Neptune Landing

There is no better day than Halloween to come out. So I'm coming out as a psychic and shamanic practitioner. Let me back up. There are a few individuals in every circle or society who have been touched by the spirit world. As a child I was often poked fun as being "oblivious," or "having my head in the clouds." This was not time spent wasted but rather valuable communication with things that are unseen. In short, as the Irish say, I'm "touched." During a stretch in my 20's, the spirits took a break, and it looked like I may have a shot at leading a normal, productive life here on Earth. A lot of that was shattered with my testicular cancer diagnosis in May of 2007. On November 1st, I celebrate five years of good, cancer-free health. But the cancer, I'm convinced, was part of my "initiation illness" or "initiation crisis," the reality that there are grave threats if you deny your calling. Year after year, the spirit...

We're lucky to live two blocks from Alamo Square, the park where "the painted ladies" can be seen. The ladies are a string of six Victorian homes that survived both the '06 and '89 earthquakes. Together, before a breathtaking view of Downtown San Francisco, they make up "Postcard Row." Supposedly, the cast of "Full House" lived in one of these dwellings. Alamo Square is an uneven piece of green topography that many say is the dividing line of weather fronts. It's often fog-enshrouded, separating the oceanic West from the drier East. Dogs and their owners come to cavort on the Western half while tourists and neighbors come to picnic on the eastern slope. There is an absence of commercial activity as this is a historic residential area (and one that features quite a few halfway houses). The change in weather patterns mirrors the behavior patterns needed to get these folks sober.

Should I have named this post "Sex and the City?" That's how it feels sometimes, in this neighborhood especially, but that narrative from my fingertips would be deceitful. On the contrary, I find myself in a stable, loving relationship in a town of free love. When I met Mauricio in the Civic Center neighborhood on a Monday afternoon, we caught eyes as I was exiting the trolley. Everyone around us was looking down at their handheld gadgetry; an exercise I've had to mimic in order to keep up with opportunities. Our chance encounter was in late April about five weeks after my arrival. In my big move here, I assumed I was entering a new libertine period of my life especially since I had landed an apartment off unrepentant Church Street. The universe, however, had different plans. That shouldn't stop your curiosity about dating in this city of magic. The Castro, smack in the middle of the city, was once a middle-class Irish Catholic neighborhood referred to a...

No, this is not the name of some drag queen in the Mission but it is the Spanish phrase for Foreign Flowers of which San Francisco has many. In fact, the most illustrious and fragrant of these female spirits are introduced species. Here are a handful of the most noteworthy specimens that grow "wild" in our Fog City neighborhood spaces and Victorian front steps. Small things pack a big punch. Jasmine , a member of the olive family and native to subtropical and tropical climes of Asia and Africa, has tiny white flowers exuding a delicious, vanilla scent. It seems to adorn every stoop here. Jasmine is sometimes applied to Green Tea (which I personally dislike, finding it allergy-producing) and most widely known as a perfume. The leaves remain green year-round. Jacaranda Trees can be spotted all over the Mission and Bernal Heights. They flower in Spring and last until early Summer. They are native to subtropical and tropical areas of Central America, South America and t...

             I'm going to let the photos (nearly all taken by Mauricio Rojas) do the talking tonight. More words later in the week.

                There’s a small exercise you can do when you are seeking periods of growth and action. Sit in lotus position facing south and make an oval with your two hands over your solar plexus. This is the area above your belly button and below your breast bone. Imagine a yellow ray of light shooting through the portal and ask God, the Universe or The Great Spirit for cooperation in achieving your goals. Better yet do this in the sunshine as this third chakra activity feeds on fire and sunny self-esteem. Customize your prayer or wish and do this every day for a week. You’ll be amazed at what happens.  So it goes with the emboldening energy of the South direction. In California there is even a whole wild region that caters to growth and action. Starting one hundred and forty miles south of San Francisco on coastal Route 1 is an area known as Big Sur. The Spanish explorers named this pl...

The Mission District has historically been a middle-class Mexican and Latino neighborhood. Certain parts, since the 90's, have been anglicized with hipsters and restaurant entrepreneurs. It's a fun, colorful neighborhood in which to stroll, thrift-shop, dine and grab a drink or coffee. The best and cheapest Super-Veggie burritos can be found here in places like Pancho Villa Taqueria   and Taqueria Cancun . "It's always sunny in the Mission" is a truism that bears fruit for this flat, large, heavily populated area stretching over a hundred blocks. To the West ascends the tempestuous Castro District and to the East stands Portero Hill with her high cheek bones. The Mission, or what some dare to nickname "The Mish," is well-served by BART and several bus lines. There can be some post-apocalyptic aspects like the characters hanging out on the corner of Mission and 16th. The Mission, along with maybe Lower Nob Hill, resembles the feel of New York ...