- There are so many people here it's overwhelming, particularly
for a newbie like me. The San Diego Convention Center is probably
bigger than quite a few small towns.
- Almost nobody has a Mac. I've seen three since I've been here
(counting mine), and probably a hundred PCs -- Dell and IBM, a few
Sonys and other random stuff. Sign of more corporate folk? OTOH,
someone saw my Powerbook and asked if he should pick up one of the
new MacBooks. I told him if I had money I'd get one, even though it's a version 1. (Apple, please
deposit my commission to: paypal://chris@cwinters.com.)
- My hotel is a block or so away from SD's Little Italy. It's a
few blocks of nice walking area: restaurants with patios, benches,
etc. A number of the restaurants are of course Italian but there's
an English pub, a mexican place, a sushi bar.
Monday I ate outside at a place called Zagarella's: salad and a
risotto. Good stuff, and for the first time ever I really liked the
black olives. (I keep trying them everywhere I go because I feel
it's my duty as a vegetarian to eat olives.)
While sitting outside I saw a number of the same people amble by,
typically just wandering around with their sweetie in the
comfortable evening air. Very nice, makes me want to move here with
my sweetie. If only housing didn't start at half a million
dollars...
There was also a Hallmark moment: a mother and young (8?)
daughter walked by several times, and one of the last times the
mother said, "Do you remember when you used to love to hug trees?
I'd say, "Where's the tree?" and you'd run to it and wrap your arms
around it? Where's the tree?" And then the little girl wrapped her
arms tight around her mother's legs, beaming.
- Also right around the corner: It's a Grind coffee shop (@ India and Cedar). Free wireless, good coffee, mixed music and friendly people. Recommended.
- Hey, people, I understand that people need to come in and out of
a room during a presentation. Fine. But please don't let the door
slam after you pass through, it just means you're an inconsiderate
asshole.
- Look-a-likes I've seen: Cokie Roberts, Bill Clinton, Darrell
Hammond imitating Bill Clinton, Randy Johnson. And a couple of
resembles: the waitress at the Princess Pub and Grille to Winona
Ryder, the bartender at Karl Strauss Brewery to Amanda Peet. (And when
she tells you to order the bread pudding with cranberries -- believe
her!) And former HIMSS chair John Glaser resembled David
Hyde-Pierce, at least on the big screen and under a ridiculous
hat.
- Having the airport so close to downtown is fantastic.
Posted from cwinters.com; read original
Eating choices
You went to some good places while you were down here, it seems. But I find it curious you didn't go to any Mexican restaurants, particularly in Old Town (it's worth the travel, IMO, and they have vegetarian dishes). Also, a good dessert eatery is
Extraordinary Desserts. If not, you should definitely check it out next time
:)
Re:Eating choices
lachoy on 2006-02-17T18:13:55
I actually did go to a mexican place on Sunday afternoon. For the life of me I can't remember its name but it was a block or two away from the open-air mall (Horton Plaza?) and around a couple of slightly seedy looking places (playboy posters in window). Good stuff.
