May I Suggest…
May I Suggest is a fun little side project that I began after a long walk through a quiet, residential neighborhood in San Francisco. I noticed so many delightful, small details around me and decided to start documenting and writing about and these micro-experiences in a fun, lightweight sort of way.
Now I make it a common practice, with a Posterous blog as a tool, to observe my surroundings and capture these little bits of life that we often miss. The site is also here to remind you that those little things are still worth noticing and may I suggest that you too, you have a look.
I've included a sampling of my most favorite suggestions below. Please spend some time on the site itself at www.mayisuggest.org for the full experience.
may i suggest: a stow lake adventure
san francisco: grab your iphone and head to golden gate park with the california academy of sciences field guide app. navigate your way to stow lake using the location-aware map and start the guided walk around the lake. spot some nature, take some photos and feel good that you’re using your technology obsession outside for a change.
may i suggest: love where you live
anywhere: take as much time as you possibly can to hunt down a place to live that you absolutely love. i’m talking every detail here – city, street, building, layout, proximity to work, features and laundry. be patient, put in the time, look at a lots of spots and i promise it’s worth it. two things. one – it usually takes a very long time. two – it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll find anything better than mine.
may i suggest: morning at ferry plaza
san francisco: wake up extra early on a saturday morning and head on over to ferry plaza. take a moment to notice how the light changes over time as you watch the vendors set up their wares. soon the silence turns to the hustle and bustle of tourists checking out the farmers market so get in fast and get out before it’s too crowded to move.
may i suggest: midnight on the roof
anywhere: if you’re lucky enough to have access to your roof, take a moment to go up there at midnight and observe the environment around you. for an extra special treat, wait to do this during a full moon and bring some music with you. two things to note: if you fall, it’s not my fault. if someone thinks you’re a robber, jump.
may i suggest: buy yourself flowers
anywhere: take a trip to your nearest local floral boutique and treat yourself to a unique arrangement of fresh flowers. don’t buy them for someone else. buy them for you. unless you hate flowers. then i’d suggest you do something else.
may i suggest: exploring the roses
san francisco: walk, ride, bike or bus over to the very expansive golden gate park where you’ll find lots of hidden delights and surprises like the rose garden, secretly tucked away beyond the museums. spend time exploring the varietals, enjoying the lovely scents and admiring the colors, shapes and sizes of the seemingly endless beds of roses. always remember one thing: roses have thorns so don’t go falling in.
may i suggest: musée mécanique
san francisco: journey down to pier 45 on the embarcadero for an epic adventure into the creepy museum of antique penny arcade games. be sure to take plenty of quarters with you to witness the century old “games” including the bizarre opium-den, a graphic french execution and an uncomfortable jolly jack laughing machine. if you’re prone to nightmares and hate fun, i suppose this isn’t the place for you.
may i suggest: playing by the sea
san francisco: navigate your way across the golden gate bridge, through some roads and over to tiburon. stroll about the town, have a beer and take a rest on the grass by the edge of the water. set up camp and work on perfecting your handstands for several hours. broken limbs, backs and egos are highly likely.
may i suggest: indian springs
san francisco: hop in a car and head north over the golden gate bridge to calistoga where hot springs and mud baths are a plenty. book an early morning massage at indian springs and enjoy an entire day of nothingness, lounging by the enormous geyser-fed mineral pool. in the likely event you lose your ability to move your body due to extreme relaxation, i suggest you avoid the deep end.
may i suggest: a foggy beach day
anywhere: take a ride to your nearest beach on a less desirable day – the foggier, the moodier, the overcastier the better. enjoy exploring the eerie atmosphere, get lost in your solitude and consider the stark contrast of the beach on a sunny day. if i were you, i would avoid swimming, drowning and falling off cliffs. no one will find you.
may i suggest: a twin peaks sunrise
san francisco: take a long hike up or call a taxi to take you to the top of twin peaks at dawn and watch the sunrise over the city. take a moment to consider how peaceful the moment is and how surprisingly crowded it as at that hour. if you’re expecting a taxi to just show up to take you back down, you might be disappointed.
may i suggest: a sunset hike
san francisco: grab a group of good pals and head north over the golden gate bridge to the top of mount tam. follow the narrow, curvy roads up and up through the hills and trees. pick one of the many scenic places to stop and hike on up just before sunset. may i suggest a nice bottle of wine to sip as the sun sets. be sure to drink in moderation unless you actually want the hike down to get ugly.
I hope you like these little bits of writing and adventure. Follow more these micro-experiences at my posterous blog May I Suggest…. I keep this page as a place to save my favorites and the site to serve as more of a traditional blog platform. Look for updates on both.
