Category: San Francisco

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Organic sustainable feast, rally

Class today. A bit uncomfortable for some reason. Listened mostly, not sure if there was anything I could offer today. Didn’t read Malcolm X biography. Read about W.E.B. DuBois in high school, I think. Starting from scratch in this class. That’s a good thing. I’m here to learn, after all.Rally! Organizers say 350,000 – news says tens of thousands, police say 200,000. Barbara Lee, Bonnie Raitt, Martin Sheen. Market St was apparently full from Embarcadero to Civic Center. Can’t wait for the next march. I’ll be in Seattle – hopefully they’ll have something put together.

I almost feel hogtied a bit because I have a foot in the mainstream capitalist world, and one in a behind-the-scenes activist sort of way. It’s difficult because I don’t feel I connect with the protest movement today, yet I’m a part of it, even if in a small way. But I’m not a socialist, an anarchist, a communist. I do believe in the system of government we have. It’s just it needs a bit of fixing, but I don’t believe a complete overhaul, but then my opinion is based on my experience.

I went to an organic dinner in a “painted lady” house. It was probably the first night I’ve ever felt really welcome in San Francisco. I met a lot of wonderful people, and all of the food was organic and locally grown – nothing traveled further than 150 miles to be at the table. We had a bit of booze, all of us, and played Cranium in the living room. My social self can flourish here under the proper circumstances. Maybe these weekend trips to SF are the best way to establish a foothold in the city eventually. Build a community from another city? Why not?

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To L.A.

The drive to LA – beautiful, actually. I never realized the road to Southern California was so flat, although I passed a cattle ranch that had thousands of cattle and no grass. Maybe it was one of those cattle processing farms that I read about in “Fast Food Nation” or saw on Frontline. I saw two Hummer H2s. I’m most definitely not in San Francisco anymore. I meet my cousin Diana and her husband Peter at their place in Santa Monica. We go to a restaurant, and then Diana and I head over to a bar called “The Brig”. It’s a dive bar redone in LA fashion. The women are really skinny, and evidence of cosmetic surgery seems abundant.

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San Francis’doh

I’m not sure what to think about San Francisco today, or maybe I’m just having a bad day, or maybe it’s the contrived experience of a hotel room. I remember why I left here last summer – I just didn’t connect with anyone, and didn’t want to start from scratch. Still, it’s a good day to catch up on homework, but I wonder if I should have just flown back today. It would be cheaper than staying the whole week.

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Kahlo Me Impressed

I’ve registered at New College for my final baccalaureate semester – and it took only 13 years to accomplish. I can’t wait.I’m staying tonight and tomorrow night at the Villa Florence downtown. After checking in, I pass out on the bed, asleep. They’ve given me a tiny room next to the heating unit, which makes a loud humming noise. I need a break from this – I call my friend Trina, and we meet at Uncle Vito’s for pizza, and then go catch a late show of ‘Frida’. Frida – an amazing story, and relevant since I had just seen her and Diego Rivera’s artwork a week earlier. I was inspired by their passion for their work, and it reminds me why I shouldn’t attempt things in half-assed matter. Genuinely pouring yourself into something can be painful and/or satisfying, but it’s a real experience.

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MPA or MBA?

MPA or MBA? I spent today looking at a couple of options for graduate studies. Evergreen State College has a Master’s of Public Administration: it sounds sort of what I’m looking for and is 8 quarters (2 years) long. Not bad. I’m also looking at the Green MBA program offered through New College – a business program founded on ethics and sustainability practices sounds like a desperately needed foundation for any prospective business student.

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The first day

I start my first day for the midterm election by taking a cab filled with a Powermac to the Financial District. After introductions, I work for 11 hours. Yow. I’ve never done that before. They weren’t kidding, and remind me that the next six weeks of my life is basically theirs. I don’t mind, oddly. Apart from the studies at New College, I have no other distractions. The situation has an almost meditative quality to it.After work, I meet Ernesto. He’s kind of a quiet guy and shows me the room at the residence at 18th and Capp. Definitely a guy’s place – it has that sweat smell, but it’ll be fine for the time I’m here. The neighborhood is a bit sketchy, and it has that sewage smell that seems to permeate SF’s streets. What’s nice is that this apartment is only two blocks from New College. The lines of gentrification have been drawn, and it’s a much different world at 19th and Valencia than it is at 18th and Capp.

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The sublet

I’ve lined up a place to stay in the Mission, while I work for the upcoming midterm election, with a person who needs someone to temporarily sublet a room. It turns out that the dates more of less coincide exactly with the dates I need. I get in contact with Ernesto (roommate of Jeremy, the person’s room I’ve been offered), and even though neither of us have seen each other, we agree to do this. That’s a load off my mind.

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Moving from Seattle to SF bash at Pink Door

Photos from the Pink Door, on the occasion of my moving from Seattle to San Francisco.