Girls Gone Wild on the Bay Bridge

We were driving over the Bay Bridge from Oakland into SF a couple of months ago when what do we see but the Girls Gone Wild bus!

It took all my strength not to run it off the road, plunging into the Bay and thus sacrificing myself for the good of all humankind.

The New Year

Amazing show. Sorry Josef couldn't be there.

Hello Oakland!

Finally back on the radar. After moving Sara from Houston with our little alien inside her belly, we have settled in picturesque Oakland, CA. I love Oakland. When you walk around San Francisco with this sense of entitlement. "I own this place. I pay enough rent, so I own this place."

In Oakland the feeling is a little different. After the fourth police car passes you in full-on code 3 (that's with sirens, speeding down the street for you non-cop sluts) your sense of entitlement kind of ebbs. In fact, you kind of wonder, "If this is the pretty nice part of Oakland, what the fuck is going on in the bad parts? Reinforced Hummers with National Guardspeople?"

Remember, when SF was all hippie and shit with peace and love, Oakland gave birth to the Black Panthers. There is a long history of resistance and activism here. I wonder how the current gentrification is going to happen.

Of course I am exaggerating. I love Oakland because it is so different from SF. When I describe it to people it's something about how it is like Brooklyn before Brooklyn became NYC, Jr. A little rough around the edges in a good way, a lot of interesting people and things happening, unexpected things around corners. For example, this little bird. Mr. Heron lives in the bird sanctuary in Lake Merritt and decided he wanted to go for a ride kind of like that guy in the wheelchair who got pushed down the highway by a big rig. He's a Pepper! Love it!

Anyway, love Oakland, love the new apartment, love the Pepper. Someone kill me now.

Goodbye Mission

Next Wednesday I move out of my lovely pad in the Mission and into Oakland. While I am supa excited to move into my new place--mostly because Sara will be there and not in Houston--I will definitely miss the food from the neighborhood.

Case in point is the tostada/tamale van. Now, usually vans like this kind of creep me out...looks like something a serial killer would drive. This van only has ki--I can't say it--excellent food. It never moves from its spot right on the corner across the street from me. The tostadas are amazing and it also has elote the way I learned to love it in Texas--a cup full of corn with sour cream, mayo, grated cheese, and chili on top. Delicioso. I will miss you, Dona Tere van.

Stuck in the Middle, Screw You

As I am getting ready to move to Oakland with my loverly wife, I had a good reminder of what it is like to move anything in San Francisco. My friends, the M&Ms, bought what everyone considered to be a small couch. Getting that couch upstairs proved to be a bit more work that we anticipated.

First, it got stuck (as seen here). We left it there for a bit and sought out the correct screwdriver to remove one leg. Looking at it, it was a strange screw--inset square. So of course nothing fit. Upon calling the shop, the informed M that the couch was Canadian, as was that special screw. Blame Canada. We had to go to the shop and borrow their drill bit, bring it home, and perform surgery on one of the legs to get it upstairs.

It's a beautiful couch, but I dread moving our normal-sized furniture into our new apartment in four weeks. The only thing keeping me going is the thought that our back door looks out onto the parking lot, so we should have minimal problems getting things in. Should have. You can never count on any move going easy in this town.

Van...or Astrovan?

Love it.

Enlightenment on the Way to the BART

One of the few nice things about walking to the BART at 6:45 in the morning is walking past a huge church with a glowing "chubby Buddha." I know, there really isn't a corpulent Buddha--it's Hotei, a god of luck in Japanese mythology and Budai, a wandering monk from 9th century China.

Whatever he is, I am cheered on these dark and dreary mornings of daylight savings as I trudge up 22nd St. and see his smile of encouragement. Thanks chubby Buddha!

Tha Real Taqueria?

This is a taqueria just up the street from me in SF. I have to admit that I've never seen many of these things on a menu. Guess I've never lived in the Inner Mission before, huh? I tried the barbacoa, which is the inside cheek, and it was as tender as you would think. But it's best not to think. I have to admit that I couldn't even imagine trying ojo or buche, but maybe I should. For $1.50 I should try everything on the menu!

I've eaten camel sausage, kangaroo in a salad, emu burgers, barbecued and boiled dog, snake blood wine, pidgeon kebabs, bison burgers, and water buffalo roast (came sizzlin' hot and just in time after two months of no meat in India).

Is there anything you wouldn't eat? Besides feces, of course.

Spot, Behind Bars

Poor Spot--so cute hanging out on this wall at Webster and Geary. I only stumbled upon him by accident when, in a trance, I got off the bus three stops too early. But there he was, in jail. You can see my shadow self taunting him because I am free.

On the Loose!

Scary!

Oh the humanity!

I was walking to work this morning in somewhat of a daze (F U Congress with your new and improved daylight savings plunging me into morning darkness from which I cannot emerge while simultaneously twisting my favorite saying, "Spring forward, fall back," into an outright lie, a LIE!)when I came upon this carnage. Apparently some sort of electro-vampire or techno-werewolf stalked, attacked, and mangled an innocent monitor on Folsom. As you can see, the result is a disgusting display of guts and gore that should be kept from the innocent eyes of children.

I only hope they catch this monster because I know this monitor is going to be haunting me every night--talking about how I wouldn't stick to the road and steer clear of the moors--until the fiend responsible is felled by silver bullets or a stake or whatever.

Toast of Gay Paris....

...or Paris and the Eiffel Tower are toast?

This was duct taped to my building this morning. I can't quite figure out if it's a threat or a grand compliment to on of my house mates. Since this is a city of peace and love I will assume the best. Have some champagne on me.

This Is Where I Live

If you care. And you should.

It's only temporary until Sara comes out. Until then I am a Missionite.

The Streets of San Francisco

I met these two creatures while walking around SF over Xmas break. How could I resist?