pogoism

I wasn’t really sure what to expect of St. Paddy’s Day this year. Over the last two years, living in Belfast, I’ve got used to having the day off, and getting extremely drunk before midday.

This year, it seemed like business as usual. We didn’t get the day off, but everyone was wearing green. I don’t own anything green, so I wasn’t. A lot of the people in the department I work in are from Ireland, mainly from Northern Ireland, and so a party was organized at Studio on 4th. I got to talk to some people I haven’t spoken to or seen since my first few weeks here, which was nice.

At about midnight, we were buzzed, so Niamh, Emily, Becky and I went to Corrigans, a seedy bar down Wells in Reno. It was packed, and it was fun. After that we decided to walk to Ceol’s, near downtown, and we stopped off at Lucky’s. We met some randomers and went with them. After a pit-stop at Seven 11 for taquitos and hot dogs, we eventually got to Ceol’s… which was shut, so we went to Amendment 21 instead.

And that was about it. We stayed in Amendment 21 until about 4, and got up for work at 7.

A fun, and slightly unexpected St. Paddy’s Day. And not a Guinness drunk.

Photo via Flickr user Still Burning.

My boyfriend is going to be working in Sacramento a lot more now, and as a result I’m probably going to be spending a lot of time there too. I’d previously only been through Sacramento, as it’s the main stop on the way to San Francisco on the Greyhound. I’ve always thought it looked like a nice city, perhaps like a mini San Francisco.

Alonso had to work on Saturday morning, so we arrived at Rancho Cordova on Friday night, got a burrito (probably the yummiest burrito I’ve had since I’ve been here – which is quite an accolade, ‘cos I’ve had quite a few…), and chilled out in the hotel room.

Next day I got the light rail into downtown Sac. I love public transport in the US because generally it’s a fixed price. One ride, which took about 25 minutes from Rancho Cordova to the Capitol, downtown Sac cost me $2.25. Compare this to a single ride within zone 1 on the London Underground, which is £4.00. That’s almost $6, even with today’s crappy exchange rate.

Armed with the two most essential tools to discovering a new city – my iPhone and a Lonely Planet guide – I got off the train in search of the Capitol building. I couldn’t see it, or find it, despite me being on Capitol Mall, but I ended up near Old Sac at the very impressive looking bridge.

Then I wandered around Old Sac. It felt deserted, and stank of taffy. There wasn’t much to do, and it wasn’t pretty to look at. Cheap, tacky and touristy – almost like Virginia City.

Then it was onwards to downtown Sacramento, which luckily was very close to Old Sac. I found a Starbucks, plonked myself down with a ginger green tea, and studied Lonely Planet in search of something else to do. Tired, and someone disappointed with the place, I waited until Alonso had finished work, then went to meet him.

We had a nice lunch/dinner at Scott’s by the river, which almost didn’t happen, thanks to TomTom taking us totally the wrong way.

Having got a bit bored of downtown, we went in search of the gay district, midtown. This is apparently where stuff happens in Sacramento, where the locals come to hang out. With it being the Saturday before St. Paddy’s Day, there were many, many Americans celebrating their tenuous link to the Emerald Isle. After looking in some expensive lighting stores, we got a drink and panacotta at Lounge ON20.

We wanted some mochi for dessert, so we headed to Osaka Ya (again, after getting totally lost at the hands of TomTom, though, to be fair not actually TomTom’s fault). In case you’re wondering what the heck mochi is, here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

Mochi (Japanese: 餅) is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. Mochi is also a prominent snack in Hawaii.

Despite not seeming like I liked Sacramento, I’m actually looking forward to going back. I’m sure there are loads of great places yet to be discovered.

You can see more photos over on my Flickr.

After what was quite a dull first week back at work, what with there being nothing to do, last night I spent some time with my mate Alonso. We went to Genghis Grill (whose idea it was to name a restaurant after someone who murdered millions of people, I don’t know) in Sparks. It was an interesting concept for a restaurant – when you go in, you get given a bowl and then directed to go to a salad bar type area. You fill up your bowl with meat, vegetables, spices and sauce, and then hand it to the kitchen staff who grill it, and add noodles or rice.

After that, we headed back to Alonso’s. We sampled a Mexican delicacy – chapulines.

From Wikipedia:

Chapulines are grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium. They are considered a delicacy by many Mexicans. They are collected only at certain times of year (from their hatching in early May through the late summer/early autumn). They are thoroughly cleaned and washed out, then toasted on a comal (clay cooking surface) with garlic and lemon juice and sal de gusano to create a sour-spicy-salty taste. Some people will toast their chapuline with chiles, but most vendors and cooks will tell you that chiles are used to cover for stale chapulines and only show up in the poorest quality grasshoppers. Chapulines are available only in certain parts of Mexico, the state and city of Oaxaca being best known. They are available in varying sizes, small to large. They are known to have been used as food for over 3000 years.

