RamblingDyna

I've been soooo busy these past two weeks that I neglected my blog. Like a plant without water and proper sunlight, my blog has laid dormant in the dark lone corner. Time to rejuvenate and give it a kick start! Ding dong...Bueller? Bueller? I'll start by summarizing why I've been away. Two weeks ago I played SF city tour guide host to my friend (and former Sega of Japan colleague) who visited me from Tokyo for four days. Half the time I was working so thank god she knew how to take public transportation by herself (Bay Area Rapid Traing (BART) and the MUNI cable car). Since s he stayed in the heart of Union Square, we walked through Chinatown all way to Northbeach. Strange, but for a Friday dinner night, Chinatown wasn't busy with the usual foot and car traffic. Northbeach was pretty oh hum as well. Yup, it's the effects of the poor economy. Last Tuesday , I was in downtown San Mateo for dinner and it was a ghost town. A sign that more people are making their...

The holidays have come and gone and it sure did feel different this year, obviously. The kinetic energy to grab the best deals and buy as much as you can carry to the car was…restrained. The checkout lines were not as long as in past years. I’ve been walking through the San Francisco Center for a week. It’s located in the heart of the downtown shopping district, a stone throw away from the famous cable car stop. It’s home to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom and the energy is very different, almost subdued. It’s like you want to dip your hands into the jar full sinful sweets but can’t because you know it’s bad for you. That’s what the crowds looked like as they snaked slowly between aisles of 50-70 percent off sales bins. They didn’t clamor over each other and hoard bundles of red tagged stuff. People browsed, poked and prodded, looked again and then walked away. Before Christmas, the crowds were plentiful but not as packed and hungry. I figured the recession cloud was hovering over...

I’ve been writing political news stories since I started my blog. It’s about dang time to step back from the wall street roller coaster mess and election campaign mudslinging and delve into more interesting or entertaining activities like a couple of free events in the city. Note: I identify San Francisco as “the city” though there are technically larger cities like San Jose and Sacramento. These cities are more suburban and less cosmopolitan, although San Jose has been making a name for itself for about the last ten years, but I digress… So I’ve listed from what I’ve heard in the media and on the street. Now there’s always something going on in the “Baghdad by the Bay” (Thank you Herb Caen) but these activities stood out to me because they’re all firsts and there’s been a lot of commotion about them. Got your pen and pad? Listed in no order of importance: The Red Bull’s Soapbox Race * Saturday 10/18 * 1pm * Dolores Park http://www.redbullsoapboxusa.com/SanFrancisco-2008/default.aspx ...