Five things on this fine Tuesday

1. Someone please bake the pie featured in this post -
Scenes from a Pie Contest

2. That Pie Contest? In my effing neighborhood. My hood is awesome. We even had a movie night at Duboce Park on Saturday. Take that, Mission hipsters!

3. I love our San Francisco summer. Please let it last through the weekend. It is glorious. Evidence - post work bike ride, where I snapped this shot with my iPhone:

4. Texts of the day...
Me: You'll be happy to know that I finally upgraded to 1500 texts a month. Also, why the huge jump in options - 200 to 1500? Am I suddenly going to be texting every hour?
G$: Yes.
G$: Welcome to 2005!

H: No way! He's actually a virgin?!? Was that actually confirmed? Wow.
Me: There's no way you could be that clueless about just kissing if you weren't a virgin. Unless he only slept with hookers who wouldn't kiss on the mouth.

5. I finally downloaded an album by Girl Talk. Mashups. Good stuff. Go get it.

Extra stuff be gone!!!

I need to do some massive de-cluttering/getting rid of stuff/organizing . My apartment is tiny, which means I don't really have that much extra stuff, but I would to prefer to get rid of things I don't use and live more simply and with less clutter. 

Unfortunately, I am feeling tons of guilt about throwing things away! There are environmental reasons, sentimental, and tons of other excuses for holding on to unnecessary stuff. Reading the post linked below helped me out with some of that... honestly, the "finding a new home" sounds like the best solution, but also the most involved. And I want this to be as quick and painless as possible. Yes, I am lazy. (Which is why I'm totally rewarding myself with a cleaning service post-declutter.)

Also, starting this project is daunting. I'm hoping to go with the one-drawer-at-a-time approach, but if anyone thinks that just making a weekend of it would be better, please comment! I need help!

The Wastefulness of Decluttering; or How to Make Less Count for More

How Green is Your Laundry?

Check out this short quiz from The Sierra Club - you may find some energy-saving tips that will save you money and help the environment next time you're doing your laundry!

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Other laundry advice...

1. Don't dry, use cold water for your:
a. Non-cotton workout clothes. Those specialized wicking fabrics are best dried on a drying rack or hanger.
b. Favorite jeans. Seriously, avoid shrinkage and help your jeans last longer. (Especially important if, like me, it takes a lot of $$$ to make your ass look hawt.)
c. Bras and fancy underwear

2. New dark colored cottony item of clothing? Pour a little white vinegar in the wash when you first launder it. The vinegar helps set the color. (thanks Mom!)

3. Sprinkle some baking soda in the washer with your smelly workout clothes. You know how baking soda helps de-stink-ify your refridgerator? Same concept.

4. You don't need to dry clean ALL your knits that say "Dry Clean Only." Really. A lot of them will be just fine if you do a gentle, cold water wash and then lay flat to dry. I've found this is the case with a lot of wool and cashmere.

5. Oxyclean works wonders on a lot of stains. It's a good product to just have around for cleaning in general. (thanks Mom!)

Now if someone could just tell me how to maintain a constant supply of quarters for the machines in my apartment building... I'm jealous of all of you that have your own w/d!

Foghorn Leghorn

After a few weeks of mostly grey skies and rain, we've had a stretch of some wonderfully sunny days here in San Francisco. But in the evenings, a very thick fog just rolls in and covers the city in mystery and a little bit of general dampness. I live about two miles from the northern coast of the city and five miles from the west coast. I can hear the fog horns. Not sure if they're really that loud or if the acoustics of the cityscape help transport the low "mowwwwwwwow" sound to my little apartment, but it's really freaking cool. Hearing the fog horn makes me feel like I'm in a different time period (albeit one with internet access) or a different country - I guess just because it's new to me. One more reason why SF is awesome.

