Friday, May 29, 2009

pithy

so richard asked what pithy meant..
so i looked it up.
and read it outloud.



"
pith⋅y [pith-ee] Show IPA –adjective, pith⋅i⋅er, pith⋅i⋅est.
1. brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible: a pithy observation.
2. of, like, or abounding in pith.

"



then david says:
"DON'T PITH ME OFF!"









--

muni!

Rate Change Notice: Effective July 2009 Benefit Month (July 1, 2009)

This notice was approved by the SFMTA.

The SFMTA will be implementing a price increase, as detailed below, on cash fares and the monthly fare media items with effect from July 1, 2009. The new sales price will be applicable to the MUNI fare media that goes on sale in the last week of June 2009.

Fare Type
Old Price
New Price (eff. July 1, 2009)
Adult Cash Fare
$1.50
$2.00
Youth/Senior/Disabled Cash Fare
$0.50
$0.75
Adult Fast Pass
$45.00
$55.00
Senior Pass
$10.00
$15.00
Youth Pass
$10.00
$15.00
Disabled Monthly Sticker
$10.00
$15.00
Token Coupon Booklet
$15.00
$20.00
Regional Transit Sticker
$40.00
$50.00

lil bit

We have a homeless lady who lives on our block named ' Lil Bit'...

6th st. is full of homeless who occasionally spill onto our block and find any little niche they can to call home.. It's really sad but also kind of irritating because on a windy day you are definitely greeted with the beautiful smell of piss in the morning. Fantastico!

Lil Bit is okay because she normally had a pretty good disposition - usually kind, friendly.. she usually wears a huge black puffy jacket and baggy jeans and she kind of looks like a guy.. I think she does that to protect herself on the street - I also think she may be pregnant but Richard, my boss, thinks that she just has bad eating habits.

Anyway, yesterday she was wearing pink pants and a white t-shirt which is totally not like her and that girl's belly was realllllly stickin out... If she's preggo she's definitely at like 4 or 5 months... Yikes is all I can say.

I offered her some carrot-apple juice but she declined....Hmmmmm...

quotes and convos of today:

----------------------------------
First, Happy Friday All!!!

My day at work has already had a rocky start: I woke up on time, but realized i was only dreaming and I ended up being about a half hour late to work.

I had to walk down sixth street today, but since I have mastered my stink face, no one gives me a hard time anymore. :)



As I got off the bus stop I ran into a trashcan which I swore came at me out of NO where.
And now I have a dead leg because it got me RIGHT in my cuads. :(



--
saalik:
"awesome! you're not disfigured anymore!"
in reference to how my thumb is no longer broken.

--
john:
john: i'm gonna listen to my name's breezy again
love that song
i wanna get drunk
and then someone asks my name
and i say "my name's breezy"

--
me: lol so saalik said we r a good couple because he is quiet and i am 'loud'
john:
he's quiet, and i like to shout!
cause opposites attract
me: u think so?
john: no i was just singing paula abdul




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJPYIQkz8YA

--

john: would you rather smell like fart or taste fart every time you ate something
me: ugh.
john: would you rather lick a shoe or lick rosie o donnell's butthole
me: eww
john: would you rather eat roadkill or poop
would you rather never be asked a would you rather question ever again, or never be able to ask a question ever again


--

john: hahahaha
so
10:40 AM i was laughing the other day
bc i was thinking about
when you spilled
CHAMPAGNE
on the
COCAINE

(it wasn't actually cocaine, it was pow

--

Thursday, May 28, 2009

faux european

David walks in:

David: Hola!
Me: Guten Morgen!!

I start laughing...

David: que??
me: We are so faux european in this office - i love it!

David: Pas possible!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

being the only female in an office of males ...



There is one bathroom in the office that we all share. There is one trashcan in the bathroom. It does not have a lid, and is hardly used, and mostly always empty except for the occasional tissue.

Being the only female in an office of males means that you can't throw away your feminine hygene products in the trash, because everyone will know it was you.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

passion pit concert tonight!!!!!!!!!!


When I first heard about the band Passion Pit, I could only assume one thing:

Massive Orgy.


----

I'm going to their concert tonight at bimbos in San Francisco. (finally a reference to nikki in the city :D)

We'll take pics, vids, and much, much more. I'm expecting to be blown away, which means that i have ridiculously high expectations, so I'm excited to see how they measure up.

Check out:
great description

great music

Monday, May 25, 2009

under-cover-cooks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




FOOD!


Great under-cover-cooks in the city:

My favourite thing in the world is when i find out that a good friend of mine is a good cook!!!!


disclaimer:
to those of you who don't know hindi.. you are going to learn some in this post.





My friend Ayesha made:

bhindi ( sautayed okra with tomatoes, onions, and tons of indian spices)
pulaao ( sticky rice with yellow lentils)
raita (yogurt with cucumbers and indian spices)
and keema (ground beef satayed with tomatoes onions and tons of indian spices)

it was seriously SOOO GOOOOOOD.


she made it for her friend, "Tukloo" (means bald) and had a little bit left over.. Sweet heart that she is, she dropped some off at saalik's place today. .. while he was napping i had some for dinner and honestly i have not had such amazing "khana" (means food in hindi) in a while.

TO DO: Have Ayesha come over so we can have a full on "desi" (6) night and cook some food. Anj had also expressed some interest in making some bomb "khana" so we'll do that soon... and invitations will definitely be going out for cooks / eaters to come thru and join :)





VOCAB LIST:
(you're getting a quiz later, so make sure to keep up)

All of these words are the same in both hindi and urdu!

1. bhindi - n. okra
2. pulaao - n. rice with lentils
3. raita - n. yogurt with cucumbers, onions, desi spices
4. keema - n. ground beef with desi spices and occasionally cinnamon
5. khana - n. food
6. desi - n., adj. - pakistani / indian food, culture, or people.
7. tukloo - endearing way of calling someone (male) bald. noun, adj.

new roomie!!!

i am so ridiculously stoked. Natasha, my new roommate, is the coolest thing to hit the planet. She is hilarious and super rad.


fact.


that is all for now.

Friday, May 22, 2009

cat piss


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flat:



Hannah and i are so tired of the bathroom routine of our third female roommate, she-who-shall-not-be-named. Luckily she just moved out. But she left a horrid stench in the restroom... or so we thought.


I was convinced that our bathroom smelled like cat piss, but we all knew that wasn't possible since none of us had a cat.

Matt, Hannah and I stood near the door pondering over how such a foul odor could have permeated the one place where we thought we could be completely serene and closed off from real life.

After much discussion, we realised that on occasion, our neighbors' cat sneaks into our house if we leave the deck door open...

y voila! a memory struck. Matt had recalled seeing that dirty black cat roaming the kitchen (which is right next to the girls' bathroom) and we believe it has *officially* marked its territory. Apparently cats use restrooms these days.

Has domestication really come this far?

high 5-ing with people in high places


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Office:


Part of my job includes keeping track of DSA (District of the State Architect) forms which come in and out of the office. Today, my boss, David, and I both received DSA - 5 forms which we had been waiting on for quite some time...

me: "AhhhH! David! I got my DSA 5!"
David: "WOOHOOO! I got mine too!"
me: "WOOOOOH! DSA HIGH 5!!!"

synonymously: "YEAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

...And we both proceeded to high 5 each other with our DSA 5 forms and then laugh hysterically.

It was really quite spectacular.






Additionally, national high-5 day falls on the third thursday of april of every year. But that doesn't mean you can only high-5 people once a year (or only with your hands, for that matter).

Who have you high-fived recently? Feed back is requested ;)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

depeche bjorn !

What you say?

It's not bjorn, its Mode?

Well, I beg to differ!!



Depeche mode is going to be touring with Peter Bjorn and John!!! F* YES!!!!! (F.Y.)


FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!FY!!!!!!!!

As you can tell, I am ridiculously excited. And, based on my ordering, I think you also may be able to tell I am more excited for PB&J (peanut butter and jelly?) than I am for Depeche Mode - Though I am ridiculously excited for them as well.

Tickets are for sale on livenation, and are cheapest when you purchase the 4 pack on the lawn.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

PassivHaus

aka

Passive House


is definitely the newest "green" thing to hit the US.

"The term passive house (Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in buildings. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.[1] A similar standard, MINERGIE-P, is used in Switzerland [2]. The standard is not confined only to residential properties; several office buildings, schools, kindergartens and a supermarket have also been constructed to the standard. Passive design is not the attachment or supplement of architectural design, but an integrated design process with the architectural design.[3] Although it is mostly applied to new buildings, it has also been used for refurbishments.

Estimates on the number of passive houses around the world range from 15,000 to 20,000.[4] [5] The vast majority have been built in German-speaking countries or Scandinavia.[4] - wiki




How do I fit into the equation?

I am about to become a U.S. Passive House Consultant. My first class starts tomorrow! Wish me luck!

rebound wife?

me: so
lol
1:54 PM there is a client who just called whos project was on hold
john: yeah
me: we had never talked or anything before
and he was calling for david but david was on the line so i was like oh whos calling
and hes liek jan mueler
and i was like oh hello!
john: lol
me: and then hes like you say hello like we know each other
i was like i've heard many good things about you
john: ohhhhhhhhh hahahaha
me: and hes like aahhhh what have you heard?
1:55 PM i say: i hear your project is very beautiful
he's like uh huh
what else?
hahahaha
(the proj. is on hold because him and his wife are going through a divorce)
and im like ohhh not too much recently
he's like yeah its actually going quite terribly
i was like oh no!
he's like so i dont know who you heard such great things from
he's like it used to go well!
i'm like well, doesn't hurt to reminisce
we can keep our positive thoughts!
john: ouch
1:56 PM me: he's like ahhhh haha yess we can do that
no no he was laughing
john: ohhh good then
me: he's like well i agree very much with your idea about maintaining positive thoughts
he's liek and who are you?
i was like i just started working here
new to the area
hes like whats your name
i'm like niharika
hes like oooh that's a very interesting name
and where are you from?
LOL
1:57 PM i'm like i'm indian, but i'm from LA and then i lived in berkeleey for about 4 years
and i've been living in san francisco for almost 3 months now!
john: wow, quite a conversation
me: YEAH
and hes like well i'm calling from switzerland
in a small town by a lake
john: wowwwww
hahahahaha
me: im like thats awesome! ive been to lucerne.. another small town by a lake.
he's like yes
i still don't know why people go there.
1:58 PM if you have some time you can come here and i can show you around
i was like i think besides time, i'll also require some money
he's liek well now you're a famous architect in san francisco
soon you'll be building mansions
john: aahahahhaa
me: and then you'll have both!
john: you're like AND THEY'LL BE PASSIVELY HEATED AND COOLED
FO SHOW
me: hahahah YES
so it was a great conversation
1:59 PM john: that's so cool
me: and then i transferred him to david
and DAVID WAS LIKE
yess
yess shes new here
yess she certainly is
well, you'll have to come see for yourself my friend
me: i'm not going to do your dirty work for you
john: HAHAHAHA

meta

If you haven't heard, meta is this crazy (new?) concept which describes when one situation is in itself. For example, a dream within a dream:




john: i had the craziest dream
it was this like long series of connected dreams
there was a giant football game
at the hotel/resort i was staying at
daniel showed up and we went to a buffet
and ate ice cream out of GIANT bowls
me: AGHAHHAAHAHHA
were u in miami, bitch
john: no it was san fran
john: then it started to rain
and it was a reaaaaaaally bad storm
me: mhmm
john: like giant waves
and lightning that didn't stop
like just coursing across the ocean
it was scary
and i was all of a sudden with my sister
and i was like cmon we gotta get out of the storm
and there was lightning around us
and then all of a sudden it was gone, i was by myself and i was walking around
and i found this grate
john: and i was like oh it just rained, so i bet there's a lot of cool stuff stuck in the grate
me: ahhaah
john: so first i found a quarter
i was like SWEET
me: ahahah
john: then i found this cool badge i was like AWESOME
me: ahhaha
john: and then for some reason i was like i wonder if my lost keys are in there
(i don't know why i thought i had lost keys)
me: lolll
john: but sure enough, i found my lost keys
i was like BOMB.COM
me: ahhaha
john: i found my keys
then i woke up but i still had my eyes closed
and i was like DANIEL, i found my keys, but i think it might have just been a dream
do i have my keys in my hand??
and he was like YEAH, they're there, you've got your keys
me: woah
john: and then i woke up FOR REALS THIS TIME
me: lolllll
john: i was like wtf you have to be kidding me
me: META!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
john: sooooooooo meta
me: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
METAlicious.
and you're always like
"meta is a dream in a dream"
and you TOTALLY PULLED A META
john: i know
how crazypants
me: absolutely crazy pants.






meta.

C.T.M.

sumiyia: hehe
me: "he he"
she she
sumiyia: lol dork
man
i made CTM last night
its so fattening
and i already had lunch a few hours ago, but now i want more
dilemma
me: ctM?
sumiyia: chicken tikka masala
me: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AGAAHAHAHAHAHAH
sumiyia: what!
<3 food
me: ahhahahhahaha
u have an abbreviation for it
sumiyia: unhealthy obsession
oh what the hell
imna go eat
i'm a growing girl
i'm eating for two
etc
brb
me: what?
r u preggers
sumiyia: no
but eventually
me: okay.
sumiyia: i will be
at some point
me: ahhhHAHAHhahha.
sumiyia: so i'm eating for that child
now
preemptively
mmmmmmm foooooood


Sent at 2:16 PM on Monday

sumiyia is busy. You may be interrupting.

Introduction:

So.

I lived in Munich, Germany last summer. While I was there, I kept a blog and kept track of my life in Munich while I worked at DETAIL Magazine (a critical review of architecture) and lived it up in that beautiful German city. Now that I'm living in wonderful San Francisco I feel I must do the same.

This blog is going to be an eclectic display of life, love, music, and architecture.

BACK STORY:
How did I end up here?

I graduated with a degree in Architecture from UC Berkeley. I grew into myself at Cal. There is no university in the world which could've been better for me, and I am so thankful that I got into my first choice!!

After I graduated in December 2008, I moved back home to (eek!) Orange County. Suburbia of Suburbia, I realized rather quickly that town would have nothing for me. I ran up to Berkeley every 2 weeks for multiple days at a time, when my destiny found me. Again.


:)