first floor apartments: 2 hippies who work at the vegetarian cafe, 1 gay cop
Our house: 1 vegetarian woman in her early 40s, a trannyfag couple who study homeopathy, our best trans queer friend vegetarian, and of course us - the two sissies :)
Yay!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
we fucking love it here.
We started our day in Chinatown where we had sushi and shopped around. Then I got a new pair of sneakers in the shopping district. We noticed how the food court in the mall here incuded so many teas, juices, and healthy food chains instead of your typical chinese food and mcdonalds food court. It's so much easier to be healthy here.
San Franciso has no shame. It's so beautiful - we noticed how everyone smiles at each other and people are polite to each othere here. And.. San Francisco has cheap food and cheap happy hours too!
For $5.50 we had 2 cocktails. That's cheaper than the Eagle, Boston Gays! And for $5.5o we not only had cocktails we also had fun dancing and pop music videos in a bar full of fun smiling people.
Seriously, San Fran = heaven.
And, I just found out I will not be charged for the zipcar incident:
"Dear Mark,
We have talked to all parties involved and everything is fine and you will not be charged anything for this incident. The other vehicle has some minor scratches and the owner has no problem with it. I would like to thank you for your great communication with me during this investigation process, you have been most helpful and kind. Have a nice day and thanks for being a Zipster! "
San Franciso has no shame. It's so beautiful - we noticed how everyone smiles at each other and people are polite to each othere here. And.. San Francisco has cheap food and cheap happy hours too!
For $5.50 we had 2 cocktails. That's cheaper than the Eagle, Boston Gays! And for $5.5o we not only had cocktails we also had fun dancing and pop music videos in a bar full of fun smiling people.
Seriously, San Fran = heaven.
And, I just found out I will not be charged for the zipcar incident:
"Dear Mark,
We have talked to all parties involved and everything is fine and you will not be charged anything for this incident. The other vehicle has some minor scratches and the owner has no problem with it. I would like to thank you for your great communication with me during this investigation process, you have been most helpful and kind. Have a nice day and thanks for being a Zipster! "
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A Lovely Day
Wing and I started our day with lunch at the raw/vegan food place down the street. After that I went to the local organic/natural health/food co-op store. It's a worker owned place. I got my cool name brand natural shampoos and body products out of bulk bins for less $! So cool. People there were very friendly too.. I've noticed that people in San Francisco smile at each other. Boston - take note.
After that I walked home and soon Wing got back from his interview. Later we went to the Golden Gate park. It is right across the street - and it is breathtaking!
On our way to see the Buffalo area, we saw ponds, beautiful gushing stream with waterfalls, and areas where you can have a picnic or use public grills. The park has so much to offer. It's like having a little heaven right across the street. I can't wait to go back and meditate, check out the museums and flower gardens, etc.
After exploring just a portion of the park for an hour and a half we stopped by a vegetarian chinese place. It was cheap and delicious and we have a lot left over for a midnight snack.
Our bedroom is looking super cute - thanks evil Ikea. I'll post pictures of San Fran and our room very soon!
Mamma Mia IKEA!
Yesterday Wing's interview was rescheduled so we decided to do our big Ikea trip. We rode the subway downtown to our Zipcar Tocama Pick-up Truck. It took us a bit to find it, but once we did we were off to Emeryville.
First we drove across the Bay Bridge which was really scary but kinda fun. It was the first time I had driven in San Francisco, and one of the few times I had driven in a city in the past 5 years. There were like 5 lanes of traffic going crazy on me.
We found Ikea relatively easy. We didn't have all day so we rushed through the store, ate some cheap Ikea food, and then realized we had to do all the manual labor of loading up the truck. That was a disaster because we had so much stuff, huge furniture boxes, a mattress etc.
On the way home the directions and traffic were much worse. We ended up missing an exit and heading towards San Jose. After being tired, angry, and lost for an hour we finally made it home and unload the truck so we could hurry back to drop it off.
With the scary exhuasting Ikea trip out of the way we went and had a snack on the harbor. The views here are so incredible.
Then we walked to Bed Bath and Beyond and purchased pillows, towells, and some other accessories. Mostly in the "beyond" department.
When we got home to our neighborhood we had bubbletea and snacks from Quickly. They have like 200 flavors of bubbletea to choose from, and a bunch of cheap fried snacks. The cheesestix are only $3 compared to the $7 I used to pay at Nicoles in Boston.
