“I want to stay off the internet and away from scammers,” said Pete Bove, 64, a Marine veteran, who was making his way to Dandelion Chocolate on Valencia Street. “I want to try to meet more people and make more in-person connections.”
Bove and his physical therapist were looking forward to trying out Dandelion’s hot chocolate — no matter the sunny Thursday morning.
Bove had hip replacement surgery in September, and that morning — Dec. 21 — he had graduated from his recovery sessions.
In the new year, Bove also wants to produce more abstract oil paintings and put up an exhibition at City Art Cooperative Gallery at 828 Valencia St. “I just finished my second one, and I’m going to paint one more later today,” said the budding artist.
“Paint more public murals,” said Manuel Carmona, as he was painting colorful hands on an electrical box at the corner of 18th and Valencia streets. The 36-year-old muralist has been painting murals for seven years in San Francisco and this is his sixth electrical box in his mural project called “March 4 Love.” The boxes can be found along Valencia Street between 17th and 26th streets.
“I’d like to tell the queer history of the Mission through murals,” Carmona said, while adding the finishing touches of a black hand on top of maroon, orange, yellow, and pink hands. “Public art always has a message and a responsibility. And I believe the city could use a little bit more love.”
In the year of elections, Carmona hopes his murals will convey a sense of “political pride.” Carmona will decorate the hands with red footprints in the shape of hearts. “We are just trying to make everyone feel better,” he said.
“My New Year’s resolution is getting more established in the city,” said Bel Luevano, 27, who moved to San Francisco from Austin, Texas, last year. Luevano now works at Fox and Lion Bread, a sandwich shop at 18th and Capp streets.
Other than her day job of making coffee and sandwiches, Luevano has also been working as a music booker for six years. In the new year, she wants to get to know more about the city’s music scene.
“I feel so spoiled to be able to walk around the Mission,” Luevano said. She is dazzled by city life: Its public transportation, variety of cuisines, and meeting new people all the time. She loves music venues and bars, and walking her dog at Dolores Park. She even gets to speak Spanish more here than in Austin. “Everything I want is right here,” she said.
However, starting a new life away from her hometown for the first time can be exhausting. “I’m also trying to achieve a work-life balance,” Luevano said. “More girl rest instead of girl bossing.“
Helen Chen, 19, is a college student at California College of the Arts. Chen moved to the United States just four months ago for school from Shenzhen, China, a metropolis just northwest of Hong Kong. Her New Year’s resolution is all about school and campus life.
“I want to switch my major from illustration to interaction design,” Chen said. As a newcomer to the city, Chen does not feel too lonely. “So far, so good,” she said. “I live in the dorm on campus, so I have been able to make a lot of friends,” Chen said as she continued her holiday shopping spree on Valencia Street.
Susie Osowski, 40, wants to spend more time touring theaters in the city. “I want to try to go to at least one new production every month, and explore art theaters like NCTC (New Conservatory Theatre Center) and ACT (American Conservatory Theater)” Osowski said. “I hope to find and join a new, smaller theater community group.”
Like many tech workers in the Bay Area, Osowski still works from home, as a product manager. Her one other resolution for 2024 is to get out of the house more and be more active. “I’d like to do more urban walks in the new year, like walking in the neighborhood,” Osowski said. “I was doing that a lot during the pandemic, and I’d like to go back to it, rather than working from home all the time.”
For Maddie Lopresti, a 24-year-old bike messenger, 2024 will be the year of self-care and self-love. “I want to be more graceful with myself, and be more forgiving,” Lopresti said. “I used to be frustrated with myself a lot, but now I want to allow mistakes to become opportunities to grow.”
Growing up in Los Angeles, Lopresti moved to San Francisco right after high school, and has been in love with the city ever since. She loves walking her pit mix Sasha, and biking around the city. For the holiday, she hosted a Christmas party with her friends and cooked Persian food. “I don’t want people in my life to be alone,” Lopresti said.
“My resolution is to keep contributing to my immediate community, and get more involved with my neighbors,” said Gary Miller, 70, who lives between Valencia and Guerrero streets.
Last year, Miller started to stop neighbors on his street and make conversation with them. Last October, he even organized a gathering in his backyard garden, and some 20 people attended. After the initial success, he organized another party for everyone to bring dessert from their cultural background, and had some 30 people show up. In April, he plans to step things up and throw a block party.
“In the post-pandemic time, everybody was starved for community because they had been so isolated and lonely,” said Miller, who believes in the power of community. “So it is very important for everyone to know each other, support one another, and look out for each other.“
“In the new year, I want to get into 3D animation,” said Luca Wylie, a 20-year-old astrophysics major at San Francisco State University. “For a really long time, I had been holding myself back, even if, technically, I have all the tools I need.”
Wylie hopes to learn to use Blender, an animation program, by looking up tutorials online.
Ever since he was a kid, Wylie has enjoyed making homemade films. His goal is to be able to make music videos using animation. “Even just step by step,” Wylie said. “I want to put myself into it.”
Your insights and analysis in this article are truly exceptional.
“I want to stay off the internet… I want to try to meet more people and make more in-person connections.”
Now there is a New Years Resolution I think we can all try to adopt.
SF resolutions:
1 – Continue COVID safety and awareness (despite ignorant insistence that the pandemic is “over” when infection and death rates are at their highest-yet levels)
2 – Continue to support Palestine as it faces the growing threat of full genocide (including calling out the hypocrisy of those who shrug as Palestine schools, hospitals, and homes are destroyed)
3 – Further explore and highlight the Bay Area’s one-of-a-kind, eclectic art scene (’cause you can never see it all).
And that’s just for starters… 🌉