Halima and I have been in San Francisco for just over three weeks and are feeling quite good about being here. We've secured an apartment, have seen a few shows (I have tickets for Jolie Holland at Bimbo's on the 15th of October, too, which I'm pretty excited about), have sampled some of (perhaps too many of, actually...) the cities staggering number of delicious places to eat and have made so much of a habit of drinking a celebratory pint or two that we've gotten to know a couple of area bartenders by name. It's pretty difficult to not be in a celebratory mood in this place though, so much so that every time we set foot outside the house we feel like cheering and running around like loonies.
I ended up buying that guitar I wrote about earlier, and it arrived at the dock this morning. Halima and I walked down to retrieve it, bought a steamed crab and sat on a bench to eat it, then walked home where I sat and played my new guitar until my hands felt like they here on fire. Then I noticed that I hadn't washed my hands sufficiently to keep my new guitar from smelling faintly of the crab I'd eaten for lunch. No matter - it'll make the whole 'musical sailor' thing a bit more authentic (ha).
I've been on an interview at a local advertising agency, helped Mike (the captain with whom we've been staying) by working the tender during test sails of the prototype of the boat he's building, been down with him to Alameda to test material samples at a submersible robot factory (?!?), cobbled a pretty impressive portfolio together and have sent out several hopeful resumes (wish me luck). Halima's been busy handing out a sheaf of resumes herself, as well as helping out Captain Mike and generally being the organizational force behind the two of us. We've been acclimating to the inevitable hill-climbs we're always faced with and have both lost a bit of weight just being able to walk everywhere. We love to be able to walk so much, by the way. After the lacking sidewalks and daunting heat of Florida, it's like being let out of some invisible cage. We take advantage of the opportunity as often as we can.
Talented street musicians, outstanding hole-in-the-wall-pubs and dim sum joints, gorgeous walks in any part of the city, pleasant people everywhere you go, historical markers spilling out a story about almost anything within a stone's throw of you, gorgeous bay views from almost any elevated point in the city, your favorite band or comic playing right down the street from where you live all the time, a massive and varied city park chocked full of energetic people at any given time and weather that is impossibly mild and enjoyable - it's fantastic, hard to believe. There's something about the fact that such bliss is taken in stride by the people who live here that adds to the weird sense of disbelief, too. It's hard to explain.
See that Chinese fiddler up there? He was playing this beautiful Chinese music as Halima and I walked up the street toward him, but when I stopped to listen he suddenly switched to playing 'Oh, Susanna', then 'Deep in the Heart of Texas'. I must look like a rube, I guess. I solidified that notion in this guy's head by giving him a dollar. I like 'Oh, Susanna'.
I'm sure there's a downside to all the good things I'm seeing about this city, but I couldn't care less about that just now. I'm sure I'll have a peek at the other side at some point, but for now I'm staggered, enamored, in love.
I'll write more soon, but I've got an amazing meal to go consume. "What meal is that?" you ask. Well, I don't know yet, but I'm almost assured that it'll be amazing, no matter where I go. Oh, but I'll get over this and start writing more frequently on this blog, I swear. I promise. I'll do.
More soon.
