Day 45 · Out of the Blue

This past Sunday, I got a text from a friend out of the blue.

He said he's landing in the Bay Area on Tuesday.

He flew from China to New York for an NBA game.

I promised to show him around Silicon Valley.

I've been really busy lately. It totally slipped my mind.

But he's coming all the way from China. I have to keep my word.

So I opened the Workday app. And I put in for time off, Monday and Tuesday.

Then I emailed my coworkers to let them know.

After that, I opened Expedia to book a flight.

Oh my god, last-minute flights are so expensive.

It's usually a hundred bucks. Now it's jumped to five hundred.

I should've booked it when we first made plans.

Still, I'm really happy. He's the first friend to visit me from China.

Well, okay, he's mostly here for the NBA game. But hey, I'll take it!

Day 46 · A Close Call

Today I flew to San Francisco to see my friend.

I took a cab to the airport. I thought I had plenty of time.

But we got stuck in traffic. There were a few accidents.

The driver's GPS messed up and took us to the parking lot. I had to help him navigate to departures.

So I was already in a hurry. The check-in line was really long.

I quickly got my passport ready.

I asked the people in front if I could cut in line.

They were all so nice and let me go ahead.

I checked in and got my boarding pass.

I only had thirty minutes left. So I rushed through security.

I hurried to the gate. My group was already boarding.

I was almost the last one to get on.

I sat down, and right away the plane took off.

Honestly, that was a close call. But I made it!

Day 47 · Just Like Old Times

Texas is two hours ahead of California. This morning I almost overslept.

My friend texted me. He landed. I jumped out of bed.

Good thing I live close to the airport. I washed my face and drove straight there.

The airport roads were confusing. So I followed the signs to arrivals.

I put on my hazard lights and waited to pick him up.

Perfect timing. My friend just came out.

He was looking around. I pulled up right in front of him.

And he finally recognized me.

We hadn't seen each other in over four years.

But it felt like we were back working together.

He had a tight schedule, so we headed straight downtown.

We hit the Golden Gate Bridge. We drove past 890 California Street. That's where they filmed Inception.

Then we went to Fisherman's Wharf. We took tons of photos along the way.

We had a lobster roll and some clam chowder there.

I dropped him off at his hotel after dark. We'll meet again at nine tomorrow.

Day 48 · Google, Apple, Stanford

We had a lot planned today. After picking him up, we went straight to Google.

We had the employee breakfast, then rode the colorful bikes to Google headquarters.

We saw work areas themed like dinosaurs, forests, and oceans.

My friend said: "The working vibe here feels so open."

Next we got to the Apple Visitor Center. He borrowed an iPad to see the Apple Park model.

He could see the staff inside, in real time. So high-tech.

Guess what? We saw the real thing. He told me: "The greenery in Apple Park is amazing!"

A friend of mine is a postdoc at Stanford, so she showed us around.

We saw the Oval and the church, then climbed Hoover Tower.

Last but most important, the bookstore. He bought a few Stanford hoodies as souvenirs for his kids.

For dinner, we hit an Italian spot downtown, Doppio Zero.

He tried burrata for the first time and loved it.

We made a toast: "To our short, happy, 32-hour reunion!"