Now with fireworks!

I have been to two SF Giants games so far this season, and I have to say that I am really loving this team! They are so talented and fun to watch.

The game I went to in April had fireworks after the game, and I thought you guys would like to see the show. It was so fun to get a victory over the Padres and then celebrate with a light show. I loved hearing 40,000 fans sing “we are the champions” at the top of their lungs.

Let go Giants!

 

The Noe Valley Town Square

The Board voted today to turn a parking lot in my neighborhood into a town square! This may not seem like a big deal to you, but to us Noe Valleans, it is a huge victory! Big thanks to Scott Wiener of District 8 for all his hard work!

This parking lot is located at the corner of 24th and Sanchez, and is currently used for the Saturday farmer’s market… and, um, parking. Boring! Those who petitioned for this improvement stated their mission as “The Town Square will be the central gathering space for Noe Valley. It will be used by and for all Noe Valley neighbors and will host everything from twice-a-week farmers markets to food pantries, music events, evening movies, neighborhood bingo, exercise classes, cafe seating, senior citizen events…” – from noevalleytownsquare.com

Here’s the plan for the square:

courtesy of sf.curbed.com

There is something very charming about a little neighborhood with a central town square. I think deep down we all wish we lived in Mayberry, and a town square makes that a little closer to reality. And it’s so nice to be part of a community! I am really excited about this addition to my neighborhood. I love the events like the Noe Valley Harvest Festival held every fall, and I can’t wait to attend more activities like it!

Tonight, there was a party to celebrate the vote, held in the soon-to-be-torn-up parking lot. There was free pizza from Patxi’s Pizza and live music. I am a loyal reporter, and I loovvvee Patxi’s, so of course I went! I met Todd David, the project coordinator. He was so excited about the approval that he high-fived everybody who walked by. I had such a pleasant afternoon meeting my neighbors, listening to a local band, and sharing in the camaraderie!

http://noevalleytownsquare.com

https://www.facebook.com/NoeValleyTownSquare

http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2013/06/04/noe_valley_town_square_project_getting_closer_to_reality.php

This is the team who put this all together. Many thanks!

Greater things, part 2

Today I had the privilege of serving at City Impact. The church I attend, Epic Church, canceled all services all sent us out to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

I wrote about City Impact two years ago, when I had the opportunity to serve with another congregation. I can’t believe how much it’s grown since I was there. They have a new thrift store, a new medical facility, and a new kitchen for preparing meals. I am so amazed by the difference they are making in the lives of their neighbors.

The TL (the tenderloin) is a 1-sq-mile neighborhood with 37,000 residents and another 8,000 homeless. The average person makes less than $15,000 a year. (http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Tenderloin-San-Francisco-CA.html)

This morning there were 600 volunteers who showed up ready to spread the love of Jesus to the people of The TL (from Epic, Journey church, and MPPC). We gave haircuts, medical care, and food, plus many more. My team got to prepare over 1000 to-go lunches for the people in the area. I was so touched to see that Trader Joes and Costco had donated crates upon crates of food (huge high five to them!!). Someone else had given lettuce, strawberries and cantaloupe. I was so excited to know that people were going to open their sack lunch and find salad and fruit today!

I got to work with a bunch of great people today. I was so honored to be a small part of the work God is doing there.

City Impact’s website has changed. It’s now http://sfcityimpact.com/. Donate today!

March of the Rainbow Flag

They shut down Market Street. During rush hour. Their message of marriage equality was definitely heard.

 

On Tuesday the Supreme Court will make an historical decision regarding the constitutionality of gay marriage. Here is SF, there is no shortage of  supporters for legalizing gay marriage, and they came out in droves tonight to express their opinion.

 

The March4Equality rally took place tonight starting at Market and Castro and marching all the way down the busiest street in town. The supporters waved rainbow flags, displayed signs saying “we deserve the freedom to marry”, and chanting “gay straight black white. marriage is an equal right!”

