Well I’ve been here long enough to get a good taste of local flavors, if you will. But be advised: I am going to give an objective account of the things I have experienced in this city and it is not for the faint of heart or easily offended! For you see, San Francisco seems to have a plethora of raunchy, offensive goings-on.
Cocaine. Yeah, it’s pretty abundant and readily available here. What about marijuana, you ask? Well that’s nothing! Just down the street from Buca di Beppo is a clinic licensed to distribute pot for medical purposes. You can tell that’s what it is because of the sign sporting a large pot leaf out front. So since San Franciscans have accepted the pseudo-legality of the drug and pass it off as nothing more than a harmless recreation (but don’t most people anyways?), they’ve vested their amusements into something much more stimulating. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if there was no cocaine in Nashville, I just never had to wait outside the bathroom while someone was doing lines inside. But then maybe I’m just an innocent... Point being, everyone does it, everyone loves, and it keeps this city raving.
Well we all know SF is gay-capital of America. No surprise there. But have you ever heard of Folsom Street Fair? This magical days occurs in October and celebrates all that is bondage with a public parade and nonchalant displays. By that I mean sex in the street. I know, sounds unbelievable, right? Well ... let me just say you don’t want me to go into detail. But I suppose this ties nicely into the fun little fact that at nearly every festival or fair, there are always naked people. I don’t know how they get away with this, but there they are, pink, fleshy and exposed for all the word to witness.
Another fact of city life are all the crazies and homeless people (usually but not always one in the same). You may think that last paragraph explained those types already, but you’d be wrong. Those were just recreational nudists and exhibitionists. These are guys different. They stand on corners shouting or mumbling, the only coherent words being vulgarities. While they sound hostile, they seem altogether harmless, simply loose a screw and with/without a stimulant. Others more or less ignore them, pausing their conversations just long enough to sidestep the sad heap of humanity. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be many of this lot in my neighborhood. A bit too cold I think.
Shocking as this may (or may not) sound, let me add one very important observation: since I've been here, I have not witnessed a single act of dangerous crime. I have never even felt in danger or ill-at-ease, mostly because I avoid the sketchy areas of town and don't wander about alone a night. But also because most people are normal folks, trying to be safe and sane.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Star Wars
A long time ago in a galaxy far away... yeah! So as prolific as it is, I somehow managed to remain uninterested in the Star Wars series and never even got around to seeing Ep. 2 or 3 of the new ones. Well, one day not unlike many I've come to know living with my new roommate Brandon, he takes it upon himself to give me all the information I never wanted to know about the series. And ya know what? I was interested. So much to his delight, we spend a week watching and discussing the first three (and I only fell asleep during two of them!). All and all, I must say, I really enjoyed watching the films with an "expert" and having all the holes filled in. Apparently, George Lucas had all this subtext to the script that wasn't really relevant other than just as a method to explain the Star Wars universe to the actors and himself. Well all these fun little facts leaked out and are still spread to this day by people like my roommate. For instance, did you know Chewbaca hangs around Han all the time b/c Han (accidentally) saved his life and according to Wookie code, Chewy is now forever indebted to him? Yeah, I didn't either, but now that I do, the trilogy is so much more interesting!
Well, naturally, I then wanted to know what the new movies were all about. Come on, who doesn't want to see the "birth" of Darth Vader? Sooo... I got myself signed up for Blockbuster and rented the three new movies for the following week. And we watched them. Wow. I shall now give you my unsolicited and newly educated opinion.
First off, the first three movies were such a success and still great movies to this day b/c 1. they followed an age-old and highly effective story line and 2. the characters were all loveable and, according to the formula, interacted beautifully together. GL, as a young, passionate and highly devoted director, knew what he was doing! Thus, he created a modern cultural icon of sorts. He always knew he wanted to make the first three, it's just a shame he waited until he was ridiculously successful and rich to do so. You see, instead of dedicating himself heart and soul to creating a great story, he just threw a ton of money (I think $500 mill for Ep. 1?) to a bunch of computer geeks and Star Wars nerds. And what did he come up with? Shallow characters, an overly-complicated plot with too many holes, and lots of tiresome graphics, fight scenes and explosions.
