Hu let the dogs out?!

Around 8pm this evening, I discovered that I had been wearing my underwear inside-out all day long. I guess I had been in a big hurry earlier that afternoon, and just failed to notice until then. Inside-out knickers aside, today was such a fun day. For some reason, AZ and I tend to have the random-est things happen when we're out exploring the City. And today, we were not disappointed.

The morning started off great, thanks to "Will Farrell" and his cardio dance class, topped off with "welcome to the sex trade" (his OWN composition) as the soundtrack for our crunches.

Then, ran home to change, grab lunch & chat with DGS, and meet back up at AZ's house. Our plans were to walk to the bus from her house, and head downtown for the Chinese New Year Parade. I had never been, but every year I've lived in SF, I kept telling myself "this year, I'll go . . ." Today, I finally got to see the parade in person.

We get to Geary just as the bus pulls up. Excellent timing! As we slowly make our way down the boulevard, we realize that I could've caught the bus by my house - AZ could've called me when she was close and we could've just met up on the bus. This would haunt us later in the day.

We get downtown, and have a few hours to kill before all the festivities begin. It was a gorgeous day, lots and lots of people out and about. Perfect for people watching, too. AZ had one item on her list: to find a sundress. So, we went in H&M, Old Navy, Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters (see previos post).

We then went to what is quickly becoming one of our favorite places in the city (and one of the best ever for people watching): Virgin Megastore. Not ONLY were they having a $10 sale (hello, Pink Floyd? check. Roomie bday gift? check.), but they have excellent Illy espression up at the Citizen Cupcake cafe. mmmmm. We had a bird's eye view of all the people, and there were two adorable children up there, both with red frosting from valentine's cakes smeared EVERYWHERE. It was hilarious to watch them.

-After our coffee and pocky break ("men's" pocky, at that...) we headed to Union Square to stake out our seats. We scored excellent seats on Geary between Grant and Stockton, just prime viewing. We could see and everything. The parade itself was great: so many colors, lights, firecrackers and lots of different cultures all celebrating together. What a great SF moment. The highlight, however, HAD to be the SambAsia group. We heard the drums down the street...and could see in the distance a feathered Samba dancer. And he was good. And as he got closer, we realized....HEY, that's Jaime! Our friend and Salsa instructor!! So, we stood up and waved him down & he did a little samba for us & blew kisses! Random!

I also noticed that our Carnaval Float from last year (we had the only float on the peninsula with a working cage mechanism on it) was in the parade. No longer Jaime's L.A.W. float, but rather some corporate-sponsored float, it still had the red and gold papered inside Jaime and I spent hours working on. I was happy to see it.

As 2006 is the year of the dog, several groups were dancing to "Who Let the Dogs Out?" However, let you think the title of this post is somewhat uncouth, I will mention that there was a one Mr. Hu in the parade, and we had no idea who Hu was. So, perhaps Hu is the one, indeed, who let all the dogs out.

After 2.5 hours, our legs were stiff and we were hungry, so we forewent the rest of the parade. We walked to the metreon, had a fast dinner, and then decided to walk back to Geary to catch the bus. Little did we realize that the buses were not running tonight. So, we decide to hoof it up the big hill to California street, to try the #1. On the way up, we spotted a mariachi and a woman on their way down. Just as I said "Hey! It's a mariachi," I realized it was my friend Gustavo, from SFCM. WHAT??!! Running into him here was, again, random, but lovely all the same.

We reached the top of CA street, to find out that the #1 was not running, either. We make our way to Nob Hill, and pass the Vampire Tour of SF for the night (they go to all the 'haunted' places up there) and decide to take a cab to Masonic & Geary - - near my house, and take the bus from there. Well, that's fine, except we end up walking for a long time, since there were no buses yet. Eventually the 38 comes along, and we end up almost full circle.

BUT, before we reach AZ's house, we see a couple walking towards us. The woman is carrying a bunch of balloons, and is clearly having a hard time walking straight. They stop when they reach us and ask "Are you happy?" We say, yes, and inquire if she, too is happy. Of course she is, for she is in love with her man. "And I want to give you each a balloon!! We were just a chinese wedding, and we're not Chinese of course, but to be happy is the most important." Indeed, they were not Chinese, but Russian. And the woman gave us both a balloon: silver for AZ, gold for me.

It was a perfect random cap to our adventurous day. Happy New Year, indeed.