Skip to main content

sights of SF


There are 3 things of interest in this first picture: the sea lions, pier 39 and the city scape of San Francisco. This was taken from the boat as we were leaving the harbour for our cruise of the Bay on Monday, January 29, 2007. The sea lions get quite vocal at times and while some thought they were begging for food, I don't think they were addressing humans at all - they seemed to be talking amongst themselves. They like to hang out at Pier 39 because there are plenty of fish in the shallow waters and the harbour offers protection from rough water.

The second picture was taken on the one-hour boat tour just before we went under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was really the only magnificently sunny and clear day I had while I was in the San Francisco area, and I was grateful for a chance to remove my jacket and use my sunglasses. I did not complain about the wet weather as my friends said they really needed the rain so who was I to demand personal comfort instead of eco-balance? Nevertheless, many thank-you's were given by me on said Monday for the beautiful sun, mostly clear blue skies (it did cloud over in the afternoon immediately after I finished the cruise of the Bay, but there was no rain) and the ability to walk outside for 8 hours a day without encountering a speck of snow or a hint of frostbite.
The third picture was taken from the end of a cul-de-sac street that one had to climb a very tall set of stairs to access. The architecture of the city is very colourful and fairly new because most of the city had to be rebuilt after the majority of it was levelled in a major earthquake in 1906. The somewhat hostile hilly landscape and the recurring earthquakes have not deterred the people of this city from staying and making this a thriving and vibrant place to live. I admire that kind of perseverance.
Enjoy your view today, whatever it may be, because you will never see it exactly that way again.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

comedic timing

Comic by Joel Micah Harris at xkcd.com One of my favourite jokes goes like this: Knock, knock. Who's there? Interrupting cow Interrupting cow w--- Moooooooo!! Timing is important in both drama and comedy. A well-paced story draws the audience in and helps it invest in the characters, while a tale too hastily told or too long drawn out will fail to engage anyone. Surprise - something which interrupts the expected - is a creative use of timing and integral to any good story. If someone is reading a novel and everything unfolds in a predictable manner, they will probably wonder why they bothered reading the book. And so it is in life. Having life be predictable all of the time is not as calming as it sounds. We love surprises, especially good surprises like birthday parties, gifts, marriage proposals, and finding something that we thought was lost. Surprises are an important part of humour. A good joke is funny because it goes to a place you didn't expect it to go. Sim...
Post a Comment
Read more

what's on your breastplate?

Who wants to be a priest? I asked this question in my faith community this past Sunday and a few eager hands went up. But there were also looks of puzzlement. Perhaps some people were thinking, "Maybe, but what exactly does a priest do?" I am so glad you asked. The first mention of a priest in the Scriptures is Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Abram has just rescued Lot and his household from capture (they got caught in a war between rivalling kings), and when he returns, he is greeted by the grateful king of Sodom and a priest. “And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’” (Genesis 14:18-20, NRSV) So what does this tell us about what it means to be a priest? First, this priest was also a king. Subsequent priests were not kings, so this double role was unique to...
1 comment
Read more

Esther's protest

I have been hesitant to write anything here pertaining to the student protests in Montreal, partly because I didn't believe I had any solutions to offer and partly because I just wanted to stay out of the controversial mess it has become.  Besides, I have studying to do.  But this weekend, something changed.  I read the book of Esther. First, some background:  the unrest started early in the year when a group of students decided to protest the tuition hikes proposed by the Quebec government ($325 a year for the next 5 years).  Seeing that tuition rates have been frozen for almost ten years, it seemed reasonable to the government to increase them to reflect rising costs.  This did not sit well with some students, and they organised an ongoing protest in which students were encouraged to boycott classes and refuse to hand in assignments.  It has now grown into a movement which has staged several organise...
9 comments
Read more