So I know he helped write the script, but it's like he was more focused on explaining this whole Republic vs. the Empire stuff than exploring the characters. But wait, what made the first movies so great? Tried and true plot: good-guy rebels vs. evil empire (Homer's Iliad), powerful son battling father/origins (Oedipus), love story (no explanation required), etc. And of course the characters--loveable rogue, strong princess, a mysterious warrior of unmatched skill, comedic sidekicks... I mean, it sounds like the same old thing, but you see how well it works? There are certain patterns of story-telling one should really take to heart. So I guess what I expected the new movies to do was explain how Darth Vader became evil, why Leia and Luke never knew their origins, where all the Jedi went, how Palpatine became so powerful, am I right? Secondary is how the empire came to be. We like characters in our stories because we can relate to them and, if they're interesting and well-rounded enough, fall in love with them. I guess they forgot that with these movies!
If you've ever seen them, perhaps you noticed all the political talk, the endless battle scenes and crazy planets and creatures in the new movies? Maybe you also noticed how horribly shallow all the characters seemed to be? Whoops! Here's what I hated the most... Anakin comes off more like a whiney brat than the imposing, powerful Sith lord he becomes. And he only seems like a good Jedi when compared to crappy Obi Wan. And worst of all, rather than letting the audience watch the movie and figure it out, they keep telling us stuff like, "But I’m the most powerful Jedi ever!" and "I killed them all!" or "I'm going to rule the universe!" I mean, how dumb do they think we are?
What’s more, if I want complicated, nonsensical, unexplained politics, I’ll just listen to the news! I’m watching these movies because I want to know (and love) the characters and frankly, I want to suspend my disbelief and be entertained. Why are they making me think so hard for a movie that has no relevance other than it’s entertainment value? See, they do that and then I start to ask questions like, who is this dead Jedi that built the clone army? Why did he do it? Where did the money come from? Why do the people who built the army so readily give it up when stupid Obi Wan apparently has no idea they even existed? Or how about the Trade Federation? Who are they and why do they enlist the help of the evil Sith Lord in the first place? Who’s General Grevas? How come no one seems to care that Anakin and Padme shacked up together? How are the Jedi so influential when the first movies lead us to believe it was some ancient, outdated religion? GL didn’t leave us any notes to answer that! (And what’s with all the chopping off of the hands/arms? Anyone else notice that’s like the #1 Jedi trick?)
Apparently, this is the kind of entertainment you get when you have a budget close to the GDP of a 3rd world country! So the point of all this? I really REALLY like Darth Vader. I just wish they would have developed him better cause he is so freakin’ cool and Anakin just doesn’t do him justice. But the last 10 mins of Return of the Sith are the best of the whole series, am I right?
Well, naturally, I then wanted to know what the new movies were all about. Come on, who doesn't want to see the "birth" of Darth Vader? Sooo... I got myself signed up for Blockbuster and rented the three new movies for the following week. And we watched them. Wow. I shall now give you my unsolicited and newly educated opinion.
First off, the first three movies were such a success and still great movies to this day b/c 1. they followed an age-old and highly effective story line and 2. the characters were all loveable and, according to the formula, interacted beautifully together. GL, as a young, passionate and highly devoted director, knew what he was doing! Thus, he created a modern cultural icon of sorts. He always knew he wanted to make the first three, it's just a shame he waited until he was ridiculously successful and rich to do so. You see, instead of dedicating himself heart and soul to creating a great story, he just threw a ton of money (I think $500 mill for Ep. 1?) to a bunch of computer geeks and Star Wars nerds. And what did he come up with? Shallow characters, an overly-complicated plot with too many holes, and lots of tiresome graphics, fight scenes and explosions.
So I know he helped write the script, but it's like he was more focused on explaining this whole Republic vs. the Empire stuff than exploring the characters. But wait, what made the first movies so great? Tried and true plot: good-guy rebels vs. evil empire (Homer's Iliad), powerful son battling father/origins (Oedipus), love story (no explanation required), etc. And of course the characters--loveable rogue, strong princess, a mysterious warrior of unmatched skill, comedic sidekicks... I mean, it sounds like the same old thing, but you see how well it works? There are certain patterns of story-telling one should really take to heart. So I guess what I expected the new movies to do was explain how Darth Vader became evil, why Leia and Luke never knew their origins, where all the Jedi went, how Palpatine became so powerful, am I right? Secondary is how the empire came to be. We like characters in our stories because we can relate to them and, if they're interesting and well-rounded enough, fall in love with them. I guess they forgot that with these movies!
