Getting ready to leave was quite a hassle; I kept remembering things I needed/wanted to bring. Having forgotten the sunblock yesterday (and looking at a very prominent tan line), I grabbed some sunscreen, as well as a water bottle, a picnic tablecloth, phone/radio earphones, a camera, and my wallet.
Once I was all prepared, I started heading towards the bus stop...only to realize that I only had about 5 minutes to get there. The Berkeley buses usually run a bit late, so it's not a big deal to get to the stop exactly on time. However, the F bus (which goes across the bay bridge to SF) leaves on time, and sometimes even a bit early. Unfortunately as I was jogging to the bus stop, I could tell that it had already left.
Since the bus runs every half-hour, my choices were to sit down at the stop and read a book, or to walk part-way and catch the bus further down the route. When in doubt, I almost always choose the route of exercise - partly because I don't figure in the time to go work-out. In any case I managed to walk over 2 miles - almost to my friends' house - by the time the next bus came.
After arriving in SF, I walked from the bus terminal all the way to the park, passing several 'shady' parts of town. A good 4 miles walk, it took me about an hour and 10 minutes. Maybe I looked a lot tougher than I felt, but nothing happened, although I did receive several 'who does this girl think she is walking alone' looks. Half the time I was frightened that I would get mugged. However, I put on a brave face, didn't completely make eye contact, kept my camera out of sight and power-walked.
Once I finally arrived in the park, I was half-surprised to notice that not that many people had shown up. The weather was a horrible mist of doom and gloom and at times was more sprinkling than mist, but the comics completely made up for it. The 1st half of comedians weren't that funny, and indeed tended to get just a spattering of laughter - more silence than anything else.
The 2nd half were pretty much all great. Johnny Steele, a host for part of the show, had some amazing practical jokes, like walking into a fast food restaurant and ordering something weird to see them turn around and look. Many people started leaving when the rain started falling more, but I'm happy I stayed because Robin Williams was there. ROBIN WILLIAMS!! It was an amazing show and I'm glad that I went, even though people didn't come with me.
Afterwards I headed over to my friends' house (the same one I almost managed to walk to) because they decided to hold a bar-b-que. Luckily they live along the F bus route that goes to SF, so I easily made it to their place (though I had to sprint to catch the bus and made it with a minute to spare). Predictably, the weather cleared up as I boarded the bus - just in time for me to miss the sunshine. Compare the weather as I was outside to when I was inside the bus.
One of my friends is vegetarian, so it was a vegetarian BBQ with tofu, mushrooms, corn, and veggie burgers. Chips, beer, margaritas, and ice cream sandwiches completed the feast - a fun night overall. Unfortunately it was a Sunday night, so the party broke up relatively early - people still needed to get their homework finished, and get over their sicknesses. Hopefully they didn't pass along the germs, but since I just got over being sick last week, I think I'm relatively safe.
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