the quick walk
Tried to bust a move today, moving quick in tennies, getting going along and try to make it a real power walk workout. Thing is, there are lights, and interminable ones. I had to take off the coat, it was just too warm (52 deg.). Despite that, of course, a couple of women had their Burbery (sp?) scarves tightly knotted. Tried to wear this pretty indigo pashmina knockoff yesterday home, in the rain (w/ umbrella) but the dang thing kept falling off my shoulder. I guess I'm supposed to wear a pin?
The flashing blue tinkly "warning, car!" light- if it was a person would be an old lady desperately saying, "honey, watch out for exiting cars dearest" - was completely obscured by scaffolding today. Scaffolding for work that never happens, which was always my thought walking through this neighborhood. "Could *everyone* be working on a new paint job?" Luckily Vesuvius' paint job is done so no more scaffolding there. That spot is famous for an almost accidnet that occurred in Jan. Had a scary run in with an Asian guy in a truck ripping out of Baudelaire alley. I sat in Vesuvius one day when I had a visitor and we saw a bunch of these small Toyota trucks whipping down the alley from Chinatown, full of fish. No lining, nothing, just a truck, and fish in the back. The guy, when he realized he had almost run me over, apologized nicely.
Usual cast of characters hiking through north beach, a diminuitive man stopped me asking for "Coit Tower?" in a loud, staccato Asian accent and I pointed to the it on the hill. Now, if you wanted to go to a landmark so unique, a fire spigot pointing up at the sky in stone, and you were in a park, and you were lost, think you might look around? Funny moment this weekend when I told my Mom, as we were heading out for a few hours hike, that I always get asked for directions and to take a couples' photo, each time I set out of the house. That of course happened not a half hour into the walk. Near Fort Mason two Japanese (perhaps?) guys asked if we could take their photo. And then at the base of the stairs a jocky couple wanted us to take their photo, I took it with my mom telling me how to frame it the entire time. I bet WE made a funny couple haha.
Anyways, usual cast of characters except for a TV camera outside Cafe Roma (best coffee!) and a policeman, who told a well dressed guy - probably the anchor - "I'll go in and get the girls." What could that possibly be about, I have no idea.
Chinatown is gearing up for the parade tomorrow. In really odd places I've run into the metal crowd control gates. I remember one year trying to cross Grant and it was impossible because they setup bleachers along the store fronts. Every store is selling the red envelopes and you hear firecrackers pretty much all day. Good article on NPR Pacific Time on what an "america town" would be like.
Through the city at night...
I never write about going on the walk back. Well last week I went up to Nob HIll twice and "maintained elevation" as long as I could drifting over to Russian Hill, which makes a dramatic drop right to my block. The campanile of Arts Institute is pretty magnificent, right against the hillside. It's one of those landmarks I didn't notice until moving into the neighborhood. People focus on Coit Tower or Transamerica building, but there are some other significant landmarks... stairways for one, there are three against Telegraph hill: Greenwich, Filbert and Francisco, all alongside the same route. Anyways, last night I was coming from the gym at Steuart and Market, pretty far down near the Ferry Building. I crossed market then walked up through the Embarcaderos to take advantage of cover while it was raining. It was Valentine's day and sure enough there were tons of people aimless like me just darting around. The movie theater (too close to the gym for comfort, haha) is playing some good stuff there- Bride & Prejudice and Being Julia! - in its 80s style, I think the Embarcadero mall is pretty functional downtown shops, open to the street and public but maintaining a clean, well-lit aura of private property. And even though it's old fashioned it's still got architecture that is graceful and serviceable.
One of the great walks is Commercial Street, which stems from the output of Emb. 1 up to Chinatown. You get cover along that walk as well. There are some beautiful historical buildngs on this little street, and one of my favorite dim sum restaurants (closed at night), Di cheng, or City View. Walked along Kearny to pick up the Valentine's day traffic (more stag and heifer nights than couples, by the way, oh the conspiracy of Hallmark). I got super hungry (hadn't eaten since 3pm and it was 8) had to walk by amazing Italian restaurants, Indian restaurants (2), Vietnamese, my favorite cheap Chinese (DPD!), Il Pollaio the roasted chicken place that was recently recommended to me. It was tough going. Luckily with teh walk home it's a few uphill blocks that I charge up then a slow descent. I wish I could take pictures of some of these buildings at night, truly beautiful. Might borrow a friends tripod and come out with my manual.
shiny morning... blossoms... spring?
