And You Thought Foley was Great

My first job was a great experience.  I learned a lot about the working world and how I want to fit into it, met great friends, had a lot of great free booze on the company tab, hell there was even a drink cart.  It would be difficult to make an upgrade for someone one as entry level as myself but let me tell you an upgrade is exactly what I have made.

I have now stayed at two world class resorts on the company tab, dined at great restaurants, used the spa and taken free yoga classes, in my book that trumps the drink cart.  So yes Fairmont trumps the forever famous Foley Madison drink cart but having co-workers that I loved trumps a spa any day.  I cannot be positive that I will find the same close friends that I did at Foley (I miss you guys) but I really hope I do and there seem to be some likely candidates so keep your fingers crossed because I could really use a 5th or 6th friend out here in San Francisco!

From Hawks Landing to the Hood

I am relieved to announce that I am no longer homeless!  Although I will no longer reside in a home as beautiful as my aunts with home cooked meals, a car and two of the best cousins a girl could ask for I have my own place.  Well, not quite my own place but an apartment with three other girls who I met on craigslist (hopefully I won't be finding dates on craigslist anytime soon but it is an amazing resource for finding just about anything).  My new address is: 775 San Jose Ave. San Francisco CA 94110.  

For those of you who know nothing about San Francisco it is in the Mission neighborhood on the border of the Noe Valley neighborhood.  The Mission is loud, bustling, a little dirty but has the best burritos and weather in town.  It is traditionally a Mexican/Hispanic neighborhood and is known for bars and clubs and hipster scene (Becky you'll love it).  It can be a bit dangerous and I'm not going to lie I was overwhelmed at first but I'm not concerned about my surrounding blocks.  Noe Valley is a very nice neighborhood with a clean cut image filled with nice homes, cute shopping and coffee shops. Both neighborhoods have a lot of personality and are a good reflection on the contradictory nature of people.   Some days you just want to dress like you walked out of a Ralph Lauren catalogue and have a nice cup of coffee and stroll through boutiques but we all have a side to us that wants to get drunk and eat a burrito at 3 am.... or maybe that's just me but either way that describes my new home.  

Feeling like a Mondays vodka soda...

"No city invites the heart to come to life as San Francisco does.  Arrival in San Francisco is an experience in living." William Saroyan

I am sitting in the lobby of the Fairmont San Francisco which shortly will be the location of my new office and thinking to myself fuck I live here, well after Sunday I won't actually live in the Fairmont, but I live in San Francisco.  I have about 4 friends in the city (and I use the term loosely), minimal funds, a fear of getting on the bus because I hate doing things I don't know how to do in public and no apartment and all I can really feel is excitement with a splash (and by splash I mean about the amount of soda Mondays puts in a vodka soda) of fear.  The second I landed in this city I knew I made the right decision and if weather in any indication of right decisions it was raining when I left Madison and sunny and warm when I got to San Francisco.  

I know quotes are cheesy but the quote above is exactly what this move and San Francisco mean to me.  I'm writing this blog not because I love to blog, if you know me you know I'm much more of a conversationalist, but because this journey is one I'm going to want to remember (plus once I'm a mom I am going to need proof that I did something daring so my kids think I was cool).  Also now that my friends are all scattered around the country and we are busy with our own lives I don't want the distance to grow too big and lets be honest I need something to do with my time since I only have 4 friends tops.