Xmas party, Mind the Gap, updates...

Christmas party at my parents' house Dec 23. Come 730/8, doesn't matter. You all know the address. BYOB bc I'm poor... I'm sure there will be some punch or whatnot though... and snacks/food. Bill is going to set up beer pong in the basement, can't wait to see how that pans out! LOL!!

I'm excited to see everyone, I can't friggin wait to be in CT for 2 weeks. It better fuckin snow too.

I'll be there from Dec 21 - Jan 2. So far, I'm planning on taking a trip to Boston to visit Kara and I'm also going to be staying at Amy and Howie's for a few nights in Norwalk. I'm so excited to see Amy's belly bump - I see pics but it's still so surreal to me that my best friend is prego. She's gonna be a great mommy.... just look at how awesome I turned out cuz she was the biggest influence in my life growing up, without her I don't know who I would be. And to this day, I don't know what I would do without her!!!


So - update on me lately. I went to a yoga class with Gaby yesterday and HOLY SHIT I am so fuckin sore. I felt fine this morning... but the longer I sat at my desk the more I felt the soreness set in. My back, my hips, my shoulders. Feels so good, def different than doing yoga at home. Probably bc at home I do like 20 mins, and a class is 1.5 hours.

I borrowed the movie "Mind the Gap" from Lenny a while ago. Just watched it tonight - really really good. It is made by the guy that made Wirey Spindell (Eric Schaeffer) - I really like him and his acting too. He takes such a deep and personal look into people's lives, it is so real and genuine. Not easy to capture with a camera. While the movie has some sad scenes, it has hopeful ones too - and it's actually incredibly inspiring. There is this one part about asking forgiveness - it made me want to call all the people in my past that I did anything wrong to and ask for their forgiveness. Saying your sorry isn't always enough. I never thought about it that way, and I like the new perspective.

You should see the movie - it's really awesome. Wirey Spindell is a good watch too.

It's 12:30am, I should be sleeping, but I have some work to do before the am. They are renovating our Beale St Corp HQ in SF (where I work) and I am helping with the biz plan for the architects. Apparently people are lying about their headcount numbers and I have to give the SVP a fighting leg to stand on. YAY. One of my coworkers in my row (yes, cube farm hell) left a few weeks ago, now I find out another one in my row is leaving in a few weeks. Someone said to me today "so Brenda when you leavin" as a joke and I had to pretend I'm not. It's so hard to do, esp with my boss. She's gonna be so upset. :( But ok with me - get me the F outta here!!! I woke up this AM and just wanted to run back east right away, I'm so over this living situation. Ok, stop talking and get to work Brenda.....

get me the fuck outta here before...

i stab my eye out. people in sf drive me fucking insane (not that they are all like this - but the ones that are i wanna fuckin kick in the crotch). i can't stand people that act all "distant" to show they are superior and so fucking special and interesting that they won't tell you things about them but then when the topic comes up later they act like you should have known they are a fucking expert on it even though they never said shit before. get over yourself, no one gives a shit about you that much that you have to be all mega-private about lame shit you know about or have experienced. Or if you don't want to tell people, don't throw it in their faces later for not knowing you knew, asshole.

Ok, I feel a bit better now. Maybe I can fall asleep soon bc it's almost 4am and I have to be up for work in less than 4 hours. Fuck. I haven't had a late night like this in a long ass time - I've become such an adult with getting to bed at a semi-decent hour (before 1am typically) so this is gonna suck tomorrow when I'm tired as shit and have a ton of shit to do because it is approaching year end and i have to hound a crapload of people to make sure we will land on target. Fun. My brain is racing so much that I haven't been able to fall asleep at all tonight. I tried to sleep but I kept thinking and thinking about what was pissing me off and also what is stressing me out (moving, getting a new job, resume bullshit, MONEY, etc etc etc). I can't wait to be in a stable place someday with finances, etc. At least once I'm back in DC I can find a better job and settle in come Spring with my boys and hopefully get back to my life after this "extended vacation away from DC" I've been on since March. That's truly what it feels like - I am SOOO not a west coast girl. Apparently, I even have a New England accent! HA!

