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i got the apartment, by the way! so very grateful. i'm off to the sunny east bay soon.
while i appreciate the convenience, diversity and cultural and food offerings of san francisco, i've never felt like a city person. i grew up in a city of 23,000 and lived on the edge of it, surrounded by hills. and the two colleges i applied to, i chose based mainly on the number of trees in the vicinity (a lot). so it's strange to me that i've weathered city life in SF for 13 years. as cities go, i suppose san francisco is pretty gentle (aside from ridiculous housing prices). and the neighborhoods almost seem like small towns that just spill into one another. but still!
some things i will miss about my apartment of eight years
being able to easily walk to dolores park, bernal hill, and to all the bakeries and ice creameries and other deliciousness in between
the views from the back steps
flowers from the yard
rainbow grocery right down the street
my housemate of four years, heather (and splitting our csa box)
going to the alemany farmers' market with jen and mati most saturdays
some things i will not miss
the sirens that sound from living near a fire station
men peeing wherever/whenever on the street, regularly
city noise
the heavy influx of marina types and mainstreamers (stereotypes, i know) to the mission
carpet
slow drains
extreme drafts/lack of insulation and heat
i'm excited to learn a new place. to walk around and look at different houses and different yards. to figure out where to put things in my apartment. to bike. i wonder what the SF fog looks like from there...
have you seen heather smith jones' beautiful new shop, blue sparrow press?! lovely.
wee house by my house party
it has been a long time since i've wanted something so badly. since i've known what would be good for me. this house, this little sunny apartment would suit me just right. at first when i entered, there was a strange smell that put me off. but that is just the current resident's smell. it can be waved away. and after a minute's adjustment, i no longer smelled it. then a couple of minutes imagining away the current tenant's things, and i could see myself and pinky leon there so clearly. in that bright morning kitchen with its black and white checkered floor we could bask—me drinking tea, PL on the floor, tummy to the sun. kitchen things on white shelves. tall windows and tall ceilings. hardwood floors throughout the rest. a tiny bathroom—the bathroom has never been important to me—the less bathroom to clean, the better. a back door to the large, rambling yard that has so much potential. and already an orange tree and tomato vines growing up, up. and a super friendly musician-mom landlady!
and i'm so excited to move away from the bustle (and poop) of the city and onto a sleepy street with tall old trees lining it. there are a lot of american flags out there, and i counted two of those military tank-like SUVs within about as many streets, which puts me slightly on edge, but the house feels so safe. i can bike all around the flat town on my cute public bicycle. there's a city carshare pod nearby. a public library nearby. an expensive, but cute natural foods marketplace. movie theater not far. BART not far. what more does one need, really! a park and a swimming pool, but i'm guessing that can be discovered there too.
i am getting ahead of myself. she has not decided yet who will move there. but i tell you, all of my fingers and toes are mentally crossed, and in my head i'm already there, already home. i did not feel this way when i moved into my current apartment years ago. not even close. the wait is excruciating. i may be developing an ulcer.
and i know it is dangerous, this wanting, because all this imagining, all this hoping could be dashed. but i can't help it.
i was trying to photo the marimekko socks that i bought in sweden—almost the only thing i bought for myself in sweden. but a little cat decided he was a far more interesting subject. i suppose he's right.
today i finished the grapes of wrath. it was 27 dollars for a paperback in sweden!! so i figured i better get one that's guaranteed to be good. it was. man. that is one intense trial of a story. constant struggle. and i'm guessing today's migrant farm workers' struggles are not much different. probably even worse in many cases. it's crazy how most of the seeds of today's food movements can be found in that book, published in 1939; we've known for some time how f-ed up our agricultural system is.
