MOMA

Sorry for the late blog, but on Sunday I went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). This was with two fellow Kiwis. We took the BART, which is the local mass transit system that services the bay area. It definitely puts the Johnsonville train to shame.. The photo of the car is outside MOMA..

Anyway the reason for the excursion was because as Bank of America customer, I was able to get free entry :) Basically the bank was doing a promotion which meant that most of the art museums in San Francisco had free admission. As it just so happened at MOMA there was a Picasso exhibit show casing his influences on American artists. Needless to say since this was a long weekend, the line to see it was huge.. I'm talking about an hour and half wait to see it. Thankfully the line was around a flight of stairs, which gave you something to rest and sit on while waiting.


So after waiting one and half hours, I was strongly hoping for the exhibit to be worth the wait. Which fortunately it was, particularly with the addition of the $2 audio book (on an ipod) which explained the paintings and what went on with the American artists and Picasso, as I found myself enjoying it :) So now I understand, well a little more than before, some of the Picasso's art. Of course there were times where I was questioning (or laughing) at what they got out the paintings hehe..

Since it was after 4pm when we finished with MOMA, the original plan to see more museums was in jeopardy.. So we decided to go see the Yerba Buena center of arts, which was just across the street. It included a nice little park with several buildings (the skyline photos are looking towards the city from it). I have to say that the comic/artist on show was a strange one. He did these cartoon comic strips, however some of them were rather bizarre and left me thinking how did this person ever make a living off this - I would never have bought it or bought a paper with them in it.. His fetish for large (usually African) women was kind of disturbing too. Only when I left did I realise there was a disclamier hehe - oops!

Volunteer Work

So today I decided to go help out a mate from the young adult group I met, here at the local parish. He works for Vincentian Marian Youth, a Catholic organisation.. This pulled from their website sums up what they do - "VMY isn't just about helping those in need...it's ultimately about creating programs and activities to help young people grow spiritually and recognize the importance of helping others." So generally he helps organise events for young people (youth/young adults) to partake in to help out old folk for instance. So today it was the 'handicapables'. I don't really like the name, as in I am not in favour of using the term handicap, but rather some word describing the affliction with impaired/challenged, e.g. physically impaired, or mentally challenged...

Anyway I did not know what to expect when I arrived. However the surroundings were like something out of the botanical gardens. So to explain, I turned up to this secluded, quiet place nestled on a hill. It had its own orange trees, lemon trees, lake, tree covered walks, frogs, ducks, etc. The buildings were really clean, which turned out to be part of a convent, orphanage and the bureaucratic headquarters of the Sister's of Charity, along with some offices for the VMY. So I was thinking wicked, what a nice place :)


So my duties really only included having to perform a skit, otherwise it was having a BBQ and just having general chit chat with the participants - Sweet :D Out of the participants, most of them were in wheelchairs, however there were some that were more mobile but had had some brain damage. For instance Sharon who had a book written about her recovery (she showed me), had quite severe brain damage as a teenager, but now she was in her 50/60s and I was perfectly able to hold a conversation with her, which amazed me, as her book indicated that after her accident she was quite infantile..!

There were two things of note that were said to me. The first was that I got called 'Muscles', as in "Oh thanks Muscles for taking me around.." The second, would you believe, I was asked this "Stefan, Stefan, I have a naughty thought.." by a quaint old lady in a wheel chair. Needless to say I was dumbfounded and just managed to murmur "ummm, err ok.." with my inner monologue going "ahhhh, eeeekkk, what to do, what to do...?" Luckily the reply was I want to go pick some of those oranges, and not "Stefan you sexy beast" etc.. **PHEW**

I was a little out of my comfort zone at another stage, just because a couple of the participants had some things that made me cringe a little. However I got over it and was able to look past it. But yea I definitely haven't been to any place & event like that so I'm quite happy that I took up the chance to help as it was a good experience :) You know, as you only achieve personal growth by stepping out of your comfort zone every once and while..

Team Lunch

So for a great start to the long weekend my team went to lunch together :D We went to Armadillo Willy's Real Texas BBQ. Basically everything is barbecued! Since I can't recall the last time I've had ribs (probably never) I decided to try some.. :]

Cost Co - how I love you

It was Cost Co time again. For the uninitiated, Cost Co is a giant Moore Wilsons/Pak'n'Save cross. It sells things in bulk, i.e. giant packets of everything, but it doesn't quite have the gourmet style of products like Moore Wilsons.. i.e. your average family will shop there, rather then people who have a catering business, however you need to be a member to shop there.

