Reasons I Love SF: Future-focused

It's probably about that time that these reasons start to sound repetitive or redundant. I know that a month or so ago, I already wrote about how unique San Franciscans tend to be. But that being said, in the past few weeks, I've encountered some really interesting people with fascinating jobs and interests. This is common so, I thought I'd blog about it.

A few weeks ago, I went to lunch with an entrepreneurial spirit who leads an organization that makes 24-hour films of people representing "roughly the humanity of the world". He also happens to be affiliated with an organization called the Institute for the Future (IFTF). A week later, he joined IFTF and did a presentation for staff in the program with whom I work. And, it was pretty fascinating. Looking into the future just 10 years is sort of mind-blowing and I can't believe that there are organizations out there that study what is likely to happen in the future and share their findings, recommendations and forecasts. Before the day-long seminar I attended, future thinking was not something I had come into contact with, aside from the standard business-dictated strategic planning gambit. Now, I'd like to learn more; especially about health and well-being and the role bacteria will play in it, how the economic situation around the world might shift, and how philanthropy might change.

Reasons I Love SF: Peninsula Hikes

Twenty minutes away there are amazing hikes that I never knew about until recently... It's unclear how that's possible after growing up in the Bay Area and spending the last 11 years living in San Francisco... But, alas... Just one more reason I love San Francisco and the Bay Area in general. There are other places on the planet where you can live in a city and be minutes away from nature but, I'm not sure you can be minutes away from so many options.

For example, over the past two weekends, two friends and I explored just a couple of the hikes the Peninsula has to offer. First, we went to San Pedro Valley Park with its entrance in Pacifica. There were amazing 360 views from the Montara Mountain peaks. The hike up was pretty hard-core but, it was all downhill on the way back. Afterwards, my friend and I went out to the beach in Pacifica (with its strange Taco Bell practically on the water) in hopes of catching the sunset. We were a bit early so, we headed to the Cliff House which was packed with other folks soaking in the afternoon light. We ended up sitting at Lands End watching the sun go down over Sutro Baths with about half the city.

 

 

Next, this past weekend, we went to Sweeney Ridge where there were, again, 360 degree views of the Pacific ocean and the bay and also a former missile site that has been covered in graffiti. It is quite beautiful. We went up from Highway 35, which made the climb nice and easy. Until we went down the other side towards Highway 1. It was a bit of a bear to climb back up but, lovely none-the-less.

Looking forward to continued Peninsula hike exploration... Am I really ever going to leave this place?...

Reasons I Love SF: Yoga

While my standing forward bend looks exactly like my standing half forward bend (read: my body looks like a lumpy 45 degree angle) and I can't put my heels on the ground, straighten my legs, or hold myself in downward-facing dog for too long, I still love me some yoga. By now, yoga is popular everywhere and maybe my experience would be the same no matter where I lived. But, I have to say, every yoga class I've ever taken in San Francisco has been exactly what I needed at the time. So, it leads me to a hypothesis that every yoga studio in San Francisco is great.

Case in point... Most recently, I started going to Bernal Yoga. It's on my way home from work and when I dropped in on a Tuesday at 6:00pm, I became hooked on KT's Vinyasa Flow classes and have been to almost every one since then. She's gentle and pushes just the right amount while reminding folks not to over-push themselves and to listen to their bodies. She also tends to say things that resonate with me and whatever my day has brought my way.

Previously, I went to classes at the Mindful Body on California Street in Pacific Heights. Deborah and Catherine made me "om" my way to serenity. Even though the studio is big, with multiple rooms, as soon as I'd get into a room, it felt like the one room studios I tend towards.

The first studio I frequented was Yoga Tree Stanyan, a one-roomer in the back of a store front in the Upper Haight. Catherine taught there before she started teaching at the Mindful Body and was my first official yoga teacher in San Francisco. She read poems by Mary Oliver at the end of Savasana and often lead chants which some may find cheesy but, I find quite enjoyable. I tried to get to her classes at least twice a week.

Even my brief hot yoga experience was not terrible. While it's not my favorite method and was too intense for my taste, A-ha in the Marina had a nice vibe despite its location. And, I don't remember hating the teachers there. In fact, I took a daytime power flow class once that isn't usually my style. As I insinuated, I like the woo woo side of yoga. But, that particular power flow class was actually pretty invigorating.

It's also easy to get cheap yoga in San Francisco. If you don't mind going to a new studio every two weeks or a month, you can get the starter pass while touring the studios in your neighborhood. Usually the offer for new wannabe yogis is an unlimited pass for less than you would pay for two or three classes.

Reasons I Love SF: Craftiness

San Francisco is not the only place in the U.S. that is aflutter with crafting. Since Etsy, the Bizarre Bazaar, and the Renegade Craft Fair came on the scene, everyone is creating something. And, before that, magazines (many of the faves have folded) were on the shelves showing how to knit, quilt, and make a wall vase. DIY is alive and San Francisco has definitely embraced this crafting culture that is making a strong comeback.

