Day 5 of Trip – Last Day in San Francisco

It’s fitting that my time exploring the hills of San Francisco had its ups and downs. I had some bad days and I had some good days,but they balanced out and resulted in a richer and more impacting experience. I think when given a choice, most people would prefer a life of good and bad over a life of routine indifference. It reminds me of something a professor and friend of mine once asked, “Who wants an easy life?”In the end, I look back at the trip as a success. The whole reason I went on this trip was to attend the Google IO Developer Conference, and it being held in San Francisco was really just a bonus. It wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable if it were held in the middle of nowhere. If I had to summarize the main point I’m taking away, and the forecast I will offer to people that ask, is to get ready for the internet phone revolution. Put it this way, if you had a choice between carrying around a laptop or carrying around a phone (all things web content being equal), which would you choose? Furthermore, which do you think you would end up using more? The new model for designing web software is the phone, the computer is the easy part. Something else that I’m taking away, but having a hard time accepting, is the knowledge that I’m no longer apart of an internet subculture. It is no exaggeration to say that the web is the cornerstone of our current era. Computers and the internet are used on a wider demographic scale and no longer exclusively in the hands of nerds. I tend to cringe when I overhear people casually talking about a website or even worse, giving each other internet advice. It usually takes a lot of self-control for me not to correct someone or offer a more enlightened perspective, but I’m getting better. However, I do feel that my resentment of this is somewhat justified because it’s yet another instance of something becoming cool or fashionable to the people who used to ridicule and roll their eyes at it. Oh well, I will always take comfort in knowing that myself and others who enjoy staying in on Friday will forever be one, and many steps ahead of insecure, yuppy douchebags. No, I will not fix your computer.

I spent the first part of my last day in San Francisco racing around to all the places I had yet to visit. I was able to see everything and more due to the help of a cabbie named Gunther who decided to check-out San Francisco 35 years ago and never left. As we went from landmark to landmark, there was never an awkward or dull moment as he enthusiastically offered the relevant historical background about each location. I’d recommend him to anyone going to San Francisco, but don’t know how to contact him. I gave him the address of this website so hopefully he’ll leave a comment or something.

Arriving at Alcatraz, I was surprised to discover that the world’s most famous maximum-security prison gets full cellphone signal strength. I haven’t really mentioned it to anyone up until now, but the main reason I wanted to take the Alcatraz tour was because it’s something my parents did when they were in San Francisco. It was many years ago around the time I was born, but of all the places they visited, they probably talked about Alcatraz the most. Maybe it’s weird, but I guess that I saw this as some way of being closer to them. Since the prison hasn’t been operational for almost a century, I imagine it was probably a lot more exciting when they were here. Still, I have never seen a prison before and was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. A fitting conclusion to my trip, thanks for the recommendation.