Growing up in Hawaii deprived me of many experiences that mainlanders probably take for granted. Just walking around in neighborhoods in places like New York or Boston conjure images of all the backgrounds I’ve seen in film, and I often comment that I feel like I’m “in the movies.”

Yesterday, in celebration of the Giants’ new World Champions status, the city threw a would-be-ticker-tape-had-there-actually-been-ticker-tape parade (photos here). The imagery was monumental: crowds of people lining the streets under strikingly tall buildings against the morning sun. It reminded me of scenes from films of parades set in the 1920s. Again, I felt like I was “in the movies.”

The past week has been (and this is a noun-turned-adjective I use often to describe moments of happy, quiet wonder) absolutely Disneyland. Despite sensationalized reports of riots during post-winning game street parties (photos here), the city was full of love.

Even more exciting was the re-ignition of my interest in sports, particularly baseball which I haven’t really had a huge fascination with since I was seven and living briefly in SF (don’t worry, I liked the Giants then too). For me, I can’t care for a team unless I have an emotional connection with what they represent. After college, I went to A’s games with [a certain person from my past] who was a huge fan of theirs, but I really couldn’t care less what happened. Getting into the 2010 postseason showed that it was actually possible for me to have an emotional attachment to a team – a first, since Hawaii isn’t involved in the major leagues. I finally found a reason to cheer like they do “in the movies,” because I love San Francisco.

Also, everyone jokes that I look like Tim Lincecum, but I think that’s just ridiculous.