Decade in Review: 2010 - 2019

I close 2019 and the decade with my personal lows and highs from 2010 to 2019.

2010 started out wonderfully. I had a great job, a reconnected friendship in 2009 that evolved into a relationship. Pretty terrific start at age 50.

Not so fast.

By 2011, the boyfriend part of the relationship ended. Six months into a 3 1/2 year unemployment phase which made the best time in my life go to its worst. The great job in 2010 wasn't so great anymore. I was assigned a new boss and my job duties changed. So I quit.

My spirits got lifted in 2012 when the San Francisco Giants showed their perseverance and resilience in overcoming elimination in 2 post season matches versus the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. They go to the World Series and sweep the heavily favored Detroit Tigers. It is their second World Series title in 2 years.

In November 2013, my Dad passed away. He had been in and out of the hospital for nearly a year. I’m still unemployed and must consider moving out of San Francisco. Less than 3 weeks after my return from New York for his funeral, my situation began to improve. A company recruiter contacted me on Christmas Eve regarding a job opening I applied to a day earlier on craigslist. I am tendered an offer in January 2014. Next month will be my sixth anniversary.

Flyers offer letter, January 2014

In 2015, 2 big events took place: a wedding, and a funeral.
Sherman and Kat got married in May. Mom passed away Labor Day weekend. It was the same day I made plans to have lunch with the old friend/former boyfriend. This is the last picture I have of Mom. The photo was taken with her sister Sue and Sherman on August 8.

Sherman, Mom (L), Aunt Sue (R)

New Year's Day 2016, I trade in my 2004 BMW 325i for a pre-owned 2012 328i. This is my third blue colored BMW 3-series. In a stick shift, of course.

On to 2017. I bowl for the first and only time (so far?), an officially sanctioned 600 series. I end the season with the highest women's average on my Wednesday night league. It is also my first trip to Europe, a family trip to Rome, then a Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Spain and France.

For 2018, I attended my 40th high school reunion in August. In November, Sherman and Kat give birth to an extraordinary, adorably handsome baby boy.

I end the decade with a return to living solo again in May 2019. I lived with a roommate since October 2014. Along with his girlfriend almost half the time from 2016 to 2019. In June, I drive to Los Angeles to reconnect with Mom's cousin Jack's family at their reunion. It had been 45+ years since I last saw them. Best part was to see pictures of Mom's childhood home in China.

In November, we celebrate golden child's (nephew) first birthday with a family cruise to Mexico, Honduras and Belize.

Have a safe and wonderful New Year. Upward and onward to 60.

Black Friday Delivery Issues

Update on my big ticket Black Friday purchases. I am 0 for 2.

Big ticket item 1: Dining table from Hoot Judkins. Got delivered yesterday. Looks great. I can start using it.
Issue: gear that expands the table is broken. They didn't give me a date as to when they'll come back to fix it. My guess it won't be until after the holidays.

Big ticket item 2: Floyd queen platform bed. Finally pulled it out of the box this past week. I hoped with Ronnie helping out with home repairs yesterday that he could help me assemble the bed. I noticed one of the boxes I got was labeled "headboard".

I didn't order a headboard.

Issue: Steel legs and straps that were supposed to come in a separate box didn't come in. The above picture of the headboard along with 2 other photos of the shipment were emailed to Floyd Home Customer Service yesterday.

Hopefully this will be an afterthought by the time family comes for President's Day weekend.

Law & Order Marathon on WE Network

source: YouTube

Thanks to a Facebook status post from my childhood friend/ex-neighbor Beth, she posted an update of a Law & Order marathon of all 456 episodes on the WE Network.

My favorite detective duo was a short-lived one (less than 2 seasons) Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) and Mike Logan (Chris Noth).

The beginning of the episode always started with the discovery of a human body that died of unnatural causes. A friend of mine who once worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Sacramento said L & O was pretty close to how crimes are actually handled.

Steven Zirnkilton is the person who narrates the introduction.

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate but equally important groups: the police who investigate crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.



He's also done voice over promos when L & O was in syndication on TNT.

Black Friday 2019 aka Support Your Local Businesses

My Black Friday, 2019.
I began the day online shopping. Returned to an old e-commerce retailer that started in 1977. It's also where I began my first full-time job in San Francisco. If you know me well or follow my blog, you already know this company.

The Sharper Image.

The visit to my former employer began after seeing too many pictures of myself from our cruise vacation last week. I noticed the spare tire in my mid-section in too many photos. Time to tone up. Bowling does a great job on my lower body strength, but need toning upper body and waist. No gym. Low impact. Something I can do at home.

Decided to get a portable rower.

source: Sharper Image
portable rowing machine

Compact, sturdy, simple, low impact. I can do it while watching TV.  Point, scan, and click. Done.

All that browsing made me hungry. Time for lunch.

My original Thanksgiving plans fell through due to a family emergency of the friend who was hosting dinner. Instead of turkey, it was takeout Thai, Lindt chocolates, bowling practice, and lots of catching up on TV I missed while on vacation. Hunger and withdrawal symptoms of no turkey were setting in. Need turkey now.

Jump in the car and head to Redwood City to my favorite place for carved turkey, Harry's Hofbrau. Locally owned. Harry's formerly had locations in Foster City/San Mateo and San Jose. When I worked in Foster City from 1999 to 2007, I must have visited that location at least once a month. Always got turkey. Either as a carved sandwich with dipped wheat roll, turkey dinner, or A La King style (cream sauce with rice).

When I got to the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised to see a line and hear almost everyone order a turkey dinner or sandwich. The day after Thanksgiving. Realized many in line were probably in the same situation. They craved for carved turkey. I opted for the Turkey A La King. Happy tummy.

Now, off to another locally owned business in Redwood City, Hoot Judkins Furniture. Opened in 1962, it is one of the few remaining family and locally owned furniture stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve been an admirer of their dining furniture for several years. It started not long after I sold my dining set when I moved out of the Outer Sunset house I rented from Kevin from 2011 to 2014.

HJ’s way of doing business is very retro. All furniture is real wood. No particle board or veneer. Sales staff don't work on commission. No high pressure sales tactics. They know buyers are going to make expensive purchases, so giving people like me time to decide is more likely to result in a sale.

I left the store 2 hours later as the soon-to-be owner of a new dining table and chairs that I'll get in about 4 to 6 weeks. As part of the Black Friday special, they paid my sales tax. It'll be well worth the wait. My dining table has a butterfly leaf that opens with a built in gear that requires little to no effort to expand the table. The chairs have reinforcements between the legs.

source: Hoot Judkins

You can buy a similar table and chairs for about the same price on Wayfair or Overstock. And you'll get it within 2 weeks. But you'll get it in boxes and delivered curbside. I'll get mine delivered inside and fully assembled.

My small contribution to small businesses. With outstanding service and value to boot.