Manhattan, Meh

I'd always loved New York. All the museums, bars, and restaurants in Manhattan. Its diverse population. Even the attitude. Every time I went I fell a little more in love and dreamed about relocating there someday.

But this extended trip changed my view.

It was cold but not cold enough. Rainy but didn't snow. Crowded and lit but not festive. "Sale sale" everywhere but I didn't want to buy. It felt harsh and rushed and you could see the weathered look in people's faces.

The travel to and from was also a drag, especially the inbound flight. I thought I'd boarded Day Care Central - so many screaming, crying babies on the plane that I had to throw my coat over my head to block out it all.

Things started looking up as soon as I landed in San Francisco, however. On the drive home, the Sun was shining, no traffic on the freeway, air was cool and crisp - we're called the Golden State for a reason!

For once, I'm deeply grateful I live in San Francisco and not New York. This feels like, and IS, home.

Home Exchange

I sipped a glass of Cabernet at the bar while waiting for my ex-colleague to join me for dinner at Rex Cafe tonight. The couple sitting next to me asked for entree recommendations - so we struck up a conversation. It turned out they were from Australia (the guy) and New Zealand (the girl, she wore braces, too!), but live in Hong Kong. They are in San Francisco on vacation, and they got free lodging via Home Exchange! Just like what Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet did in the movie, the Holiday. In fact, HomeExchange.com did indeed sponsor the movie. Now, how cool is THAT!! The couple they are exchanging homes with owns three properties in the States, in San Francisco (Pacific Heights), Napa Valley, and New York City (must be a nice life!). We had a nice chat - I told them how much I loved VB (Victoria Bitter, an Australian beer) when I spent a week in Sydney last summer. They told me how many similarities they found between San Fran and Sydney, and that he travels to Beijing for business all the time, and that they plan to visit China next year during the Olympics. All in all, a very cool, collected couple.

So guess who paid the annual fee of $99.95 and became the newest member of HomeExchange.com as soon as she got home tonight? :)

I'm flying to Belgium at the end of July, then taking the train to Spain. It'd be great to stay in a local residence, rather than in a hotel, for obvious reasons:

• Hotels are expensive.
• Staying in a hotel screams "I'm a tourist!". Staying in a local residence spells C-O-O-L.

I hope someone on that site wants to visit San Francisco!

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

The top 10 most expensive cities in the world this year, according to the Economist, using New York as 100:

1. Oslo, 134
2. Paris, 130
3. Copenhagen, 126
4. London, 125
5. Tokyo, 124
6. Osaka, 118
7. Reykjavic, 118
8. Zurich, 118
9. Frankfurt, 116
10. Helsinki, 116

New York came in at #28, Chicago #36, Los Angeles #39, and San Francisco #41.

MLD Therapy

After reading a message on the Yahoo support group discussion board how MLD (Manual Lymph Drainage) therapy helped relieve tension and tightness for one fellow surgery patient, I looked up MLD therapists in San Francisco. Spoke with one over the phone, she doesn't take any insurance - no go. Left a voicemail for another, and sent an e-mail. It seems like she takes PPO, albeit out-of-network. We'll see what happens! I'm dying to relieve some of the pain/pressure in my face and neck. My OS said it's OK to do MLD (strangely enough, he's never heard of it). In fact, he said as long as I don't stress out my jaws, I can do whatever I want to feel better. :)