wrap-up
One of my deepest wishes has come true. My building has a fully armed and operational swimming pool. The posted hours say 7am-10pm. I checked its back door and it was unlocked, however there was also a doorguy on duty. Late night swims will be investigated more in the future. Anyway, pool party on saturday.Some rather lengthy holiday musings follow (with a bit of jazz thrown in)...
on San Fransisco
San Francisco is very nice place, both big and small (somewhat like Montreal). I feel like I know the city pretty well now. I toured a whole lot of it considering I'm just one little dude. I was there in the middle of Pride, so it was a little more hepped up than usual, but it seems as if there is always plenty of stuff going on. One night while walking back to my hostel I came upon a street band playing to a little crowd. Everyone present was having a ball of a time, while drinking their beers from under paper bags.
It's a rather hilly city (note: that's an understatement), but it's easy to get around. The public transportation systems are truly excellent, if a tad confusing to newbies. It costs but a dollar to get on a bus, streetcar, or local subway, and then you get a transfer that's good for two to three hours or something. On top of that there's the BART (or non-local subway). They just opened a stop at the San Francisco Airport, which I utilized on my journey back. It also goes to Oakland and Berkeley and some other places.
I never felt in danger while I was there, but I'll bet there are areas that I would have. There were usually police out at night, and I saw people in handcuffs a couple of times. Not to mention that while I was there some guy killed himself and three others at a hostel (not mine). Someone bumped him + crazy-go-nuts = four dead people. Only in America.
I have but one true beef with the city of San Francisco. It's the wind. This makes sense when you think on it for a second. You see the city is surrounded on three sides by water, including the motherload in the form of the Pacific Ocean. Whatever the reasons, it puts a damper on things. I had a sort of epiphany about it when I was drinking some really hot tea. Everybody knows that to cool something down faster you blow on it. In fact all you have to do is blow over it. By pushing away the hot air just above the hot drink you increase the temperature difference between the substance and the air. This makes the heat diffuse into the air quicker, cooling your drink. Well the exact same effect is caused by the wind blowing over San Francisco. The ground isn't allowed to absorb any heat, so it's chilly as soon as you're not directly under the sun.
I was expecting that by going to California I would be going to hot hot hot weather. In a sense I did, being slightly sunburned even though I was using sunscreen. However when compared to Montreal's summer weather San Francisco loses badly. Tonight I was walking around in attire that would not have flown in the wind of the bay. I don't know if the situation is any different in the winter, but I doubt it.
Still, on the whole San Fran comes out pretty good. I will probably apply for some jobs there. Word on the street says craigslist is the best way to do so. However the city that I would most like to spend my winter sojourn in has got to be Vancouver. I have never spent very much time there, so I figure I should sooner or later. Only when I truly know all the great metropolises available to me can I make a rational choice.
A short note on the United States of America before I sign off. I really like having one dollar bills. They're so much more money-like than coins. But I like having different colored bills much more.
| Posted by dustin on July 3, 2003 with category tags of Montreal |
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Written by dustin
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