Hallelujah!

Apart from my traditional "driving through a red light and almost being t-boned within minutes of arriving in The City", I've had an enjoyable first 24 hours here in beautiful St. Francis.

Saturday night consisted of a walk 'round Union Square to marvel at all the folks in their Hallowe'en finest, remembering, of course, that a significant portion of the population here like to dress up in costume most of the year anyhow. Tonight is the night, however, with The Castro being the place to be to people watch.

Following a quick bite at a local noodle shop, I ended my evening by spending some time with one of San Francisco's 12,000 homeless people, listening to Sam's tale of life back in Georgia, and how he ended up living in such desperate circumstances here. It's truly awful; a homeless person dies on the streets of San Francisco every three days, and while the solutions are a dime a dozen, little seems to be getting accomplished in terms of helping ease the situation. The previous civic administration under Willie Brown figured a way to solve the problem was to enact a series of pointless bylaws such as issuing tickets for public defecation, yet at the same time not providing for more public toilets. Brilliant.

I awoke Sunday morning, and being the religious, gawd fearing sort that I am, sought out a house of worship. I was pleased to discover this quaint little church right across the street from my hotel - Pastor Steve Jobs presiding. It's a Mac Evangelist’s dream come true...

Out the window round the other side of my suite are a set of gargoyles, whose sole purpose is to stare down the hordes of real estate motherfukers holed up inside the Marriott across the street, in town this week for the national realtors convention.

You know, they really do ward off evil...not a single golf-shirt-wearing-cell-phone-strapped-to-the-ear estate agent in the entire Hotel Palomar! Go gargoyles go!

Speaking of evil, the anti-fur folks were doing a bang up job out in front of the Neiman Marcus Sunday afternoon. Nothing like hanging a few dead and dismembered mink off of a lamppost to draw some attention to your cause....

Following some retail therapy at Virgin, dinner Sunday was at the delightful Moose's on Washington Square, where Ed Moose (no relation) and his staff lived up to their stellar reputation for great food and impeccable service. Yum! Lobster Bisque served in a shot glass! Yum! Cabbage Wrapped Tai Snapper with shaved brussel sprouts and citrus nage! Yum! Far too much of Napa Valley's finest! Yum! Will Smith! Yum! $10 valet parking! Yum!

I'm never coming home...