I think Spiders are amazing creatures. I have had Xena (Grammostola rosea) for 22 years now, and recently adopted Wee One (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens ), Ahi’lana (Brachypelma boehmei ) and Nightshade (Brachypelma vagans). Spiders are fascinating, and I learn so much by watching them. They are primeval in some ways, and carry much wisdom from the long-ago mysteries.
What a super cool day!!! Crystal, my angel, set me up with Martin of I Love Blue Sea to be his assistant with a Foodie Photoshoot…and WOW it was such a great experience!!!
A little about I Love Blue Sea….. It is a company that sources fresh sustainable sea food for people all over. I met the founder, Martin, in Austin at the SxSW Eco Conference back in October. He is actually one of the people that helped Crystal convince me to make the move to San Francisco! You can see his bio along with the others at I Love Blue Sea on their webpage at http://www.ilovebluesea.com. Martin and the others at I Love Blue Sea (Matt and Rocky are awesome too!) are doing some great work with sustainability and sourcing the freshest, most responsibly caught sea food you can buy!!
Periodically, companies will send Martin samples of their sea food to try and advertize. Martin photographs the food and uses them to advertize the sea food though I Love Blue Sea. I have never been a part of an actual photo shoot before, and was blown away by all of the details of the process! Martin really knows what he is doing too, and I was able to learn a lot from him today. He even let me help set up some of the shots, which was so cool and fun!
I had such a blast and learned so much about lighting and setting up shots from Martin. Thanks to him for the experience, and thanks again to Crystal for hooking me up with yet another amazing experience!
Some of the shots we did…..
Yep!! The title says it all!! Steve, my good friend and erstwhile tour guide, took me to Oakland today for a truly unique and fun experience. Picture if you will a salon…it is early morning… and you walk in to get a manicure and/or pedicure. The salon is packed, and it takes you a moment to realize that it is not your normal crowd gettin’ their digits did! The salon is full of big, hairy, burly men that look more at home in a sports bar watching a game than getting their nails done!!! It is of course the Mani/Pedi Bear Brunch group from th SF Bay area. What a great group of guys! We had so much fun at the salon and then later at the Buttercup Cafe where we got our food on! Thank you again, Steve, for taking me out for such a fun day!!!
I love hanging out with my friend Erik!! I never know what adventure is just around the corner!! Today was awesome….we started out going to meet some of his friends at their place. When we got there they were all hanging out in the garage and fixing a surf board. Super friendly and very welcoming group…. I really enjoyed hanging out with them. They decided they were going to catch some waves, so off to the beach we went. The surf was rather choppy, so they decided to travel down the coast a bit. Erik and I stayed where we were and Erik busted out his two kites.
These were not normal kites either!! It takes a lot of skill just to get one of these bad boys in the air…and then…WHOOOSH!! Erik could make them do all kinds of tricks and stuff!
After that we walked along the beach for a bit and I was in for another surprise! THE SANDDOLLARS HERE ARE FREAKING HUGE!!! Lol! And they are very pretty….. and they are all over the place!! I finally found a whole one. Erik told me it was a smaller one, and I would soon find some big ones the more we went to the beach. I cannot wait!! Lol! Cheers to a great day, a great friend, and meeting some really great new people!
November 6, 2012
This was indeed a very special day…on many levels!
First, in the morning I got to go to work with Crystal and see how the sea food business works on the distribution end. What a blast! I got to help get the fish ready to be delivered to the restaurants and then got to go with Crystal on the delivery route. The company she works for (and the one hopefully I too will be working for) is called TwoXSea (Two By Sea) and is dedicated to providing its clientele with fresh sea food obtained using sustainable fishing methods. Please visit their website at http://twoxsea.com for more information!
