Spring Moments

Random tidbits from the first weekend of Spring, 2008.

You're in the South Bay Now, Moment:
Cruising the streets of San Jose with the windows down on a warm summer-like night...in March. Heading through Downtown, where the sidewalks are bustling with Mexicans wearing cowboy hats on their way to concert and Sabercat fans on their way to the Arena. Cruising down a way-too-wide San Carlos Street where all the buildings and neon-signs look straight out of American Graffiti, then heading to Santana Row where all the posh West Valleyers look confused, then smile, then start to dance in the sidewalks as a guy wearing a neon green mask on a neon green motorcycle blasts "Don't Stop till You Get Enough" as he makes his was down the Row.
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Ooops...Hahah...Sorry, Moment:
After an early elimination from the annual Sias Family Easter water balloon toss, initiating a guerilla water balloon attack at the entire family with my cousin Marisa...hearing the screams and laughter from the other side of the garden fence as we scurry back into the house laughing so hard it hurts, and then, finding out, that unfortunately, the main victim of the renegade attack was my cousin's baby. Oops! :P
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You're Not in the South Bay Anymore, Moment:
[After driving five blocks away from my apartment to park my car (grrr), while walking down 24th Street looking scrubby carrying my laundry bag.....having some random middle aged dude start whistling at me from his car, then pulling over on the other side of the street to see if I would approach. Creepo!
----------------

Drunk Gay Idiot, Moment:
While hanging out at the Mix on 18th Street (because Ian's roommate Sara wanted to have a drink somewhere with an outdoor patio).

Drunk at 1:00pm Guy: HeYyyY. Wha-wha-where are youuuu fRoMmmm?
Me: I live here, San Francisco
Drunk at 1:00pm Guy: Noooooo, man. I mean, where are you FRoMMMMMM?
Me: Well, the South Bay, Mountain View.
Drunk at 1:00pm Guy: (confused silence) NoOOOOooo! no. Quit playing with me! You know what I mean, I mean whEre ArE yoU frrrom???
Me: You mean, where are my parents from?
Drunk at 1:00pm Guy: Yeah yeAh! Like mine, mine, are from Venezuela.
Me: My parents are from here, too.
Drunk at 1:00pm Guy: Oh, that's cool.
Me: (blank stare)

[Drunk at 1:00pm Guy walks away, confused and defeated]

The Candlelight March

On November 27, 1978, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were gunned down by fellow Supervisor Dan White. This occurred during the same week as the Jonestown Massacre, where hundreds of people, mostly Bay Area residents, died in a tragic mass murder-suicide. San Francisco was reeling with shock, sadness and anger - no more so than within the gay community, which lost its first true public leader, Harvey Milk.

The events of that week were before my time. Like many people in my generation, Harvey Milk was someone I knew little to nothing about.

However, the first time I saw the documentary on Harvey Milk, it stunned and moved me - nothing more so than the moments shown in the video above. Despite its profound sadness, San Francisco's reaction to this tragedy was, perhaps, one of the most poignant and beautiful human moments in the City's recent history. The silent procession of tens of thousands of people down Market Street the night of the assassinations started in the Castro but grew and grew as people from all over the City joined the march as it made its way to the Civic Center. Gay and Straight, young and old, of all colors and ethnicities - people silently and peacefully came together to honor the lives of Milk and Moscone. All this, for a gay political leader and a gay-friendly Mayor in era when most of American still saw being gay as a sin, if not a crime.



Before Harvey Milk died, he said:

"If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."

Since 2005, I've been slowly kicking my own closet door open after a few failed attempts to creak it open when I was much younger. As I've learnt more about Harvey Milk and the times he lived in, I've become increasingly grateful for what he fought for and what he represents. It's because of Harvey Milk and other people from his era that I no longer need to hide or feel shame over who I am. I wish I knew his story sooner, it might have helped me get through some rough times when I was a teen.

So when I found out that Gus Van Sant was filming a movie on Milk's life, right here, in the very place where it played out, I was excited. When I found out they wanted extras to recreate marches...especially this Candlelight March, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.



Helping recreate the marches, but especially the silent beauty of the Candlelight March, was important to me...and it had nothing to do with the chance to get some face time on a major Hollywood film. The marches gave me a chance to connect with the history of a community that I was once so deeply afraid to associate with out of fear. It gave me a chance to feel proud, and in my own way, give a silent thanks to those who came before.

The recreated march, on Friday February 8, was nothing like the real one, I'm sure. But it was still an amazing moment. I managed to wrangle a few friends into coming along and we gathered with thousands of other volunteers. The original march extended miles, this one was still impressive - a solid block of people taking up the east bound lanes of four blocks of Market Street starting at Van Ness.