Crafting is likely in my genes. My mom was an avid macrame plant holder and wall-design artist when I was just a wee one. She made many of my clothes when I was very little, knitted, crocheted, sewed, and might have even made pottery. To this day, she is an avid quilter and card-maker. So, the fact that I like to use my hands to make my own dresses, recycle sweaters into wrist warmers, and make necklaces out of old t-shirts is no surprise. And, shopping for Christmas always means hitting up either the Bizarre Bazaar or the Renegade Craft Fair, even though I inevitably only end up buying things for myself. But, I love the creativity on display.

And, I love that my friends like to be creative, too. Right now, I am teaching one of my dear friends how to sew. He has repaired holes in sheets and pants and so enjoys our time together stitching that he keeps a bag of projects at the ready in the trunk of his car. Last weekend he stitched some patches from his travels to Australia and New Zealand onto a fleece and made it new again! And, before the holidays, an uber-crafty friend came over to make fabric envelopes to wrap her gifts in. She also came up with handmade center-pieces and seating name plates for her own wedding decor. And, she sent all the guests home with lavender sachets for which she hand-collected, dried, and bundled the lavender. She inspired me to make some fabric and paper wrapping for my gift cards and other gifts for my family at the holidays.

San Francisco may be more crafty or just as crafty as places like Austin and Brooklyn, I don't know. But, no matter where I end up, my sewing machine is coming with me.

Reasons I Love? SF: Tiny Bathrooms

One of the quaint things about living in San Francisco (and many places around the world where buildings were broken into apartments and/or did not have indoor plumbing at some point) are the telltale tiny bathrooms. All of the places that I've lived here, which now total four in number, have had them. And, each one was smaller than the last...

This is a panoramic view of my current itty bitty bathroom. It's astounding how large it could be if we all lived in panorama....Anyway, every time I stand in the shower stall that is barely bigger than my small frame I think about the cramped corner shower at the place my old college roommate was subletting in Brooklyn a few years back. Or I think about how my parents speak fondly of the teeny tiny shower in a hotel room they stayed at in Italy. And, then I feel sort of cool. Like I share something with people in New York and Italy that feels less suburban-"little-boxes" and more a rite of passage of some kind.

And, having a bathroom that only fits one person has its advantages. I will never have to deal with dating a dude who insists on using the mirror in the bathroom when I'm trying to go number 2, for one... But, more importantly, while a tight squeeze, there isn't much to clean. If I need to wash my hands while sitting on the toilet, it's totally do-able. And, I really have no use for those huge packages of toilet paper from CostCo that sit in closets around the U.S. for years sometimes. Instead, I had to get creative with storage and, as you can see, found an artful way of displaying my TP in a cute basket on the back of the commode, within easy reach.

So, while my family pokes fun at me, I see my little bathroom as a gift. I don't need to spend much time in it, anyway...

Reasons I Love SF: Uniqueness

When I first started coming to San Francisco regularly as a photography student, I distinctly remember feeling like I was boring. Even the models that were posing for our lighting class were belly dancers that spoke fluent French while traveling in North Africa. After ten years, I'm still in awe albeit over slightly more unique interests than just simple belly dancing and French language skills. It seems that everyone in San Francisco has some unique and/or interesting thing they are working on.

This past Thursday, I went out for dinner and a music show with my neighbor who I really love talking to and spending time with. During the evening, while chowing down on delicious Thai food, we chatted about our favorite Dave Eggers book and his Ted Talk, a recent Fresh Air episode featuring Dustin Hoffman, and the interesting Thai wine that we tried. After that, we headed out to Java Beach to catch Cajun music headed by an Irish American Bay Area native. It was a typical evening in San Francisco but, for a girl who spent several years in Wisconsin talking about beer and football and who tends to talk about work more than she should, it was pretty unique. It reminded me how much I love San Franciscan's desire to learn and share their uniqueness.

Reasons I Love SF: Winter

All summer long, I complain about the weather in San Francisco. But in the winter, I smile and brave the rain (which is supposed to come in winter) and simply duck my head when the wind kicks up. Winter in San Francisco is fabulous.

Today, I decided to get myself out of my apartment for a walk in the 48 degree sunshine. In fact, I could have probably gotten away with not wearing my heavy down jacket after I worked up a sweat on the hills of Golden Gate Park. There were couples strolling and walking their dogs, lots of runners running, and even a family barbequing. The ducks were swimming through the ponds and there were bright purple flowers blooming. Of course, San Francisco is not alone in its fantastic winter weather but, it does have the contrast with its gloomy, foggy summers. Which somehow makes winter in the bay area better...