San Francisco Photo Diary

I flew across the country to visit San Francisco and my lovely friend Denisse this past Easter weekend! 

A quick Google search to learn more about the city before my trip:

Hilly, cold, bad, busy today, dirty, windy, foggy, empty, AND cold in the summer – exactly how a city would want to be described!

From what I’ve seen on the news, San Francisco’s reputation seems to have gone down in flames. However, from my four days there, it is actually not as dire as they say. 

My deep observations: 

San Francisco is a city of contrast

We zoom around in the backseat of a self-driving car listening to Telegraph Avenue (“Oakland”) by Childish Gambino while gazing out at storefronts with cracked glass and penniless homeless people walking on all fours. 

What is the weather like in San Francisco? About 10 degrees cooler than you think it is going to be.

I stuffed my trusty JanSport backpack (the same one I’ve had since high school) with a bunch of dresses, running shorts, and cheerful tank tops, fully embracing my California-is-sunny-and-warm delusion. My most used piece of clothing turned out to be my ex-roommate’s ski jacket. On my first day, I naively set off to explore Haight-Ashbury in running shorts until it randomly became cloudy and chilly (still 65 degrees but somehow felt colder than a March day in NY).

Everywhere is farther away than it looks on Google Maps

I may have severely underestimated how long it takes to get from one neighborhood to another... (or even just down the street within the same neighborhood.) This is partially due to the steep, rolling hills. As someone who thought she was moderately fit, I've been humbled, like everyone on LinkedIn. Additionally, I realized I’ve been absolutely spoiled by New York City’s public transit, where CitiBike stations are prolific and subways and buses appear every two minutes! On my first day here, we were driving on a street with such a vertical incline that I was terrified that my Uber would start rolling backwards. Nevertheless, you get to save on gym membership here and your calves will naturally become ripped. There are also random peaks throughout the city which give you magnificent, panoramic views of the city. Anyways, MUNI is such a cute name for a mass-transit system, and I’m a big fan of the BART! I heard from my genius friend Denisse that they use the sounds of the BART going in the underwater tunnel from downtown SF to Oakland in horror movies. 

Daily Journal (shortened/less TMI'ed version of my notes):

Friday, 4/18/25:  On Good Friday, I woke up late at 6:15AM and bolted out of the door to take the E Subway and AirTrain to JFK. I prefer JFK over Newark though people say that Newark is closer to Hell’s Kitchen. Newark is closer to Hell. I was the absolute last person to board the flight (thank God for TSA Precheck). Got super lucky since I was in the last row of the plane by the window (and the middle seat was empty) so it was spacious and I got to read on the plane! Landed around 1 PM, hopped on the BART into downtown SF, and immediately went to explore the hip Haight Ashbury, where I browsed through vintage clothing stores, cafes, and a music shop. I loved observing all of the pretty pastel Victorian houses, including the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin house!

Amoeba Music where you can get lost in rows and rows of records, CDs, old DVDs, and posters

Later in the afternoon, I rented a bike from Avenue Cyclery and biked through the magical Golden Gate Park, passing by the bison paddock, a roller skating ring, bumpy dirt trails, a rose garden, and vast flower meadows! Eventually, I reached Ocean Beach and biked along the highway by the ocean views and sand dunes. Then I went to a pole class at V3rve (shoutout to Sara for the rec). Finally, I ended the night in Chinatown and at Vesuvio Cafe- the birthplace of the martini. 

Saturday, 4/19/2025: Started the morning by exploring the farmer’s market by the ferry building. It’s the most expansive market I’ve ever been to, with rows and rows of tents stretched out in every direction, bursting with organic colorful cabbages, radishes, kale, and about 37 kinds of leafy greens I couldn't even name. 🌞🍓 My favorite tent was the orange tent since you could sample every type of citrus, from the abnormally giant yet GMO-free pomelo to blood oranges to tangelos to classic navel oranges.I also loved trying out the hummus and admiring all of the baked goods. This place is absolutely a crunchy granola mom’s dream.

 

Additionally, I looked at the creations of all of the local artisans. I bought bok choy earrings and clay daisy earrings in the Ferry Building. Later, we went to a wonderful quartet performance that Denisse’s friends had organized, and then decided to adventure out to Oakland and the vibrant college town of Berkeley. As we wandered around Berkeley’s lush, sun-drenched campus, Denisse turned to me and told me, "I feel so uncomfortable with all the happiness."

