🚀 May The Fourth 5/4/25

Hi Everyone!

I would like to say that I am a pretty big Star Wars fan. I’ve seen the movies, and you know I always have a lightsaber around in case something goes awry. I will also admit that I occasionally try to use the force to try and lift things. And that every year around May 4th, I try extra hard to see if I have somehow made a stronger connection with the force. I still haven’t.

While I think that some of the luster of the movies has worn off from the perspective that the entire premise is based on war, I get still get chills when I see a lightsaber being activated or Yoda saying, “May the force be with you.”

Any way, let’s find out What’s Up With Will…

I kicked off Star Wars Week with a bang by going to see Star Wars Episode III Re-release in theaters. And in my honest opinion, it is the best prequel movie.

This is kind of special for me because this is the first Star Wars movie I remember seeing in theaters, 20 years ago. It’s crazy to think that it has been that long. 

The theater itself was probably one of the most crowded  I have been to in a long time, too. It makes sense that there are a lot of Star Wars fans out here, 1) because of the high density of Tech Bros, and 2) because Lucasfilm is headquartered in San Francisco. 

On my quest to explore the Bay Area, I decided to take a day trip to Walnut Creek on Wednesday. I wasn’t trying to do that much, but I kept on finding more free tickets to things, and I’m not one to turn down something for free.

First up was the Ruth Bancroft Garden, or as Tripadvisor says, “The Most Beautiful Garden in the World”.

I haven’t been to that many gardens, so I can’t judge Tripadvisor’s statement, but I enjoyed the blooming flowers, sculptural cacti, and native California plants.

That said, I have one major complaint: the bees. I do not like bees, or anything that buzzes, and gardens tend to attract a lot of them. Ruth Bancroft was no exception. Yes, I know they’re vital for pollination and the health of the ecosystem, but still. One moment I’d be blissfully strolling through this peaceful, almost meditative landscape, and then a bee zips past my ear and I’m instantly in fight-or-flight mode.

Next up was the Lindsay Wildlife Experience, a wildlife rehabilitation center as well as a museum/zoo. It holds the distinction of being the first wildlife hospital ever established in the United States, which is pretty impressive.

Inside, I got to see a variety of native Californian animals up close. (Fun fact: Did you know California is the most biodiverse state in the U.S.? I didn’t either—until now.) 

One of the highlights was a live presentation about California porcupines, where I met Penelope, a charming and surprisingly chill porcupine. One of the most amazing things I just learned is that a group of porcupines is called a prickle. 

Finally, I made my way into downtown Walnut Creek to go to the Bedford Gallery. It was a nice little exhibit focusing on works created by 65 artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

The Bay Area has three organizations that focus on highlighting artists with disabilities, so I appreciate how much California values inclusivity in the arts.

I have some exciting news: I have been accepted to multiple grad schools, including both San Francisco State University and San Jose State University! Since I checked out San Jose State last weekend, I thought it would be only fair to explore San Francisco State too. So I packed up my bags, and decided to make my way over there. 

On my way over, my MUNI train got delayed, so I walked around and stumbled upon some guy handing out free ice cream. I should clarify: this wasn’t a random stranger with a cooler. It was an actual city-sponsored ice cream social that takes place the first Thursday of each month. Still, free ice cream is free ice cream… and I wasn’t about to ask too many questions.

With my ice cream in hand, I hopped on the train to get to San Francisco State University.

It’s definitely a larger campus than San Jose State, with a mix of older and some shiny new buildings.  I have to admit though that San Jose State’s self-guided tour was a bit more engaging, packed with fun facts and campus stories that really stuck with me. Still, I’m torn between the two schools if I stay in the Bay. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a decision soon.

On my way back, the BART ran into a major disruption. Lucky for me, that delay led me straight into the Downtown First Thursday Street Party, which just so happened to be celebrating its one-year anniversary. There was free cake, free flowers, not to mention the general good vibes of a street party. The cake might have been my second dessert of the day, but when you’re riding the high of grad school acceptances, why not add a sugar high too?

To wrap up the day, I joined some friends for a board game night. We played Slay the Spire, a deck-building dungeon crawler based on the video game. It’s surprisingly addictive. If you haven’t played it yet, I’d recommend giving it a shot.

On Friday night, Rylee and I met up with Avery for the Berkeley Natural Wine Street Market. I’ve been to this market three or four times now, but I was especially excited for this one. Why? Because of the elusive tater tot pizza.

Every time I go, there’s a pizza stand that serves this glorious-looking creation, but I’ve never tried it. I usually go with Rylee, who can’t eat gluten, so I end up admiring it longingly from a distance while everyone else digs in.

But this time was different. Avery was with us, and more importantly, Avery can eat gluten. So at long last, I got to split a slice of the tater tot pizza. Dreams do come true.

Afterwards, I stumbled upon free tickets to see Kim Waters at Yoshi’s. Kim Waters is a killer saxophone player and has been called the “Pied Piper of Smooth Jazz” by Upscale Magazine. His music is the epitome of what I would consider to be Jazz, and has a great stage presence too.

For my second Star Wars Week celebration of the week, I took Rylee to the SF Giants game against the Rockies—aka Star Wars Day at the ballpark. Let me tell you, the Giants didn’t hold back for this one.

Their beloved mascot Lou Seal transformed into Darth Vader Seal, flanked by a full dark side entourage. Concession stands joined the fun too, serving up blue milk boba tea. We walked away with a Star Wars bucket hat, and the stadium organist gave live renditions of iconic Star Wars themes.

As we start to figure out what our life will look like for the next couple of years with Rylee thinking about working in Sacramento, we figured it was important to feel out what that would look like. So we took a train up to Sacramento on Sunday to explore the area where Rylee would work, as well as the city as a whole. 

We first walked around Old Town Sacramento, a historic district that feels frozen in time from the Gold Rush era. With wooden boardwalks, old-timey saloons, and even a costume shop, it’s like stepping onto a movie set.

We also explored downtown areas like the Capital Building and the Leland Stanford Mansion, which was at one point home of the Stanfords, you know the people who started Stanford University. My favorite part of the tour was that the Stanfords had a grand parlor to bring first-time guests into to show just how wealthy they were. 

We also toured the California Museum, which had a soda vending machine showing how soda leads to diabetes, a section on the rise of Chinatowns in California, and a special exhibit on Women who served in the military. Did you know that there was a real-life Mulan story in the Revolutionary War? Her name was Deborah Sampson, and she disguised herself as a man and served in the army for over a year before being discovered.

We also visited a dive bar called Dive Bar with night mermaid showings (unfortunately, we did not see the show itself, but we did see videos of the show) as well as an arcade bar called Coin-Op Room. I beat Rylee at Skee-Ball, and Rylee beat me at Mario Kart. Both of our worlds have been turned upside down.

Finally, we stopped at a legendary Chinese restaurant in the area that has been serving food for over 80 years called Frank Fat’s. We had some incredible Chinese food (Honey Walnut Prawns, Mongolian Beef, and Fried Rice). We also ordered a triple Mai Tai because it was cheaper than getting three individual drinks. Only when it arrived did we realize that we had essentially ordered a fishbowl.

Sacramento surprised me. It had a charm to it, and the downtown felt eerily similar to Midtown Atlanta. I think if Rylee were to take a job here, she would enjoy it.

I have fond memories of Lego Star Wars. It was actually one of the first video games that I ever played. That being said, these guys take this game to the next level by playing Geo-Guesser. A very fitting video to end Star Wars Week with. May the Force Be With You…