Mission Mission

All this inclement weather has got me reminiscin’ about warmer days foreign lands.  Take Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica: usually known little town to pick up supplies before hiking through the rainforest, sleeping on remote beaches, and maybe accidentally stumbling upon a sea-turtle hatch.  But, really, it just has great street art.  Its park benches and buildings are covered in solid painted jungle scenes.  However, the real gem is finding some random house with Voltron on its walls.

SMASH!

Fallen tree near 17th and Guerrero.

Thanks to Afonso for the pic.

This is the story of how, after all we’ve been through together, Medjool 86′d me.

We went there in the same mood we always do- jubilant, high-spirited, energetic, and ready to dance. The others had preloaded. Ibrahim, after not having had alcohol for several months as a nod to his observant-Muslim homies, decided to celebrate the end of Ramadan by breaking his sober streak in a big way. He drank almost a fifth of vodka immediately after the bottle arrived in the apartment, brought by my boyfriend, H. We quickly confiscated the bottle so the remainder could be put in a drink for H. As H poured his own drink, Ibrahim began dancing around the apartment, singing made-up songs. H and I eyed each other. It was only 8 o’clock and the others hadn’t even arrived yet.

H sipped his mixed drink slowly and rolled several spliffs at a leisurely pace. We planned to bring these out with us and smoke them at intervals throughout the night. There would be no smoking at home because, we concluded, that would just make us sleepy. When we smoke before we go out, we never end up going out.

Ayman, Shaddi, Khalil, and Francisco arrived, and after greetings, we decided to go.

We hadn’t been to Medjool in maybe six months. A couple members of our regular crew had gotten married, others were traveling abroad, and it just wasn’t the same. But with the core group back in town and ready to party, we decided our old haunt was just the place to go.

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Tipster Chris writes in with photos of a new smoke shop being put up AS WE SPEAK on 24th and Folsom:

At first I thought tipster Chris was messing with us with a couple of doctored pics.  A sign that ugly can’t be real.

Boss Tycoon is clearly taking typography tips from a seasonal Halloween Headquarters store.  Cool!

Reader Chris sends us this news:

Apparently there are studies in the works for a new building to replace the One $ Store at 17th and Mission with a “six-story-over-basement, mixed-use building consisting of 29 residential units, approximately 2,640 square-feet of ground-floor commercial space, and a one-level below-grade parking garage.”

The doc does not say if it will be condos or rentals.

All the details are here (PDF alert).

It’s not every day that you can stuff your face with delicious pie without looking like a total piggy, but Sunday provided the perfect opportunity. October 11th marked the 3rd annual pie baking contest hosted by our fave pie shop, Mission Pie. This year’s contest was decided by a panel of distinguished judges; Ruby – Mission High student, Anthony – Anthony’s Cookies, Jessica Appelgren – last year’s winner, and Krystin & Karen – owners of Mission Pie.

The competition was fierce this year, but in the end Finch Linden walked away with “Best Looking Pie” (apple), Lauren Nilson won “People’s Choice” (salmon/ potato), Emily Montgomery grabbed “Best Savory” (tomato/ corn) and “Best in Show” went to Kurt Gross (apple/cranberry). Congrats to the winners!

But the big news of the day was that our state senator Mark Leno swung by and presented Mission Pie with a business of the year award. Well done guys!
Can’t wait for next year, I’m already drooling in anticipation!

See more pics of the pie madness here

-Ashleigh Cole

Word on the street is that neighbors are furious that the old panda and bamboo mural at 14th and Valencia was painted over with this.  Eh, I kinda like it.

(More work-in-progress pictures)

Also, Ban all Marriage <3.

Previously on Mission Mission:

• Miley Cyrus is a total slut <3

Being a man and all, I’ve never been in the powder room at Bender’s, so I sent a covert op into the bathroom armed with a camera so I could see the graff: