I woke up at around 6:20 a.m. and proceeded to have a light breakfast ( in my room ) consisting of a banana, a handful of dried vegetable chips and two handsful of mixed nuts. I washed it all down with a bottle of tap water.
There was a mosquito in the room that followed me all around. I wondered how it got into my room. Then, I realized that I slightly opened the bathroom and the bedroom windows. But I didn't notice any mosquito bite on me at all.
Then, I brushed my teeth and shaved. I hopped into the shower using one of two courtesy guest soaps set on the glass counter by the lavatory sink.
When I stepped out of the shower to dry and comb my hair, I noticed something strange: There Were Still Two ( 2 ) Courtesy Guest Soaps Set On The Counter!!! I looked in the shower and saw that the soap that I just used was in the soap tray on the tiled shower wall. I looked in the trash receptacle next to the toilet bowl and the soap wrapper was in there, proving beyond all doubt that I wasn't imagining things. So, there could only be one of two explanations for this strange occurrence: Another soap miraculously appeared out of thin air OR ... the room service lady sneaked into the unlocked bathroom and quietly put a new replacement soap on the glass counter while I was busy taking a shower---I do not like my second explanation ( 'reminds me of the movie, PSYCHO ), do you? Hey! maybe it was the mosquito after all ....
And I think that whatever made the extra courtesy guest soap appear out of thin air was just hinting that I needed to soap myself up even more.
I took a photo of the bathroom glass counter before I stepped-out of the hotel. It's the one that you see below:
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| Barely visible on the right edge of the glass counter is the courtesy guest soap. The soap that miraculously appeared on top of this soap I put inside my toiletries bag that you see on the left. I'm keeping that one as a souvenir. In the background is the reflection of both the toilet bowl and the trash receptacle. |
I left the hotel at a little after 9:00 a.m. And just a block down from my hotel, at the corner of Grant Avenue and Bush Street, was the Buddhist nun who gave me the amulet and the bracelet yesterday. She and I greeted each other. She asked for a donation. I showed her the bracelet on my right wrist and I pulled out the amulet from my chest pocket to let her know that I donated yesterday. I wondered what would have happened had I donated ten bucks yesterday. Two pieces of soap would have probably miraculously appeared! Thinking about the miracle that had just happened to me earlier today, I gave her $3.00 dollars ( the only amount left in my wallet because I hadn't replenished it yet--of course, I carry 3 wallets with me because of all my damn cards but I didn't tell her that ) and was about to walk to the financial district for my 9:15 a.m. appointment when she asked me to put my name in the donation booklet once again. It was a new page, and like the page in yesterday's donation booklet, the other donors donated more money than I did ( I'm talking 20s, 50s and even 100s from yesterday's donation booklet )! Wouldn't it be funny if the more generous donors found out that I became a recipient of an unexpected miracle even though I donated the least amount because Lord Buddha blest my donation and my name? I guess it's true that "it's the thought that counts." Anyway, the Buddhist nun offered me another amulet but I politely declined. I thanked her for the offer and walked on my way towards the financial district.
Hey, wait a minute ... shouldn't I have gotten a receipt from the nun for when I file my taxes for next year? Ha, ha, ha.
While I quietly sat paying attention to a procedure done during my appointment in the financial district, I couldn't help but think of the miracle that happened this morning. I said mentally to myself, Thank you, Lord, for always taking care of me even though I'm unworthy of your Divine Attention. But, please, Lord, there are others out there more worthy of your Divine Attention than my self. Please take care of them, too, like you take care of me.
When I went back to my hotel, the front desk clerk told me that the "all-you-can-eat" dim sum buffet restaurant is located on Jackson Street, just a short distance up the hill from Grant Avenue. Oh, goody! I told the clerk that I was on my way there, that I just had to drop-off my briefcase in my room.
I walked on Grant Avenue on my way to the dim sum buffet restaurant. But I had to stop in front of Lovell's Gallery to take the following photo:
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| This fake ( I hope! ) ivory carving is so intricate that I just had to show it to you guys. Some tourists stopped and admired this carving, too. |
The following photo is on Sacramento Street, just a little up the hill from Grant Avenue. It is a monastery, the Gold Mountain Sagely Monastery. Perhaps, this is where the Buddhist nun is from.
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| I stopped in front of this monastery long enough to read what they had posted on their window. Basically, it talks about becoming enlightened by doing good deeds and reciting the "Namo Amitabha Buddha" mantra daily, while facing the West, for as many times as possible to help end one's sufferings through many reincarnations, kinda like the Zhunti Mantra that I recite daily. Maybe, I should incorporate this mantra into the others that I am presently doing--it can only do good, karmic merit and suchlike. |
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Lo and behold! There it was, on Jackson street, the "all-you-can-eat" dim sum buffet restaurant, as shown below:
Unfortunately for me, the dim sum buffet restaurant was closed. It had gone out of business! Waah ... ( sob, sniff ), why is there no "all-you-can-eat" Chinese buffet restaurant in Chinatown? Why? I mean, it's Chinatown after all. Don't tell me that Chinese people don't eat at Chinese buffets!!!
