San Francisco

San Francisco, Style

Selfie Time: Spring is Here

 

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Spring is in the air in San Francisco, and I’m embracing it. I’ve been running regularly in my neighborhood (pretending I could make Bay to Breakers), taking long walks to the water during lunch, and making weekend travel plans (Tahoe, ho!). It’s sad to say, but my mood is heavily driven by the weather. Is it really so simple??

This week we had a super hot spell, and people were FREAKING OUT. Er… literally.  Yesterday and today on the way home I’ve witnessed strange incidents of aggression. Yesterday a homeless man started banging on the windows of the streetcar, yelling at another homeless man that had boarded the car. “That’s my blanket! Fuck you! I love it. You don’t deserve her!” Today two passengers got into a fight on the train and had to be thrown off. It’s that heat, man.

And you know it’s spring when men start yelling at you on the street. I try not to worry or plan my outfits based on fear of being harassed, because it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. I always get hit on when I look like shit or have been crying, honestly. It’s like some radar that creeps have for helplessness and disinterest.

Anyways, when it’s hot out you gotta be comfortable, so dresses and sneakers it is. My current favorite no think dress is this simple black dress from Uniqlo, which I wouldn’t really brag about except it is quite sturdy and cool, and it was CHEAP. Less than 20 bucks! Actually, everything in the Ines de la Fressange line at Uniqlo is super simple, but really quite nice once you try it on.

This heat doesn’t last much longer but I’m definitely going to milk it. Hope you’re having a hot one too.

Bicycles, San Francisco

Bay Bike Share- It’s here! It’s here!

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When I went to Montreal a million years ago (ok, four years ago), I was enthralled with their “Bixi” city bicycle share. The bright red bikes were tantalizing, and I wanted so badly to rent one and pedal down the physically separated bicycle lanes, pretending that I was French Canadian.

Alas, it was my first solo trip for pleasure. Also my first solo trip abroad. I didn’t have the nerves yet to risk biking in another country when I didn’t even know the local word for “HOSPITAL”. The years passed and I’ve changed my tune. I love traveling alone, and I love biking while traveling, whether I’m in DC or Cambodia. I haven’t had an international accident yet, fingers crossed.

So needless to say I’m pretty psyched about the new Bay Area Bicycle Share, which launched today! The stations in San Francisco are in tourist hotspots (downtown, Chinatown, along the water), which makes sense, since the bikes are intended for short trips- 30 min or so. I’m honestly not sure how these bikes help with the “last mile” problem, since all of this area is covered by public transport, but whatever.

I took the above photo the other day. I think it explains San Francisco pretty well. All the walks of life are represented 🙂 . The Asian businessman with an open container of beer, the Civic Center rabblerousers, European tourists, random teenagers, commuters. We’re all here, and we all want to poke and prod the gorgeous new bikes.

Prices seem pretty reasonable- 9$ for a day membership, 22$ for 3 days, and then you can also do a full year’s membership for 88$. Having a membership offers you unlimited 30 min rides during your time period. I have a bike but I have to admit I would love to try BABS out. Good for those nights I don’t want to drag my bike out, but need to get around fast.

 

 

Art, San Francisco

Sunday Symphony in the Park

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Just another Sunday in the park. Made this with Beemo, my new favorite iPhone app.

I packed a massive picnic (made my first crab rolls!) and headed to Dolores for the annual free concert in the park from the SF Symphony. The music was nice, but as I lay there sweating in the unusually hot weather, I realized: I’m just not that into the symphony.

It’s taken me a few years to figure this out. I’ve seen some great shows. Rufus Wainwright, silent films and even Max Raabe & Palaast Orchester. But then none of these are purely music. They are music + a show. I like the idea of the symphony, but I really need something else to focus on. Otherwise I’ll fall asleep. That’s probably why I like opera so much. There’s just so damn much to see. I don’t know why there’s that stereotype/joke of falling asleep at the opera. If you fall asleep at the opera, the opera will punch you in the face to wake you up. It’s intense stuff.

But even though I’m not a fan, I’ve got to give it up for the SF Symphony. They’re trying hard to connect to a younger fan base. Their next two shows this week are “Video Games Live” and music from “The Matrix.” Yep. Exactly what it sounds like. They know the San Francisco audience :).

Ever since I saw a show at the Chicago symphony in 2011, I’ve been getting calls soliciting donations. I got a call a few days ago. This time I happily said “No thank you. I live in San Francisco. Also, I don’t like the symphony.” It was very satisfying.