A Weekend in SF

Have I done a week 3 recap?

Well, week 3 has come and gone. I'm trying to have some sort of routine that will allow for writing, but of course that isn't happening.

I watched and read a lot of Game of Thrones. Book and Season 3. I had to wait to finish reading before I watched the show, but y'all after I read a certain scene/death or two I couldn't wait any longer. No spoilers, since other humans have been good enough not to spoil it for me. All I'll say is that it was worth the wait and read/watch.

I got my HBO shows out of my system, all caught up on True Blood too. I will say that I've had my fill of butts. So many butts on HBO. I guess because they can't show vaginas and penises. Man butts, woman butts, jiggly butts, small butts, but mainly tight butts.

Back to my Bay Area adventures. I spent some time in San Francisco on Saturday. In the Mission District to be exact. Wandering around in the cold looking for an art crawl I had found online. My friend and I finally stumbled upon one of the houses on the crawl and boy was it a magical experience. We walked into a place that was called "The Secret Garden." There were pretty lights and plants and that was it's actual name.

There was a stage set up in the garden, so we grabbed some seats on the makeshift benches and listened to this lady sing folk songs in different languages. Spanish, Russian and French. I barely have a grasp of the English language, so I was definitely envious. I'm not a huge fan of acoustic folky music, but it was all especially magical in the garden with the sun going down and the wind blowing. Then the singer and her friends began to harmonize and I think I can speak for all of America when I say, I'm a sucker for harmonization. I don't care what corny boy or girl group you are, if you can harmonize I'll be your fan for a day.

The harmonizations were beautiful and almost other worldy. I forgot all my worries and melted away onto the notes of the lady voices. It was like that. Definitely a lovely cap to a lackluster week.

I'm going to listen to some more Miley Cyrus now, while I job hunt and dream of my future.

Monterey, CA

What a weekend! I didn't have to slave away at work, so I decided to hop on a Greyhound bus and head a couple hours south to Monterey, CA to visit one of my dearest friends, Alexis. The Greyhound bus was an experience in and of itself, which definitely made me realize I NEED A CAR. But that battle will be fought another day.

My friend Alexis is the best for many reasons. We haven't seen each other in years, but she's still super smart, super athletic and the best person to go on dates with. I swear we had the most romantic weekend of all time. I'm exaggerating, but it was pretty damn good. Alexis and I would make the best girlfriends, take notes guys. We're also going to do The Amazing Race together some day, take notes Amazing Race slash email me at cadarkwa@gmail.com if you'd like to book us today.

Alexis and I go to the cutest Italian cafes and have the cutest convos about our futures and love and life and careers and travel. Look at her little cup and my big cup. Cute!

Then we eat a lot at said cafes.

We sight see at beautiful places like Big Sur, even when it's foggy. Alexis told me not to google Big Sur because I'd see the craziest most beautiful sunny place in the world. She was right. Don't google it or return in real life when it's sunny. Putting that on my to do list. This is also a place that lent many writers like Jack Kerouac inspiration. Give me inspirational love, Big Sur!

We take long scenic drives while listening to Maroon 5, Passion Pit, Lauryn Hill and Adele. We also visit towns called Carmel-By-The-Sea. That's a real place and a real name. What? Awesome.

And we travel the world with our mouths. From Italy to France to Japan to Mexico, only because we can't take our physical bodies to those beautiful countries at the moment.

In conclusion, I wish I could be on vacation forever. Eating, walking, talking, looking, breathing and enjoying my life. Back in Oakland now, more determined than ever to be rich so I can live that vacation life in my near future. Ya feel me?

Thoughtful Bike Rides

I've had a very thoughtful day. Finished packing, stepped my resume and cover letter game up, then I met up with a friend from Savannah. He let me borrow a bike so we biked around town, the weather was perfecto, the streets were clear and my legs pumped very slowly. I'm giving myself a month to have the leg power to ride up the steep hill to my new place. I had to walk half of it today. It was a sad sight.

Anyways, we rode around downtown Oakland and into the Temescal area of Oakland, which is very hip. I hate using the term "hip" but sometimes there's no other way to describe a vibe or place.

During my lovely bike tour, the discussion turned to future goals and the necessary steps needed to reach those goals. My next step is definitely to find a new job, whether that job is here in the Bay Area or in LA is to be determined.

My current job isn't terrible. It gave me the opportunity to transition to Oakland with some security but it definitely isn't where I want to be for the long run. I'm going to make seeking other jobs a priority in the next few weeks. I want to spend my day in an environment where I can use my brain again, solve problems, read and write. Can I get paid for that? Will you pay me for that? Do dreams come true?

View From My Street

This hill kills me everyday. My thighs will love it later right?

MD to CA: Week One

It's been a crazy week y'all. I arrived, I conquered and I'm still here.

San Francisco is as chilly as everyone says, so make sure to step your sweater game up if you plan to visit. I did not heed the warnings. I haven't been freezing but I'm the type that would rather sweat than shiver. Is everyone else like that? I take a sweater with me as often as possible, during summer in swampy D.C., so I won't lie, I was suffering in silence when I first landed in windy San Francisco.

Since then, I've adjusted to the weather, among other things. I found a great place to live in Oakland and in a record three days. I guess I was supposed to be suffering and struggling upon arrival but it's been a calm transition thus far. I definitely feel like I've been making the right decisions, but it can be very overwhelming at times. I think I'll cry week two or three, I'm going to try to hold out until four. I'll keep you updated.

My number one enemy at the moment: California hills. My legs have been worked out more in the past week than in the whole ten months I spent in suburban Maryland. It didn't help that those were probably the laziest ten months of my life, but damn, I wish I had been better prepared physically to be a Californian. Everyone runs and is super fit here, so I hope walking these hills will get me on that status. Main goal: to wear a crop top. When do I plan on doing that? I have no idea.

Anyways, welcome to the blog. I'll be posting as often and randomly as possible with updates on life, my stern East Coast opinion on these Westerners and my plans on world domination via writing, smiling, laughing and charming the silly people I meet. I just want to be rich some day without having to sell my body. Love ya if I know ya and love ya if I don't.