🍿 A One-Man Show 10/19/25

Hi Everyone!

Rylee recently told me about how she loves having flowers in the apartment, and I just so happened to remember an old Lego Rose Bouquet set that I had. So, as the ever-so-thoughtful boyfriend that I am, I made her build it with me, and then I gave it to her. Who needs real flowers?

I forgot how much I love Legos. I love building all the sets, collecting all the minifigs, and if I had it my way, our apartment would be covered in LEGO spaceships, castles, and maybe a 5-foot-tall Lord Of The Rings Barad-Dur on my nightstand. However, I understand how difficult it is to store the sets as well as fit it with the rest of the interior decorations of the apartment. I think Rylee and I have landed on this as a balance.

With that said, let’s find out What’s Up With Will…

For the past few weeks in my Introduction to Communication Studies class, we have been exploring the field of Communication Studies, some of the major concepts and terminology, as well as some of the current discussions and topics being explored in the field. To sum it up, there is a lot. As Dr. Dawn Braithwaite writes, “While the discipline of communication is broad, it is energizing to realize that there is an almost endless variety of topics you can study” (2022, p.6). 

As we are wrapping up this introductory section, we are about to move on to the next section of the class focused on writing a literature review for a topic of our choice. However, before we can get started with that, we have to complete our first big-ish assignment meant to synthesize what we have learned while also outlining a potential research topic. For the longest time, I was having difficulties thinking of what topic to choose, but I think I finally figured it out, thanks to the mentorship of one of my instructors. I was talking about my troubles with her, and she said, “Well, if you want to be a teacher, what if you researched teaching?” I can’t believe I didn’t think of that beforehand!

In other developments, my co-instructor in training did her facilitation in the class, using TikTok to examine how to effectively use attention getters for an informative speech they are going to give in a few weeks. It was a cool way to apply what we are learning to students’ daily lives. 

References:

Braithwaite, D. O., Harris, T. M., Ohl, J. J., Kauer, T. (2022). Providing the intellectual tools: Getting to know the communication discipline. In B. W. Bach, D. O. Braithwaite, & S. Ganesh (Eds.), By degrees: Resilience, relationships, and success in communication graduate studies. Cognella. 

(I don’t think I ever codified how I use citations for this newsletter. I have to use APA for citing things in school, so I guess this means that the official citation style for What’s Up With Will is APA from here on out. At least for the school update section that is. The rest of this newsletter is the Wild West of citations.)

There has been a bakery that has been on my radar for quite some time in the city called The Laundromat. It was once an actual place to wash and dry clothes, but has since turned into a spot to grab a bagel or a dozen. However, the stars aligned, and so I started my day trip into the city. I grabbed a Salt Bagel on the behest of the worker, and despite its plain exterior, it had a great chew. I didn’t recognize it at the beginning of the day, but carbo-loading with a bagel was an excellent choice, as I had a long day of walking ahead of me.

After a rather lengthy walk, I made it to the Legion of Honor, and upon walking up to it, I was in awe. The museum legitimately looks majestic, in large part because this The museum’s design mirrors the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in Paris. After World War I, the founder of the museum, Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, wanted to create something to honor both artistic achievement and human resilience, and built this museum in partnership with France which sought to bring Europe’s artistic heritage to America.

The museum itself presents a collection of European art from the 13th through the 18th centuries, tracing how artistic styles evolved alongside religion, politics, and philosophy, starting in the 1200s, reflecting the church’s dominance, to the Renaissance, Baroque, and Enlightenment periods.

Additionally, are you familiar with the Thinker sculpture? You know the really famous one with the man sitting on a rock in deep thought? Well, that work and over 90 other pieces in the museum were created by Auguste Rodin, offering a pseudo-retrospective on his art. I think sculpture as an art form is so cool because it’s just like who looks at a giant block of rock and thinks, “Yep, time to make a naked man contemplating life”?

Then, after another lengthy walk, I ended up at the Sutro Baths. Back in 1894, a man named Adolph Sutro built a public bathhouse on an absolutely grand scale. A massive glass enclosure covered seven swimming pools, including slides, trapezes, and diving boards. There were also concerts, talent shows, and restaurants, all in that area. It sounds like a great way to spend a day! 

Now, all that remains are concrete ruins, and you can’t swim there anymore (and honestly, you wouldn’t want to). What you do get to see is  a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean. After all this time living in San Francisco, I don’t think I’d ever really made it to its edge. Oftentimes, San Francisco can feel so crowded and enclosed, yet just a short detour reveals a reminder of how huge the world really is.

We started our Friday Date Night at a spot called Andaman Thai. 

Growing up, we frequently went to a Thai restaurant,  but we would only have fried rice, so my understanding of Thai food was quite limited. And while Thai does have excellent fried rice, that is just the beginning of its gustatory delights. 

We got an order of Tom Kha Soup, one of Rylee’s comfort foods, and an order of Pad See Ew. The Pad See Ew noodles had an incredible texture, and while it might of been one of the simpler Tom Kha Soups, on paper at least, the creaminess of the coconut as well as the lemongrass flavors shined bright. 

Walnut Creek was celebrating its first-ever Diwali Celebration at the Lesher Center, and to kick off the weekend-long celebration, the comedian Hari Kondabolu performed. I have never heard of him before, but as the NYT writes, he is “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today”.

The set was incredibly well-written and witty, covering a mesh of political commentary and cultural critiques. One of my favorite lines, though, was “Walnut Creek loves a homonym joke”. (Hari also hosted a Netflix show called Snack vs. Chef, and so Rylee and I binged that over the weekend as well.)

It is only fitting, with it being a celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights, that the night would end with Walnut Creek’s first-ever drone show. The sky was beautifully alight with shapes, formations, and images celebrating Diwali, as well as a playful nod to fireworks being banned. 

In honor of completing my previously mentioned first big assignment for school, I decided to treat myself to a yummy breakfast at Third Culture Bakery. 

We first learned about Third Culture Bakery in Oakland, as it was an entirely gluten-free establishment specializing in mochi pastries. Mochi is a wonderfully chewy, soft cake made out of rice. I never tried mochi before moving to San Francisco, but now I’m hooked.

It just so happened to be this location’s 4th birthday celebration, so they advertised that they were giving out free birthday cake muffins. However, when I arrived, I realized the muffins were more miniature than I imagined. Still, who am I to turn down a free thing?

I wrapped up the week with Spanish Stew. Not a meal, but rather a one-woman show by Marga Gomez at the New Conservatory Theatre Center. This world premiere follows Gomez’s move to San Francisco in 1976 and, through the re-creation of a family recipe, mixes together themes of family, identity, and sexuality.

Pulling off a one-person show is no small feat, and Marga did it with panache. She seamlessly slipped between characters and created moments that felt almost dreamlike. It was especially fun to hear her reference old San Francisco restaurants and landmarks, with each mention sparking nostalgic “oohs” and “aahs” from longtime locals in the audience. The set design was also very tech-forward, with projections, intricate lighting, and sound effects that brought her story to life.

Apparently, Wizard 101 was released for consoles a week and a half ago! This was one of my favorite games growing up, and ended up being my Covid Era obsession. I may or may not have a max level character in the game. Now that it is on consoles, anyone want to play with me???