I feel like I live in Italy all over again...

Our dryer is broken in our apt (yes, we are fortunate enough to have a laundry room in our 2 story condo!) and it’s so freakin annoying bc now I have to hang all my clothes up to air dry ala Roma style. When I lived in Italy we only had a washing machine that took 1.5 hours to run and no dryer – so we would sprawl clothes all over the apt and sheets all over the kitchen chairs, a total disaster! But it certainly made me appreciate washers and dryers back here in America! Then you get used to having good washers and dryers again so as soon as one breaks it’s enough to drive you to drink! Ok, I’m exaggerating, kinda, but it’s still annoying. Rant over.

I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I am so much so an East Coast gal that I cannot survive and be happy and fulfilled on the west coast… as beautiful and fun as it is. I will miss listening to the waves crashing in the ocean from my bedroom window more than anything (I’m listening now, sooo nice! I hear fog horns too). I love California, it’s an unbelievably gorgeous state… it’s just that itsy bitsy problem of being, oh, I don’t know…. Say 3,000 MILES away from home. It didn’t sound like a huge deal before I moved…but the reality sure sets in when you are going about your daily everyday routine and find your life is lacking in ways you didn’t know until now. I definitely took a number of things for granted in my life back in DC, I regret leaving a lot undone there even after living there for 3.5 years. By the time I make it back there I will have been living in San Francisco for about 10 months…. I’m surprised I didn’t make it a year out here, I actually expected to live out here for around 3 years. Things change and people grow and living allll the way out here has certainly made me realize what’s truly important in life…. And when my dad calls me and asks if I want to talk to my 2 year old niece and she asks him “who’s that?” and he has to explain “she’s Billy’s sister, your Aunt Brenda” that’s a pretty good indication that I’m living way too far away. Yes, they live in CT…. but guess what, I can’t jump in my car on some random weekend like I used to and just drive up from DC to visit my family and friends whenever I felt like it… now I have to drop over $400 on airfare and spend an entire day traveling and then bc I spent so much money I have to stay for an extended period of time and use up all my vacation days so I never get a real vacation (read: tropical relaxing vaca or trip abroad) since I spend it all catching up and spending quality time with the fam and friends I see for maybe 3 weeks a year. Run-on sentence? Probably. Point is, I know in my heart (and always have) that I want to settle on the east coast – so the longer I stay in CA the longer I feel like I am putting my life on hold. Maybe that isn’t how it really is, but it’s how I feel. There have been indications all along that I wasn’t ready to really settle in on the west coast – I haven’t moved my gym membership from VA yet and I still bank with Wachovia in DC when they don’t even have offices out here! It’s those ties that I just didn’t (and don’t) want to sever bc they bind me to HOME. Sounds irrational, I know it is, but I guess I felt something in me that was saying “no, don’t move your whole life bc you’ll have to move it all back again when you leave soon.” I didn’t know soon would be sooo soon, but I feel more at peace now that I’ve decided to move back to DC than I have since before I left DC. And what’s WEIRD about that is when I visited SF 2.5 years ago I felt so at peace here and that’s a big part of what drove me to want to live in CA…. so here I am and I’ve never felt so UNPEACEFUL. Even with the ocean waves caressing me to sleep! I believe this is what has led to my weight gain even though I eat healthier now than I have in my entire life as well as my increased back pain since moving.

I think I idealized SF in my head after that visit. I think what contributed to the intense relaxation I felt here was due to the fact that I came here only mere months after my last boyfriend smashed my heart into little itty bitty crumbs so of course a vacation away from my misery and insomnia was much needed! I think I have a habit of idealizing and romanticizing places, people, and situations so much so that I believe it will make me extraordinarily happy when that is just plain unrealistic. Ooops. At least I realize I do this now so I can stop making stupid decisions. I was happy in DC, I don’t remember being unhappy there at all… maybe a bit bored and ready for change, but that was my own laziness in not taking advantage of the city and my friends and not me needing to actually move clear across the country. But I am extremely glad that I moved here and tried it out – it was a dream of mine and now I have accomplished it and saw for myself if it was right for me. I’ve grown in ways that I could not have in DC and I don’t have to walk through life questioning what living in CA is like anymore. I’m proud of my move even though I spent (and will be spending) shit loads of cash to move again. It was worth it though!

