Rise & Shine Tastebuds!: Halloween 2015, Clarion Alley, Once, The Magic Flute, SF Botanical Garden

As always, the fun was very short lived. As hard as I try, I just can't seem to stay away from the hospital, and ended up in the ER, not once, but twice.

The first visit to the ER was due to issues with my gallbladder. The gallstones got lodged in my bile ducts resulting in inflammation (cholecystitis) and extreme pain. Luckily, the stones passed and the inflammation was resolved with antibiotics. However, there was a high probability that this would happen again unless I had my gallbladder removed.

The doctors were right about my gallbladder flaring up again. Two weeks after I left the hospital, I was readmitted. To date, I've had 22 surgeries, and I'm considered a high risk patient. Even though I didn't want another surgery, we made the decision that it was best if had it removed soon. Elective surgery is always better than emergency surgery.

Me and poley are BFFs now.

Does this count as date night?

My body was telling me to slow down, so we decided to keep it low key, and stayed in the Bay Area for a few weeks. It ended up working out nicely since we had friends and family visiting from out of town. Sometimes it can be fun being a tourist in your own city!

Spending the day at Dolores Park with Arielle.

Halloween 2015 - Pirates of Emerson

Getting ready for a spooky night on the town.

The Travel Channel listed Pirates of Emerson as one of the top haunted attractions in the United States.

Are you afraid of the dark?

Spine-tingling terror!

Clarion Alley 2015 - San Francisco, CA

Bad Hombre - Sirron Norris.

Clarion Alley runs one block in San Francisco's inner Mission District between 17th and 18th and Mission and Valencia.

Since 1992, over 700 murals have been created with 200,000 visitors annually.

Stop The Corporatocracy - Megan Wilson.

Themes include social, economic, and environmental justice.

SHN Orpheum Theatre - Once

Random musical night.

Once is an Irish romantic musical film by John Carney. The story is about two struggling musicians in Dublin, Ireland going for their dreams and the power of music connecting us all.

Inside we go.

Once won eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Overjoyed to have gotten the $20 Rush tickets. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

In the musical, the cast also served as the orchestra. How impressive is that?

War Memorial Opera House - The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute is Mozart's final opera, and it contains one of the most well known arias in music, Die Zauberflote’s ‘Der Hölle Rache.’

We got fancy for our first opera together.

In the opera, the Queen of the Night persuades the noble Prince Tamino to rescue Princess Pamina from captivity under the priest Sarastro.

View from Balcony Circle.

Perfect way to end the evening with the beautiful lights over City Hall.

San Francisco Botanical Garden

Metrosideros excelsa (Christmas tree). New Zealand.

This coastal evergreen tree is renowned for its brilliant display of red flowers, and its ability to survive even perched on rocky, precarious cliffs.

Gondwana Circle.

Gondwanaland was the southern half of the supercontient Pangaea. This circle is the site of plants that now grow in these regions, telling the story of plant evolution and movement over millions of years.

Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle). Pehuén.

This tree is the national tree of Chile. It's important to the Mapuche people in harvest and fertility ceremonies. The large upright seed cones can reach seven inches long, and grow to 150 feet.

Lantana montevidensis (weeping latana). South America.

Be careful of this beautifully scented flower. It's actually a noxious weed, and toxic to livestock.

Sister bonding time.

Agave salmiana (pulque agave). Mexico.

Succulent Garden.

Succulent plants survive long periods of drought by storing water in their leaves, stems, or roots. During rare desert showers, they soak up enough water to tide them over for a year or more of drought.