So I bought meat, meat, and meat. Namely lots of mince, pork roast, and sausages. Since Cost Co has such a high volume of turnover of its fresh products, the meat is always really fresh. So I stock up and chuck it in the freezer, which lasts me several months.. I probably shouldn't have gone hungry, as the only small things you can buy there, aren't really small. For instance a bag of bagels, or some dried fruit could easily feed a family in the portions that it comes in. I probably didn't need to buy them, but now I have hehe, so I'm pretty well stocked, which isn't too bad, as a happy Stefan, is a fed Stefan :D

Beach Party Santa Cruz

Okay, so on Saturday one of the German's organised the first Beach Party BBQ of the year (apparently they have several each year). This event was taking place at the East Cliff beach in Santa Cruz. In the US, as with many other places around the world, the beaches here are either public or private. Depending on which one you are at, determines the laws and regulations or what you can and can't do. For instance at the public beaches you are not allowed to drink alcohol, but at private ones, you can, as long as it isn't in bottles.

This particular spot at the East Cliff beach was private, with some volleyball courts, while being a decent spot to have a BBQ, relax in the sun and have some beers :) Unfortunately due to my competence, I brought a camera with flat batteries, thus wasn't able to record moments from my perspective - however hopefully someone who had a camera will provide me with some photos that will suffice..

The partay was scheduled to kick off at about 1pm, however most people seemed to have the crazy notion to turn up later (like about 4-5pm). So to kill time, and explore the area a little bit, I went for lunch to the Pink Godzilla - a Japanese Sushi place near Capitola. Hehe it has the quirkiest little pink godzilla figure as it's logo (will post it shortly). Apparently people in store ask to buy it, as you can get stickers and t-shirts of it, anyway, sushi was good. There definitely seems to be an American Japanese style of ingredients in sushi, like adding nuts and other vegetables that the Japanese wouldn't normally think of..

Well when the Beach Party BBQ finally got under way, the weather was nice and warm, without it being too hot or cold. But unfortunately, the wind came in just after 5pm and pretty much ruined the show.. Of course it then died down, and a bonfire was started up.. but by that time I had been there long enough and left..

Friday Night San Francisco Excursion

So the guys that were visiting were staying in a motel on Market Street, near where the 101 highway ends. Which turned out to be rather close to the Mission Area and its numerous bars ;)

Before hand, being the organised person that I am, I asked the knowledgeable network of people I have amassed here where good spots were. They were subsequently google mapped, revealing that a few were conveniently located in the Mission Area. Thus the course for the night was set to wander down Valencia and Mission Streets doing some bar hopping :D


After loosening up in the Motel, it was a short ten minute walk to our first stop. The name of the place I don't recall, which isn't important, but they had stereos on the wall - cool. Anyway, there was a long conversation with two American girls, who were very obviously trying to scam drinks off guys at the bar -haha..

Next it was a quick entry in a couple of places, some were just bars without a D-Floor, so we skipped them.. Well at one we had a bit of a yarn with a very unbouncherish looking bouncer (he looked a bit like Fitz..), who told us some places down the road were what we were after.

I believe it was Delirium which we paid a $3 cover for and had a good boogie in. Live DJ + good music + people having a good time = good fun :D

After leaving that place, the walk to the next bar was interesting. We came across a pair of crutches lying in the street. Hilarity ensued.. Then some people wanted us to take photos - needless to say we joined in :]



The last place we went to was only for a very short time, as bars close here at 2am! Yes bars close here at 2am in California!! This was probably the only downer of the night - having to finish.

The walk back included a stop at a Taqueria :D This is the photo of the nachos that I got. Whether I got a bigger portion than normal, I will never know, as in the course of ordering, I did let the latina know I was a fellow countryman, hoping to get anything extra that I could hehe.. This was a good end to the night I thought :)

Friday Shopping

Ah nothing like an excellent Friday to cap the end of the work week off! Two guys from NZ came to visit, so I took em out shopping to the outlet malls. Cam-O and his mate managed to score some of those really cheap return tickets to San Francisco that Air NZ was offering - $600 - ridiculous!

Anyway, they managed to catch the public transportation from San Francisco to my neighbourhood without any problems. So once they arrived it was down to Gilroy. Boy did those guys buy stuff.. haha several pairs of shoes, t-shirts, shorts, pants. I think Cam went back with an entire new wardrobe! My shopping was fortunately a lot more modest, but I did find some more things that will have a definite look at whenever I am down there again :D So that was pretty much the whole day. In the evening I drove em back to San Francisco..

San Francisco Panorama..

Here's a Panorama I made from the view point near the golden gate bridge..

Freeway carnage..

