Novel sites in Berkeley

I spent the midday in and around Berkeley, going to the Unitarian Church where Sarah and Kirsten meet and fall in love, then exploring Telegraph Avenue and some of the UC campus. Dressed conservatively for the church service - much like Kirsten herself - as I walked about town, I could feel her breath and thoughts right inside me.

The entrance to the Unitarian Church. It's well north of Berkeley and on top of a steep hill. AC Transit's #7 bus stops nearby (I followed the bus route to return to Berkeley), a way for carless Kirsten to get to the church (or she could carpool with Sarah).

The service here was probably the most at-home I've felt in a church in a LONG time.
A peace pole on the church grounds. Despite the multilingual pole, church members are still overwhelmingly WASP - something the members themselves want to change. I advised them that there is a lot of work to be done in my neck of woods down in Los Angeles - where conservative fundamentalist preachers own the immigrant communities.

Some left-leaning bumper stickers for sale on Telegraph Avenue. I would've loved a few myself, but that's asking for my car to be vandalized in my arch-conservative SoCal suburb. (On the flip side, any car with a pro-W bumper sticker won't last long up here in Berkeley.)

This building houses the English department. Kirsten will definitely take classes here during her college days, as I had envisioned her to be a literary type. (That's one of the few differences between her and me.)

Sather tower, better known as the Campanile. Although I couldn't go in due to the holiday week closing, this is probably where Sarah and Kirsten come for a date.

Back to Sarah's world

I've spent two days exploring the Berkeley and San Francisco area.

Here are some photos relevant to the novel.

Somehow my camera's switch went off wrong, and I got a B&W image. This is the new Gay and Lesbian Center of San Francisco, where Sarah becomes a staffer. I went in to use its computer lab, look at some photo exhibits, and find a women's writing group that I did not know about. Too bad, because otherwise I could've gone in to get Perfect Girl scenes critiqued!

A few years ago, the Bay Area was shocked by the savage murder of a transgender teen named Gwen Araujo, and more recently when the trans panic defense was successfully used to avoid hate crime charges for the murderers. In 2004, Gwen got a posthumous court-ordered name change, and a copy of it hangs in the Center, as seen here.

Just down Market Street from the Center is a longtime service to the lesbian and transgender community, Lyon-Martin Women's Health Services. In the late 1990s, I got my physicals done here, as well as paperwork needed for changing my identification documents. Sarah gets her hormones and paperwork here as well.

Sam's Grill, located on the northeastern corner of Kearny and Bush, is the location where Sarah, on her first outing as a woman, accompanies her father to a dinner with his transgender coworker at nearby Bank of America corporate offices. I had picked this place by randomly looking for a steak restaurant near Bank of America, using a mapping software. Unfortunately, this place was closed today, and I did not get to eat here.

Tomorrow, I will attend the large Unitarian church in Berkeley where Sarah meets Kirsten, as well as visiting the UC Berkeley campus and Telegraph Avenue to look for additional hangouts for the two.

From one of Sarah's workplaces

I am logging on from the Gay and Lesbian Center in San Francisco - where Sarah finds work after her layoff from United Airlines.

So far, I've explored only part of this four-story building, and haven't found places where Sarah might set up her desk and work.

But to be here, and to breathe the same air that Sarah did, feels wonderful.

There is even a women's writing group going on right now, but I wasn't aware of it and will miss out... Oh well!

I hope to make it a good day today in San Francisco. It's a bit chilly (by my Los Angeles standards) but otherwise a great day.

Back in Sarah's home turf again

The trip is shortened and less engaging than I originally planned it, but I am finding myself back in the San Francisco Bay Area tonight - at the same airport hotel within an earshot of Sarah's home base.

I will see what I can do in terms of journaling, brainstorming, or freewriting (in Sarah's voice, preferably) over the next few days.

Putting Everything Together

Well, not quite everything yet.

But the real final assignment for my UCLA Extension Novel III class, which has just ended, was to gather all the scenes I've written for the class, and arrange them in the order they will appear in the final work.

I did not think much of this, but it really is helping me visualize what the complete novel will look like, where I need work now, and which sections can be chopped off.

I want to thank Jessica Inclan, my instructor, for making this part of my class, and for the great class in general. Although I was too busy with work to truly enjoy the class to the fullest, I've had a much better experience nevertheless compared to last time.

Now, I look forward to getting myself some extra inspirations (and maybe writing a scene or two) in the Bay Area as I wrap up the year.

Wrapping Up the Class

I just turned in my last assignment for this fall's Novel III class, which was to write an ending for Perfect Girl.

My ending involves Sarah and Kirsten's wedding. And it was painfully evident that my conservative social settings in Reagan Country are NOT helping a bit. Having attended neither gay weddings nor non-Christian weddings, I had very limited knowledge to work with.

And this reminds me why I need to move away to a more tolerant place, a place where I can make the social observations that I need in order to write my novel.

The new year will see me move closer to urban life. In the meantime, I have confirmed my trip to the Bay Area, which hopefully will bring me in contact with lesbian and transgender support groups who could give me valuable knowledge and material.