I had an absolutely fabulous Fourth. Tammy and I successfully dragged ourselves out of bed and down to Millbrae, where we met up with Shedletsky at our favorite Chinese restaurant/opium den for a delicious dim sum brunch. We totally gorged ourselves on multiple types of shrimp families and pork goodness, to the point that we all felt somewhat uncomfortable and bad about ourselves. Following the epic dim sum adventure, Shedletsky dropped me off at my apartment, where I did some work and inadvertently napped for half an hour. Then, I went to Peets, where I had a delicious iced latte and did some more stuff for zee romance novel.
So, the afternoon was not a complete waste. Things picked up again in the evening; I met up with my family at seven p.m. to get in line for the boat to see the fireworks. It was a good thing that I left early, since the bus service cut off seven blocks early and I had to walk the rest of the way to their hotel. We stood in line for the boat for 45 minutes, then waited half an hour on the boat for it to take off, and then cruised around the bay for over an hour waiting for the fireworks to start. Spending an evening on the deck of a ferry in San Francisco Bay is possibly one of the coldest ways in the continental US to spend Independence Day. But, I went below to stand in line for an overpriced, non-standard "cappuccino", and both the enclosed space and the warm beverage helped me to get through the rest of the voyage. I wasn't even as bad off as some -- I was wearing a short-sleeved dress over a long-sleeved thermal, with a jacket on top of that, but there were some fools in tshirts and shorts. Still, the rule of thumb should be to dress for cold and then add an extra layer beyond whatever you think you'll need.
Despite the chill, the fireworks were quite lovely. They were slightly marred by the idiot next to me who kept trying to photograph the fireworks with a flash -- a complete exercise in futility that ensured that every awesome firework would be marred by his bright flash going off in my eye. I almost harassed him about it, but decided to bite my tongue; if he can't recognize that he could a) enjoy the fireworks more without trying to photograph them, and b) that he will never ever watch that footage again anyway, then my words wouldn't change his stupid mind.
After the fireworks, the boat docked, I said goodbye to my family (and ignored their concerns about whether I should walk back alone), and met up with Tammy and Shedletsky again. They v. kindly offered to pick me up, and while I still walked ~14 blocks to get to them so that they could avoid the worst of the traffic, it was a totally welcome gesture. We went back to Shedletsky's friend's place, where we drank some delicious mixed drinks and listened to music. All in all, it was quite a lovely evening!
Of course, knowing me, something absurd had to happen -- and it came true in the form of my cab driver. He told me in halting English that he didn't know where I live (even though I live on one of the most major thoroughfares in the city, and my cross-street is pretty well-known as well) and that he was new to the city. Thank goodness for my iPhone -- with the help of the map that uses my phone to pinpoint my exact location, I was able to direct us home despite my lack of directional sense. He also flirted with me, expressing shock after discovering that I'm 27 because he said I only look 20 or 21. So, despite his complete incompetence as a cabbie, I still tipped him well.
Okay, I have to get up at eightish so that I can meet up with the fam again. Goodnight!
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