I was impressed by the number of people who came out. Not because I don’t think this cause has many supporters, but because I had no idea about it until I drove by and saw the road blocks.  Yes, they got the police to block off the road for their march. Now that’s impressive.

Holy Bay Bridge Light Show, Part II

I had an incredible adventure. 21-year-old me would’ve been so proud!

Tuesday night was the grand lighting ceremony for the Bay Lights. I met up with some friends and walked down to the water for the big moment. But someone we didn’t invite decided to show up: the rain. We stood in the rain, without an umbrella of course, with thousands of other people, waiting anxiously for the lights. After a thirty minute delay, I was officially soaked and miserable.

View of the bridge for the Hyatt

My friend James, who is way more adventurous than me, decided that we needed to go find a hotel with a view and watch the show indoors. I was so tired of the rain at that point I couldn’t argue. We walked to the Hyatt on Montgomery and found the “all-the-way-up” elevator. Small problem; it needed a key to operate. So we stood in the elevator for 10 minutes waiting for someone at the top to call it. Finally they did. The elevator dinged, James looked at us said, “be cool”, and walked out like he owned the place. Turns out the top floor of the Hyatt is a private club for members only. We were not members. But we somehow sauntered over to the window and got to see the bridge in all its glory.

That didn’t last long. The staff at the Hyatt became aware of our illegal presence very quickly, and kicked us out. James, who kept getting more daring as the night went on, then suggested that we go to the Marriott on 4th. Thankfully, at the Marriott, the top floor was open to the public, so we didn’t have to sneak our way in. The SkyBar, as it’s called, is an amazing place to have dinner. There are panoramic views all the way around. I really want to go there next time there’s a special occasion. My friends and I sat down at a table by the window and got a great view of the bridge one more time. Beautiful! We decided to order a few drinks and grabbed the menu. Holy expensive drink menu! We were way out of place! We all kinda gave each other that  look that “I-cant-afford-this” look, got up and waked out.

me and my friend, Katie

The last stop of our crazy evening was the Westin on 3rd. One friend was actually staying there so we figured we’d be able to get to the top no problem. We piled in the elevator and ascended to the top. The doors opened, we walked out, only to find we were not at the top, but two floors down. James, in his final act as Mayor of the Unpredictable, found a stairwell to the roof. We climbed two flights and spilled out onto the roof. We found, for the triumphant conclusion of the evening, a giant building blocking our view of the bridge. There was nothing to see.

By then it was midnight (on a school night) and I was tired and wet and ready for bed. I said goodnight to my companions and headed home. As James said goodbye, he actually remarked “I”m glad it’s early because I still have work to do tonight!” Unbelievable guy.

Live streaming of the Bay Lights!!
http://www.livestream.com/acmelive

The Giant Illuminated Dragon

The booming drums, the flashing lights, and the cheering crowd. It was so much more magical than I remember. Two years ago, I watched the Chinese New Year Parade in the rain. This year the weather was nice and the parade was fantastic.

The Chinese New Year Parade is a great display of traditional Chinese culture. It included Chinese musicians, big guys playing those loud booming drums, martial arts, dragons, lions, and firecrackers. There were also several entries from the local Chinese community; school children dancing to gangnam style, Miss Chinatown in the back of a convertable, and the Chinese Cultural Center marching band! But the true magic of the parade comes from the big floats with bright colors and lights.

The route of the parade changed this year. It no longer makes a loop around union square park, but instead u-turns one block north. I went around to the north side to meet my friend and stood on Powell Street to watch the show. Since powell has a steep incline, it was like watching the chow from stadium seating!

photo courtesy of my good friend C.D.

If you read about the parade two years ago, you know it has a grand finale. After the last entry, all the lights went off to set the anticipation. Then there was the sound of fireworks echoing off the buildings. An entourage of dancing lions, sword twirlers, and tangu drummers set the stage for what was to come.

And finally, it came. The giant illuminated dragon!! The bright orange dragon was carried by over 100 men, and lit with thousands of lights. I stood there with hundreds of fascinated spectators and watched as the magnificent dragin snaked its way down the street.

photo courtesy of C.D.