Ramble ramble ramble. I should get ready for bed. I need to get working on my resume this week too – gotta find a new job in DC come Feb/March! Ahhh! I hate job searching, hopefully I find something that suits me more than crappy financial analyst desk jobs, I get way too bored staring at a PC all day. I think my vision has worsened even more over the last year….sucks! I really want a job where I am working with people and different projects to keep me interested and motivated. Cuz right now, I’m boredddd!!!! I think I have a problem with authority too – but that’s a topic for another post. Basically, I can’t stand my boss telling me what to do, I feel like I should be telling HER what to do – its that natural leader in me screaming to get out. I think a lot of it is the way she talks to me and LOVES to constantly remind me of my “place” in the organization. Get over yourself lady! Go back to Hong Kong and work the sweat shops – we are a non-profit, get ahold of yourself!!! Ok, I’m done.

: )

Ooooppps

I haven't been very good about blogging lately! Work has taken over my ENTIRE LIFE. LITERALLY. Last week was the worst of it - I was working til 8:30/9pm and wasn't getting home til after 10 and having enough time to quickly eat and shower and go to bed and repeat the next day. It's 2007 budget season right now - and holy fuck it's a lot of work. Nothing like it was a Georgetown, everything I do at BSC goes directly to the senior staff - the SVPs, CFO, and CEO. Everything has to be perfect. So I guess that means it's good experience - but it's totally draining!

So, I got my new license about a week ago - I was without license for almost a whole month. And that whole suspension thing wa such a mess, if I didn't have my mom to help I would have stabbed my eye out. It's SO NICE to drive again! Now I can actually leave the city and go hiking in the North Bay without having to rely on someone to want to go with me! And I'm also going to LA this month - I haven't been since April, so I'm dying to go visit my friends there.

I'm sure I had more I wanted to write here, but now that I actually have time I can't remember what I wanted to say!

OH yeah - I wanted to write about how lame I am and things such as my fish tank bring me great satisfaction lately! So, I've had fish tanks for like 8 years or more and I've never had big problems with them. I went to CT in July and came back to find my fish tank completely GREEN and cloudy! I had asked one of my roomates to feed my fish while I was gone and turn the light on for 8 hours a day.... I think she over-fed them and she never turned the light on (bad!). So, I tried to medicate the tank, but nothing worked so I had to do a complete overhaul and clean the ENTIRE tank out, even the gravel. The fish took it fine though, luckily (unlike when Dan and G changed the tank they have now with my old fish and they MURDERED THEM! KILLERS!!!). So, it was all clean and crystal clear again. A few weeks go by - and all of a sudden its green and cloudy again! I couldn't see anything in the tank, had to search to make sure my fishies were ok. So, I decided to try some different chemicals and change the food since I had read reviews that this food clouds tanks (I don't think I ever used it before I moved to CA). And guess what! I treated the tank with the new, more expensive, better chemicals and I woke up yesterday and it was almost clear!! I can't say how much that excites me and how LAME I am for being that excited about my fish tank! It just saves me sooo much trouble cleaning the entire tank again and hopefully by changing the food I have solved the problem - only time will tell.

Yes, this is the most exciting development in my life in the last few weeks. I'm a total loser.

Also, I booked my flight to CT for xmas - I'll be arriving on Dec 22nd and leaving on Jan 2. I'm excited to have such along time to spend, I'm not sure if I will be making a trip to DC or not. I'd like to, but mom is pressuring me to stay and "spend time" with them. Suuuuurrrreeee. At the very least there will be a side trip to Boston or NY, I have to see Kara bc its been over 2 years since I've seen her and that is damn unacceptable!

