I am totally exhausted, so keeping this short:

• Walked to Ferry Building, had coffee and bread for breakfast.
• Walked all the way along the Embarcadero to Pier 39.
• Walked all over Pier 39.
• Foggy Wharf Salad with Dungeness Crab at the Crabhouse for lunch. (It was excellent!)
• More Pier 39 walking.
• Aquarium of the Bay tour.
• Walking further west in Fisherman’s Wharf, passed the Cannery and Ghirardelli Square, stuck my hand in the ocean, walked out along a long pier, walked up a giant hill, turned back towards Ghirardelli.
• A scoop of chocolate ice cream and much needed bottle of water at a Ghirardelli store.
• Cable Car back to Union Square.
• Nap at hotel.
• Checked in at Adobe MAX — tomorrow (and Tuesday and Wednesday) will be amazing!
• Caught up with coworker, David, and his wife, Rachel, and went to The Stinking Rose for dinner. I smell like garlic now.
• Muni bus back to Union Square, David and Rachel walked me back to my hotel and now I’m quite ready to pass out for the night.

My photo uploads to Flickr were very slow last night, so I am going to have to wait until later to post today’s photos. I don’t know how many photos I’ll get in the next few days since I’ll be conferencing like crazy, but I’ll try to keep updating.

I got into San Francisco at about 11:30 a.m. today. After picking up my checked bag and winding my way through the maze that is San Francisco International airport to the BART, I found my hotel near Union Square pretty quickly. I checked in, dropped off what I didn’t need and set out to find food.

I picked up a 7-day municipal transit passport, but I wasn’t quite sure how to use it (I asked the hotel concierge tonight), so I decided to walk to Japantown (about a mile from my hotel - up and down hills, too). I was starving and exhausted, so I didn’t spend much time browsing the random little shops (mostly bookstores and candy stores). I wanted to find something cheap to eat, but couldn’t stand waiting in the long lines for all of the tiny restaurants. Eventually I found Tanpopo, which was nearly empty when I arrived (it filled in pretty quickly). I tried the broiled mackerel lunch special and watched a Japanese pop music TV show.

Afterwards, I walked back to my hotel (with a stop to watch people at Union Square) and promptly took a nap. The photo below is me trying to relax with an Anchor Steam Beer in my hotel room. (My room is tiny. I feel like it’s a guest room in someone’s house.) Later I went down to the hotel bar and got a glass of wine, too. I met another woman who is in town for Adobe MAX, though we didn’t exchange our names or anything. I’m hoping I’ll meet more people tomorrow and Monday when this hotel really fills up with conference attendees.

Tomorrow I’ll hopefully wake up early and head out to the ferry building. Then I’ll follow the Embarcadero around the northwest coast and eventually get to the Aquarium. If I have time I’ll either go to North Beach/Chinatown or the Presidio. Tomorrow afternoon I plan to check-in at the conference and perhaps attend an early reception.

It’s still a couple hours away for me, but it’s very nearly my birthday. I’ll officially be in my late twenties. (How did this happen??)

I’ve actually been celebrating for a couple weeks already (which is usually how I roll ’round birthday time — it’s more like I’m celebrating my birth month or entire birth season). I’ve gathered freebies from several email lists ($15 at Old Chicago, a free beverage at Caribou Coffee, a free gift and bonus points at Aveda, and a free entrée at Noodles & Co.) so the joy abounds.

It’s especially nice this year as I’ve been trying to save money for my trip to San Francisco. I leave on Saturday! I’ve been ready since July. I’m so excited to get out there and wander aimlessly for a few days. I plan to post my photos and update with my daily happenings while I’m out there. You can also follow my Tweets (which are also located in the sidebar to the left). Stayed tuned!

I just saw this opportunity to win a ticket to Flash on the Beach 2009 by posting this little banner. Thought I would grab it as it would fantastic to attend this conference! I’m constantly trying to increase my Flash knowledge, and there’s no better method than total immersion.

Also, it would be super to check another state off of my “To Visit” list.

Flash on the Beach conference is the premier Flash conference in Europe (and soon to be the USA!) It has grown quickly and gained fantastic status as the ‘must go to’ conference around. With FOTB06, FOTB07 & FOTB08 being such massive successes, this year we have a hard act to follow, but FOTBM09 will be even better!

Nearly 50 of the world’s most talented designers, developers, creatives, film makers and artists presenting on 3 tracks over 3 full days. Flash on the Beach brings together the most creative, technical, inspirational, awe-inspiring, educational and entertaining industry leading speakers in the rich media industry.

I forgot to mention some other web projects which are pretty exciting lately:

I recently redesigned my design for Kira Elizabeth’s website. Kira is a clothing designer specializing in wedding gowns, but she also styles accessories.

A news release for UExcel was recently released.

College-bound students now have a new option when it comes to getting ahead in college and saving money on tuition. Two leading education organizations, Pearson and Excelsior College, are launching a new credit-by-exam program called UExcel™. The UExcel program can help students turn their knowledge into college or university credit by taking and passing a computer-based examination through Pearson’s global network of testing centers. Students who pass the UExcel exam will receive college credit from Excelsior College, which they may then transfer to the higher education institution of their choice. The program is currently in its beta phase and, for a limited time, is offering students the opportunity to take UExcel exams in the areas of Calculus, Physics, Political Science and Psychology for free (exams have a retail value of $85USD).

I’m posting this here because I coded this site! My coworker, David Herkenhoff, designed the layout.