When we got to our house we had to start putting together the Ikea. Ugh. Not my favorite thing to do but Wing enjoys it. In the end we noticed someting funny - our bed was missing a peice and it was a queen, not a full. So now our mattress is sittting in the middle of the bed frame until we can take yet another nightmare trip back to Ikea to replace it....
BUT we might not be able to because Ikea is claiming that the parking attendant on duty saw me hit a car in the parking lot and they are investigating the situation and willl let me know how much $ I owe and if I can remain a zipcar member. Now if we did hit another car, the impact was so light I never felt anything - so I am ready to challenge this in small claims court if I must.
In good news, my future boss called today and I will be working full-time.
We are loving our neighborhood (Sunset) more and more each day. Later, I'm going to walk to the ocean then stop by the raw food restaurant for lunch. Then I'm picking up a bunch of natural home and body products at the natural food store.
First we drove across the Bay Bridge which was really scary but kinda fun. It was the first time I had driven in San Francisco, and one of the few times I had driven in a city in the past 5 years. There were like 5 lanes of traffic going crazy on me.
We found Ikea relatively easy. We didn't have all day so we rushed through the store, ate some cheap Ikea food, and then realized we had to do all the manual labor of loading up the truck. That was a disaster because we had so much stuff, huge furniture boxes, a mattress etc.
On the way home the directions and traffic were much worse. We ended up missing an exit and heading towards San Jose. After being tired, angry, and lost for an hour we finally made it home and unload the truck so we could hurry back to drop it off.
With the scary exhuasting Ikea trip out of the way we went and had a snack on the harbor. The views here are so incredible.
Then we walked to Bed Bath and Beyond and purchased pillows, towells, and some other accessories. Mostly in the "beyond" department.
When we got home to our neighborhood we had bubbletea and snacks from Quickly. They have like 200 flavors of bubbletea to choose from, and a bunch of cheap fried snacks. The cheesestix are only $3 compared to the $7 I used to pay at Nicoles in Boston.
When we got to our house we had to start putting together the Ikea. Ugh. Not my favorite thing to do but Wing enjoys it. In the end we noticed someting funny - our bed was missing a peice and it was a queen, not a full. So now our mattress is sittting in the middle of the bed frame until we can take yet another nightmare trip back to Ikea to replace it....
BUT we might not be able to because Ikea is claiming that the parking attendant on duty saw me hit a car in the parking lot and they are investigating the situation and willl let me know how much $ I owe and if I can remain a zipcar member. Now if we did hit another car, the impact was so light I never felt anything - so I am ready to challenge this in small claims court if I must.
In good news, my future boss called today and I will be working full-time.
We are loving our neighborhood (Sunset) more and more each day. Later, I'm going to walk to the ocean then stop by the raw food restaurant for lunch. Then I'm picking up a bunch of natural home and body products at the natural food store.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
San Francisco
Wow. San Francisco is at once overwhelming in the best and worst of ways. It's now our third day here and I have a moment to blog about our experience moving from Boston to San Francisco.
By the time we arrived Sunday evening I was exhausted. I had taken two sleeping pills but my anxiety about flying and the subsequent adrenaline rush post-landing in our new home wouldn't let them kick in until we arrived at our house.
Our friends Debbie & Megan picked us up, and then picked up our friend Diego who had randomly had his flight to Hawaii cancelled - so we all got to hang out. It was super great to see everyone together.
The house is adorable, and right next to the Golden Gate Park - which we have yet to explore. It is HUGE, miles and miles long. In fact there are even Buffalo in the park not too far from here.
At first I was feeling very tired and very worried that I wouldn't love it here. I couldn't help but think about the amazing lives we led in Boston and fear things wouldn't be so good here. After a much needed nap Wing convinced me to go out for some food. I'm so glad we did!
Just a few blocks away there is a strip of cute food joints. Most of them are Asian including vietnamese, korean, japanese, and an Indian place. There are a few Asian grocery stores as well. All of the dining options in our neighborhood are about 1/4 the cost of the restaurants in our Boston neighborhood. We had a full course Korean meal with all the little dish thingies for about 10 bux each. We're both really excited about having cheap yummy food nearby.
This morning we woke up ready to get our U-haul and go to Ikea to get furniture for our new bedroom. But, the U-haul place was closed for Memorial Day so we decided to explore. First, I wanted to see the ocean. It's about a 20 minute walk downhill from our house to the ocean. On our way there we saw a vegan raw foods restaurant and a natural health store that is worker-owned and co-opt. I'm going to be purchasing my all natural bath and body products there in my canvas bags (plastic bags are banned here. )
The ocean was beautiful. Ocean Beach is a wide and long sandy beach. Although today was chilly and cloudy many people were out having picnics and surfing.
