Sorry

I'm sorry that there haven't been any new posts. I haven't gone anywhere new. Hopefully soon!

Pillow Fight Part 2:

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article about how much the Pillow Fight has cost the city over the last two years. It can be read HERE.

City Wide Pillow Fight, SF CA U.S.A.

Every year on Valentines Day, there is a city wide pillow fight in San Francisco. It is called the "Great San Francisco Valentines Day Pillowfight" and this year it was pretty crazy. Approximately 6,000-7,000 people gathered at this event. It was not hosted by anyone in particular, it just happened through word-of-mouth, emailing, and of course facebook.

At 6:00PM, when the Ferry Building's clock tower rang, everyone exploded into what one of my friends called a pillow fighting "massacre." People didn't get hurt, they just got swept along for the ride.

Upon stepping into the fight I was swallowed up by the crowd and pushed, pillow by pillow, through waves of people. My hight made the experience surreal and slightly terrifying because I couldn't see the top of the crowd. It was exhilarating. I couldn't see how far into the pile I'd sunk. I couldn't see anything but feathers and smiles and always checked aggression.

When I did finally get out of the swarm, I still felt the need to go back. I sunk in again amongst the costumed characters, teenagers, college students, 40-somethings, senior citizens, and more. It was a huge undulating swarm like a school of fish or a rage of hornets.

The best descriptor of the the crowd's sentiment though is to describe something I saw upon coming back to the pillow fight an hour or so after leaving. A tall and lanky teenage boy was wearing an adult sized diaper and metallic fairy wings. I was so scared because one after another he was being pounded on by pillows. He'd hit one person and then three more would gather around him, hitting him with pillows. I wanted to step in, to stop them. Then something amazing happened, he lost his glasses. This, I was sure, was going to be when they pummeled him. I wanted to jump forth and stop them, to pull the pillows away from each of his attackers. Just as I was about to try and stop them though, he stopped and yelled "please! please! stop! I've lost my glasses!" and everyone around him dropped their pillows, their smiles left their faces, and they all dropped down to the feather covered floor. I watched as each person searched for those glasses. Their hands swept through piles of down and fluff until someone yelled "I found them!" and everyone cheered.

A boy pilling up pillow cases with fluff and down so as to continue with the fight. He came up to me after I took this photo and said "Here, you don't have a pillow. Take this, I've just stuffed it."

Location: The Great San Francisco Valentines Day Pillowfight, Justin Herman Plaza, SF, CA, U.S.A.

Sand

My first reactions to getting sand in my shoes are frustration and annoyance. The small grains rub against my socks and soles and the rough abrasion slices at me. After a moment though, when I've knocked as much sand out of my shoes as I can, I feel a twinge of nostalgia. I can feel the stinging pain of splinters digging into my ankles from playgrounds past. I can smell the rough metallic scent of the jungle-gym and monkey-bars. Everything becomes taller and louder and free. I see everything as if it were new and question the world, its existence. How strange it is that something so small and tedious can bring such feelings of anxiety and hope all at once.

Location: Golden Gate Park play ground, SF, CA, U.S.A.

Photo Location: Baker Beach, SF, CA, U.S.A.

Barcelona, Spain, 2007

I remember stumbling through the narrow streets of Barcelona. The air was thick and warm with a tinge of salt that I had not felt in months. The streets were a bit dirty, but no more so than any other city and the stones were rough around the edges. I often saw old men hunched into themselves humming as they played instruments on the floors of deserted alleyways. The sound would float up through the crevices of buildings and swirl out into the sky, diluted.

There were dancers in the streets and food venders. The walls were graffitied and encrusted in hidden gems. Buildings spiraled in concaved and protruding movements. Gardens climbed like castles. Birds flew overhead. Everything seemed made of sand. All was a dream.

Location: Barcelona, Spain (March 2007)

Signs and Open Skies

I spent two afternoons on parts of South Congress and both times saw this sign. I don't know exactly what it was about the sign that drew my attention, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. The second day, as I was walking down South Congress, I stood and stared at it for a while but still could not figure out what about the sign was so appealing. Alas, I still can't, but I love it.

Location: South Congress, Austin, TX, U.S.A.

A place I miss:

I used to sit in the grass in Green Park and watch the people go by. I'd fall into the green and lay there hearing the hush of leaves swaying, the fall of foot steps, and the chatter of voices and nature merging.

Location: Green Park, London, England