Weeknd

FLOWER PIANO

Most of my weekends are really not worth talking about because they consist of laying in bed and netflixing and eating amazing Snyder’s Honey Mustard Pretzel Pieces and whatever else I can scavenge in my pantry but I’m proud to say I broke my lazy habit and actually did cool stuff the past weekend!

It was a rare beautiful weekend in San Francisco and I decided to check out the Botanical Gardens. I’ve been there once and to be honest there’s really nothing special about it. It’s big and spread out and I have to walk a lot which I don’t really like to do because I’m lazy, I get lost in there (mainly because I refuse to look at a map because there’s something nice about just wandering.) But this time around, it’s the 75th Anniversary and they wanted to do something special, so they decided to put twelve pianos in the gardens for anyone passing through to play.

I decided I wanted to try and be artsy so I went to take some pictures. I wanted to take pictures of a piano by itself, with no player, but I should’ve known better. It was a nice day, the Botanical Gardens is in Golden Gate Park, and EVERYONE wanted to go to take pictures of the piano by itself (I eavesdropped so I knew my idea wasn’t unique). I walked through the park and the pianists were really good, but I was kinda bored and wanted to find the bamboo forest because I’m Asian and I like bamboo.

But I kind of got lost and then I heard a voice calling to me!! It wasn’t my name, but it was the Phantom. From the Phantom of the Opera, haha. I was marching through a meadow and….”The Phantoooooom of the Opera is theeeere, inside your miiiind…” boomed out of nowhere and I scurried through as his voice drew me in.

Don’t they make a lovely group?

That group only played songs from musicals, but suddenly I saw a bunch of people crowding around enjoying their voices. It was such a great idea to stick a piano in the middle of nowhere! Others were smiling big and snapping quick vids and photos. I stayed listening and maintained my distance, not wanting to intrude on their performance.

I also thoroughly enjoyed this group as well!

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A MORNING IN A GLASSBLOWING STUDIO

The next morning I trekked a little over an hour to a glassblowing studio in Hunter’s Point/Bayview. For those who are unfamiliar with the hour, it’s one of the bad neighborhoods in SF (like the Tenderloin). But I was very pleasantly surprised with where the studio was. It seems like Hunter’s Point is getting hip! Of course it depends on what side of the tracks you live on, I hear.

It was a class of five, two couples and me. So I would be third-wheeling either way. There were two instructors so we got plenty of individual attention. Those that know me know I need a lot of guidance and attention, especially how I get carried away and do my own thing…. which has its own place and time….

I was happy that it was a little less intimidating than I thought it would be. I saw the “hot lava” and all these tools and goggles and was a little nervous, but there was no need. It was one of most fun classes I have ever taken, mainly because with handblown glass pieces, I think they are all beautiful (unlike my lame pottery and sketching attempts) and perfect in their own way. Despite how aware I was of my noobie, worse-person-in-the-class status, I didn’t let that bother me. If I can do it, you can do it too!