Surpisingly, they didn’t actually taste that bad – they taste like lemon. However, I was expecting them to be crunchy and hard throughout, but after my first bite I felt a squishy interior, which wasn’t particularly pleasant. But anyway, I can cross grasshopper eating off my list of things to do before I die.

The rest of the weekend was filled with cleaning our very messy post-Christmas apartment, and getting rid of the Christmas tree, which was much more of a hassle than Emily or I had anticipated!

Photo via Flickr user daftgirly.

For the third time in just under 2 weeks, I found myself in San Francisco.

I love this city, I really do. It’s the first city I’ve been to that I can imagine myself living in for a long time. It has everything – no matter who you are, no matter what you’re into, San Francisco has something for you. It’s a place where no-one cares what you do or how you act, you can just be yourself – and I can’t think of any other city I’ve been to that has that same ethos.

After a fairly horrendous drive from Reno, thanks to some completely pointless roadworks, we arrived in the city, and checked into our hostel. Originally, I wanted to stay in the hostel I’d stayed at with Sean, despite it being a bit dirty and uncomfortable, it had a great location near Union Square. However, that was all booked up, with it being New Year’s, so we opted for the other HI hostel, City Center. It tuned out that just off Union Square is a touch ghetto-like, but the hostel itself was fantastic – much more comfortable than the other one. The only downside were the 2 people staying in our dorm that insisted on getting up early and rummaging around the room chatting to each other, while the rest of us were trying to sleep after the late New Years Eve.

Melissa and I had come to San Francisco to see The Slackers at Slim’s, so we went in search of 11th Street. That turned out more difficult than we had anticipated, but after re-fuelling on some delicious pizza, we found it eventually. They had a bizarre system for determining who was under 21… if you’re over 21, you get a stamp on one hand, and if you’re under 21, you get a stamp on both hands. Which meant it was incredibly easy to wash one stamp off, to be left with one, and all of a sudden you’re 21. Support came from The Struts (who were okay, but a bit samey), and local band The Impalers (who were fantastic, and in my opinion better than The Slackers). It was a great gig, there was a good vibe, with it being New Years Eve, and a nice mix of people. Anyways, it was a different way to see in the New Year, and we had a fantastic time.

New Years Day, and feeling a bit groggy we headed to the Castro in search of somewhere to eat. Ihad my first Mexican breakfast, and it was delicious - scrambled egg, with onions and peppers. Then we went to the Chocolate shop on Castro for a hot chocolate. Still feeling somewhat sleepy, we caught the streetcar to Fisherman’s Wharf and walked along the ocean front. We ended up looking in some art gallerys, and saw some work by Dr. Seuss, which was cool. Feeling in need of some warming up, we had an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe, supposedly the first bar in the US to serve the drink. For dinner, we decided to go exploring, and ended up in North Beach. North Beach is essentially Little Italy, jam-packed with Italian restaurants and gelato stores. We ate at Ristorante Ideale, which was amazing, especially the pumpkin ravioli. Highly recommended! Walking back to downtown, we stopped off at the cinema and saw Doubt, which wasn’t as good as I’d hoped…

Friday, our last day in San Francisco, began with walking to the Financial District to go up the Bank of America building, but, as last time, it was shut, and didn’t open until 3pm. I wanted ti go to the Moscone Center, where Macworld will be held in a few days, to see if I could see anything through the windows, but all I could get was the IDG banners on the street, which said “Even the small talk will be big” – perhaps hinting at the long-rumoured iPhone nano? Maybe… but these were IDG banners, and not Apple ones, so I guess we’ll have to wait a few days to find out… Instead, we found ourselves in Chinatown, and did some tea-tasting for a few hours, thenbought some very cheap mugs/tea/therapy balls from a store. Fairly tired, we went back to North Beach, ate, had coffee at Caffe Trieste (the home of the Beat generation) and went back to the car. Our final stop was at Haight Ashbury, which seems a lot like the lanes in Brighton. We didn’t stay long, as it was busy, and we wanted to head home.

Overall, a fantastic few days in San Francisco! I really do love this city, and I feel like I know my way round it well now. Can’t wait to go back, I really can’t get enough of it.

Christmas in Reno was certainly interesting. It was strange not being surrounded by family and doing all the usual things. 