If you've ever seen them, perhaps you noticed all the political talk, the endless battle scenes and crazy planets and creatures in the new movies? Maybe you also noticed how horribly shallow all the characters seemed to be? Whoops! Here's what I hated the most... Anakin comes off more like a whiney brat than the imposing, powerful Sith lord he becomes. And he only seems like a good Jedi when compared to crappy Obi Wan. And worst of all, rather than letting the audience watch the movie and figure it out, they keep telling us stuff like, "But I’m the most powerful Jedi ever!" and "I killed them all!" or "I'm going to rule the universe!" I mean, how dumb do they think we are?
What’s more, if I want complicated, nonsensical, unexplained politics, I’ll just listen to the news! I’m watching these movies because I want to know (and love) the characters and frankly, I want to suspend my disbelief and be entertained. Why are they making me think so hard for a movie that has no relevance other than it’s entertainment value? See, they do that and then I start to ask questions like, who is this dead Jedi that built the clone army? Why did he do it? Where did the money come from? Why do the people who built the army so readily give it up when stupid Obi Wan apparently has no idea they even existed? Or how about the Trade Federation? Who are they and why do they enlist the help of the evil Sith Lord in the first place? Who’s General Grevas? How come no one seems to care that Anakin and Padme shacked up together? How are the Jedi so influential when the first movies lead us to believe it was some ancient, outdated religion? GL didn’t leave us any notes to answer that! (And what’s with all the chopping off of the hands/arms? Anyone else notice that’s like the #1 Jedi trick?)
Apparently, this is the kind of entertainment you get when you have a budget close to the GDP of a 3rd world country! So the point of all this? I really REALLY like Darth Vader. I just wish they would have developed him better cause he is so freakin’ cool and Anakin just doesn’t do him justice. But the last 10 mins of Return of the Sith are the best of the whole series, am I right?
Friday, November 21, 2008
San Francisco...
Did you read the last post? Well, try to imagine the opposite. CHAOS! STRESS! DISORDER! No, actually, it was fine at first. Let me explain...
I found a place in the Inner Richmond (which was the neighborhood I had my sights on for nearly a year) right on 8th & Anza. It was spacious, nicely maintained, beautifully decorated, and on a quiet street. My first roommate was a manager of a restaurant downtown, my age, very relaxed and hardly ever home. In fact, the place almost felt more like a hotel at times. Gayle, Clay and Alana were kind enough to help me haul furniture up three flights of stairs. Unfortunately, the previous roommate put in her 2 weeks at her job a bit late and had to spend a solid week living on the sofa. At first I was just thankful she was out of my room, but it quickly became a really uncomfortable situation. All her stuff was piled to the ceiling in the living room and kitchen and she was asleep by the time I got off work. What's worse, I had no access to TV, radio or internet. So my first week in SF was less than glamorous.
My first day at Buca was my birthday, I didn't know anyone to go out with at first so I just came home and sat in my empty room being all sad until I fell asleep. Ha! Eventually I got to know my co-workers and started going out nearly every night... this was fun, but mostly just to keep away from my uncomfortable apartment! Oh, and a week after I moved in she brought like 5 of her friends to stay the weekend. Can you imagine? 6 people sleeping in the cramped living room, showering, being noisy and generally in the way for 2 or 3 days. CHAOS! It was terrible... Eventually the girl moved out and I actually had somewhere to sit other than my mattress on the floor! Oh, but it was not to last.
I was able to enjoy my empty apartment for a few days before the worst happened... the landlady, who I assumed knew I was living there as my roommate had assured me it was legit, found out what happened and insisted we re-do the lease. Of course this also meant she could raise the rent by several hundred dollars, which she did. Since neither or us could afford more than we were paying ($850 on my part), we quickly realized we had to move out. My roommate decided to go back home and save money, so I was left to find a new place on my own in less than a month. STRESS!
