EST to PST to CST

It’s been a few weeks but I’m now back in Shanghai. My trip to the states was great. Outside of spending a lot of time in the office catching up with folks, I got to see a lot of friends and enjoy my time in SF. I spent last week at my parents house in the east coast before the big snow storm hit and did a day in NYC, seeing the Guggenheim with my mom and had dinner with Derek. I went back to SF for the weekend, had an excellent dinner at Bacar, hung out with friends and watched copious amounts of Olympics on TV. I flew out Sunday afternoon and got back to China Monday night and am now back in the office, back to the grind.

It’s a bit odd being back again, yet strangely familiar. One of the more interesting things is the reverse sticker shock. When I went back to the states, the prices for food and such seemed so hight, and now being back food seems so cheap. I had breakfast today for something like $0.40. We have a bunch of folks in town this week and next to kick off some projects so it’s going to be quite busy which is always a good way to get back in to the swing of things.

Superbowl XV

With no interest in the teams playing this year, I watched the Superbowl for two reasons and two reasons alone: 50+” HDTV at my parents place and commercials. The former was awesome, the latter left a lot for want. The best ones were definitly the FedEx caveman ad(“that’s not my problem”) and the Sprint ad about the crime deterrent feature but I really wasn’t impressed by the rest. Oh and yes, I’m now in the East Coast, in New Jersey.

Cheeseboard Pizza

Yesterday I met up with Jamus, Pam and Justin at the Cheeseboard Collective‘s pizza store in Berkeley (on Shattuck and Vine). I’ve heard lots of good things about the pizza place, from it’s distinctive menu (they only serve one pizza a day) to the masses who teem outside the store during the lunch hour. We were not let down. The pizza was a zucchini basil pesto (mozzarella, red onions, zucchini, feta and basil) and was excellent. There was a line snaking out the door and for a few store-fronts-worth on the sidewalk as well. People had taken seat where every they could to enjoy the pie, from benches and tables on the sidewalk to the grassy median on the street (ignoring the “don’t sit on the median” sign). I want to go back to try the other pies they bake and if they’re anything like the one we had, I doubt I’ll be dissapointed.