The Eleventh Little Indian Boy

Wednesday, October 29, 2003:

10 thoughts that summed up my previous day.....in no particular order:

1.) Chauncey Billups for three!
2.) Who's Seventeen magazine is this?
3.) Do you have any push pins I can borrow?
4.) Would it be possible to get some more dinner rolls?
5.) Basically girls that wear athletic gear then.
6.) You're not listening to me....stop interrupting me!!
7.) Are you serious?
8.) There is always the threat of misinterpretation.
9.) What was the name of tha girl....Gigolo's friend...the japanese one?
10.) Mrrmrrrmsr....fahfhlahlashraw...grwraerssstzshphfrrrrsr!!!!!

*sigh......some days just suck.
LIB // 2:04 PM

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Monday, October 27, 2003:

As a life long citizen of the south, the last two years of existence here in SF has systematically made me soft. Nice weather, cultural discoveries pocketed throughout, diversity among residents, awesome food, etc.......living here for a portion of my life is truly a blessing that I will treasure indefinitely. However, there is an ugly side to this town that really burns my britches and won't soon be forgotten........

Top 5 Things about SF that piss me off:

1.) Street cleaning. I just got ANOTHER ticket for leaving my car in a street cleaning zone between the hours of 9 and 12 on Monday mornings. Seriously....have you seen the streets in the sunset? Pretty clean to me. The Donut and I have had legendary arguments about this topic for years now. I do understand that in certain parts of the city it gets pretty dirty and routine cleansing is sorely needed, ahem....Chinatown?, but for the most part people seem to understand that sweeping dirty refuge onto the streets is selfish and not to mention taxing for others that live in the area. Or do they? Maybe that's why there is street cleaning. Man, I'm just pissed off.....street cleaning blows.

2.) High cost of living. 6 bucks at McDonald's? 30 bucks for crab? 10 bucks for a movie ticket? Gimme a break! It seems like the affluent times of the late 90's have left, but in the wake of this recession people are still striving to maintain that aura of civility in areas like culture, cuisine, fashion, and real estate. 500k for a condo? Hahaha....there is alot of money floating around the city and land is uber scarce.....so in a sense I do understand why things are the way they are. But still.....7 bucks for a burrito sux. *It's places like Hing Lung in Chinatown that provide me relief....despite the trash strewn in the streets out front....=P

3.) Cable cars. What a freaking monstrosity. Have you ever driven behind one of these behemoths? Or better yet....seen the lines of people that snake in and out of them randomly at most intersections? Sigh......they generate alot of revenue for the city, but seriously impede traffic across the board and lock up most grids even tighter in times when people just wanna get home. Muni is different b/c they travel all over the city. Buses provide the same type of service as Muni, but with more versatility. Cable cars? Just for show and certainly not needed. A long runnin theory of mine is that if I ever became the richest man in the world. I'd first work with the city to see just how much money is generated from the cable car industry every year. Then I would write them annual checks to supplement that income (in return for axing the program) and add on an additional percentage to cover losses in tourism dollars. One can dream right? Cable cars......haha.....blow.

4.) No left turns. What the heck? This one isn't so bad because there are part of New Orleans that prohibit left turns for miles on end. I do admit that this issue has been desensitized through routine over the years, but the fundamentals of its practice continue to escape my understanding. Gear recently got back from Dallas, TX and complained about variations in traffic signals and laws and how they made driving for him very difficult. Haha....you can take the boy out of the farm but you can't take the farm out of the boy.....vice versa for the city. Hahaha....no left turns....they're wierd....but tolerable.

5.) Parking and Gas prices. Man, I'm all pooped out from ranting now. Parking is scarce and gas prices are unstable.

My conclusion is that I'm just pissed off at myself for not remembering the street cleaning times. This triggered an emotional response to all the things that have perplexed me to this day about SF and brought out the selfish inner child that compares everything learned with more familiar ways from the south. The bottom line is that I love my SF experience and am grateful for the circumstances that God has brought before me time and again. With that said.......

Top five things about SF that rock my world:

1.) Cultural diversity, 2.) Beautiful weather and scenery, 3.) Really awesome network of friends, 4.) Growth through new experiences thick and thin, 5.) Quality beautiful girls. Hahaha....I'll comment about this last one some other time.

Anyways, I'm going to try and be more observant of the street cleaning laws from now on. Hahaha....they still stink....but oh well....what can you do?
LIB // 11:46 AM

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