Since I got here earlier this month, I’ve been drawing a lot. As a cartoonist, I try to simplify things to their pleasurable elements. Resist realism. Think about how to re-design the world. Enjoy. Don’t be afraid to be emotional. Those imperatives often echo in my head.

I rarely bump into people I know in the city now. The divide between the poor and the rich has widened. More cars on the streets, less people walking after 9:00 pm. Artists and writers are independent people, but it has become so hard to be independent here. But beautiful cityscapes still exist, somewhat indifferent to all the changes. I looked down the city from the top of the hill, watching the fog roll in. When I posted this drawing on Facebook, my friend who used to live in San Francisco said, “Is he peeing in a park? That is so San Francisco.” That cracked me up.