After breathing in the beauty of the ocean and mountains, watching the clouds and fog move in and out, we hopped on the train that took us downtown. The train ride took about 30 minutes.
Downtown we ate at a yummy vegetarian restaurant (Wing had "neatloaf") run by followers of a guru. There's a lot of guru following going on here in San Fran, so much so that I now have to let go of my anti-cult crusade. It just isn't worth it here. If Bostonians think Dahn Yoga and Scientology are taking over, you should see the situation here. It seems like everyone is in some sort of cult one way or another. It's like they know how ridiculous it is but they're okay with it.
Then we met up with our friend Jenn and her Girlfriend Denise who showed us through Chinatown. Huge Chinatown offering lots of our favorite things: cheap food, bubble tea, and cool stuff to decorate our room with.
We continued on to North Beach, which felt like we had arrived on a corner in Paris or Italy. Lots and lots of cafes with outdoor seating on the sidewalks. People watching. Very quaint.
From there we kept walking to the waterfront where Wing got to see the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. It was beautiful as usual.
After that we got on the bus and went towards the Haight.
First, we noticed a park that was a big round hill. It was like a forest. We entered the path that wound up up up to the top until finally, after an intense workout, we were rewarded with a most spectacular view of the city.
The haight still has lots of vintage stores, the huge Ameoba used record store, some cheap places to eat (but the forces of gentrification are noticeable!) and a ton of hippies, people on drugs, more hippies, faux hippes, people talking to themselves, people throwing up on the street, people singing and dancing, people with piercings coming from every part of their face, people wearing animal ears, people pretending they are at a rave.... and yeah I saw all that and more today. The concept of a "character" does not exist in San Francisco. There are about 5 "characters" on every block here. In Boston, we would get to know someone if they were messed up in public alot, or if they had a unique talent to showcase, or if they rode a particular tricycle.
Even in our residential, family centric neighborhood there are plenty of queers, hippies, surfers, etc. All kinds of folks.
It feels a bit odd to not standout for my outfits or queerness. Wing and I feel almost invisible. There are many other gays, asians, and white/asian gay couples here. Wing is experiencing what it is like to be checked out by lots of other gaysians. In Boston mostly white guys would check him out.
I like feeling like we all fit in here and anything goes - but I also worry I'm unsure of my identity now that people don't laugh at my big sunglasses or mimick my feminine behavior.
And the choices for food, activities, and learning are sooo overwhelming. It is like someone took al of the things I'm interested in and built a city of things to try with them. It's hard to figure out where to devote my attention with so many options. If I wanted to find a yoga teacher I would have like 5000 to choose from. If I wanted to eat at a vegetariant restuarant in the Bay Area I would have 90 - Boston has 3.
One of my biggest fears here is Earth Quakes. The chances of a large one hitting in our neighborhood by 2035 are about 25%. This house and this area do not seem ready in the least - and most news reports of late verify it. Yikes.
I'm also anxious about starting my new job on June 2. I'm still waiting to hear if it will be full-time or not.
Wing has an interview tomorrow at a travel company. We're going to the huge farmer's market (there are tons of them here.... in fact this city is very noticeably obsessed with trying to be green) for lunch and then checking out the Castro. Wing said he kind of missed the "South End gays", so I'm sure he'll be happy with a Castro visit tomorrow where we'll have a variety of queer contingents to people-watch.
Peace!
PS: Amy Contrada /MassResistance,
If you want to continue stalking me it will have to be online unless you want to come visit me in your faaaaaavorite city! Gurl, you thought Boston was depraved... HA! (Of course your lesbian daughter is always welcome to stay with us if she wants to check out San Fran.)
By the time we arrived Sunday evening I was exhausted. I had taken two sleeping pills but my anxiety about flying and the subsequent adrenaline rush post-landing in our new home wouldn't let them kick in until we arrived at our house.
Our friends Debbie & Megan picked us up, and then picked up our friend Diego who had randomly had his flight to Hawaii cancelled - so we all got to hang out. It was super great to see everyone together.
The house is adorable, and right next to the Golden Gate Park - which we have yet to explore. It is HUGE, miles and miles long. In fact there are even Buffalo in the park not too far from here.
At first I was feeling very tired and very worried that I wouldn't love it here. I couldn't help but think about the amazing lives we led in Boston and fear things wouldn't be so good here. After a much needed nap Wing convinced me to go out for some food. I'm so glad we did!