I must go to bed, I'm so glad Friday is tomorrow. I can't wait to get acupuncture after work and then do my weekly organic grocery shopping (omg, I'm sooooo San Francisco!) and then relax. I can go hiking this weekend too! It's also Fleet Week in SF, so Saturday might involve some sort of festivities. Speaking of SF festivities..... I went to the Folsom Street Fair a few weekends ago with Vlad, Vica, and Lenny.... it's an S&M fair.... holy interesting. I got some crazy pics of naked men dressed as piggies, women dancing in cages on cranes, and people being flogged. Shit you'd never see on the streets (legally) on the east coast. I'll have to upload some of the crazy pics at some point. This city is SO interesting!

Unbelievably pissed

I got a letter in the mail from the CT DMV to renew my license - which expires on my bday, Sept 1. Included was a little notecard that said "Our files show that your license is under suspension" and that I cannot renew until I get it cleared up. I am totally BAFFLED. For one, I haven't been pulled over in probably 3.5 years! For two, I've NEVER received a suspension notice for anything from the CT DMV. I called my mom and she went down to the DMV for me today. Luckily, our friend used to run that DMV so she knows other people there and didn't have to wait in line and was able to ask and find out the problem really fast.

Apparently, my license has been suspended for 3 YEARS and they never told me due to a ticket I got in FL which they SEEM TO THINK I never paid.... but I DID! I paid it 3 years ago! I was living with Ben at the time. I got the ticket in spring 03 when I went to FL with Reilly and the wench pulled me over for hitting my brakes so I could switch lanes and not hit the unposted construction in my lane and move behind that car that was riding my side. She claimed I was driving crazy and I was tired and needed to let Reilly take over (it was like 7am on the way down to FL from DC). The ticket was only like $70!!! I paid it years ago!!!!! And SOMEHOW CT got wind that I had this ticket and thinks I never paid it. Now I have to SOMEHOW dig up info that proves I paid it.... I don't even remember where I got it! I don't even think I have the ticket! I can only check with my bank and try to find the check I used. Clearly I paid the damn thing cuz they would still be coming after me!!! AHHH I'm SO annoyed!

So here I was, sitting at my desk at work crying like an asshole as my mom tells me this bc I'm so frustrated and my license EXPIRES in less than a month and I find out its been suspended ALL this time and I wasn't freakin notified. I'm REALLY PISSED.

We'll see what I can dig up tonight. Then I have to worry about getting it corrected BEFORE my bday and then see if I can get this damn 3 year suspension OFF my record bc it clearly is a damn error.

ARRRRRGGGGG!!!

Earthquake!

Felt my first earthquake today ever! It was a lil after 8pm. I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom. I noticed my desk started to slowly shake. My first thought was "hmm...maybe someone downstairs is doing something to make the floor move." Then a split second later I look over and my bed starts to shake and the shaking is very smooth back and forth for about 10 seconds. Then it slowed down to what felt like a mere tremor...or perhaps it was just me feeling the memento of the quake. Either way, I know that earthquakes can be dangerous...but it felt kinda cool and it was actually exciting to experience that feeling. To see everything around you kinda waving and hear the earth make these strange noises was definitely a new and interesting experience.

Let's just hope another 1906 doesn't happen soon and I end up in the ocean (seeing that I live a block away...)

It's Late

I'm in CT right now and it's damn late at night. I think I'm tired, but I don't know if I can sleep. It has been a really weird trip for me. I flew in to CT on July 20th and then I drove down to DC on the 24th and left the 27th. I had such a great time seeing everyone in DC. It was weird, I was driving on streets I used to drive on all the time and my memory was failing me as to where I was going. How can I forget streets after only 5 months?? I think I was partially in a brain-fog while I was there, it was confusing for me to be in DC given recent homesickness. I loved being there, but it made me really sad too. I'm super glad I got to see friends and see Amy while she's pregnant and see Dan and G's new place (which I can't believe how well they are getting on without me....wtf is that????).

I have 2 more days in CT and then I fly back to SF. I am really happy I get to see friends and family here, but I am also really excited to get back to my life in SF and work towards making it better and making myself happier. It has been confusing being on the east coast, but I think it also has provided a bit of clarity for me. I've been wanting to run back to my life out here and I haven't been living my life out there. I don't want to leave San Francisco regretting not taking advantage of it and not doing what I meant to do by moving out West. I feel a renewed sense of purpose for why I moved out West and I intend to use this time to advance myself in all the ways I want to. I really do miss my DC family and everyone out East, but I also know I need to finish living out my dream of living on the West coast, and do it right.