Wow, it was bright this morning, kind of headachey bright. I had dressed all wrong, turtleneck, big coat, and everyone was out in little sweaters. I guess it is spring... spring in California at least, that starts in February!
Last night I walked home via the Chinatown gate up to the french Notre Dame church, up to Nob HIll, then down Taylor and through Russian Hill. I found the plaque to the poet who was the "first white woman over the pass" in the Sierras. Kind of an odd distinction, as well as being a poet laureate for the US (the first?). It's at the top of this hill, maybe Broadway and Taylor. Really, really steep hill. I think this is the hill where the surveyor didnt' take into account the elevation and they had to put a ladder up until they could at least incline it.
The plum trees are blossoming like crazy, it's an intense sweet smell that hits you when you least expect it. Mock oranges are also in full flower, and I love that smell, it is a little more sneaky and not so overpoweringly sweet, but more perfumey. They say that tube-rose smell has a bit of offal in it. Weird, huh.
Chinatown is gearing up for New Years. I noticed some banners flying and wondered how long they were up there, they seemed kind of hard to reach and replace. Year of the Rooster!
After the rain
It was that bright winter shining light, with the added bonus of slick streets and sidewalks. The monday after Superbowl meant that absolutely nobody was at Peets. The people working there were commenting on it too. My neighborhood is no different with a blackout, surprisingly enough. The cable car keeps going. I guess the morning is all about tai chi, playgrounds and cable cars all of which don't require electricity.
I think I may have plantar's fascitis (sp?) meaning that my shoes don't have enough arch support and I have to start doing some exercises for the muscles on the bottom of my feet. I may invest in some new Danskos when I get the cash.
Someone got off the express bus from the Marina and did a weird body block. I just tripped around her. I was on my almost-run down the hill from the top of the villagey part of NOrth Beach. I really enjoy that fast walk by City Lights. Went in last weekend and got a good list of reads. They have a photo in the window of what it looked like in Kerouac's time - exactly the same! ha. Read the Stairways of SF book, and interesting historical nugget - when surveying the land around Russian Hill they didn't take into account some of the hills, so resulting streets were facing huge inclines. At one point, I take it, a street ended, there was a ladder, and the street commenced again at the top of the hill!
Sing misty for me...
yeah don't know that song but it came to me. It was so warm and misty today. It was hard to see across Washington Park! I head out kind of late, around 9:15 or so. Today I was a little miffed to see so many tourists in their "is this what people in North Beach wear?" uniform. It consists of: jeans, black leather coat, and black shoes. You can see I pay an inordinate amount of attention to what people wear. The middle-aged/early seniors Chinese outfit is: cotton pants, like khakis, and those type of anorak jackets with a zipper, also cotton, in some garish pattern. THere was a couple i the jeans/black leather jacket outfit walking down Columbus very slowly, and it's so funny because they dress identical (as couples do). Then, there was a group of four wearing all the same outfit. Do they realize they look alike? Maybe the subtle differences in jeans are enough for them?
I've been wondering about this odd twinkling sound, like a wind chime, that sounds in one of the blocks near the Pyramid. It's a block with a row of thick birches, an antique store, nothing special. And that weird twinkling sound. I pity the people that live above it. So I walked on that side one morning and discovered, there's scaffolding, and hidden in the end of one edge of the scaffolding is a kind of twirling police light in blue, near a driveway. So it's the "warning, car coming" sound. But it's going all the time, and you can't see it.
summertime
Super sunny this morning - the coat was overkill. Lots of new paint going on (maybe because of the sun?) the homeless outreach place was getting yellow, and Figaro the Italian restaurant was getting pink. Not that anyone notices a small band of stucco next to the window, but I guess that is technically the wall.
I want to give citizens arrests to bicyclists on the sidewalk. I mean, I wouldn't bike on the street either, but the sidewalks are really far too crowded.
Tai chi today had a weird loudspeaker barking out in a muffled voice numbers (I think) all I could really distinguish was when it got around to 8, "ba".
Someone at work sprayed lysol aerosol here at work and I've been hacking ever since. Took like 20 minutes to get it out of my lungs on the way home last night. the evening walks are really lovely - I go through the old chocolate/beer district, Jackson Square, and the antique stores are all backlit and full of spindly over polished furniture. Great street names: Gold, Balance.
