On Thursday I interviewed at St. Thomas Episcopal day school in downtown Oakland. My interviewer was very kind and seemed to like me. The school is incredibly diverse, and openly accepting of LGBTQ-identified people, which is a major (+). My interviewer Khadijia said "she definitely wants me to come back" so I am meeting the school's headmaster next Friday. Basically a week before school begins. It feels right for me. Then Jess and I jumped back onto Bart and went back to the car.

We smoked a bowl and took a drive. Then I went and auditioned at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Orinda. The director was nice and chatty. I sang a lied for him and then he requested we do some Messiah. I chose the couple I knew fairly well, then he said, "why don't we do 'The trumpet shall sound'?" I thought I remembered it, but I guess not too well. I had to basically sight read the melismas--omg why did he choose that one. But it was a nice time. We talked shop for about an hour.

Then Jess and I took a back-way home to Hayward and I got to see my first redwoods. They were lovely.

I'm home now. I feel more satisfied during the job hunt since I've been in California. I never felt satisfied with the process in the nine months I was unemployed at home. There was nothing that surprised me. Here, there's a lot to surprise me.

Friday was a first: Driving.

I drove for the first time in California. I was high, actually. We drove to Safeway where I spent $7 on a box of Red Rose tea. When I got home I made my first pitcher of sweet, southern iced tea (ty Jon Boldon for the articulate pronunciation). It was yum-nutz. I also watched some Amadeus in my room as well as some Invader Zim with my roommates. It was fun times.

Saturday: I am finally home.

Today I was introduced to San Francisco. The experience was surreal. The roommates and I decided late this morning that today would be the day Maestro was to meet his San Francisco. We jumped in the car and headed downtown.

The commute was long, but we were high so the journey was exquisite. I crossed the Bay Bridge today in addition to seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in spite of the most delightfully cool day and its accompanying fog.

On a bit of an aside, I am so stoked that I got to see Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Books at 261 Columbus Avenue at Broadway. Holy shit...talk about history coming alive.

We started in North Beach--San Francisco's version of Little Italy. The parking gods were good to us, for which we were most grateful. We traversed the hills of NB in search of my first slice of SF pizza. Jess remembered a little pizzeria she had visited once while tripping so we dutifully sought out the famed spot. Along the way we encountered a street festival where all sorts of people from seemingly every nationality were eating food and making merriment. We found the pizzeria and enjoyed a big slice of greasy, delicious pizza pie. Pictures are forthcoming.

Then the roommates took me to what proved to be a very special event: Hippy Hill. Can anyone say past lives? I have been there before. No questions asked. It was all eerily familiar, peaceful, safe, but different. I remember it being cleaner. I remember when the hill was taken care of by real hippies and honored appropriately. Today's Hippy Hill was littered, so that was a bit of a drag.

I saw some lovely homes along the route to golden gate park and a lot of amazing architecture downtown. The Palace of Fine Arts was particularly spectacular. It was also pointed out to me that Robin Williams is actually a resident of San Francisco. I'm not surprised. Who wouldn't want to be here?!?

Oh, I got to see the Haight!!! Omg! I have been on those streets countless times. I saw myself, or what I perceive as my authentic self fully expressed, in the Haight-Ashbury district today. Totally chill, laid-back, lots of bookstores and shops, weed dispensaries, cafes. Everyone was a different color and shape, and people were welcomed regardless of what they wore or who they were busy being...it was just chill. I will live there again somewhere along the journey, preferably in this incarnation. From the Haight it was on to the Holy Land: The Castro!!!

Holy shit, sister! I saw my sisters and brothers walking upright and proudly, without fear of recourse. The Mecca of the gay community, with its rainbow flags displayed often and proudly throughout, is a very special place where one can feel and know that being gay is an expression of humanity and that it is our shared humanity that entitles us all to dignity, self-worth, and claims to power. It was a moving and thought-provoking experience. Apocryphally, everything from the restaurants to the shops, was done in the best of taste! At this juncture I don't imagine myself ever living in the Castro, yet I know it will be a frequent rest stop on my journey toward discovering myself as a Californian--a San Franciscan--and discovering myself as worthy of this experience.

I got to try Cuban food for the first time this evening. We went to a restaurant called Cha Cha Cha's where we ate tapas and quesadillas and drank a pitcher of Sangria. The supper was very filling and proved a nice counterpoint to last night's Indian cuisine, which was also quite tasty.

After getting really tired we decided to head home. We got to the house, got comfortable, smoked the vapo, and watched a cool movie we all enjoy. Now I'm just gonna chill and be grateful for finally being able to come home.