Scaling San Francisco's Universal Health Care Program

This all sounds great, but I'd like to know what the provisions are for people with preexisting medical conditions, such as Lupus. This could be a great option for those that don't already have insurance...but what about those of us who need affordable and reliable health coverage?



I'm rooting for you, though! I'd like to see this happen.
About Health
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Celeb shocked... well not really

Amber in the house--

This blog post is inspired by 5 of my best friends and my recent trip to NYC. After having visited Boston for a week, Hetty and I took the bus to New York and spent 2 days living it up in the Big Apple. As we were strolling through Soho and the East Village, we had a few celebrity run-ins. The first was Diane Kruger (of course, I didn't know it at the time). After stalking her for a few minutes and after having given up on getting a picture of her/with her...we see traffic stopping and some flashing lights. Lo and behold, we see Jessica Alba and her husband crossing the street (Ooo...forgot his name...my sources say he's not THAT important). Of course, Alba had a paparazzi with her...she is the object of most men's desires. Next was Sebastian Stan, the guy who made a few appearances on Gossip Girl. Definitely did not catch this one...but I trust Hetty's judgement. Finally, I had a sighting of my very own at a Jetblue terminal in the JFK airport. Although not as fabulous...still highly revered...GUY FIERI from "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" was standing with his son at my gate! Thank god I went to go get that last-minute chicken philly sandwich....or else I would have already boarded the plane :/

I got a really blurry pap pic of Alba but the rest are from online. This is primarily for people like me...the "unfashionably clueless" ... because in the end, we have no idea what's going on.

Let me give you a little background about my knowledge concerning those human beings us regular folk often like to call celebrities. I know who they are, although I won't remember their names. I've seen them before..........in the movies. I know what they wear, where they shop, where they travel to, who they are dating, their criminal record, etc. etc............via conversations with my friends. Other than that, I could care less about Lindsay Lohan's trashy life or Miley Cyrus's bad music (btw, who IS Miley Cyrus anyway and who gives a shit?!). Well, let me tell you something about a little something....my best friends do! 

It's strange how ALL of my closest friends care and I don't...and they not only care, they LOVE it. Although, I'd say there are different levels of this ridiculousness and this is my assessment of the 6 levels of how much you know celebrities. (5 friends + 1 me = 6 people/6 levels) 

The hierarchy starts here:

the "sophisticate"

You might live and breathe celebs but unlike the "wannabe" you actually know what you're talking about. You don't flaunt your knowledge but you will definitely share it with anyone willing to listen. You know which celebs are fashion-forward and you know the brands they wear, the makeup they use, where they dine, and the names of their kids.

the "wannabe"

You might think you know what you're talking about...and you probably do (most of the time)...but you still need to admit you're wrong every now and then...The West Village is not the ONLY fabulous place to live in downtown Manhattan and you're not going to get shot in Brooklyn. You're outrageous, out of control, and unforgiving with you're candid assessments of people and life. You're mean and you know it...but you love it and you will always try to prove the next person they are wrong and you are right! You are a wannabe Perez, but you will NEVER admit it.

the "love-hate lover"

You frequent the celeb-gossip sites on the daily but you often admit that it's a complete waste of time. You're loyal to one or two sites, but it's probably NOT perez. You're classier than that and you know it. In the end, you hate to love it....but you really do love it! What can you say? You're a lover, not a hater.

the "in the know"

You know what's up although you might not bring it up. However, you could always add some insight to the conversation if need be. You like to prove people wrong that think they know stuff but don't really know anything.... that's why you're in the know. You probably do know which restaurants the celebs love and you might even know what kind of dogs they keep, but you are often too lazy to care too much about their lives. I mean, shoot...you have your own life to deal with.

the "name dropper"

You're not obsessed with celebrities...but you think they are fun to read about. Their lives intrigue you but you don't go out of your way to "get to know them." You know who people are and you can drop a name here and there, but you definitely don't know how much the tan ostrich-skin YSL bag that Sienna Miller carries cost (wait, was that so last season?! hmm...you probably don't know either). You watch Gossip Girl but you're often too ashamed to admit it.

the "unfashionably clueless"

 You don't know much, if at all anything, about celebs. Everything you know is through your friends. You're friends get annoyed with you when you ask who that hot guy from the Twilight movie is. Yeah, it's unfortunate...but you're unfashionably clueless. You are often ashamed that you can't put a name to a face. Gosh, get with it!

