Sunday, July 8, 2007

San Francisco



An old college friend, we’ll call her Hilary, has a friend living in San Francisco who wanted to know if I needed a place to crash.

Is “Waterworld” the worst movie in the history of cinema?

(yes)

So I went from the deep suburbs of San Francisco to the city itself, and here I am staying with a friend of a friend (who we’ll call Joanna), sleeping on the carpeted dining room floor.

“Make yourself at home! Bring home three girls if you want! Any friend of Hilary’s….”

So three’s the limit, eh?

While exploring the neighborhood, I realized bringing home girls may not be so easy. This place is more flaming than… no, nothing is more flaming than this neighborhood. This is the very epicenter of the stereotype of gay San Francisco. Rainbows adorn cars, shop windows and lampposts. Bookstores sell gay porn. Lots of it. Bus stops advertise HIV awareness. A little Dachshund waddles along the sidewalk behind his two impeccably dressed masters. Another couple in their fifties wear matching jogging outfits as they huff and puff down the sidewalk. I overhear a man say "Oh Gawd, wasn't that movie just a scream?" You get the picture.

Suddenly in the minority, I might feel self conscious if gay men weren’t the only minority I could conceivably pass for. I feel less self conscious for my sexuality than I do for my obvious lack of hipness. I spend an hour in a café with a DJ spinning in the corner, and the new iPhones are too numerous to count. Ok, not really. There were five of them.

In a completely random yet somewhat related anecdote, I remember reading once that in his day, Jerry Falwell would call two congressmen and one senator every single day, just to wish them well and encourage them to keep doing “God’s work.” The Congressmen wouldn’t hear from him as often, but I imagined the poor senator hanging up the phone, knowing that in 100 days, a mere three and a half months away, he would have to put up with the same phone call all over again. It makes me wonder how the Senate felt about his passing.

For all of my ribbing and jesting, I do like this neighborhood and the city as a whole. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was spectacular, mostly due to not one but two photography exhibits. And the city is just lousy with crazies who could compete with Berlin's crazies anyday.

Yes, it's a great town, even if I never do get to see the damn bridge.

9 comments:

HOLLAmania said...

When i did my tour of San Fran the guide said "If you drop your wallet,dont bend over to pick it up,kick it all the way home..."

Keep em comin mate..

Anonymous said...

Wow man.... I'm going to have to take you to the Village when you get back. We'd look sooooooo cute together....

I need to go see Erin right now.

Anonymous said...

everytime I check for an update (like once an hour when I'm at work) I try to see if I can finish typing that VERY long url you've got before my computer guesses what website I'm trying to go to

I've gotten much better!
Checking your blog has improved my typing skills, haha

hope you're having fun in SF...just not too much fun

Kirsten said...

Your blog is being read from as far away as India. I think you're developing quite a fan base. :)

Congrats on making it to the West Coast. I'm glad you had fun visiting Susie. It's too bad I've never made it out there.

Have fun in Seattle!

Kirsten

The Summer Camp Chef said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Summer Camp Chef said...

Five iPhones... no shit.

I have yet to see one in public.
Just in the Apple Store.

I'm such a geek.

I can't believe the only thing I have to comment on is the iPhone refrence.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

(I didn't just do that, did I?)


Be good...

www.killykill.com

P.S... I'm going to pretend you are here in spirit tomorrow night when Adam and Lee hand over the movie to be edited. Is that O.K. with you?

LukisWeb said...

“Waterworld” was awesome!

HEY! Look at that! Paulie left a comment, and it was pretty flaming.....what a surprise.....

Scott @ I Thought They Said Rum said...

Just bookmark the site! Much easier than typing it out...

I almost wrote "not that there's anything wrong with that" in the entry but restrained myself.

Sleeping Baggers said...

Waterworld was the worst movie ever!! I want those three hours of life back!