Last train home

I don't want to seem like I could have predicted this, but I did. After much planning, our trip to San Francisco didn't seem like it was going to happen. At about 9:15 PM Thursday night, on the spur of the moment we decided to go anyway without any preparation. About 5 hours later that night, after a few rounds of enlightening hookah, a pack of Corona's, a glass of 4 year old wine and some greasy Mexican food from Casa de Taco, we were off on our way to LA Union Station. For some reason, I had a feeling that we were not even going to catch the 4:15 AM bus to Bakersfield, but the three of us (Pejman, Arya, me) happen to catch the bus as it was leaving the station, and thanks to a kind worker, who had morning breath, we were able to halt the bus and make it on.

I was able to sleep through the majority of the 2-hour bus ride to Bakersfield, where we switched over to an Amtrak train that took us to San Francisco. I anticipated the train ride much more than the bus ride because it was my first time on the train here in the states. Even though it was exciting getting on the train and looking for a comfy seat with a nice view, the wow-factor was short lived...I think the 2 hour bus ride killed it for me.

After we arrived to San Francisco, our drop-off location was at San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace. We had a late lunch at DELICArf1, a Japanese delicatessen, where I picked up a few chicken dumplings, steak sushi..which I didn't know existed, and some spinach salad. The market place had an indoor/outdoor food court, but we ended up sitting inside because everything was taken outside. Plus, the afternoon heat was creeping up, so it all worked out perfectly.

The first evening we spent roaming around our hotel called The Palace. It was a classy 1800's hotel that was recently remodeled which gave it a very historic-elegant feel to it. Stained glass ceilings, incredibly tall rooms, crystal chandeliers, and bowls of fresh apples everywhere that were tasty! I really liked the fact that it was decently priced at $215 a night, and it was only a few blocks away from Union Square. Taking advantage of the short distance to the square, that night we ended up eating out at a place called Cafe Andree. Although it only offered a few select dishes, it didn't take long to cozy up in the little restaurant with the help of some Kobe beef platters, a few rounds of Long Island Ice Tea's, and a few Hennesy & 7Up's.

Majority of the second day was spent shopping at Union Square. If it wasn't for the over population of butch girls (can I even call them girls?), but really, if there weren't so many flamboyantly gay people walking the streets and frisking each other in public, I think my salami sandwich I had at the deli that morning would have stayed in a little longer.

The last 2 days we stayed up there we rented these awesome go-cars. They are small, 2 seater go-kart-like cars that are gas powered and go up to 45 miles per hour. We had 3 cars in total and cruised around San Francisco with these on public streets. It was a thrill chasing each other only to find out that we all had the same top speed! Pedestrians were amazed, zipping through traffic was a blast, and best of all...it was a huge relief from the thousands of miles of walking I had been doing the past 2 days!

Honestly, I was surprised by how beautiful of a city San Francisco is. Disregarding all the negative aspects I've mentioned earlier, I still rank San Francisco as one of my top places to live at some point of my life. It must be the atmosphere. The city is not huge, but it's big enough to keep you on your toes and wanting to explore each part of it. The people there are very amiable, except for the bums, who for some reason don't accept left over food as a form of payment (weed or beer only?!). The whole vibe of San Francisco makes it a place that you want to go back to again. The people over there give off a Las Vegas atmosphere, while the architecture embodies a New York downtown feel to it, although I haven't been to New York yet so I'm basing this analogy on pure babble.

I still can't imagine living anywhere else but the valley.

Lost in translation

The past few days I've been really feeling in a slum. Main reason being that I've temporarily lost a good connection with one of my very close friends. Just think of him as the friend that you can always:

• count on for any occasion
• tell everything without worrying about sounding dumb
• count on to go to party 6 hours away just to meet someone you've known online

I guess it was about less than a week ago that I started to realize the many little things he naturally did that I really didn't think were discerning. Whether it'd be that he just forget about something he promised to do, to simply not appreciating the many favors I do for him. I'm really not trying to sound like this is a gay-relationship (it's not, I promise), but when you've known a friend long enough, you realize that it's not the big problems that matter anymore, it's all the small things that get to your head and drive you nuts.

Things changed a lot in the past few days, and I had to force myself to break the cycle of hanging out with the same person I would usually see 5 to 6 days out of the week. It's hard, trust me. The first few days were gruesome, and I felt guilty for being a dick (not literally). I still just wanted to take a few days to accumulate all my thoughts and present them as something that is constructive, not a verbal assault. Going out of your regular routine you've been doing for years is hard. Next few days didn't get much better after getting a ticket, and getting chewed out at work.

As my problems seemed like they just couldn't get much worse, as if it hit rock bottom and said "Hey, you've suffered enough...here have a bit of happiness again" I realized, with the help of Mani, a long time friend, that he feels the exact same way. Wow, really? Things just seem so much easier when you are not alone in the dark with your problems and someone else comes to help with a giant flashlight (infinite battery of course). I just felt as if this 50 pound backpack that I've been carrying with me everywhere turned into a hot air balloon. I've realized that change, good or bad, is always going to turn out better. It's hard to accept change because living in a comfort zone just feels so comfortable and so predictable, but at the same time it feels dull.

I love change, and I'm really anxious and excited to see what new things will happen.

Am I doing this right?

Myspace? Xanga? I decided to start my first real blog here. Main reason being that I'd like to start with a fresh, new audience, not one that already knew my whole existence and was able to predict what I would blog about anyway. Plus writing a blog might not be the manliest thing to do...it may even be referenced to keeping a secret diary...which is another reason I choose this as a medium.

Finishing the last of my finals, I've caught myself spending a lot of hours late at night just listening to relaxing R&B, with a dimly lit melon-scented candle from Ralphs, and the sound of a few cars that pass by the boulevard every so often...just thinking about my life, so I might as well share my pondering. Figured this to be more useful than looking like a crack addict gazing into blank space, which is what the alternative would be. As you can see, this is just the beginning of my blog, my life. What in the world am I going to write about? Simply everything. Snippets of my life, friends, family, relationships (even though I'm single), and notable parts of my day.