Chad Things

We moved into our new apartment on September 1, and now, 3 weeks later, I am finally starting to feel settled.  Hurray. But before I get into that, let me describe our awesome new place as well as mention a few happenings over the last month.

Our apartment is HUGE.  Almost twice as big as 116 in San Francisco.  And its cheaper, better condition (hardwood floors, beautiful wood trim, etc), laundry in the building, one neighbor upstairs (not an old lady .. bring the noise!).  Neighborhood is great, too – plenty of street parking, covered with trees, 3 minute walk to the Blue Line (subway stop), 5 miles from the Loop (downtown Chicago), and several bars and restaurants within a 5-10 minute walk.   I also splurged and got fast internet and satellite HD TV (read my AT&T blog for more).  Everyone says Chicago is awesome except for the winter – so being close to the subway and to corner stores, bars, and restaurants is essential.  Good work Shayna on picking out such a badass pad.

Besides spending time getting settled, we have also been busy doing… things. Most notable were the friday night out with Anu, Corey, Mazen and crew, Bobby’s visit where we had drinks and dinner, and the block party last weekend with Monotonix. We’ve been hanging mostly with Shayna’s college friends – Rachel, Brandon, Lara, Katie, Jenn, etc.   As mentioned in earlier blog, Rachel and Brandon were dope enough to let Shayna kick it on their couch for a couple weeks while she was apartment searching.   And pretty soon we’ll be starting up a bike gang .. so hide your booze and daughters.  Other fun times include bowling and beers with Lynn Trahey, and getting our dance on – once on a monday night at subterranean with shana (yes, 2 of ’em in logan square), another time to see DJ Mehdi at Debonair Social Club, and Friday we’re planning on seeing Flosstradamus at Sonotheque.  All three are like 20 minute bike ride from home. Werd.

So yeah, getting settled.  We had to buy lots of furniture, meaning I spent lots of time shopping at thrift stores, which chicago has tons of.  The best is Brown Elephant, but Ark is good as well, and Target and Ikea are cheaper than most other used furniture stores.  Did i mention we have 2 giant Targets about a mile from us?  Used items bought in chicagoland include our purple couch, kitchen table and a chair.  New items include TV stand (a buffet table), 2 dressers, bookcase, many shelves, and several plants. We still need a bed frame, a dining room table, and a couple more little comfy stool seats, but those are low priority.

Next I need to explore more of the city, start thinking more about jobs, and continue studying for GMATs .. oh yeah, I’m taking the GMAT this fall, possibly hit up grad school next year and get me selves one of dem MBA’s.

I recently moved to Chicago from San Francisco and, of course, had to figure out how I was going to get me some internets from my new pad.  In SF we found free wifi from the neighbors, but in Chicago we had no such luck – all the neighbor wifi signals were secure (encrypted).  That was fine by me, I was ready to have my own fat pipe at home – both shayna and I would get annoyed in SF when our free wifi wasn’t working or forcing us to sit by the windows.

I was also interested in getting HD cable or HD satellite TV. I haven’t had anything besides over-the-air since 2003, but i bought a nice HDTV from a friend that needed some HD content.  Plus Shayna wanted to get a landline so she could do some work over the phone without eating too many minutes on her cell.  So off i went to find internet, cable/satellite, and phone.

I first looked at comcast, the most popular around here, and they offer all 3 – internet, HD cable, and phone.  But I wanted quality HDTV, and I know comcast HD is not as good as others (comcast quality march 2008).  Also, I was pleased with Dish Network when i had it in 2003.  Some sports nuts like Direct TV better, but that ain’t me.  So now i just need to find me some internets.

Finding a Internet service provider was a bit more challenging.  According to dslreports, there were many offerings in my zip.  However, many said they did not offer service at my address – including RCN, verizon, etc.  Covad was available, but starting at like $100/month. Ouch.  Speakeasy was a good choice, one of the most reliable and best customer service, for about $55/month for 1.5/384 or $95/month for 3.0/768.  Ok, also high but more doable, but i figured i should also consider comcast.

Comcast had many options, but here’s a quick summary of the triple play i considered.  All these have the same cable options, about 200 or so cable channels, including 40 or so HD channels, a HD DVR (like tivo), which was $4/month more than normal DVR, and internet.  Total was $132 for 6.0/384 internet plus cable and HD DVR, or $140 for 8.0/384 internet, or $159/month for 16/768 Internet.  I also read many horor stories about comcast changing the price on their customers .. one guy got a $30 increase on his monthly bill.  Comcast?  I don’t think so.

