How to beat jet lag

1. Go up Valencia to a Colombian/Ecuadoran joint for a burrito bigger than your arm.
2. Buy a book for a friend at Dog Eared.
3. Sit in the sun on a redwood deck, watching the tower cutting fog on Twin Peaks.
4. Do a tough intermediate yoga class in Noe Valley, far more aerobically challenging than expected, but wonders for opening back and shoulders stiff from the flight.
5. Get buzzed on a single Guinness drunk at The Dubliner which you passed on way to said yoga class.
6. Giggle down small streets with Ben-chan laughing at ole tales from the 'Nog.
7. Have Pinot Noir and Pesto&Pine Nut Pizza at Paulines, next to the original Levi Strauss building. (alliteration rules!)
8. Talk movies over Wiezen with old friends. Annoy neighbors with impromptu jam on two beautiful redwood drums which you forgot you bought on your trip here last year. Neighbor's door pounding adds counterbeat.
9. Sleep 11 hours.
10. Drive up Skyline, heading thru thick fog down the South Bay, listening to CDs Amy made as "So long" present.
11. Have turkey sandwich and home-made lemonade at a German deli in Saratoga.
12. Walk amidst gigantic redwoods in Big Basin, awed at the quiet. Spy charred trunks blackened by lightning strike. View reflection in clear streams.
13. Meander down thru the Santa Cruz mountains to Highway One and turn north, driving past surfers and families camped on the beach. Pass pick-it-your-damn-self cherry and strawberry groves. Glimpse beautiful valleys thru breaks in the fog.
14. Have Kung-Pao Shrimp and Tsingtao in a no-frills Chinese place, all formica and fishtanks. Served by a high-school aged girl no doubt pissed about working on a Friday night.
15. Get pulled into a jazz club by hipster in black suit and fedora, yeah. Listen to a smokin trio, yeah. Drink a pint of Fat Tire, marvelling at the chocolate goodness, yeah. Eavesdrop on a couple Japanese men rapping at the end of the bar, yeah. Tap your fingers in the air to the beat, accidentally calling the bartendress over, yeah.
Be impressed that this club, Savannah is breaking new ground in the Mission, yeah. Swoon as the band segues into A Love Supreme, yeah. (No escaping that song these days.)
16. Walk twice as far home due to zigzag walking style, versus straight line of earlier in the night. (A buzz surpeme) Get a cryptic message by a guy pushing the Mobile Art Gallery. Be annoyed by a guy riding what sounds like a leafblower. Spy a pile of rags on the sidewalk, no doubt remnants of a mummy alien abduction. Pee against a graffiti coated wall for like ten minutes (A buzz supreme). Feel envious at the sight of a couple walking lazily hand in hand, bottle of wine held by the neck.
17.Merlot and crouton nightcap.
18. Sleep 9 hours despite car alarms.


On the turntable: Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, Modest Mouse (Fine choices all, Amy)
In the fortune cookie: "Your winsome smile will be your sure protection (in bed)"