SF n00b

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I asked people what I should read if I want to get into science fiction. I like Murakami, Carroll, and Vonnegut. I also really enjoyed Nick Harkaway's Angelmaker, along with a few books from George Saunders.

Compiling responses here for my reference.

  • Isaac Asimov, Caves of Steel
  • Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End and Rama
  • H.G. Wells
  • Heinlein
  • Ian Banks
  • Nick Harkaway, The Gone-Away World
  • Philip K. Dick
  • Lem, Cyberiad
  • Vance, Dying Earth
  • Lovecraft, At the Mountain of Madness
  • Gibson, Neuromancer
  • The Foundation Series
  • Ursula LeGuin

Why not the life?

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From this beautiful interview with Jack Gilbert:

"Being alive is so extraordinary I don’t know why people limit it to riches, pride, security—all of those things life is built on. People miss so much because they want money and comfort and pride, a house and a job to pay for the house. And they have to get a car. You can’t see anything from a car. It’s moving too fast. People take vacations. That’s their reward—the vacation. Why not the life? Vacations are second-rate. People deprive themselves of so much of their lives—until it’s too late. Though I understand that often you don’t have a choice."

And this:

"I can teach people how to write poetry, but I can’t teach people how to have poetry, which is more than just technique. You have to feel it—to experience it, whether in a daze or brightly."

Grief and Diagnoses

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"Enduring the unbearable is sometimes exactly what life asks of us."

— Ted Gup via Rogre

If I could put this piece in an envelope and mail it to my younger self, I'd ask her to reply with an unfinished poem.

there is a line
between understanding and being

when diagnosed with something,
how do you process it?

are you deficient in something,
or are you a deficiency? what are you?

how can you normalize classifiably unsuitable emotions?
things that come naturally now seem so inappropriate

NYE Wishes

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I spent New Year's Eve in a zendo with Max and lots of beautiful strangers. We did several hours of sitting meditation, walked through a garden at night with candles, and put wishes into a bonfire.

We decided to go to Green Gulch for the evening after hearing a talk there and enjoying a long walk around the farm. I didn't post these afterthoughts at the time, but they mean more to me each day.

That we'd all:

  • Have a buddy.
  • Get what we need.
  • Enjoy taking care of ourselves.
  • Grow and blossom despite suffering.
  • Find peace in the dark.

The Space We Make

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I just moved to New York, which means my brain is in total sponge mode. What's this for? Why is that there? Where does that tunnel go? How do I get from this train to that restaurant? Are we going north or south? Are those people tourists or locals? Do I look like a fool, looking up at everything? What is normal here?

I'm surprised how visual this city is. You can see its history and its secrets as glimpses of things from another time.

It all moves like a circulatory system, breathing and swarming, bustling without bumping too much. Moving and grooving. Commuters dancing to different songs with the same rhythm. Dead things, living things.

I'm amazed at how easy it is to find things. Rare things are not all that rare, maybe just scarce in other places. Here, I don't need to stock up on anything except energy and attention, hard to make in a city with so many centers. Eyes and ears. Things to look at and get lost in.

New York is design at work. A network of networks. Human hopes and wants, serging into a web that loops us right back in. We built this. This builds us. The spaces we make shape how we move within them. Rewire, reframe.

An Introvert's Guide to San Francisco

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There's probably something funny about sharing hiding places with the internet, but as I pack my things for New York, more and more people are asking for my local favorites.

One note: This is not an exhaustive list of places worth going to, but rather the ones I go back to regularly.

Lunch

SF is a brunch town, so keep that in mind if you're allergic to weekend crowds.

  • Burma Superstar is terribly busy on the weekend, but the garlic broccoli is to die for, so call ahead to get a table—or go down the street to B*Star and grab a tea leaf salad or one of the lunch specials.
  • Coffee Bar is good for brunch or sipping chai with an ebook.
  • Il Cane Rosso is my most favorite place for lunch on a weekday.
  • Maverick is a cozy brunch spot in the Mission, but you’ll want a reservation.
  • Outerlands has the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve eaten in the world, but they don’t serve them on Sundays.
  • Samovar serves good salads and has a wide variety of teas to choose from.
  • St. Francis Fountain has lots of vegan and meaty options. I am particularly fond of their veggie chili.
  • Tacolicious can get super crowded on a weeknight, but seems to be less crowded around lunch for some reason. Their salsa has mint and cilantro!
  • Universal Cafe always makes me feel like I am in Paris again, even though it’s probably more like Seattle or New York than a place in France.
  • Doña Tomas has a lovely outdoor patio for brunch, lunch, or dinner... but you’ll need to get over to Oakland.
  • Madhuban serves the best Indian buffet in Sunnyvale. If you can have gluten, their naan isn’t to be missed.

Dinner

Picky about food, but hate waiting for a table? Call 20 minutes before you want to eat and ask if there's a wait. Most of these places will put you on the list, if there is one. Alternatively, I often eat dinner around 6:45 or 8:45 to avoid the crazy.

  • Bar Agricole is a beautiful and bustly place that’s great for a special occasion. Get a reservation and a cocktail or two.
  • Delfina serves the best spagetti in town. I’ve become a complete convert to their ways of finishing my noodles in the pan so they’re amazingly al dente.
  • Minako can be quiet, fun, and romantic if you sneak in before the line goes out the door.
  • Mission Beach Cafe is overrated for brunch and underrated for dinner. I’ve never had this kind of service anywhere else. They’ll help you find the right wine—and you should get the secret cookie.
  • Nopalito is my favorite place in town. The food is consistently great. The staff is adorable. And their mezcal palomas are killer.
  • Ragazza changed my life with their olive oil. I can’t eat dairy anymore, so it’s not as easy for me to eat here anymore, but their pizzas and pastas are consistently fresh, local, and delicious.
  • Saffron Grill is under renovations at the moment, but I miss them every week. They serve fresh, clean, delicious Indian food—and that’s saying something in SF. They have quite a few dairy-free and gluten-free options, too.

Cocktails

  • Orbit Room has tasty, tasty gin things worth going to an ATM for.
  • Tradition Bar has an amazing Southside, among hundreds of other things. Go before 9 or get a reservation for a booth.
  • The Alembic is especially relaxing if you get a table for some bar snacks with a friend.
  • Maven has good drinks for a place smack-dab in the middle of pubs and crowded beer bars.
  • Monk's Kettle is a popular place among my friends, but I’m not a beer drinker.
  • Burritt Room deserves a mention if you like chatting with a bartender while they make you something special.

Books

Boutiques & Specialty Shops

  • Flora Grubb is a beautiful garden shop in the middle of nowhere. Go with your car and your love and stroll around with a coffee from their Ritual counter.
  • Gravel & Gold will bring out your inner hippie. Everything is beautiful and most everything is local.
  • Looking Glass Photo in Berkeley is my favorite Bay Area camera shop.
  • March has the most beautiful, schmanciest housewares you can imagine.
  • Mollusk is the sweetest little surf shop this side of Santa Barbara. And the people are nice!
  • Pot & Pantry is another adorable kitchen shop, with more reasonable prices and some used pieces as well.
  • Prairie Collective carries flowers, jewelry, gifts, and cards. I can’t get enough of this place.
  • Rookie Ricardo’s is a great little record and film shop in the Lower Haight.

Parks & Nature

Anything else? Holler on the Twitters: @nicoleslaw.