This happened just two or three blocks from where I live:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/baycitynews/a/2007/11/18/shooting18.DTL&feed=rss.news(11-18) 05:15 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A drive-by shooting in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood early this morning left four victims injured, according to police. An unidentified vehicle was driving at Mission and 11th streets at about 1:50 a.m. when at least one suspect inside the car began firing shots at a group of people, police said. ...
Mornings, between about 6am and 8am when I usually go running, Market Street is relatively tolerable. Most of Market isn't too bad, in fact, it's just the part between about 6th and 9th streets that's kind of sketchy. Unfortunately, I live on the block between 7th and 8th.
The building I live in is a big ugly monstrosity of 1965 vintage. They've actually done a fairly decent job of remodeling parts of it and the courtyard (with swimming pool) is fairly nice. But the building is constantly pervaded by a faint chemical odor which is periodically masked by various other odors which I won't describe.
My room is a sizeable studio overlooking the pool. I recently got the family clock out of storage and it's sitting on the shelf by the window now. I've put some blankets behind and under it to muffle the sound a bit so that the chiming won't disturb the neighbors.
The apartment came furnished with a bed, a couch, and a round table and chairs. My two main laptops are sitting on top of the table. Right now, the clock is striking ten o'clock.
This is a holding pattern. Many things are changing at once. Sometimes I can't tell which direction they're changing, or if they're getting better or worse, or moving in all directions at once and simultaneously improving and deteriorating.
San Francisco is crazy and it's making me crazy. But I'm going to ride with it.
