This is Thatcher Blogging

So there it is. The end. I am about to check in for my virgin Atlantic flight to Amsterdam.

Tonight I was at a party. The party was to organised to celebrate the victory of the american people. The mood present with the people I talked to was a feeling of having been involved, and being together. Having accomplished this together. People in cars were bumping their horns to groups of people on the street, like I only know from when the Dutch soccer team has won a mayor match. 

One girl I spoke with told me that she had made phone calls, 25 calls a day and she was proud that all the states to which she had made call to had be won. 

 The speach of Obama was also very much something that was felt to be moderate, and inspiring. Obama was not saying “I won” or “it is done now” but “we can now start” and people do feel more involved now.

Personally I see quite a difference between when I was in Pittsburgh some four and a half years ago. The young people I spoke then were very indifferent, and in the opinion that their vote would make no difference. This year people do have hope, and believe that they can make a change happen. 

 Tonight I was at a party. The party was to organised to celebrate the victory of the american people. The mood present with the people I talked to was a feeling of having been involved, and being together. Having accomplished this together. People in cars were bumping their horns to groups of people on the street, like I only know from when the Dutch soccer team has won a mayor match.

One girl I spoke with told me that she had made phone calls, 25 calls a day and she was proud that all the states to which she had made call to had be won.

The speach below inspired people.

Yeah!!! This morning I was standing in line more than an hour and a half to cast my vote. But it was not in vain!! I just heard confirmed that Obama will be the next president!

Having to wait in a long line is actually no surprise considering the fact that each person in San Francisco has to fill in three ballot papers. Federal, state (propositions 1 to 12) and county (city) (propositions A to V, and things like board of education) this together makes it a tough exercise to which you should not go unprepared.

One of the most important propositions in California, prop 8, which is to take away gay marriage is still undecided.

The Fillmore is a venue for bands playing that has more granduer (behind a small emtrance) than any other place I have seen. Chandeliers from the ceiling, carpet ok the floors.
Stereolab was playing and the sound was really good. A place to come again.

Wow! Yosemity is so close!! Friday morning cycling to work I felt the air being nice and chilly, it felt good. This prompted me to really want to go to the outdoors. A little chat with kurt (a collegue) learned me that yosemity is actually really quite close.

And so it happened that I could make this picture Sunday! I met Suzanna on the campgrounds, and we hiked up to yosemity point together.

These rocks also just beg to be climbed.

Ah, so I actually kept my beard for little over a week. This is what you get when you only shave the beard and not the moustache. When it was owee at Wolbodo I did not quite have the guts to grow this moustache, but hey. Better late then never.

Ah, I had such a great dinner tonight! At wendy’s they have such intelligent people behind the counter. And besides, their burgers are square and you can choose for baked potato instead of fries.

Just wonderful! And all you need when you are working late.

This weekend was loveFest! That was a lot of fun I can tell you.

I am very happy that I can now at least actually help in preventing greater peril to happen!

I can vote for Obama!

Ok, since I wrote so much about housing last time I will have to explain a little bit about what happened to the housing quest since. As I wrote I had got an offer to share a room in an appartment in the sunset district. I was going to share this room with Mike W Moore. He is a freshman in Cinema and a pretty nice guy. So I moved to Judah st (Sunset district). And actually it was pretty good, and fun. I kept looking because I wanted a better commute to the trainstation, and a room for myself.

Now I found another room in an appartmet on Ivy st. This is a small street, very centrally located between the Civic centre and Hayes valley. Close to both Market st and the nice hippie-ish Hayes street neighborhood. I share the appartment with a 30ish guy working non-tech in Mountain View. My bedroom came (nicely) furnished, and as such looks a little like a hotel room. (see pic).

Outside lands music festival

One week after I moved to the sunset district there was the outside lands music festival, which I had been looking forward to for quite a while already. I went there with Petri, another intern at HP. It was fun. And besides it was only two blocks from my then-room on Judah st.

People

Some people keep asking if I start to feel at home and if I’m meeting nice people. Well, yes. I do. Nora introduced me to a couple of nice people, and via via I have met more, in San Francisco it is not very hard. For example I went to another festival (the treasure island fetival) yesterday with a guy I met on the train Friday.