I Heart San Francisco
Powell & Mason Cable Car
So far, during my time on-site at the Pixel Corps, I have experienced tremendous professional growth. Along the way many of my suspicions about the “city by the Bay” have been proven wonderfully true. The following list illustrates my point. Everything was experienced on my way into work today.
- Dropped off my clothes at SFGreenClean, a company that wet cleans “dry clean clothes in a very environmentally-friendly way. My clothes smell and feel great while looking sharp.
- Grabbed the Powell & Hyde cable car to work and watched Alcatraz Island and three-masted schooner disappear as it crested a hill.
- Texted friends with reliable service from AT&T throughout the ride.
- Listened to French, Chinese, and Japanese being spoken as locals and tourists chatted with one another on the ride.
- Smelled the delicious scent of burning wood from the cable car brakes.
- At Market Street Turnaround, a Spanish tourist asked me for directions. Within seconds, a local stopped to ask if we needed any help. I’ve seen this sort of local support for tourists and newcomers repeatedly in my six weeks here.
- Walking from the cable car stop to the office, I was treated to a wide variety of talented street musicians, including:
- Man with guitar belting out an acoustic version of Snoop’s Gin & Juice.
- A freestyle rap troupe including a human beat box.
- A talented drummer using five-gallon tubs and an old Zildjan cymbal.
- A guy and a girl singing the theme from Grease … a capella.
- A street-team marketer handed me a sample can of a high-end Italian iced coffee.
- A little old lady fell at the curb trying to get to her cab. Four random passers-by stopped to help her up.
- As I opened the door to the office building, I realized that the one thing I’ve been missing the entire time here was smog. Well, I haven’t actually missed it, but I expected to see, smell and taste in the air of a city this size. I don’t. I think the electric buses, cable cars, subway, electric taxis and ZipCars, not the mention the abundant greenery are all at work to keep the air clean.
I know that walk sounds like something from a Coca-Cola commercial, but it happened just like that. And, aside from the occasional foggy, chilly day, my experience in San Francisco has pretty much been like that every day.
So yeah, I heart San Francisco.
Peace,
Doug
Alcatraz Island (Chestnut & Hyde)
Scooner in the Bay (Chestnut & Hyde)
From Russia With Love!
Well, we are here. Actually, we’ve been in country for four days now. The weather has been … well … Russia in winter. Translation: it is freeeking cold! 
The flights over were uneventful and the trans-Atlantic flight in Iberia Airlines was particularly nice.
We spent the first few days of the tour in Sergiev Posad, a small but historically important town about two hours outside of Moscow. We stayed at the Abramcevo Hotel which, despite a slight resemblance to the hotel in “The Shining“, was a very nice place. While in Sergiev Posad, we toured a rustic Russian home, took a traditional sleigh ride and toured the nearby monastery and fortress. All of this touring took place during the two coldest days on record in the town so far … 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily, we were all well prepared for the cold.
Yesterday, we packed up and headed into Moscow. So far, we have toured Red Square, the Kremlin and St. Basil Basilica. I have to say, the tour of Red Square was very surreal. As a high school student before the fall of the Soviet Union, I remember news of long breadlines, people regularly freezing to death in Russian winters, religious oppression and general despair in Moscow. Now, it is clear that capitalism has taken a firm foothold, churches of all sorts are flourishing and prosperity, if not already present, seems right around the corner. How times change! Kelly and I both feel most fortunate to be here.
I’ve some initial pictures, which I’ll post after this goes up. However, I am stuck on a dial-up connection at the moment, so check back from time to time for a link to the gallery. it will take a bit to upload the photos.
Doug
PS: Photos now up on my family site. Click here to view!
Jitender Singh Shunty
Shunty used to be a carefree man. He belonged to a well-off family which ran a thriving transport business. But something suddenly snapped inside him one day when he saw a man stealing wood from a burning pyre at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat cremation ground. Shocked, Shunty confronted him. Weeping uncontrollably, the middle-aged man said that he had lost his wife in an accident and didn’t have enough money to perform the last rituals. He had no choice but to steal wood. “I was stunned. I never knew this could happen to human beings in our society. Later, I came to know that there were people who often left a dead body unattended,” recalls Shunty.
Having traveled to India, witnessed a public funeral procession and visited the riverside location of many such funeral pyres, I was touched to learn of the story of Jitender Singh Shunty from Idealist.org. It is good to be reminded that people of such considerable compassion and committment exist in this troubled world. I was fortunate enough to meet similar folks during my trip. People like Biplab & Sumita Chatterjee as well as Ravi & Neena Dugal. It reminds me that I need to post my travel log of that trip.
