Memories I am afraid I'll forget

Day 35, Alcatraz

Then eventually, I must have fallen asleep, otherwise I would not have been able to jolt right up as Yuka was doing something painfully loud down below (I got the top bed – this is my fave). I honestly don't know what she had done, but I am sure it woke the whole room, if not the whole floor (ok, I'm exaggerating). It sounded like she was banging the metal lid of our locker to another metal. She did it twice, I (and I believe the other girls) woke up twice but then I decided right then and there to just get up. We stood no chance.

We grabbed our stuff at 9:30, said goodbye (quite apologetically) to the girls from the Netherlands and started off our day at Good Mong Kok Bakery (those dumplings and buns OMG, check them out online!). We stuffed our faces at Washington Square Park, on our way to the Alcatraz boat tours. We were now well-fed, so we walked to Pier 33 and got our tickets to Alcatraz. Honestly, even the boat ride in itself would have worth the money but getting to the island was a great experience, too. I would not say it was uplifting, but this was by far the best audio-guided tour I have experienced. We could go into the cells, check out the cells for solitary confinement, visit the dining hall (where the majority of murders happened, most of the time with utensils) and got to see the prison library.

History, or the lack thereof was neatly presented (as if there was any), but the uniqueness of the place really lied in the location – at least for me. Some lucky fellow tourists got to see dolphins on our way to the island, but they were slow in pointing them out to me, so disappointedly, I was looking for their fins afterwards. I might still be out there looking, if we didn't need to get going. Once we returned to the mainland, we went to Pier 39 (my third time), Fishermen's Wharf (3rd time, too), and Umbrella Alley (1st time!). This latter one was the recommendation of our hostel roommates and was worth exactly those 10 photos we took, not more. By this time, we (at least I) were so exhausted, I could barely talk anymore. But we went to Ghirardelli Chocolatery – or whatever it was called to stock up on ammunition against the 40-minute walk we had ahead of us back to the BART station. We finally managed to get there, got on the crowded Green Line and got back to San Jose almost dying (I mean sleeping).

I said goodbye to Yuka, I took the bus home and got to see how much we walked today. Long story short, we walked 8 miles (13 kilometers) just today. You see? That might justify my dinner choices. So that is how I ended up eating those two Nutella-raspberry waffles for tonight.

What a day, or two! I am exhausted. I try to sleep well tonight, as tomorrow, I'll have to work extra, I would like to speed up about my research.

Tomorrow's plans: Get food. I ran out of chicken, so I need to do shopping in the morning. Then I got to work a lot. I have a renewed energy, so I would like to accomplish a lot tomorrow.

Another thing I wanted to point out to you is the need for letting go. Once you manage to take some time off work, you get these crazily good ideas about what your next steps and directions should be. This is how it works for me at least. While we were eating and chatting with Yuka at this Italian place, realization struck me big time about what next steps I should take in terms of research and collaboration here at SJSU. Tomorrow, I'll get to it.

Apartment updates: towel dryer is drilled onto the wall, sofa arrived, living-room table arrived, my husband deserves a badge (a cheesy one, like 'Best hubby ever').

28 September 2022