Tag Archives: San Francisco

With a Little Help from My Friends

A view from the office!

We made it! But it was hella wicked hard, and there’s no way I would have made it without a LOT of help from a LOT of people. So I want to say thank you to those who helped me out:

1.) My sister, for using her show’s hiatus week to brave the SF cold, pack my stuff, clean my apartment, and put up with my stressed bitchiness.

Scary eyes and many of my belongings.

2.) Anthony the postal worker, who let us skip the line during out second Post Office pass and was so helpful that my sister and I felt the need to shake his hand when all was said and done.

3.) All of my patrons on Craigslist, for not being creepy, but especially Nicole, who wouldn’t give up on getting the massive armoire out of my apartment in spite of learning the hard way that her probably 130lb. boyfriend cannot move 300lb. furniture, and – scarier – thinks he can.

This was not made of Ikea plywood, that's for sure.

4.) My mother, who flew to SF for a total trip of 12 hours, flew to Boston with me and the cats, and put up with my screaming at TSA while they insisted on bomb-swabbing both of our hands while we were each holding one of my cats and did not bat an eyelash when I made a bee-line for some beer during our layover.

5.) My cats, for not making a run for it while being bomb-swabbed, (giving into the drugs and) sleeping the entire flight, and barely skipping a beat once arriving at our new home.

6.) Colleen’s Civic, for being deceptively spacious and fitting 5 suitcases, a saddle, a massive computer bag, two cats, and three humans. Comfortably, I might add!

7.) Colleen, for being the best best-friend ever and running pre-arrival errands for me, picking me up, and making this the easiest move to date.

8.) My aunt Dorothy, for letting me – and two cats – stay in her beautiful new house while I embark on what is sure to be a difficult apartment hunt.

9.) Posto, for being delicious and having an 8:45pm reservation for 5 on a Saturday. And for bringing us all kinds of free food when that reservation wasn’t reallllllllly honored.

The real reason I moved here: Posto

10.) Redbones, for being the most amazing BBQ place in the northeast by day, and a FANTASTIC beer bar at night that also makes a limit-two-per-person-because-it’s-so-strong drink called the Mexican Martini.

It was WAY better than this picture looks!

10b.) Colleen’s boyfriend Matt, for suggesting we order the Mexican Martinis.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all. I would probably still be sitting on a floor in San Francisco surrounded by piles of my clothing (as I was a week ago) having a panic attack without you. Thank you.

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Final Thoughts on San Francisco

From right to left: A transvestite strip club, a medical marijuana dispensary, a residence hotel, and a fire station.

Last thoughts:

San Francisco, you were weird. Delightfully so at some times, and uncomfortably so at others. But no matter what, all of this weirdness was a great, great thing: you were a crash course in rolling with the punches and embracing oxymorons. I thank you greatly for the experience. Now, let’s get normal on some Boston!

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Full Circle

There’s something so literal about moving out of your home. Taking apart furniture, shipping boxes, taking out trash bags – removing, removing, removing until nothing is left. Yes, it’s a practical necessity, but there’s also a big ritualistic feeling to it. Assessing what you have in your life and figuring out whether or not you want to keep it. Taking down everything in your life that you built up. Writing this in my empty apartment makes me think back to my first day out here – when I had literally nothing except some suitcases and a cat. Now there are two cats, but we’re right back at square one. But I shouldn’t think of this as the end of something. This empty apartment is a blank slate – a start of something. A new life.

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Crunch Time (with a little cheese…)

"Are we going somewhere?"

It always happens. The lead-up to a move makes it feel like I have nothing but time – time to say goodbye to friends, time to pack, time to clean, time to eat at my favorite places, time to see the touristy things I never got to see before.

That, my friends, is a false sense of time.