And honestly as a depressed ex-UChicago kid SAME!!!!

The atmosphere felt exactly like high schoolers vibing outside in an early 2000s romcom (something about soaking up the sun.. on actual grass! 0_0) 

We had some delicious Burmese food from Burmese Love and watched new moon ✨. I never noticed it when I was younger, but now I noticed that Jacob is actually incredibly manipulative and lowkey putting thoughts into Bella’s mind. Still, team Jacob 4eva. 

Sunday, 4/20/2025:  Woke up early, grabbed a Lime scooter, and zipped around the misty streets of North Beach, seeing Coit Tower. I also went to Café Trieste (an old-school Italian cafe where Coppola famously scribbled out the Godfather screenplay over endless cups of espresso) and City Lights Bookstore. 

 

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend Ashley outside of Soko Hardware in Japantown. Turns out there happened to be a Cherry Blossom Festival that day! We had lunch at Copras, eating a dosa bigger than our wingspan. 

 

We headed to Mission Dolores Park, where everyone in the city decided to congregate that afternoon. It was PACKED and people were vibing and trying to sell weed. 

After asserting our dominance through the crowds for a bit, we wandered the neighborhood, exploring all of the niche shops lining the streets and admiring the beautiful murals. There was a random taxidermy shop! I thought all the animals were fake, but the majority of them were real… very unsettling honestly. 

We also browsed Dog Eared Books and indulged in a nontrovial amount of desserts at Dandelion Chocolate, including an apple pie-esque dessert and elevated smores, and lychee cocao smoothie. 

  

Then, I smoked my way over to Little Italy where we had dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant with Denisse and her SF friends!

Monday, 4/21/2025:

On Monday, we left the city behind and drove an hour north, chasing the mist all the way to Muir Woods. Wowww- it felt like slipping into another world! Walking (and let’s be honest, occasionally hustle jogging and hurdling over the roots) along the trails was pure magic. The trail we took wound through ancient redwoods with THICK trunks that soared impossibly high into the sky. Clovers stretched across the earth like soft green carpets, and fallen logs lay scattered like forgotten ships abandoned in a lush sea of ferns.

 

Afterwards, we had seafood for lunch at Sausalito, a seaside town. I was absolutely wiped, so I curled up for a much-needed nap on Denisse’s couch before catching the 10:30 PM redeye out of SFO, landing back in NYC at 7:30 AM. 

 

This trip was so needed – it felt so refreshing to see old friends again and to explore a new place, and I have returned to NY with a renewed vigor and inspiration for life! For example: the day after I returned, I finally started on my goal of mastering 10 new recipes this year (starting with sundubu, a spicy Korean tofu stew.). Admittedly, I spent half the time reading the recipe aloud commanding my friend Joseph to chop up the green onions. My real culinary contribution was tossing in the gochujang and aromatics.

I secretly just LOVE San Francisco – I kinda wish I grew up here *.* It is such a special place - vibrant, culturally rich, filled with fresh fruits and kale and bubble tea, surrounded by truly beautiful wilderness, and fog/sun/fog again!

Documenting Boston Pole Competition 2024

I competed in pole dance for the first time in November 2024 in Boston!! First of all, I have to say I have so much love for FOXY, pole, and life!!! Competing was an unforgettable opportunity that I was incredibly lucky to experience. 

I’m so grateful for all of the pep talks and support from everyone, especially the FOXY family! One of my favorite things about Foxy is the culture - how detail-oriented and supportive everyone is and how they hold themselves to the highest standards. I’m beyond inspired and proud of everyone! This is no walk in the park, as graceful and effortless as polers are able to make it look!

broken split doesn't break me anymore

2024 more pole more life 
Competing has been a goal of mine. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to grow as a pole dancer (and 2 inches as a human, why didn’t I drink more whole milk like my mother told me?!) You never know what you are capable of until you try! A pole routine takes effort, commitment, and detailed planning, from choosing music to style to tricks and floorwork. I thought this would be a great way to keep myself accountable and to improve my performance skills. Part of the reason I love pole is that it demands your mind to stay in the present, again and again and again. I don’t need to worry about work or taking out the garbage or countless other random worries racing through my mind. I also love how I can literally roll around the floor or do random jumps without being judged. 

