As of March 18th, I have been plotting my move to San Francisco. For real. I have to get the fcuk out of Alabama. I had a great time and not only that, I saw not a single “W” sticker the whole time I was there. It’s like heaven, really.
So to start with, let me offer my dears some valuable advice: never EVER fly United Airlines. NEVER. Just don’t do it. Those bastards are the most rude, incompetent and fcuked up airline I’ve ever seen (and this is coming from someone who took a transatlantic flight on EgyptAir, so that’s saying a lot). Picture the scene, if you will: Scott and Heather wake up at 5 AM in their hotel that is a short (10 minute) drive to the airport. We get to the airport at around 6:05 and are in line to check in by 6:15 in order to get on our 7:00 AM flight to San Francisco. At 6:30, we get nervous when we realize that the line isn’t really moving very fast. We hear one of the airline employees yell “Denver, if you’re going to Denver, come up here!” So then we say, “Excuse me, we should be checking in, too. We’re going to San Francisco.” Dude says, “Oh, I closed you out 15 minutes ago,” and then abruptly turns his back and ignores us. Picture me the angriest you’ve ever seen me, then multiply it by 50 and you’ll understand how f’ing pissed I was. Long story short, we did NOT get on our 7 am flight and instead waited around the damn airport for 7 hours until we managed to catch a 2:30 flight to Chicago (and then to SF). We then had to wait for a 6-something flight from Chi to SF. The United employees there were no better in terms of politeness or competence. Not only that, but despite the fact they royally fucked us over, we still had to pay a $50 fee to be able to get on the 2:30 flight (rather than just stick around another DAY, which would have also cost us). We landed in SF a full 12 hours after our intended time of arrival. Not cool. We basically lost a full day because some asshole that works for United in the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport decided to be a jerk. I will never fly with them again, no matter what kind of rates they offer. Scott tried to call customer service today and they’re freaking closed on the weekends. Hopefully we’ll be able to get our $50 back and maybe then some.
In spite of that, we had a really cool first night in SF. We had dinner at this really cool Pakistani place in the Mission where everything was really cheap. After that we went to Mike’s place and crashed. The next day we drove around town a bit, went down Lombard Street and then drove over to the East Bay to have dinner w/ Scott’s friend Eric. We had an awesome dinner of manicotti and and almond tart. Monday we really didn’t do much because the weather was miserable (cold and rainy). It was kind of cool to have a lazy day, although we did go to Rainbow foods, this awesome vegetarian co-op grocery store that had some amazing stuff (vegan german chocolate cake that is waaay better than any german chocolate cake I’ve had before) and I cooked dinner for all of us (since I wasn’t in a position $-wise to take us out) and it turned out really good. Usually I’m not too handy in other people’s kitchens, so definitely a first for me. Tuesday we went to the DeYoung museum to see their special exhibit (International Arts and Crafts Movement) and their permanent collection (really great stuff). We also tooled around Haight-Ashbury a little while and I found an awesome Brubeck Trio album from the late 40’s (with Cal Tjader and Ron Crotty) for $7.99. It was the first time I made a record store clerk say “Whoa.” A proud moment for sure.
Wednesday we went to the Golden Gate bridge and walked halfway across and took some pictures. The weather was really pretty and the sun made the most perfect shots. I was a little freaked out by the number of crisis phones on the bridge, but given that over 1000 people have committed suicide by jumping off the bridge, I can’t say that it’s a bad idea. We went to the Exploratorium with Utz, Elizabeth, and Utz’s nephew Max. It was the most crazy amazing museum ever, with all sorts of science-y exhibits. I even drank out of a toilet (totally clean and unused of course) in an exhibit called “A Sip of Conflict.”
There’s a really cool art gallery there called “Creativity Explored” where people with developmental disabilities create art and earn a living through that. It was a really cool place and I got to see some people at work on various projects. I ended up buying a really awesome piece for $15 that had Chinese characters all over it and difference splotches of color. I found a frame for it today at Target ($6!!!) and it’s now hanging over the mantel.
Friday we hung around Berkeley and had dinner at an awesome place in the Mission called “Amira” that was a pan-Arab restaurant with amazing food. Sadly, can’t say the same for the bellydancer that was there (she totally sucked) but the atmosphere was great.
I’ll post some pics later!
and got ready only to find out that my 10:30 meeting was cancelled. This is a pattern that I am getting REALLY tired of. I understand that she has to drive almost an hour and a half to get here, and that she has a 3-year-old to contend with (getting her to daycare), but when I have something planned, I generally count on it happening. Am I crazy for being this way? I think not. If my meetings aren’t cancelled, they’re at the very least delayed sometimes by 45 minutes. It gets to be a huge pain when I have a tight schedule on a particular day and things get thrown off by almost an hour. But what can I do? Nothing! People who complain to much (or at all) generally don’t get their assistantships renewed. So I will suck it up and deal. We met via phone for about 15 minutes and managed to get stuff done, and then we’re meeting in person tomorrow at 11:30 (or 11:45…or 12:00…) to get some more stuff done. Generally Wednesdays have become my “Go into the office for a few hours” day because I’m trying to put in as close to 20 hours as I can, which is sometimes hard in a given week. The last couple weeks it hasn’t really been a problem and I’ve put in anywhere from 15-20 hours. I’m getting paid the same regardless, so they are trying to get their money’s worth with me. Can’t say that I blame them.