Pictures, pilates and planes

...Sigh...I wish I could have made more out of the long weekend, but I got caught up on my reading for school AND did a lot of work in my apartment. I have unpacked all the boxes in the living space of my apartment (there's probably one box of random stuff in the closet), put together all of my Ikea furniture and hung some pictures on the walls. This is pretty much the first time I've put so much effort into my apartment - I guess because I plan on being here for a while and because it's just me here in my little 150 square feet of peace.

So I said I'd update on my exercising. It's going... but not great.
Friday... yoga
Saturday... 30 mile bike ride. Beautiful day to ride in Marin.
Sunday... nada, studying. Save for a quick ride to GG Park.
Monday... just some bike commuting to North Beach for dinner.
Tuesday... pilates.

Going to try to stick with pilates on Tues/Thurs. Why? Because the instructor is this super positive, smiley, happy guy. He's big on taking little breaks to smile, think happy thoughts. At the end of class you lay down and do a sort of "corpse" pose like at the end of yoga classes - and he talks you through a visualization. Today it was jumping out of an airplane (with a parachute!). I dig having some time to focus my mind while I'm also exercising my body.

Thinking happy thoughts... like what? What makes you happy? Picture yourself blissfully happy. Where are you? Who are you with? Maybe you're alone. Maybe you're somewhere other-worldly. Or you're doing something simple. Maybe you're in your house. Is it loud or quiet? Are you active or relaxing? Indoors or outdoors? Day or night?

One step closer to a real apartment...

I have the internet.

That is, I finally got service installed at my apartment. Which is wonderful for so many things, including blogging. However, I also made a mass purchase at Ikea this week so... I am going to return to my "workshop." I love those mini Allen wrenches.

How walkable is your house?

One of my new favorite websites.
http://www.walkscore.com/

What's your score?

My place got an 88/100, which is on the high end of "Very Walkable." I agree.

90 - 100 = Walkers' Paradise: In neighborhoods with scores over 90, few people own cars and walking is the norm.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: Neighborhoods with scores over 70 are very walkable and it's easy to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Neighborhoods with scores over 50 have some walkable locations, but residents use their cars frequently.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Although it is possible to walk to some locations, driving is the norm.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Residents only walk from their house to their car.

I found the link to walkscore on Triple Pundit - www.triplepundit.com. Also definitely worth a good browse.

New apt...

Internet options:
1. Ask my neighbors if we can share. I haven't met my neighbors yet, but I have exchanged notes with my next door neighbor.
2. Just get internet service like the rest of the world. Pay the $20/month for the first X months and then switch providers so I don't go up to $50/month. Except that I don't need cable TV or a phone line. Damn.
3. Wireless WAN. Pricey, but sounds good in theory. My computer is connected to the internet wherever I go. Useful for school when I do my tour de coffee shops. No need to seek out free wifi (few available, as it turns out).
4. Suck it up for a while. Wait until school starts and then deal.
*sigh*


Transportation:
1. Parking my car is, to date, a mild pain in the ass. Moving it late Monday night was a bad idea. Note: if you're moving your car b/c of street cleaning the next day, do it EARLY.
2. I forgot where I parked and needed to move it again. I have mitigated this from reoccuring by texting myself with Fido's new location. (Fido, BTW is doing great. Except that the speedometer doesn't work. Ha!)
3. So many busses. And streetcars. It's insane. I need a route map. Or internet...
4. My commute to work is about half of what it used to take, living in the outer Richmond. Boo-yah.

Keys in hand.

The apartment search is over. I have signed a lease and put down my deposit & first month's rent. Big thanks to LM for her help this morning. I would have been a basket case doing that by myself.

I picked the more expensive, but centrally located, apartment. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in a couch or something for guests to use when they come stay with me :)

Wtf is up with this logo?

In researching stuff for my work in helping to create a Bay Area By-Products Synergy organization (aka Industrial Ecology, where waste - the by-product - from one company is an input, or feedstock, for another company), I came across Sherwin Williams. They have (maybe had?) a facility in Berkeley. Anyway, doing a little research and was flabbergasted by their logo... does this bug anyone else?
Apparently, it does bother other bloggers... in looking for a good copy of the logo, I found this like-minded writer from Rhode Island.

