The melancholy tunes of Radiohead
are aptly appropriate for the gloomy and rainy afternoon in San
Francisco. As the afternoon ticks by in this fog and rain drenched
city, I slowly begin to recall and write about my experiences in San
Francisco since my arrival last Friday.
Day 1 (Day of Arrival)
Arrived in Oakland
International Airport on a Jet Blue flight, which I had redeemed with
my frequent air miles 2 weeks before. Brian and Siobhan, whom had
arrived half a day earlier from New York, picked me up at the airport.
We then went to the UC, Berkeley to grab some beers and food.
Day 2 (Drunk by Sake)
We went to Haight-Ashbury (or
Hippie town) to stock up on the accessories and attires that we need
for the Bay to Breakers event on Sunday. Besides visiting the countless
costume stores in the Haight district, we also had lunch at Kan Zaman,
which serves cheap and delicious Middle Eastern food. Later that
afternoon, Siobhan, Brian, and I met up with John and Chris for a game
of billiards in Daly City. Siobhan left shortly after the game as she
headed back to San Francisco to meet her cousin for dinner. The boys,
left to their own devices, celebrated Chris’s 29th birthday at a sushi
restaurant not too far from Chris’s apartment. It was a really fun
night as the 4 of us got hammered after several rounds of good
sake.
Day 3 (Bay 2 Breakers)
Brian has been inviting me to San Francisco in the last 3 years to participate in the Bay to Breakers
running race where runners are dressed up in costume or not being dressed up
at all. In fact, one of my motivations for my visit to San Francisco is
to see the hype surrounding Bay to Breakers. But saying "wow" is
an understatement as Bay to Breakers is more than just an event, it is
an extravaganza of running, partying, parading, and drinking. It is
nothing that I had ever seen. But I shall defer further description of
this event as I have to leave the computer to meet Brian in downtown
San Francisco an hour from now.