My Birthday & The Golden Girls

Last week Friday, I celebrated my 31st birthday with a few of my friends and had a memorable night here in San Francisco. We started out the evening with drinks and nibbles at the Lookout. I was impressed with their pizzas and bar snacks and the beers weren't bad either. Then it was off to see two episodes of the Golden Girls performed by drag queens! I am a huge GG fan and this was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. The show was amazing and we got a picture with the cast afterwards. I love San Francisco.


Greg and Craig flew all the way from London for my birthday!


Matt and the Hapas.


Blanch's gay brother!


Can you pick out the drag queens in this picture?

Blown Away by Glass

On Wednesday, I took my visiting sister and niece to see, Chihouly at the de Young, which opened last weekend at the de Young Museum here in San Francisco. I have seen many Chihouly exhbits in the past (he's also a fellow Washington Alum. Go Huskies!), but this one blew me away. The exhibit showcased various stages in his fabulous career and was displayed with breathtaking brilliance. The exhibit runs until September 28 and I recommend checking it out!

Exploring the Bay Area: Walnut Creek

Just 30 minutes away from San Francisco on BART, sits Walnut Creek. A pretty suburban area located east of San Francisco, Walnut Creek boasts a population of about 65,000 and also serves as the business and entertainment hub for the local area. Nestled at the foot of Mt Diablo, Walnut Creek boasts beautiful open spaces, sensible urban planning and a vast array of shopping and dining options. The city offers a free shuttle between the BART station and the downtown core which makes things accessible for those without a car.

Sam, a friend of mine, met me at the BART station and gave me a tour of the downtown area. His insightful knowledge about the area and upcoming developments to the city were very interesting and I found the tour to be quite pleasant and rather enjoyable. We stopped for delicious lunch and dined on one of the many open air patios that dot the urban core.

After lunch, Sam treated me to a little career shadowing and took me to check out a vacant lot in the city that will soon be developed. After doing a quick inspection of the area, I gave him my opinion and I started to wonder if a career in urban planning was in the cards for me?

I returned to San Francisco later that afternoon happy to have explored a new part of the Bay Area. If you're ever in the area, I suggest stopping by Walnut Creek to enjoy its beautiful urban center and easily accessible shops and restaurants.


Just making sure I got off at the correct BART stop.


There really is a creek in Walnut Creek!


Where Sam works.


Sam took me to a site inspection. I suggested to him that this plot of land could be better used.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

One of my little projects around the house has been our back patio area. I recently installed a few paper lanterns that add a lot of color and give off nice light on a mild evening.

My brother has hooked me up with some great plants. I have roses, a hanging fuchsia, lavendar, some herbs, a cymbidum orchid and red geraniums. Of course, I can't forget the gnome keeping watch.

I love my little oasis in the city and I can't wait to make new additions.

Summer hits San Francisco

Summer has arrived to San Francisco, and contrary to popular belief, Mark Twain did not say the famous (or infamous) quote, "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco."

For lunch, I was feeling a little adventerous and went for a walk to Noe Valley where I discovered a small-town feel right in San Francisco. Seperated from Castro by a relatively large hill, Noe Valley is a world completely to its own. Like it's gay sister to the north, Noe Valley was once a neighborhood with working class families. Nowdays it is a blend of yuppies, young families with money and gays. Serviced by the J-Church Muni line and filled with beautiful Victorian homes, Noe Valley was rather pleasant in my opinion. I could definitely tell that it was a neighborhood that's heavily influenced by it's large gay population, but it was also prim and proper. 24th Street reminded me of a mini-main street where good looking young woment walked with their equally good looking offspring. Boutiques, cafes and flower shops dot the corners in this area of town where the sun shines brightly.

I made the tactical error of eating at Pomodoro. Who eats at a place that is named after the Italian word for "Tomato" during a massive salmonella outbreak in the US that stemmed from tomatoes? I sat down and enjoyed a cold glass of ice tea and a steak panini. After exploring the area, I jumped on the bus and returned to the Castro. I was just 15 minutes on foot away, but it felt like I was world's apart.


Sunny and peaceful.


Yum.


Back in the Castro. I couldn't help myself. A muscle-couple carrying their groceries and gallon of milk home. :)

Fun GraftitiAround Town

I do not condone civil disobedience, but these two acts of vandalism caught my eye. Pics taken with my Sony Ericsson Phone.


SJP never looked so good.


How are your allergies now Claritin boy?

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday Night.

I'm officially convinced that the USA has become the new playground for English tourists.

Would you spend $5,000 to go to Antartica for a few hours or take that money and have a big vacation somewhere else?

People who drink Fiji water are Eco-Terrorists.

Aren't you glad the Democratic Primary is over?

I wonder what Cindy McCain's real hair color is?

Target wine in a box is great!

Facebook, the new blog?

Facebook has been stealing all of my blogging/writing/exhibitionist energy recently and I apologize for it.

I'll try to be better about this and you can thank Graham for bringing this to my attention.