Wednesday, July 02, 2008

“Honey I’m home!” …. For real this time!

So… I actually got back from San Francisco a week ago. But I’ve been so busy that I totally forgot to blog. And by busy I mean 2 days of sleeping off my jet-lag and another 2 days of cleaning and running errands, followed by an entire weekend of family obligations. More on all of this stuff later.

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First things first: I absolutely adore San Francisco. So much so, that I feel that I must have lived there already in a past life. The whole time I was there I had this weird familiar feeling, yet was acutely aware of experiencing everything for the first time. I used to feel like I was cheating on New York every time I fell a bit more in love with Paris, but now I feel even guiltier because I have a serious crush on San Francisco.

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Dude, totally trippy.

Also during my trip I had the pleasure of meeting so many amazing people. Besides meeting all the artists at the MoAD events, I met up with the blogger formerly known as BuzzGirl and her daughter who I affectionately refer to (only in my head) as Baby Buzz.

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In fact I had a wonderful day walking around the Mission district with BabyBuzz while Mamma Buzz was at work. Now, Baby Buzz is probably the coolest 13 year old you’ll ever meet. I just tried my best not to embarrass her with my dorky presence too much as she played tour guide.

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We visited 2 art galleries, had fancy over-priced tea, and sampled Indian ice-cream before calling it a day. Oh and did I mention she speaks French comme un Français? I mean really. I was embarrassed to talk in front of her for fear she would roll her eyes and correct me.

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Side note: Folks –you don’t realize how old you are until you’ve spent an afternoon with a 13 year old. All the walking around wore me out.

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Later in the week we all met up again for some playing around town. Buzz rented a zip car and we rolled all around San Fran and I tried not to barf in it even though going up and down all those hills gave me crazy motion sickness. We did the obligatory Embarcadero and at pier 39 we all squeezed into a photo booth. It was good old fashioned giggly girl fun.

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Buzz snuck us all into the San Francisco art institute to see the Diego Rivera. While there we also checked out an exhibit, and snuck into the sculpture studios…which made me drool a lil bit out of the left corner of my mouth. (So this is what 30 G’s a year buys ya?”) It’s like art heaven in there.


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We ended the evening with a drive to Oakland for an oversized meal of Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, which recently had a falling out with Roscoe so they simply crossed his name off the awning but kept on serving the waffles. Hilarious!

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Sunday I just spent the day walking around the mission again. When I die can I go to the Mission and spend eternity browsing used bookstores and dozing off on an over-stuffed coffee shop sofa with my laptop resting on my belly full of coffee?

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Oh and how could I almost forget? Although like a dumb-ass I managed to schedule my trip to miss Gay Pride by only a few days, my friends Ina and AJ managed to grab us three much sought after tickets to the 2008 Fresh Meat Transgender and Queer Performance Festival. It was amazing good fun.

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Photo by: Asha Leung, 2007.

As icing on the queer cake I had the honor of having Sunday brunch with one of this year’s performers Turner Schofield who is not only too damn good-looking for his own good, but also happens to mix a hoppin' mean Mimosa. Turner's performance was a huge hit, and I was lucky enough to snag a copy of his book Two Truths and a Lie, which he was nice enough to sign and make a little note in French no less! *swoon*

That night at the festival I also saw the Harley boots of my dreams being worn by a totally cutie who was nice enough to tell me exactly where to go buy them.

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I also met her friend Idexa, from the very famous Black and Blue Tattoo on Guerrero and 16th street who turns out is a major celebrity in the international tattoo world. What luck?

Also-- Jasmine--I made it to 24th and Mission to eat at Farolito’s. Like you said, the outside is a bit sketchy, but I walked in and it was packed. The so-insanely-handsome-that-it’s-just-wrong guy at the counter greeted me with a “Hey girl.” and I had to keep my knees from buckling underneath me. Dude---why didn’t you tell me the carne asada super burrito is the size of a newborn? I could only eat half of it.

