Hometown Mall, Big Gusts
from
abc newsBig GustsI waited out the 6:30-8:00 freakish windstorm last night. I was at work in Emeryville, and it felt like either some giant was stompong on our ceiling, or a few sound blasts were happening in the parking lot. These old warehouse buildings don't do well with 60+mph winds, it was weird. I kept wanting to turn to co-workers if but to say, "wow." (a word I was banned from saying by one co-worker because I say it too much.) "What does this mean, wow?" he says, in a heavy Indian accent, educated by the Brits. After enough hazing I did stop saying it, but those big gusts made me want to lapse back into wow-dom. The Bay Bridge was not so bad around 8:20 when I finally drove over, just a bit of tension on the steering wheel at the cantilever section, and everyone toned down their 70mph sprints to a crawl at 40mph.
Hometown MallFrom
sfgate: "The strong winds also knocked over a 30-ton construction crane perched on the rooftop of the Vallco Fashion Park shopping mall in Cupertino, the Santa Clara County sheriff's office said."
My hometown mall!
The Berkeley Naked Guy (before he went to UCB) used to flash down it's sacrosanct hallways. Many an afternoon was spent looking for *just the right* pink Forenza sweater, or idly checking out the guys from behind the racks at ...
Benetton (forgot name, thanks Karen for remembering!). I guess Vallco is trying to renovate and match the glory of
Santana Row in the Joser, which is really not a bad mall, and more oriented towards pedestrian traffic. There was just one summer night that was perfect, salsa music in the gazebo, lots of people around, and
Nobody was Dancing, a crime against humanity, and something that would not occur in SF. Something for free? We would jump on it without a thought. Weird sidenote: Vallco Fashion Park does not have a web site. How weird! It's the only place I've ever ice-skated, as well.
Being an Amuhrikan
being an AmericanRecently I was thinking about how patriotic I am.
- I drink a lot of
coffee. For those who remember the
Boston tea party(or reading it, vs. living it) the unfair taxes on tea, etc., and how Amuhrikans started drinking coffee instead, they will know that this is a
truly patriotic move. "Other ports followed suit - and every patriotic American gave up tea drinking and turned to coffee." Ta-da.
- I drink a lot of hot cocoa. This is a America (as in Americas) symbol, as the
Mayans invented it.
- I'm really into jeans, and that's totally Amurikahn, and, specifically Californian!
- My g-grandpa was deported from Sweden, thus I am many of the hordes finding solace in the warm, welcoming arms of Lady Liberty. He was actually in Minnesota, then went back to his deceased wife's farm and tried to get it through some inheritance laws, and because of lack of funds was sent back to the U.S.. Ah, the U.S., welcoming the poor!
- Another g-grandpa fought in the civil war, and then tried for years to get a pension. But he spoke only German, so it was kinda tough. Go America! Helping out those that fought for ya!
- I can say I hate Bush, that it sucks that we didn't give soldiers a pension, and yet not be thrown into shackles, as one will in China. Go America!
- I can search for the Fu-Lon Gong on Google, Go America!
- I like mac & cheese, that seems American.
- In other countries, I wear the Canadian flag! (wait, that's for another list.)
biking in the rainIt's been raining a lot, off and on. Stil, I, through rain, sleet and snow, biked to the gym yesterday. It's just far easier than driving and dealing with parking. So, donned my microfleece and goretex and managed to have a really short, and pleasant bike ride down Powell, to Bay, to Embarcadero. Embarcadero had a few serious puddles that caused me to go out into traffic, but in general it was far warmer than usual. The ride back was interrupted by a great cake break at Peet's, Ferry Building. The public seating there was packed with others waiting out the rain. The ferry comes in, disgorges hordes from Larkspur, Tiburon, and Oakland, and they file up nicely at Peets, then go off for their City adventures. Then there's always a few late shoppers madly dashing for the ferry right before it takes off.
Zombie Flash Mob & Life is Cruel
From
This guy's Flickr accountlife is cruelIt's a beautiful, beautiful day out and I'm trapped inside doing work!!! I went out to get an amazing scherma, from 901 Columbus Cafe (I love it when nothing in the title informs you that amazing middle-eastern food is near). So go there, get the slightly overpriced, but scrumptious, schwerma. Anyways, in walking the one block over there, I did my citizen's duty by getting a car to get out of the cable car tracks. Loungers were chatting with a woman on the sidewalk and didn't notice the cute little tinkly bell of a very irate cable-car conductor. Drama in North Beach.
