everyone wants to be king/queen

I'll be quiet now.

The office sometimes complain about the General Manager, and some have even quit in part because they disagree with the GM.

It's not the GM though, it's really the Board. The Board hired and placed the GM there for the past year.

If these people, including myself, think we can do better, then we better demonstrate enough ability that we will rise to be GM ourselves. Better yet, we can run our own businesses and call the shots.

Hummm...

SF visitor guide

SF is divided into several neighborhoods, each with its own distinct population and destinations. My suggestion is to pick 3 to 4 neighborhoods and explore each on foot, checking out the stores, restaurants and attractions.

http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/
http://www.dreamworld.org/sfguide/Neighborhoods/neighborhood.names.jpg

Some suggested itineraries:

Union Square/Downtown: shopping
Whether it’s the designer stores around Union Square (surrounded by the streets Geary, Stockton, Post and Powell) or the discounts along Market (Ross and Marshall’s), this is where the flag ship stores are at (Levi, Banana Republic).

If you want to stay indoor and shop, just go to the Nordstrom Mall at the corner of Fifth and Market.

Tips: Take the elevator in Macy’s to the top floor and go out to The Cheesecake Factory’s balcony for a view of the square

Eat at the basement of Macy’s: Wolfgang Puck and the Jamba Juice Honey Berry Bran.

SOMA: the arts

There are plenty of museums to visit. MOMA (Third b/t Mission and Howard), Asian Art (Larkin and McAllister - If you go to the Asian Art Museum, there is a hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern place King Gyro for some healthy stuff 25 Grove), Yerba Buena (Mission b/t Third and Fourth), Exploratorium (Howard b/t Fourth and Fifth)

Some museums are free the first Tuesday of the month, but the best time to visit is Thursday night, when the museums open late and have fewer visitors

Tips: plenty of bars and clubs all around (Folsom b/t 9^th and 12^th is where most of them are located)…check out Wish (1539 Folsom)

Check out St. Regis and Four Seasons (lunch at Seasons), the two five-star hotel around the corner from each other (Third and Mission, Market b/t Third and Fourth)

Chinatown/North Beach: restaurants

Go to the corner of 3^rd and Market (south of Market). Take the 9AX, 9BX, 15, 30 or 45 and get off at the Broadway stop (either Stockton or Columbus). Being one of the densest neighborhoods in SF, the food here is cheap and yummy. Wear comfortable shoes because you will be browsing!

Tips: Walk up Pacific to Mason and look back – awesome view of Bay Bridge

Eat at Dol Ho (808 Pacific Ave)

Castro: What SF is really famous for

Catch any muni line toward West and get off at Church or Castro stations. If not in a hurry, take the F-line all the way down to Market and Castro. This is where all the queer gather, but you will find plenty of one-of-kind stores and very sophisticated eateries.

Tip: Eat at Sweet Inspirations. Ask if they have the mango-passion fruit mousse.

Automobile Tours (these are more places to view from car or bus):

• F-Line: catch the eastbound line along Market (there is a stop every block starting in the Castro) and take it along Embarcadero all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf (

• Powell Cable Car: Take this other way to Fisherman’s Wharf. $5 for a roller-coaster-like experience.

• 38-Geary to J-town: Gritty but a destination worth venturing out

• 2/3/4 to Fillmore: Yuppy-ville

• Golden Gate Park: our city park with its own lake, museums and specialty gardens

the unknown

My company is in the process of choosing a website designer. Guess who was lucky enough to solicit and interview the candidates?

When I signed up to be a Land Development Manager, I never knew that my job was going to be Run My Business 101.

It’s for the best. The seemingly random responsibilities have made me seriously consider starting my own business again. This morning, I even used the SBC online tutorial to teach myself how to FTP some edits into the existing website.

After three career changes in my 20s, I was starting to wonder if I will ever settle into something permanent. Then, it occurred to me that I was judging myself. If this is going to be my life, then I need to live it my way, which is serendipitous! So far, the attitude to just let life happens has been fun. I wonder what’s next?

the dark side

I was rude to my friend Sunday and all because I was impatient.

It’s been so long since I lost my patience with someone that it caught me completely by surprise. The worst part was the friend was a very nice person! This poor woman was trying to give me directions, and I just snapped at her.

Having cultivated very crammed schedule week after week, perhaps I was thrown off by the embarrassment of running behind. Still, this incident made me realize that I have to do something about the stress of work. This is only month 3, and who knows how many more to go?

The incident was upsetting b/c my dark side came out of no where. It was a good thing though because there is nothing quite like the loss of control that reminds me just how little control I really have or need to have over life.

no such a thing as a mistake

When you wish that you did something different, you are denying your own existence. You are the summation of all your past, and to be true to yourself, you must embrace all of you, past and present.

Any doubt about past decisions is really a test of how we see ourselves. Ultimate acceptance happens only with willingness to embrace ourselves.

Every day, I try my best to encourage others because I care about them for the truth of their choices. I love people percisely because they have made very different and often times difficult decisions. If I have not encountered all these fascinating and at times unbelievable people and their stories, I would not have learned nearly as much.

For every joy and every tear, there is the truth. Sometimes I can see the truth, but most times people hide it from me behind excuses and blames. It is easy for me to empathize because I also fall prey to shame. Yes, we learn to hide ourselves because we were hurt or were taught to criticize our experiences.

Enough. If the rest of the world is going to be critical, I choose to be enlightened. To be human is to celebrate each moment, especially the most humbling ones. There is good in every moment because the summation of those little moments makes up our precious lives.

say what?

Some of my co-workers and I eat in the lunch room around the same time. One particular co-worker greets me almost every other time with “You look tired.”

I am a morning person, so I try to cram as many meetings and assignments in before lunch every day. I am usually exhausted when I get to lunch, but do I have to be reminded of that every week?!

Is it cultural? This co-worker came to the US in the past year and perhaps has never heard of political correctness. I suppose it’s his way of making conversation, but what does one say to something like that?