Lately, I’ve found myself to be in somewhat of a strange head space. I attribute this to not having much time to do absolutely nothing… which, honestly, I rarely do because I don’t like being “bored”, but sometimes it’s really important. As my friend Frank N. would say, “it’s all a part of the creative process.” I need to remember this.

Anyway, sorry, I like to ramble on sometimes, but along with what I was saying about down time, it is during these gaps when I can escape from my bubble and breath some fresh air. And, well, if you give a girl fresh air, she’ll also want a refreshing glass of water… and by water I mean, HAHA! – Stuff to do, people to see, places to go. Like Ms. Badu, my cipher also keeps rolling like a rolling stone, I guess.

Correcting Ono by Charles Gute

Running from April 10th – May 15th at the Catharine Clark Gallery, you too can geek out over copy-editing goodness. Charles Gute takes text-based art from the 1960s and 1970s and decides to make his mark, literally. Visit the gallery this month to see what kind of damage by way of repair Mr. Gute has done.

Anjelica Huston as Miss Eva Ernst and The Grand High Witch

Man oh man. Next Saturday, April 17th, $10 will get you into the Castro Theater‘s Matinees for Maniacs double feature of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) at 1:15pm and The Witches (1990) at 3:30pm. I’m kind of ‘meh’ about Willy Wonka, but am sort of freaking out about The Witches… in a good way. That movie scared the shit out of me as a kid, but now I think it’s hilarious… but really, isn’t Anjelica Huston super scary in her witch garb?

This week, not only did I celebrate my 26th year on this planet, but I also celebrated my 6th month living in San Francisco.

Six months ago I drove across the Bay Bridge with my Dad in a rental truck with all of my belongings. Six months ago my mom and I said goodbye through tears just like when I left home to go to UC Irvine. Although I can’t drive home when I miss my family, I’m lucky to have my San Francisco family, the family I have created.  I often find myself walking down the street or sitting on the train and I think to myself “I fucking live here.” Maybe the shock and excitement will wear off eventually, but maybe it won’t. All I know is that right now, today, I love it here. Maybe it’s like the beginning of every relationship. Perhaps San Francisco and I are in our honeymoon phase. I mean, really, we’ve had our differences, but for now everything is pretty great. So cheers, SF. Here’s to many more great months, years, decades, who knows.

Taken at Blush Wine Bar on Castro St. with my iPhone

Man, I have been lagging with my I Saw the Sign posts. Today I bring you storefront signage from one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Francisco – The Mission. The Mission is known for it’s thriving latino culture, amazing food, and even more amazing murals. But let’s take a journey and appreciate the beautiful and historical signage that the Mission has to offer.

The New Mission… I’m sure it looked new at some point. Now it piques our curiousity and leaves us to imagine what the Mission was like decades ago.

Speaking of curiosity…

Do not be deceived. What once was an El Capitan theater is now a cell phone store. I cropped the photo right above the “Phones 50% off with Contract” sign that hung below. That’s one of the neat things about this city, you have to remember to look up.

Speaking of looking up, check out the amazing murals above these shops.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the Mission, you may come across a dainty Chinese Medicine & Healing Arts Center such as this one. Painted a pretty powder blue… this place is adorable. It looks like it belongs in Noe Valley, but you know what… San Francisco is so random. I love it.

Interesting how that sexy “fox” looks a lot like a wolf. Hmmmm. I’m sure way back when, this place was the classy risque shoppe (<– 2 p’s, 1 e) where ladies would flock to buy that special piece of lingerie. Now, it’s just kind of forgettable, but if it wasn’t for it’s cool sign, I wouldn’t have stopped to notice it.

A framed sign. Genius, no?

And last but not least, a super cheesy photo of yours truly in one of my favorite places to knit in the world: Dolores Park. Ahhhh, Dolores Park – a place to relax, knit, read, people watch or do whatever you want, really. This park is crazy at times, loud at times, full of dogs and children other times, but it is always, always delightful.

My cousin Natasha and me on the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, 1994

It was April of 1994. I had just turned 10 a whole month earlier. DOUBLE DIGITS! And yes, I was clearly going through my ugly stage. Haha. My Uncle flew my cousin and I up to visit him and my Aunt in San Jose and we took a day trip up to San Francisco. The only things I knew about San Francisco at this point in my life was that the Tanner family lived there and that Rice-A-Roni was allegedly the city’s favorite food. Little did I know that 15 years later, I would call this crazy place home.

Ahhhh, tis the season for “gaudy decorations” as my friend Bri mentioned last week when we were decorating her house. Also, tis the season for busy schedules made even busier by cool things going on around town. Here are a few things to pencil into your day-planner. (Does anyone use those anymore?)

Anyway, you already know about Bazaar Bizarre happening this weekend. Check that out if you can.

