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Silent Revolutions
Aug. 7th, 2023 10:28 amI turned 43 yesterday. Wait...*checks*...yes, 43. :)
R. surprised me with *amazing* tickets to the Aladdin musical playing in San Francisco for TWO WEEKS ONLY, which was pretty dope. We didn't get them as part of this year's season's tickets but we DID get first dibs on tickets for this summer's special engagements. So he bought orchestra seats, about seven rows back. SO CLOSE OMG
Not only were we in the "streamer zone" for the end of the show (we were showered with streamers during the finale, and it was a legit delight), but we could see a lot of the more subtle moves in the choreography. Also, it was fun noticing which actors forgot to smile while they were on the stage. They would zone out for a few seconds, and then suddenly remember, and would break into this huge smile for no reason.
The performances were grand, especially the Genie. The actor who played him had big diva energy, which is absolutely the right call for the role. The actor playing Jafar decided to play him as a moustache-twirling villain, which is honestly the right call for a Disney production. Iago was a person in the world of the play, which was an interesting choice, but his outfit was amazing!
Before the play we went to Philz Coffee and then the Barbary Coast, a dispensary and lounge. The Barbary Coast is my favorite dispensary mostly because the folks there are super-friendly and knowledgeable; they're just a delight to talk to and learn from. We opted for a shareable joint dipped in pure THC -- as you smoked it, the crystals melted into this kief-y resin that coated the joint all the way down. It was a *very* good joint. Afterward, we went to The Eagle for a beer and then an Italian restaurant in the North Shore for the birthday dinner. I had lobster ravioli, which was a revelation. With most lobster dishes, it feels like they make whatever they were gonna make (fettucine alfredo, for example) and just plop bits of it in there. The lobster doesn't actually feel like a part of the dish, and with the taste drowned out by whatever else it doesn't add a lot.
This was the total opposite. Everything felt like it was chosen to highlight and complement the lobster. So good. R. got the halibut special, which was great -- but the roasted potatoes on the side were the best I had ever tasted. K. got squid-ink pasta with calamari and shrimp, and that was amazing too.
For dessert we shared panna cotta, tiramisu, and lemon cake, all legitimately wonderful. :9 Overall, it was a low-key but really fun day just hanging out with my favorite people. I couldn't have asked for a better celebration. <3
The state of San Francisco is shocking, though. It almost looks entirely blighted, with empty office buildings old and new. There are homeless people everywhere, shit on the streets that may or may not have come from dogs, the constant smell of piss, so many people with mental issues just...being ignored block after block after block. It's really depressing, to be honest. Most of the restaurants we wanted to hit before Aladdin were closed -- including the Whole Foods right across the street. It had been pretty bad while we were going to the Orpheum and Golden Gate for our season's tickets, but...man. With tech offices going down all over the place there's just nothing left to support the city.
That's the big problem: SF let its entire identity get taken over by Silicon Valley which is all about finding that one unicorn promising exponential growth. Having an office in SF was mandatory, and requiring employees to live on a crowded peninsula so they could commute to the office drove up prices so much that even if you had a job you probably couldn't afford to live in the city. So what do you do if you have to work in a place you can't afford to live in?
Well, as soon as remote work becomes an option you demand it. No one *wants* to live in San Francisco at this point; you just HAVE to. But that imperative is less and less true all the time.
And so many stores that have supported the kind of people who could afford to be there are suddenly without their clientele. The only replacements? The unhoused people who couldn't get any of that product without stealing it...so they do. And because we live in a world that encourages businesses to protect their bottom lines over the people they serve, we end up with beef jerky behind a lock at Walgreens while people starve to death right in front of it.
Capitalism is a failed system, but I don't need to tell anyone that.
R. surprised me with *amazing* tickets to the Aladdin musical playing in San Francisco for TWO WEEKS ONLY, which was pretty dope. We didn't get them as part of this year's season's tickets but we DID get first dibs on tickets for this summer's special engagements. So he bought orchestra seats, about seven rows back. SO CLOSE OMG
Not only were we in the "streamer zone" for the end of the show (we were showered with streamers during the finale, and it was a legit delight), but we could see a lot of the more subtle moves in the choreography. Also, it was fun noticing which actors forgot to smile while they were on the stage. They would zone out for a few seconds, and then suddenly remember, and would break into this huge smile for no reason.
The performances were grand, especially the Genie. The actor who played him had big diva energy, which is absolutely the right call for the role. The actor playing Jafar decided to play him as a moustache-twirling villain, which is honestly the right call for a Disney production. Iago was a person in the world of the play, which was an interesting choice, but his outfit was amazing!
Before the play we went to Philz Coffee and then the Barbary Coast, a dispensary and lounge. The Barbary Coast is my favorite dispensary mostly because the folks there are super-friendly and knowledgeable; they're just a delight to talk to and learn from. We opted for a shareable joint dipped in pure THC -- as you smoked it, the crystals melted into this kief-y resin that coated the joint all the way down. It was a *very* good joint. Afterward, we went to The Eagle for a beer and then an Italian restaurant in the North Shore for the birthday dinner. I had lobster ravioli, which was a revelation. With most lobster dishes, it feels like they make whatever they were gonna make (fettucine alfredo, for example) and just plop bits of it in there. The lobster doesn't actually feel like a part of the dish, and with the taste drowned out by whatever else it doesn't add a lot.
This was the total opposite. Everything felt like it was chosen to highlight and complement the lobster. So good. R. got the halibut special, which was great -- but the roasted potatoes on the side were the best I had ever tasted. K. got squid-ink pasta with calamari and shrimp, and that was amazing too.
For dessert we shared panna cotta, tiramisu, and lemon cake, all legitimately wonderful. :9 Overall, it was a low-key but really fun day just hanging out with my favorite people. I couldn't have asked for a better celebration. <3
The state of San Francisco is shocking, though. It almost looks entirely blighted, with empty office buildings old and new. There are homeless people everywhere, shit on the streets that may or may not have come from dogs, the constant smell of piss, so many people with mental issues just...being ignored block after block after block. It's really depressing, to be honest. Most of the restaurants we wanted to hit before Aladdin were closed -- including the Whole Foods right across the street. It had been pretty bad while we were going to the Orpheum and Golden Gate for our season's tickets, but...man. With tech offices going down all over the place there's just nothing left to support the city.
That's the big problem: SF let its entire identity get taken over by Silicon Valley which is all about finding that one unicorn promising exponential growth. Having an office in SF was mandatory, and requiring employees to live on a crowded peninsula so they could commute to the office drove up prices so much that even if you had a job you probably couldn't afford to live in the city. So what do you do if you have to work in a place you can't afford to live in?
Well, as soon as remote work becomes an option you demand it. No one *wants* to live in San Francisco at this point; you just HAVE to. But that imperative is less and less true all the time.
And so many stores that have supported the kind of people who could afford to be there are suddenly without their clientele. The only replacements? The unhoused people who couldn't get any of that product without stealing it...so they do. And because we live in a world that encourages businesses to protect their bottom lines over the people they serve, we end up with beef jerky behind a lock at Walgreens while people starve to death right in front of it.
Capitalism is a failed system, but I don't need to tell anyone that.
