San Francisco!

Hey! So the Sylvana and I have been in San Francisco since Saturday night, and holy ballsack this place is nice. We weren't in the city for more than a few hours and it is ridiculous how pleasant and altogether human the people of San Francisco are. I'm not exaggerating when I say that several times a day, Sylvana and I will be walking down the street and have people coming the opposite way, make eye contact and just say 'hello' with a smile. Of course there's unpleasant people, like late last night Sylvana and I were wandering the streets, looking for something to eat and when I asked one drunk dude if he knew where we could grab some grub, he just brought me in lovingly for a hug and gently whispered in my ear "Just f**k a bitch in the ass". Sylvana assumed he was just hugging me so was actually going "Awwwww," when he did it, which only made the guy very confused at how receptive she was to his misogyny.
Yesterday I was lying on the street, to take a photo of a pigeon lying on the street, (that sentence is confusing I know, but we were both lying there...pigeon photos to come!) and these two thugged out guys, walking in full intimidating gansta swing, walked completely around, avoiding my shot.
My pal Darryl Lenox put in a good word for me at Punch Line comedy club here so I was able to do a spot there Sunday night. There were over 30 comics hanging around, or waiting to get on the show, so I got to meet some local SF comedians and find out about more stages. Another comic on the show, 'Big Al' runs a great room every Monday called Live At The Deluxe.
The bar has been around since the 30's, and the beers were $3. After that show Al offered me a spot at 'The Improv' in San Jose tomorrow night, so we'll be taking a quick stop there before heading to LA for a few days.
Sunday during the day we went to the 'How Weird' street fair on Howard St. (get it?). The bartender in our Hotel told us that nakedness is where the weirdness starts. We were greeted at the gate by some of the organizers, one of which was asking us "Are you ready to get crazy? Are you guys ready to get weird? Anything goes in there. There's already been a groping, and a guy kicked his dog. Anything goes."
A guy kicked his dog? Does that really count as weird? I kinda feel like kicking your dog is just simply shitty and aggressive, I don't find anything weird about it at all. Once we got into the closed off section of Howard St. there wasn't much. A couple of Dj booths playing house/techno music and several people dressed up in various costumes. I was kind of hoping for some real San Francisco weirdness, but there was nary a groping or a dog kicking to be found. I'm sure the Pride Parade would be the real street party to check out.
This city is damn beautiful. Yesterday we walked through Golden Gate Park and saw some Canada Geese, among many other more colourful coastal birds that I've never seen before. The park is giant and easy to get lost in. At one point we noticed an ornate Japanese enclosure I. I started goofing off for Sylvana (it's kind of a thing I do) around the Japanese Tea Garden, and then began to walk on with her deeper along the path. About a half mile away I realized I'd left my bag (with the only set of car keys we have) back at the Tea Garden. I bolted back to the area and found my bag right where I had left it. Puffing and panting a man was walking his dog and remarked how great it was that the bag was still there. He then said something that I didn't really get until now. He told me that what happened is called 'Presence of Mind'. Not really getting it, but realizing that as a San Franciscan, he is a zen master and there must be something deeper behind what he said. So I did what anyone seeking spiritual answers does nowadays, I googled it, and Bam! Presence of Mind is discussed by the philosopher Alan Watts as being fully aware of what you are doing in that moment. Now you would think that if you had the presence of mind, you would not forget something as important as a bag containing the keys to your sole transport only 15% into your month and a half road trip, but you'd be wrong. Presence of mind means that you're so aware of what you are doing that your mind cannot possibly be aware of other things (like my bag lying under a table). So take that Mom, Dad, and Teacher! I'm not absent minded, quite the opposite in fact, I just have presence of mind. Love it.