In other news, the apartment hunt is not quite over. Though now I just have to decide between the place I mentioned earlier and another place that's available. The two apartments are totally different and call to different aspects of my personality and lifestyle. Which is more important - be closer to friends & social options OR closer to nature and biking/running? How much space do I need? How important is the extra money it would cost to live "in the middle of it all"? How much is my travel time worth? Cab fare, buses... Natural light vs. few windows?

Oh, and a quick shout out to a restaurant in the Inner Richmond - Aziza is awesome. It's a "modern Moroccan" restaurant. The chef came to SF to study Macroeconomics at SFSU and eventually found his calling as a chef. He's into organics and sustainable foods. If you're looking for a (kind of pricey, but worth it) great place to have a nice, long dinner - check it out. Kind of a romantic atmosphere. Great wine selection and also a lot of custom cocktails. 22nd Ave & Geary Blvd.

Lease in my hand!

i found a place to live!!!

my new place, starting july 1, is in hayes valley/alamo square. it's a cute, small studio. hardwood floors, 3rd floor. big windows. building was built in the 1920s. 10 foot high ceilings. amazing view of the city from the roof.

i have no idea how it's all going to come together... how am i going to go from living in houses/large spaces to a 10ft x 15 ft space?!? i'm hoping to loft my bed, which will help. some sort of rack for my bikes. there's a giant closet, but i still need to downsize my clothes & shoes. *sigh*

as a birthday present to me, g$ organized/handled getting my bed out of my old apartment and put it in my storage unit. i haven't been back to the storage unit, or even really given it any thought. i was pretty happy ignoring anything having to do with my old apartment. i don't even know if i really thanked the friends that worked with g$. i just didn't want to deal.
...
well, now i'm going to have to go back there & get my stuff out... get a truck, etc. wow.

and how does one move when the entrance to your building is on a MAIN street?!? gonna be interesting. if you're in the area on july 1 or 7/8 and want to help out... you know you're welcome to join in the fun!

overall though, i am super excited about my new place. happy to have a space that is all my own. happy that it's centrally located, totally "city" and fits what i had envisioned.

also totally scared!!!

Still no apartment. *sigh*

But I did get a text message from G$...who is hopefully in Narbonne, France. He and Dan rode there from Perpignan today.

Word.

SF Living...

While I'm sure it will get old really soon, I enjoy taking the bus too and from work. I even have a bus pass. I always thought that I would live in "the city" after college... and become a master of mass transit. Of course, back in 2000, "the city" would have meant Chicago... and my mass transit would have likely been the El... and it's quite possible that by now I would have had my fill of city life and moved out to the 'burbs.

However... I took a little detour and lived in Silicon Valley for six years. Definitely not a city.

Here I am, seven years later. Finally a city kid. Well, not really a kid. But, now I live in San Francisco and I take the bus to work. It's pretty sweet.

Job's just getting started, so no real update there.

My finger and wrist are much better. Not 100%, but better. My wrist bruise has gotten a lot of *gasps* from people. I'm kind of used to it looking so, well, bruised, but I guess it's pretty intense.

Oh, and I'm looking for an apartment. And it sucks ass. It's a good thing I've been relatively happy lately. All of the rejection would be really hard to take if one was actually feeling emotionally fragile. Seriously.

Two rejections:
"I just wanted you to know that I did offer the studio to someone yesterday and they have accepted. I did want you to know that you made the 'very short-list' as I think you'd have made a wonderful tenant also. I don't think you'll have any trouble finding a place. I wish you the best of luck and thank you for coming by.

It was a pleasure to meet you."

"I am sorry to advise that I have offered the studio to someone else who intends to take it. If this falls through for any reasons I will be back to you. I enjoyed meeting you and I wish I had more than one place. Thank you for your interest."

Yeah... well, you don't have two places to rent. And what is this very short list bs? So I was your #2 person, huh? No trouble finding a place... yeah, right.

*sigh*

Deep breath. It'll be okay.