a truly wonderful day

Yesterday we learned that our old friend A from grad school who lives in Portland was in San Francisco for a business trip, so we decided to go to SF yesterday. But first we had to go to our friend P's place to help him move a large chair. It was fun to ride in the back of his van. P is a wonderful person who makes fun things happen.

Then we drove the 1:45 min or so to SF. We went to Japantown, which is basically a mall full of Japanese shops and restaurants. We did a lot of shopping, not too much buying, and had a good but exhausting time. I got some cheap cute Japanese stationary and a short fork with a yellow plastic handle and a sticker with pictures of bananas on it. It says Putifresh and Lube Sheep on it. Erik got some small sauce dishes for eating his morning chocolate, which he has when he drinks his morning matcha.

Then we drove to A's hotel, where we met in the lobby and hugged and were happy to see one another. A looked very different from the last time I had seen him. He had shaved his head and grown a goatee. Also, he was wearing fancy black clothes. He looked like a kind of person who is way too sophisticated and well-to-do to be my friend. But we spoke and behaved like close friends, so I guess I was wrong. It was super good to see him--it had been more than two years. We walked to an Indian-Pak restaurant and had delicious food. The worker brought us a mango lassi by mistake, so we drank that, which was tasty.

Then we went to the hotel's lounge where A got a Manhattan and Erik and I (who don't drink) shared a piece of the worst cheesecake I have ever had in my life. Erik felt the same way about that very sad cheesecake. The conversation was wonderful. We spoke of razor clams, his kids, his exwife, his new girlfriend, stand up comics, wholesome entertainment, our friend M who had a book published last year, Vedanta, Erik's Buddhism, and meeting again. I think we're going to return to SF next week to see him again--he's in SF for three weeks, though he's going home on the weekends. And he's also talking about coming to Sacramento when his trip is over so we can show him around town.

A is hyper articulate, super intelligent, and works as a project manager. He's also very nice but at times seems reserved and cerebral. It was nice to hear him talk on the phone with his sons, to hear him say "I love you" to them. A carries a lot of anger toward his exwife, and it's painful to hear about because we care about him so much and wish things were different.

We stopped at Elephant Pharmacy on the way home to use the bathroom and so Erik could get some green rooibos, but they were all out like last time. As Erik drove us home, I didn't fall asleep like usual. My mind was full of remembered conversation and new thoughts.