The SFCity Girl Thing.

Hopping on MUNI and working downtown constitutes your status as an SFCity (career) girl.  It's a label befitting many of my peers, and it's a snug one, too.  I mean, c'mon--who wouldn't want to work in downtown SF?  There's a feeling of importance as I rub shoulders and blend in with this 'elite' crowd.  You can pick out in a heartbeat those who are gainfully employed in this rigermarole.  We are uppity.  We walk with confidence and purpose--yes, this is our turf.  More often than not the white earbuds of the popular iPod dangle from our necks.  We can negotiate the tough city streets in heels.  We jaywalk as if we own this place.  And when we walk, we walk fast. 

I love this life.  And I'm gonna miss it.  I'm going to miss racing up the stairs breathless from the underground MUNI station.  I'm going to miss the unique amalgam of odors that greets me every fifty feet.  I'm going to miss the architectural classicism paired against the simply modern.  I'm going to miss indulging my food palate.  And I'll miss strolling the streets to shop or simply people watch. 

But what I'll miss most is this sense of 'I belong here.'  Not too long from now I'll be ripped away from everything I deem 'normal.'

My last day is tomorrow.  I don't know why, but I don't feel quite sad yet.  In fact, I don't usually cry during goodbyes.  Ever.  I mean, I expect this feeling of 'whoa, it's all over,' but sadness?  I dunno. 

Maybe I'm in denial.

What's a girl to do when she's in denial?  Why, EAT of course.  So, to ease my denial, here's my list of FAVORITE places to eat in my 'hood'--

* Chipotle (Burrito Bol)
* SF Soup Company (Southwestern Corn Chowder)
* Mondo Cafe (Corned Beef Panini, Pork Tenderloin with Yams Sandwich)
* Tea Garden (Beef Noodle, Rice Noodle Soup)
* Lee's Deli (Salad with Mango Dressing, Sushi)
* Boudin's (Tuscan Sandwich and Clam Chowder)
* Tart to Tart (Hot Almond Milk)
* Banana House/Bangkok Best (Panang Curry)
* New Asia Cafe (Two Item Combo Eggplant and Tofu with White Rice)
* Buckhorn Grill (Tri-Tip Sandwich with Roadhouse Fries)
* Specialty's (Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies)
* Cafe Ambrosia (Frozen Yogurt with Fresh Strawberries)
* Kamakura (Chicken Teriyaki)
* Int'l Food Court (Vietnamese Pho with Spring Rolls)
* McDonald's (French Fries)
* Osha (Thai Fettucini Noodles with Duck)

The Good and the Bad.

Good: Attack-free commutes!
Bad: Flinching each time I hear a bird chirp.

Good: Scoring a basket in last week's bball game.
Bad: Four fouls to boot.

Good: My 2-year old cousin now calls me "Reese"
Bad: My 2-year old cousin calls my Aunt Mildred "Auntie Moldy."  My dad is "Auntie Tu" (Uncle Stu :)

Good: Finishing the Reek Run 10K in 1 hour, 1 minute.
Bad: Finishing 36th out of 50.  (Happy Birthday, Caroline!  Congrats, Erin and thanks for the fun.  Click the links for pics!)

Good: AAA Membership.
Bad: Locking the keys in one's car (I won't mention names).

Good: Watching Anne of Green Gables for the billionth time.
Bad: Where's my Gil?

Good: A WONDERFUL commissioning service.
Bad: I'm gonna miss it here.  More on this later.

Friends Don't Let Friends...Get Attacked.

I must have the best friends in the world.  This whole bird attack episode has gotten WAY out of hand.  My crazy friends, Denise and Wilma, decided to try out #4 in my list of options--staking out them attacker birds.  I was a bit cynical that they would find anything, especially since I seem to be earmarked for these attacks.  Misery loves company, and I'm glad to say that I'm not the only victim of these malicious territorial black birds.  IT'S A FULL-ON CONSPIRACY, I TELL YA.  Read the full story here.

Birds are evil and shouldn't trusted.  Next time you throw a crumb on the ground THINK TWICE.  These birds DON'T PLAY NICE.

