A Weekend in December

This weekend, I

> didn't decorate the house. It's disappointing, but not devastating. I figure the later they go up, the later they will come down. At this rate, if I hang the last ornament on the tree this Friday, it only seems reasonable to keep it hanging until at least February. Maybe March. My strongest excuse for not decorating is that we were out of town and I didn't feel comfortable delegating the responsibility to the cat, at least not this year.

> attended a baptism in Davis on Saturday. The baby was well-behaved, better behaved than I would have been if somebody had been speaking in a language I couldn't understand and then had poured water on my head.

> ate lunch at Dos Coyotes (in Davis). I had a Colorado Burrito, which is made with angus beef, anasazi beans and four types of chili (if one is to believe the menu). It wasn't the best burrito I've ever had, but it was good enough to make me want to come back.

> visited Union Square in San Francisco. We arrived at the perfect time. The sun had already set and the store decorations were on - snowflakes adorned Saks Fifth Avenue, wreathes hung in the windows of Macy's. The towering tree near the center of the square was lit and dazzling. Shoppers were milling through the plaza and bustling in and out of the surrounding stores. Tourists dressed in evening attire stood in long queues in front of hotels and waited for taxis to whisk them away to other parts of town. The spirit of the season in the city is intoxicating. I wonder if it feels the same in places like New York City or Boston.

> ate dinner at Dojima-Ann in San Francisco. I had the Moriawase Sashimi ($16.95). It had fourteen pieces of assorted sashimi: hamachi, maguro, saba, and sake. It also came with the standard salad, rice, and miso soup. We had to wait ten or fifteen minutes outside for a table, but I think the food was worth the time spent out in the cold.

> ate breakfast at Copenhagen Bakery in Burlingame on Sunday. I had plain ham and eggs. I also had more cups of coffee than I could count - mostly Viking Blend and Millenium Joe (made by Adam's Organic Coffees).

> attended a wedding later the same day in Burlingame. The ceremony started thirty minutes late, but only took twelve minutes, so it all worked out in my book. The pre-reception and the reception filled the next five hours. The happy couple must have been running on sheer adrenaline by the end of the night. I don't know how anybody could endure that many hours of standing, smiling, and posing for photographs. Although they don't read this journal, I want to wish them all the best. I also hope their cheeks aren't too sore from all of that smiling.