Back to Berkeley

Just got home to the sublet about an hour ago... 7 trips to the car and back with stuff later and I am contemplating dinner.  Pizza Delivery? don't meet the minimums... Walk somewhere? I have no idea what is good and it is getting dark...

Luckily I just ate a Tiramisu cupcake from Crushcakes!  Delicious!  It even had a lady finger soaked in rum and stuffed with mascarpone cheese in the center.  There are certain things I will miss about SB.

Update on the mailbox: It is not tricky, I tried it.  It works like a mailbox should.

The mailbox is really tricky?

First day in Berkeley!  Am I excited you ask? Somewhat.

Today has been very "interesting." And I stress interesting not as a positive or negative.

Alyssa and I got some coffee and then packed up my car and drove over the Bay bridge.  Freeways in Northern California, not my favorite.  We got over to the East bay and gave a call to the new housemate Aaron, this was "interesting" to say the least.  He seemed a little confused as to who I was and why I was calling, but after clearing things up a little he said the apartment would be ready in 15 minutes.

We went inside to meet him and were met by Aaron, who showed me the room (empty in an otherwise messy and full apartment) and took me on a slightly unnecessary tour of the complex.  First off, it should be known that the washer and dryer appear to be a secret hangout for villains and thieves... I am fairly sure that there are bodies in the many plywood closets down there.  Second, he took us to the mailbox which is "really tricky to open."  Why is it really tricky? You can't use the key if it is upside down.  Yea, that makes it tricky.  IT'S A KEY!! OF COURSE IT ONLY WORKS ONE WAY!  Interesting...

Alyssa and I took this as an opportunity to escape the madness and go to target.  On the way there, we got stuck between a very large 16 wheeler and a little janky Toyota with it's rear lights blacked out with tape and the longest antenna known to man.  5 minutes in we decided we needed to move or we would be stuck in this alley/chop shop/dead end forever.  Luckily, the giant truck moved out and we were able to continue to our original destination without any further interruptions.  At Target we got some towels, food, baby box of wine, ice cream, an ottoman/storage cube and a loofah!

Then back to the very "interesting" apartment where we unloaded the car and drank some wine and ate delicious Tiramisu ice cream.  After putting everything away and setting up the room a little things seem a bit less odd, and I might make it through the next 2 months without throttling Kris.  We shall see.

Blisters...

So because I am an idiot I forgot to bring any walking shoes for my SF Adventures.  This means all of my touring has been done in flats or boots... Not the brightest idea.  I got a couple blisters on my toes and decided to take it as a sign that I should solely wear the slippers I brought with me.

This plan has actually worked pretty well! The blisters are healing up, my feet are warm and comfortable, and I constantly feel at home (even while on the muni).

The only problem is that my once pink slippers are now greyish brown with some pink spots.  Lesson learned = don't forget tennis shoes, or only buy dark colored slippers!

As a side note, I went to Brown Owl today (as I have 9 out of the 10 days I have been here) and finally got my latte in a real cup. I sat in a little booth with coffee and a bagel and read my book for about an hour before realizing that tomorrow will be my last opportunity to do this with such ease!  I am excited to move to Berkeley, but will miss some of the places around Alyssa's apartment.

An Accidental Date, and My Muni Misfortune

Riding on the L a few days back I had a nice conversation with this guy, Bobby.  We ended up switching numbers and then 20 minutes later I realized I probably should have mentioned that I have a boyfriend... who I live with... oh well.  Figuring he wouldn't ever actually call I blew off the situation.  He called yesterday.  So after explaining the situation we decided to get together for a "oh well, it's nice to have friends in SF drink" at the Shannon Arms up the street from Alyssa.

Today at 4:20 I walked up two whole blocks to the aforementioned establishment and ordered myself a pint of Blue Moon.  The bartender was the sweetest Irish lady who actually talked to me and seemed to not care that I was drinking alone at a half hour to 5.  Bobby showed up and miracle of miracles, we actually had a very nice time!  I had to go around 6 as my plans for the evening involved making an elaborate thank you dinner for Alyssa consisting of chicken saltimbocca, cheese ravioli, and green beans.  I didn't realize until far too late that I have no idea how to cook green beans.