To my wonderful friends that read this blog (Hetty, Alex-duh!, Rosalind, Vivian and Anna):

This quiz was made for you! For the purpose of Sexless Lovers, I'll reveal which category Alex is in...as if it's not already painstakingly obvious. Alex is the "wannabe," but we all knew that. To the rest of you, I'm sure you know which of these categories you fall under. *Hint--the "unfashionably clueless" is taken.... for obvious reasons. If you really can't figure it out, a facebook quiz in the works :)

xoxo Gossip Girl

Hotness in the Hallway

Alex here-

I thought today would be like any other day. Wake up at 9, go to lecture, eat lunch, schmooze my GSI at office hours..ect ect ect. While the weather has been fabulous these past few days, some unexpected man candy really heated things up.

At around 2pm I needed to swing by my GSI's office hours to ask her a few questions I had about an upcoming paper. She was currently with someone so I waited patiently in the hallway. After waiting a few minutes of waiting, I looked down the long Dwinelle corridor just to see who was around [actually i should clarify- any cute boys]. Just then I see a GSI walking out of an office at the end of the hallway. 5'11, short and cutely styled blonde hair, bright blue eyes, visible athletic build.. yum. As he walked in my direction our eyes suddenly meet. He walks closer and I can't help but smile. He gets within 5 feet of me, also smiles, somewhat pauses walking and simply asks, 'how's it going?' I say 'great and you', smiling the whole time. He nods good day and walks out of the building.

It may have been just because I've been going through quite the 'sugar' lull these past few days, but that man was just the sweetness I needed. If you need to find me Tuesdays at 2pm, I will be waiting outside my GSI's office hours from now on..my GSI fetish is now official.

xoxox

Springtime...Finally!

Alex here-

After months of constant rain and gloom here in Berkeley, I am absolutely ecstatic for some sun and warmth in my life. For the first time in what seems like forever, I got to read OUTSIDE yesterday..god it was fantastic. Anyways, the arrival of a new season also means a new wardrobe!

With a little inspiration from my latest trip to Europe, this Spring will be all Preppy with a little bit of European flair. I am loving Benetton's Spring/Summer ads and will definitely be paying them a visit as soon as I get paid [London wiped my wallet clean FML].





Lacoste, the quintessential staple to any preppy wardrobe, also seems to be offering some fun styles that I also will be, and recommend, sporting this spring.. Loves it!

PS- In regard to Amber's last post, I never said there was a LACK of potentials in Britain, in fact it was quite the opposite! I just pointed out how difficult it was to determine what side of the fence they were on. While Amber and I are like PB&J, our taste in men is like black and white- Amber hated New England boys, I happen to love all things clean-cut, blue blooded, and preppy. Artsy fartsy guys...not so much.

Beantown

BU, Emerson College, and the Boys
Much like Alex, I need to vent about the LACK OF POTENTIAL in this city. Well, I guess our issues are quite different. And I mean, damn....I thought Berkeley had problems. If you haven't figured it out already, I'm talking about the guys of boston. I guess I'm partially biased because white dudes just don't do it for me...but I can still appreciate an attractive white male. What I can't handle is a WASP, or "white bread" as I like to refer to them as. I don't wanna just knock these guys down....believe me, I really don't...but Boston University gave me nothing to work with. However, I must admit that I found some more attractive guys around the Emerson College area. Emerson is a theatre arts and communications school--a strange mix of "dirty" indie pot-smokers and twittering pre-professionals--a combination I would have never thought of. Nonetheless, they are all private school kids and almost certainly have their family's bank account behind their every endeavor, whether it's next startup or the next broadway play. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the feel of Emerson and loved the fact that my friend was living in the Doubletree Hotel because they couldn't offer her a dorm room--free Doubletree cookies were the best! And I can't believe I saw the set of Will & Grace at Emerson College! Apparently, the guy that wrote the show went to school there, so it's now displayed in the school's library. Loves it.



Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and ATMs
This place is on every other corner in Beantown. I wanna say it's almost glamorized here...like Starbucks (obviously another company on EVERY block in Boston) because I did see long lines in a few of the stores. To tell you the truth, I haven't seen a DD in CA in the longest time...I think the one we had in the desert was run down, and then finally closed down. There's also an incredibly high density of Bank of America ATMs in Boston--plus they are all indoor ATMs (kind of a new concept for me...).

One last note.......toilet seat covers are a luxury here.

London: Final Thoughts

Most of us can agree that you really do not fully appreciate some things until they are gone. London is no exception.

As I type this sitting on BART, I am watching people get on and off the train. Everybody looks so.. American.. so unfabulous! An obese woman with mom jeans and a tight plaid shirt.. yick! A pizza faced man in a dirty looking suit. unsightly! I can’t help but think of the hordes of gorgeous people in their fine wool coats, silk scarves and other stylish clothing sitting around me on the Tube back in Britannia (bad teeth were surprisingly absent). Not only that, hearing French, Russian, and Italian being spoken throughout the train gave you the sense that you were in a major cultural capital of the world.

I see random musicians playing on the San Francisco train platforms for money and recollect the buskers in London’s train stations. Buskers are musicians that must AUDITION to play in the London Tube and are then given a specific performance place and time.. it is very official. The professional jazz players, opera singers, cover band artists, and pop singers of the Tube put the unofficial buskers of San Francisco to shame.

If there’s one thing I won’t miss, however, it’s the British sandwich obsession..

The Brits have a newly found fetish with the fresh pre-made sandwich. These triangular boxes with two sandwich halves are found literally EVERYWHERE in the city. Starbucks, grocery stores, pharmacies, movie theaters.. there are even chain restaurants that have developed around selling these sandwiches. Of these chains, none reigns more supreme than Pret A Manger. You can walk down the street and literally see a Pret at the beginning of one block and at the end of the next...Starbucks is not even that bad. While these sandwiches are good, my inner-American hates not being able to customize my sandwich! What if I don’t want mayo? What if I want to sub regular mustard for spicy mustard? You can’t do these things at Pret and it drives me crazy!!!!!!!

While the cultural capital of London will forever hold a special luster for me, I am a San Francisco boy at heart.

London: Total Gay Confusion!!

Alex Here-

Greetings from Londontown!

Here I am in one of the world’s greatest cities, and while the shopping is fabulous and the food divine, I have two major complaints about this glorious city: why the hell has my gaydar completely shut down and where is the bloody gayborhood!!!!??

Back in America, it is very easy to spot a fellow gay. Firstly, homo-fabulous brands like Diesel, Armani, G-Star, or Energie are major indicators of which team a man plays for. Combine that with a fancy bag, shoes, or obnoxious sunglasses and you’ve probably got yourself an American Homo. If that isn’t enough just listen to his voice and you will know for sure. Conversely.. if you see a man dressed sloppy and usually wearing some form of levis, chances are he’s straight (or a D-list gay which is almost the same thing anyways). All of these indicators fly out the door once you arrive in England.

Flying over the Atlantic is like flying to another universe. London is a San Francisco turned upside down. Gorgeous men fill the crowded streets, all of which are sporting well fitted jeans and finely made coats. Men that you would normally think are absolutely gay are holding hands, or worse, kissing females right before your eyes.. it’s quite a depressing site. Their mannerisms make things even harder to decipher. Male buddies poking each other on the train, men flamboyantly moving their hands while talking yet have rings on their fingers and wives at their sides. Even when you do get a smile from a cute guy across the train he quickly stares at the attractive woman sitting near you and smiles...I have completely given up on my gaydar here and firmly believe that all Brits are a little gay, some just more than others.

Soho has to be one of my favorite parts of London. Every restaurant looks amazing, the pubs are packed, and the clubs are bumping. However, I came to Soho thinking this was the gay heart of London.. like British Gays, British gayborhoods are quite deceiving. Walking down Old Compton Street I barely get the feeling I am in a gay neighborhood at all.. in fact I see more straight couples than gay. Gay bars here don’t post rainbows outside their doors nor do many of them hang flags. These bars and clubs look like every other bar and club and are scattered throughout the area. Though I knew that the Brits were more open about homosexuality, seeing the main gay drag so well integrated both surprised me, yet made me feel proud at the same time.

While London is fantastic.. I am excited to return back to SF where my gaydar works and my gayborhood is firmly established.