[p.s. I wimped out this morning and woke up my bleary-eyed sis to drive me to the train station.  Tomorrow I must face my enemy again.]

Game Over.

This is so game over.  No sooner did I post my last entry, hop on MUNI, and start my reverse commute on WEST PORTAL AVE (BEWARE!!!) when *WHAP!* I've attacked AGAIN!  AAAAHHHH!!!

You have got to be kidding me.  I was on the other side of the street, for crying out loud!  I can't hear a bird chirp without feeling traumatized.  This is war. 

Options I'm considering...

1) Run.  Dude, I ran a marathon, I could surely outrun those birds...or not...

2) Carry an umbrella.  In the summer.  Yeah.

3) Wear a hood.  But I dunno, the bald headed dude was a victim, too....

4) Park on West Portal Ave, stake out the pattern of these attacker birds and observe carefully their tactics.

5) ???

HELP!!!

For the Birds.

First off, apologies.  I have to subject you to another entry about my bird woes.  But I feel compelled to share with you, dear xanga reader, my latest saga with the overly zealous attacker bird.

So this morning I was convinced that walking on the other side of the street was a much better deal than risk getting attacked again, even though last night I was formulating ideas of how to finally outwit that stupid bird.  To which my good friend told me "Uh, you better not Sherise..."  Why is the human impulse to seek revenge?  Because ah, it's SO satisfying.  But I let that go, and walked on the OPPOSITE side of the street even though it took me longer to get to the station.

As I was crossing the street I scanned for potential victims walking down the normal route that I take.  Aha!  I spot a bald headed dude headed in the prime direction for a peckin'.  Keep walking, keep walking...and as if on cue the attacker bird swoops in on him and claws him a good one!  And oh my gosh it was so FUN-NY!  I had to chuckle.  The dude never had a chance.  Once the bird attacked him he did the same thing I did-- the 'ol duck and flail.    

Okay, so now you think I'm mean for A) Not warning the dude and B) Laughing at him.  But think about it from my end A) It wasn't me, B) It was sheer entertainment.  I mean, c'mon someone got a good laugh out of me not once but twice. 

So there.

Watch Yer Head (!)

I should take my own advice.  I'm the dork who just got attacked AGAIN by that same stinkin' bird on my morning commute.  I KNOW!  Ya think I would have learned a lesson or something.  I'm like the kid who sticks her hand on the stove and keeps sticking it on there, thinking that the next time she won't get burned.

It was clearly deja vu, only this time I thought I would outsmart any potential attacker birds by sliding myself along the other side of the sidewalk.  I will not be caught offguard...muhaha.  Just when I was feeling all smug, thinking I had outwitted the bird, I feel a little *whap* on the back of my head.  ARGH! I've been attacked AGAIN!!

Is anyone laughing with (at) me?

*sigh*

Have We No Rights?

I got pecked in the back of my head by a bird this morning.  I've heard of this type of thing happening, a sort of territorial maneuver anytime an unidentified object nears a mothering bird and her nest.  I've laughed hysterically when it's happened to others, but since it was me this time, I wasn't laughing.  In fact, I was rather annoyed.  Here I was strolling along during my morning commute, my iPod Shuffle pumping my morning jams, when all of a sudden I feel something foreign hit me on the back of my head.  I turn around, thinking that I caught a tree branch or something (very possible given that I'm a clutz).  Rather than turning around to find a tree branch I catch a glimpse of one of them steely-eyed black birds.  Before I had a chance to think, the bird pecked me again!  At that point I started waving my arms violently, ducking my head to avoid any additional pecks.  It was quite a sight.

Okay, so I'm laughing now.

As I got on MUNI, I starting rehashing the incident in my head.  Dude, that bird had no right to peck me!  I'm innocent!  Then I started to think about why the bird pecked me, and darn it, she had every right.  She was protecting her young.

There are so many times when I boil over, feeling the need for my rights.  MY RIGHTS.  As the Lord deals with me, I find myself letting go of previous things which I considered as "God-you-better-not-go-there's".  Don't I deserve x, y, and z, God?  

