First sunny day

Easter Sunday was the first warm and sunny day of 2023, and it seems San Franciscans were out and about in full force. Even the homebody me went to the Mission Dolores area for a bit of afternoon sun and food. I get it: after an intense winter of cold and rain, the desire to be outside in the sunshine is strong. Dolores Park was absolutely jammed packed with revelers. In celebration of Easter, there was a Foxy Mary and Hunky Jesus contest. It is exactly what you think it is, and how appropriate it is for San Francisco to turn Christianity into a beauty contest.

Sometimes I feel like a tourist in my own city, because I typically stay home so much. The fun activities that people do, the unique districts that people hang out in: there’s plenty I’ve actually never partake. Yesterday we sat in an outdoor parklet for hours, just drinking and eating sliders. You know what’s great? The widespread availability of non-alcoholic beers at bars now. It’s great for people like me who really prefer to not drink alcohol.

I also had Bi-Rite ice cream for the first time. An apparent San Francisco institution that my friends chastised me for never having. The line around the block is a show of its popularity. I don’t think my homebody tendencies can be blamed here: I simply don’t eat a lot of ice cream. Fat and sugar may be a splendid combination for taste, but not so great when it comes to health. But for a sunny and mid 70s afternoon in San Francisco, two scoops on a waffle cone is quite amazing. I am disappointed that Bi-Rite does not offer my favorite flavor: rocky road.

Will I spend more time outside now during the weekends? Probably not. Tendencies and habits are tough to break. I have to say though I do enjoy it immensely during the few occasions that I do. Easter Sunday afternoon in the Mission was lovely. It’s the sort of San Francisco atmosphere that people flock to.

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The spice of life.

Doing nothing that costs nothing

Recently I saw on television a commercial for vacation rentals. The tagline was you can get away to some place from home and do absolutely nothing. Just chill on the beach, or on the deck of the rental. To escape the hustle and bustle of your regular life.

To the advert I remarked, “Wait a minute, I can do nothing right at home!”

It’s rather absurd that someone needs to spend thousands of dollar to fly somewhere simply to do nothing. I on the other hand try to do so every Saturday. I greatly admire the Jewish tradition of Shabbat (and the Christian sabbath equivalent). Adherents abstain from any type of manual labor from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. It is pure leisure for 24 hours. A mini vacation every single week, if you will.

I love that idea. After a week of busting ass at work and taking care of chores at home, it’s good to take a pause. Otherwise, what’s the point of working? Isn’t it ultimately to buy more free time? (Beyond the basic food and shelter stuff.) The brand of hustle culture that makes you feel guilty for lethargy on weekends is utterly toxic. To fill every waking hour with “productivity” and “self improvement” is how you get burned out. That’s how you speed-run through life, always onto the next task.

That was me.

Here’s my ideal Saturday morning these days: wake up and make coffee. Then sit in front the window drinking that coffee while listening to music for the next two hours or so. No social media, no YouTube. Only the sounds out of the speakers and the view out the window. Can you do that without the urge to grab your smartphone?

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Johnny Tran!

There's always more to do

A conundrum I’ve been grappling with lately: if I get done early with the day’s schedules, should I take a break until the next day, or attack what’s to come and keep piling it on?

On a theoretical level, I think it’s healthy to take a breather, especially after I’ve already executed everything on the day’s docket. Why shouldn’t I take advantage of the well-earned leisure time? Go on; open up Youtube and drown myself in automotive-related videos. Rinse and repeat when tomorrow arrives.

The problem is that often during those downtime, the utter lack of productivity leaves me with a sense of anxiety. Perhaps my daily checklist isn’t rigorous enough, and that’s the reason I even have time leftover to begin with. Or perhaps I should get a head start on the following day’s schedules: the faster I finish, the more I can do and learn.

I’ve become so preoccupied with maximizing learning that I can’t allow myself to have satisfactory moments of mindless activity. That’s now how it’s suppose to work! I set goals for what’s to be accomplished for the day, and when those are done, that should be it: no fretting, no anxiety of inadequacy.

Think back to school days: when I got done with the night’s homework, I didn’t yearn for more or agonize over whether or not it was enough; I was only ecstatic at being able to turn on the Playstation for some Grand Theft Auto action. As far as I was concerned, the goal of homework wasn’t to reinforce learning (even though it did), but rather it was to finish as quickly as possible so that I can have free time to play games.

Why can’t I replicate that now? When I get done with the day’s task I feel like I should be doing more instead. Already studied Korean for an hour? How about another more: I’m need to study again the next day anyways, so might as well get ahead on it.

Perhaps that’s the price to pay for progression; I understand taking breaks are important, but these days I absolutely detest idle time. It’ll be a rough road, but I think I need to gradually reacclimate myself with the notion of being perfectly fine with not doing anything productive.

Shudders.

The many faces of San Francisco Chinatown.