Happy Anniversary…

Last week wrapped out my one year anniversary of my move out to the bay area from nyc.  A lot has happened since then (more then I could have hoped for.)  It was a hard move for me to make, it was the first time I really dropped everything to start somewhere from scratch.  It took a good deal of time preparing/convincing myself it was the right move to make – now that life lesson has been learned and it’ll be much easier in the future.  My story probably isn’t much different then the 100s of other folks that flock out to the valley. 

Many thanks are due to the number of people who encouraged me to make the move, helped me get settled in, and gave me the words of wisdom to make the jump, including Kristine who was on the blunt end of that jump.  My father always taught me you can do whatever you put your mind to.

When I first moved out here, I started an anonymous blog to capture the start of my adventure.  Below are some posts from my first few days in San Fran (I’ll paste my first Meetro thoughts later this week.)

My first week out here was spent living in a hostel, working out of a coffee shop putting vinnie.net together, crawling craigslist for interesting startups, and taking in life.

So yesterday morning I made the trek, from nyc to san francisco via jet blue. I started at 6am with a little bit of a hangover, but that’s a good thing. Hangovers are the crisp bite of the apple that I call life. It’s that cozy comfy feeling that reminds me of my free spirited college days.

So I stole $40 from Kristine as she escorted me to a taxi with Milo in tow. It was somewhat of a cold brisk morning, but still too warm for the 2nd week of January. On my trip to JFK I noticed the meter rapidly approaching $40 (the only amount in my pocket.) I kept asking myself what do I do? Do I tell the driver before it hits 40? Will he just drop me off on the side of the Van Wick? Do I act like I didn’t realize I only had $40 in my wallet? Do I ask him to wait in front of the terminal while I run in and find an ATM? Is that even legal these days, to have a taxi idle and waiting in front of an airport terminal… especially when the driver is wearing a turban?

So I took the weak route and opted not to speak a word of the unknowing credit that the cabby was accruing in my favor. As he unpacked my bags I sympathetically apologized and said I only had $40. He said that was okay. I asked if he could take a credit card or check for the amount over $40. He thought about it and said he could take a check. He gave me a copy of his business card (for what appears to be his side business as a realtor.) I cut him a nice tip for being so generous with his first offering telling me not to worry about the funds I didn’t have.

The airplane ride was interesting. I would have much preferred to drive across the country then fly for the sole reason as it gives perspective. I haven’t travelled to the ends of the world, but I have flown to parts of Europe and taken a road trip around the southern U.S. One thing I took away from my roadtrip was that when I reached my farthest point in Texas, it hit me how far from home I was. Which was odd that I didn’t feel that same feeling while being displaced in european cultures. That’s what flying will do to you. You step on a plane, waste 6 hours, and step off a plane; it doesn’t give you perspective, but driving does. However, in my current unemployed state, a cross country drive was just too cost prohibitive.

I caught a few History Channel presentations on the plane, including a special on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Somehow, enough time has passed where I didn’t feel like throwing up sitting on a plane watching two planes crash into the twin towers. However, the booze from the night before gave my stomach a rumble during a streak of turbulence.

After landing I had to face two issues. First, I had to figure out how to lug 4 bags weighing something over 100lbs into San Francisco from San Jose. And two, I had to find a place to stay. I called some hotel/hostels I found on the net and confirmed my spot at the Tropicana in The Mission. Door to door, the trip required a taxi, a plane, a bus, a train, and finally a subway. I think it would have been hearting to have a boat or a horse in there somewhere. Door to door was 9 hours (either cramped in a seat or lugging 100+ lbs around public transportation.)

When I finally stepped off the 16th Street BART stop, I walked up to the street to find it filled with many more junkies and homeless folks then I expected. I took notice not to take in a deep breath as there was an overwhelming smell of piss in the area. The first thoughts to pop into my mind were what my hostel/hotel must look like. I expected an angry asian women working the door directing (yelling) at customers and pointing them to their closets of a room. I think I pictured leaky ceilings with cold wet floors as well.

Once I stepped off of Mission St. onto Valencia St. the atmosphere completely changed. Well not completely, but significantly. The street felt much cleaner and I didn’t feel like I was gonna be robbed because 4 bags were strapped to me (one in the back, one in the front, and one at each side.)

I arrived at the Tropicana and was pleasantly surprised at its bright colors, clean looks, and what appeared to be warm carpeting. The room isn’t half bad, I just have to share a toilet and a shower with umpteen other folks. After dropping my stuff off, I headed back to the street to find a local watering hole. 2 blocks down I found a little irish pub that had a handful of folks who must not have had jobs in order to be drinking at 4 in the afternoon on a Tuesday. I felt comfortable pulling up a seat. Later that night, I grabbed a west coast burrito, called some friends, and passed out to the TV.
 

Yesterday, I moved from semi-harsh nyc to semi-sunny san francisco. I’m staying in a half hostel, half hotel, half dorm room in the mission district.

I was flipping though the TV channels today on my 17″ Sony Triton that takes up as much floor space as my microfridge (yes, they do return after college.) And who do I see on the TV but none other then the terminator with a bloody lip (seems he got into a motorcarade accident sometime this week.)

Then it dawned on me, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator, is now my governor. I can remember making fun of the recall election 2 summers ago and how upsurd I thought the whole situation was. 2 summers ago, it never occurred to me that I would fall into the domain ruled by this once red-eyed evil doer.

It’s funny how something like moving 2,571 miles doesn’t really hit you until something like recognizing the fact that your new governor was once ‘a’, no ‘thee’ kindergarten cop!
 

Today was somewhat productive, I had an interview out in Los Altos. Getting there was unproductive, it took me 2 hours (which included my mile walk from the train station to the office.) I’m trying to keep it GREEN out here, I don’t want to get a car, I’m pretty anti-oil at the moment. However, public transportation outside of nyc is hard in many cities. A few cities such as nyc and chicago are spoiled. Many other cities just don’t have the demand and density. The trip cost me $15 round-trip, I couldn’t imagine doing that daily. It should be noted that I’m travelling out of the city of San Francisco down the bay area, which is more suburban and doesn’t have the same public transport infrastructure.

The interview seemed to go somewhat well, I think I may have a 2nd round lined up for next week.

After the interview, I headed to Palo Alto to bogart some free wifi at a coffee shop and meet a buddy for dinner later in the night. I like Palo Alto, the main strip is fun to walk around and I can grab wireless pretty much anywhere. I don’t know if I could live in the suburbs just yet though.

Then it was back to the Tropicana, where Arnold pop’d on TV and this blog was started.