Angel Island

Just as a disclaimer, I haven't intended for this blog to be so focused on hiking and the outdoors. That just happens to be what I've been doing these past few weekends.

Yesterday, I went out to Angel Island with Sofia to go hiking for the day. There's only one boat that leaves early in the morning and returns at 4 PM in the afternoon, so you're basically stuck on the island.

It was really beautiful out. It kind of reminded us of hiking in Strawberry Canyon in the East Bay because it was so dry out. But the views of the city were just so remarkable, it made up for the fact that we kind of came unprepared.

The island is only about 5 miles in radius, so it doesn't require so many hours of the day to explore. So we spent a lot of time essentially just watching the shadows grow longer. It was really relaxing and much needed since I haven't been getting much sleep all weekend.

I know I'll need to recharge and have lazy days occasionally, but I'd like to take a different stance to my weekends this year. If my weeknights after work are so mundane and uniform, I want to take the chance to do as much as I want and can on the weekends. Meaning, I'll see my friends, go out and explore the city, go hiking, and just try something new more often than I normally do. So far, I'm off to a great start.

After returning from the city, I met up with an old friend to see Spike Jonze's new movie Her. It blew me away. I haven't been this moved by a movie since I saw Lost in Translation, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the fact that Scarlett Johanson is in both movies. My favorite kind of movies are the ones where two lonely people miraculously connect by chance in a big city. Her brought up so many questions about where technology is taking us, and what exactly constitutes a real relationship. In one of my favorite scenes, the main character Theodore talks with his close friend about their relationships with their OS's (operating systems). And she basically just says fuck it, our lives are so short we should allow ourselves some joy. I liked that. Allowing yourself joy regardless of what form it comes in.

Anyways, I HIGHLY recommend going out to see the movie. If not for the content, just for the damn aesthetic of the movie. It was styled so beautifully--the colors, the costumes. Ugh, it was so good! Go see it, you won't regret it.