Yarr. San Francisco. Yarrr.

I thought maybe I was done driving to San Francisco for a while, but then I got an email from my most delicious friend from grad school at UVa, JennyT. (N.B., she finished her PhD and so she is "Dr." JennyT. I did not, and so I remain "Count" Fosco.) She works for a company that designs space-age parachutes or something and was going to be in San Francisco on business this week. How could I resist hanging in SF with one of my main hags? I couldn't, and so I drove to SF on Monday afternoon.

And did I have a treat for JennyT... When we were in grad school together, we used to enjoy all things piratical (and this was before Johnny Depp made it sexy). So, naturally, I surprised JennyT with a visit to the Pirate Supply Store at 826 Valencia (which I had also been wanting to visit since, like, forever).

Although it is small, the Pirate Supply Store at 826 Valencia is now my favorite place in San Francisco. It made me feel like a small child, filled with excitement and wonder! They carry all of the typical pirate supplies (lard, message bottles, eyepatches, glass eyes, flags), as well as some more exotic items ("Sea Loaf" canned bread, beard trimmings, back issues of McSweeney's). Fosco bought a little bit of everything, including the sign that you see to the left. It will live above Fosco's desk at school to remind him (and his students) about the importance of goal-setting and plundering.

JennyT and I then had a lovely mid-afternoon lunch in the Castro at "Chow." Look for the separate lunch review right here, baby.

JennyT always has wonderful ideas and after lunch, she suggested that we should have cupcakes and coffee. So we headed up Market St to the shopping district and climbed to the top floor of the Virgin Megastore to get dessert at Citizen Cupcake. I had a Mocha Roka cupcake (with buttercream filling!) and JennyT had the signature Citizen cupcake. (See pic at right.) Thrillingly, our lattes were served in big bowls--the increased surface area allows for so much more delicious foam! The space is actually pretty cool, too, with big windows looking out on the street on on parts of the skyline. As JennyT and I talked, I contemplated the crown of the (previously-discussed in this blog) Federal Complex. It turns out to be quite compelling, at least the top of it.

It was so comforting to see JennyT again (I hadn't seen her in over and year and our best conversations are always face-to-face). It turns out that we are both starting to become sensitive to the small betrayals of our friends vis-a-vis their youthful ideals. Sadly, our friend who said she would never drive anything but a Civic has bought an SUV. And the friend who promised to limit herself to two kids is now expecting her third. And so on and so on. JennyT and I have pledged to remain true to our ideals: she and her husband will not have kids, and I will never earn more than $100,000. Oh, and I won't have kids either. We're going to do it, even if no one else does.