In the end I went with AT&T.  At first their website said they did not offer service at my address, but some blogger said that you should call to double-check.  I did, and they did have ‘manual’ service at my apt.  The nice lady at ATT had many deals, including combos not on their website, so i’ll just list what i ended up getting – cheaper than comcast and they even partner with DISH for my area (U-Verse, their new TV over internet option, was not available for my location).

Notes: $5/month off DISH cuz AT&T deal, $10/month off internet cuz i got a phone line.

Initial costs were .. -$110.  Yep, I walk away with $110.  Breaks down like this: $40 for phone (would be free if i got $30/month free long-distance phone), plus $50 for internet modem.  Dish equipment and installation are free.  Thats $90 in costs, but i also get $200 cash back – $100 for internet/phone, and $100 for DISH.  So $90 costs – $200 cashback = -110.

My contract is for 24 months, but only DISH charges anything if i cancel early – $10/month.  So if i cancel at 14 months, 10 months before contract, i pay $100 to Dish.  If i want to move at 12 months, DISH will install my same setup at new spot for free (DISH offers one free installation per 12 months).  Pretty sweeeeet !!!

UPDATE – 6 November 2008:

I got .. misled on initial costs.  I only got $100 cash back, not $200 ($50, not $100 for each check), and costs were $70 for internet ($50 modem, $13 shipping, $7 tax), $47 for phone ($64 first bill minus $17 monthly), putting my initial costs at about $17 (still not bad, but $127 less than I was told.).

But what i’m really pissed at is the billing chaos.  More important than the errors and confusion, was the amount of time it takes to sort this out.  I spent about 4 hours total on 4 different occassions dealing with AT&T customer service.  Their managers seem competent, but do not trust anyone else.

The first billing confusion was based on the fact that I was told that I get free outgoing calls within 15 miles.  A manager at AT&T Customer Service assures me there is no such thing, and tried to sell me an outgoing call package deal.  No Thank You, Ma’am. Secondly, DISH is all sorts of messed up .. took 3 calls to sort of straighten it out.  See this picture with details on DISH Bill.  Basically they give you lots of credit on first bill to cover first and second bill, and the third bill should look normal. Did you look at that Bill?  what’s so hard about saying “TOP 200”, “Local HD”, “HD Silver” ???  One thing nobody mentioned is that they charge you $5/month if you don’t connect your DISH receiver to phone or wifi – “ADDL RECEIVER ACCESS FEE”.  What?   .

Overall the monthly is not far off – hopefully it will stay that way:

Related – I found a nice comparison of HD channels available nationwide.

After 10 years in SF, and months of “about to leave” … I got on the plane yesterday and left San Francisco. The main reason I moved is because I want to be with Shayna as she starts grad school in Chicago. But almost as important is that I need a change. I need to change my career. I need to change my lifestyle. I don’t need to change my friends, I love them dearly. But it has been tough to change other things with friends doing soo many fun things in SF. I want to be serious about something, something I can sink my teeth into. For that reason I’ve decided to start studying for the GMATs which I plan on taking this fall, leading to MBA and Business school next fall. More on that in another post.

I haven’t fully digested this move yet, I feel like i’ve been just going through the motions. I planned a week alone in SF to pack and say goodbye, but it was over before i knew it. I did have my fun and i did get to spend some quality time with friends, for which I’m grateful. Specifically, I loved my surprise welcoming committee at the airport, Janine and Ben’s wedding (including an hour in the pool), Paul’s daughter’s first birthday (Free the Pony!), one last pub crawl in lower haight, dinner with friends, 2 days of outdoor music festival at GG Park, quality time with good friends for brunch, dinner, and one last hike on Mt. Tamalpais. And Big Ups to Juan for being a great friend for over 10 years.

Oh, and our roudtrip a few weeks ago from SF to Chicago was great. Shayna did an excellent job recapping roadtrip 2008, and i think my roadtrip pictures say it all. I do want to go back to Jackson Hole and Grand Tetons (give props to Tatanka), that place is BEAUTIFUL.

As i mentioned before, I moved to chicago. Chicago. Chicago, Chicago, Chicago. I’ll have more to say in a week or two. Till then, I got a wedding in Atlanta and a new apartment in Logan Square to get used to.

We are the party of Change. YES WE CAN.

