Wildcat Canyon Park

Today we did our usual intern breakfast and then checked out the mall a bit. I didn't really have anything to buy so we just hung out for a bit. After that I was going to do some work but instead Sarah and Clint and I went hiking in Wildcat Canyon Park near Richmond and El Cerrito. It was pretty awesome and quite a long hike, maybe 4 hours or so. That rocked and it was nice to get lots more exercise today and hang out with my friends.

In the evening I wanted to get some work done so we had dinner sortof around here rather than going too far. We went to Rockridge which was actually super awesome. I really liked it up there, it's sortof on the edge of Berkeley and it was really fantastic. We went to a Crepe place but I didn't get a Crepe because that seemed weird for a dinner item, instead I got a totally amazing salmon pasta with alfredo sauce, it was awesome and I was really hungry from the hike. It was too much food though so I packed it up in a to go carton, with the intentions of eating it later on in the evening. On the way back to the car there was a homeless man who looked like he needed my leftover food more than I did, so I gave it to him. I prefer to do this than to give people money because this way I know exactly where it is going and clearly he needs to eat at some point. If I ever give money to people I don't feel very good about it because it is always a possibility that the money I give is going to be used for a habit or something else which is not food, and that I would not want to support.

Often it feels like when people ask me for money around here I usually say "Sorry" and keep walking. So that is not great, and I think when I have leftover food that I don't really need, it's a good idea to give it to someone who looks like they need it. It's good to take it home anyway from the restaurant too because the restaurant will of course throw it out and then it just goes to waste instead of feeding someone who is hungry. I am going to try to remember to box up leftover food at a restaurant so that maybe I can share it with someone who needs it. It seems like there are more homeless people here than back in Canada, and I think it's important that citizens who can afford nice dinners like us should be willing to put in a little extra 30 second effort at the end of dinner to wrap up their leftovers and help out people who are less fortunate.