So I once again got to go through the roommate charade. Meeting people, trying to convince them that you're not only responsible, friendly, and laid-back, but also that you could be their bestest, coolest friend ever!! Gah... I probably did ten of these parades in the next two weeks. Amidst all this, my roommate moved out, taking all the furniture with him. So I was left in a completely empty apartment. I ended up dragging out my keyboard as my only form f entertainment. Luckily, he left a lot of cookware and dishes, so at least I could eat...
I finally found a place very near my current apartment with two girls in a spacious place. But they wanted to pit me against another potential with the landlord who wanted credit reports, letters of reference, bank statements, all sorts of stuff. So in my frustration, I travelled further out than I had even considered to look at a place--all the way to 40th Ave. That's 8 blocks from the ocean! And it turned out to be a great place, albeit far out. And what's more, not 10 mins after I left the guy (Brandon) told me the room was mine! So ya know what? I was tired of looking and trying to please people, I just wanted somewhere to live and quickly. So I accepted.
Unfortunately, I had to move myself (which was harder somehow than the first time) and pay a crew to move my newly acquired furniture. But once I was in and settled, the place felt like home very quickly. Brandon was great--funny, fun, easy-going, and he had a really nice TV and DVD collection! And parking was amazingly easy. I went from a parking ticket once a month to... well, I guess it's still the same, just less challenging to find a spot. Ha! And, this particular area of the Richmond is just beautiful. On the top of a hill overlooking the ocean, surrounded by fog in the afternoon, walking distance to the ocean and Sutro Baths... It's a bit smaller for sure, but I'm enjoying it. Finally!
(view from my roof looking west)
I found a place in the Inner Richmond (which was the neighborhood I had my sights on for nearly a year) right on 8th & Anza. It was spacious, nicely maintained, beautifully decorated, and on a quiet street. My first roommate was a manager of a restaurant downtown, my age, very relaxed and hardly ever home. In fact, the place almost felt more like a hotel at times. Gayle, Clay and Alana were kind enough to help me haul furniture up three flights of stairs. Unfortunately, the previous roommate put in her 2 weeks at her job a bit late and had to spend a solid week living on the sofa. At first I was just thankful she was out of my room, but it quickly became a really uncomfortable situation. All her stuff was piled to the ceiling in the living room and kitchen and she was asleep by the time I got off work. What's worse, I had no access to TV, radio or internet. So my first week in SF was less than glamorous.
My first day at Buca was my birthday, I didn't know anyone to go out with at first so I just came home and sat in my empty room being all sad until I fell asleep. Ha! Eventually I got to know my co-workers and started going out nearly every night... this was fun, but mostly just to keep away from my uncomfortable apartment! Oh, and a week after I moved in she brought like 5 of her friends to stay the weekend. Can you imagine? 6 people sleeping in the cramped living room, showering, being noisy and generally in the way for 2 or 3 days. CHAOS! It was terrible... Eventually the girl moved out and I actually had somewhere to sit other than my mattress on the floor! Oh, but it was not to last.
I was able to enjoy my empty apartment for a few days before the worst happened... the landlady, who I assumed knew I was living there as my roommate had assured me it was legit, found out what happened and insisted we re-do the lease. Of course this also meant she could raise the rent by several hundred dollars, which she did. Since neither or us could afford more than we were paying ($850 on my part), we quickly realized we had to move out. My roommate decided to go back home and save money, so I was left to find a new place on my own in less than a month. STRESS!
So I once again got to go through the roommate charade. Meeting people, trying to convince them that you're not only responsible, friendly, and laid-back, but also that you could be their bestest, coolest friend ever!! Gah... I probably did ten of these parades in the next two weeks. Amidst all this, my roommate moved out, taking all the furniture with him. So I was left in a completely empty apartment. I ended up dragging out my keyboard as my only form f entertainment. Luckily, he left a lot of cookware and dishes, so at least I could eat...