If you’re into good movies… then the Castro theater is your new best friend, especially this month.

I’ll be going to see Wuthering Heights, Desperately Seeking Susan, maybe Wizard of Oz and maybe Notorious, since I’ve never seen it.

Click here to download the pdf of the December Schedule.

Also, happening now until the end of January 2010 (I think), Goteblud (located at 766 Valencia in SF’s Mission district) is hosting You Are Her: Riot Grrrl and Underground Female Zines of the 1990s in their show room/store.

I checked it out 2 weeks ago and will share my photos and finds in a day or so. It was AMAZING.

In non-holiday related news, I decided to listen to Ice Cube today. Talk about ridiculous lyrics. I think that deserves it’s own blog entry. Sneak peek: “Why you wanna murder me, I could be part of your family tree.” – Ice Cube

I don’t think I can adequately express how excited I am about Bazaar Bizarre. I’ve been dying to go for YEARS, and finally, the stars have lined up and I will be able to be surrounded by handmade goodness and the awesome people who make it all happen.

I know it’s a little difficult to buy exclusively handmade items during the holidays… but it’s good to try! This is where Bazaar Bizarre comes in handy. Support those who are trying to create goods in ethical and sustainable ways. Also, handmade gifts are extra special because they’re often one-of-a-kind… and they’re made with love. “It’s all for love. L-O-V-E.” – Michael Jackson (Did anyone else see This Is It?)

Here’s the info:

What: Over 120 Vendors, Free Craft Workshops, Food, Music <– I love all of those things.
When: Saturday December 12th & Sunday December 13th 2009
Where: San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Admission: $2.00 for adults, Children under 12 FREE (half of admission is being donated to art education organizations)

ALSO for $5 and a bag of your own old clothes that you no longer wear, you can pick up some new rags and upcycle the crap out of them.

How excited am I? VERY. I live for this shit.

For more information, head over to their website: http://www.bazaarbizarre.org/sanfrancisco/

Hope to see you there!

Martuni’s Piano Bar, Hayes Valley, San Francisco
Homegirl was singing a Ting Tings/Toni Basil medley. So much fun was had here.

Oftentimes when visiting friends in the city, we’ll go somewhere more than once in one weekend, which is a bit silly considering how the city is bursting with quality bars and venues. But Martuni’s was so much fun on Saturday night, that we decided to hit it up again on Sunday. It’s a really great martini bar in Hayes Valley/Castro. The atmosphere was like hanging out with musical theater friends. Boisterous, fun and super sassy.

Stacy and Siddiq flew down from Seattle to visit. They’re engaged! And awesome.

I was so happy to see our friend Siddiq. It has been over a year! I plan to head up to Seattle in a few months to visit them. I met Stacy for the first time and she was wonderful. We’re sunglasses twins! Basically, we both have excellent taste in eyewear.

Stacy’s beautiful giraffe half-sleeve tattoo. She and Siddiq met in the Peace Corps in Kenya.

I took the photo above for my mom. I waited until the third day we hung out to ask if I could snap a photo. I know most people are proud of their tats, but I thought I’d wait to get to know her better before I asked. Isn’t it amazing? My mom’s favorite animal is the giraffe, so I thought it would make her happy.

Marissa and I saw this shop in the Financial District on our way to North Beach. I dubbed it The Fonzworth Bentley Shop.

One of the many things I like love about San Francisco is the random boutiques/shops one may stumble upon. This shop was dedicated to the few men left on earth who wear bow ties and carry fancy combs. Presumably, men named Benjamin. It was adorable.

]]> http://artsblog.tatianajimenez.com/san-francisco/raise-your-hopeful-voice-you-have-a-choice-youll-make-it-now/feed/ 2 http://artsblog.tatianajimenez.com/san-francisco/its-true-what-they-say-in-that-song/ http://artsblog.tatianajimenez.com/san-francisco/its-true-what-they-say-in-that-song/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:57:32 +0000 tatiana http://artsblog.tatianajimenez.com/?p=760

“… ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’. I’ve moved away several times only to find myself wanting to come back. No place in the world is like San Francisco. There’s just something about it.” Faye, our Realtor said to me as we looked out of the vacant Noe Valley bedroom window overlooking a beautiful cityscape, with the Bay Bridge in the distance.

My lil sis registering to vote! SF Pride, 2009

This weekend was full of exercise, good TV show quotes, delicious food, laughter, amazing friends, the occasional naked or half naked person, and of course, PRIDE! My graduation gift to Ms. Riot Grrrl Jr. was a trip to the beautiful San Francisco. We picked an amazing weekend to visit! Not only was SF Pride happening, but it turns out, some other good friends were in town as well. I seriously have the best friends ever. I’m a lucky gal.