Well, it's certainly been a while. A year and a half to be precise. I have written many a mental draft of this obligatory revival post, but could not bring myself to actually sit at my desk, type it out, and hit publish. I would duly explain my absence, recap the past year, and promise some sort of preview for posts going forward. Easier said than done. Much of the hesitation has simply been the pressure of starting to write again. How do I begin where I left off; would the obligatory revival post suffice; how would I ever finish my mounting backlog; would I be disciplined to keep up; how, if at all, is this blog sustainable? Despite my misgivings, I decided to write again. Frankly, I have dearly missed writing about food, exchanging musings with other food bloggers, and laying down some sort of structure, however intangible and tenuous, around this hobby. And if not for merely it's already 2010; better now than never.
- I started my first job after college in July 2008, needless to say, an interesting time to start one's career. Prior to that, I graduated in May and spent a lazy summer unwinding, interspersed with a trip to Peru (where I left off) and a few cities in Southern California. I spent 6 weeks training in New York, and what wonderful 6 weeks those were. Countless housewarming parties and good meals come to mind, including: Alto, Sushi Yasuda, EN Brasserie, Jean Georges, Dovetail, and certainly all the HH staples: ramen, all of Koreatown, and brunch.
- I returned to San Francisco in September to start the job, and blogging became impossible with my hours (Mind you, I'm still at the same job but am trying to fit blogging into my daily routine; ha!). My days are Mixt Greens, Muracci's, SF Soup Co, Specialty's, Baladie's, and occasionally the Sentinel or Ferry Building (relegated to be a sunny Friday thing). My nights are typically takeout from Belden Alley, Akiko's, Bob's, Perbacco, or R&G. Over the course of working in SF, I have enjoyed trying (some more than others) meals at Coi, Wexler's, La Mar, Zinnia, Pres a Vi, Gitane, SPQR, Anchor & Hope, Saison, and Masa's, among many others. I don't get the chance to leave the city often, but have savored my excursions to Wine Country for Ubuntu and the requisite wine, Oakland for Everett & Jones and Five, and as always, the numerous trips to the South Bay for non food related shenanigans.
- Traveling, outside the latitude of an academic schedule, is less frequent and more last-minute, but becomes more precious and satisfying. Several well-timed trips to NY for leisure and work allowed me to catch the Kandinsky and Bauhaus exhibits, in addition to being able to cross Marea, Corton, Aureole, and Convivio off my list. Work-related trips in Fall 2009 to Ann Arbor and Louisville were unexpected but proved two of the most memorable getaways of the year (an afternoon at Churchill Downs + a meal at Proof on Main).
- I spent a week in Spain in September 2009, visiting Madrid, San Sebastian, Bilbao, and Barcelona. I just got back from spending the holidays in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Both trips were heavenly, and should have been much longer. Spain in itself was enough inspiration for me to start writing again.
Looking back, 2009 was a year of extremes; there was masochism and hedonism in large doses (generally, the vast majority of the time my blogger name is an egregious misnomer). I guess I net even. Until my next post (not so long a gap this time, promise), Happy 2010.
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