So, I watched a girly movie tonight. My little sister and I went to Blockbuster and we picked up the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. OMG, SO cute. I really liked the movie, it made me cry numerous times....which sometimes a good cry can really help release a lot of crap inside you. I've been watching a lot of silly chick flicks recently, I dunno why, something inside me draws me to them lately. I watched The Family Stone last week and Rumor Has It the other night. Both were also good, esp The Family Stone...another tear jerker. And quite unexpected. Anyway, the Sisterhood movie was freakin adorable and also reminded me of how even though I live far away now and everyone's live take different paths, we will always find time for those that are most important to us and they will always be a part of us.

Probably time to try to get some sleep... I can't be as lazy tomorrow, I have to get up for a 50th surprise party which is at noon (I slept til 2pm today...lol) and then hopefully see all my CT friends again later before I head back to SF on Sunday night.
xox.
B

Homesick

I'm homesick a lot lately. More than I ever expected to be. I guess before I left DC I didn't think about how homesick I would get. I miss driving on the streets I drove on in DC. I miss going to the places I liked to go to in DC. I miss going to my gym in Pentagon Row. I miss going to Champps for karaoke night and laughing at the people and getting messy sundaes with Amy or Dan. I miss staring at hot Arlington cops. I miss wandering around outside memorials and feeling patriotic and relaxed. I miss sitting at the tidal basin and watching people go by on peddleboats. I miss making enchiladas with the crew. I miss "wednesday night dinners" any night of the week with G and Dan. I miss rolling on the ground laughing with Evildoer in the kitchen over retarded jokes we make up. I miss exercising with Amy and catching up while we ride the bikes and laugh at the weirdos that pass by in the gym. I miss getting dinner every week or two with Renee, my carefree AU buddy. I miss hosting parties at my apt and playing hostess to all my friends from over the years and welcoming new people. I miss the warm humid air at night where it wraps you up and relaxes you. I miss "Mr. Storm" coming to get you! I really miss crab rangoon from the local chinese restaurant that "provides a unique." Unique what?? I miss running on TR Island. I miss working in Georgetown. I miss Dupont Circle and the yummy restaurants. I miss cuddling up on Amy's fluffy couch and having girl talk for hours on end. I miss LOST nights at my old apt on the big screen with Dan, Amy, Howie, and Les. I miss laughing uncontrollably with Amy and Les in public places (namely nice restaurants) about retarded things while Howie stares confused. I miss deep late night talks with Gordo. I miss James Bond movie nights. I miss the family that surrounded me in Arlington, the family that I long for now. I miss far too much about DC. And what's even more weird is that Amy and Howie will no longer be there soon too....

when the lights go down in the city....

Last night was a great San Francisco night. The weather was fantastic at Ocean Beach, instead of the typical cloudy/foggy weather as of late. For my non-SFers, the weather here is insane. Different parts of the city have completely different climates. Where I work, by the Embarcadero and the Bay Bridge, it is typically pretty warm and doesn't get foggy. Then there is where I live, clear to the opposite side by the Pacific Ocean....a mix of nice weather and sometimes foggy/cloudy skies. Sometimes the fog rolls in and you can't see much at all driving down Geary Street.

But anyway, weather was warm and sunny and it instantly put me in a fantastic mood instead of an "I'm tired don't wanna do anything" mood like I have been as of late. I ran across the street to Safeway and bought what I needed for dinner. I asked Howie for his garlic chicken receipe and decided to make it along with roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. Of course no corn on the cob could compare to what I grew up with in Connecticut... but at least these were grown by local farmers and they were pretty tasty. Alex came over to eat and we enjoyed great conversation like always. I was blaring some INXS that reminds me of my walk to and from school in Rome and it felt nice to be enjoying a nice meal with atmosphere in my apt. (Sometimes its just so lonely in there.... I don't spend a lot of time at home though).

