Tempted

City of Pleasure

Being back in San Francisco means a lot to me. It is like meeting an element of my personality I have almost forgotten about. Parts because I was so busy with moving on since I was scared meeting myself and parts because I just not paid attention to the uniquie lifestyle I used to have here: being a bartender and also working for the AIDS Housing Alliance provided me with the financial ressources to have a blast basically everyday.

Lemon Drop @ Lookout

Now, with the distance and kind of wisdom I have achieved, also with the experiences I just made in Guatemala, the appearance of the life in San Francisco has changed so much. It seems everything but sincerity is available 24/7: drinks, food, party and fun. The music is loud, the drinks strong, the guys hot and sun always shining. That might cause someone to think the city and people living here are only superficial. That is at least a thought i must admit had joined me a few times during my visit here this time. But that would be way too easy to describe the specific lifestyles the city offers- there are people making that lifestyle possible by committing themselves and there time to community issues, fundraisers or the AIDS Life Cycle. 
The city, and the communities sharing this place are vivid, colorful and diverse- which makes that place so unique. There is poverty next to wealth, there is loneliness next to friendship, there is commitment next to volatility and sometimes they compete, sometimes they share.

For me, it means that San Francisco is still an important part of my life and if possible, I would like to clone myself to be capable of living here, but also in Berlin. The fog in the evening, the colorful Victorian houses, Muni, Bart, the Bay and of course the Ocean Beach- all merging together into that once in the world environment, compared with the people here making San Francisco a place I will be always honored to call my second home. I will miss my friends and people I met here soo much and hope to get to see you soon again.

Ocean Beach

Manila- here I come

For now, I have to get my luggage together and myself prepared: in a few hours I am taking off for Manila: 13 hours of flight from San Francisco to Taipei, 2 hours of layover before flying further for 3 hours to Manila. I am curious, nervous, exited, anxious, overwhelmed and emotionally compromised- and just sooooooo happy!!! Since I do not know what to expect I decided to see what comes and try too stay calm. Even tho my current immediate environment would most probably argue I am a nervous wrack...Whatever! :)

See you on the other side!