Once filming started, and everyone had lit their candles...the street went silent. People got teary eyed. Every so often a wave would ripple through the crowd as people raised their candles into the air. It wasn't too hard to imagine how people must have felt on the actual night, 30 years ago. I know I felt something pretty special.

Hopefully, Gus Van Sant will do a good job telling this story - and our efforts to recreate some of its key moments will translate well to the silver screen. Hopefully, the movie will be a way for the general public to learn more about Milk and all he did and stood for.



At the very least, it gave me a memory of my first year in San Francisco that I'll always remember.

Imaging SF [January-February 2008]

Another long time between updates. Life has been busy, in a good way. Living in San Francisco still rocks. At least once a day there's something I see or do that makes me feel so lucky to call this city home. I'm usually carrying my camera around in my bag everyday. Never know when I'll be out doing a site visit on the waterfront for work, if there will be an amazing sunset that I see on my way home, or if there'll be some movie I'll be an extra in... ;) So, on to the photos:

Between some pretty intense January storms, we had a beautiful set of days. On January 13 my friend Ian and I walked from Noe Valley, to the Castro, up to Corona Heights and down into the Lower Haight. Here's a view of USF from Corona Heights with the Marine Headlands on the horizon.
The View of Downtown San Francisco from Corona Heights.
Here's a view of the Mission. The green in the middle is Dolores Park, I live a few blocks to the left of the park.

On the day of the Primary Election, my primary mode of transit to work, the J-Church Metro Line, had a big stall so I got off on Market and Church and walked to work. Every intersection had people holding signs for Obama or Clinton. It was pretty exciting. Hillary had some slick signs.But the grassroots nature of Obama's campaign won over San Francisco.

One of my main projects is working as the Lead Urban Designer on a new Public Realm Plan for Fisherman's Wharf. Had an early morning meeting at the Cannery one day and got a nice shadow shot of the sign.

Like many San Franciscans and Bay Area natives, I always kind of felt that Fisherman's Wharf didn't offer much to non-tourists. But the more time I spend there, the more amazed I am by what a great little piece of the City it is - if only for its amazing setting. The Hyde Street Pier is a hidden gem - you can walk out on the pier and see all the historic boats - including this old auto ferry from the pre-bridge era when the Pier was *part* of Highway 101 (notice the sign).

From the Hyde Street Pier you can get a cool view of Downtown's skyline.

And I nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge too!

The restored marquee of the Castro Theatre marquee - looking pretty for its Hollywood debut.

The past month Gus Van Sant has been filming a new movie starring Sean Penn on the life of Harvey Milk - the first openly gay person to be elected to a major political office. Milk was the unofficial "Mayor of Castro Street" in the 1970s and was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1978. His life was tragically cut short when he and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by fellow Supervisor, Dan White.

If the film is as good as the effort the crew put in turning Castro Street back to the way it looked in the 1970s, then we're in for something good. On Monday, February 4, they asked the community to help them recreate a few major marches that occurred in the mid 1970s. In exchange, we got a free screening of the Oscar-winning documentary on Milk, complete with speeches by various directors, James Franco, Emile Hirsch (both in the upcoming movie), friends of Milk who are still kickin, and a performance by the Gay Men's Chorus. I couldn't get any friends to come with me and almost didn't go, luckily I bit the bullet and went alone. It was awesome.

The film crew set up lights and cameras on the roofs of the Castro Street buildings where they took shots of the crowd (numbering in the thousands) that gathered in 70s outfits to recreate two marches. One was lead by Milk (played by Penn) and the other by friend and fellow activist Cleve Jones (played by Into the Wild's Emile Hirsch) You can see some of the era-appropriate signs that were floating around in the crowd, likely held by the paid extras.
Towards the end of the night's filming, I got hungry and tired and was hanging out toward the back of the crowd outside the filming area eating a pizza. Then one of the directors popped up and told everyone to gather around for a special surprise. Carrie Fisher then popped out of the Muni Station to thank us all for being there by giving a parody of her Obi Won Kenobi speech from Star Wars....went something along the lines of "Help Me, Gay Men...."

With that odd end to the evening, I called it a night and walked home. I'm going to write a separate post to talk about the next night of filming for ease of navigation!

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

It's off to work I go.

The longest summer has ended, and so begins the next stage of my life.

Celebrate, Good Times, Come ON!

It's just a number.
I'm only a day older than yesterday.
Age is relative.

Awww, screw it.

I'm Twenty Five!

Twenty bleepin Five!

