Day 16: Working woman walking

All good things must come to an end. I actually didn't have the anxiety I thought I would about the end of my Staycay, though. I felt surprisingly (and perhaps naively) upbeat about returning to work and "real life". It always helps when I know I'm returning to a mellow day at work. I knew when I left two weeks prior that I'd return on a monthly all staff meeting day, which is easy enough. Hey, our birthday committee sometimes even brings chocolately cakey desserts to the meetings! Nothing wrong with that. What was even better was checking my work email to see what time I had to report to the meeting, and learning that it'd been downgraded to a conference call starting at 9:30am. Since that's before 10am, when I'm to report to work, I could just call in from home and make my way to the office afterwards. Sweet!

I rolled out of bed at 10 (for the last time, waa!) to be able to meet The Mirthmaker at 11am. We went to the Farmer's Market and then to Park Chow for brunch. Yum. Long ago - in my head - I voted Park Chow the best overall restaurant in SF for vegetarians and they have stood the test of time. It goes to show what simple food, made with fresh and generally organic ingredients, and prepared extremely well can be.

I joked to the Mirthmaker I was "working woman walking" and therefore I was going to order something decadent. I got the French Toast with mascarpone and a side of strawberries. That shit was so good! If Honey Bunny and I ever divorce, Imma marry mascarpone cheese.

We talked for, literally, hours. The Mirthmaker sought some advice, which I gave, and vice versa. She helped me process that Personal Trainer and I are not necessarily a great match for what I need. In fact, I couldn't believe some of the negative examples that were coming out of my mouth. He is a wonderful person with a unique perspective on life, but there are times when he can be degrading. Sometimes it's covert, sometimes overt. I've learned that he is a piece of keeping myself healthy, not the whole. And so, the search begins - preferably for a woman who has previously been zaftig and knows some of the challenges that come with that.

The Farmer's Market was nice enough. I, of course, had to get money out of the ATM halfway through my visit. Standing in line to use it, I took the following photo (the last of my Staycay). I thought it was Tupac who I have a new respect for after watching Tupac: Resurrection on Palladia a few weeks ago. Upon further inspection, I don't think it's Tupac but it's cool. I've always loved SF's sidewalk art.


Last stop for The Mirthmaker and myself was Holy Gelato. It was her idea, I swear! I was so full of french toast that I couldn't immediately partake of any gelato but I certainly did take home one of their $8.95 (ack!) pints. They're hand-packed and you can put two flavors in one! I got Strawberry on one side for Honey Bunny (which tastes like homemade strawberry ice cream, with pieces of macerated strawberries in it), and Cookie Monster's Day Dream for me on the other. Cookies & Cream is a flavor I'd never willingly choose (which makes me wonder how I even tasted it at Holy Gelato in the first place), but Cookie Monster's is ah-mazing. There are whole Oreos in it and it just tastes so darn fresh. I've found myself - wait for it! - day dreaming about it a few times even.

The rest of the day was spent in no-fuss no-muss action. I finally took all that crap to Goodwill and yet still only made it to the donation center before they closed (and by the end of my Staycay) by the skin of my teeth. I did all the usual Sunday stuff, too (laundry, grocery shopping, etc). Basically I ended my Staycay the same way I began: by attending to the minutia of home life.