I Heart San Francisco

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