Shalimar

Lunchtime.

I was going to go to my "usual" Vietnamese place for some pho on Jones,
but this place right next to Dottie's caught my eye.

When I walked in, half of the peoples' heads were wrapped.
Everyone looked at me for a few seconds,
as though I was a tourist that had gotten lost.

I knew it had to be good.

They pulled out a spare table and sat me in the middle of the restaurant
as all of the other tables were occupied.

The stereo on top of the drink cooler was loud,
the smell of cumin was strong.

It's kind of odd being the whitest person in a restaurant,
and not being very white yourself
to begin with.

I liked it.
And sure enough, the food was good.

But I now know to chew very gingerly when eating curry.
Almost broke my teeth on chicken bones three times.

Shalimar, Shalimar, Shalimar.

I experienced my first San Francisco event yesterday:
"Critical Mass."
The last Friday of every month
bikers from all over the city
congregate on Justin Herman Plaza
in front of the Ferry Building
on the Embarcadero.

At least 1,000 bikers participated.
Apparently, it started about 20 years ago
when cyclists in the city got fed up
with the road-hogging automobiles and protested
by getting together in a big group
and slowly riding their way
through the city.

Literally a traffic stopper.

How many times do you see a fish
with cd's for scales
swimming its way down Market Street?

How very San Francisco....

So I made the leap again,
from small pond to big.

Just got to San Francisco early Monday morning.
David and I drove all night from Salt Lake City.
6pm to 4am.

Had some really great chats along the way -
just about the future and what we want,
how to make those dreams and goals happen...


I love our cross country drives like that.
Always bring us so much closer.



So let's see.
How long did I live in Utah...
End of 1994 to 1995.
Half a year there.
And then 1997 to January of 2006,
when I moved to the Bay Area the first time.
Went back to Utah at the end of April 2006,
and moved again end of March 2007,
but this time to San Francisco instead of Oakland.

This time the circumstances are very much different.

So that makes just about 10 years in Utah.
10 years of experiences.
At least 2 full lifetime's worth.
Too many memories to count.

Here's what 2 lifteimes looks like from the rearview mirror...