Holy bay bridge light show!!

 

It’s the Bay Bridge’s 75th birthday, and it is getting all fancied up for the occasion.

For the milestone anniversary, they city hired Leo Villareal to design a spectacular light display for the bridge. It will be the world’s largest light sculpture at 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high using 25,000 white individually programmed LED lights.

The display took 6 months to install, starting in September 2012 and it will cost 8 million dollars. But don’t worry, it’s being paid for by private endorsers, not the tax payers.

The Bay Lights, as it’s called, is being tested right now, but it will officially illuminate on March 5. You know I will write about it again so stay tuned. For more info, check out http://thebaylights.org, the pdf fact sheet, and this SF Chronicle article.

And before you ask, no, you can’t see the lights while you’re driving on the bridge. We need drivers to focus on the road and stuff.

Good Effort, 49ers!

One week after the big game, and we’ve all resumes our normal lives.  It was really fun to watch our team in the Super Bowl, and everyone was pumped up last Sunday. I made a point to capture some of the Niners spirit around town.

I had a lot of fun watching the game with some hardcore 49ers fans! They all had on jerseys and championship tshirts from 1995. For me, it made the game much more important, and made me more of fan. And I learned that watching the Super Bowl is a lot more fun when you care who wins.

The Forty-Niners had a great season this year, and I’m proud of them and they way they played. Honestly, I wished the Niners would have won just so I could’ve written a blog post called “Best Blackout Ever.” Oh well, maybe next year.

#49ers Nation!!!

Did you know that the 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995? The people of the Bay Area know it. They are hungry, and dying for another championship.

The 49ers have had several difficult years. On their wikipedia page, their is actually a heading called “2003-2010: Struggles”. But they are finally getting over the rough-patch, and today, they are competing in the NFC Championship. If they win, they are going to the Super Bowl on Feb 3.

 

This year, it has been interesting to keep up with the team because of the drama with the Quarterback. The star QB, Alex Smith, got a concussion early in the season, and a guy named Colin Kaepernick played while he healed. Two weeks later, it was announced that Smith had recovered and was ready to get back in the game, and yet Kaepernick took the field instead. Fans were shocked and outraged that the coach would bench Smith and let “this kid” play instead. Every Sunday after that, fans would beg and pray to see Smith on the field, but the coach kept favoring the kid. Under those circumstances, there was no way anyone would embrace the new leader, or give him a chance at all. Really, everyone hated him.

But then, last week, Colin Kaepernick lead the team to a 45-31 victory over the heavily-favored Green Bay Packers. And he looked good doing it! Running and throwing and scoring several touchdowns by himself. The headlines on Monday raved, and the city declared their love for the rookie QB.

So the week leading up to the biggest 49ers game in years, the city of San Francisco is proclaiming it’s love for the hometown team. The skyline is lit up with gold and red. I stopped on my way home last week to take pictures of the 49ers flair. You may be skeptical because a skyline is naturally gold and red, so I took closeup photos to prove that the city is “on fire for forty-niners”.

The game is today at 1pm, and they say it’s gonna be a good one. If they win, you will surely hear about it on this blog. #GoNiners!

No pants day

Sunday was No Pants on BART Day. I’m not kidding. And even more surprising, it was the 12th annual. This is a yearly holiday where people are encouraged to hop on public transit in their skivvies.

I went down to the Montgomery station hoping to snag a few interesting photos. Also I had several burning questions to ask the participants. Do you have pants in your backpack, or are you sporting your underalls on the street too? Did you choose special undies or the everyday kind? Aren’t you worried about germs?

I got to the station only to find no one with no pants. In fact, there was no one on the platform. I got on the train, rode 3 stops with one other person, who was fully clothed, then got off. I was so disappointed.

I had to scour twitter in order to find evidence that the event even occurred. Maybe I was in the wring place. I dunno. Thankfully, I found two Good Samaritans who posted pix to the web. I guess I’ll have to try again next year.