Zombie Flash Mob Tonight 10pmGot the tip from metroblogs, and yes, it's tonight. I may head over there to observe, but not partake, as I can't find my fake blood.
Astrology, Meyer-Briggs, and Blog update
Driving home at night across the bay bridge
AstrologyIt's weird how eeriely right it can be. I mean, I put in way too many hours at work today and I log on and see my astrology post for tomorrow, and it's like, you've put in far too many hours at work...
Your usually abundant energy may receive a sudden setback today, anna. Pressure from work could well be creating stress that leaves you feeling exhausted and out of sorts. This will pass. Basically you should be especially strong and healthy, so you should be able to overcome it quickly. It's going to drive you crazy, however - not feeling up to being as active as you usually are. Relax and spend a day resting. It won't hurt you in the long run!
Meyer-Briggs PersonalityJohari (the good), or
Nohari (the bad). Those two sites led me into yet, even
more navel (or naval? haha) gazing than usual and I also did a
35-questionaire on my Meyer-Briggs. I'm an
ENFJ, and I firmly, firmly don't like it and am determined to be far more selfish. Giver, my ass! Blech. Do yours and post it!
Blog UpdateI added BunnyHero and my Mom (bird's nest) to the right side bar. Mom is going from 5mph to 100mph in the world of blogs. I coached her on how to do a link and an image, and she ended up lecturing me on what "trackbacks" were. She's angry at Bush, no wonder, and going to get out some of her vitriolic anger in the blogosphere. I hope I get some of her audience. They can cool their jets and read about random happenings in the City. Also, "apple pie proud" over on the side bar is now "Sandra Day o'Clobber"- if you're in livejournal, you just get to change your blog name whenever it damn pleases you, which is kind of cute, but annoying in the traditional world of blogs.
The GarageA random shout-out to The Garage in San Jose (on San Carlos, at 11th, I believe, I can't find a listing of it anywhere) - I found it when I was reading
Joanne's cabbie blog on SF MetBlogs, and someone named Chester (can't find him anymore either- cyclist, in San Jose) was linking from her, and from him I read about the opening. My sibling down in the Joser absolutely loves it, and she's a foodie. I guess it is a kind of gourmet oddity in the south bay, land of amazing, cheap ethnic food and steakhouses.
2 blogposts in 1 day, does that mean I take a break for a while?
Bar Pilots, Citizen Thai & Biscuit Day
What if your walk to work was sailing? Hmmm... I just want to shout out again to my buddies over at the Maritime Museum in the lobby of the Argonaut Hotel on Beach Street at Hyde: dude, that video of the harbor pilot rocks!!!
Went to
Citizen Monkey, Noodle Bar last night, they're open somewhat late.
Osha is a better late night place, though Citizen Thai/Monkey is pretty damn good. I also love some of the wait staff there. We got score parking ... yes it's possible, on a random Tuesday night in North Beach.
From my friend's blog... Could we please, have
Biscuit Day in San Francisco or at least something driveable? I want me tea & biscuits.
Channelling Christopher Cross
Channelling Christopher CrossSailing takes me away
from where I'm going
ba-da-da-da
all caught up in a reverie
all I ... is a symphony
.... (forget the words)
Went sailing from Oyster Pt. to
The Ramp thanks to Cap't Engine Cleaner. My pirate name is Capt' Hot Box. We got on a giggle attack about how to get cap't Engine Cleaner into a flirty conversation with the cute harbor guy. I'm sure there's a nautical term for that. For everything. A lexicon rivalling the medical profession, maritime speak is. Yoda talk me.
We had a great time, getting out of the dock, in a very orchestrated move, motoring almost the whole way up, over 3 hours, but then we got some wind just around the Candlestick peninsula.
Wine, little sandwiches, homemade brownies... I didn't know sailing was such a gastronomical adventure as well! Pirate Sandanista was the "cabin boy." Sailing photos will doubtless be my new stock photography here in this blog. It's hard to get good shots- the sun is pretty bare. And the horizon looks dinky, though when you're looking at it from the boat it looms large.