You know what? I really don't mind. So don't try to drag me down with your jokes about me getting "ancient"... you people who are, what? a few months? years? younger than me. You'll be here soon. Brahahaahaha.

I can't deny that Twenty Five is a number that makes you stop, pause and reflect. Looking back at my first quarter-century on this Earth, I'm thinking I'm not doing too shabby. I'll end the navel-gazing there. Things are going well and the forecast is for better.

So really, the only thing on my mind right now is party....party, and hope the partying extends into Sunday morning because Cal upsets U$C.

I feel like I'm in the mood for a cheesy celebratory music video:



Perfect! :)

I've been Busy

Saturday:
Visit UC Davis. See Cal lose (ouch). Dinner with Kay, Eric & Dan.

Sunday:
Break-up Part I.

Monday:
3-hour design exercise. SOM Job Offer! Drinks with Ian, Morgan, & Phil.

Tuesday:
Fancy dinner with Chris, Morgan and Phil.

Wednesday:
Break-up Part II. City of SF Job Offer! Dinner with Ian & Aditi.

Thursday:
Marin Headlands with Lisa & Morgan.

Friday:
Ian's Driving Test. Lunch with Lisa & Ian. Many phone conversations re: Job Offers. Dinner with parents.

Saturday:
Cal losses again. Matt & Kim's Engagement Party.

Sunday:
Car accident with my parents (shaken, but fine). Break-up Part III. Family time.


....no wonder I very rarely have complained about being bored during my soon-to-end job search/unemployment.

Phew.

Drip Drop

...ahhh

Tonight was the first night I walked home in the rain while living in San Francisco. From the top of the hill on Dolores Street, I could see the skyline of San Francisco behind the mist and rain. I paused for a bit to take it all in.

Now I'm back in my apartment, in my room. The rain is still falling at a steady beat outside.

I've opened the window and I'm relishing the sound.

This is what makes a place feel like home.

Enjoying It

I got up at 11:00am today. This is becoming routine.

I stumbled out of bed and found Kristina in the living room eating a salad before heading off to her job. I looked out the living room window and acknowledged that it was a truly beautiful San Francisco autumn day. I resolved to her that by 1:00pm I would be out of the house.

My mission today was to fight the lazy. To get out of my apartment and do what I said I'd do in my last post.

Mission accomplished. I went to the market, spent some time in Dolores Park, bought running shoes in the Inner Sunset, walked around Golden Gate Park, sketched and read in the Music Concourse, met up with Kay at Naan and Curry...and watched Heroes at Morgan and Phil's place in Hayes Valley.

Other than the shoe purchase, none of this was planned. It kind of just unfolded naturally. I don't know why I feel like it's worth writing a blog post about. I guess I just want to remind my future self of how nice today was and make all you income-earning working stiffs/stressed-out grad students jealous.

;-)

When the Lights Go Down in the City

Hello to the few of you who may have wandered over here hoping that maybe I finally updated this thing. Today is your lucky day.

Other than a few spats of unemployment-induced boredom - things have been pretty damn good here on the other side of the bay. I have a wonderful new home here in Noe Valley with two great roomies in an affordable, historic, well-kept apartment building on a quiet street near the heart of the neighborhood.

I never really explored Noe Valley until I moved here a month ago. It's a neighborhood that doesn't really attract tour-busses or college students. It's a part of San Francisco dominated by people who actually *live* here. It's like a small-town within the City - and just a quick trolley ride away from Downtown. I love it.

I'm just a block from the neighborhood's main shopping drag - 24th Street. 24th Street has almost everything you need to survive: restaurants, hardware shops, supermarket, pharmacy, gift shops, clothing stores, coffee shops, banks, bars....all wrapped in a oh-so-San-Francisco Victorian village-like atmosphere. No doubt, it's the center of San Franciscan yuppy-dom, but if the stroller-set gets too overwhelming I'm a quick walk downhill to the Mission or the Castro.

This place, right now, just fits. I keep having those pinch-me-I'm-dreaming moments when I step foot out my apartment and walk along this neighborhood's pretty little streets. Quite the change from the Southside of Berkeley. Don't have to worry about tripping over a drugged out crazy People's Park resident here.

Of course, there are a few drawbacks: My room is about half the size of my old Berkeley place. The cheap and plentiful food of Southside is no longer outside my door (which means I'm eating-in more...who knows, maybe I'll start cooking....) And of course, the comforting presence of Dengrove is no longer down the hall. Hehe.

But overall, things are great.

