Blog: city life

Sounds of San Francisco

2024-08-30 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

This is a black swan
Delores Park

This is an interactive post featuring audio

I love San Francisco. It is unique with different sounds. You never know what you're going to hear around you! It could be someone who is having a great or someone who isn't doing so well. Sound provides an identity of a city. I've noticed some patterns or sounds I only tend to find here.

Something I enjoy doing is recording the sounds of San Francisco. It could be as simple as recording near Powell Station or the Mission district. These sounds were recorded using an iPhone 12.

Here is a small sample of sounds. Enjoy!

Bluegrass Concert - Click to Expand!

One of my good friends plays the banjo. He's a great banjo player. If you like bluegrass he's the person to talk to!

Bluegrass was foreign to me until my friend taught me so much about it.

Taking the MUNI- Click to Expand! I really, really enjoy taking public transportation. Not only is it better for traffic, and reduces pollution. The MUNI (and BART) stations are great places to get some audio recordings. It feels great to have for San Francisco and the uniqueness of its underground tunnels.

Public Conversation - Click to Expand! Wherever I turn, I hear conversations ranging from, "What are we having for lunch?" to "Let's go to grab a drink!" It's nice to hear people talking and enjoying each other's company through conversations in public spaces such as buses, on the street or simply sitting down on a bench.

Street - Click to Expand!

There's something so beautiful about hearing the background sounds of cars, people walking, bikes, the wind, etc. Growing up it was very quiet growing up in a small midwest town. I enjoy the "naturally" occurring city street sounds.

📍 This post was written in my apartment in San Francisco.

Getting my library card in San Francisco!

2024-08-06 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

It’s been a few days since I moved to San Francisco. I’ve been starting to get things organized but it almost seems there is no end. I enjoy taking breaks and leaving the apartment. Going on walks around the neighborhood is fun but I always go on an adventure. I’m getting my steps on and I have fun! I also get a snack or coffee while on an adventure. The sidewalk and my legs are possibly the limit.

Eventually, I found myself near Powell Station to take a break. As I was leaning against a wall, I asked myself, “What should I do to feel that I live here?” and “What is cheap but fulfilling?”

Hmm….

Queue the Jeopardy think music.

It came to me! I yelled out loud “I know! I’ll get a library card today!” Mind you, I’m at a busy location in the city. I think I started a bit of people waiting for the street car. There could be worse things to be yelling for in a city. Wouldn’t you get excited if you wanted to get a library card? Going to the library is exciting! I’m excited to go visit one of the oldest public institutions offered to the public! If I know anything about libraries in big cities, their main branch must be beautiful. Onward to the San Francisco Public Library!

Man! When I walked into the SF Library, it was pretty cool! It’s pretty modern! There is lots of elbow room to roam around!

As I’m walking towards the library, I fill out the online application to start the process and get the confirmation number that I was provided.

Then when I got to the desk, I was asked for this confirmation number, identification, and some proof of where I lived such as a utility bill or lease agreement. The process was super easy. The people working at the library were very friendly.

Here is the library card design that I chose. It was either between the SF Giants or the drawing a second grader. Obviously, I went with the drawing because I don’t care about baseball. The drawing is pretty cool! Better than I could ever do.

drawing used on Library Card After getting my library card, I explored the various floors throughout the library. This place is massive! Various items caught my eye. They let you borrow vinyls! Who does that!? I’m over the moon!

I didn’t know that the San Francisco Public Library is a Government Information Center (GIC). It’s very accessible to get documents from various levels of government.

The Government Information Center (GIC) provides free access to United States, California, San Francisco, and Bay Area regional agency government documents, and to materials on public policy, political science, public administration, and the law.

I’ll have to spend more time exploring the library system and its website to see how I can maximize the resources available to me. I want to support the library more. This is a lesson to utilize public libraries and other public resources available to constituents.

Getting my library card was an easy experience. Everyone should be able to use the library. I'm excited to be spending a lot of time here! The important thing about the library is you don't have to buy anything to work on things or read a book.

I got to check a book out!

This blog post was written at the main branch of the San Francisco Library. Thank you for the fast internet. <3