A of all) I moved. I have moved twice since I last wrote, but now I am FINALLY in a permanent place. I was living in Palo Alto originally when I moved. Then in October I moved up into the city (San Francisco) with Megan. It was a little overwhelming living with her in her 4-person apartment. Turns out, we weren’t ready for that, and I was definitely ready for my own space. So, in November I moved in with 3 random guys only a few blocks from where Megan lives. It was great except for the fact that on my move in day I was nearly asphyxiated with pot smoke. By that I mean, the smell of it now reminds me of that month living there… Anywho, I posted some of the pictures of that place on my fb page. But here's one:
So, now for the part we have all been waiting for: my NEW and FANCY place on Treat Avenue!!!! The pictures are less than stellar…turns out my camera is having a little trouble activating the flash.
The apartment is located in the Mission not far from where I was living in November. I’m still not too far from where Megan lives, and I live in a residential area closer to an area of the city that is still pretty new for me (meaning, I don’t have any other friends that live here, so I don’t know the area too well yet.) But there are some things that are completely lovable: Philz Coffee (about a block and a half away) is an amazing coffee shop where they brew each cup of coffee singularly once you order it. They even doctor it for you, and then you test it before leaving to make sure it’s Exactly what you wanted. Chances are, it’s more than what you bargained for—in a good way! The coffee lacks any acidic flavor. I was assured on my first cup that I would never view coffee the same after this one cup. It’s pretty true. Little did I know then, it was Phil who had made my cup of coffee. Since, I’ve been a little obsessed, but it’s wonderful. I even took some pictures inside once. Amazing experience.
The other amazing part of my new living situation is my roommates. I met Amanda through Megan because they played Ultimate together this past summer. Amanda was someone whom I immediately liked, and when she mentioned she was interested in moving, and interested in living with me, I was STOKED. She mentioned that she had a friend, Nick, who was also interested in moving. Then he wanted to balance the genders, so Jude got in on the mix. They are fantastic, exciting, funny, and very environmentally conscious. We “let it mellow, when it’s yellow”, we recycle, we are trying to make composting happen. We, well they, shop pretty locally, and I’m becoming convinced. This leads me to my next point: we live a half block away from a main street in the Mission, 24th. There are several veggie stands, which remind me of my deficiency in Spanish, but that supply yummy ripe tomatoes and avocadoes! I also recently found a liquor store within walking distance with a decent selection of wine and good beer. If you haven’t tried Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA, you should. Well, maybe not if you don’t like beer, but even still. Think about it. Anyway...here's a picture of the four of us Amanda, Jude, Nick, and me at a protest for Prop 8 or Prop H8. Equal rights, freaks!
B of all) I’ve been applying to school. Reminder: I’m applying to grad school for Physical Therapy to obtain my DPT. I applied to UCSF/SFSU (University of California at San Francisco and San Francisco State University, a joint program), MGH (Bostonian school), and University of Washington. So far, I have had an interview at UCSF. It was actually January 24th. I was freaking out. However, I had dinner prior to the interview with a friend through Ultimate, Alex, who is currently in her 2nd year of the 3-year program. She answered a few questions for me, which served to excite me and intimidate me a little. Suffice it to say, I am glad Saturday is over. Saturday morning at 8 am I had to be awake, well dressed, and ready for action. The process began with an overview of the program followed by an essay written on the spot. That was random: the question that NONE of us expected was: "What are your thoughts and ideas about the economic downturn?" Really? They said it would be used in our individual interviews, but my essay was never referenced. I had the 2nd time slot for the interview, which was probably the most optimal time. It was a 2 on 1 interview with a faculty member and a 2nd year student in the program. I was able to chill before hand for about an hour and talk to first years students, which taught me a lot about the integrity of the program. There are only 32 students each year, so you get to be a pretty tightly knit group. And everyone there seems to love the program. Oh, so the breakdown: 200 applicants, 67 of us got invited for interviews, 32 will be admitted, 10 will be put on a waiting list. I will find out sometime in the next 3 weeks. Don't worry, I'm not anxious. I'll leave the specifics for one on one interviews between me and you. I don't want to jinx anything...but I felt pretty confident about it. I thought I answered questions appropriately and even had good (and honest) answers. I even enjoyed it. Crazy.
C of all) I went home for Christmas! If I didn’t see you, I’m sorry. I saw a lot of folks though! I enjoyed my time at home and spent a lot of time with the rents, which was VERY fun. Coming home to Georgia was in interesting experience. I love the people there, the ones I am close to, anyway. I got to see a lot of my closest college friends as we all converged in the ATL area for the holidays—from Kenya, Africa; Washington DC; SF and Santa Barbara, California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee and Boston, Massachusetts. Since we are so spread out, it’s nice to get back together. I was looking forward to coming back to California, in particular, San Francisco. I adore the city. There is so much going on, some beautiful weather, and a variety of people. It turns out that I’m enjoying my job at the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce, and I enjoy my commute where I read and make phone calls ☺ Plus, I recently convinced a random guy, who walked into the Chamber to get info on the train, that he should DEFINITELY take public transportation to his new job in SF from Menlo Park. Sometimes it seems overwhelming and more complicated, but it’s going to make a difference in the long run. I drove down to work recently just to be able to be mobile for a dinner date, and I saw three accidents on the way. Plus, it was a stressful ride! Ick!
So, there you have it. That’s mostly what I’ve been up to. Aside from cleaning, decorating, and living in my new apartment, I spend time playing for a Winter League Ultimate team. It’s a league that’s pretty experienced—by that I mean there aren’t any brand new players on the field (there’s a separate league for them, I think). My team is called the Mudslingers, and we have brown jerseys (t-shirts) and some fantastically awkward cheers. We’re pretty good. But we got schooled this week. Then I made a suggestion and in some post “official play” action, we totally kicked ass. HA! I DID learn something from captaining 2 years of college ultimate ☺. I also have begun cooking again, at least a little. I play a little guitar hero. I read. I am part of a lesbian-feminist book club that has lively discussions and reads excellent books. I still babysit for Becky, my mentor in the PT (Physical Therapy) world. I babysat her kids when they lived in Georgia, and now I’m sitting for them out here on the weekends, when I can make the hour drive down to San Jose. Other than that, I work. Well, I guess I also hit a party here and there. I go to some bars. I’m moderately active. Oh! And, I go for some light runs in the city—well, once Megan and I went on a sort of impromptu longish run from her house up to Coit Tower (scroll down and look at some of the pictures). It was a 50 min, one-way adventure. We took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) back. It was also mildly cold and rainy. Still, all in all, it was a good exploration adventure. I also joined a gym—with Megan’s help ☺. So, we try and work out 2-3 times a week.
I’m pretty happy. I would LOVE to stay in SF for school. It would be my cheapest, best option--pretty much in the nation. The UCSF/SFSU program has one of the highest ranking DPT programs for a public university. UCSF is a pretty incredible place: 9th in the nation as a medical center, in the top 5 as a medical school, number 1 pharmacy school--and the PT students of UCSF take some of the first year classes with 2nd and 3rd year pharmacy students (and repeatedly do better than the pharm students in those classes...). Plus, I would be stoked not to have to move again. I’m pretty happy where I am.
I hope to blog a little more frequently. I would like to post more of my random thoughts about living in the city and experiences I have. This one post has been requested for some time, and I’ve just been terrible about getting around to it. If I haven’t heard from you in a while, I would love to!!!!