I last sailed 15 years ago and was a bundle of nerves then. This time I actually manned the rudder for a while, and didn't freak out until some wind and waves came and I was just clueless. I really got into cleaning up the boat after. I want to go back on the water! I want to go to Angel Island but I may have to work up to it.
Biking In The Cold
Looking North from Chrissy Field, the estuary and bay in background
Biking In the ColdSo it's freezing here the past two days. I decided to do the bike loop from the Ferry Building up and around the Warming Hut, basically directly under the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a nice low-traffic way, especially in the afternoon on a Thursday. The problem? That is probably the coldest thing you could probably do in the bay area, besides wearing a bikini on the trip out to the Farallons, standing on the prow like in Titanic. So the fog is racing into the Bay, I'm squaring it dead-on, biking into the "breeze", with no gloves or mittens. Other bikers intelligently going the opposite direction, with the "breeze" give me curious looks like you stupid, crazy m-f-er. One or two bikers passed me going my direction with full body armor, aerodynamic warmth, curled up over their handlebars. Not me, no. I have the clunker, the hoodie, and a helmet, at least I wore my sweatpants. It was freezing, and beautiful and empty, and also cold. If I had started out an hour or so earlier before sunset, I wouldn't have faced the inrush of fog, and I knew that!
Chameleon
Near Pacific & Taylor, Name Escapes Me
ChameleonThe writer's cafe. OK so I've figured out that it's got great feng shui, mellow tunes, and big windows for people-watching, all the great ingredients for a perfect writing spot. And guess what? Others have too. Dagnabbit. I overheard two people behind me last night discussing their writing group that meets there every honkin day (to appreciate the happy hour, 4-6, 2$ bottle beers). Then, they talk with another guy next to them who is also a journalist, and a "regular" at this cafe. It put my own self-described regular patronage into question. I just come here on Wednesdays. Does that mean I'm not a regular, if this guy is here every day?
One reason I love Chameleon is that it's on top of a hill, and you can see across the Marina and over to the Presidio from the window seats. A cafe with a view! A cafe that is a hike, as well.
Pacific & Leavenworth. If that seems unfamiliar to you, it's a few blocks west of chinatown, or a few blocks east of Polk/Union street village shopping areas.
I am now going to stalk the "writers" that I met and find out if they're famous.
For now I will do a Harriet Spy-like description:
- old guy, wanted to "buy everyone a beer," organized it. He's a writer- novelist. Seems well connected (was namedropping).
- another old guy. He's a poet. Not sure if he's published. Other old guy was introducing him around as "a poet," which I found was nice, as it sucks when you have to say it yourself (almost all good traits should be said by friends, no?)
- an older Asian woman, who lived nearby. Old guy #1 was telling her the comings and goings of her flat, which she informed him, was her "son in law." One shady guy on the street identified, a million more to go.
- "duncan," writer for the washington post. He is the super-regular. Also working on a novel, that he's been working on for a long time.
The New and the Old in North Beach
LEO RIPSo I got an email from my Dad, who loves my neighborhood, about the
death of Leo Rocca. Leo's parents started Rocca's, a bar very close to my house, and the one that has the sign "where locals and tourists meet." Great obituary, and sad that Leo has passed away. The sign above the door that usually announces the arrival of new ships, or maybe the superbowl game, now says "RIP LEO."
New Restaurant: PelligrinoI tried it today and the food was excellent, got rigatoni bolognese, and the price was good too, and yet it was f---ing freezing. They even brought the space heater out into the eating area. NB was colder than a witch's t--ty today, I have to say. I had to hike up Russian Hill to get some blood circulating. Anyways, back to the restaurant: the owner came into the print shop two or so months ago and got some business cards made up. I was worried for him, since we have tons of Italian restaurants, but it seems to be doing well. The girl at the Italian hand-painted dish shop said that, "That new place, Pellogrino, it's supposed to be cheap,
and good." But she will even say that she doesn't eat in North Beach much. Funny, there's a sign on her cash register that says "You may ask about restaurants, but please patronize our store first." Yes, I had bought something before I asked her.
