How not to share your coffee (an exercise in stereotyping) 04.17.09
I’m becoming more convinced that coffee has become less of an aesthetic or culinary element in our culture as it’s become an accessory, just like the handbag or the pearl necklace. And for some people, going out (and, say, riding Muni) without it is like going out naked.
Or so I imagine, for the hapless young musician-cum-fashionista boarding the 22-Fillmore a bit south of Geary the other day. A moderately crowded 22, plenty of people standing, and where having an extra hand available could be useful. Especially since the other was already taken up with your roll-on suitcase, upon which your handbag was precariously perched. At least you’d strapped your guitar to your back somewhat firmly.
Remember that thing about the free hand? Know what Muni buses tend to do when pulling away from a stop? Right, they often lurch. This one lurched. You promptly fell down the aisle like a pregnant cheerleader with a boyfriend about to ship out for Basic. Okay, I have some sympathy — it’s hard to wrangle suitcases on crowded buses. I picked up your suitcase for you. And handed you your bag. It was more or less at that moment that I noticed the Starbucks cup occupying your other hand, whose contents had just discharged all over the lap and legs of the guy sitting across from me. A cup thickly and thoroughly covered with your bright red lipstick as if to be more an advertisement of your fellatio technique than a caffeine source.
Jamming on the 31 last night 04.17.09
After yelling about the white man and his separation from the late James Brown, this guy pounded out rhythms, chest-high kicks and grunts from Van Ness to 35th Ave. Awesome…
This gem of a diary came to our inbox from Renee. Thanks, Renee!
Got multimedia to share with Muni rider? Email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.
Casual Complaint on F Ridership Protocol, If There Is Any 04.16.09
Another installment in the continuing saga of WT(F)
An enormous field trip gets on the F at Market and Main, like they often do.
A kid observes that the driver is annoyed because, “We took up the whole bus.”
Well, sort of. More like the whole bus is annoyed that you all packed on during rush hour.
In my perfect Muniverse, field trips, like bikes on BART, would not be allowed on the buses, especially the tiny little streetcars, during rush hour. I think they can do something awesomely educational while they wait for go time.
Thoughts? I swear its not just the cranky post-vacationer speaking here.
Dad, I Need a Gorilla and a Blackberry Storm 04.16.09
On the 49 yesterday evening I sat next to this cute little boy holding his gigantic stuffed animal and talking excitedly to his dad in Spanish. The only English words I can make out were, “No Dad, Blackberry Storm…iPhone…Pearl, no, Blackberry Pearl…”
Since when did kids get so sophisticated?
A Way to Beat Service Cuts: Work for Muni 04.15.09
The City Insider reports today that Muni has eaten through 96 percent of its $31 million overtime budget. And we’re not even two-thirds of the way through the fiscal year yet. What’s the problem? Seems that Muni is short on drivers — about 100 to be exact. And the only way to meet service demands is to extend drivers’ hours to overtime.
It’s hard to determine whether the slow hiring rate is due to a low number of applicants or a slim number of hiring personnel. After taking a cursory look at the Muni employment page, however, I didn’t find any driver positions available. Which leads me to conclude that Muni is low on hiring staff. Inevitably, Muni will declare service cuts soon.
The good news is that I came across a slew of jobs on the City and County of San Francisco Employment Page, including jobs at Muni. That’s right — Muni is hiring! If you’re unemployed, take a peek at the listings. A job at Muni would mean that you always have a good excuse to be late to work — just blame your employer.
Photo by Flickr user lotsapoppa.
Don’t Be “Sorry” On The 47 04.15.09
On my way to SPUR’s Blogging in the City event last night, a cross-dressed man boarded with a bulky roll-on luggage that was topped with yet more black garbage bags filled to the brim. He had crooked teeth and a startled, amused look on his face. As he made his way down the aisle he talked to no one in particular a little too loudly.
Passengers around him looked alarmed and shrugged at one another, trying not to notice.
As the cross dresser got up to leave, a girl accidentally bumped into him and muttered, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be SORRY,” he said sarcastically. “Do you know what ‘sorry’ means in the Merriam Webster dictionary? It means ‘worthless.’ WORTHLESS.”
Under her breath, I think the girl said, “That’s not true.”
“YES it is!,” the cross dresser said, “and I don’t need your negativity!”
Photo by Flickr user Poldavo.
Muni to Spend $1.9 Million on Renovating SF’s First Street Car 04.14.09
What’s the price of preserving history? If you’re Muni, it’s a cool $1.9 million to renovate the city’s first street car, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The San Francisco Street Car #1, the only surviving vehicle of its kind in the city, will undergo renovations in preparation for Muni’s centennial celebration in 2012.
Sure, the streetcar has definite historical significance. According to the Chronicle report:
“Streetcar No. 1 has historical significance,” said Rick Laubscher, president of Market Street Railway, Muni’s nonprofit preservation partner. “This is not only San Francisco’s first publicly owned streetcar, but it’s also America’s first.”
The celebrated double-ended streetcar, built by the W.L. Holman Car Co. of San Francisco, began service on Dec. 28, 1912, running on the now defunct A-Geary line that ran from Geary Boulevard and 39th Avenue in the Richmond District to Kearny and Market streets downtown.
Celebrants showed up to watch the mayor guide the first municipal streetcar down the street – another reminder of San Francisco’s can-do spirit that emerged from the rubble of the devastating earthquake and fire six years earlier.
But seriously, $1.9 million? I thought we had a budget crisis or something.
Culture Bus On Its Way Out — Maybe? 04.14.09
Surprise, surprise. The 74X Culture Bus is up for a vote and might be doing its last run in September, reports the San Francisco Examiner. Charging a $7 adult fare when you can get to the same places for $1.50 in this economy seems like a bad idea from the beginning, as we reported back in January. According to the Examiner:
The transit agency spent $607,372 between Sept. 27 and Jan. 31to operate the new bus line, and collected only $59,927 in revenue, putting Muni in the red to the tune of $547,445 on the line’s operating costs.
It’s maddening to me to realize that we are facing service cuts and fare hikes, and in the mean time we’ve wasted so much money on some kind of VIP tourist bus that everyone knew was destined to fail anyway.
Muni’s board will vote April 30. Fingers crossed.
Photo by Flickr user paulkimo9.
Easter Finery 04.12.09
The 38-Geary on Easter Sunday was packed full of people going to Easter festivities. Lots of pastel dresses, white cardigans, guys in suits they only wear once a year.
One elderly lady wore a child-size Easter bonnet with a white elastic band around her chin. Another woman had a bright pink dress with a matching straw hat.
There were little girls in frilly dresses and little boys with perfectly combed hair.
It was festive, nice.
Several men got out at 9th Ave., all of them in blue suits. I hoped they were going to church and not to the funeral home across the street.
Photo by Flickr user faster panda kill kill.
Weekend Photo Diary: Here Comes the Sun 04.10.09
“Afternoon sun splashes through the rear window of the T as it careens through Dog Patch.”
Photo by Jonathan Snyder (@jonsnyder)
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
