The End of the World Guy

Yes I said it...The end of the world guy. Now picture this; every time you walk out the door you know that he is going to appear out of no where, he has a big white beard, and a distinct foot shuffling walk, you can see him coming from a block away and as he appears in your path he is going to ask you the same question he asked you yesterday and the day before and last week and last month and last year "Sir please can you spare some change for the homeless today so we can get a sandwich? Please sir Please". To me in the beginning I would always say to Shane oh give him some change but day after day he would continue to appear sadly not recognizing that he had asked you for change the day prior or even the hour prior. It got to the point where I was starting to feel that we were in the movie "Ground Hog Day" and I was reliving the same day over and over. Then one day I decided to give him a name "The end of the world guy" because every time I see him now I expect him to be standing on the street corner holding a sign saying "The End of the World is here".

Dont Judge Me

Living in the city and especially near the Tenderloin you are bound to cross paths with the homeless. Who knows if they are on the street because of drug addictions, because of mental illness, they could be there for a million reasons and sad to say it but it could even be by choice. These people become part of the city. They are part of the day to day. You start to see the same people over and over from the guy who stands on top of a box with a silly smirk on his face posed like a statue in front of Victoria Secret and holding a cup for change to the guy that taught his dog to hold a sign. I have begun to assign them titles because I don't know their names but here is a little insight into what I see:

A woman sits on the sidewalk just on the street corner between a big blue mailbox and a newspaper dispenser. She is thin and has long greying hair. The first time I saw her I was thrown off guard because of the spot she choose to sit herself but I didn't glance at her for but a moment. As we pass she yells out "DON'T JUDGE ME" and we keep walking. As we get a few steps away I turn to Shane and say "Wow" because I'm left speechless and he says "What?" "I say you didn't hear that woman?" and he says "What woman?" at which point I realize we were either 1) Involved in a conversation that was really holding his interest or 2) He had already become desensitized to the sounds of the city.

I on the other hand was taken aback, I was saddened by her response because that was the last thing on my mind. Now as I pass her in this same spot almost every day, she sits quietly down on the ground between the big blue mailbox and a newspaper dispenser I wonder what her story is but I don't feel I have the right to ask and all I want to say to her is "I don't judge you".

Out for a stroll

Out for a stroll, walking around town so I don't turn into a recluse and low and behold what do we see??? Nekkid bicyclists riding in a pack down the middle of the street. We soon realize there were temporary barriers erected so that traffic was blocked off so they could ride through the city. There were even police escorts!!!!! Mind you this was a very cold rainy day in San Francisco but it seemed even colder after seeing them ride by.

What is the point?

Follow the bread crumbs....follow the feces trail and the smell of urine is more like it.

While learning how to get around in this big city it is hard to use buildings as landmarks unless they have very notable characteristics. The second issue is you also have to watch your footing as you take each step because you are on the look out for "landmines". Landmines: aka droppings, aka feces, aka poop and I'm not talking from animals. Then on top of "landmines" you also have to be mindful of the "water" on the sidewalk because its more often than not there because someone decided to dump out their remaining cup of coffee or say to wash off the sidewalk. You certainly don't want to let your children splash in these puddles. Now I'm not saying that all of San Francisco is this way but you know your close to the Tenderloin when you start to see and smell the very distinctive trail. But this isnt always a bad thing...at least I can find my way home.

This blurb was inspired by Shane's mom who came to visit and pointed out that she felt like we were Hansel and Grettal following the trail of bread crumbs home....but they weren't bread crumbs. It is also inspired by Shane's intrigue on trying to figure out how gravity works in many of the instances that he has found "landmines" 5 feet up a wall. Stay tuned because I know he will be sharing these law defying pictures for everyone's viewing pleasure. 


Note to self: This is not a city for Flip Flops.

Car

The sun is shining!!!!

I haven't wanted to acknowledge it for fear that it would disappear again but I cant hold it in anymore...The sun has been shining for three straight days now!!!!! I no longer feel like we are living in Seattle. Who knew that Northern California was rainy and cloudy all the time?

When you picture California (or at least when I pictured California) you picture palm trees and beautiful sandy beaches. I thought everyone would have sun kissed hair and a tan, boy was I wrong. Just like Colorado you have to prepare for anything when you walk out the door from sunshine one hour to a torrential downpour the next. So be prepared: No open toed shoes, No heals unless you are a rock star, always layer your clothes so if you need to strip down to a t-shirt or throw on an extra sweater or scarf you have it handy and always always have a good umbrella unless you like to dance in the rain.

Car

My view of San Francisco

Prior to moving here I was told "your going to love it there", "San Francisco is the perfect city for you", "Your going to fit right in" and I get here and discover that this is a beautiful city but its filled with crazy people which makes me think that everyone thinks I'm crazy.

San Francisco can be very overwhelming from a small town Nebraska girls perspective; from tall buildings to the realization that you are living on a constantly moving and shifting piece of land where you feel that the only thing holding it to the rest of the US are threads....the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. Don't get me wrong it has its beauty from the amazing bridges, to the Embarcadero, to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 to the De Young Museum the trolley and I could go on. From bums on the corner to street performers there is never a dull moment. I often times find myself hiding out in our apartment to create and escape the insanity outside but to be honest San Francisco is actually starting to grow on me. The more we get out and explore and the more I venture out on my own and have to walk a mile to the Post Office and the Bank (no joke a mile one way) I'm starting to see this city in a different light.  Maybe its because the bus and car exhaust is starting to get to me (I often feel like I'm sucking on a tale pipe) or maybe its the fact that my eyes are opening up to my surroundings and its time to try to see the beauty of the city life and embrace it.

With no more delay...The real side of San Francisco

For months and months I have been pondering the idea of starting a blog or a journal and Shane and I have talked about compiling a coffee table book full of pictures of "The real side of San Francisco" and with no more delay and for your reading and viewing pleasure here is the creation of our blog. If your looking for perfect grammar or to hear something really interesting that we might say you are probably reading the wrong blog but if your here for pure entertainment value...again your probably reading the wrong blog BUT if you have nothing better to do with your time and you hope to read some rambling thoughts that have streamed out of our heads and have been typed onto this page then your in the right spot.   

Enjoy!