Just a few blocks away there is a strip of cute food joints. Most of them are Asian including vietnamese, korean, japanese, and an Indian place. There are a few Asian grocery stores as well. All of the dining options in our neighborhood are about 1/4 the cost of the restaurants in our Boston neighborhood. We had a full course Korean meal with all the little dish thingies for about 10 bux each. We're both really excited about having cheap yummy food nearby.
This morning we woke up ready to get our U-haul and go to Ikea to get furniture for our new bedroom. But, the U-haul place was closed for Memorial Day so we decided to explore. First, I wanted to see the ocean. It's about a 20 minute walk downhill from our house to the ocean. On our way there we saw a vegan raw foods restaurant and a natural health store that is worker-owned and co-opt. I'm going to be purchasing my all natural bath and body products there in my canvas bags (plastic bags are banned here. )
The ocean was beautiful. Ocean Beach is a wide and long sandy beach. Although today was chilly and cloudy many people were out having picnics and surfing.
After breathing in the beauty of the ocean and mountains, watching the clouds and fog move in and out, we hopped on the train that took us downtown. The train ride took about 30 minutes.
Downtown we ate at a yummy vegetarian restaurant (Wing had "neatloaf") run by followers of a guru. There's a lot of guru following going on here in San Fran, so much so that I now have to let go of my anti-cult crusade. It just isn't worth it here. If Bostonians think Dahn Yoga and Scientology are taking over, you should see the situation here. It seems like everyone is in some sort of cult one way or another. It's like they know how ridiculous it is but they're okay with it.
Then we met up with our friend Jenn and her Girlfriend Denise who showed us through Chinatown. Huge Chinatown offering lots of our favorite things: cheap food, bubble tea, and cool stuff to decorate our room with.
We continued on to North Beach, which felt like we had arrived on a corner in Paris or Italy. Lots and lots of cafes with outdoor seating on the sidewalks. People watching. Very quaint.
From there we kept walking to the waterfront where Wing got to see the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. It was beautiful as usual.After that we got on the bus and went towards the Haight.
First, we noticed a park that was a big round hill. It was like a forest. We entered the path that wound up up up to the top until finally, after an intense workout, we were rewarded with a most spectacular view of the city.
The haight still has lots of vintage stores, the huge Ameoba used record store, some cheap places to eat (but the forces of gentrification are noticeable!) and a ton of hippies, people on drugs, more hippies, faux hippes, people talking to themselves, people throwing up on the street, people singing and dancing, people with piercings coming from every part of their face, people wearing animal ears, people pretending they are at a rave.... and yeah I saw all that and more today. The concept of a "character" does not exist in San Francisco. There are about 5 "characters" on every block here. In Boston, we would get to know someone if they were messed up in public alot, or if they had a unique talent to showcase, or if they rode a particular tricycle.
Even in our residential, family centric neighborhood there are plenty of queers, hippies, surfers, etc. All kinds of folks.
It feels a bit odd to not standout for my outfits or queerness. Wing and I feel almost invisible. There are many other gays, asians, and white/asian gay couples here. Wing is experiencing what it is like to be checked out by lots of other gaysians. In Boston mostly white guys would check him out.
I like feeling like we all fit in here and anything goes - but I also worry I'm unsure of my identity now that people don't laugh at my big sunglasses or mimick my feminine behavior.
And the choices for food, activities, and learning are sooo overwhelming. It is like someone took al of the things I'm interested in and built a city of things to try with them. It's hard to figure out where to devote my attention with so many options. If I wanted to find a yoga teacher I would have like 5000 to choose from. If I wanted to eat at a vegetariant restuarant in the Bay Area I would have 90 - Boston has 3.
One of my biggest fears here is Earth Quakes. The chances of a large one hitting in our neighborhood by 2035 are about 25%. This house and this area do not seem ready in the least - and most news reports of late verify it. Yikes.
I'm also anxious about starting my new job on June 2. I'm still waiting to hear if it will be full-time or not.
Wing has an interview tomorrow at a travel company. We're going to the huge farmer's market (there are tons of them here.... in fact this city is very noticeably obsessed with trying to be green) for lunch and then checking out the Castro. Wing said he kind of missed the "South End gays", so I'm sure he'll be happy with a Castro visit tomorrow where we'll have a variety of queer contingents to people-watch.
Peace!
PS: Amy Contrada /MassResistance,
If you want to continue stalking me it will have to be online unless you want to come visit me in your faaaaaavorite city! Gurl, you thought Boston was depraved... HA! (Of course your lesbian daughter is always welcome to stay with us if she wants to check out San Fran.)
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