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."  Matt. 16:25

Still learning.

I Got No Game.

I'm resigned to the fact that I'm just not good at basketball.  But I'm okay with this.  Sherise can't be good at everything.

Thing is, I pride myself in thinking that I can be good at everything.  Okay, at least above average.  Never, God forbid, the worst.  I quietly laud basketball as one of my favorite hobbies, yet really I 'play' maybe about two times a year...AT MOST. 

So what I'm doing playing for a summer league, I'm not so sure.  I find myself feeling like the weakest link when thrust against fierce city girl ballers, whose intensity I can't match.  And when I play, I play scared.

The other night at our first game of league play I spotted my highschool JV coach who once scared the bejeebers out of me.  The very sight of her made me shiver.  I played all but three minutes that season, and that was only a merciful three minutes since we were ahead and she was playing the bench.  I did manage to score a basket but I don't want to even think of her wrath had I missed.

Basketball--I love this game...or do I? Maybe...a little...when I don't play with people better than me...

Anyone for a pickup game? Haha.

A BBQ Without the Boys. 

Gal pals are good to have.  Now, don't jump the gun and assume that I'm some boy-hater--though I did (graciously) disinvite the boys that I had invited to my BBQ yesterday...and no, this is not about how girls are cool and boys drool.

These gals love God, love to eat, and love to LAUGH.  Who needs boys?  (JUST KIDDING!)

Thanks, gals, for making my day with your fellowship.  You bless me dearly.

From L to R: Mel, Mary Ann, Colleen, Michelle, Wilma, Kalam, Wendy, Sherilyn (missing: Alli--oh and me since I'm behind the camera)

 

Back to the Dentist.

Some of you know I had a pretty interesting visit to the dentist a couple of months ago.  I went back today, a bit begrudingly since I didn't really need to get my filling done, but since I'll be gone for a couple of years and have no idea on how this whole dental dealy is going to work out, I braved it up to return.

I was running late.  I really hate when that happens because I tend to get a little flustered.  Plus I really needed to pee...but you didn't need to know that :) I ended up being only 5 minutes late, but still...the dentist dude was waiting behind the front counter.  Just great...apologize, Sherise, and get on with it.

Dentist Dude: "Did you go to [the motherland] already?"

Me: [Dang it, he remembers!]  "Nope, not until August."

Dentist Dude: "So are you going with a church or missions agency?"

Me: [MAN! Do I have missionary stamped on my forehead? I didn't mention that last time!] "Um, yes, I'm going with a missions agency."

Dentist Dude: "I wish I could go."

Me: [Yeah, we had this conversation already]

Dentist Dude: "Actually it would be kind of cool to be away from home.  You could get drunk after work all the time."

Me: [Sure, buddy...it's your life...]

Dentist Dude: "I really wish I could work for like Starbucks or Ben and Jerry's or something."

Me: [This guy is whacked!] "Yeah, it could be a side job or something."

Dentist Dude: "Except my patients would see me and wonder..."

All this while he started numbing my lip, which I wasn't aware that he was doing until I noticed I was getting the fat lip feeling.  So it got more and more awkward as I mumbled out my answers from the corner of my mouth.  Then he stuck a huge needle into my gums and the conversation ceased. 

I survived my dental filling and tried as slickly as I could after it was over to spit without drool hanging out of my mouth.  It didn't work.  I had this persistent drool that just kind of hung there and I prayed to God he has bad peripheral vision.

Dentist Dude: "Well, good luck...if there are any job openings out there, let me know."

Me: [Uh, sure, whatever] "Okay."

After I paid off my balance at the front counter he reentered and we had one last exchange:

Dentist Dude: "I could be a TA."

Me: [Dude! Just not mine]  "Yep, there's a lot you can do out there." 

I managed my way out the door, lip still numb from the procedure.  I'm laughing at this whole ordeal, but the fact remains that the dentist dude is LOST.  Don't bag on me for overspiritualizing here, but while I had some time to think in the chair I started to think, "Well maybe I should pray for the dude that he come to faith in Christ Jesus."

How spiritual of me :)