I'm a man part IV

The strange places we find ourselves in sometimes... Imagine my surprise to find myself hurtling myself out of a very small plane at 13,000 feet (just under 4 km) with an old man attached to my back.

That's pretty much what's going through my head in this picture.





A most unusual feeling.





UPDATE: A couple of pics from the preparation

"Please waive all your rights"


"people who intend to jump out of a plane"


"warning- parachute landing area"


"I look friggin' good in a yellow jumpsuit"

The Boots of Eternal Damnation

Well, ok, so I know this is a phase. But it is an extremely pleasant phase. I haven't been shopping for clothes for maybe six months. Last time I went shopping I bought some highly controversial shirts that only fitted my mood for maybe one month. If you look through my pics on this website or in the web albums, (http://picasaweb.google.com/DundeeExpat) you'll notice that mostly, I've been wearing the same bloody black sweater + jeans for almost two years now. They hit a nice peak a couple of months ago when their agedness kind of looked intentional and that went really well with white shoes and belt. But they're even past that now. I think today was the last time I wore them. Poor bastards.

I've been shopping again (added black party shirt to my new shirt collection). I was really looking for white shoes (the shoes to end all shoes) but instead encountered the Boots of Eternal Damnation (in a good way).
Now I'm not sure what to do. They are a little bit on the expensive side, so I'm not going to be able to buy these and the shoes to end all shoes. Which is a problem- they are boots. And they are black. First of all, I usually live in hot hot hot places. Boots in the summer? Maybe- if it's evening and I'm going bar-hopping or clubbing. I'm thinking I'll buy some sexy sandals anyway when that becomes appropriate. And secondly, they're black. Wouldn't it be nice with a pair of brown or white shoes to get some variety in my life? Why does everything have to be black?

Well, on the other side. Where are the shoes to end all shoes? I did find some really nice white shoes with strong tones of creamy brown. They were beautiful, but I'm a bit suspicious of anything too beautiful. I've still got bad memories from wearing my controversial shirts. They were beautiful, but pretty much the entire world has been united in condemning them. Great when you are feeling "fuck you, world!", less great when you don't. So I've clearly got bad taste on the more extravagant side. The Boots of Eternal damnation are not extravagant. They are Damned, and anyone who sees them will be Damned. No risk there at all. But wont they be a bit hot in the summer?

Knowing when to stop

Today was one of those days when it seemed that all life was nothing but a pair of mismatched jeans. To begin with, I'm ashamed at myself- and this is a rare state of mind for me. I have a hangover, a bad one, with an aching head and stiff joints.
The one glass of wine to many had signaled itself unmistakably. It was no different from the three preceding ones, but it had gone down reluctantly and with an ugly sensation of surfeit. And even though I had taken in the message, I decided to wash it down with a glass of Hoegaarden.

I've been trying to get my head around my work today (thank god for paper-work days, a car chase today would have been lethal!) with very little success. I even resent seeing my sullen hands on top of my keyboard. Stupid, blunt little bastards!

I deserve this glas of red wine

I had a deadline on Tuesday.
On Monday, after buying my white shirt to end all shirts, I sat down (in my new shirt) and decided not to stand up until I had written the most amazing report ever produced. That was at 9pm, and I didn't stand up again until 10am Tuesday morning. And with this, I officially reached the point where I established the platform for my v3 life. It was marked by the very deliverable I spent Tuesday night writing.

I had barely enough energy to go and buy two more shirts (nice shirts, but not as nice as the one I bought on Monday). I came back at lunch, fell asleep at 2pm and slept right through until 7.30am Wednesday. That's today. And I worked so nice today, i worked and worked and worked and didn't get back home until 9pm.

And you know what. The glass of red whine I am having right now is the best tasting red wine EVER had. There's something about deserving pleasure that makes it quite special.

P.S. Did I mention that I'm sitting in my favourite SF bar? I like working in cafes and bars. It makes me feel glamorous.
The reason I'm adding this P.S. is that the woman in front of me just told some man "I like you but I'm not in love with you. There is no future for us." I really like working in bars. Lot's of drama.

P.S.S. Oh... she was telling the man what some other man had told her. Less interesting. Move along, move along.

Cocktail lessons with urban diversion

What do you do in San Francisco? Well, if you are the Dundee Expat you sign up for cocktail mixing lessons. Nevermind that I believe that this kind of activity is a sign of imminent death...

So the idea was that a bunch of people from Urban Diversion would get a bar to ourselves, get some pointers from a bartender/bar-owner.




After downing a good number of his demonstrations we were allowed behind the bar to try out some moves of our own.



As any night that starts with a cocktail mixing lesson will eventually do, this one ended up less focused on mixing and more focused on drinking.




These are the pretty pictures. I found myself grooving until early morning next day, but what happens in San Francisco after 2am stays in San Francisco after 2am.

Superbowl, the ultimate experience

I watched the Superbowl today. The Superbowl is the finale of the biggest American Football cup and this year it was between Indianapolis and Chicago. While the game was quite exciting once I figured out the basic rules, what really captured me was the all-out craze surrounding the game. I think this is one of the most watched events on TV, so the commercial breaks are the most expensive you can get. To get the maximum bang for the buck, the advertisers try to out-do each other with cleverness and funnyness, and the whole showbiz side of the game is an important part of pop culture. I thought Coke had some excellent, funny ads, with one that poked fun at the excellent Grand Theft Auto games. I kind of wished there was a computer game based on the premise they showed in the ad, even if it was just a joke. Check 'em out:
The "cocal cola computer game" ad, and the "how they make coca cola" ad.

