Interview: Olivia Ongpin
Most people have spent their whole life doing something: breathing, dancing, pursuing a dream,whatever. Olivia Ongpin has spent her entire life living in the 415. For the more recent settlers to the area this may seem like no great feat. But once you realize that the 415's boundaries have been morphing and contracting in unexpected ways for the last twenty years, you'll realize what a wily and impressive accomplishment this is.
As a lifetime resident Olivia has offered a few insights about the area to SFist. One question in particular got us thinking, is San Francisco too expensive, or is it just that SFist is not rich enough to be here? Is it me, or is it you? When Olivia isn't occupied dodging area code boundaries, or positing existential questions, she stays busy with Fabric8 (which she cofounded!) and answering silly questions about the area from transplants. There's a lot of great stuff in Olivia's interview, make sure you pay close attention to the tips on international diplomacy and how to find true happiness in the lower haight.
Name
olivia o ongpin
Age and Occupation
32-year-old merchant/hustler of culture
How long have you been in the Bay Area and where have you lived?
i have been 415 all my life. born in sf, raised in san mateo, schooled in palo alto (the area code changed right after i graduated). then in the lower haight for 8 years, now on ghetto fabulous market street since 2002. san francisco is my favorite us city, and when i travel i don't have to go visit my family.
Favorite website fabric8.com (est. 1995)
Favorite local business
there is absolutely no way to choose just one local business. or even
ten.
my LEAST favorite chain is starbucks. in 1990 there were something like 30 cafes per square mile in san francisco. on top of that, there's now a starbucks every 2.3 blocks?!?! no one needs to go there.
What I'm currently Reading two books from the library, one about gloria vanderbilt and the other
about kauai
Best Deal in San Francisco parties and party favors :P
Favorite mode of transportation muni/bart, city car share, and a pied
Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area didn't some of the village people 'come out' of the bay area? ;)
seriously, though, sly and the family stone, the coup, and the solesides/quannum crew
Favorite local hangout
red wine wednesdays with toph one @ dalva
SF has the BEST: people
You've never lived in SF until:
you've been to the end up (bonus points if it was in the morning)
Favorite Bay area politician of past or present: emperor norton
Best encounter with a stranger in the City: outside of liquid (now pink), one guy asked my name and spontaneously
(in about 4 minutes) wrote a poem on a piece cardboard about me and my
friends partying all night long to house music in the city by the bay -- complete with a drawing of the golden gate bridge! i still have it somewhere.
You can tell someone is a local here IF:
(s)he openly criticizes the bush administration, confident in the fact
that everyone else in the room will agree
SF would be soooo much better if only: i was extremely affluent
Best Burrito: la cumbre or papalote
Best Restaurant: where to begin? besides the burrito spots, boulevard, citizen cake, straits, destino, blue jay cafe, tong palace, pagolac, naan and curry, osha thai, sai jai thai, atlas cafe, pauline's pizza, world sausage grill, tony's cable car, mitchell's ice cream
Best movie scene filmed in or about SF: 'vertigo', when james stewart follows kim novak around downtown, or 'tales of the city', when the end up scene is filmed in the mission at
kilowatt(??)
Favorite artist to come out of the bay area: james weeks and damon soule
Favorite author to come out of the bay area:
lemony snicket, since alice walker doesn't really count
Place you always tell visitors to check out: civic center
Favorite Bridge in the area: the suspension/west side of the bay bridge, particularly the view of sf
You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
head to the lower haight to visit the vapor room, open mind music,
groove merchant, doe, edo, future primitive, tweekin, upper playground, zebra, and strangeco. spend the money on a brownie then some samosas from an indian joint and chai from international cafe.
I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist: face value sro tickets to a giants play-off game (schmidt shut-out against the marlins!)
I want all the SFists out there to know:whenever you travel outside of the country, it's best to say that you're from san francisco as opposed to the united states.
Tell us a San Francisco Story: it was another night at one of the oldest speakeasies, which meant lots of drinking and even more shit-talking. trixie was working the door, as usual, and checked in with the djs for their guest lists. after one dj gave his list, she asked why his one friend wasn't on it (since he always was). turns out the guy had gotten his wisdom teeth out that day
and probably wouldn't show. when he actually did -- with no cash for the cover -- trixie got him to pay with a vicodin.
the other day, i was waiting for the bus ... and this street guy was
trying to make some cash by selling his transfer. one person convinced
him to trade his late night for a time-dated underground transfer -- a
bit of a setback but he still had an asset. when he tried to sell that
to someone else, she shyly looked away. 'don't you have enough money for the bus?' the street guy said. 'no.' 'okay then, just take this and someday in the future you can do the same for someone else.' so much for making money! but he earned some good karma.
Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview:
who was your first favorite local band/dj/artist/party/bar?
where do you prefer to caffeinate? SFist answers this question at least weekly!
where/what is your favorite view of the city?
which neighborhood, besides your own, are you most often in?