Have you cast your vote?

For the past couple days, I have been asked this question over and over again by different people.

Co-workers or friends : "who do you vote for?"
Me : "I can't vote yet."

I have been here for over a decade now and been through 2 previous Election Days and this will be my third. Today is the most anticipated Election Day in the US, a much talked about event. Either way, today Nov 4th 2008, it will be a historical event for the US be it the first African American President or the oldest first-term + female Vice President.

Who would I really vote for if I have the rights to vote? With everything that is going on with the economy, I probably would cast my vote for Obama I think. No matter who becomes the next President, I just hope that economy wise we would be in a better shape and middle class people will get the much needed break from the government. Everyone wants a piece of the American Dream however, it seems like that as days go by it becomes even harder to reach.

Reflection

Recently there are many things that goes on at work.

Some of them pleasant and some of them really unpleasant. It is true that with more responsibility, there will be more stress added as well.

There are times when I really doubt whether it is still the right decision to stay put at my current job or it is time to move on. However with the current situation of the economy I probably should be thankful that I still have a job instead of feeling unsatisfy most of the time. Probably reflection is what I need right now. A quiet time just for myself.

Over 30 miles biking

Yes you didn't read it wrong, it was over 30 miles of biking we did that day. It might not be a big deal for those who do it on a constant basis however to me it was my first. A hell of an experience and heap of fun.

We started off from the Caltrain station in San Francisco as usual. From there we took the trail by the beach and up the slope to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

Here is a picture of victory after climbing the first slope.


Here is one where boys act like boys, showing off their machoism.
From there we continued on to Sausalito for lunch. We had lunch at this family run small cafe called The Lighthouse. Of course since all of us had light breakfast, we can't help it but ordered up a table full of food.

After a very satisfying lunch, since time is still earlier we decided to continue on to Tiburon and make that our last stop of the day. From there we catch a ferry ride to take us back to San Francisco. On the ferry ride back, I have the opportunity to catch a closer look at 'The Rock'.


Yes although I have been in the area for a long time, I have not been to the island myself. Don't ask me why, maybe I just don't think there is a need to after all. I had been to Pudu Jail when they opened it for public visit and don't think I will ever want to visit another jail. Since we are heading towards San Francisco, here is the famous SF skyline from the ferry ride.

It was a complete fun day full with exercise and views to savor in. It gives me a different perspective of these places that I have been to so many times before. Lesson learned, if we slow down a little we might just discover things that we miss along the way. Weather wise, it is getting colder, probably won't be able to do this again until next summer. What a bummer.

Fig Jam DIY

This is a back dated post, been wanting to put this up for a while already.

A while ago I mentioned that I have a fig tree in my backyard. This season the tree was blooming with figs and figs that I am not able to finish. Been giving it out to friends who love them and since there are still leftover that I'm not able to finish at all, I got the idea from the farmer's market to make them into fig preserves. This way it will be able to last a little while longer and I don't have to spend extra $$ to buy preserves from the shop.

There are many version of fig jam and preserves out there and since I have decided to keep it as simple as possible, and also reduce the amount of sugar in the jam, the recipe is pretty basic.

Fig Jam Ingredients:
Bunch of figs
1/2 cups or less of sugar depending on the sweetness you prefer

Take a bunch of figs as many as you like, and cut them into half. Scoop out the flesh and be sure not to include too much of the outer part (white color) of the fig because it can be a little bitter tasting.

Combine those flesh and sugar into a pot and cook them on medim heat in order to reduce the liquid in the flesh.

Once it get to the consistency that you prefer, cool them down before you put them into sterilize jar. You can store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

It wasn't as tough as I thought it would be to make jam. Of course mine might not taste as good as those sold out in the market but I'm glad I give it a try. Fig season is almost over and there are barely any fruit on the tree now and it is ready to be trim for the next season.