Goodbye Kid's Clothing PlaceSo I do try to keep tabs on places, especially if they're within 2 blocks of my house, but in the middle of the night, it seems, the cute kid's clothing store changed to yet another "bike trails" outlet. How many of these bike places do we need? We already have about 5 in a 2-block area. I do love watching couples biking up Columbus frantically trying to return their bike by 7pm. For some reason, the stores tell folks to return it by 7pm, then close the doors at 6:50. I would be a fan of these bike trails, if the tourists didn't insist on biking at breakneck speed on sidewalks.
Walking to Work, Notes from Hunt
Walking to WorkI actually drive two days a week, then I walk to a cafe the other days. So I'm splitting up the definition of "walk to work," this blog's original intention, to my two jobs.
I actually tried to take photos out of the car window as I was on the Bay Bridge last night. I'll post them. Mostly flash against a window, and twinkly lights of buildings in the background!
Notes from the HuntWe didnt' have time to take a photo for some tourists in North Beach! We didn't have time to stop and watch the lighted up dragon winding it's way in circles down on Broadway and Kearny :( We didn't have time to get some shots at Old Ship Saloon! We didn't have time to flirt with the cute Russians we met at the Justin Herma Plaza at 10pm! Regrets
Earthquakes and Floods
FYI: there are
no serious earthquakes going on at this time. whew.
And I'm in an "optional" flood zone. Not a place that requires flood insurance, but it's optional. Nice to know, I guess. Just glad I'm on the second floor. This is rash of catastrophic thinking due to the fact that I had only 5 hours of sleep and
CNN is showing weird photos of New Orleans, like boats upside down, etc.
Chinatown Hunt!
Ah, we finished completely, but opted not to make the 9pm deadline, and instead eat some food. The hour or so eating put us off the schedule. We arrived at the end, with our completed scorecard in hand, to a totally empty plaza! We encountered some "regular" hunt folks and actually helped them with the last clue. Very fun, though a huge hike- from Embarcadero to Union Square, up nob hill, chinatown, coit tower, north beach, then back to Justin Herman Plaza, from 4:45-10pm. Photos coming.
SF Citizen Accoutrements
SF Citizen AccoutrementsThings you must have if you are a SF resident (and/or give you away as a SF townie):
- MUNI Pass, monthly, in front of wallet behind plastic
- Trader Joe's canvas bag (or) plastic mexican multi-colored bag
- resident's card for discounts!
- thorough knowledge of street cleaning schedules in the four block radius around your house
- a good map of SF (probably the laminated Flash Maps two-fold)
- at least one Golden Gate National Rec Area (GGNRA) logo'd item, such as mug, poster, or magnet
- an expired library card that you cling to, and it works, because the library let you keep it
- the ashtray in your car has been converted to a change jar and contains quarters
- always, at the top of your mind, your dairy preference for your favorite espresso drink
- a recycled art item, wallet, purse, wall art, etc.
Any others?
Random Notes About Town
Random Notes About Town
I've been super busy and believe it or not, unable to write my usual myopic opinings about local SF life. Well here are some tidbits that I just can't hold back.
DPWWalking home late from union square, ran into a DPW (department of public works) van and guy on Stockton street. I talked to him for a bit about who leaves stuff on the street, if they fine the landlord, or owner of the property, etc. I have a photo story of such items left by (ahem) myself, and a resulting DPW van picking them up. Turns out: you can as a citizen, fine another person for leaving stuff on the sidewalk. The inner mission was doing some self-policing on this front right before I left. He said that Chinatown is far tidier than the Mission in this regard, and I have "definitely moved to a nicer neighborhood." Aw, respect from the DPW guy! He was quite chatty.
Discounts on Cable CarI thought Newsom was
full of it, but I too received a huge FREE RIDE on cable car yesterday around 4pm going from union square to my house. The operator said "two bills" as I boarded (an attempt to get a tip, I think), and I heard him say the same to other passengers. I never saw him take fares at all. As I got off, I tried to give him my hard-earned 5 dollars but he wouldn't take it.
He also defended my pedestrian rights to a pickup truck racing down Mason Street. Trivia: cars are supposed to stop behind a cable car if the cable car is stopped, not speed past it. I didn't know.
Lefty O'Doul'sAfter a networking event at the super-hip
Tunnel Top, a singer friend of mine descended into the haunts of tourist dive hell.
