I Made It!

I got to the ceremony a little late because I didn't get up until 4:50, but I was, in fact, at Lotta's Fountain at 5:12 this morning, exactly 100 years after the great San Francisco earthquake struck (okay, almost exactly.... technically the ceremony was an hour early because the U.S. didn't set the clocks forward for daylight savings time in 1906). The fountain's surroundings look a little different today than they do in this photo, but I figured an image of what had been was more appropriate.

I had to jog to the fountain to make it in time, so it's a good thing I love to run. And since 5 a.m. is not exactly the ideal time for a woman to be walking the streets, jogging was probably the safer option anyway. The commemoration was super fun; being there kind of felt like being part of history. I had to hold back a stream of tears when a vintage horse-drawn fire truck was driven down Market Street, and the city's emergency warning sirens were sounded after we observed a moment of silence at 5:12. After all the speeches were done, our movie star mayor interviewed the 11 earthquake survivors who were there. Even though I generally like them a little geekier than him, I certainly hope a man as charming as Gavin flirts with me when I'm 100 years old.

And because this is San Francisco, at one point during the ceremony the aroma of marijuana wafted by me. Well, it was a celebration of the city's spirit, and a lot of people who live here love their pot. Also, because it's me, I not only saw two people I work with who were covering the event, but I ran into three other people I know. My friend Grant and his girlfriend told me they had stayed up all night because they didn't think they'd be able to get up for the ceremony. Now, that's intense. And yes, they looked really tired.

By the way, if you don't know, Lotta's Fountain was the location for the commemoration this morning because it not only survived the 1906 quake but served as a meeting place for people in the days following the disaster. There's a survivor ceremony there every year, actually, but it's not usually as big as this one.

After the ceremony I went home and crashed on my couch until I had to get ready for work a few hours later. But tonight my work week is over, although I'm going to have an abbreviated weekend this week. I have to work on Thursday, but I get to do my absolute favorite part of my job that day, so I don't mind. I'm going to have to cram an entire weekend's worth of fun into Wednesday, but I think I'm up for the challenge. If not, I'll just have a Power Bar.