Band Performance on Bart

There are moments where you feel lucky to be in San Francisco. I was taking Bart home at 11 at night when a band came onto the train and began performing some descent music. I got a free live performance on my ride home. This is just one small reason why I love living in this city.

Here is a little clip from the recording I took.

How did you like the music, feel free to comment below.

Smoking Ban in San Francisco

I have been reading throughout the web that San Francisco has recently banned smoking in city owned property. But only tobacco smoking,  pot smoking is still allowed. Apparently part of the reason is that they want to prevent people from breathing in second hand smoke which has been linked to lung cancer. So now places like the Golden Gate Park and other locations that hold events will be tobacco smoke free.  Sorry for you tobacco smokers and yay for you non tobacco smokers out there. For those who smoke marijuana,  eh same old same old.

Art Murmur

Oakland Art Murmur

Yes I know it's not San Francisco, but I couldn't help myself.  I wanted to visit the local artist and see what they had to offer and the Art Murmur was a great place to start (I was able to get there by Bart (the San Francisco Bay Area train) so it's close enough for me).

For those who do not know the Art Murmur it is an art walk that is held in a section of Oakland.  Several of the streets are blocked off so people can walk around and observe the different works produced by the artist. I only checked out the art galleries in the blocked off sections of the art walk.  There were more galleries and art cafes that I did not go to but I imagine that would be a great place to start next time I attend.

I was able to visit four different galleries and some art booths in the street.  Art was not the only contender.  People were performing music, selling food and clothing (although many would debate those are art mediums).

What I liked the most about the art walk were the types of crowds drawn out for this monthly event. People from different races, cultures, and social classes attended with the same understanding....

Tonight is about the community and bringing everyone together to enjoy the diverse language of art.  

Being surrounded by beautiful art, people, food, clothing, and music allowed me to feel a great energy from the event.  The Art Murmur allowed people be a part of something much bigger than themselves.

What do you do that helps you feel energized?

Do you like being a part of something that is bigger than yourself
and if so, what?

Please feel free to answer below or share your thoughts about the blog.

Thanks for viewing my blog, and have a good day.

Chinese Historical Society of America

     When I moved to San Francisco I made a promise to myself.  In order to really appreciate the city I would need to see what it had to offer.  In order to meet that goal I would need first hand experience of what I can do in the city.  My promise is to go outside the house and expose myself to different activities several times a week.  With that idea in place I decided to create a blog. The blog will allow me to keep track of everything I am doing as well as share my experiences.

Today I visited the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum.

 As I walked through the museum I saw artifacts, pictures, and panels to inform the viewer about the relationship with the Chinese as they immigrated to America.  When I left I think I understood their message....

The exhibit told me a story of progress.

Much of the information from the beginning was about the persecution and the physical hardships the Chinese experienced when migrating to America. .

In middle to end of the exhibit the museum showed information about the progress the Chinese began to experience and even the influence they had on America.

There were also some pretty interesting ways the museum tried to have people interact and relate (on a small scale) to the message they were trying to get across:  There is a suit case and on the handles are tags people created (people who visited the museum).  On the tags people wrote down what they would bring with them if they had to move to a new continent and only had a suit case.  There were dozens of tags and the two most common things I read were an IPod and a family photo.  What would you bring in your suit case?

They also had buttons that you could place in separate containers which showed different years.  You took a button from the main bin and dropped the button to when your family moved to the US. The message I received was "your family was not alone or the only ones when they moved America".

                                                                                   

When I left the building I started thinking about my life and where I once was to where I am now.  There have been a lot of hardships throughout but I know that I have tried my best to overcome them.  It seems that these life test (my own personal persecutions) have allowed me to become a stronger individual and I think that was the message.  It seems the museum wanted you to understand that even though the Chinese race/culture had experienced much hardship when they moved to a new world, they overcame it and are now stronger for it.

Looking back on your life, what were some of your biggest hardships you had to overcome?
What did you learn from it?
How did you take the hardship and shape it to become a stronger person today?


Thank you for reading my blog.  I am on a mission to get outside the house and experience all the activities San Francisco has to offer and I think this museum was good step.  I hope to visit another place soon, and share my experience with you.

I also wanted to give a quick thank you to my old professor Dr. U, who helped me learn how to develop a better understanding on how to better understand different cultures.