Restaurants
To “reward” myself for not buying anything yesterday, I stopped by The Cheesecake Factory this afternoon. For some reason, it never fails to surprise me at how good their food is. The one in San Francisco is on the top floor of Macy’s in Union Square; they have both indoor & outdoor seating. Since it’s frequented mostly by tourists, there’s always a bit of a wait to be seated. After approximately a 15-minute wait, I was seated outside. On any day when the weather is nice, I would NEVER be lucky enough to be seated outside. Today, however, was overcast & the fog was starting to roll in, which meant that the temperature was dropping. So today, of course, they seated me outside. I had to be asked to be moved closer to a heating lamp as I had been sitting there shivering! After perusing the menu, I settled on the White Chicken Chili, which was listed under their specialties. The waiter, Thomas, assured me that it was good; then again, it’s rare that anyone who works at a restaurant honestly tells you when something is bad. The White Chicken Chili came with steamed rice (my choice was white over brown) & fresh salsa. It was very flavorful & the perfect dish to be eating in the chilly weather. Naturally, I ended my meal with some cheesecake! I normally have the coconut chocolate cheesecake, but decided to be a little different this time. My choice was the raspberry chocolate truffle cheesecake. Rest assured, it was great, but… I still prefer the raspberry chocolate one!
In the 80’s & early 90’s when I lived in Los Angeles, it seems that there were 3 branches of The Cheesecake Factory around, maybe in West Los Angeles, Beverly HIlls and somewhere else. I remember eating at them, but never being particularly impressed; it was simply average food, but with great cheesecake. When my job sent me to Chicago to work for 3 months in 1996, a brand spanking new shiny branch of The Cheesecake Factory had recently (?) opened there. It was all the rage. I failed to understand what all the hype was about, beings The Cheesecake Factory chain had been around forever, it seems. When my job moved me to San Francisco, the branch at Macy’s opened not long after. I avoided going there for quite some time, partially because I didn’t expect the food to be anything worth talking about & partially to avoid all of the tourists. I finally took that leap back to The Cheesecake Factory & have been pleasantly surprised ever since.
Shopping
Even though I avoided buying anything yesterday, I HAVE been in search of a new suitcase. For years, I’ve had a red fabric suitcase, as well as a set of 6 in a Hawaiian print of purple with yellow flowers. I used the 28″ Hawaiian one for ages, as well as one of the smaller ones & the toiletry case. As of last year, the airlines had succeeded in trashing all 3 of those. That left me with 2 very small ones (which are barely big enough to take on a weekend trip) & the 30-inch one (which I think is too big by today’s standards). For the last 3 trips, I put the red fabric suitcase back in action. It seems archaic, though. It’s not a spinner; it merely rolls back & forth. There’s no handle thingy on the bottom to help you lift it up. I’ve been searching for a more lightweight suitcase that spins, has the handle thingy & doesn’t cost a fortune. Lo & behold, as I came down the escalator from The Cheesecake Factory & had to pass through the Luggage Department of Macy’s to make my exit, my eyes espied a few sets on sale. I was particularly attracted to a shiny metallic blue suitcase that’s a spinner, has hard sides, is very lightweight & was noted to be going on sale for 50% off on January 30th. While I was examining it, the saleswoman came over. She assured me that ALL of the suitcases will be on sale on January 30th, then proceeded to bring me other suitcases similar in appearance & price to the original one that caught my eye. I still stood by my first choice, though. When she informed me that by paying today, I’d get an additional 15% off, that clinched the sale. I immediately offered up the credit card. The only catch is that I’m not able to pick up the suitcase until January 30th & up to 10 days thereafter. Hey, I wasn’t in the mood to roll that suitcase home tonight, anyway!
Studying
I’m currently studying Italian, took some French classes in the past & am slated to begin learning a little Bahasa Indonesian soon. The class I’m in at the moment is “Beginning Italian Conversation.” We don’t really use the book that much. The teacher teaches us verb forms or whatever, then gives us topics & makes us talk! Being put on the spot DOES make me learn a little more; we certainly don’t have time to prepare anything in advance! Our homework generally consists of one written exercise from a handout that she gives us; most of the time it’s a fill-in-the-blank kind of deal. Then we also have to write a paragraph or two about some topic that she dreams up.
Most of the time I don’t even look at my homework (i compiti, by the way) until either the day before class or the day of class. That’s bad, I know, but my motivation is rather low these days. This past week, however, I actually studied some Italian lessons that are downloaded on to my laptop. It’s not lessons from my class, but interactive lessons that require listening & repeating, recognizing & naming things, playing memory games, etc. It’s helpful to have as many outside learning opportunities/connections as possible.
The Gym
I am by no means a fitness queen or workout expert. Let’s say I “dabble” in working out every so often. I go through phases where I’ll go to the gym for 3 or 4 months, then take a month or two off. As of two weeks ago, I just started back at the gym again. My habit is to go at 10:00 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. at night, do 45 minutes to an hour of cardio, limp home, take a hot shower & collapse into bed. Others have asked if working out that late “amps” me up. Hardly! I’m tired & sore when I get out of there! My main motivation for working out is going on a trip. Paris is in my relatively near future, then Hawaii a few months after that. Thus, I’ve decided to hit the gym now to make room for more macarons later!
Tina Bellina's Guide to the World 
Thank you for the praise! I’m still “finding” my way about, but please come back & visit me!