Some Things Belong Together

Friday night I received an object lesson on how some things just belong together. Like peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, Liz and Dick, and, add to that list, the East Bay and San Francisco.

Someone got the bright idea to shut down the Bay Bridge for Labor Day weekend, for seismic retrofitting. This pretty much shuts down the link between the East Bay and the city.

But, never fear, they told us, because BART will be running all night. So, I figured I would hunker down in Alameda and take BART over to the city for the bear week events.

Well, what they didn't tell you, is that only two lines are running all night. Only a few stations are open. And the lines only run once an hour. So, needless to say, getting over to the city was going to be a pain in the ass.

I decided to take a cab to the nearest open BART station, but I called three different cab companies and couldn't get anyone to answer. Then I decided to drive my car to the Berkeley station and leave it there. But, when I got to Berkeley, the police were blocking off the street that goes to the BART station with a DUI check. Traffic was backed up for blocks.

By 11PM, I'm beginning to lose hope that I will make it into the city. My only recourse is to drive 40 miles out of my way to the next nearest bridge, but I didn't want to do that. I could see the city, glistening on the water, just a few short miles away, but I couldn't get to it. I looked across the bay longingly, like an East Berliner peering across the wall into freedom.

I finally give up and decide to check out Steamworks, since I'm in Berkeley anyway. Well it kind of sucked too. Pretty dead since all its' customers were cut off. So after hanging out there, I decided to call it a night and go home, feeling kind of blue that I've been cut off from all the fun.

The rest of the weekend will be different. I got a hotel room for Saturday and Sunday night. It's down by SFO, which still isn't terribly convenient, but it beats the hell out of being in the East Bay. As I was driving across the San Mateo Bridge, I felt the sadness lift as I crossed over to the peninsula. I was happy now that I was back in the bubble.

So three things occurred to me last night:

1. Whoever had the bright idea to shut down the Bay Bridge on Labor Day weekend should be shot.

2. I should stop making fun of those city queens who won't leave the city limits of San Francisco. I discovered how much I need it last night as well. I was talking to a friend online and he asked me, "can't you get by without it for one weekend?" The answer was a resounding "NO. Not one weekend."

3. Some things really do belong together. The East Bay may be a great place for me to live, but that's only because San Francisco is only 5 miles away. When cut off from the city, the East Bay sucks ass.