Flickr Account

Check our pictures at my new Flickr account. It's in the links panel.

This is Natasha with a baby in her tummy. We get to find out what it is on the 21st.

You can judge a city by it's library.

Okay, So I haven't actually written anything for a while. Either on the blog or anything literary, so I think I am going to describe an experience I had in San Fran.

We were in the San Francisco public library. It is a beautifully designed modern building. The foyer was serene and felt like a university. I felt smarter for being there. However, being open to the public, the library was home to all kinds of people. One of them smelled so bad my eyes watered as we walked past. Others sat and talked to themselves, or looked at porn on the internet. There were books strewn on the floor and other signs of disrespect and apathy. We found some empty chairs and sat down. I tried to pick up a magazine but they fell to the ground. I nervously picked them up. I looked up to see a man sitting at a table in front of us. With his eyes wide open he looked me up and down and said, "Is your camera electric?"
He was white and balding, with a too-heavy coat on that was dirty and overused. He was reading a copy of some philosophical book. He didn't have a lisp, but he had some effeminate or homosexual qualities. Maybe I only thought so because of the way he looked at me. I palmed my sister's Canon SLR I was carrying around my shoulder.
I fake-smiled wide and shot my answer back before I had time to really feel anything. "Nope, this one's for real," I said.
"Oh well that's good because," and then he said something that Natasha and I couldn't understand. But we were both nodding and, when he finished talking we both said uh-huh and nodded again. We knew talking was a therapy for him and that what he said didn't matter as long as he felt some semblance of human contact. His eyes snapped back and forth to both of us. We had too much money and were too safe and sheltered. We must have looked like the two whitest tourists ever. He might of noticed and given up on us just then. But he continued talking anyway. Maybe he really did just need some semblance of human contact. "Digital cameras are convenient but, they're not convenient. If I could buy a camera I would get a German Leia."
"Leica," I said. I know that brand, I thought. I had learned that name from the play I was in last summer. At the same time I felt intelligent for knowing about something that I've never talked about or seen before, I remembered Natasha at my side. She was looking over at me more bored than scared, so I figured I could indulge this guy some more. I was already scared, either Tasha was hiding it well or she didn't care. Goes to show how much of a man I am.
"The good thing about digital cameras," I told him, "is that you can see the picture right after you take it. You don't have to wait for them to develop." He perked up at a real thought from me and settled comfortably into a conversation. But his comfort made me uncomfortable. So I knew that at the next available opportunity I would politely smile, end the conversation and leave. I communicated this to Tasha with my eyes. She agreed without moving.
"Oh, Do you say it Leica?" He said. "Well, I had a Pentax when I was a kid and that is like bottom of the line." I nodded some more. Then, I grabbed Tasha's hand, and we left. "Nice talking to you." He raised his hand toward us, gloved with the fingers cut off, as we left.
We spent some more time in and around the library and I was completely uptight until we were back on the BART on our way home.
Now the big question for me is am I just white and sheltered? Or did I really have a good reason to be as scared as I was?

Here is a slideshow I made of our trip to California. I hope y'enjoy it.

We visited the great state of San Francisco yesterday.