After dinner Alex brought me down to Fort Mason and we walked along this abandoned pier that was used during WWII. From there, you get a great view of the SF skyline downtown where I work, Alcatraz, the Marina, part of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate bridge is right there to your left and then straight ahead you can see the North bay (Marin county and really pretty mountains), and then the lights in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, etc). It was a beautiful night, not too breezy and warmer than usual at night. Very romantic.

We left there and went to the exploratorium to walk around outside it. It has huge columns and a big dome structure outside it. I enjoyed looking at it and walking around it and comparing it to architecture/monuments in DC and Rome. It is much more ornate than you typically see in either of those places... extremely large and ornate Corinthian columns, lots of half columns on the walls and lots of large vase-like statues up high with figures carved all around them, multiple reliefs with elaborate carvings on the side of the large dome. The whole structure is very dominating and oversized. Here and here are some pictures of it to get a feel. The view from the lake there looking away from the structure is very peaceful. There was no wind blowing (very unusual) and it felt very serene looking out at the opposite side of the lake. In the darkness the buildings across the way reminded me Italy. Very mediterranean feel. I then decided to go on an entire rampage about how this piece architecture is different and then explain arches and victory monuments and the colosseum in great detail. Alex was impressed with my intellect. As he should be! I guess he thought I was just witty in my humor but he was not aware of my academic intelligence. ;)

It truly was a nice San Francisco night, I hope to continue to explore areas like this and just absorb the wonders of the city. I want to go hiking this weekend up in Marin or maybe go check out the redwood forest.

And just for fun.... check out this website.

you know what else...

SF loves Jamba Juice. That place gets crazy wild, esp near lunch time. So healthy and yummy, I can see why. I love the new all fruit smoothies they have.... no added sugar and it has 5 servings of fruit in it! :)

Lots of updates

1. Monday night I cooked fish for the first time in my life. Salmon in a cocunut curry sauce.... and it was quite successful! I was proud of myself, I've been meaning to try cooking fish for many years but had this preconceived notion that it would challenging. Quite easy actually! I'll have to cook some for G when he visits in September! ;)

2. Yesterday morning I had to drive to the N-Judah (muni or metro or train, for all you non-NoCal people) to get to work instead of taking the bus since I was getting my hair cut in SoMa (aka South of Market... Market is a main street in downtown SF) after work. Well...... my lovely friends Lenny and Vlad decided it would be fun on Sunday to completely cover my car with saran wrap. I had heard about this venture, so I went out armed with a camera and some scissors. Due to the dampness, salt, and sand on my car from parking it by the ocean, the saran wrap was pretty stuck on and took me 10 mins to get it all off! I plan on taping it to Lenny's front door in a big mess in the near future.

Because of the saran wrap incident, I missed the train I wanted. Thanks assholes.

3. A complete quagmire this morning occured with transportation. Everyday I take the 8:08am 31AX bus to work. Everyday it arrives, pretty much always on time. Not today. A group of us waited and waited for about 20 mins and finally realized it wasn't coming. We hopped on the next 31 bus (the X buses are express buses that have limited pickups and then shoot downtown where most people work...Financial District, Embarcadero...and the regular bus takes at least double the time), and then about 10 mins down the road someone says there is a filler bus for the 31AX. We hop on... but this guy drives the 18 route and has no idea where he is going! So we have to navigate him and tell him where the stops are. I wanted to take a nap on the bus to make up for missed sleep last night, oh well. I still managed to make it to work by 9:15.... half hour after I typically get in.