Around September 16, I signed up for the November competition in Boston, which gave me around 2 months to prepare a routine. Initially, it felt very overwhelming, as there was so much to choose and think about, from song to which category you want to compete in to costume and which combos. Luckily, I live only a 15 minute E-bike ride from one of the greatest pole studios in the world and got the opportunity to attend tons of workshops and practice sessions where we worked with a wonderful teacher to refine our routines and combos. I’m so grateful for back-to-back run-throughs, as they were key to building endurance. 

The timing of my training schedule has been primarily freestyle and unstructured – this style works best with my personality as well as my work schedule. I’ve generally struggled with rigid schedules – for example, even for the marathon I was training for, I only managed to stick to the plan for 2 days before doing my own thing. By being flexible, I can better tailor sessions to my energy level that day and focus on different elements based on mood.

Additionally, competing pushed me to become more intentional about recovery, something I’ve neglected in the past. I’ve grown in the sense that I’m no longer obsessed with losing 20 pounds, like I was in college, as embarrassing as it is to admit. Now, I drink mung bean soup as a delicious supplement to my diet instead of making it the sole thing that I eat for dinner on the daily. I’ve been focusing on eating a nutritious diet with high protein. 

A substantial amount of growth also occurs mentally and emotionally - we need to train our minds to fight any emerging demons head-on. We face everything from nervousness, frustration, self-doubt, and insecurity to bruises and aching muscles. During the training period, the following thoughts crossed my mind at LEAST once a day – what’s the point? I’m not going to win and more likely, I’ll probably fall and embarrass myself. Is this even worth the time, money, intense training, and mental space? Why am I voluntarily putting myself in a position where I’m being judged? All of this preparation, and the time on stage will be over in 3.5 minutes? I’m not good enough, I’m not strong or courageous enough, I don’t have difficult enough combos or dance ability, I can’t even relax my face-- ... But when you know that you’re going to attempt it regardless, there’s no point in psyching yourself out. Change the narrative to one that’s constructive for you. I spent a lot of time on visualization and creating self-confidence. It’s important to remember the reasons why you wanted to compete: to grow through the creation process, to discover your own unique style, to learn, and to share your own interpretations of pole. The best way to grow is to expose yourself to risk. I love the quote by Alexi Pappas: “Standing back is hiding. Trying your best is brave.” 

I chose a song that resonated with me in my current stage of life because it covers themes of dreaming bigger and longing for something greater. The song acknowledges the challenges and precarious nature of chasing one’s dreams and the struggles of living paycheck to paycheck, yet the determination of following one’s own path remains strong. Like the subject of the song, I want to live my life as someone who takes risks and goes for what I desire instead of staying in what’s comfortable, even if I have to do it alone and face potential failure.

The competition weekend was a whirlwind of emotions. I took a shuttle to Boston with my Foxy teammates on Friday evening before the competition on Saturday/Sunday. We met up at the studio before and did final run-throughs and, in classic Janet cramming fashion, I tried to learn how to “turn” last minute. On Saturday morning, we woke up at 6:30a.m. to “pole-test” in the big ballroom (basically, competitions are allowed to try out the static and spin pole’s spin speed, height, etc. before performing their competition piece later in the day) Ashley, our esteemed leader and an icon in the pole world, gave an incredible inspirational speech. I went 110% on our 2 minute pole test!!! The team helped me do all my warrior makeup with hella rhinestones and also hair! Backstage, there were dancers chatting, warming up, some listening to their headphones, and others practing a portion of their routine off the floor. Despite all the anxiety I felt backstage, as it was my turn to perform, I felt oddly calm and in the moment as I walked on stage and started my piece. I got to watch others’ performances as well and felt so proud and inspired especially while watching all of my teammates! 

Afterwards, my friend Bradley and I walked Freedom Trail and had clam chowder and chicken pot pie at Quincy market, where I got a message that I had somehow placed 2nd in my category of Championship Level 4! I remember feeling incredibly shocked. Late at night, we took the glass elevator to the spooky 16th floor ballroom. That day was so much exertion that lifesaver Bradley was kind to donate all his leftover food to me at midnight since all the restaurants nearby were closed. 

We had Chinese food as a group after the last performances on Sunday, and I booked a last minute Amtrak to the city (pro-tip, book in advance or you’ll be broke.) Although pole competitions can be an emotional and turbulent journey, competing taught me so many lessons, and my life feels richer because of it. I have so much love and respect for all of the competitors, and of course, my teachers and teammates, who carried me on their backs for this competition (literally at times - especially when my arms gave out during a run-through). Quote from my diary on the train back to the city: “Heart is full, I need to rest and hibernate forever.”