While watching all this and enjoying some of the excitement around all this, I experienced something of a revelation about branding, about the power of media properties, about the post-modern mind. I can't put my finger on it, but now that the game is over and I've relaxed a little, it puts some of what is going on in Asia right now into perspective. Here in the West, we are chasing the ultimate, perfect experience. In the East, they are pulling hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, re-building civilizations after hundreds of years of oppression, and winning against death, starvation and catastrophe.

Umm... it's tempting to think one is better or more useful than the other. More wise to accept both are on the same axis of the same story (upwards). Even more wise to accept that I don't fully understand the significance of all this and just keep on experiencing. Good idea to come here to the US, it's already starting to mess with my head.

P.S. I'm going to go downstairs and buy a coke.
P.S.S. I just bought a bottle. Unfortunately they didn't have the glass bottle, only the plastic one. Damn, I just can't relate to plastic in the same way, it has gotta be glass :0(

Meetup.com in San Francisco

Today I joined a members club called Urban Diversions here in San Francisco who I found through meetup.com . On the way to their clubhouse, I just had to snap this one.



Meetup.com is a really exciting idea of a website that essentially helps people set up societies, parties, evening talks, networking sessions, debate groups whatever. I checked it out, tried to search for "new in san francisco" and I discovered Urban Diversions. This is a members club that organizes adventures and laid back parties. I can't help but compare these guys with shanghaiExpat.com (see previous post). The difference I suppose is that ShanghaiExpat tried to pay for itself by targeting members with ads and extra services, whereas Urban Diversions charges a membership fee.

It's going to be interesting to see how this works out. The idea is great, and they do organize a fair amount of zany stuff. For instance, next friday they are organizing a bartender school. Great, never having worked as a bartender is a black mark in my street-cred book.
The only worry of course is that I'll be too busy to actually join in anything and that membership fee was thrown in the sea. Well, you don't know unless you try.

This is me in the clubhouse.



Oh, the same evening I joined Urban Diversions, it just so happened that Mr. Oakenfold was playing just around the corner from me. This man is a god among men. Well, actually I am not sure about that but he does have a very agreeable taste in music.
I have slightly mixed feelings about this evening. On the one hand I had a great time, met some interesting people and felt all the younger for it. On the other hand I had a terrible hang over on a thursday morning (their double vodkas are more like quadruple vodkas!).

I also ended up with no money on my credit card. Instead of charging me $50, ticketweb.com (they suck) charged me $500, which put my card out of use for a day. Although it's been rectified now, I really hate it when my financial security breaks down. At least this time it wasn't my fault. Yay!

This is Mr Oakenfold.

San Francisco is a lot about architecture. And hills.

It didn't strike me immediately that San Francisco has some seriously amazing architecture. Partly, this is because I've been used to checking the more futuristic side of the art in cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai. San Francisco is more of a historic architecture, more frilly. Partly, it's also because I first visited San Francisco about three years ago before I went and checked out all those skyscrapers, so somehow my mind is stuck in a "seen it before, too busy now" mode. Anyways, I've had a few opportunities to stroll through my neighbourhood down through Chinatown and into the Financial district. It's really pleasant to walk among such beautiful buildings.


When you walk through some of the higher streets, you are greeted with these vast vistas at every cross section. It's simply awesome.



While there are many spectacularly beautiful buildings, the thing that's starting to sink in is how almost every building (at least around here where I live) they go just that extra little mile, with details on corners and edges that reward you for looking up instead of down.

Franciscan life

Yay! Today I moved into my new home! I am now officially living in San Francisco. I'm even sorted out with local phone numbers etc.



I'm strangely comfortable with the style of this studio, even though it's neither modern nor classy. It has got something to do with the house. It's an old hotel that has been redone into studios. The hallways and lift are extremely old, but it's all old in a really nice, unique kind of way. Not old ugly, but old dreamy. It feels like an alternate dimension, some fifty or hundred years ago. Not to mention the staff who are just so charming it almost freaks me out.

so- the dundee expat is happy and properly installed in the city of franciscus. all is well in the world

UPDATE: I'm getting SOOOOOOOOO tired of blogger. Now all the recent photos I've put up have disappeared. Why do I bother?

Not planning didn't get me very far

I started the day with a really nice American breakfast (Steak and eggs $8) in an American themed restaurant. Having a breakfast steak is possibly the best thing about American and one of the leading reasons I am here.



I then moved into this nice little studio smack in the center, about 5 minutes from Union Square. While certainly not a five star hotel, it appeared to have everything a deep-undercover-spy needs to set himself up for a month or so.



I was quite excited about living in San Francisco. Much of the place looks a bit like this.





However, having installed myself, unpacked my life (now coming in a compact 20kg- yes!) and stretched out in the lack of space provided I realized that what I mean by Internet access and what Halcyon hotel means by Internet access are two different things. For me, the internet is either a DSL connection or a fast wireless connection in the room. Halcyon things this means a phone plug (they refer to this as a "dataport" because with a dial up modem you can send data down the phone line. imagine that...) and free wireless offered at a cafe a couple of minutes walk away.

So I decided to tell them to go screw themselves, took a taxi over to a proper hotel and then started doing some serious hunting. Amazingly, using Google i was able to identify a couple of options, and after spending a couple of hours looking at studios I sat down at Tully's Cafe to have a think.



Tully's offer some strange ancient herbal tea that is supposed to energize you in much the same way that coffee does, but in a much healthier and smoother way. I think it acts on a different circuitry in your brain. Naturally, I asked them to put a double espresso in there too. I'm not going to take any chances when my future home is at stake!