Post dinner for two, we got on the L (my very favorite public transit) and headed to John's for a night of TV and cookies.  However, Muni had other plans for us.  At West Portal (a few stops from ours on 22nd) we learned that there was a problem with the tunnel and we would have to get out and take a shuttle.  The shuttle was standing room only, and took an hour to go the distance that is usually covered in 15 minutes.  I tried reading my book, but it proved more difficult than expected while aboard a moving vehicle with only one hand.  We got dropped at Castro (one stop short of Church, where John lives) but rather than risk more underground issues we walked the long 6 blocks and finally had our planned evening.

Good day overall. I made a friend, ate cookies, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and get to sleep on the best couch ever.  That last part wasn't sarcasm, it really is a comfy couch.

Another day of wandering

God. My life is soooooo difficult right now, I woke up late and then had an adventure.  Poor me.

Alyssa and I decided to check off some more of her SF to-do list!  We headed out around 12pm and went to the Ferry building.  While there we saw all kinds of fun (and only slightly over-priced) stuff.  We ended up getting lunch there which in my case included the best grilled cheese ever.  It was Morbier, Wagon Wheel cheese, Asparagus, and honey on sourdough bread... Super good.  We also picked up a bottle of wine, a bottle of dark balsamic vinegar, some fancy cheese and a possible job interview at Book Passage.

We then walked 1.1 miles to the giant shopping center where we watched Robert Pattinson (who should have worn less clothing for more of the movie) and Reese Witherspoon in "Water for Elephants" and we were quite content.

Post movie, we met up with John at Annabelle's Bar and Bistro for happy hour and had a delicious dinner and some wine!  Now I am a bit tipsy, so blame all grammar and spelling errors on that, and we are going to watch a movie while eating some tasty cheeses!

Just a small town of 800,000

Today while out buying some fancy pants for my new exciting life of Temp work, I saw the swish of something familiar.  It was the bright red hair of the girl I sat next to only 4 days ago on the bus! I remember partially because she had on very cute shoes, and partially because that was the bus ride where I asked the very nice lady(man) next to her what time it was.

Less than a week and I am already seeing people on repeat, maybe it's a sign I should repeat some of the other good things I have done...

Like ice cream!

Touristy Monday

Today Alyssa had the day off from her coffee making job in the Haight Ashbury and so we decided to do a bunch of tourist trap things and make a full day of it.  Last night we made homemade lasagna and so after having some of that for breakfast we were almost ready for a day of fun.  We went down the hill and turned the corner to get some coffee at The Brown Owl Coffee Shop, for the second day in a row I bought a delicious latte (and an Apricot & Plum travel scone this time) before hopping up Taraval to the 28 bus.

(side note: the light-rails and the busses are both referred to as muni here, I find this minimally confusing but after Alyssa pointed out that all light-rails are letters and all busses are numbers things cleared up a bit.)

The bus ride on the 28 took hellish to a whole new meaning.  I am fairly sure that the bus operator was actually trying to knock us over at every possible opportunity.  Stop sign? Down a hill? Up a hill? Street lights?  ALL of these were just another try at tumbling 70 people onto one another.  When we finally got seats in the back of the bus we were joined by a gaggle of high schoolers who were discussing the best rap (Brooklyn v. 90's v. New York v. California,) although, discussing would actually be giving them too much credit since they were really just saying the words listed earlier without ever defining what made that the best rap.

Moving on! We got off the hell-bus and trekked up a mini hill to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge!  Here are some fun facts about the bridge:
1) the bridge is constantly being painted
2) it is orange so boats can see it and for aesthetic reasons
3) the bridge is 1.7 miles long from one side to the other

After walking halfway, I illegally spat my gum over the side and we counted to see how long it took to hit the water, but there was light debate over when it hit so the count was lost.  We turned back around and grabbed the 28 again and headed into the Marina District!  After getting off at Chestnut and Laguna we walked a few blocks and reached the Buena Vista Cafe, a local favorite made famous for their delicious Irish Coffee!  We had to try them of course and they were as good as we had been told.  But really, how could sugar, coffee, cream, and a heavy dose of whiskey be anything but super tasty.

A quick snack at the Boudin Bakery and we kept walking with Ghiradelli behind us and Pier 39 in our sights!  We hung out and watched the Sea Lions for about a half hour and then bought some mini donuts to take home with us.  The mini donuts made it about 30 feet, and we took the 8BX to the L back to Taraval and 22nd!

Now we are back at her place and I am about to get ready for my 7:30 pm interview at a Salon which is annoyingly back where we were earlier today.