I met Sean at San Francisco Int’l last Thursday, not really being sure what to expect. I’d dated, and was dating other guys, but I promised myself and him that it wouldn’t be awkward. Turned out, that problem got solved fairly quickly, which in a way I’m glad about, because it meant that the next week or so was a lot of fun.

I wrote about what we got up to San Francisco and snowboarding in my previous posts, so I guess I’ll just fill this post with the other stuff we got up to…

One of the things I absolutely love Reno for is it’s eating out. It’s pubs, bars and clubs may be dire, but Reno does dining well. One of my favourite places to eat in Reno is Pneumatic Diner, on 1st and Ralston. It’s fairly difficult to find, it located upstairs in what seems to be a standard apartment block. It’s worth the effort though. Everything on the menu is organic, and the main reason I like it, everything is also vegetarian – a hard thing to find in Reno. The staff are usually very friendly and helpful, and the menu is varied. The food is freshly cooked, and is generally healthy. I had the super burrito, or whatever it’s called. It was lovely, though not really a burrito… Anyway, if you fancy a change, go try Pneumatic Diner. Oh, and I forgot the mention, the decor is really funky.

I also introduced Sean to one of the wonders of Reno – all-you-can-eat sushi. I’ve tried a few places in the past few months – Sushi Plus, Sushi Pier, but for me, Sushi Lover on W 5th is by far the best. For $25 (the standard price around Reno it seems), you can have all you can eat sushi. The service in the place is excellent, and if you go, make sure you get the renee chips and the peanut roll – they’re amazing. I’m still a little unsure of why Reno is so big on sushi though…

I took Sean on a tour of downtown. It’s interesting taking people around Reno, I don’t think visitors are sure what to make of it. You take them along Virginia to the casinos and the arch, and they don’t say anything, probably because it’s so tacky. Certainly for visitors from the UK, it’s likely they’ve never actually been anywhere quite as horrid as downtown Reno. But then you go along 1st, to the newly developed area, and it’s like a totally different city – with coffee shops like Dreamer’s and Java Jungle and shops like La Bussola and Dharma Books, all against the backdrop of the Truckee River, it feels like an entirely different world. And, let’s not forget the Bruka Theater, and the Pioneer Events Center for a bit of culture…

Other than this, Christmas was generally chilled. I needed that, just to hang out with someone from back home – I was going crazy knowing that there wasn’t anyone physically near me that I could trust, so it was nice to have that, if only for 10 days.

San Francisco was interesting to say the least.

Got the Greyhound bus from Reno to San Francisco, which was surprisingly comfortable. And the scenery was as always, stunning. Wish I’d taken some pictures, but I was too lazy :P

Went to SFO (after getting on the wrong BART train and getting thoroughly confused), and met Sean. It was an awkward wait, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew it could be awkward – we only broke up because I was coming to Reno, and I’d been seeing other guys since then. But anyway, it turned out to be anything but awkward – we got on just as well as we did before. It’s fun. I’m very much enjoying seeing him again :) Even though it’s going to be tough saying goodbye again…

Saturday came, and Sean and I went to Alcatraz. I’d booked the earliest slot possible, so we could get some great photos without thousands of tourists in them. It was well worth getting up early to do this, we got a tour that very few people get around the island, seeing some parts that are usually closed off to the public with a very informed tour guide. Fantastic. One of the best tourist activities I’ve ever done, and I’ve done a fair few in my years.

Spent the rest of Saturday walking around San Francisco. It felt good to be back in a cosmopolitan, vibrant city after being stuck in the cultural wasteland that is Reno. And no flashing lights for 3 whole days. It was bliss.

Just chilled out on Saturday night, hung out with Sean and caught up with what had been happening since August. Then some crappy stuff happened… But bleh.

That bummed me out for the rest of the trip to be honest. Sean and I trudged around San Francisco in search of something to do, but both of us were tired, I was zapped and we couldn’t really be bothered. We headed back to Reno, and arrived at Circus Circus at 9pm. I was very glad to be back in familiar surroundings.

And that was that. A bittersweet start to Christmas. I’m over it now, and planning some fun stuff for the next few months. They’re going to be good… :)

• Wetherspoons Curry Club
• Having money.
• Walking in the rain in Belfast.
• Being able to walk places.
• Decent bars/clubs/pubs. Having a bar in the Student’s Union.
• Non-Starbucks coffee shops. Clements how I miss thee.
• Listening to the radio without commercials.
• Gigs.
• Family. Of course :)
• And friends. Of course :)
• Being able to fly places for £5, instead of $400.
• Accents. In particular Belfast accents. Yeo.
• Maggie May’s fry.
• That weird sense of pride every time I walk past the Lanyon building.
• Pasta bake. Nom. And marmite. And edible fish I know how to cook. 