This week has been a complete whirlwind of work, cleaning, trying to get everything done – crunch time. My sister came up from LA this week because the show she works for is on hiatus, and I do not know what kind of shape I would be in right now without her help. No, I do know – and I’d be f*cked. And since time is closing in on me so quickly – I have less than 48 hours to be all ready to go – I’m accepting that there are many San Francisco things I will have missed out on.

I didn’t ride on a cable car.
I didn’t go see Alcatraz.
I didn’t run across the Golden Gate.
I didn’t eat a Mission burrito. (To be fair, I have eaten Mexican in the Mission, I just don’t like burritos very much.)

But for each thing I didn’t do while I lived here, there were many things that I did do that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

And… I can always visit!

…But for now, I have to clean.

 

 

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What I’ll Miss the Very Most – Redwood Ranch

Owen!

My horse in high school and college, Owen (in dire need of a whisker trim)

Of all the many, many things I’ll miss about the Bay Area, I’m fairly certain that I’ll miss Redwood Ranch the most. Last year, while I was figuring out how to get myself settled in to life out west, I decided I had to get back into my lifelong passion: horseback riding. I’ve been riding and showing horses for most of my life, but it got difficult to support after college (read: it got difficult to support without parents footing the bill). It had been almost three years since I had last ridden, and I was nervous when I showed up for my first lesson at Redwood. But even after that first lesson back, I was reminded why I love riding so much.

Zachary and Me

My buddy Zachary

1. THE HORSE. I know it might sound cheesy, but there’s nothing like getting a massive animal to trust you as much as you trust him (or her). It’s a true partnership. On my third lesson at Redwood, my trainer put me on a spunky Thoroughbred named Zachary. He and I have come a long way from where we started together. To be honest, I was a little scared of him at first (he ran hotter – that is, gets more excited -  than most horses I’ve ridden), but by the end of our time together I’d trust him to jump anything – and I hope the next horse I ride has his moxie!

The Rider's Fitness Program helped me get back into riding shape!

2. THE WORKOUT. Anyone who says riding isn’t a sport has no idea what they’re talking about. Even though I had been running regularly, getting back on a horse was a rude awakening for my muscles. Muscle memory does not equal muscle tone. I was more sore after lessons during the first month or so back riding than I was after running a half marathon! Since I was only riding once a week at first, I invested in this book, The Rider’s Fitness Program, and centered my strength-training exercises around the program. (I still do, because I’ve found these really help my running, too.) These exercises helped a lot, but the only thing to really get my body back up to speed was riding more, and I started riding three times a week. It’s kind of amazing how much fun I can have while also getting such a great workout – and now I can fully appreciate why my mom said “Owen is your gym!” when I was begging her for a gym membership at age 16 or so.

Kim and her new horse, Jimmy

3. THE PEOPLE. A barn is a community. It goes beyond a typical gym or sport club – everyone supports each other. That’s why I never minded helping to clean a bridle or tack up someone else’s horse – I knew they’d do the same for me if I needed it. I’m fairly certain that my trainer, Julia, would do anything she could to go to bat for someone who needed her help. And one time when I was feeling super dizzy during a ride, one of the mothers at the barn gave me her daughter’s lemonade (and saved the day). And my super awesome lesson-mate-turned-friend, Kim, SO generously drove me out to the barn for our 8am Saturday lessons, and saving me hundreds in ZipCar fees! This sense of community and support is one of the best things about being involved in horses, and this barn had a great one.

4. THE ADRENALINE. Whether the jump is 4′ tall or 2’6, it doesn’t matter – for my money, nothing beats the high I get jumping a horse.

I’m excited to start riding again in the Boston area (I can assure you that it won’t be another three years before I start up again – my muscles can’t handle that!) But I’ll never forget the awesome people and animals I had the good fortune of knowing in Oakland. Thanks for the memories (and take care of Zachary)!

If you’re interested in riding in the Bay Area:

Redwood Ranch Equestrian Center
5745 Redwood Road
Oakland, CA 94619
www.redwoodranchstables.com

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