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Sunday.
Sunday was the Solano Stroll. There was so much to take in! There were about a kamillion billion people in attendance….that’s my expert guess anyway. :P
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On Saturday I volunteered at ForageSF ‘s underground market. It was amazing!
I ate a Banh Mi sandwich from Kitchen Side Car and macarons from Christopher David Macaron.
I was too busy putting the sandwich and macarons in my belly NOM NOM! and forgot to actually take a picture, but check out their respective websites! Y-U-M!
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People I meet: San Francisco
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Today I talked to a 21 year old Marine in SF for 2 hours.
You know that scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts walks down the street in the wrong clothes feeling rejected because they won’t let her shop? That’s what I felt like today. Well…minus the prostitution part. My meeting with a SF temp agency did not go as I had hoped and I left feeling like a fish out of water in this brand new city of mine.
Since I was busy feeling sorry for myself, while waiting for the BART I did not have my usual smiley HI! I LOVE PEOPLE!! face on. However, this did not deter a young man who had a question about my map. He was polite and happy and just finished his first day of art school. I could tell he was excited, so I listened to him talk about his love of drawing BMW’s and the three tiers of automobile drawing and diesel engines and crash engines and hybrid engines and commuting and his conservative parents and relationship stuff. Typical young man stuff. The BART was stalled, and then we both got on the wrong train so this conversation went on for a few hours. Near the end it came out that he was a Marine going to art school on the GI Bill. I’m pretty sure my dumbfounded response was, “WAIT WHAT?…But your so nice and calm! And happy!……You didn’t go to war did you?” Yes folks, if you didn’t catch on by now, I am B-L-U-N-T. He laughed and said he just got back from a 7 month deployment. He was thankful he never had to shoot anybody, although he came close a few times. He is favorite thing about Northern California is the smell. When he got off his deployment plane there were tons of people cheering, tons of banners, but the very first thing he noticed was the smell of green, the smell of Northern California. So he breathed in deeply, breathed in the smell of home. Now, I have strong feelings about this war of ours, but I sensed this was not the time or place to bring it up. So I just let him talk about anything and everything until his stop, where he smiled, waved and then disappeared into the evening crowd.
I will most likely never see this man again. However, it’s nice to know there is a friendly young Marine in San Francisco attending art school, who dreams of drawing BMW’s, and who is grateful to be home from war.
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Post One. East Bay so far.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
WHAT’S UP Internets!
So.
I have akamillionfew blogs floating around the blog-o-sphere and I thought, what’s one more? When I moved to NYC, I started this blog: http://thenewestnewyorker.blogspot.com/ to chronicle my NYC adventures and I’ve decided to chronicle my East Bay adventures as well.
I moved here on Saturday Aug. 21st with my mom and her friend who followed me in mom’s van. I found two speed traps! When you see the Tejan Ranch in Kern county off the 5, slow.it.down! Cops are literally lined up giving out tickets like candy b/c that’s a 65 mph speed zone and the other zones are 70/75 mph. It’s a confusing area and the cops know it. The other speed trap is right before UC Berkeley. They are hiding with their radar guns. YOU ARE WELCOME. :)
When I got here, my roomie (an old dear college friend) K and her awesome boyfriend J were waiting to help me move mah stuffs. They are super sweet. I left the heavy stuff for J and carried in all the fluffy stuff. SO HELPFUL, I KNOW. ;b My mom, her friend and I ate at Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers, a restaurant that only uses local sustainable farm meat/produce. YUM! I recommend everything on the menu. Again, how helpful am I?
The next morning, before my moms and friend departed, we wandered into a restaurant called Fat Apple’s that makes homemade Olallieberry jam. Yeah, I have no idea what that is either, but it sure sounds fancy, yes? After, we checked out Inspiration Point at Tilden Regional Park. The sassy broads then took off back home to the land of hot weather and plastic, and I unpacked and caught up with K and J at Barney’s. AGAIN. UH-OH. This has the makings of an obsession. Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers I will luv u foreverz-n-everz. I mean, it’s casual. whateves.
On Monday, Funkydoor gave me a month of FREE BIKRAM YOGA just for turning in a job application. I think that’s a good omen.
My neighbors are pretty cool too. To my right I have a large macaw that likes to loudly screech at odd hours. Above me, I have a classical pianist/child prodigy that trains all of the time. The kid is pretty awesome, actually. Except when the macaw decides to do a duet. To my left, I have a very interesting old man (with Einstein hair) that lives in a very interesting old house and goes outside several times a day to talk to himself. If you look into his windows you can see old newspapers/books piled high to the ceiling. He’s a hoarder and I’ve decided to befriend him….whether he likes it or not. You know how I roll. :b
I feel a bit lost in this new adventure. I hate being a big fish in a small pond, b/c there is no room to grow. I’m now a little fish. Once again seeking a new way of being, new ways to explore the world and myself. Never stagnant. However, with new adventures comes new challenges and new hurdles. It also means saying good-bye to beloved friends/family. Again.
At the end of the day, I am nervous, but really excited for my new adventure…..and so far, this place earns its title! YAY EAST BAY!
xxoo,
e.
