I was on an impromptu vacation starting August 30th. Sorry if I didn't answer your calls or emails. But I'm back now (I've actually been back for a number of days) and I'm ready to live in the real world again.

Except for the fact that I left my job at Brightcove. Did I mention that? Apparently I got it in my head that I was a 'professional musician' and I didn't need my day job. Can you spot the error in that logic? I can, with three words: source of income.

So now I'm looking for another job. Wish me luck.

I bought my guitar. It's a Creation acoustic/electric with a rose-patterned body. It's flashy and great sounding and spectacular and I couldn't be more happy with it.

I spent yesterday busking, first in the Embarcadero center subway stop, and later on the Embarcadero itself. I eventually made my way to Fisherman's Wharf (the Fanueil Hall of SF), where I met another busker named Adam. He was playing with amplification and singing in Chinese. Very cool. The two of us and his friend Stu hung out for the rest of the evening.

I just bought a fedora. I'm going to drive back to SF now and try to find somewhere in GG park to go busking. Wish me luck!

Okay, every city (person) has a dark side. Have I already seen San Francisco's?

I'll freely admit that I'm completely naive about crime. In all my time living in Worcester, a place where many of my friends experienced crime first hand (home invasion and mugging), nothing bad or sinister or even simply illegal happened to me. Nothing traumatizing enough to make me fear crime.

But I'm naive-not-stupid (compare with Google: rich-not-stupid). I'm in a new city. I don't know really know where I am, I don't really know how to get back to my hotel. It's 2:15 in the morning. What's a boy to do?

Nothing. I mean, I couldn't find any good clean fun. Plenty of people offered me drugs and prostitution, and one guy was even creepier (offered to 'help me if I could help him'; I gave him a buck to go away)

Okay, SF, I've seen your dark side. I'm waiting for 6:21 AM (PST) and then I'll be back to see your sunny side. (pun intended).