It's quite late. Past 2:00am. I am still unemployed so this does not really concern me. That said, it is kind of a bummer to sleep in and let so much of the day slip away. I know...I know....I'll be regretting that once I become a working stiff. Please don't remind me of this, I'm acutely aware of the fact and very tired of hearing it :-P

Tomorrow, I resolve to actually enjoy the situation rather than putz around my apartment like I've been doing that past couple days. I'm going to go to a bookstore, buy the sequel to the Golden Compass, and take it with me after lunch to wherever my heart pleases.

The City beckons.

I Can't...

...get. it. out. of. my. head.




We've forced the door shut.
Nobody wants to give up the key.
How do I change the lock?

In a week, I'll be in Rome.
[rinse. repeat]
In a week, I'll be in Rome.

Far away from this place.

In Between

Lately, whenever I try to write in this blog I usually end up filling an entire page's worth of words only to get to the end and delete it. Let's see if I can get this one to stick.

Didn't stick.

Oh well.

Had a Nice Day

Well. Huh.

Today was...nice.

Nothing remarkable happened, it just kind went the way I wish every average day would go.

I got out of bed...on time at 7:30.

I got to campus...with enough minutes to grab a hot cocoa and morning bun from Cafe Strada.

I went to my 8:00am class....and didn't feel like I was going to fall asleep.

I made my trek Downtown to work...and actually was productive the entire time.

I went to swimming....and was not the slowest person in my lane!

After swimming, I walked home....and a woman passing by wished me "Good Afternoon."

I went up to studio...and successfully sketched out a plan for San Antonio Center.

I thought I was going to eat dinner alone...but ended up eating with Ian and Lisa, meeting up with Chris, and randomly running into Jacob and Karl!

I went back to Wurster....and taught myself AutoCad with Aditi's company and help.

I came home at 1:00am, and don't feel exhausted.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it was the morning bun. Maybe it was having lunch while at work. Maybe it was the serendipity of running into people at the right time.

Whatever it was, today is the type of day I would probably forget if I didn't write it down, the pleasant kind of day that I'll miss once I'm done with grad school and no longer living in Berkeley. So, I just wanted to take this moment to say to myself, and to all my dear readers, that today, I had a nice day, and it was good.

Unseasonably Warm

Spring makes me feel uneasy, especially when it arrives early, out of nowhere like it did this weekend. Newspaper weather forecast: "Unseasonably Warm."

I'm feeling the heat.

I've lived on an academic calendar for most of my life, so the coming of Spring has meant that the year is about to come to an end. This is the last year where that will be the case. Soon, Spring will just be a shift to better weather. I look forward to that. But this year it's the biggest ending/beginning I've had to face.

*sigh* it'll work out, I know, but for now the not-knowing nags at me.

Party Party Party

In honor of me going out three nights in a row, and in honor of me sitting at home all day working on shit and occasionally procrastinating in order to pay for such actions, I offer you this music video of a new song that I find highly entertaining. Real men sing in falsetto. Enjoy.

Grace Kelly by MIKA

Grrrr.....BERKELEY!

So I was sitting in the California Theatre in Downtown Berkeley, watching Dreamgirls with my friends Peter and Michael. (It was the third time I've seen the movie :P )

First of all, the sound was craptastic. I felt like I was listening to the movie through a set of giant Dell laptop speakers. It actually made me WISH I was at some souless cineplex like the AMC at Bay Street rather than an old movie theatre in a downtown. Oh, the crushing conflict that such an impulse has on my historic preservationist-city plannery soul....

And then, near the end, some middle-aged typically Berkeley-looking bearded man wearing a funny hat, cheers, CHEERS, when Beyonce's character says, "well this is our last song."
Yes, sir, I understand that perhaps you did not like the movie and were happy that it was coming to an end. You obviously assumed that everyone else in the theatre shared your opinion and was quite happy to hear you holler. That or, you were embarrased to be there and felt so self-conscience about it that you had to cheer to prove to the middle-aged couple you ran into that you were above such a pedestrian form of entertainment.

Either way, you suck.

Why am I so wound up about one stupid guy's stupid cheer? Cause he reminds me of everything I dislike about Berkeley. The sense of entitlement and self-satisfication that hovers over this town can be toxic at times.

....

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return"

Unconditionally, though.

Wheeee

Anticipation and hope are building, on more than one level.

I am a fortune cookie.

Jack's Lament

Happy Halloween.



But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown, if they only understood
He'd give it all up if he only could

Oh, there's an empty place in my bones
That calls out for something unknown
The fame and praise come year after year
Does nothing for these empty tears

Yum. Roasted Duck.

I have never....

...NEVER.....

....seen Memorial Stadium like the way it was on Saturday night!

