It's all About the Bureaucracy
Yesterday I went down to the Hall of Justice, the HQ of our much-loved (or loathed) San Francisco Police Department to ask for a police permit for our party on May 29th. I didn't know if I needed a permit or not but decided it was best to attempt to obtain one. Unknown to me the permit office is only open from 9-12 and then 1-3 and I arrived at 3:05.
So today I took another trip down to the Hall of (in) Justice. After opening late (1:05 PM) the clerk freshly informed me that I needed to take a trip to City Hall (featured above), fill out the EXACT same form but instead give it to the "entertainment division." She also told me she wasn's sure whether I would be charged $40.00 or $400.00 for the permit. Wisely I asked for the name of the person in charge of the "entertainment division" and gave them a call.
It turns out I don't need a permit AT ALL. The woman at City Hall was totally cool and told me as long as I wasn't selling anything it would do no good to have a permit. If the music was too loud then a permit wouldn't protect me, I was still going to have to turn it down. If the SFPD shows up then regardless of my permit I will have to do what they say. She also advised me to call my local SFPD station and let them know I was having a party beforehand and also to let my neighbors know, both of which I've already done.
So I'm relieved to have this last obstruction removed and now the road is clear for my boyfriend's fabulous 40th B-Day!
2:38:16 PM 
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