Maybe I'm just being prudish, but it seems to me that there are a lot more...interesting characters out and about in San Francisco than in New York. Actually, let me rephrase that: It seems to me that I've come across an entirely different cast of characters roaming the streets of San Francisco than I came across in New York. For instance, I wasn't ever yelled at and harassed by a cross-dressing prostitute in NYC. How do I know she (he?) was a...lady of the night? Because she hollered after me for two blocks that she was tired of being a hooker and she used to work for Ike and Tina Turner (...wait, what??) and now she has to chase down men on this street corner so I'd better get out of there! How I ended up in that spot is another interesting observation about San Francisco. One minute I was enjoying Thai food in a reputable establishment, the next minute I made a wrong turn and ended up in 1970's New York. Which brings me to another uncomfortable San Francisco situation: never in New York did I look up to find two people openly...fornicating under a streetlamp. Uhhh...excuse me...let me just slip by you here... AWKWARD CITY!! People who know me (which is probably anyone reading this haha) know that I get embarrassed taking the free samples at Whole Foods, so you can only imagine how mortifying that experience was for me. But people like public nudity here, I guess.
When I first got to San Francisco, I was walking down Market Street when I noticed that three men holding protest signs were causing quite a stir. When they got close enough that camera phones weren't blocking my view, I could see why. I have no idea what they were protesting, but my guess was clothes because all they were wearing was sunglasses. In another incident on Market Street, I was, again, walking along, minding my own business and not making eye contact when a...disturbed individual came up right behind me (I mean thisclose) and let out the most terrifying, animalistic scream I've ever heard. Normally, I don't get too freaked out by mumbling sidewalk dwellers, but that guy caught me by surprise, and I'm pretty sure I screamed back. Anyway, I guess there are undesirable elements to contend with in any city. For the most part, people seem to be much less bizarre here in general - sometimes verging on boring (a little crazy on the morning Muni might help wake me up before work) - and much happier about where they are. I even saw one homeless guy drawing flowers and a lawn on his cardboard sleeping unit. I've also gotten more smiles in the last four months than I did in 24 months in New York, and after readjusting to my old California self (Why is that weirdo smiling at me?? Oh, good morning Mom...) things have been just fine.