If you caught the game on TV, maybe you have an idea. The sold out crowd of 72,516 fans rocked that old stadium from a half hour *before* kick-off until the clock wound down to 0:00.

Of course, the team did their part to keep us all happy and pumped. But the crowd really stepped up. For those of you at the USC game where we went into triple over-time and won...well, it was kind of like that...but for the whole damn game.

The student section, when Oregon had the ball, just never stopped. The blue zone, the gold zone, and even the old farts on the shady side got up off their feet and yelled their hearts out on every third down.

It was amazing.

And then, to have Cal's newest nobel prize win, Professor Smoot, recieve standing ovations when he walked on the field, and lead the entire stadium in some cheers...well it just made me feel really proud to be a graduate of a university that really has it all. :-D

Go Bears!!!

--------------------Favorite Quotes from the Newpapers--------------------------

Cal Roasts Ducks
Associated Press

"Tedford has turned Cal into a football power - but it's still Cal. Cosmologist George F. Smoot, who won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday, was introduced before the game to the cheering student section, which chanted "Nobel Prize! Nobel Prize!"

Golden Touch
San Jose Mercury News

"This was all about nerve-tingling, trumpet-blaring bigness. Serious bigness. Undeniable bigness.

Everything about Cal's raucous 45-24 victory over Oregon was painted in fluorescent colors and shouted at jet-engine decibels. Every play arrived with the force of nearby thunder.

Nothing was small at a sold out Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Everything that happened was goliath, oversized, mega-meaningful.

``Well, it was huge,'' Coach Jeff Tedford said with a beautiful smile after the trouncing was complete. ``It was big.''

Cal's resounding win helped by a loud crowd
San Jose Mercury News

"The ground has yet to be broken for the planned renovation, yet this was the new Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.

Cal Coach Jeff Tedford had challenged the fans to make the house a hostile environment. A sold-out crowd of 72,516 answered the call.

``It was like a rock concert out there,'' Tedford said after the Bears' 45-24 victory over Oregon. ``I love it. It was kind of like payback out there, because everywhere we go, we run into that.''

Thirty minutes before the scheduled 5 p.m. kickoff, the crowd was rocking the stadium. The program had enlisted some to carry signs that cried out for ``NOISE.'' The replay in the stadium urged the fans to rock out, and Cal's defensive players waved their arms for a crescendo."

Oregon isn't ready for the big time yet
Oregon Register-Guard

Saturday evening, Tedford got what he wanted from just the fourth Cal sellout for an opponent other than Stanford in the past 50 years - an unrelenting noise. "When you get a crowd excited, it can be a tremendous help," Bellotti said. "Sometimes there hasn't been a crowd here. There have been more Duck fans than other people."

As an experience, this game was reminiscent of those Oregon-Washington games in the mid-1990s, when Oregon, up-and-coming, finally had some success against the Huskies, the program it so dearly wanted to match and surpass. Saturday, California, a football program modeled in so many ways on Oregon's, had the louder uniforms, the fuller stadium, the faster and more explosive offense, the hungrier team, and the better team."

This Time, it's Cal that makes the Fashion Statement
The Oregonian

"The Ducks obviously didn't keep the crowd out of the game, either. A record 72,516 fans loudly answered coach Jeff Tedford's pleas to make Memorial Stadium a noisy place. They did that and briefly broke into an "overrated" chorus in the fourth quarter."

Bears too smart, too tough
The Oregonian

"A t halftime, the California student section used colored cards to put together a little vignette that began with a duck in flight, changed to a shotgun blasting the duck out of the air and concluded with the duck being served on a platter.

Smart kids, those Cal students. In three minutes, they described the game.

Cal brought a 12-gauge, Oregon a popgun."

......

Cal could be nation's No. 2 team
The Sporting News

"There goes that damn cannon again.

BOOM!

It's up there, perched on a hill outside Cal's Memorial Stadium. But fans don't mind. Heck, no. The loud echo through Strawberry Canyon makes this zany and brainy crowd giddy because it signals a Golden Bear score.

BOOM!

See, there it goes again. And so it went on this night during a -- What else? -- thunderous 45-24 Cal victory over Oregon. It was a showdown that would determine who is the second-best team in the Pac-10. But, who am I kidding? Given another unimpressive USC win (this time over Washington), this was a showdown to determine who was the best team in the Pac-10.

And it wasn't even close. It's Cal.

Go ahead, pull the string on that cannon again.

BOOM!

---------------------------------------

Boom! :-)


Bear Territory Cheer: Featuring Dan, Morgan, and Yours Truly:

Ahem...

Hello.

Is this thing on?

Good.

::clears throat::

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

::cough::

Thank you.