I finally found a place very near my current apartment with two girls in a spacious place. But they wanted to pit me against another potential with the landlord who wanted credit reports, letters of reference, bank statements, all sorts of stuff. So in my frustration, I travelled further out than I had even considered to look at a place--all the way to 40th Ave. That's 8 blocks from the ocean! And it turned out to be a great place, albeit far out. And what's more, not 10 mins after I left the guy (Brandon) told me the room was mine! So ya know what? I was tired of looking and trying to please people, I just wanted somewhere to live and quickly. So I accepted.
Unfortunately, I had to move myself (which was harder somehow than the first time) and pay a crew to move my newly acquired furniture. But once I was in and settled, the place felt like home very quickly. Brandon was great--funny, fun, easy-going, and he had a really nice TV and DVD collection! And parking was amazingly easy. I went from a parking ticket once a month to... well, I guess it's still the same, just less challenging to find a spot. Ha! And, this particular area of the Richmond is just beautiful. On the top of a hill overlooking the ocean, surrounded by fog in the afternoon, walking distance to the ocean and Sutro Baths... It's a bit smaller for sure, but I'm enjoying it. Finally!
(view from my roof looking west)
1000 years of solitude
Landing in California... it felt like one of the many vacations I took to visit family as a child. Ambling away my days in the oven-like California heat with no particular plan, object or timeline. But this time, I wasn't just waiting to go back home, I was striving to find my own.
My wonderful aunt and her family helped make the transition a calm, seamless thing rather than the chaotic stress that it very well could have been. It wasn't even decided that I would land at her house after traveling across the country until nearly a week beforehand. But thank goodness! It saved my budget and possibly sanity. Finding a sublet of any sort had proved nearly impossible anyway. So it was essentially a month-long vacation. No work, no bills, no travel hardly any responsibilities. So peaceful! During my stay, my days proceeded thusly: Awaking late, breakfasting over the SF Chronicle, practicing my new found love of the piano, taking a dip in the pool with my cousin, reading in the hammock, planning and cooking dinner, drinking wine and chatting with my aunt, watching the Olympics while griping over the coverage and praising Michael Phelps (guy's a fish!), then writing late into the night. I don't think I could have imagined a better vacation! And the fact that the move-in date for the first apartment I found wasn't until August 15 only meant I got 2 extra weeks of it!
I think the most important thing I gained from this breather was a reshaping and reevaluating of my goals and direction in life. My aunt really lent a third-person and honest view that helped me out. And what came of all this self-reflection? Well it's hard to explain. Obviously I had already achieved a major goal just by being in CA and steps away from my San Franciscan lifestyle, but what was I suppose to do once I was there? That was a really big focus which I'm still shaping. All I can say is that if not for that time of solace the Sungars so graciously allowed me, the stress of moving into the city might have done me in! Oooo, cliff hanger!
PS. I'm trying to get these up in some sort of order, but please forgive the delay and haphazardness!
My wonderful aunt and her family helped make the transition a calm, seamless thing rather than the chaotic stress that it very well could have been. It wasn't even decided that I would land at her house after traveling across the country until nearly a week beforehand. But thank goodness! It saved my budget and possibly sanity. Finding a sublet of any sort had proved nearly impossible anyway. So it was essentially a month-long vacation. No work, no bills, no travel hardly any responsibilities. So peaceful! During my stay, my days proceeded thusly: Awaking late, breakfasting over the SF Chronicle, practicing my new found love of the piano, taking a dip in the pool with my cousin, reading in the hammock, planning and cooking dinner, drinking wine and chatting with my aunt, watching the Olympics while griping over the coverage and praising Michael Phelps (guy's a fish!), then writing late into the night. I don't think I could have imagined a better vacation! And the fact that the move-in date for the first apartment I found wasn't until August 15 only meant I got 2 extra weeks of it!
I think the most important thing I gained from this breather was a reshaping and reevaluating of my goals and direction in life. My aunt really lent a third-person and honest view that helped me out. And what came of all this self-reflection? Well it's hard to explain. Obviously I had already achieved a major goal just by being in CA and steps away from my San Franciscan lifestyle, but what was I suppose to do once I was there? That was a really big focus which I'm still shaping. All I can say is that if not for that time of solace the Sungars so graciously allowed me, the stress of moving into the city might have done me in! Oooo, cliff hanger!
PS. I'm trying to get these up in some sort of order, but please forgive the delay and haphazardness!
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