Day #45 – A Photo A Day 2013
Valentine’s Day is today, or if you prefer to call it “Singles Awareness Day”.
It’s not that I am anti-Valentine’s Day, but I’m not really a fan. As a kid I LOVED it – it was a reason to make pretty cards and give them to your friends – that’s something that I liked to do anyway, but people made fun of me for being “mushy” so I just kept the sweet messages for Valentine’s Day.
As I grew up, I realized just how commercial the holiday had become… or at least I THOUGHT had become. Valentine’s Day origins are different from the modern day celebration of the holiday, which didn’t really have any mention until the 14th century.
From my observation, Valentine’s Day has become a day for people to feel guilted into buying presents and fosters the believe that if you’re single, you aren’t worth as much. Not everyone sees it that way, but in my mind, every day should be like Valentine’s Day – show people how much you care – show them how you feel with your actions and your words every day. Make it a celebrated lifestyle and not just one day a year.
There is a tradition here in San Francisco, a way to celebrate the day that everyone can enjoy wether you are single or in a relationship, young or old – it’s the Great San Francisco Pillow Fight and I went to it tonight at Justin Herman Plaza!
Here is a guy blowing feathers at me, and well… me covered in feathers!
Blowing Feathers at the Great SF Pillow Fight
At the 2013 Great San Francisco Pillow Fight!
I’ve never been in the middle of such craziness! I am guessing there were over 3,000 people there, maybe closer to 4,000, most of which were in the thick of things swinging away with their pillows!
Revelers were not supposed to hit people with cameras, but I still got hit… A LOT. Sometimes, it hurt, and twice my iPhone got knocked to the ground, but thankfully it was not hurt!
I was out there in the fray for about an hour and a half, and loved every second of it. The event was supposed to last for another 2 and a half hours, but I didn’t stay… I wish that I had stayed to get pictures of the aftermath, but after I went home Chris and I spend our Valentine’s evening playing Borderlands 2 well into the night.
Giant pillow fights and playing video games probably isn’t most people’s idea of a romantic Valentine’s evening, but I cannot imagine a better way to spend it than doing just that. (I can’t wait for next year’s pillow fight!)
Day #44 – A Photo A Day 2013
A few weeks ago I discovered an awesome website called SF Fun Cheap where there are listings of tons of free or cheap events happening all around San Francisco and the Bay Area and since then I’ve found many great things to do which has introduced me to several awesome people.
As we only know just a few people here it’s nice to find venues that make it easy to meet people with similar interests. It’s not a meetup source but so far a few of the events have made it possible to meet some really nice people.
I went to an event this evening at the Ferry Building – it was scheduled to start at 5:30, but I walked to the waterfront early so that I could catch a few shots of the Raygun Gothic Rocketship, one of my favorite places so far here in the city.
It was COLD. I didn’t think about the fact that it can be a few degrees cooler there despite the fact that it’s only 4-5 city blocks from my apartment, so I was FREEZING after spending a half hour in my hoodie next to the water. So, I walked a few more yards down to the Ferry Building and walked around inside to warm up.
It was time for the event to start… I didn’t see anyone gathered yet, and from the information on the event page, it was going to be obvious when they arrived. Minutes passed… I was not going to go outside and freeze again so I just hoped that they hadn’t changed the meeting place… checked Facebook… no notice there.
I patiently waited at the doors… watching from my nice warm spot, people filling in and out of the building as the ferries came and went – no one even noticed me, which was good because I was snapping shots of people walking without anyone noticing. 🙂
Suddenly, they appeared! The first person I saw was a girl in a cute black and red tutu with hearts all over it… I walked outside, and was glomped by a lady in a huge heart costume! Free hugs for all! The First Annual Operation Street Love was in session!
Crack A Smile!
Only 6 people showed to give random people hugs… a smaller turnout than was expected based on the responses on Facebook, but 6 was still fun! They hugged commuters, scared tourists off with their offers of hugs and high-fived joggers, spreading love and smiles everywhere. I hope that there is a bigger turnout next year – people need to have a reason to smile more.