Stuff!

My stuff gets loaded on a truck today!!!

Not Really

Both Dickerson and Michelle have told me how much they admire me grabbing life by the horns or working proactively to make a change and I think others see my recent move that way too. But I don't feel that way. I feel like I ran out on everything - family, friends, work, hobbies, everything I had come to know and be known for. And for what? A different job essentially. Yeah I get to live in the city, and there is more opportunity here for my career, for meeting people, and forming new hobbies that fit my life style, but the price I pay is that I have to start over from nothing. For as important as I say people are to me, this seems like the most contrary move I could make. It is a gamble more than it is a change. It is more akin to emptying my pockets and putting it all on double zeroes, it will take a while for the ball to drop, and only then will I know if I have just gone for broke or if I just gotten a second chance at life.

First Day

All in all a good day. No major hurdles, there was another software engineer starting today with me, and Geoff started only a week ago. We have a network admin "Magnus" (he's Richard to the financial and legal world though) so he'll be good at what he does. I basically installed stuff on my 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo 250 GB laptop with wireless keyboard and mouse, got my sweet chair customized just for me, sat in some demos, and then finished it off with happy hour AT work. Three half glasses of champagne and a Coronna later I was ready to go home, but the other engineers caught up with me and bought me a Liberty on 2nd and Market. Did I mention that Apple is going to upgrade my phone for free?

I Found It

On my BART ride to link up with the Amtrack to see Matt and Lauren I saw a sign for The Crucible. They had a web address http://thecrucible.com/ so thanks to my phone I checked it out: metal, wood, glass, welding, foundary, and CLASSES! And I can get to it from the train. Awesome. So fencing is out. I imagine this means I'll be making artist friends who are a little more grungy than painters, and I think that is exactly what I want.

Palm Trees

They sound just like the ocean tide breaking on the beach when the wind blows just right and you're sitting close enough to one.

I Blame Fencing

I've noticed lately that I don't always make eye contact. At first I thought it was a confidence thing and feeling like I was not successful at life. But as I studied it more and tries to overcome it I realized the cause might be my fencing training.
I don't look a the ground I'd my feet, I look at the other person, just not their face. I look attheir torso or their hand when stretched out for a greeting - the same areas I look while fencing to help me predict my opponent's next move. In fencing there is almost no useful information in the face and often times any info given us misleading. But the torso does not lie as well, so you watch that
instead. I do it off the strip, all the time. No wonder my fencers tell me I should be better than I am.

Code Lobster

Today I went to Mission/Dolores park to scope it out since I have a blind date of sorts out there on Saturday. I brought one of my new C# books to read and ended up falling asleep on the grass (I need to get caffiene back in my diet). When I awoke I had absorbed all of the sun's rays, but imstad of super powers all I got was bright red skin. While I was in that area I also poked my head in the door of Halberstat Fencing Club and got the foil practice times. I still don't think I'll go but at least I know when to go if I do decide to fence again. Tomorrow I may try to buy my bed frame from Ikea. I have found that if I want to do much of anything in the city I need to allow at least 2 hours. Speaking of which, I went to the SF Museum Of Modern Art (aka SFMOMA). A lot of the stuff made me say "Okay, but 'why?'" and there was never any answer. One exhibit made me smile - it was an infinite mirror type set up, with cameras, on a delay loop, so by the time you saw yourself in the third mirror, it was several seconds old... I lime children's museums for this kind of thing.

First Food Post

I'm waiting for my food at the bar of a place called Piraat. They serve - get this - pizza, roasted chicken, beer, and wine. It is on the corner of Taylor and Sutter, and is a mild hike from my place especially considering the hills, but they play music I'd have on my iPhone if I had a computer to sync it with like Goo Goo dolls and Indigo Girls. Even if my pizza sucks I'm coming back for sure.

They Smile Here

They smile these authentic ear to ear grins that I haven't seen in forever. They're not talking to anyone, not on the phone, they're not doing anything particularly fun, they're just happy-really happy... or on drugs, but I'm going with happy.

Live from the Bay Area

I got an apartment with a lawyer named Brian at
1101 Pacific Ave Apt 303
San Francisco CA 94133
but he's in Chicago until Friday. So I have major cabin fever
until he gets back. I'd go out a lot more bit I messed up my
ankle Friday wandering the city with my duffle on
My back. But I've learned BART pretty well and I have
A sense of where the cabs cars run (not usually where I
want them to go) and it is fun to see if I can ride them
without fare being collected ($5). I found a Safeway grocery
store for the basics yesterday. This morning I went and
got a towel and shower poof from Bed Bath & Beyond. I came
home and soaked my foot, made a PBJ sandwich and went out
to Union Square Park and to Borders where I got some books
for my job: One is "Effective C#" by Bill Wagner and will
be like my Matt away from home. The other is just O'Rileys c# in a nutshell.
I'll post pictures and stuff when my stuff gets out here,
for now my jankey iPhone posts will have to do.