Has Mother’s Day been sneaking up on you and all you have is a measly card to show for it? Instead of doing the usual, why not try something new and fun this year. Did I mention it won’t cost you a dime?

Make Aroma Tea Shop your Mother’s Day destination. They’ll be having free tea tastings all day, from 11AM to 7PM. You’ll need to utilize that time if you want to try all of their teas (they carry over 100 different kinds!).

Not only will your mom love the experience, you can pack up her favorite tea as a bonus gift!

Aroma Tea Shop
302 6th Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94118
415-668-3788
[map]

Marina dancing hot spot HiFi is having Happy Hour Tuesday-Friday (with special events) starting at 5PM. About that free drink? If you mention the ad to the bartender, you get a drink on the house!

Now, about those special events… here is a run down of the rest of the weeks events:

Tuesday:
Trivia Night with $2 bud/bud lights and $3 well drinks along with prizes galore. Win up to a $60 bar tab.

Wednesday:
Women’s only wine tasting for $15 on the last Wednesday of every month!
Every Wednesday: DJ Kool Karlo (same DJ as Saturday night).

Thursday:
DJ Chris Fox.

Any other questions, call 415-3345-8663!

HiFi
2125 Lombard Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
[map]

If you or someone you know is thinking about attending college at UCSF, they should definitely check out “Plan on College!”, and outreach program for prospective 8th graders and their parents.

Not only is this informational even free of charge, they’ll also be providing everyone with a free lunch–yum. You’ll also be entered to win a raffle for $500 towards your college scholarship!

This event will all be going down this Saturday, May 10 from 9AM to 1PM (with check-in at 8:30) at UCSF’s Medical Sciences Building located at 513 Parnassus Ave.

Sign-up NOW online because SPACE IS LIMITED! Go pre-register today.

If you’ve any other questions, you can simply call Tracy Stevens at 415-514-2132.

UCSF
Medical Science Building
513 Parnassus Ave.
[map]

Now obviously if you’re just looking to shed a few pounds before summer… this is not exactly what you’re looking for. On the other hand, if you’re unhealthily overweight and you’ve finally decided this is the year to do something about–this is absolutely up your alley.

Surgery is serious business, so you should always look into it. Well, on Wednesday June 11, from 6 to 8PM they will be holding a seminar at Health Travel Guides headquarters to see if this really is the right decision for you.

These sessions will be held by Dr. Armando Joya, an extremely experienced Gastroenterologist Surgeon (he’s performed roughly 4,000 weight loss surgeries and works as a designated proctor for Johnson & Johnson Inc. and Tyco International).

You’ll need to call 1-866-978-2573 to register, as this is reservation only… but the participation is very much free!

This is a great chance to take into consideration such a huge, life changing decision – if this has ever crossed your mind before you should absolutely take advantage of such an opportunity!

Every Wednesday night is like a free-for-all at The Dirty Martini! With no cover charge, and no additional cost for both karaoke and pool, it’s definitely the mid-week destination for anyone who wants their weekend to start early.

They have over not just a thousand, but over 30,000 songs, dating as far back as the 1950s. This ensures there’ll be more than enough material to (drunkenly attempt to) sing your heart out to. If karaoke isn’t your weapon of choice, don’t worry. DJ Allier is always there mixing song favorites and music videos on huge screens for you to watch while you dance.

The alcohol will be flowing for cheap with drink specials all night, and the pool will be as free as you’re feeling (thanks to all those cheap beverages).

So any Wednesday, or every Wednesday, if you’re feeling bored you know you can always head on down to The Dirty Martini for a good time at a barely-there price.

The Dirty Martini
2801 Leavenworth St. SF
inside The Historic Cannery Building
[map]

Bay area natives Triclops! recently released a new record on March 25.

If that just wasn’t enough Triclops! for you, you can see them play their newest songs to you in Oakland with PIGS and Crystal Antlers this Saturday, April 26. Or, in lieu of that warehouse show, you can see them live from the stage at Amoeba Records on Haight St. this Friday night at 6PM, free as always.

Amoeba Records
1855 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
[map]

If you were dying to see Man Man’s show with Yeasayer at the Great American Music Hall on April 23rd, but are too low on cash, you’re in luck! April 22nd they will be playing a (solo) show at Amoeba records for free!

They’ll be debuting tracks from their new release Rabbit Habits (pictured above), so if you like what you hear at Amoeba, you can pick up a copy for yourself. Arrive promptly at 6PM to ensure you won’t miss out on any of the indie-rock goodness.

Amoeba Records
1855 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
[map]

This Saturday, April 19, is Record Store Day, meaning independently owned record stores across the country will be coming together to celebrate what culture they bring to their surrounding communities, as well as their collective impact on the nation as a whole.

I’m not sure what most stores will be doing to celebrate, or if they’ll even be too cool to celebrate, but Amoeba Records is certainly not that cool going all out: from 12pm-6pm they will be having guest DJ’s, contests, giveaways, and more… because they know how much we love more.

If I’ve learned anything from these two posts, I’d have to say that money can’t buy you love, but free things can get you customers… and that customers love free things.

Now if my facts here are correct, San Francisco was established on free love in the 60s and 70s… so we should all stop by Haight St. for these events, and thank them for keeping it real with the free love.

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I scream, you scream, the employees scream… as they get charged by hundreds of customers every year on this fateful day.

In two weeks, on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 it will be Ben and Jerry’s annual FREE CONE DAY! This is my second favorite food holiday, next to free slurpee day at 7eleven, so I thought I’d share this wealth of knowledge, that will save you a few bucks for wealth in the pocket as well.

This whole even was sparked in 1979 from Ben and Jerry’s one year anniversary celebration, which has luckily stuck around as a yearly event, thanking their customers for… being their customers. Sounds like reason enough for me!

Click here to see all the participating stores!

Best known for The OC’s theme song “California”, Phantom Planet will be playing a free show tonight at Bottom of the Hill with fellow indie band The Hush Sound. This show is first come, first serve… so plan on getting there well before their doors open at 7PM to bank on getting inside.

Aside from lending their song to a hit teen drama, Phantom Planet should really be getting recognition for much more than that. Apart from the obvious–that they’re a good listen–they’re good for a game of Six Degrees of Separation… leading to YOU, the reader… so here we go!

1. Jason Schwartzman (from your favorite Wes Anderson flicks) was their drummer before branching out with his own band Coconut Records (whose song “West Coast” was also featured in The OC).
2. Jason’s brother Robert is the front man for Rooney.
3. Rooney went on tour this past summer with The Redwalls (their song was in an AT&T commercial).
4. Their tour manager Curly was my old roommate.
5. His old roomate is writing this very blog.
6. You’re reading this very blog… stunned that you didn’t realize the connection earlier, and are moving plans around to see your good friends of Phantom Planet play a free show for you tonight!

Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 621-4455
[map]