Jessica "the original" d.'s Profile

"Well, did you get your flu shot?" my mother asked after I regaled her with this past week's episode spent in bed with the flu. "You seem to get sick easily."

It started with a terrible sore throat, expanded to everything aching, right down to my hair follic,les. My PCP, Dr. Bartz, was out of town since New Year's just passed, but Dr. Posner saw me on short notice.

Receptionist - nice.
Waiting room - clean with good magazines, including Scientific American and Smithsonian.
Intake paperwork - short, but I just don't understand why medical offices haven't figured out how to populate forms for their clients so they only have a few things to check off and sign when they come in. Or perhaps digitize it to an iPad app.
Waiting time - short. Less than 15 minutes.
Exam room - average. Interesting artwork.
Dr. Posner - charming, knowledgeable, respectful of my intelligence. Even when feeling like I am at Death's door, my blood boils when doctors condescend.

Diagnosis - no strept, but no meds either! I was told that I had the common cold and that if I got worse, I should call back. I tried for a Z Pack, but no avail. I'm sure they get a lot of patients in there who think they are better at diagnostics thanks to WebMD. So, although I was desperate for some relief, I respected the dx, went back home and crawled in bed.

Sure enough, when I was worse 2 days later, I called and Dr. Posner rxed me the Z Pack. I started feeling better the next day!  Yippee!

So... no, Mom. I didn't get the flu shot. I got a Z Pack. And the last time I had the flu was 3 years ago, so BACK OFF!

My friend and I stopped in here for what was just going to be dinner and a drink. It wasn't crowded because it was around some holiday (Thanksgiving? I can't remember), so we were able to get a good table in the window.

The menu was interesting and the staff attentive. Only moments after I vowed to never again drink champagne (as I'd fallen on my butt at a Halloween party weeks earlier after chugging bubbles), I ordered a champagne and gin cocktail. And another and another. Luckily, I had a fantastic meal of stuffed squash before the extraordinary cocktails did their thing. True to my Brut nature, I got hammered.  

About $80 later, I settled up and we slummed it over to Smitty's where I'm sure I made an ass of myself and my friends. And later, I passed out on their fold-out, only to wake up at 6 am with my makeup smeared around my bloodshot eyes and my friend passed out, pants-less, on her other couch.

Plate Shop: great food, greater drinks, and the exclamation point on why I can't drink champagne anymore.

I had a LivingSocial deal for Alex's: $80 of dry cleaning for $40. If you're anything like me (or resembling a human being), you cram your dry cleaning into the bottom of your hamper for a rainy day project. Let's face it - dry cleaning is a luxury and just one more thing to do in a short day.

I created a user profile on Alex's website, reviewed the price list and then made my hamper selections based on the voucher value. I'd figure out the whole scheduling thing another time. Well, I didn't have to! They called me the very next day and we scheduled a time for their service to pick up. They gave me a 4 hour window at my convenience and the gal was very pleasant. Sure enough, their driver, Carlos, arrived within the timeframe... with a welcome gift! It was a nice white box tied up with a blue ribbon. I gave him my paper bag of clothes (3 silk blouses, a pair of linen/wool blend suit slacks and my ever favorite white down vest) and off he went. Seemed like a nice enough man.

I sat down on my living room floor like it was Christmas Part 2 and carefully opened my welcome gift.  Inside was a durable, branded garment bag with my name tag on it, stickynotes, collar points, a garment hook, spot markers (to point out stains for the dry cleaner), etc. It was really useful - I love pragmatic gifts.

Around 4 pm, Carlos returned and just as pleasantly as before, handed me my freshly cleaned items. They look great!

My impression is that their prices are slightly higher than other places, but Alex's valets and provides same day service. It's worth it! I also found their customer service to be spot-on (heh). They hooked me, so this is an example of a LivingSocial gone right!

I bought a Groupon voucher for a 1 hour cut and style here. I was a little concerned that for a salon that has been operating since 1986, there are no Yelp reviews (looks like they are all filtered). I thought my last haircut was over 2 years ago because I was traumatized by the stylist at Rouge in Sausalito. I actually had my hair done at Vim & Vigor since and loved it. Just too expensive ($100+) and I am usually not in SOMA these days, so V&V had to go.  :(

At any rate, this was a big step for me. 2 years of growth is probably true. Before getting a cut at At the Top, my hair was over 24" long and in desperate need of some rad layers.  I went in and met with Dorian. She greeted me at the door, but didn't introduce herself right off. She just looked at me and said hello, then gave me a strained smile and look like, "Well, what are you here for,  you slack-jawed idiot?" I saw that as a challenge of silence, so it was an awkward beginning. Probably not a great move for someone who was about to alter my appearance. I was not at ease.

