SF Impressions

I haven't posted anything recently because with the new job beginning and all, I didn't really think I had anything interesting or worthwhile to talk about. I've really just fallen into the old pattern - work, eat, sleep, repeat. But riding the ridiculously crowded bus home this evening, I realized that I have adoring fans out there waiting with bated breath for my next post. :) I'm not one to disppoint so here goes:

New job is fine so far - I don't think they really completely know what to do with me yet. It's a new position and I don't get the feeling that they did a lot of planning before I showed up. So I've just been shadowing the accountant, Jennifer, and learning her job for now. She's leaving for vacation tomorrow, so I will be performing her job while she's gone next week. I think it's actually a really good thing, because it will force me to learn how the organization's cycles work - FAST! Jennifer has a serious hearing problem (literally, she told me so the first time I met her) which makes it very challenging to communicate with her. I repeated myself 5 times earlier today. You don't really want to shout in the nice peaceful office environment, especially confidential information. That should make life interesting.

Everyone is very nice, but it is no Gary McGee & Co., I will tell you that. I had a crisis on Tuesday when I first realized that this was the case - we were waiting in an all-staff meeting for the LA office to conference call in, and there was dead, you could hear a pin-drop, silence! I thought longingly back to our staff meetings at GM&Co. where there was always witty banter and hearty laughs! :) I panicked for a second and thought what have I gotten myself into and then remembered - oh yeah - I have never had a job where I worked with friends and not just co-workers before GM&Co. It's really not that common. It just reminded me what a special office that turned out to be. So, I merely adjusted my expectations about this job, and got on with life. Just a slight hiccup in the road.

So, now that the job post is out of the way, for your reading pleasure, here are a few things that I have noticed/learned since we moved to San Franisco:

1. 65 degrees in San Francisco is HOT! Like put on a tanktop and lie in the sun in the park hot. I swear, if it was 65 degrees in Portland, I would be in three layers and huddled in a blanket. But there is something about context down here. When it has been 58 and cloudy for a week, 65 feels like a ridiculous heat wave. I remember a couple of weeks ago it was in the low 80's and I seriously felt like I was going to die. Weird.

2. H&M is the best department store in the entire world. Why the HECK don't they have one in Portland yet? There is nothing in that store priced above $25 and it is actually CUTE! And a gigantic selection of stuff to choose from. Yes, we have only been here for three weeks, and I admit that I have already managed to spend more money there than I am proud of. But it's CHEAP and CUTE!!

3. It is WONDERFUL when someone else does your laundry for you. Okay, okay - I do pay these "people" a fee, but STILL! There is this service in the city called Laundry Locker and all you do is go put your dirty clothes/sheets/towels/etc. in one of the open lockers. The company picks up the clothes, washes them all to your specifications (hot water/cold water/fabric softener/your choice of detergent), and then returns the washed and FOLDED laundry to the locker where you originally left it. BRILLIANT! Well, I never, ever thought I would pay this much money for laundry, but after two and a half hours and $15 in quarters at the laundrymat last weekend, I decided that it was well worth the price for my personal sanity. Plus, remember I mentioned that we signed up for Zipcar - well because of that, we now get a discount on the Laundry Locker - the circle of life? Spend a little money which will lead you to spend more money :)

4. Taxi drivers do not observe crosswalks -EVER. Yes, I did get nearly run over by one this evening and yes, this is why I chose to mention this fact. However, a couple of days after we got here, I did see a woman with a tiny baby strapped to her chest almost get taken out, child and all. I don't really get why they're in such a hurry, either. Wouldn't it be more beneficial, monetarily, for the taxi driver to wait for us to shuffle slowly through the crosswalk, all the while his little money-meter ticking away at $3.00/second or whatever that ridiculous rate they charge is. Hmm...

Okay, I guess that's enough of the observating - in this post, at least. Please stay tuned for further random observations...

In other news, I am not the only one to have fallen off my bike now! Although still the only one to have done it twice in one week and while at a complete stop... :( Neil has joined the club! He got his back tire stuck while trying to cross a train-track yesterday and fell and slid pretty far. He's got a raspberry on his shoulder and his hip is pretty tender. But for all the falling and sliding, he's really pretty unharmed. Nothing like my beautiful knee. Probably because he was riding with more clothing on than me. Oh yeah - and he also scraped up his leg on his pedal the other day, too. This one was really nasty looking - long, jagged scrape all the was up his shin, oozing with dried blood. I really wish I had a photo to post to share the loveliness with you all, but too bad.

Finally - I GET TO COME HOME THIS WEEKEND!!! YAY!!! I found an awesome last-minute fare plus rental car! The only bad news is that my flight comes in on Fri. at 10:00pm and leaves Sunday morning at 7:00am. Hmm, maybe not such a great deal after all? No, but it's perfect timing, because it's my sister and her boyfriend's birthday on the 22nd - yes, they have exactly the same birthday and are exactly the same age. I know - a little bit twilight zone... Anyways, so the whole family is getting together for the celebration on Saturday, including Lila and the DOGGIES! So I get to see my family, my babies - the whole lot of them. I am so excited I can hardly see straight. I can't believe how much I miss home and Portland and family. Neil isn't going to come on this trip because he thought I needed it more than he did and he has to stay and get some painting and reading done, now that he is a serious student again. At least that's the plan - we'll see if he changes his mind at the last second and comes as well. Then we'll have two rental cars...

See! I had plenty of REALLY interesting things to write about! I'm off now to pick up the laundry that someone else did and FOLDED for me! (Yes, I know I am paying for it - that is beside the point) Family, I will see you SOON! Friends, I miss you guys tons!