No, I don’t think they should make a video game based on airport security…. though it might be a really hot seller if you give it a “catch the terrorist” twist. I’m thinking about airport security because all the confusion of metal detectors and taking laptops out of their cases and x-ray machines caused me to lose my wallet. Let me explain: laptops have to go in their own bin and any metal you’re carrying, obviously, is going to set off the metal detector. So I took all the stuff in my pockets, tin of altoids mints, my wallet, etc. and put it in the now empty laptop bag to go through the x-ray machine, while I walked through the metal detector, metal-free… well, almost metal free, I had to take off my belt and send it through the x-ray machine too… that was probably what did it, the extra time for the belt, maybe it was a conspiracy by the security staff… By the time I got to through the metal detector, all my stuff was piled up at the end of the x-ray machine conveyor belt. So I quickly put my laptop back in its case… not realizing that all that stuff I had taken out of my pockets and put in the case in the laptop’s place was all gone. My belt came through in a separate little tray… it should’ve reminded me that I was missing stuff, but I was too busy trying to put it back on while walking, I guess. The good news is that I had my license in my pocket, due to the all the ID checks, and therefore didn’t lose it… but I’m living off cash mom has generously loaned me until replacement cards come. Now would be a great time to help me out if you’re local and owe me money. HINT hint. wink. nudge. cough.
…and video games. No, we didn’t just sit around and play video games on our vacation. We toured a lot of San Francisco… and those first couple days were strange for me as we drove and walked up and down the super hilly roads downtown. The first thing that comes to mind are those silly car chase scenes where cars are flying (literally) down those hills… but then, seeing the houses and the neighborhoods and the winding streets once we got out of the downtown grid a little bit, I saw visions of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas… where the city of San Fiero was based on San Francisco…. complete with Golden Gate Bridge, a district with rainbow flags on the light posts, a neighborhood with smoke shops and VW buses, etc. The hilly windy roads with the houses lining the streets, no breaks between them, were really quite accurate in the game. So that was a little weird… and then we took our trip to Alcatraz… and that’s where it got really weird. I felt like I had really been there, before. And I quickly realized that it was because a few years ago, I had spent hours playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (I think) where there is an Alcatraz level that is very, very accurate.
The rest of the trip was wonderful and surprisingly beautiful (surprising in that I didn’t already know what it was going to look like because of a video game). Day trips to Yosemite, Muir Woods and Big Sur were breath-taking (Yosemite, in fact, tried to take our lives with a steep one-mile uphill foot path). The piers in San Francisco and Carmel and Sausalito provided a lot of fun window shopping and interesting food/candy options. Sutro Baths and Monterey Bay Aquarium were amazing. We really fit a lot in. Describing it all would take forever… I’ll have some pictures up here or Flickr or both sometime this week.
First and foremost, I cannot believe how nice the weather is here. It’s especially nice knowing that where we came from it’s ridiculously hot and unbearable. Sunny and 70s all week… cool nights, cooler still up on Twin Peaks where the good view of the city is. The people here all seem nice, too. It reminds me of the Western MA phenomenon … the way it’s so different from the rest of the state; People smiled back when you smiled at them there… I’ll have to try that later, to see if that’s the case here.
Today, we’re relaxing in the hotel room, mostly, because Sarah has some killer lower back pain. We’re not sure where it came from, but pain killers only seem to have limited effects, so we’re trying rest instead. The only problem with this is that when I’m just sitting here with my computer, I feel like I should be eating something. Staying active and doing things is the only reason I’m not morbidly obese, I think.
Still on the agenda is our road trip south the the Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur area, our possible road trip out to Yosemite (which Olivia tried to talk us out of… or talk us into staying the night, because the drive is so long), our Sutro Baths visit, our Muir Woods visit, our Alcatraz tour, our Harry and the Potters performance, etc., etc. We also plan to see Olivia again on Tuesday night. She wants to take us to the North Beach area. And tonight, Sarah B gets back into town and we’ll catch up with her at some point, too. She mentioned a pirate store, and that she might be able to think of some other things to do together.
If you want a postcard, send me your address. eMail or whatever.
In a week… I will be in San Francisco. I will probably say this to you, if you see me this week. I will probably be giddy and quite possibly annoying in my gleefulness. I will make up words like gleefulness, all week. You can avoid me, if you’d like. I won’t be offended. This is your last chance, by the way. If you don’t tell me about some sort of attraction or must-see area of San Francisco, I cannot be blamed for not going there or seeing it, and you will not be allowed to say, “You went to San Francisco and didn’t see the [fill in the blank with your destination of choice]?!”
Work and life are going pretty well, though I’m not thinking about much besides Sarah and going to San Francisco, lately… so maybe my whole life is slipping through the cracks and I don’t even know it. Let me check… No, everything is going about as good as it feels.
listening to:
Unsupervised
Artist: Mono Puff |
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As a person who wants to be a good person, I’ve always tried to do the right thing. But I have also always been a little different or out of step with a lot of the world… so what seems right to me may seem a bit odd to others. But all of my recent decisions and actions have felt even more right than usual. I feel really good about just about everything in my life right now… looking around, I think my apartment could be a little cleaner… but everything else is great. I talked to the branch executive of the Y about the position that I want to be considered for. That felt really good. It’s a position I would love to be in and I actually feel ready and able to fill. While I was feeling this good and right, I also paid all the past due balances on everything… so I might be really broke for a week, but it still feels good. The best stuff, and I think the fuel that is behind all of this right-feeling-ness, is actively planning to see Sarah again. We’re planning an adventure! San Francisco seems to be our goal, nothing is set in stone, but we’re looking at a week later this month. attention San Francisco / West Coast friends: get back to me ASAP about what you’re up to later this month.
listening to:
Fast Man Raider Man
Artist: Frank Black |
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