Latest Goings-On

Of late I have been feeling that I have my feet back under me, that I am finally grounded in my life out here. This is not to say that I haven't been keeping busy, but I almost forget to post anything because things feel less new. There have, however, been some recent highlights:

- Swimming: I fell out of the habit of swimming while in Boston since my gym did not have a pool. And for some reason even though my gym out here has a pool, I did not resume swimming until late summer. I am now back in the pool! I swim Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from about 6-7 am. Two interesting things: (1) the pool is outdoors and I can swim in it year-round, something one would never find in New England; (2) my fellow swimmers are very friendly and chatty, even that early in the morning. I'm so glad about my return to doing laps.

- Housewarming Party in Livermore: last Friday night I went to my co-worker Geoff's housewarming party out in Livermore (East Bay). Geoff and Jenn have a beautiful home and I enjoyed getting out to the suburbs and seeing a bit of nature.

- Valencia: this past Tuesday I flew down to Southern California for work. It's a very quick flight from San Jose to Burbank, then about a 30-minute drive up to Valencia. There was a group dinner at George's Bistro Tuesday night, then a supplier meeting on Wednesday, along with a quick drive over to the new Boston Scientific facility in Valencia. I'm still not a SoCal fan - it seems like a concrete jungle to me - but Valencia isn't too bad. The most disturbing thing was smelling smoke in the air from the recent fires and seeing all the charred hills. California desperately needs rain.

- Zibibbo: tonight I had a great dinner at Zibibbo in Palo Alto with my friend Susan. They have a wonderful Mediterranean menu, perfectly flavored, and a nice atmosphere. I also had my first ever glass of a pinot noir rose wine - who knew this existed?

- Happy Hours: while this seems to be a lost art out here, we are starting to have about one a month at work. Yesterday we went to City Beach (where I went on my birthday) and I'll be planning another one after the holidays. I'm also going to a non-work happy hour with a couple of friends Monday night in Mountain View - amazing!