Why I love MUNI

Here’s an etching I did during my last printmaking class. It’s quite small — just 4 x 6 inches. But that sucker took forever to do! And by the time I left the studio, my hands were covered in black paint, even after washing my hands about 80 times. I got black paint all over my bag and on my face. I felt like Tobias. I was also starving by the time class was over, so although my hands were all inky I still inhaled a slice of Arinell pizza, thereby probably consuming some toxic ink in the process.

But as tedious, labor-intensive and messy as it was, I enjoyed etching. It’s kind of a magical, mysterious process that involves a lot of chemicals. I liked putting the zinc plate in the acid bath and waiting for the acid to eat away at the metal, which gives the print that dark, layered look.

Why did I choose to draw the F car? If you live or work in SF, you would be familiar with what many would consider an abomination — a slow, unreliable, often crowded mode of transportation that runs along Market Street and the Embarcadero. But you know what? I secretly love the F car. I realize this is a contentious opinion since a lot of my coworkers take the F car for their daily commute, and so it is a constant source of both frustration and entertaining stories at the water cooler (and I say "water cooler" in a general sense, since we do not have one of those). It is common to vent about some horrific or annoying incident on the F car and to bond over this shared hardship. 

I too have had my fair share of complaints about the F car — in fact, just the other night I rode home on the F car with a bunch of young teenage tourists who acted like they were on a roller coaster. Every time the car jolted (which was about every 5 seconds) they all screamed and giggled nervously and grabbed onto each other. I wanted to die. And a few months ago, my coworker got pickpocketed while on the way to work. Another valid reason to loathe the F car.

And yet, I still find myself very much loving the F car — the way it looks, the way it sounds, the funky bright colors, the weird interior, the vintage style. Just the other day I watched a convertible F car cruising along the Embarcadero. It looked very strange and I loved it. It’s a love-hate relationship, I suppose.

My last transportation-related fascination that I will share is with my monthly MUNI passes. I get excited every time a new one arrives in the mail, b/c they always have such funky colors. I just got my November pass in the mail yesterday.



Aren't they pretty?