Friday, March 16, 2007

Chinese New Year Parade

While I was in San Francisco, I passed through Chinatown where they were preparing for the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade. My friend, Sara, and I stopped to watch them walk by with their lavish decorations. That's when she turned to me and said, "You know, we're both the year of the Snake." What did that mean exactly? I pondered the question and was stunned by the accuracy of this description (*from: The Year of the Snake):

People born in the Year of the Snake are deep. They say little and possess great wisdom. They never have to worry about money; they are financially fortunate. Snake people are often quite vain, selfish, and a bit stingy. Yet they have tremendous sympathy for others and try to help those less fortunate. Snake people tend to overdo, since they have doubts about other people's judgment and prefer to rely on themselves. They are determined in whatever they do and hate to fail. Although calm on the surface, they are intense and passionate. Snake people are usually good-looking and sometimes have marital problems because they are fickle. They are most compatible with the Ox and Rooster.

San Francisco's Embarcadero

Aaah, how I miss San Francisco. At the end of February, I went back there for the first time in 7 years and was surprised to see how much it's changed. I took the ferry building from Marin County, walked along Embarcadero, ate some free samples at Ghirardelli (!), and took the cable car down to Powell Street. It was by far one of the best days I've had in 7 years.

Boston's South End

Well, after a very long time away from this blog, I am back with new pictures! This one is a shot of Clarendon Street in the South End of Boston (also my neighborhood for the past 7 months). When the sun is setting, the reflection off the side of the John Hancock building can be quite beautiful.

What happened to my post office?!

It doesn't look like it but it was freezing cold during the days on which they demolished my old post office in Boston's South End. They sprayed water on the building to prevent a fire and the day after I took this photo, I noticed that the building was covered in thick gray icicles, giving it a spooky, almost surreal appearance.