SF Blog #2

Second day in San Francisco was very tiring but loads of fun! Rudolf and Alex were attending seminars at the GDC most of the day so we ventured out on our own. First stop was to get our passes sorted so we could actually go check everything out, and that went well enough. Initially there was some resistance because Sophia's name had been registered wrong and so I showed them my business card (which mentions my work on Dyson) to prove that we were indeed part of the development team. One of the ladies sorting us out was really impressed by my "ambient Shakespeare" t-shirt and wanted to know how she could get one. They misspelled my name as "Brain" on my pass but we all laughed about it and decided to keep it that way since it's sorta funny.

From there we went up a level to this really neat tea lounge called Samovar. We hadn't eaten yet but wanted something lighter so it was perfect. Sophia got a small pitcher of mint tea with a big salad spread, and I went for some tofu in curry with basmati rice (with peppercorns and golden raisins in it) and a hot chai. Quite nice.

We decided to head toward Union Square as there were a few places we wanted to go shop at there, and along the way we found some really cool photograph opportunities, including a really oddly shaped building that ended up being a Jewish museum. Walking further, we arrived at Rasputin Records, an epic 5-story mammoth of a media store, and went straight to level 3 - you guessed it - the vinyl level. We found a remarkable amount of used and cheaply priced wax from all across the spectrum - from an early Bowery Electric EP to Adam Ant's "Friend Or Foe". I even managed to pick up Falco's single for "Der Kommissar", Yello's "Oh Yeah" and the classic "I Wanna Be A Cowboy" by Boys Don't Cry for dirt cheap.

From there it was off to one of Sophia's favorite cosmetic carriers Sephora, and I won't really go into great detail about that since it was all makeup and fragrances and not really anything else! From Sephora we went to Lush, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Lush is a sort of all-purpose bath and body place only all their products are totally organic and unique. I actually feel a bit girly for liking it but they make some really nifty stuff to be sure. We stocked up on some Lush stuff to take home, and started making our way back to the north hall lobby of the Moscone center.

Once there, we sat down (at long last!) and ran into Andrew from Cletus Clay again. It seemed neither of us could get in touch with Rudolf or Alex yet so we hung out for a bit and split since Andrew was way hungry. By this time, we were starving too but we wanted to wait until Rudolf and Alex met up with us to eat. After a little bit, the two joined forces with us and showed us to where our booth will be on the exhibition floor tomorrow.

We headed out to Office Depot and Radio Shack so the guys could get some supplies needed for the Dyson booth, and I made some copies of the inserts for my GDC sampler discs, and bought more blank CD-Rs and sleeves for them too. I get the feeling 50 discs aren't going to last as long as I thought, especially after seeing just how many people are here.

Finally, we ended up in a waiting line at the Cheesecake Factory, which is the first chain restaurant we'd eaten at since arriving, but it never fails to satisfy, with its novel-thick menu and huge portions. Plus, Rudolf and Alex had been after something uniquely American, food-wise, and had already been suggested the place.

We were seated outdoors and since the restaurant was 7 stories up it was a beautiful view. I ordered the first fried food of the week (a buffalo chicken sandwich and some french fries) and Sophia went with a massive chicken salad. I sipped on a coke until I realized it was actually diet coke and that sorta shocked me. We discussed lots of Dyson related ideas, specifically what we'd like to do regarding more detailed sound effects, for the final build of the game. I also explained that I'd like to record possibly even another hour of music and then shape it up with some edits of only the best material.

We split off after the meal, and Sophia and I grabbed a taxi back to the hotel. We were invited to a cocktail party at a bar down the street called Cellar that I really wanted to go to, but we ended up passing on it out of exhaustion. Better to party TOMORROW night, depending on what happens in the awards ceremony. You heard right - tomorrow night is the awards ceremony, so we'll see how well we're going to really do! I'm trying not to let myself obsess on it. Wish us luck!