After work, Crystal and I lounged around a bit and were trying not to get wound up about he election results. Luckily for me, my bud Erik texted and provided an escape! He needed crickets for his Fire-bellied toads, and I needed crickets for Xena…so off to Petco we went! After, we were both hungry so we shot over to The Castro and had dinner at The Dancing Pig (Newish BBQ place)..it was not Texas BBQ, but is was good! After eating we strolled up the street (which was blocked off to cars) towards the lights and music they had playing while everyone waited to hear the results of the election. Soon after we got there, there was an announcement… OBAMA WAS RE-ELECTED FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS!!! We also later found out that four other states passed legislation allowing gay marriages.
(pics to follow when wifi is not being a jackass)
WOW…if you had told me even two months ago that I would be in this wonderful place, surrounded by wonderful people, and would be hearing the results of a highly contested election where my rights as a citizen of the USA and as a human being were being challenged…and that I would be in the middle of The Castro when I heard the results that made my heart soar on wings of joy..I would have thought you to be outta your tree!! But there I was…and it was happening all around me. It was a very quiet victory, even in the heart of gay culture….people were happy and hugging and kissing and even shedding tears…and I was there with a good friend in the middle of it all.
We decided to leave The Castro and wandered over to a city park nearby which gave us a spectacular view of down town…while looking at the stars, we were wondering which were stars and which were planets….and Erik mentioned he had a telescope and knew of a place over by my apartment where we could get a better view…so with that wild hair, off we went! In my hood is a hill called Bernal Hill (Bernal Heights) which sticks up out of the surrounding buildings. We hiked up to the top and got out the telescope and saw planets and stars and a meteor! We were also treated to one of the most beautiful night time views of a city I have ever seen…just amazing!
It was the perfect end to a perfect day!!!
I am gay….
I am happy….
I am blessed….
Life is good!!!!!
(Now I just need a job!!! LOL)
November 5th….The day dawned beautiful…crisp and clear. Crystal and I knew that it was going to be warm and sunny, and that could only mean one thing…BEACH DAY!!! This was going to be my first introduction to playing in the waters of California. I had been warned to expect cold…and I was not disappointed! It was quite a beautiful day. The sun was hot, the water cold, lots of naked people on the beach…..WHAT!?!?!? Oh ya…forgot to mention…beaches here are “clothing optional”! Thank the gods that I have been to Europe where this is standard, so i was able not be freaked! Hahaha! Mamma…I ain’t in Texas no more!!!!
One of the really cool things about the beach here is the sound of the surf…when the waves are crashing it happens with a huge roar! Right before the wave breaks though, there is this brief moment of utter silence…almost like everything is holding its breath in anticipation of the wave crashing on the sand!
Well I believe I mentioned I got to cross off TWO items from my bucket list on Friday, did I not? After leaving the mind altering and mind blowing beauty of Muir Woods, we traveled a bit further North up the coast to Bear Valley and Point Reyes. The countryside there was crazy cool! It was like someone had transplanted a portion of the Scottish Highlands in California!
The real treat was yet to come!! I have always wanted to see a beach with seals or sea lions during courtship displays! Well….. I got my wish. Granted the two bulls duking it out were juvenile males, but it was still really awesome!!! They were Elephant Seals!! Whoohooo! Such a great experience!
On our way out, we were set off in style by…a cow in the middle of the road! I kept telling Steve, “Drive, she will moooove”….and he inched the car closer and closer until said cow was all like “Oh…you wish to pass? Be my guests! I’ll just run away now!” Lol
On Friday, November 2nd, I got to cross two things off my bucket list. The big one was visiting a Redwood Forest. Again, my friend Steve picked me up in the morning and we drove North, across the Golden Gate Bridge and then up Highway One. An hour or so later, we arrived at Muir Woods National Monument/Park. The walk from the place we parked to the entrance was really beautiful and I (being the camera whore I am) began snapping pictures left and right. Steve just laughed and told me to ‘just wait’…. Was he ever right! I am still trying hard to find the words to describe what Muir Woods was like and how it made me feel: Magical is the closest I can come, but it transcended that in so many ways! The trees are huge and beautiful. The air smells fresh and green. There was a mist that hovered over areas of the trails that gave me a very primal, visceral feeling….like I was transported to another world! There was vapor coming off the tree trunks as the sun hit them, and the light danced through the canopy and gave the whole place a dream-like feel to it. It will take me a long while to process this expereince, and in the mean-time, I plan to visit this wonderland often!
