Going to the Symphony in Flip Flops

After today, I would highly recommend the symphony to everyone. Even if you go in flip flops, go. Allow me to back up and explain how I came to that seemingly unconnected admonition.

Let me start by acknowledging that there are those you have referred to me as "one lucky SOB". While that isn't a term I would necessarily choose for myself, the first half is nonetheless somewhat applicable. I seem to win more than the average individual does. For an example, see this video.
As I was talking with the other interns at work this week, we were trying to come up with weekend plans. They had me look up events going on in SF, and it seemed like everything I could find was somehow connected to the SF Pride festival being held this weekend. Eventually, we decided to check it out (it's part of the local culture, right?) and then go to China Town and hang out in North Beach.

So I met up with Briana, Katee, Chris, Ivaylo, and Chaiwei, and we took the BART to SF. You get a little taste of what the festival is going to be like taking public transit to the Civic Center, but it really can't prepare you for what it is like when you step out of station. There was glitter and rainbows all over the place. It's a poor attempt at showing you what things were like, but this is a picture I took of a group doing Zumba at one of the stages.

As we started making our way through the festival (trying not to make body contact with the more scantily clad individuals), I noticed the SF Symphony booth. They had one of those wheels you can spin, so I stepped up and waited my turn to spin. There were 3 or 4 spaces which had something you could win, and I landed on a ticket to Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" closing at the symphony this evening!

Everyone else in my group had come over by this point and were most impressed with my win. Briana spun next and almost landed on the spot with me. The lady was nice and gave her a ticket anyway. As we were walking away, she told me "I don't really want to go to the symphony." So, being the gentleman, I offered to take it off her hands.

Suddenly, I had two tickets to the symphony this evening. I love it when evening plans practically make themselves. I got a hold of the music chairwomen in my ward and invited her to come in to the city and meet up with me to go to the symphony.

Our last event at the Pride Festival was to watch the cheerleading squads perform. At first, when we showed up, I thought, "eh. They're better than my high school was, but I've seen better." And then they brought out their A squad. My jaw dropped at some of the lifts and throws that they were doing. Of course, this wasn't a competition, so the guys on stage were allowed to (and probably encouraged to) be as flaming as they wanted to be up there. Other than that, it was really enjoyable :)

As we were having lunch in chinatown, I realized that I wasn't ready to go to the symphony. I hadn't dressed trashy for the day, but I definitely was going to feel out of place in jeans, a v-neck t-shirt, and flip flops. I decided I would at least buy a dress shirt somewhere before meeting up with Rebekah for the evening.

I didn't find anything in Chinatown on our way to North Beach. We stopped at a candy shop (free samples of anything you wanted = Matt got a bit sick to his stomach) and then went and chilled in Washington Park. We were sitting on the grass chatting when the bells of the cathedral behind us start ringing. At first I thought it was toning an hour, but I looked at my watch and saw that it was 3:24, so that couldn't be it. I noticed that I recognized the tune as "Here comes the bride", so I turned around to look, and there was a bride and groom exiting down the steps. Two weddings that I've randomly seen with the interns in two weeks. What a fun tradition!

We headed back to the BART where the others caught a train heading back to Berkeley, and I started down towards all the shopping of Market St. At first, I was dismayed at the really expensive-looking shops. I didn't want a $125 shirt. I was relieved to look up and see a sign for "Ross" up ahead. Just what I was looking for.

I went and found a dark blue-green shirt that was perfect, so I grabbed that, and changed on the BART as I was heading to meet Rebekah. We met up and then got to see the symphony. I'll spare you my full thoughts on the symphony. Suffice it to say that I was blown away by multiple aspects of the evening and thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though my toes felt very conspicuously bare as I walk next to people in full evening attire.
So, while I may have a slightly above-average propensity for the acquisition of free things, my advice is to get out there. Live life and put yourself on the edge and into the unknown occasionally.