4. I received an email from Gordon that I looked at this am. It included pics from multiple parties and events that occured over the past weekend that I clearly missed bc I live 2,700 miles away. I looked at the photographs and saw what a great time all my friends were having and I started feeling sadness bubble up inside of me. I miss everyone in DC so much that when I am reminded of what I am missing it absolutely breaks my heart. Yes, I want to see pictures, I want to see my friends having fun and doing well... but at the same time its really sad that I am no longer an integral part of their daily lives. Its sad to know that life goes on without me there and I miss so many funny and fulfilling moments that only true friendship can provide you. I think I just might cry at my desk, I'm such a loser. Seeing those pictures and being reminded of all I left behind to move to SF has absolutely ruined my day.... I can't focus on work, I can't run meetings properly, I look sorta dazzed and absent-minded today. I'm not absent-minded though, I'm just having a major homesickness relapse (for DC, which I still consider my home). I didn't just leave behind a city with cherry blossoms and monuments and politics. I left behind a city full of people who have become my family, I left parts of me with them that I can't tap into alone, I left a bundle of my good humor and laughter behind with my Evildoer, I left a bundle of childhood, teenage, and almost-adulthood moments behind with my Patticake, I left a bundle of tenderness and deep, thoughtful intellectual, interesting, satisfying conversations/moments of realization behind with my G-Funk. Why can't I have all my friends around me all the time??? Why don't they want to live where I live???? MOVE DAMMIT!

stop me!

someone stop me from the excessive thai iced tea drinking!!!

San Francisco loves Walgreens.

I'm so used to CVS being from the East Coast that I was so confused about where they were when I moved out here. They don't have them! They have Walgreens. And they are everywhere! Its funny bc on the east there are only a few, they certainly are not on the scale that CVS is. But out here, Walgreens appears to be monopolizing!

Just a silly West Coast observation.

A day like no other day.

I had an interesting day yesterday. We had our "offsite" for our entire Corporate Finance team which was pretty fun and gave me (the newest member of the team) a chance to talk to people I don't interact with often. I talked to our VP at lunch and she told me Ellen (my manager, I sing her praises) says many good things about me! I love that kind of feedback. Our meeting ended at 3 and we all shoved off to Americano for drinks and appetizers and merriment. Too much fun indeed. I had 3 Tokyo Iced Teas (for those of you who have never heard of this, I hadn't either til last weekend when a friend introduced me to them. It is a Long Island Iced Tea with Midori instead of Coke), and was quite the social butterfly. I left well after the last express bus leaves to Ocean Beach, so I had to take the muni back and then either walk the mile to my apt or call my friend/neighbor to come get me.

On the way home I was sitting on the muni (like the metro for you DC folk, except it runs underground downtown only, above ground everywhere else) and I was spacing out on the gangway moving back and forth as the train moved along. I started to feel a hint of sadness, and even though I couldn't see myself I could feel the emptiness in my eyes. Then I looked up and saw beautiful Victorian homes and lush green parks pass by and my sadness quickly dissolved as I reminded myself "I live in beautiful San Francisco!"

Then this guy across from me kept looking back and staring at me. All I could sing in my head was "fat man in a little coat" even though this was a short man in way-too-big-for-him coat. I found humor in that and then wondered what it would be like to be a seat on the muni. If I was a seat for a day.... who would sit in me? Where are they going? What are they feeling? Could I tap into their psyche and experience life as them for a brief moment? (Mind you, I'm listening to some Thievery Corporation on my iPod... a bit of trippy loungey music which allows my mind to wander.)

I snap out of it as I realize that we are no longer moving and I can vaguely hear a man talking over the intercom. I remove my headphones and he's saying that the train in front of us isn't moving and we should de-board. Something about a medical emergency. So everyone gets off and starts walking towards the first train, which appears is about to leave. Luckily I managed to jump on that one and then I asked a guy sitting there what happened. Apparently two punk kids were fighting on the train and they stopped it so the cops could come get them, but they already took off running. Weird.

I live in San Francisco. I. LIVE. HERE. Still makes no sense in my brain.

so. here i am.

i've been toying with the idea of getting a blog for years to stay in touch with friends, just haven't gotten motivated to ACTUALLY do it.

So. Here I am.

I am doing this for 2 reasons.
1. I live FAR away from all my friends now that I am living in San Francisco.
2. I believe it will be theraputic. Something to put energy into where I can talk (not like I don't do enough of that on a daily basis! Ha!), no really, where I can talk about things that are important to me on "paper." I have always kept a journal off and on, and now I feel like keeping one online to keep in touch with those most dear to me.

if you know me and are reading this. i love you. ;)

B