The salon was very active with people of all ages and their hairs looked good, so I had hope. We sat down in the back and I was not offered any beverages or a place to hang my possessions. I was told to drop them in the next chair. I showed Dorian the photos of the long layered look I hoped for, acknowledging that I have fine hair and that I wasn't going to look like a supermodel afterward. I just wanted a decent haircut with a little edge to it. She cited the limitations and set to work. What she didn't know is that I'd had the very haircut I showed her and it was awesome. It looked great. (I'd had it done in NY years ago by a Paul Mitchell stylist, so I had an edge back then.) I knew it was possible if you knew what you were doing.

She began cutting and chatting. The cutting was fine, the chatting was a little forced. Not sure what it was, but we just weren't connecting. Was it me? Was I being judged on my appearance (which I admit was a little rough after a few tough months)? The thing about the Bay Area, folks, is that you don't know if Hobo John sitting next to you on MUNI is the patentholder for the lapband, so better not pass judgment. Besides, karma and all that.

I asked Dorian how I could make my hair thicker and she talked about a friend of hers who owns a salon in Sausalito specializing in hair growth solutions for people with alopecia and wigs. Excuse me? I may have fine hair, but it covers my head. Really, I was just asking about product! I wasn't sure what to make of her response, so I just kept my mouth shut and took a few points off.

The haircut I got from Dorian was middle of the road. We took about 3 inches off the bottom, added some chunky layers and off I went. It looks clean and kept, but not edgy. I tipped generously and on my way out, she oddly said, "good luck with that." WTF??? Good luck with what? Getting a wig?

I flew down to SoCal for the day just for a friend's wedding. I felt like such a jetsetter, SFO to BUR to SFO in the same day. Managed to elude the paparazzi the whole day. Imagine that.

We were early for the wedding in Malibu, so we grabbed lunch at Paradise Cove. It was a nice little find on the beach and while it would have been nice to sit outside in the sand for brunch, the only outdoor tables available were nearer the parking lot and kitchen's back door. Not very scenic.

So, we sat inside and watched a gorgeous male model pose in a booth for some project. Drinks were fantastic, food was kind of standard diner fare. I had fish and chips and a few cocktails. It was a nice atmosphere and I think I would've given this a better review if we'd been able to sit outside.

I went into Suzie's to have my nails did for a holiday extravaganza. They have a good selection of colors. They also have the colors on fake nail sample wheels so you can hold them over your fingertips and decide if you like the colors. Each nail is coded so you can find the color you choose on the bottle rack, but I'm pretty sure you need the Rosetta Stone to figure that one out. Not a big deal, since I just held my earrings up to the polishes on the wall and picked the right one! Much easier that way - why complicate things?

Sat in the spa chair and was massaged while Lily did my mani-pedi. It was nice, very professional and the atmosphere was kind. All of us ladies sat around talking about iPhones.

Thinking about trying the shellac mani next time!

I love beer. It is tasty. A great many of you share in that sentiment.

If you do not love beer, this place also has atmosphere, tasty bites and brings in more distinctive looking gentlemen than other local establishments.

The MV Beerworks can make this place more Jess-friendly by adding A/C and a little more wiggle room. Perhaps the servers need a little brush up on manners, too. We shared a table with a couple of local cougars, as you do, and even though we were there first, our server almost completely ignored us all night to cater to them. It was kind of gross, actually. He was noticeably friendlier to them. Gross, I say! Slinging beers can be an unforgiving job - I know firsthand, but you can never tell who is going to "take care of you." My husband and I are usually big tippers, but we were annoyed with the server and tipped flat. You lose. Sorry.

Tip: get a table if you don't want to get jostled around. I think they are expanding so this is likely a temporary issue.  Overall, I love it!

Yippee! The old Paradise Bay is under new management with a name rollout on the horizon. I've sampled the soft opening fare 3x now and holy moly. The chicken is amazing and so generous that it is definitely 2 meals. Their potatolitos are buttery salt potatoes, boiled, smashed into a pan of hot oil and served crispy. They're amazing. I can also suggest the chicken sandwich and crab chowder.  The place is definitely livelier now and I can't wait to see it in full swing next summer when all of the renovations are complete. I think their deck definitely gives Sam's in Tiburon a run for its money.

Had the tandoori chicken takeout the other night and it was a win! Seems their substitute chef has left the building and their badass Tandoori Trembler is back!  Yeah!

I'm kind of new in the Adams Point area, but I already found what's good in the hood.

I had the luxury of a dream honeymoon a few years back and enjoyed the pita, spanikopita, moussaka and so much more in Greece, Malta and Rhodes. Bacheeso's lunch buffet was delicious and really took me back to Rhodes, in particular.

I had some fresh pita triangles, penne with fresh pesto, vegetarian moussaka, grilled and marinated orange and yellow peppers, and so much other yummy stuff. I had a spoonful of about 1/3 of the dishes on the buffet and was stuffed.

Oh yeah! I love me some Mediterranean food.