ONLY THE HONORABLE SACRIFICE THEMSELVES

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY

Back in San Francisco, back where we started.

We did manage to road trip through some of California, heading south through San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Pebble Beach, Monterrey and Carmel, Morrow Bay and last stop Santa Barbara. We spent two nights in Santa Barbara, as it's a pretty nice city. Nice in a very unproductive-unaffordable-homogenous way. But whiteness tends to add a tinge of manufactured niceness to places, as evidenced by certain limited areas of the world. The streets were lined with sky high palm trees, sidewalk cafes, Italian eateries and South Asian restaurants, againt a backdrop of elaborate idleness.

I am here right now, at a cafe called Mochilla in The Mission district of San Francisco. Observe this sad scene of every patron staring at a computer screen. Cafe's, for those who have trouble remembering or were not aware of its significant history, were originally places of socialization when first established in the Muslim world. A French guy named Jean Chardin wrote in the 17th century about his first experience of a cafe while traveling through Persia -

"People engage in conversation, for it is there that news is communicated and where those interested in politics criticize the government in all freedom and without being fearful, since the government does not heed what the people say. Innocent games... resembling checkers, hopscotch, and chess, are played." (from Wikipedia)

Another degradation of a culture by the soulless West. Is this the beginning of a bleak and apathetic future? Because if this is San Francisco, and the way of progression, count me out.

LIBERATION

Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad.

There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.

- 1984, George Orwell

CITY OF CHAMPS

Two boys from Philadelphia paid me a visit a few days ago.

We strolled through the upscale Beacon Hill neighborhood and walked over the bridge along the Charles River, leaving downtown Boston and over into Cambridge.

We decided to sit at Peet's after all that walking to just talk and people watch. I know I've said this before but I feel it deserves another mention - Peet's is the coffee place that originally inspired the birth of Starbucks. They opted to keep it really low key though, which is why they are not as successful with world domination as the evil empire. At this point you will call me out on my hypocrisy, "but Zihan, you clearly visited a Starbucks as evidenced in the very first photo in this post. That green straw is unmistakable." Good point!

As much as I come off as a hypocrite I also have a reasonable explanation for it. Allow me to refer to a conversation I had with Naveen earlier in the day where the topic of coffee came up (my brother and I are former Starbucks baristas, while Naveen is a former barista of The Coffee Bean) and I stressed on the fact that it's hard to find a traditional coffee shop nowadays because everywhere you turn sits a Starbucks. In fact, there are about four on my street alone, and three in the mall in the same wing. You can't escape it. And so, feeling lethargic and a little desperate one results to paying four dollars for a cup of coffee.

To put it into perspective, there are only five Peet's stores in the whole state of Massachusetts.

Starbucks on the other hand, can be best illustrated with this accurate observation by comedian Lewis Black.

RUMI

What is the use of mirrors when I can see myself so clearly in words?