Urban Dwellers

Living in the suburbs has a lot of advantages (e.g., space for a garden, streets that don't smell of urine, etc.), but sometimes I really miss being in a city. I've been spending a lot of time in the city lately, and a considerable amount of that time walking around. Today I was stopped twice by French tourists, looking for directions. I love tourists, maybe because I spend so much time traveling and being a tourist myself. They struggled to ask for what they needed in English. I considered talking to them in French (my French, sadly, was probably better than their English). One of my good friends is from France and she's always trying to get me to practice. Given the poorness of my French accent, however, coupled with the sensitivity of French ears, I decided it would be less painful for all of us if we stuck to English. But - it was fun just running into them. You never run into tourists in the suburbs.

I also really miss public transportation. Today I got from the Mission to the Marina for $1.50 on the bus. Cheaper than the gas it would take to go that distance. I didn't have to worry about traffic or parking or anything, just hopped on and hopped off. Easy-peasy.

And people are a lot more interesting to look at in the city. More different kinds of people, more different kinds of clothes, etc. At the risk of sounding frivolous, I have to admit that I'm very much into clothes (although you may not be able to tell by looking at the way I dress). I love fashion magazines and fabric stores and all that sort of thing. When I was younger, I used to draw clothes constantly. So it's fun to see what people are wearing when they're not all buying their clothes at J. Crew.

That said, I realize that I'm probably the worst offender in this respect. As I was getting dressed today, I noticed that I was head-to-foot J. Crew. Some days, it's all BR, or the Gap. It's all about comfort, man.