So the
Gold Dust does not serve food, which sucks, but
Lefty's has a not-badly priced steak cafeteria setup and a piano bar, which is a piece of wood cut to be in a grand piano's shape, with an electric keyboard jammed underneath. So it was divey, and full of wealthy tourists, and I just want to say to all the haters out there: tourists rock because they are friggin' HAPPY. SF Townies tend to be kind of bummed about something, probably real life, whereas tourists are on vacation and far from their troubles. Tourists also bought us a lot of wine that night, now that I think of it.
Saturday, In the Park
No interesting factoids today. It's a gorgeous day! I used vinegar to clean my floor! I'm going on a bike ride! Hanging on the wharf!
Oh, I saw a real longshoreman Thursday. Black cap, peacoat, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. In fact, he must be an actor. I mean, there are no real live container ships docking on SF's waterfront, it's all tourism. We have a defunct military ship retired here. I should have stopped and asked him, "who
are you?"
Embarcadero, Palace of Fine Arts, Blossoms
How beautiful is Embarcadero? I rode to the Embarcadero Y and back this afternoon. I had to tangle with cars once in a while, but in general it was just amazing to be out on this beautiful, sunny, day, biking on a long stretch alongside the sparkling bay, the bridge, the big arrow and bow pointing into the ground… oh wait, that’s art, sculpture, etc.
Downloaded a huge batch of photos from my camera dating back to last week. The above is the Palace of Fine Arts, which may be self-evident to most people. I had to rest my camera on the fence around the pond to make sure it didn’t get in the frame. I’m glad it’s getting renovated, but while trolling Craigslist’s master gardener discussion group a year or so ago, I read a bitterpost from a gardener that they were tapped for their expertise, for free, when the surrounding neighborhood is dripping in diamonds.
Blossoms
Anyways, the blossoms are amazing around Palace of Fine Arts. And, like today, biking home, I could really smell the plum blossoms, jasmine, and other unrecognized blossoms. Is it weird that blossoms are coming out in February? How could I have missed basic season demarcations, having lived in the Bay Area all my life? Yes, at age 34 it now seems strange that I never thought it was strange. But for a large part of my life I thought spring was Jan-March. I blame a very confusing season-wheel in kindergarten.
Neighborhoodiness
There’s an intersection, Powell and Francisco, in the Tel-Hi hood (I love using that nickname) that feels really small community. Kids were playing cement hockey in the schoolyard, everyone was walking around on the sidewalks or crossing the street, shopping, hanging at a café (
Café Francisco). It could have been out of Scarry’s, BusyTown.
Favorite Houses
We all have a favorite building or house in our neighborhood, that we fantasize we will live in at one point in our life, or if we got the lottery we would remodel, or heck, we just track it in a creepy stalking way. Well I'll try to grab a photo of mine. If you have one, please post a description!
Mission Cliffs
Credit to
riverstoneThe flats of potrero hill, or "bottom of the hill" I guess, has changed a lot. I was there to check out for the first time:
Mission Cliffs. I guess I used to visit BAVC (the bay area video coalition), gordon's, the brewery, and other hotspots from the dot com era. Now, it's got the old live work lofts, and more new construction. Some really beautiful work areas have been built out. I was impressed. It smells a lot like bread down there. The Starbucks at Mariposa & Bryant was the best place to write for a long time, as my writing club decided. It used to be something else, can't remember the old name. What makes it great? Big sofas, lots of space, big kitchen tables.
The climbing gym: totally fun, though perhaps, as my friend said "not the sport for you" since my feet are so f***ed up, and an feet are integral part of climbing. Still, super nice people abounded. It had the heavy metal rock soundtrack going, but I hear on women's nights they play kind of fun jazzy stuff. I ran into a friend, my friend ran into three or so.
It's a big warehouse with walls going at odd angles up to the ceiling, with little riveted holds all over the place, as one would expect at a climbing gym. My friend was very patient since it was my first time, and we did the freaky kids' corner. Climb on! I actually didn't panic and cry, glued to the top most ledge, as I did at age thirteen climbing with some Parks & Rec club, at Castle Rock. I do actually still love to
boulder there. Check it out:
Castle Rock state park in santa cruz (actually we approached from San Jose).