Just a quick note saying … Done. I accomplished my goal, finishing the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday, August 3. Shayna surprised me at the finish with a bunch of my friends, snacks, and beer. What more can a boy want? We ended up hitting Zeitgeist for the rest of the afternoon.

I was sad that my body gave out on me – after running for 17 miles, my knees stopped working, to the point where when i run i would fall. So the last 9 miles or so i walked. My training was good – I never got tired, i guess i have to admit i’m not 18 and indestructible anymore. And since then, I haven’t been able to run more than 6 miles without my knees hurting again. Time to get back into biking …

I love me some hummus – Its such a great healthy snack with raw vegies or breads (pita, pretzels). I made the following recipe 3 times now, each time it was awesome. The fresh lemon really makes it stand out from store-bought hummus. This last time a put a bit more garlic and red pepper in, i think it was an improvement. Hummus recipe from cooksillustrated.com, picture is mine.

Note on creamy textures – I use a 40 oz blender, since I don’t have a food processor.  I double the recipe, spending extra time blending the chickpeas in the first step, pushing the chickpeas down, blend for 2 secs, repeat. After half the chickpeas are smashed, i add half the lemon water, blend till all chickpeas are smashed, slowly adding rest of water making sure to have a  smooth texture before adding tahini and oil.

INGREDIENTS

1. Combine lemon juice and water in small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together tahini and 2 tablespoons oil in second small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside 2 tablespoons chickpeas for garnish.

2. Process remaining chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add oil-tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved chickpeas and cilantro over surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

We recommend Joyva or Krinos tahini and Pastene/Goya chickpeas (see related tastings). The hummus can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 5 days. If you do not plan on serving it immediately, refrigerate the hummus and garnishes separately. When ready to serve, stir in approximately 1 tablespoon of warm water if the texture is too thick.

Here I am, the day before the SF Marathon and about to move to Chicago. The marathon has always been something I’ve wanted to do, and I’m glad I’m running it, but will be happy to have it behind me. Running has always been about exercise and stretching so my back doesn’t cause me trouble again.

After various goodbye parties and dinners, it finally hit home this week that I’m leaving San Francisco – perhaps because we finally started packing. 10 years I’ve lived in in SF, 13 years in California. I’ve grown up alot in California, met a ton of people, and had more fun than most people have in a lifetime. Yes, I’m sad to leave. I’m sad to leave a beautiful city – the parks, the victorian architecture, the awe-inspiring golden gate bridge, the wonderful hikes within a short drive, the myriad of outdoor options for weekend adventures. And the bay area people are smart, creative, helpful, tolerant, fun – almost too fun. And my friends .. too many to name, but they are all like my family. I will miss them but plan on seeing them by coming back SF often. We already got tickets for Halloween in SF.

I am looking forward to Chicago. A new chapter in my life. I must admit that I have felt like I haven’t grown much the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had alot of fun, met new people, and went traveling around the world – great things which I am grateful for. Give Thanks. However, Chicago will bring a new city, new friends, and a new job .. hopefully something that I can sink my teeth into. And hopefully Shayna and I not just survive, but flourish together.

A Toast To Change.

Oh, and for the record, Shayna and I are driving my Jetta to Chicago, leaving Tuesday August 5. Our route includes Salt Lake City, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Fargo, Minneapolis, then Chicago – I’m really looking forward to some chill time camping in Yellowstone. On August 15 I fly back to SF while Shayna stays in Chicago and looks for our new apartment. My solo time in SF includes a wedding, packing, seeing beck in GG Park, more packing, and having one last beer with friends (watch out). My last day as a SF resident will be Wednesday, August 27, when I fly out of SFO.

Everybody loves Flying. Ok, maybe not, but everybody does it. Here’s a few tips on getting the most bang for your buck:

• kayak.com – AWESOME. Use this first when figuring out flights (better than expedia, travelocity, etc). Kayak knows all the flights and airfares and lets you sort them based on what time you want to depart, what airports you like, leave a day before/after for cheaper, show only nonstop, show all ones that match this departure flight (for roundtrip), etc. In fall of 2007 they merged with sidestep, the only site that was as good as them.
  NOTE: as of 2008 July, Kayak does NOT show flights from Southwest, Skybus, Allegiant, USA3000 (src). Kayak also not great at international – just great at USA domestic.
• International: Mobissimo (favorite after kayak, international, includes vayama), Lessno (europe, some asia), wegolo (europe, some asia), AirNinja (covers smaller airlines, usa and international, best at europe), Attitude Travel (international, latest lo-cost)
• Big Trip? airinfo.travel and flyertalk – read these if you do lots of traveling, or international flights. Helps you find a good travel agent, explains things behind the scenes, etc. OAG also shows you which airlines fly between specific airports. boots-n-all has good round-the-world info. Travel Agents: STA (USA, Europe, International), also consult local travel agencies – World Travelers Club in SF
• cheapest flights, don’t care when? try priceline and airfarewatchdog
• Other tips
  • Get a airline credit card, so you can earn frequent flyer miles when you buy stuff
  • If you have one, american express sometimes has great deals.