So I'm on my way to the pool, straight from work. The further I get down the road, the more I notice that there seems to be more and more traffic. I finally realise the full extent when I approach the freeway and find out that my on ramp has been closed, and all the traffic is being diverted..

With nothing else to do, I pulled over to take a look at what was going on. I'm sure that you can tell from the photos, the crash looked a mess. It was a gravel truck with trailer tipped on its side, taking on an SUV, which was rolled over on it's back. One side of the SUV looked quite crumpled, like to the point where the roof was at the level of the windows D: ! The truck didn't look too bad, but it was still munched. People here do speed though, I wonder if that was a factor? But the part of road where the crash took place was wide and had lots of room. I really don't understand how this could've happened..

So then there was a slow ride to the pool, however trusting my instincts, I took a side road nobody was taking, and managed to cut a big chunk of the traffic..

San Francisco -Part III

With there still being lots of light left in the day, after twin peaks the decision was made to go to Lombard St. Lombard St, for those who don't know, is a very steep street, with several tight hair pin turns. Almost at any time of the day, you will have a bit of traffic there, simply from all the tourists wanting to drive down it.

Driving to get there was fun, as I have never had so many steep hill starts to make, ever! Stop sign, after stop sign, after stop sign. Ms H, thought that it was entertaining that I was using my handbrake so often, as no one over here really uses one.. but then again maybe nobody drives manual here in San Francisco.. Anyway I was pleased I didn't even stall the car once, which was made a bit more challenging as my car doesn't have a RPM counter.. :)

Since we were relatively close to Union Square, which I guess could be described as a very central spot of San Francisco, we went there afterwards. It's this kind of park, with places to sit and relax, while being surrounded by large more posh department stores. Very close by there is many places to eat, some bars, and a giant mall. Since it was late on Sunday when we got there, most of the shops were beginning to close, so I didn't do any shopping. But I didn't have any shopping in mind anyway, so we took a stroll round and found a place to get some ice-cream to cool off. Mmmm Haagen-Dazs :)





So after that, it was about time to leave, as I had seen enough for one day, and wanted to leave myself some attractions I could come do later, like visit Alcatraz, take the cable car, go to a museum, etc. San Francisco seems like an interesting city, can't say I really got to know it too well. It definitely reminded me a bit of home with the hills and harbour like setting, which I enjoyed, but for sure, it's a nice place to visit.

Oh yea, lastly thanks to Ms H. for taking me out. It was much fun and good times :) - High five!

San Francisco -Part II

So continuing with my San Francisco excursion write up, the next place on the tour was Golden Gate park. Quite like the botanical gardens in Wellington, except several times larger - it has roads going through it, several large buildings like museums in it, lots of different types of gardens, a large sound shell type building, etc. This stop was my request, as I heard there would be some Polish festivities going on celebrating 'Constitution Day'. However we arrived a bit late, and missed it (I was really after some Polish food :P)! Luckily I was informed that the Polish club was having a reception type event, where they were serving food and beer! So after taking a 'tiki tour' about some of San Francisco to find it and avoiding someone running a red light (scary stuff!), we had our more wholesome meal for the day. Ah pierogi + golabki + bigos + kielbasa + zywiec = Happy Stefan :)

So after a fully belly Twin Peaks was the call. It's akin to Mt Victoria in Wellington, offering 360 degree views of the surrounding area. I have to stay that yea, it was rather spectacular :] You could see right across the bay, out to the pacific, everything really. Apparently seeing the other side of the bay is a rarity, as it's usually in some sort of haze..

San Francisco -Part I

Well so finally, after living here over three months, I made the relatively short excursion up to San Francisco :) I was fortunate enough to have an excellent tour guide - a Ms H :]


The start of the tour was a stroll around the Pier 39 area. This had lots of places to buy food, buy souvenirs (generally just spend money), walk by the sea, look at Alcatraz, see the bridges, enjoy some seals being noisy, etc..

So we stopped off at a store which sold lots, and lots (I was spoilt for choice) of different types of taffy. A taffy is a chewy lolly, a bit softer than a 'K Bar', but very much like a tangy apple sweet. Mmm they are pretty good. Next was ride on a carousel hehe. Yes adults could go on it as well, but true it might not have them in mind, as the horse I was riding was making a clunking sound every so often, as if to say I was too heavy hehe..

Golden Gate Bridge was the next stop on the list. It's a pretty neat bridge I reckon, long, suspension, and yea yesterday was an awesome day to view it. It was quite hot (~30C) but on the bridge there was a nice cooling pacific breeze (well more of a wind), so it was a pleasant escape from the heat to stroll along the bridge. Needless to say, it was rather busy, with lots of tourists, bikers and runners using it.