human beings could make such a thing astounded me. For whatever reason though I don’t think people ever really take the time to consider it. Even the tourists who come out here to specifically see it are more interested in making sure they’re at the center of a picture of it than truly taking in how breathtaking the structure really is. I suppose that’s how most people are though. Once something is established, they just take it for granted. Really though, I was interested in seeing the real places and things that make up a city which big touristy spots lack and there were plenty all around. You could walk down any random street in San Francisco and find an interesting shop to wander into or an interesting person to talk to. Granted, sometimes that would mean going into a pretty grungy shop or talking to a homeless person, but it was interesting nonetheless. The homeless had their own world here though. Sandy called them street urchins and it made sense on many different levels. It seemed like the cops didn’t hassle them too much and it might be one of the consequences of living in such a free spirited place. When you walk through the park the people who essentially live there look at you like you’re invading their space since it would be like wandering up to an office building and walking around aimlessly. This was where these people “worked” although they also lived here, so I guess it was more like wandering into a person’s home when you knew they were working from home. And it wasn’t just one person. I guess that was just part of what made the city so…unique. Sandy showed me around and she talked about the city with such
enthusiasm it made me think she had lived here her entire life. I thought she was being coy when she said she hadn’t explored the whole city, but I suppose it was pretty big place. The parts she did know she never got tired of so really it was a win-win situation. She was truly living the dream though. She had visited her uncle out here when she was young and fell in the love with the place. Subsequent visits made her that much more determined to move out here, and at some point not too long ago she just picked up and moved. And it was especially rough because at the time she had a boyfriend and a job and a pretty nice apartment. But everything finally came to a point where she just said she was going to do it…and she did. Now, that’s not to say she didn’t take her time in doing it. For the longest time she mentioned how expensive the city was and how hard it was to find a job, both of which were legitimate concerns. But they were all just excuses and she knew it. She and I were similar in that we had both just gotten up and decided to do what we wanted to do and didn’t worry about the consequences. But she seemed to be so calm and happy with her decision that it almost made me feel unsettled. Of course, we were also similar in our love of drinking and having a good time, and meeting up here