But with rising gas prices, airlines are changing the rules, and adding fees like $15 to check your bag. See latest airline fees on kayak.

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Just got back from 10 days in Jamaica. It was a real vacation, time spent away from my life with old and new friends, warm weather, fun, and a slightly different culture. We spent most of our time in a resort in Negril, on the west side, a bit secluded from the real Jamaica, but still met a few locals and ate a ton of Jerk Chicken.

The trip was 12th in a series of Midsummer gatherings by a large group of friends. It was my first, Shayna’s second, and going into it I knew about a third of the 40 or so people that were part of the group. They rented out Xtabi for an entire week, which included lodging and 2 meals a day. We had to buy our own drinks, usually a dirty banana from the bar, but mostly red stripes (second day we bought 12 cases from the store).

The coolest part about the trip (besides the amazing people who attend) are the Midsummer Rituals throughout the week. The first is the night of fire – each person writes down a fear or something they want to get rid of, optionally reads it to the group, then burns it in the fire. The second event is the Masquerade, which involves lots of costumes and fun. Then comes the Feast, which includes a giant delicious meal where each person holds a super-sized goblet and toasts a success or trait they admire in themselves or others. Then there’s kickball with beer – this year the teams were jamaica inspired – Rum vs. Weed (which would you pick?). Lastly, there’s Baccanal which is the grand party at the end.  Oh, and this year midsummer started off with a wedding – Big Up to Saleem and Lorraine!

Besides the rituals, we also did alot of swimming in the ocean, chilling at the beach, jumping off cliffs, and an amazing trip up Mayfield Falls. Sadly I got no pics of the falls, but it could be my favorite adventure. It involved swimming in refreshingly cool water, adventuring over rocks, and waterfall massages. And the food was much better than expected – best chicken, breads, and french fries ever. Seriously – I think they fry their potatos and pig fat – nothing else could make them taste so good. And the bread – plantain fritters were my fav – mostly batter, lightly fried, a tiny bit sweet .. soo good. And what can i say about the jerk chicken? Duh-lish-us. Kyle actually got a local dude to deliver chickens – $80 for 4 half chickens plus a sensi bonus. If you’re ever in Negril, make sure you check out Best of the West (super small, but tastee).

Every Ting Irie, Mon.

Today I did my first big run in preparation for Aug 3. I ran 20 miles in 3.5 hours. I know, I can’t beleive it myself. I’ve been serious about the SF marathon ever since I’d signed up, but today was the first milestone proving I’m doing it. And right before my 10 day trip to Jamaica .. Ahhhh yeah …

For the running geeks out there, I ran this like I do all my runs – with my GPS Forerunner 305 watch and heart rate monitor. I love uploading my runs to motionbased.com as well as looking at them on google maps. I also wear headphones and listen to my iPhone (like my iPod, only i can take pics and view google maps if need be). I must confess my GPS watch said 19.2 miles when i stopped it, but Garmin software on the ol’ computer says 20miles. Breaks down like this – I ran solid the first 7.5 miles to the Beach Chalet, where Golden Gate Park hits the Ocean, and went inside for a drink of water. Then I ran solid up to and through the Presidio to Sports Basement, where i took my second break at 13.4 miles (135 mins), drinking more water and having my only snack, a Cliff Shot of goo. Then I ran through the marina and down Van Ness, at which point traffic, people, and stop lights disrupted my flow. I never realized how much work it takes to run, stop, run, stop, etc. Also had to buy a bottle of water cuz i was so thirsty. I got home and was not tired, but my legs ached, and had a blister on my foot. Not bad.  I also give props to eating pasta the night before and no runs for 3 days.  Mr. Marathon, I am READY.

I’ve been wanting to do a Backpacking trip by myself for some time. And after Otto’s Passing, I really needed it. I wanted to do 3-5 days, enough time to get out there, let the dust settle in my brain so i had time to think, reflect, or just relax. I also needed some good exercise, different than my constant running. So off I went …

On Tuesday, June 3, I packed up, voted, then left San Francisco for the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At first I wasn’t sure where to go .. I considered Yosemite, Tahoe, .. but went for Kings Canyon. I did a day hike there in 2006, as well as a Backpacking trip near there at Jennie Wilderness with Juan and Damian in 2004, so i knew what to expect. I got there a few hours before sunset, enough time to eat, setup camp, and walk around a bit before bed.

Wednesday I got early and went to the Lodge to find trail info from some backpacking books. I took a few pics of some good hikes, then went to Roads End to get my wilderness permit. The rangers warned that there was still lots of snow .. mostly above 9,000 feet. I considered doing Paradise Valley (start of Rae Lakes Loop), but ended up picking Bubbs Creek to Junction Meadow, with a day hike option to East Lake or Charlotte Lake.

I started hiking around 10:30am Wednesday at Roads End (Elevation 5085 ft). It was 2 miles through the valley floor to my first Junction, then I crossed Bailey Bridge up Bubbs Creek, hitting switchbacks out of the valley to Sphinx Creek Campsite (6280 ft), my first rest, about 4 miles in. As soon as I took my backpack off, I brilliantly twisted my ankle. I hurt like hell at first, but turned out mostly OK .. wasn’t able to use it fully for over a week. After water refill and a snack, i continued on to Charlotte Creek. It was 4pm when I stopped, and my GPS watch said i hiked over 7 miles. I wasn’t sure if i had 3 or 5 miles more till Junction meadow (depending on if you trust books, maps, or trail signs), so I decided to camp, since 5 miles more would be too much. I setup tent, got water, cooked dinner – delicious spicy chicken with rice and vegies, and appreciated clean air and sunset. I was wiped out, and was in bed asleep around 9pm.

Thursday I woke up 6ish, got out of the tent at 7am, packed and hit the trail by 8. Charlotte Creek (7280 ft) was overflowing, and I had to crawl over wet slippery logs to cross .. my first semi-dangerous adventure. I made it to Junction meadow (8190 ft) around 10am .. so it wasn’t that far after all (about 3 miles according to GPS watch). I decided to setup camp, have brunch, and do a day hike. After some tasty oatmeal, orange and banana, I hit the trail by noon. The rangers warned that bubbs creek would be too high to cross to east lake, but i ran into another hiker (first person I met on the trail) who just came from there – he spent the night on top of snow at Lake Reflection, a few miles past east lake. On his suggestion, i went to east lake instead of Charlotte Lake – mainly cuz it was closer and I’d like to spend some time swimming and exploring the lake. Bubbs creek was super high and I ended up crossing water 4 times, mostly over fallen trees, but the last crossing involved some jumping and getting my feet wet. I ringed out my socks, put my boots back on and kept on. I climbed out of the junction valley up east creek to the most beautiful views (video). I made it to East lake (9475 ft) around 2:30, swam, ate, and sunbathed till 4pm. Happy and fully rested, I hiked back down, getting back to camp by 5:30 (crossing the rivers again without falling in this time). I could feel the elevation but felt great after the afternoon at the lake. My stove wasn’t working, so i got a fire going and boiled water for my beef stronganoff (not as good as the spicy chicken). After eating I basically played with fire till after dark, and was asleep by 10pm. There were 3 other groups at junction meadow, from 2-4 peeps each.

Friday i didn’t get out of the tent till 8ish, had a leisure breakfast and wrote in my journal till 11. I then busted out of there, thinking i had to return my bear cannister before the ranger station closed at 3pm. It took me about 3.5 hours to hike out, arrived at 3:10pm – rangers were gone but they had a drop-off for the bear cannister. I was beat. I took off my boots and it was awesome – they were still pretty new and rubbing me raw in weird places. I grabbed a beer at the lodge and hit the road back to SF around 4pm. I stopped at In-N-Out and had the most delicious burger and fries ever. I made it home by 9, and went out to Amnesia for some brasstax action. Yay.

In Summary, I hiked about 30 miles over 3 days with about 4,400 feet elevation gain. You can check out my hike info from GPS Watch (it shows just the going up part, batteries ran out at east lake). Also view the Google map of the hike. At some point I want to do Rae Lakes Loop Hike, a 4-7 day trip. It is supposed to be so Amazing, one of the best in the Sierras. Here’s a sample itinerary.