San Francisco
My apologies for skipping a weekday post.... I had a short weekend trip up to San Francisco and, in my rush, to get everything in order, the daily post for Friday fell to the wayside. I am sure my one or two readers (if that) were upset - so, my apologies again.
Anyway, as mentioned, I did a quick weekend trip to San Francisco. My boyfriend has a board meeting up there today and tomorrow and we figured what better excuse to head up a little early and spend some time in one of our favorite cities.
The boyfriend had to work on Saturday, so, I took the opportunity to head up a little early and explore on my own. Of course, my flight was delayed somewhat due to heavy fog at SFO - not uncommon at this time of the year. However, when I finally arrived, the fog had burnt off and the sun was shining. We were staying at a great new hotel on the Embarcadero - just across from the Ferry Building.
After checking in, I put on my running garb and took a run down to the new ballpark and then back up to the North Beach area. It was a great run and I started wondering why I lived in Southern California versus San Francisco.
It is a pretty common conversation between me and my boyfriend - the desire to live in San Francisco versus LA. For whatever reason, we can both "see" ourselves in San Francisco much more than we can "see" ourselves in LA. After my run, I went to the Ferry Building for lunch and sat and people watched for quite some time. I noticed the people in San Francisco looked different. There was none of the "flash" that you so often see in Southern California. No bared midriffs, bejeweled flip flops, and collagen injected lips. In fact, I spotted many polar fleece tops and, can you believe it, multiple pairs of Teva sandals. I loved it.
Maybe I was projecting something on these folks, but they seemed much happier just hanging out with their friends and families. There appeared to be none of the LA style glancing around to see and be seen. They were simply enjoying the day and not wrapped up in how good they looked.
Of course, not all is perfect in San Francisco. The next day, my boyfriend and I took a walk through the Tenderloin. This neighborhood fascinates us simply because of how terrible it is and its location right next to Union Square - the high end shopping area of the city. You can literally walk three blocks from Gucci and hit skid row. Anyway, our urban hike through this neighborhood was brisk as even I was a little freaked out (and I have been through some bad neighborhoods in my day). The homeless were everywhere - including the filthy man who pulled his dick out and started peeing in our direction.
Of course, all cities have their issues and I must commend San Francisco for at least being realistic about problems such as the homeless, drugs, etc. However, being the liberal bastion that it is, cutting edge programs to help these folks out probably result in even more folks with similar problems coming here.
Whatever the case, I will take the "edge" any day - this is reality. A few months ago, I was grabbing a coffee at a very upscale strip mall in Newport Beach (Orange County). Next to the gurgling fountain outside the coffee shop, all the good mothers of Newport Beach were relaxing with their beautiful children and soaking up the perfection of their environment. Suddenly, a homeless man appeared out of one of the side corridors. Lord knows how he had made his way to Newport Beach and I am sure his additional time there was very limited. However, he staggered his way to the fountain and started to scream cuss words at the top of his lungs. The good women of Newport Beach were horrified. I laughed the whole way back to my car. Welcome to reality, ladies.
So, I guess that is what I like so much about San Francisco - the reality of it all. The people are more "real" and do not isolate themselves from reality. Of course, my desired place to live just happens to be one of the few places in the nation with higher home prices than Southern California. Plus, my boyfriend's practice is in LA. So, we will do our best to continue to be "real" here and surround ourselves with like minded folk - they do exist in Southern California - you just have to look a little harder to find them.....
Anyway, as mentioned, I did a quick weekend trip to San Francisco. My boyfriend has a board meeting up there today and tomorrow and we figured what better excuse to head up a little early and spend some time in one of our favorite cities.
The boyfriend had to work on Saturday, so, I took the opportunity to head up a little early and explore on my own. Of course, my flight was delayed somewhat due to heavy fog at SFO - not uncommon at this time of the year. However, when I finally arrived, the fog had burnt off and the sun was shining. We were staying at a great new hotel on the Embarcadero - just across from the Ferry Building.
After checking in, I put on my running garb and took a run down to the new ballpark and then back up to the North Beach area. It was a great run and I started wondering why I lived in Southern California versus San Francisco.
It is a pretty common conversation between me and my boyfriend - the desire to live in San Francisco versus LA. For whatever reason, we can both "see" ourselves in San Francisco much more than we can "see" ourselves in LA. After my run, I went to the Ferry Building for lunch and sat and people watched for quite some time. I noticed the people in San Francisco looked different. There was none of the "flash" that you so often see in Southern California. No bared midriffs, bejeweled flip flops, and collagen injected lips. In fact, I spotted many polar fleece tops and, can you believe it, multiple pairs of Teva sandals. I loved it.
Maybe I was projecting something on these folks, but they seemed much happier just hanging out with their friends and families. There appeared to be none of the LA style glancing around to see and be seen. They were simply enjoying the day and not wrapped up in how good they looked.
Of course, not all is perfect in San Francisco. The next day, my boyfriend and I took a walk through the Tenderloin. This neighborhood fascinates us simply because of how terrible it is and its location right next to Union Square - the high end shopping area of the city. You can literally walk three blocks from Gucci and hit skid row. Anyway, our urban hike through this neighborhood was brisk as even I was a little freaked out (and I have been through some bad neighborhoods in my day). The homeless were everywhere - including the filthy man who pulled his dick out and started peeing in our direction.
Of course, all cities have their issues and I must commend San Francisco for at least being realistic about problems such as the homeless, drugs, etc. However, being the liberal bastion that it is, cutting edge programs to help these folks out probably result in even more folks with similar problems coming here.
Whatever the case, I will take the "edge" any day - this is reality. A few months ago, I was grabbing a coffee at a very upscale strip mall in Newport Beach (Orange County). Next to the gurgling fountain outside the coffee shop, all the good mothers of Newport Beach were relaxing with their beautiful children and soaking up the perfection of their environment. Suddenly, a homeless man appeared out of one of the side corridors. Lord knows how he had made his way to Newport Beach and I am sure his additional time there was very limited. However, he staggered his way to the fountain and started to scream cuss words at the top of his lungs. The good women of Newport Beach were horrified. I laughed the whole way back to my car. Welcome to reality, ladies.
So, I guess that is what I like so much about San Francisco - the reality of it all. The people are more "real" and do not isolate themselves from reality. Of course, my desired place to live just happens to be one of the few places in the nation with higher home prices than Southern California. Plus, my boyfriend's practice is in LA. So, we will do our best to continue to be "real" here and surround ourselves with like minded folk - they do exist in Southern California - you just have to look a little harder to find them.....
posted by The Random Gay Guy at 1:11 PM
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