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Anyway. San Francisco rocks.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those photos are great, it makes me want to relinquish my Americaphobia and go there. Are those beautiful townhouses really expensive? Like you have to be a millionaire to live in them or do regular people live there?

Megan said...

My aunt used to live in San Francisco. We visited her once when I was about 8, I don't remember much. I do remember though that she bought me a kitten and my parents were pissed (my dad hates cats)- they made her keep it. :)

Felicity said...

Great pictures, glad you had a nice time in SF.

muslimahlocs said...

you are making me second-homesick. i lived in "the city" for @ 5 years and then in the east bay for @ 2 years. i miss the sf that i knew. makes me feel old to say that but sf under willie brown was much classier than under the current administration. the city still rocks though.
oooh...burritos on mission. miss those.
isn't moad lovely? could be a bit larger though!

Travel said...

San Francisco is one of the greatest world cities. If I won the lottery, I would move there.

DG

Jasmine said...

You went to El Faralito! You've made my day! And yes, it's the size of a small fetus, but oh so good. Glad to see you have the proper garnishes of Pico de Gallo and Salsa Verde, they make the best. Looking at that burrito picture is like food porn for me.

Your other pictures are great, makes me want to hightail it on the next plane back to SF. Also, I'm glad you have a crush on my city. There's no place like it in America, especially if you're an artist.

Jasmine said...

You made it to El Farolito! You've made my day. And yes, the super burriots are the size of a small fetus. But oh so good. Looking at that picture is like food porn.

That and all of your other pictures makes me want to hightail it on the next plane back to SF. I'm glad you have a serious crush on my city, I've been in love with it for awhile. There's no place like it in America, especially if you're an artist. Hope you get the chance to come back again.

Also, gay pride in SF is out of this world, I'm sorry you missed it. There's always next year though!

Papadesdeux said...

Oh my, you ALMOST made me homesick, and I NEVER get homesick.
But I completely agree, SF rocks the world. Ben

Monica said...

SO glad you loved it. I hadn't realized that Octavia Butler died until I saw the poster in one of your pictures! I've got almost all of her books. And now I want a burrito the size of a newborn! 4 more weeks, then we'll be home!

The Late Bloomer said...

Oh my gosh, your gorgeous photos make me want to fly off to San Francisco right away too! Wow, just looks amazing all around... You must have had an incredible time!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great pictures. I have not been back to SF for 6 years and I do miss the old gal. I have the same picture of the golden gate bridge. Mine is really early morning no people on the beach. I use to live 2 blocks from the beach and I walk there every morning with my morning cup of joe. Sad now...

It's a great city.

buzzgirl said...

It was so great meeting you. Thank you for being so great with the child. She really enjoyed hanging out with you, too.

It was wonderful to see your work hanging in the museum, too. It's incredible.

Also, now that I know what my ass looks like in those pants, I vow to never wear them again. Damn.

I'm glad you finally got to catch up on some sleep.

buzzgirl said...

P.S. I got my first tattoo at Black & Blue!

screamish said...

Oh man, it looks great....looking at the shop windows, the improvised galleries...looks like a great place...and oh yeaeeess..that burritto...gonna look up a recipe on the net for something similar...

screamish said...

I just found this blog. This guy is obsessed....http://www.burritophile.com/

Unknown said...

crazy!!! my old stomping ground. most of your pictures are around where i used to live in the mission... looks like you had an amazing time - you travel in style - fitting in as much fun with in-the-know locals. nice!

Lenoxave said...

Great photos. It makes me look @ my 2nd home in a different way. I'm bi-coastal (NYC & SF). Glad you enjoyed your trip.

Modern Wife said...

Hahah!!! I live in the Mission, grew up in Iowa and spent 4 1/2 years in NYC. Love your blog! Glad you enjoyed SF!!

-Michelle
http://learningrussianinsf.wordpress.com