Going on a Mission?

So I think I may have found an apartment. One of my coworkers, Daniel, is from SF and went to Berkley. He has a friend that lives on The Mission district of the city that is leaving April 1 for a 3 month work assignment in Dublin. So things are falling into place, and I may soon have a temporary lease.

Three months is the perfect starter time to get me introduced to the city. I’ll make some new friends, explore, and have a better sense of where I want to live long-term. So I’ll check that place out, and hopefully it will all work.

I’ve also been in touch with my friend Mary from back in Georgia, as she lives in The Marina now. So she’s going to show me the good vegetarian restaurants, and introduce me around town. And as if my luck hadn’t already been amazing of late, Sarah’s parents are moving from Palo Alto to Colorado, and giving me a bunch of furniture, books, et cetera.

So the moral of this post is. It’s good to be smart, but it’s better to be lucky. Don’t f*ck with karma, bitches.

And now, since this is supposed to be a real blog, I’m introducing the links section. Each post will now come with links, some of which will be San Francisco related. So here’s your first installment.

World Subway Rankings (BART and Muni suspiciously absent)

Sick of Britney Spears news? Me too, until SFist found this new spin on tabloid photography.

A one-man Star Wars show. I’m a big Star Wars nerd, so I love this stuff.

I added my friend Robin’s archaeology blog, Fort ‘o Books to my blogroll and wanted to highlight here in the main page.

Speaking of The Mission district, one of its most famous buildings The Armory, is now the new home Kink.com (NSFW), an online fetish porn site. Just goes to show that anything can happen in San Francisco. (This link is work safe)

We’re the Jet Set, Not the Ol’ Chevrolet Set

I’m starting to lay down some concrete plans.  I’m going out to San Fran next week to find a place to live.  I’m currently setting up appoints with places I’ve found on Craigslist, and hopefully something will pan out.   

My JetBlue flight arrives at Oakland Airport in mid-morning on Wednesday, March 7^th, and I leave from the same place late Friday night.  I’m excited about JetBlue because a) it’s non-stop and b) they have satellite TV in every seat on the plane.  This beats the hell out of the a layover in Minneapolis.  I’ll be staying at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, which was described to me as “touristy, yet classy.”  Seeing as how I will still be a tourist on this trip, and I am of course all class, this seems like an appropriate venue. 

By far the best part about this trip, other than arranging to live somewhere other than a cardboard box, is that it coincides exactly with two shows by my favorite band, The Mountain Goats.  After my three-day, whirlwind, apartment/house/fact finding mission, I will jet back to the East Coast for a quick weekend respite before heading back out to
Phoenix for some spring training.  Aren’t I cosmopolitan with all my jet setting across the country? 

The biggest problem I’ve had so far has been getting appoints to see places in SF.  I’ve found tons of great places on CL, but I just can’t seem to craft the right email message to impress the current occupants.  All I can hope for as that they’re suitably impressed enough to grant me an audience, where I can dazzle them with my in-person charm.  So if any of you out there are CLers who I’ve contacted about your empty room, give me a shot, and I promised you won’t be disappointed.

No News Is…

Frustrating as hell.  It’s been about a month now since I originally found out I was going to SF, and I’m still waiting on a formal letter and all the accoutrements.  So I finally did some asking and emailing around to find out what’s going on.  I also took some unilateral action in the face of inactivity from HR. 

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• There is a 7.5% cost of living adjustment.  If you know how much I make, then you know how much that is.  If not, trust me, it’s not that much.
• I get $5000 in relocation allowance.  I don’t know what specifically this means, but I assume it’s for things like boxes and tape and moving men and not for things like a new plasma TV for my new apartment.
• I will absolutely be there by April 1^st.  Since that’s a Sunday, my first day in the new office will be Monday, April 2^nd. Call or write then to ask me how it is.
• The planned roll out from DC in March 29 or 30, the Thursday and Friday before I plan to start there.
• I’m going to scout apartments in SF from March 7-9.
• I’ll be on vacation in
  Phoenix from March 12-19.
• That leaves me only 44 real days until the move, and only 31 days in DC.

 

So needless to say, I am getting a little freaked out.  I’m going to start packing and disposing of stuff this weekend, so hopefully I can make it look like progress is being made.  I’ll let you guys know when I get the formal offer letter, and of course, updates will be more frequent as the date approaches. 

Lastly, if anyone knows any cool thingy I can put in the sidebar of the blog to count down, please let me know.

From CityZen to Citizen

So tonight my boss is taking our team out for a year end celebration (we officially close our books on January 31) at one of DC’s nicest restaurants, CityZen.  I’ve never been before, because I don’t routinely drop $200+ on dinner, but I’ve never met an expense account I didn’t like.  Anyway, it should be a fun, drunk, expensive evening at a restaurant universally raved about locally and nationally.

The point of this entry is that going to this fancy restaurant got me thinking.  Despite nearly 5 years in Washington, I have still not made it to a lot of off-the-beaten-path attractions.  I’m appealing to my readers (that’s you) for help.  If you live here, or have just visited.  Comment about your favorite attractions, museums, restaurants, and other things less well known than the Lincoln Memorial.

I want to make my last couple of months here memorable, and check out some DC things that I have previously overlooked.

580 California

Here’s some actual news.  I have found out the address of the new building.  It’s called 580 California, and is (shockingly) located at 580 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.

I did a little research and found out that it’s a 23 story building, built in 1987.  It has very distinctive architecture that sets it out from the surrounding offices.  It has a mansard roof, and is adorned by three statues on each side.  The statues are apparently a source of some controversy, since their a bit creepy looking and out of place in the Financial District.

The statues were described as “Corporate Goddesses” by the artist, Muriel Castanis, and where commissioned specifically for the building by architect Philip Johnson.  They are the subject of much conjecture and joking in the SF blogosphere.

Here’s some more info on the architecture of the building, all jazzed up with big words.

Check out some pictures and a close up of the “goddesses” after the jump

Hell on Wheels

Picture Hell for a moment.  What do you imagine? … It probably involves some combination of extreme heat, massive overcrowding, and enternity.  Got that mental image queued up?  Good, because that’s also what my daily commute in Washington is like.

Read all about the governments mobile hell after the jump.

A Little Claustrophobic

I first applied to Transfer to San Francisco about 10 days ago, but I kept it under wraps.  Only a few close friends knew, since I didn’t want to jinx my chances.  Having now gotten the go ahead, I announced my plans to the world in the letter posted after the jump.  And don’t flip over the blanks, I scrubbed it of identifying marks to throw all you creepy internet stalker types off my trail.

 

Read the letter to friends and family…

Setting the Ball in Motion

I found at yesterday that my transfer application for the new San Francisco office had been approved.  So now I’m definitely in.  There’s no exact move date yet, but HR tells me it will be late March.  So that gives me about 8 weeks left here in DC.  I’m sure those weeks will have their ups and downs, but this week is all up.  I’m excited about a new city and a new start.  Plus my best friend already lives there, and every time I’ve been to SF has been amazing.  Now I just have to sublet my room, sell all my stuff I don’t need, and of course, say goodbye to everyone I’ve met here in the last fives years.

 It’s a lot to do, and not really that much time to do it.  Bookmark this page and check back frequently to find out how your intrepid explorer is doing.