I met you on the bus. Will you marry me?


Photo by Hello!Lucky

Christina (she of tweetsweet fame) alerted us to Cameron’s charming proposal story. Cameron proposed to “bus girl” via the rad paper book you see up there, which was made by Hello!Lucky. Here’s his story.

A few years ago I was waiting to catch the 1-California home from work when I saw a girl with glasses who immediately stood out in my mind. Looking back I have memories of thinking something like, “That’s a girl I could see standing next to me for the rest of my life.” Soon after that I noticed she also rode the same Golden Gate Transit bus I rode to San Rafael for work. Quite a few times we’d stand next to each other waiting for the 1, me trying to appear like I wasn’t paying attention to her. This tandem bus ride schedule went on for a couple weeks, but eventually I stopped seeing her on the bus.

A number of months and a relationship came and went. From time to time I’d wonder what happened to the bus girl. One day she appeared on my Golden Gate Transit bus. We began to smile at each other every now and then, but still we generally acted like we didn’t know the other was there. This game went on for a while, but eventually I decided it was time that I actually said hello to the bus girl. One day I sat down next to her on the bus. In my best I’m-not-trying-to-hit-on-you voice said, “Hi, I’m Cameron. I feel like we should know each other.”

I later learned that for that year and a half of talking about the “bus girl” with my friends, her friends had been calling me “bus boyfriend.” People like to give us a hard time for taking so long to say hello to one another, but we agree that we’re glad it took that long. We both changed a lot in that year and a half, every bit of it getting our personalities in just the right place for when we finally did meet.

Here are more images from his paper-proposal:


Photo by Hello!Lucky


Photo by Hello!Lucky

I’ve run out of ways to say “rad.” Congrats, Cameron and fiancée!

Pay It Forward for Photographer Julie Michelle

self portrait: she lives here.

It’s time to pay it forward for San Francisco photographer and Muni Diaries friend Julie Michelle.

Muni Diaries readers have enjoyed Julie’s work in the last three years. The beloved local photographer runs I Live Here:SF, the project that started out as an open invitation to simply practice portrait photography. The project has become a great documentation of the people of San Francisco and has resulted in gallery shows, a book, and a community.

Julie’s life partner Lee suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, and her photo subjects are banding together to help.

Julie Michelle of ILiveHereSF.com needs some help. Lee, her partner of many years had a massive stroke recently. We’re throwing a fundraiser event to help them get a handle on the massive expenses that come along with getting sick these days.

Come to a fundraising party at the San Francisco Motorcycle Club (shot by Julie Michelle here) on Sunday the 18th from 3:00 to 7:00. There will music, drinks, good people, and a raffle. Donations will be gladly accepted in person, but if you can’t make the event, there is a ChipIn campaign already running here.

The outpouring of support for Julie is a testament to the wonderful community she’s built through photography. If anything, come and meet some fellow San Franciscans who love our city as much as you.

Here are some of our favorite photos (featuring Muni, of course!) taken by Julie.

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After school on the 22.

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Speak Softly, Carry a Horn on Muni

Muni rider Sarah took this one. I love how quiet it is; I always (easily) forget how peaceful it can be on the bus.

…unless the guy at the very front honks the horn affixed to his cane. Per Sarah:

Hard to tell from afar, but there’s a squeaky horn on the end of that old man’s cane. I wonder if he uses it like a car horn, when people are walking too slowly in front of him, or to tell his wife to hurry up because he’s waiting outside.

It would certainly come in handy on Muni, let’s not kid ourselves here. Bravo, cane-horn guy. Few people can pull this off, but I think he does it well.

Visualizing BART to Marin (and Napa and Sonoma)

Take that, George Lucas!

Via all-around cool site 10 Times One, we discovered this amazing conceptual map by Jake Coolidge of what a more extensive BART network might look like. We sure do love the idea of all those lines spreading out over San Francisco.

And we know full well this is bound to become reality, oh, never. Still. This. OMG, BART to shuttle me around wine country? Big yes.

Clicky for a bigger version of the map.

Thanks, Jake and Nico!

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