Home is Where the Heart is: "Week Two" in SF
The truth is, I have undeniably completed Week Four of this new chapter of my life - as today marks one month since my symbolic drive up CA-101 N. Week One, I reported upon above: it was filled with new experiences, budding relationships, and chance encounters with strangers who each welcomed me to this exciting and infectious city. Week Two was a whirlwind: I got to work more closely with my new boss, and then we took off for a rustic bonding experience in magnificent Monterrey that was jam-packed with bonfires and beach Olympics. I allowed myself to immerse fully and ignore the potential distractions of my lost iPhone (my only grudge thus far against SF and its infamous playground for musical debauchery: Bootie SF) or my impending vacation, which would kick off the following evening. I took it all bird by bird and, Wednesday evening, drove to San Jose and Jenna, hitched a car to the airport, jetted off to LA (whilst writing the blog post below this one) and then reunited and chugged a beer with Stegs. It was off to the East we'd go!
Week three was an extended break from reality and, honestly, one of the most blissful and flawless vacations I've taken in my young adult life. :) There were no life-altering encounters or disasters that took place; there were moments of stress and discomfort, but truly only due to the characteristic New England humidity. I'll touch on each leg of my summer adventure in more detail later, but I simply must express my gratitude and fulfillment to the universe -- for I had the opportunity to take a physical, mental and geographical hiatus that was restful, valuable, courageous, adventurous, and ultimately invaluable. A distinct symbol of the transition and leap I am currently amidst, I could not have taken this trip at a better time. I am blessed that Apple approved this time away in the months prior to my life-change, that LinkedIn permitted me to take the time before I began my immersion... AND I am blessed that California insists that I receive my vacation time and pay accrued from my prior, generous and fucking awesome employer upon exiting. It all worked out.
To my disbelief, Week Four has come to a close already. This most recent half-week of "back to work" was such a drenching onslaught of learns and new information and profound business insight and impressive customer service savvy - that my brain is literally on fire all day (and sizzles into the night)! Not to mention that in the past 7 days, I: traveled back from the nation's capital, reunited with my sisters and entire family in Newbury, drove all the way back to my new city, looked at approximately seven new potential living spaces at this point, went hiking with my inspiration of a cousin, survived a birthday bar crawl through my new dream SF neighborhood... all the while immersing in my new role as a consultant at the world's most "connected" company. Phew!
Thursday afternoon last week, I found my dream apartment. After spending the preceding Tuesday roadtripping up to SF with four female members of my fam and then proceeding to look at five apartments over the course of one afternoon, I ended up finding this other possibility simply scrolling through the Craigslist app on my iPhone during my commute to work. It was gorgeous. I could tell from the photos that it had crown molding and nicer fixtures and appliances than most of the places within my budget, but... who am I kidding? All of San Francisco is a bit OUT of my budget.
I arrived at said "dream apartment" and had my new co-worker Stephanie with me. The landlord was a friendly gal - seemingly a former-hipster - who had short spiky hair and hailed from Southern California. She was already being mobbed by eager beavers, checkbooks in hand when we arrived, so we hung back and looked around. In short, it had everything I had been looking for in "my own place": a gorgeous bay window, a view of the city (though it lacked a patio, it had a fire escape), a huge walk-in closet with tons of storage, and a kitchen that was separate and somewhat like Em and Nick's in NYC (pictures to come). It was in an old but cared-for building, and featured a spookily antique elevator that resembled those on the Titanic, but was also freshly painted and somewhat romantic.
So then the following day, I found my dream HOUSE. An old friend from high school sent me a Facebook message acknowledging that she had seen my recent request for roommate referrals; she knew a friend who was moving out of her house, and who had a cat. I was initially hesitant; I didn't know the referrer well, and should I live with strangers when I've just arrived in a new city? As it turns out, that's not looking like a bad idea at all... Bayan recommended - no, demanded - from the beginning that I be adventurous and do EXACTLY that. Jill did it bravely in DC and look how her fabulous friend-life has turned out, Cory! So I grabbed an Uber and I did it: headed out to the inner start to the Richmond district, a long neighborhood stretching the length of Golden Gate park all the way to the west coast of the San Francisco peninsula. What a good idea. :)
The ladies I met, Alexandra and Caitlin, were warm and pleasant to say the absolute least! The first things that caught my eye were the living room's large bay window, gorgeous afternoon sunlight and a tiny kitty cat at the top of the stairs that all greeted me upon my arrival. The second-floor townhouse features a large kitchen with all stainless appliances, a large attached island and giant fridge, a cozy-looking futon and faux fireplace with adorable tzotchkes everywhere...and a fooz-ball table in the living room. They then took me to the master bedroom, which would be mine in a hypothetical realm, and I was pleasantly surprised at the vast size and sunny window overlooking the backyard (yes, there's a shared yard!). The perks that I can see clearly include laundry in the unit and a porchy patio off the back bedroom that leads down to the aforementioned, tree and spider-strewn yard. Did I mention the downstairs neighbors have a pingpong table, though? The girls also "LOVE cats." Enough said.
The But
To put it simply, I was inspired by two attractive and romantically "San Francisco" prospects in the span of two days; but, considering I'm amidst the most competitive residential and rental real estate market in the world most likely, it's no surprise that I already received word [nay was the word, by the way] about the studio. I am determined that the Gods of SF Building Managers will determine my fate, however, so I'm remaining positive. Maybe it will be time for me to make three new friends and live in a perfectly juxtaposed, green and gray city neighborhood -- that's only feet away from the summer's annual Musical Festival in the park, Outside Lands, by the way.
No matter where I end up laying down roots, I know that I'll have an unconditional family to come home to each... morning, at my office. :) I can't emphasize enough how much I adore my new workplace and work-team. Not only do relationships matter to them (I literally received a company-wide email today about the immeasurable value of the #WorkBFF in someone's career happiness) -- my Global team of counterparts also care about ME. I participated in a world-wide conference call today within a team of people whose primary purpose (and passion) is educating and empowering professionals who live and work every day to bring talent and opportunity together. That's how this company, and I, see recruiting. The undying emphasis on collaborating, helping each other to generate our best work and getting the most out of ourselves, is staggeringly inspiring. Finally, I have a mere one dear friend - whom I met at one, small fruit company - and our single yet fate-determining conversation a few months back to thank for all of this.
I'll always love LA, but I'm confident that here is where my home AND my heart are!
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