Unplanned Post

Since I've moved here, I've tried to figure out what it is about San Francisco that cemented it in my brain as the-place-to-be all these years.  I thought when I got here I'd have this magical moment of "Ohmygod, San Francisco, I'm home."  I didn't.  I haven't; in fact, I've been toying with picking up and moving in a year or two.  Chicago, New York, who knows.

I mean, things are easy here.  San Francisco makes sense to me.  Liberal mindsets, beautiful views of the bay, I mean.  It's easy for me to live here.  But magical?  Not yet.

But I walked to the Haight today.  And I think I know why I've held onto it for so long.  I was walking into shops and thinking "this would have been so cool when I was 18".  I mean things were still cool, but like not in a way that makes sense for who I am now.  Mainly I was walking into vintage clothing shops and seeing all this outrageous clothing that I would have worn like a badge of honor when I was a kid, but now I just look at and think "I wish I had the balls to wear this."  Imagine full-length peasant dresses and boldly patterned bell-bottoms.

I may be taking for granted what I've stumbled into here, honestly.  I can walk into almost any restaurant and find a vegetarian menu (I went this dive of a burger joint near my house and got the most delicious garden burger ever, in fact).  The city collects compost and recycling.  The vibe of the city is just kind of like "acceptance".. from what I can tell at least.

I dunno, I loved D.C. and I can't really say why.  Like I certainly didn't fit in there.  It was liberal too, but in a way that you were expected to have opinions on the subject you were liberal about.  Maybe it was just because I had so many connections in D.C.  Seriously, I credit two young gentlemen, Ben and Tyler, for some pretty nice memories of the city.  A decent metro really endears me to a place as well.  Who knows.  I also had a lot of great acting experiences in Arlington.  It's probably a combination of all those.

I'm clearly still adjusting to SF.  I think walking tours like the one I went on today are good.  Things feel more accesible.  My neighborhood is so quiet in general and during the week I'm up in Marin; it feels like I'm not really in the city, but in another suburb. So I guess it's nice to find out that things like The Haight are actually right around the corner.

This post isn't very cohesive, and I don't think this is what I had actually planned to post about.  Just thinking aloud, I guess.

The legendary Haight-Ashbury:
Hippies Love Ice Cream.
(not my picture)