I don’t know about you, but I like to occasionally read the other Metblogs, and the LA blog had a really fun suggestion, that, as we approach Thanksgiving, we blog about the things in San Francisco about which we are thankful (actually, the idea in LA was to blog about things in LA, but that just wouldn’t make sense for us). So, I thought it was a great idea.
You can even participate at home, too! If you have a blog, livejournal, or personal website, you can write about it and leave a comment below.
As for me, the past year has given me a lot to mourn, a lot to curse, and a lot to be bitter about, but after living in the Bay Area for almost a year and a half, here’s what I’m thankful for:
– BART. Sure, most days I end up driving 35 miles each way to work, and it may seem like I wouldn’t have much use for BART. And sure, I wish it ran past midnight so I could take it to go to the clubs and late night dinners. But while I was in college I walked everywhere, including the 3 miles it took to get to a grocery store. And my first year out of college I walked a mile to and from my job because there was no bus route in my neighborhood in Virginia. And when I moved to Los Angeles, I took the buses, and the less said about that, the better. A bus system that goes on strike and only affects about 3% of the population says volumes about its quality. If you ever want to research Crazy, take an LA bus. But now, now I live in the Bay. I don’t have to wait an hour for public transit. I don’t get stuck in traffic on a bus filled to the gills, stuck behind an SUV trying to parallel park. I don’t have to pay $100 to park at the airport because no one will drive me at 4.30 AM, and it’s cheaper than a taxi. So, I for one, say Thank you! to BART.
– I would also like to say Thank you to the veritable plethora of independent restuarants that practically litter the landscape of the Bay Area. Organic, Vegetarian, Raw and Macrobiotic stand side to side with Ethiopian, Malaysian, Mexican, Vietnamese Japanese, Thai and nearly every kind of influence, fusion and culture. I could eat out for every single meal, and never visit every restaurant. I’d be broke, but I’d be well fed and happy. I miss LA tacos, I must admit, from improbable carts at 2 in the morning, and I have yet to find a good Oaxacan place. However, all you other restaurants, you make it more than worthwhile.
– Any list of things about which I’m thankful would be remiss without mentioning the people. I’m from the midwest, but I moved to LA to be in a city. In LA, I missed trees, missed people who smiled on the street, missed strangers stopping to ask if you were okay when your car broke down on the side of the road. I thought about moving back to Ohio, but then I realized I would miss concerts, and restaurants, and progressiveness. Up here, though, I seem to have found the best of both worlds. We’ve got a city big enough and progressive enough to host Folsom street fair, a Yaoi–con, and a DIY/Small Press publishing convention, but still down to Earth enough that, the other day when I blew out my tire on 580 E, someone stopped to try to help me change it.
Also, in no particular order, I’d like to say thanks for Oakland, for supporting struggling artists, Berkeley, for just being…well, Berkeley, The Parkway Theatre, the Cartoon Art Museum, the only museum dedicated to sequential art in the entire country, and Bottom of the Hill (as well as many other) venues, that host such amazing and under-valued original artists.
I could go on, and on and on. But I bet you all have stuff to share, too. Now, I have to go prepare for Black Friday, the most notorious shopping day in the entire year. Cheers!
