09-04-2018, 10:13 AM
Labor Day 2018 was spent in SF. I was really looking forward to it, not just for the amazing breakfast date with Laurie Anderson, but just to spend a day in SF with no obligations - a day to just hang out and revisit old haunts.
It started in Japantown because Laurie was staying at the Kabuki. We had breakfast there. Her driver/runner joined us for a bit. It was a continental self-serve and it cost over $90. Then I hung out in Japantown for a while, but that wore thin because I've been there recently and know it pretty well. Not much has changed. Only the origami store struck me as fresh because I usually don't leave Kinokiniya but I'm not really into origami. I thought about seeing a movie but nothing started until 3ish and a Mission burrito beckoned.
I hit the Mission (the show was at the Chapel on Valencia). It's weird to go there now that Brendan Lai's is closed (a longstanding Kung Fu supplier that closed after Lai Sifu passed years ago). The contrast between Mission and Valencia was sharper than ever. Mission & 16 is so fucked up. I couldn't even hang - the reek of piss was too strong and the homeless schizos were too agro. Valencia is so trendy and hip. I was amused to see a trend to backpacks of the same size and shape as the new Eagle Creek pack I just got for Europe. There were a couple of super cool SF brands that looked street tough, but they were like 3x the price. The Mission book crawl is a thing of the past. There's just Dog-Eared & Borderlands - two exceptional stores mind you but not my genres. There were several cool shops and restaurants (particularly liked that skull/taxidermy place) but I found myself offended at how dirty SF has become, and longed for Europe. I stumbled on a performance of the SF Mime Troupe at Dolores park. I was delighted to see that proud tradition still extant but quickly bored by the performance and it's hackneyed political rants.
But I did get a great burrito. Alas...the Mission.
It started in Japantown because Laurie was staying at the Kabuki. We had breakfast there. Her driver/runner joined us for a bit. It was a continental self-serve and it cost over $90. Then I hung out in Japantown for a while, but that wore thin because I've been there recently and know it pretty well. Not much has changed. Only the origami store struck me as fresh because I usually don't leave Kinokiniya but I'm not really into origami. I thought about seeing a movie but nothing started until 3ish and a Mission burrito beckoned.
I hit the Mission (the show was at the Chapel on Valencia). It's weird to go there now that Brendan Lai's is closed (a longstanding Kung Fu supplier that closed after Lai Sifu passed years ago). The contrast between Mission and Valencia was sharper than ever. Mission & 16 is so fucked up. I couldn't even hang - the reek of piss was too strong and the homeless schizos were too agro. Valencia is so trendy and hip. I was amused to see a trend to backpacks of the same size and shape as the new Eagle Creek pack I just got for Europe. There were a couple of super cool SF brands that looked street tough, but they were like 3x the price. The Mission book crawl is a thing of the past. There's just Dog-Eared & Borderlands - two exceptional stores mind you but not my genres. There were several cool shops and restaurants (particularly liked that skull/taxidermy place) but I found myself offended at how dirty SF has become, and longed for Europe. I stumbled on a performance of the SF Mime Troupe at Dolores park. I was delighted to see that proud tradition still extant but quickly bored by the performance and it's hackneyed political rants.
But I did get a great burrito. Alas...the Mission.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse