San Francisco Seduction Tour

2006 > America

Oh baby! Take me there now!

no rain!
Great morning views
what in the hell?
Random San Fran stupidity
Back in 2002, I wandered through San Francisco on my famed California Hype Deflation Tour. That trip was really a reaction to Jingmei’s leaving and more a soul cleansing than a true adventure. This time I went for work, fun in its own right, but made sweeter with someone else’s per diem money.

This time I also stayed right downtown at the Cartwright Hotel, just off Union Square, which meant my morning runs, up Telegraph and Knob hill were real thigh burning fun. DC might have the Exorcist Stairs, but that ain’t nuttin compared to the 300+ stairs leading up to Telegraph Hill alone!

During the day, I was geeking out, doing my shill for Geekcorps. We will not get into that, but I did feel like I was in the land of my people – geeks all! I even did a mass geek-in one night, collecting around 30 would-be volunteer techies to talk international development with technology. Maybe you read about it in the C|Net article?

Wandering back to my hotel each afternoon was an adventure. While every night I was met by free (if cheap) wine at the Cartwright Hotel, other times I was surprised by random dogs wandering the lobby as guests. Seems the Cartwright Hotel on Sutter Street allows dogs to stay with guests on the second floor. And here I thought dogs, like smokers, should be kept outside.

I kept myself outside the hotel too, exploring all nooks and crannies of this fair and fun city. Some nights I remember clearly, like my Beauty Bar manicure, and the Miss-Matches.com show, while other nights… I only have cell phone memories of those.

In the end, after the jackhammer road construction right outside the hotel is a distant memory, I think I have to reassess my California impressions. With events like the 12th Annual Urban Iditarod cruising the streets on a random Saturday, San Francisco might just be cooler than DC.

Yep, this was the San Francisco Seduction Tour.


2 Comments on “San Francisco Seduction Tour

  1. Hi Wayan!

    Here is you biggest fan again 😉

    I had a good time at the geekcorps meeting the other night, you are an interesting guy (not that i already knew that from your site).

    Unfortunately i am a nerd and no geek, but who knows, maybe there will be need for a nerdcorps eventually!

    Anyway, your website encouraged me to go discover the world on my own, have a look if you have some spare time ( http://www.til.bartel.de.vu/asia/ ).

    Poka!

    Til