New Acquisitions

These are 2 new books I just bought. Time to get out and start exploring, I think.

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of SF: I had a version of the 60 Hikes book for Austin, and I liked it, but it looks as if the hikes around here mostly beat the pants of the hikes near Austin (if only because the weather is much more cooperative). Mountains! Lakes! Mountain Lakes! Waterfalls! Mountain Lakes and Waterfalls! Oceans! Vineyards! This one divides the hikes up into useful categories like Geographical Area, Dog-friendly, Accessible by Public Transportation, Waterfalls, etc. It’s how I found out I can go out and hike Angel Island in the Bay, and how I suspect I’m going to like late winter and early spring flowers.

The Slow Food Guide to San Francisco one isn’t exactly all slow food, but it indicates what is, and it is a good start on the area if you’re a newbie and a wee bit picky about your food and where it comes from, like I am. The SF food scene is just bewilderingly large. I doubt it is very illuminating for old timers. It has everything from restaurants to grocery stores to farmer’s markets to farms themselves. I was pleased to see I’ve already figured out a lot of good stuff. I’m a good food researcher!

I’ve also been thumbing through The Wine Lover’s Cookbook lately. I have to do the magical vegetarian transformation with many recipes, but the food I’ve had from it is good. My lovely cousin Cindy and her husband who live here gave us a copy and well, it’s not as if I’m going to turn down a book on how best to pair food with wine! Since I live within shouting distance of Marin County, I figure it’s not long until I start haunting vineyards, right? I’ve already been to three with Jeff and my brother …

See everyone tomorrow … I seem to have gotten slightly sick, and am eagerly anticipating an 8 pm bedtime. Ow.

eh?

So, um, yeah. Moving.

[San Francisco in the fog, seen across the bay from Berkeley]

Before I get started with that, I’m going to ask for positive thoughts for my grandfather, who’s not feeling well and has been in the hospital, and for my grandmother, who hasn’t been well either. And also my two aunts, who are taking care of them. They’re making their way through slowly but surely, but I’m sure they could use any positive friendly energy you can send their way.

[My commute. Walking + BART.]   So if I owe you a phone call or an email, I’m totally sorry. I moved to a new apartment last weekend and have neither an internet connection or a cell phone signal. I’m amazed that I could not have a cell signal in one of the most populated areas in the United States, but there it is. Today is the first day I’ve had internet. Grrr.

[Long walks in Berkeley. Jeff, Wesley and my brother Jeremy] Transitions of this magnitude are rather jarring. I haven’t managed to wrap my brain around everything that’s happened in the last couple of months. I went for my interview on August 17, and since then it’s been week after perplexing week of new and unfamiliar stuff. I’m getting to a saturation point of new stuff, I think, hitting an exhaustion point. It would be nice if it would all chill out, and maybe I could get to having some groceries in the house again.

[Berkeley streets] All the same, it’s been a good series of changes. I love the feeling of being back in a big city with all the things to do and people doing every kind of thing imaginable. People are really strange en masse. Always something to watch, always something going on. People pay a lot of attention to their clothing, but not always to good effect. There are the inevitable large city pee smells, of course. I plan to skip as much of that as possible and instead enjoy the museums and symphony. We’re planning on seeing West Side Story and have tickets for a Copland/Tchaikovsky concert soon, really looking forward to that kind of thing.

[Civic Center farmer's market and Yarn Bombing in Berkeley] I really like Berkeley. It’s a lovely area and walking through the neighborhoods is like going to a garden show. It seems like every yard has something edible or floral or just something that smells amazing. We are in North Berkeley in a pretty nice apartment we found. Our main trouble is the fishwife upstairs, who screeches, swears and stomps her way through her days with the TV at full volume. She and I are going to have a few talks about her noise. This will not stand, man.

[Berkeley streets] Another thing about this place is the food. On the left in one of the above pictures is a Wednesday farmer’s market that’s half a block from where I work. I came up out of the subway into the middle of it. There are a thousand farmer’s markets here. There’s a permanent one down the street from my apartment. Plus, every single grocery store around here has all the specialty vegetarian food that I could only find at one Whole Foods in Austin. Seriously, the tiny mom-and-pop store down the street has a better selection than that huge Whole Foods did. Once I find my kitchen stuff, I’m going to have a lot of fun.

[Berkeley streets] One thing I’ll say about having a commute like mine is that I’m going to get a lot of crocheting done. I’m going to keep working on my blanket on the train since it’s made of individual motifs – I can do it in pieces so I don’t have much to carry and it doesn’t take up much room. I’ve gotten a few weird looks already for public crocheting, but I don’t really care. Maybe eventually I’ll see someone else knitting or crocheting on the train. This type of crafting will have to suffice until I can get to my sewing stuff, which could be a while yet.

[My apartment with lots of bikes and mess] Venturing out into the unknown has been hard. I knew Austin really well, and I can’t even find a Walgreen’s here yet. Plus, not only do I have a new job but I switched professions entirely. I’ve gone from being an expert in my job, from nearly being able to do my job in my sleep, to being completely new to everything all the time. Although I wanted change and I needed new challenges in my life, I have to say that this much upheaval has definitely been stressful.

But nevertheless fun. Because why bother if it isn’t fun?

About 600 miles later

Picture post! Mostly. Because really, people, you can’t expect me to have much brain left at this point! 2 weeks of wrapping up my job, packing, worrying, feeling slightly ill about everything, saying goodbye …

[the Ritz, aka Alamo Drafthouse downtown]

So we left Austin. At the moment, I am in Roswell, NM, where the proprietor of this establishment believes that “non smoking pet room” is the same thing as “oh who cares just give them a former smoking room their pets will mess it up anyway” room. Grr. Out comes the allergy medicine and cayenne pepper (decongestants and I don’t mix well. Hot stuff and I do).

[field of sunflowers in West Texas]

The dog and cat are mostly unimpressed with everything, and have been napping. The cat is now happily staring out the motel room window. I have determined that the cat will follow me happily to perdition and beyond as long as I feed her promptly. The dog just wants to chase his squeaky toy. I wish that so few things could produce contentment in me.

[yes, all my stuff does fit into that thing]

I am thoroughly packed. Packed, shoved, manhandled, stuffed, poked and squeezed in to a 6′x7′x8′ almost-cube and my car. I even managed to bring along 6 plants. Epic powers of squish. I feel very accomplished for being a non pack rat. I feel much … lighter. Less stuff = fewer things I need to clean and worry about.

[Permian Basin oil derrick]

To answer another common question: I do not have a place to live in San Francisco yet. What I do have is an extended stay hotel room and a place to store my cube. I also have a job that I start one week from today. I may have a vague plan. You see, I like living out near the edge of what sanity decrees is safe. It’s more fun and exciting out here.

[New Mexico desert sunset]

I’m going to get up in the morning, stuff the cat and dog back in the car (protesting, I’m sure) and keep driving west and sort of north until I get to a place on the ocean with a lot of vegetarian food that isn’t Los Angeles. Portland or Seattle.

Should work out great.

P.S. I’ve determined that my first stop tomorrow is going to be a yarn shop. I “need” to stop and buy yarn for a project. I developed this afghan crocheting plan via researching patterns on a spotty cell signal this afternoon. Someone needs to take my phone away from me.