. Rainier from my parent's deck

When I was clean, my dad drove me downtown so I could surprise my friend Audrey at work. She used to be my boss 10 years ago (back when I used to think 26 was "old age"). After visiting a while, I was on a mission to buy some new clothes. Macy's, Nordstrom Rack, Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters, and a few others got my business that day. Over the course of my first 24 hours in Seattle I bought so much stuff I had no idea how I was gonna bring it back (including stuff from Costco, Fred Meyer, and the Apple store - I convinced my dad to get me an iPad for my birthday instead of the subscription to the eHarmony dating service he originally wanted to get me). My favorite must have been the 10 different free samples I tried from Costco. I miss weekends at Costco.

My dad has turned into a caveman, and he can't open his eyes for pictures

After shopping, BJ picked me up and we went to meet a bunch of friends at Pho Cyclo, which is the tradition every time I visit. 14 people came and it was great to see everyone. A lot of things are the same as the last time (18 months ago), like the way we are all still immature even in our mid-30s, and we make the same childish jokes as we did in college.  But also, a lot is different, as everyone is married and/or having kids. 10 years ago I never would have guessed some of these guys would have kids before me! (I mean that in a very nice way, of course). After pho we went to get frozen yogurt, then to a bar for a couple drinks, and finally to Dick's for a midnight burger. That's 3 foods that I craved taken care of in one night! I lasted until midnight that first day, defeating jet lag before it even started.

Of all the foods I craved, I think Haas avocados was #1

The next morning I woke up completely confused as to where I was. I recognized the room, but couldn't put a finger on the exact location and didn't know what I was doing there. After a couple confusing moments, I realized I was in my old bedroom. How crazy that I didn't even realize I was in my own room (and this had nothing to do with alcohol, mind you!). It was even more confusing when I went upstairs and my parents are sitting there doing the same things college kids do when they wake up: sitting in their pajamas, playing on their computer and iPad.  What world did I transport to???

After a day of some work, and shopping, it was time for Scott's wedding. Before Scott's wedding, I had to do something else I hadn't done in 18 months...drive a car. I was actually a bit nervous! In the end, it was ok, but it took me about 10 minutes to park the car...I kept turning it off, getting out, checking the distance to the curb, going back in to adjust, coming out to check the distance to the next car, etc...it was pathetic.

Scott and Sibyl's wedding was a lot of fun. It was pretty intimate, and they did the ceremony and reception in a nice restaurant. I got to see friends and friends' families I hadn't seen in a while. I spent the whole night trying to convince everyone to come Poland, and as people drank more, they were all yelling 'let's go to Poland!' Even my friend's parents said they'd visit me! Unfortunately Scott didn't let me make a speech about it. Speaking of making speeches, if there are any of my friends with a lot of stories to embarrass him with in front of his wife's family, it's Scott. I don't even know where to start with the stories. We've been through a lot together, including carpooling to college together for 4 years, which meant me never being on time for an 8:30 class because he was always sleeping when I picked him up. His mom ended up giving me a key to his house so she didn't have to always get out of bed to let me in. Scott committed to waking up on time and told me I could pour water on his head if I ever caught him sleeping when I got there. Lucky for me, I got to pour water on his hear to wake him up more than once. I definitely didn't mind being late those days.

Scott and Sibyl, with a bun in the oven (Sybil's oven, not Scott's)

I had a 6am flight the next morning for my 24 hours in San Francisco, so I left the wedding early, and didn't drink since I had to drive and I was exhausted. In Washington state you can have about a drink per hour and be under the legal driving limit for blood alcohol level, but since it's been so long since I've driven, or driven after any drinks, I didn't want to take a chance of even getting close. In fact, it seems that if Europe can survive on a legal limit of basically zero alcohol level, and it can be a part of culture that is taken so seriously by the people, why can't the US do that? It would sure save on a lot of drunk driving deaths and accidents during the year.

After the SF weekend, which I will write about next, I came back for a few more days in Seattle of family, playing tourist (Pike Place Market, the first Starbucks, etc), meeting friends (and getting treated to meals and drinks...thanks!), and shopping (plus a bit of swimming at the YMCA for triathlon training).  I ended up with an extra duffle bag filled with clothes and food to bring back, including hershey's kisses, honey mustard, quinoa, contact solution, and a few other things.  We had a very nice Easter BBQ with some family and friends who came over to enjoy our new deck at the house, and the weather was 70 degrees on Easter Sunday.  My allergies were miserable, but there was good food, and even a couchsurfing friend I met in Venice came to the BBQ, because she was visiting Seattle at the time.

Happy hour on the Amazon.com campus

Home made BBQ short ribs and shrimp

One funny thing happened when I visited my Aunty Lilly (Grandma's sister).  She is 101 years old, and moving around just like she did 30 years ago. She kept making jokes and hitting me, telling me I look handsome (no, that's not supposed to be a joke!). When I told her that she looked good, she hit me and said "now don't say that just because I said it...and stop changing the subject!".  Then she'd change the subject herself by asking "How tall are you?"  She stood up and compare who was taller...there aren't too many people I feel like a giant next to, but Aunty Lilly is one of them!. Then I gave her some Turkish Delight (chewy candy).  She put it in her mouth, stopped chewing with it sticking out of her mouth, paused, then yelled "it made my teeth come out!"  She's hilarious.  It's funny because her false teeth actually did all come out.  :)

Aunty Lilly, at 101 (with all her teeth in)

All in all, it was so nice to go home for a few days, to see all my family and friends, and to go back to how life used to be.  I don't think I "fit in" as much as I did years ago, when I last lived there, but it was still nice to see even though a lot of things have changed, the best parts have stayed the same.  Seattle will always be "home" for me.