SF Diaries - Day 5 and 6

Day 5:

Monday. Busy day at work. A friend had offered to meet me for dinner in Mountain View, so, I went out early and walked around the streets of MV. Looking for a bookstore.

The first one I walked into, hit me on the head with a fat stick. There was a big huge photo, and a bigger statue of Paramhansa Yogananda. The whole book store was about spirituality, and mystical stuff.

I walked around, and didn't really find anything that I wanted.

There were sections on witchcraft. On native American stuff. I bought a few incense sticks, with exotic fragrances and then left.

My friend ditched. I ate a chocolate cookie for dinner and walked back home.

Day 6:

Election day. The big big day. As I walked to my bus stop in the morning, I walked past a voting centre. There were people standing there holding placards that said = Say No on Proposition 8.



I had seen a ballot sheet at Steven's house. It was interesting. And Proposition 8, of course, the scandalous one that was attempting to ban the legalized marriages of homosexual people in California. I had been a bit astonished to see that the Californian government was trying to ban homosexual marriages. After all, San Francisco had a large homosexual population, and was a place where they lived happily and gayly. I didn't think that the ban would get passed.

The atmosphere on office was electric too. Everyone was talking about it, and everyone was intensely waiting to see how it would turn out.

After work, I didn't have any plans, and so I decided I would go into the city alone. Was slightly impulsive, and instead of going home, dropping my laptop off and then taking a train, I just got onto a bus from Google to SF. It dropped me off at Haight.

It was dark. And chilly. I walked and walked. Felt annoyed that I didn't have my map with me. Ate dinner at a Pakistani restaurant.

The waitress was so pretty (everyone on Haight was so gorgeous). After a while, she came over and said 'I don't know if you're interested, but Obama just won the election.' She looked pleased and went away.

I was thrilled. It had finally happened. I went back onto the street and walked over to Market Street.

There was a new charge on the roads. Kids and teenagers were screaming and chanting from their houses. Cab drivers were honking. I've never heard honking in the US. But this sounded like being back on a busy signal in Hyderabad.

I kept walking. Passed plenty of people, celebrating, handing out Obama stickers, bursting fire-crackers.

Groups of cyclists were riding around, screaming and waving their fists in victory. It was infectious. Everywhere they passed the cab drivers would start the honking all over again. The bars were full - people watching Obama's speech. I had to keep walking. My bag was heavy and I had an hour long walk to the railway station.