Categories
life My San Francisco Chronicles

A Spontaneous, Perfect Outing

Lands End Park, San Francisco

There are few places left in San Francisco that I enjoy. There are few things I feel happy about in this city. But, yesterday, spontaneity struck.

Instead of going on our weekly gym outing, we went  to Lands End Park, which I hadn’t visited since February. The weather yesterday was perfect for a visit to the park by the ocean: sun beaming down, a mostly clear blue sky. The rays bouncing off of the water made the scene so dreamy and fantastic. Even though we didn’t venture into the park for more spectacular views, the scene (in the picture) was enough for our satisfaction.

And then, Baker Beach. I first visited Baker Beach at the very start of this year; this time, there weren’t too many people out despite the fact that it was late afternoon (perhaps because of work/school). The beach was mostly secluded and felt like the perfect hideout. No clouds or fog were blocking the view of the Golden Gate Bridge, so we stopped to take a few pictures. We walked along the beach and I got sand in my tennis shoes once again.

The whole outing was rounded out with an early dinner at 100% Sweet Cafe, which I had visited awhile ago (sometime last year) when I still lived in the Richmond District.  We were able to take advantage of the restaurant’s “Tea Time Special”, which had a lot of noodle dishes and free drinks. The atmosphere was peaceful and intimate despite the cutesy decor of the restaurant.

I needed that bit of spontaneity to refresh my mood and emotions. Sometimes I prefer the unexpected more than the routine, even though having a routine is “safe”.  Running off the beaten path seems to bring me more happiness than other things.

Categories
goals NaNoWriMo

A New Month, New Goals

I was unable to meet the deadlines for a few contests and literary magazines last month. Oh well, try again next time. However, I have discovered a few others that I am sure to enter these next two months. More time now due to less travels.

Did some goal setting yesterday. Realized a few things about myself that I was afraid of addressing before. It helps to address my values and really think hard about concrete goals. I was using lululemon’s Goal Tender website and it talked about long-term goals (10 years in advance) as well. It was frightening for me to think that far in advance, but I suppose I should prepare nonetheless. The future comes rather quickly anyway.

So far, September has been off to a healthy, fit start. I hope to have more walks and gym time this month. The summertime was rather erratic with scheduling time for friends and walks since I was working on classes all summer. My priorities must shift now since there aren’t any classes to fret about.

Also, NaNoWriMo is less than two months away now. This year I will participate again and I will make it a point to complete my draft. I still have two unfinished novel drafts to work on; 2009 was a good year for writing, but spurts of time messed up the rhythm. This year I’ve focused more on short stories, which is probably a good thing for me so I’m at least writing and not stuck.

Categories
change time travel

Travels Wrapped Up For the Season; Now What?

I’ve been back from Las Vegas since Friday, but of course it took me a few days to adjust back to daily life. It’s always like that after a vacation/trip: takes a few days to get over the exhilaration felt on the trip. A few ups and downs in moods due to the realization that “all good things must come to an end” and having to face reality again.

Summer is almost over (in a few weeks), and now that I look back on the past few months, I realize I’d done more traveling this year than in the past few years of living in San Francisco. Granted, quite a few trips this year were road trips, but still. I’ve had the opportunity to really see more of California and Nevada this summer.

But, as the title of this post suggests, I’m all finished with travels for now. And of course, the question goes…well, what next?

Sometimes things don’t go as planned…well, not sometimes, but most of the time. I find that that’s what I have been trying to grapple with this year as I keep walking along this path and noticing that many things are not going the way that I want them to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’ve had trouble trying to come to terms with this realization.

Doesn’t help when I start to wallow in negativity and telling myself “Well, gee, you’re not going to amount to anything since you keep dragging your feet.” Everything has a time and place though. I’m trying to be patient about everything and just enjoying life day by day. Isn’t that all I can do? Enjoy the present and let the future unwrap itself at its own terms?

I suppose we shall see.

Categories
#amreading list

New Domain; Update on Yearly Book List

Last night, after a year and a half of confusion, I finally figured out how to replace my domain with my blog. So, no more outdated content! Now, helenekwong.com is my blog with updated content on a regular basis.

I guess when I started my domain in early 2009, I was just excited and didn’t know how to go about it. But, as time has passed, I’ve observed others’ domains and see how they successfully incorporate their blog as their main page. I wanted that so badly yet I just didn’t know how to go about it.

And the change was rather easy.

Anyway, last night I also updated my “Completed Books” list, which I’ve kept up for each year since 2008. So far this year, I’ve only read ten books. The irony of that number is that I went through a phase of checking out 10-15 books from the library. Needless to say, I got distracted and I was unable to complete all those books within a timely manner. I suppose this year has been quite different from the past two years in that a lot more has changed.

Well, perhaps I will get 15 more books read by the end of the year if I want to stay at my average of 25 books per year. We’ll see how these last few months play out.

Categories
American Culture driving travel

Desert Land & Reflections

Dusty, two-lane highways are quintessential to the American way. Up until this past weekend, I hadn’t really experienced the meaning of a “road trip”. Sure, I drove to campus when I was in undergrad, but that was just me traveling from Point A to Point B, several times per year. I wasn’t taking stops every hour or so to take in the scenery. Then again, I was the driver.

Over the weekend, I went to Las Vegas with some friends by car. Without stops, the drive would have been nine hours or ten, with traffic. But we took quite a few stops for gas, food, bathroom, coffee, etc. Along the way, I took many pictures of the scenery we passed by. It was different from what I was accustomed to in the past: dry, mountainous desert land.

On the way to Las Vegas, I felt intrigued by the landscape and watched it all pass by with a smile. On the way back to San Francisco, I felt a sadness emanating from the lands as we cruised on up Highway 5. The dryness of the area, the monotonous tones….I realized that I wouldn’t want to live in areas like this.

Just more thoughts to confirm what my landscape preferences are: mountains, oceans, lakes, forests, etc. Let’s not talk about cityscapes this time around. That’ll have to wait until a future entry.