If my second trip to California has taught me one thing, it's that I've lost my passion for (almost) everything I've done in the last six years. I was just happy to be away from the abject boredom of being a person with disabilities who will never be valued by the 'real world.' After all, the real world won't even let us participate in it unless we're just props for video and photo ops to put a faux-compassionate mask over the abject cruelty of the end-stage capitalism in which we all live.

California has a lot of nice places to visit, but Chinatown in San Francisco was by far my favorite part of the trip. Two places there that really amazed me were the Fortune Cookie Factory and Tin How (Tianhou) Temple, not just because they've been around for so long, but because of how minimalist they are.

Tin How Temple can feel like a hike due to the fact that it's three floors up. Still, even for something so simple, there's a lot to enjoy about it. The temple pays homage to its namesake, Tin How (天后, Empress of Heavens, also known as Mazu), Goddess of The Sea and patron saint of sailors. The temple itself has quite a history considering the original building, founded in 1852 was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906. It was rebuilt in 1910 and has been around ever since.

The place reminded me a bit of photos I saw of Man Mo Temple (Also featured in the game Shenmue 2) in Hong Kong.

Then there was the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

What amazed me was how people were able to do so much with so little space, especially with all the tourists coming in and out.

The same day we also went on the Bay Area boat tour which circled around the site of Alcatraz. It's well known for the famous escape attempts, but it was also occupied by Native Americans in 1969. It's another sad reminder that when the cameras stop rolling, you've outlived your usefulness to the bourgeoisie.

Before the San Francisco visit we also saw the technology history museum and the Winchester Mystery House in the San Jose area near where my father-in-law lives. The mystery house is quite a trip with all its doors that lead nowhere and the low-rise stairways. The Winchester widow who commissioned the house was well known for being short, around 4 foot 10 inches in height and spent a good deal of her life battling arthritis. The house was also continuously built upon, room by room until her death in 1922. It was said she did this to keep the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles at bay.

Speaking of mysteries, we also checked out the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz (Word of warning: Not recommended for those who have trouble walking).

Of course, you can't talk about going on vacation without talking about food. We experienced all kinds of different things. Barbecue, Dim Sum, Burmese, Chinese, California Pizza Kitchen..there's way too many choices to list here but they were enjoyable in their own way, all in all.

Then the day after we got home, I went to meet with the Bachelor's Advisor in an exercise in futility and frustration. It was that day that I'd lost the will to even try to get my foot in the door of the tech industry, because between either getting an Associates in Arts before going for a Bachelor's and submitting to the testing racket on top of dealing with my disabilities that make employment or normalcy impossible, I just don't want it anymore. When it comes to making a living, I don't even know WHAT I want anymore.

Oh well, at least I got to get away from the frustration, abject cruelty and boredom, if only for a little while.