Defcon 2

NATOMA TRAVEL ALERT: DEFCON LEVEL TWO
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Travel advisory - All residents and tourists who plan on venturing into the SoMa area of San Francisco, please proceed with added caution for the rest of the week.

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Jake and I have picked up on a very strong trend in our neighborhood over the past few months. Around the 1st of every month we start to notice a very distinct increase in crazy.

At first I thought it was coincidence, and then I considered the gravitational forces of the moon but now I'm just convinced....this must be the time of month that our street walking friends get paid by the government.

There are a select few who roam this area that I utterly enjoy encountering. For instance the extremely kind man who draws some of the most amazing pictures or the overly friendly woman who acts as if it's the first time she's seen my dog.....each night. These are the type of people who you truly want to help out. But where on earth do they go around the 1st??? They may be without home but they're not without intelligence. THEY RUN!!!! It's around this time of month that faces seem to be in more of a stuper or more enraged. Even the neighborhood youth seems to exude a surly demeanor (see picture).

Jacob comes home with a large grocery bag of fine select cheeses, a bottle of wine, french bread, etc. etc.

Nick: Jake, this is such a nice surprise

Jake: I'm happy to do it. I was on my way home and thought I'd pop into the new Westfield mall to get hors doerves and ingredients for dinner.

Nick: Awww

From outside: HEY YOU MOTHER FUCKER. I HAVE YOUR PLACE SURROUNDED. GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW YOU S.O.B. (throws beer bottle at S.O.B's window)

So this drunken or drug induced drama played out for about 20 minutes. Sure, I'll admit that while I didn't enjoy having a nice dinner interrupted by crazy, it was moderately entertaining. However, this was just the beginning of Crazy Week Oct. '06. Of course I go to take the dog out for his nightly bizniz run but this run was more of a hop.....a hop over that needle....a skip over another.......oh look.....poop...... What would an evening dog walk near the first of the month be without coming upon a woman holding what looks like a fine silver platter up so that she can get a better view of the back side of her knee, where naturally she's searching for a good entry point for her needle. Will have to make a mental note of that location so that I can of course hop and skip tomorrow.

The dog really digs it...he thinks it's a special occassion. I find it moderately humorous but ultimately annoying. Is this city ever going to figure out an adequate solution? I'm not suggestion finding them a remote island, just maybe not paying them to shoot up on my street???