albany bulb

The last stroll was a huge success. Albany Bulb is absolutely stunning. There is a ton of great artwork and the view is one of the best in the bay. Here are a couple of my favorite photos, but please check out the rest on flickr.

year one

One year ago today I sat at the bar in Elephant & Castle and multitasked. I ate (turkey club) and drank (sierra nevada) and browsed (craigslist). I had just landed in San Francisco with two huge bags and no where to go.

Fast forward a couple of months, after briefs stints in the Presidio and Inner Richmond, and I was settled in my new apartment, enrolled in school and working part-time. My new life had officially begun.

I’ve talked about my move to the west coast several times on this blog, so no need to rehash old stories, but I do think it’s important to try to makes sense of it all. High Fidelity style, of course. Without further ado, I present my top 5 year one takeaways.

5) I really miss New York

Being this far away from all of my close friends and family has taken a toll. I’ve had to work for just about every relationship in SF and sometimes it’s exhausting (I don’t mean that in a bad way either. It’s just building one foundation after another, instead of having them established and accessible).

I miss the excitement and the unpredictable nature of the city. I miss the intensity, although I know it was a huge factor in deciding to leave. I miss the sea of diversity. And good god I miss the halal carts (When I’m back in August I’m heading straight to the dudes in yellow shirts on 53rd and 6th for my lamb platter).

4) I really like San Francisco

It’s beautiful here. The Pacific, the redwoods, the fog. I can’t get enough.

But what I really like is the positive energy. Unlike New York, people are supportive and optimistic. When I talked to Cameron a year ago, he told me that this is the best place to try something new and make mistakes. He wasn’t kidding.

I’ve read a lot about slow culture recently and I feel that here too. It keeps me (and my digital self) balanced and sane.

3) when in doubt, explore

I know this city like the back of my hand. Come to think of it, I know Tokyo pretty well too. I’ve always liked the idea of exploring, I just never did it in New York (It took me two years before I took my camera and wandered around Brooklyn).

Right now I’m reading Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky. In it he talks about how new technology is helping us evolve from passive consumers to active collaborators.

I am very much so a product of this evolution. I’ve been living sans television since moving out here and it’s been wonderful. I can always catch sporting events at bars and shows on Hulu and Netflix, but overall I feel liberated. And, to Shirky’s point, I now have time to do stuff. Instead of spending hours on my couch watching reruns of Saved By the Bell, I go outside and explore.

My expeditions have helped me start this blog, a meetup group and a side project.

2) I’m 100% committed to this whole planning thing

A year ago I thought about enrolling in the motion picture and television program at school. Six months ago I was all about art direction. My path to planning has been anything but direct and that’s exactly how I know that I’m headed in the right direction.

1) that detox was epic

Getting out of the ad world was crucial. I needed to take a huge step back and evaluate the game from a distance. I spent three years as an observing participant, but it was time to flip my role and take things in as a participating observer (obviously in love with my anthro class).

This year has been filled with observations and I am slowly learning to think, and act, like a planner. I am watching, imitating, sharing, creating and writing. I am meeting smart and interesting people. I’m building things and exploring.

My detox was all about shedding the sour account guy and taking steps (slowly) towards the curious plannerly-type. I have a long way to go, but so far, so good.

I think that covers it.

[Youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uImDLvX0Bk&feature=related]

Banksy Stroll Recap

I’d say the banksy stroll was a success. When I woke up on Saturday morning I was already nervous about how it was gonna go down. Thanks to the Flavorpill write up (and their email blast) the word had spread to several other sites, including Twitter,  Yelp and SF Weekly. With word of mouth taking full effect I wasn’t sure how many people would show up, or, better yet, what expectations they were going to have (I’m normally very casual with these meetups, as I find that it is more fun to discover cool art rather than set out looking for something specific).

Either way, it was a beautiful day and we were going to take some pictures. Simple and fun.

I met the crowd, I’d guess 40 people, outside of Amnesia and directly below the first Banksy piece. From there we followed this map (which, to my surprise, has been viewed over 1,000 times in a week) to five more locations throughout downtown San Francisco.

The journey came to a close in North Beach at the corner of Broadway & Columbus for the last wall. By that time the group had dwindled to seven people and we were tired. So, naturally, we found a bar and started drinking. A perfect ending to a perfect afternoon photo stroll.

But  now is the fun part. We have a ton of media and it’s time to share. Here is a short video I put together to recap the day.

[Vimeo = http://www.vimeo.com/11614302]

Here is a follow up article and slideshow by Hanna Quevedo for SF Weekly.

In addition, here is the flickr group where I have been directing people to upload their photos (including the hashtags below).

And, finally, if you are reading this and want to find out how to join our awesome group, go here.

(images above by Steve Rhodes)