Photo by Flickr user _SID_

In my wonderful British ignorance, I knew nothing about Thanksgiving until today. So here’s a few things you UK people probably didn’t know about Thanksgiving…

• It dates back to Harvest festivals, celebrated by loads of cultures at harvest times.
• It’s celebrated on the fourth Thursday of Novemeber.
• In 1691, a Native American with the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn, and acted as an interpreter. Then they had a feast.
• Turkey is the traditional centerpiece, hence the alternative name of Turkey Day (which confused me, but thats a story for another blog…).
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is held on Thanksgiving morning in New York City, and broadcast live on television.
• American football is a big deal.
• The day after Thanksgiving day, Black Friday, is when stores have sales, and marks the beginning of Christmas shopping season.
• Thanksgiving in 2014 will fall on Thursday, 27th November.
• In an absurd tradition, the President and other high members of office (such as Governor) will “pardon” a turkey. The turkey (and back-up turkey) that the President pardons is flown from Washington DC to California, where it leads the Disneyland Thanksgiving Parade. Cute.

Anyway, I digress. I had a fun Thanksgiving day this year. I went round to my friend Lauren’s and we ate a sensible amount of delicious food. Then we played Taboo, which I rock at, probably because I talk too fast, and because I’m “literal” apparently.

And that was Thanksgiving.

Oh, I found Cadbury’s chocolate as well today in WalMart. Tried some, and it’s actually okay. Not quite like the proper stuff from the UK, but nice enough.

Virginia City is an odd place.

It’s one of the most famous of the mining boomtowns in the Old West, and lies on the site of the Comstock Lode silver deposit – the first major silver deposit found in the US. The deposit, found in 1859, brought the population of the city to 30,000. However, this dropped when the Comstock Lode ended in 1898.

Virginia City itself is a National Historic Landmark, and as such does not have any chain stores or fast food restaurants. It’s pretty much a ghost town. The city manages to draw about 2 million visitors every year. To be honest, if you travelled far to get here, you might be somewhat disappointed.

There isn’t much in the way of things to do in the city, but it’s a fun place to walk around. There are two main attractions:

• The Suicide Table – located in one (of the many) saloons, the Suicide Table is a poker table where supposedly many people have gambled away their fortunes and killed themselves. Nice.
• The Way It Was Museum – which shuts really early, so we didn’t actually get to go round. I’m sure it’s interesting though.
• … and loads of candy shops, souvenir shops, antique shops and saloons.

Oh! And I almost forgot. Mark Twain started his career as a journalist in Virginia City.

As usual, more photos over on the ‘ole Flickr.

Last weekend a mate and I went on a little road trip to Los Angeles. The drive there from Reno, down the SIerra Highway, is absolutely stunning, really beautiful. The highway takes you through the Sierra Nevada mountains, which were covered in snow, set against a perfect blue sky backdrop. We also passed by numerous lakes, such as June Lake, Mono Lake and the Mammoth Lakes, as well as going through towns such as Bishop, Lone Pine (where numerous Westerns have been filmed), and the Mojave desert. The highest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney (14, 505 ft), is also on the drive.

Then we got to Lancaster, CA, the ninth fastest growing town in the US, and our place to stay for the night. Went out for a nice meal to some Mexican place, and found a place to stay (eventually). Had a good nights sleep before our day in LA…

Woke up fairly early so we could get on the road and see as much of LA as we could, and got ourselves a copy of the Lonely Planet guide to California. However, as we were driving along Hwy 5 to LA, we noticed some smoke over the hills. Uh-oh. LA county being somewhat infamous for its wildfires, we feared the worst. And we were right, We got massively diverted and ended up driving for many more hours than we should have done. In the end we didn’t get to see much of LA, but we did go to Santa Monica, and drove through Hollywood, and then to Pomona to the party we were going to.

Santa Monica lies on the coast of LA county, west of LA city. I was shocked at how hot it was down there, 90F! In the middle of November! But anyway, Santa Monica was nice, I guess I’d describe it as an American Brighton – it has a pier and good shopping and food (though the service was a bit bad).

Then we went drove through Hollywood, on the way to Pomona. Again, we didn’t see much of that either, due to a massive Prop 8 demonstration. And then Pomona – don’t remember much of that.

Woke up on Sunday morning with surprisingly little of a hangover, off to Denny’s (my first trip to Denny’s might I add, and hopefully not my last!) to refuel before the long drive back home…

So, overall, a fantastic weekend! 

More photos over on my Flickr.