Last weekend carried a bit of a music theme. I spent Saturday night at my first symphony show of the season, “French Classics”. I really loved it. I found YouTube videos of all the pieces and compiled a playlist (thanks to Mr. Law for that idea) so you can sort of experience the same concert.

On Sunday, I finally attended my first Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a free, 3-day music festival sponsored by a local billionaire for the past 10 years. I biked to Golden Gate Park which was officially the most taxing ride I’ve attempted. I thought after 7 months, I’d be up to the challenge, but by about halfway up the hill on Octavia, I realized otherwise. It was smooth sailing once I made it to the top and the ride home was definitely easier, though. It was a nice landmark achievement, even if I did pull off 4x, feeling certain I was going to pass-out. The SF Bike Coalition offered valet bike parking which was sweet. I’d definitely bike more places if that were always offered.

I made it in time for Earl Scruggs, who was the main person I wanted to see. He & Lester Flatts recorded the theme (The Ballad of Jed Clampett) to the Beverly Hillbillies, one of my favorite shows as a kid. It was so packed that I couldn’t get anywhere to actually see his face, but the music was awesome. Takes me back to my days being mesmerized by Hee Haw. The sponsor of the festival joined him on-stage for one song, which was cool. I recorded part of one song, which doesn’t really highlight the banjo, but it was some hardcore bluegrass. The old man in front of me cracked up when they upped the tempo and all the dancing people didn’t know what to do.

Tim, Emily, & gang joined up near the end of his set, so the rest of the afternoon was spent meandering the crowds, trying to settle on where to be. We heard bits of Randy Newman & Elvis Costello, before taking off as the fog set in.

This week, Mike & Steph were in the city for a few days and were awesome enough to trek over to my office for a visit & tour on Thursday. We happened to step outside just in time to see the Blue Angels fly over AT&T park for the start of the first playoffs game. That was pretty cool. We had dinner at Pier 23 (my new favorite place to take people for food). I couldn’t remember the last time I’d talked to them…at least a year ago…so it was really fun! Since I didn’t have my bike, I rode my first streetcar to the wharf and hoofed it home from there. It was a perfect first ride, since it was basically empty. I was most intrigued by the cranks for opening/closing the windows. Pretty neat. The driver was cracking everyone up. One guy was fumbling to get his money in and so the driver said, “Get it in the hole, Maloney. It’s a dollar bill, not the Mona Lisa.” He was quite a character.

Oh, my other big news of the week was a surprise phone call from Amy. That was a total highlight. Also, I shouldn’t skip mention of my discovery of stroopwafels at Whole Foods! They’re expensive but it’s nice to know they’re there when I need them…and oh, I *needed* them.

And I keep forgetting to mention, you should hop over to Words Are Awesome and check out the new podcast series from my friend, Eric.

And lastly, I love The Social Network soundtrack. I think it’s the first time I’ve listened to a complete, non-compilation style soundtrack before seeing the actual movie. Reznor did a great job. It takes me back to The Fragile. Now, I need to see the movie.