I walked as far down as the intersection of Pacific and Grant Avenues. Then, I turned around.
I ate lunch at Food Express, two doors away from Eastern Bakery. I had the 3 combo meal ( Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Pork, and Tofu w/ Vegetables ) served with Fried Rice. And I ordered a 20.0 oz bottle of Deja Blue Water to go with it. I paid $9.42 for my meal ( and I was hungry an hour later ).
Then I went up and down Grant Avenue looking for the store where I saw something yesterday but didn't buy: a pick-up/reaching tool that was on sale for $2.99; normally, it sells for about six times that price ). I finally found the store, Far East Flea Market. There are many interesting items offered for sale at this store. I was tempted to buy a key ring made with an insect preserved in a lucite block. But I felt pity for the poor little creatures that were killed simply so that greedy, irresponsible people could profit from the insects' misfortune.
I met the Buddhist nun once again inside the Far East Flea Market. We greeted each other and shook hands.
I had my purchase ( $3.25 total ) put in a bag and was charged an additional 11 cents for the plastic bag--'forgot about that new law.
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| I stood across the street, in front of Eastern Bakery, when I took this photo after I made my purchase. |
After I took the above photo, I went inside the Eastern Bakery to buy a Rice Cake, a bag of crystallized Sweet Potato and a bag of crystallized carrots, all for $3.75.
On my way back to the hotel, I encountered a homeless young, white couple sitting on the sidewalk of Old Saint Mary's Church ( c/o Grant Avenue and California Street ) and begging for money. I gave them two bucks.
When I got back into my hotel room, I took a photo of the same kind of soap that miraculously appeared this morning so that you'll have a better idea of what it looked like. I couldn't use the flash because I put my camera in Macro Mode. See the picture below for reference:
The picture below is of the pick-up/grabbing tool that I bought at the Far East Flea Market. I set it on top of the radiator heater. I was gonna use the flash but my camera's batteries had ran low on their charge. And I was just too impatient to put some fresh batteries in.
And I ate the Rice Cake and had some of the crystallized Sweet Potato and Carrots because I was hungry once again.
A little later tonight, I walked down Grant Avenue, turned right on Post Street and left on Powell Street to have dinner at Burger King Restaurant, 35 Powell Street, around 8:50 p.m. I ordered the # 5 combo ( BK Double Stacker Cheeseburger, small Fries and a 16.9 oz bottle of Nestle Pure Life Water ). I paid $7.17 for my meal.
After my meal, I went to the Westfield Shopping Mall on Market Street to see a movie at the CENTURY SAN FRANCISCO CENTRE 9 AND XD on the 5th floor.
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| The time and date stamp on this photo is wrong because I forgot to reset it after I changed the batteries. This photo shows the shopping mall's directory on the 1st floor. |
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| The time and date stamp on this photo is wrong because I forgot to reset it after I changed the batteries. I took this photo on the 4th floor before taking the escalator. To the right of where I stood is the new Martin Yan's M.Y. China Restaurant--'nope, it's not a Chinese buffet. Too bad .... |
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I went to see the 10:00 p.m. show of THE SAPPHIRES, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 39 min ) in auditorium 9, 3rd row ( counting from the front ), 6th column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $11.25. I didn't buy anything at the concessions counter. There were only three people in the audience, myself included. But it was an enjoyable movie based on a True Story. I would recommend that you go see this movie since all three people in the audience liked it.
Near the end of the movie, I started experiencing painful gas build-up--'must've been the cheeseburger that I ate two hours prior to this time.
As I walked down Market Street towards Grant Avenue, I noticed that all the female mannequins in a bunch of store display windows had erect nipples! It was kind of chilly out tonight--but erect nipples on female mannequins?!?!?! Come on! it doesn't even make any sense for them to have nipples in the first place.
When I walked up on Grant Avenue, I decided to make a right on Sutter Street to see if the 7-11 store was open all night long. Yup, it is a 24-hour store.
And I really needed to get back to my hotel room because of my painful gas! But I just had to stop at the Banana Republic's store window display long enough to take the following picture:
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| The time and date stamp on this photo is wrong because I forgot to reset it after I changed the batteries. |
In the picture above, you can clearly see the erect nipples on the female mannequin BUT YOU DON'T SEE THE MALE MANNEQUINS SPORTING AN ERECTION, do you? Talk about a sexist window display!!! If female mannequins are allowed to show their erect nipples, I say that male mannequins should be allowed to sport an erection, too! It's only fair. Let's form a committee, the Fair and Equitable Display of Mannequin Erections ( FEDME for short ), and have Congress pass a Bill to have all mannequins treated equally, regardless of whether they are headless or not.
I got back in my hotel room just in time ....
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