My first night in San Francisco was awesome! It was great to be my new home with Crystal…who again is my Goddess Eternal for giving me this opportunity.
On Tuesday, my friend Steve picked me up and took me on an exploration foray into the city. WOW!! That is an inappropriate word to describe the magnitude of how incredible SF is…. but WOW!!!
First thing we did was go to Telegraph Hill! It was great! We did not see the parrots, but the monument was really cool and the story about the lady who had it built even cooler! Apparently she was a cigar-smoking cross-dresser with a penchant for drinking and gambling that loved firemen and their big hoses….hence the shape of the monument! The murals inside are awesome!!!
For more of the story of this monument, please visit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower
Our next stop was the Castro for lunch… My first introduction to Gay Ground Zero! Lol! It was an interesting walk, full of businesses decked out for Halloween (one hardware store had a full assortment of feather boas and wigs in addition to hammers and saws) and restaurant with hilarious (to me) names, like The Sausage Factory! Giggle giggle! On our way out of the area, we took a brief stint through a small section of China Town…where I saw my first window with dead chickens and ducks hanging in it!
Our next stop was going to blow my mind!!! We went to the Marina District, and this little place called The Palace of Fine Arts… WOW!!! Again with the WOW…but it was WOW!!! We did not go in to the building, but what was outside was more than enough! The pictures should explain….
For more information on this AMAZING place, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Fine_Arts
Next on our journey was the Golden Gate Bridge and a speedy tour through Golden Gate Park! AMAZING! I am going to have to spend several months exploring this area, as there is so much cool stuff to see!! I was totally blown away!! There are so many little pockets of coolness through out the park, and I can’t wait to explore each one. 
Our last stop was the beach at Land’s End. As we were getting ready to leave, Mr. Hipster walks out onto the sand carrying something that looked like a strange fishing contraption. Little did I know I was about to be treated to another jaw-dropping experience! He got out by the water and proceeded to blow the BIGGEST BUBBLES I HAVE EVER SEEN!! They were so awesome!! The pictures just do not do them justice!
What a great day indeed!!!
You know how you say ‘Never Again’ and you are setting yourself up for a repeat performance? Well I don’t want to jinx myself, but honestly, NEVER AGAIN!!! That drive was insane!!! I left San Antonio at 2:00am, and finally made it to El Paso around 1:00pm!!! Texas is sometimes just too damn big!!!
Six hours later I finally came to rest in Phoenix, Arizona..had dinner with my friend Barry, and then passed out cold! I did not even get to see the Giants win the World Series!!! Total drive time….17 hours! UGH!! Side note…was not really impressed with El Paso…and Southern New Mexico was blah! Arizona, however was beautiful and I got to see my first big wild cactus!! Awesome!
Monday morning I woke at 5am and hit the road again…. Saw a huge windfarm area outside of Palm Springs…very cool!
All was going smoothly until I hit San Bernandino…TRAFFIC!! Arghhh! Was nasty until I left the LA area. And then…..THE MOUNTAIN!!! I had been warned..but even the warnings did not prepare me for the reality!!! You have to turn your AC off so your vehicle does not overheat….ya…mine still got dangerously close! Average speed up the mountain was 25 miles per hour! It was insane! Once over the hump though, all was smooth sailing…literally! I did not have to touch the gas pedal for 6 miles!!! Driving through the middle part of California reminded me much of South Texas with all of the scrubby vegetation…..with the notable exception of the crops grown there! I saw a Pistachio farm!!! WHOOHOOO! Cool part of this portion of the drive happened at sunset…the sun was setting behind the mountains to the West, and the full moon was rising in the East! Finally rolled in to San Francisco around 8pm…and was sooo glad!! Parked truck in safe place and headed over to new home with Crystal! She told me after I dropped off a load of stuff in the garage to go up the hill and find a place to park…ummm…. I got lost! LOL! This new city is going to take some getting used to!!!
mattybearinsf 