So I suppose the best way to journal my trip is to blog.
Day 1: Travel Day. It started off wonky because, due to automotive issues, SB couldn’t drive me to the airport. Sixpence came to the rescue with a ride, but it would’ve been nice not to have a rush-out-the-door good-bye with my man.
The first leg of my trip went off just fine. I had a 4-hour layover in Atlanta, which stretched into 8 hours. Boring. That also meant I arrived in San Francisco at midnight, making it that much more inconvenient for my gracious host, Chad. We took a van/cab back and unloaded my stuff. Then Chad, Hann and I walked to the grocery for some late-night eats (my dinner had consisted of a smoothie and a minuscule bag of pretzels). By the time we turned in, it was 3am Pacific, which was almost 24 hours after I had awakened that morning.
Nevertheless, the odd snoozing on the airplanes kept me going.
Day 2: Saturday. I actually woke up at a reasonable time, 9:30. Went with Chad to take Marlowe (their petite blue-eyed husky) for a walk. Chad, Hann and I then went to Berkeley to buy my books and find the buildings in which my class is held. Berkeley is quite a fun area, like State Street but much more so. We got lunch, checked out a famous beat poetry book shop, and saw “Paprika”. Weird but entertaining.
We came back for a while, and Chad started me watching the “Samurai 7” anime series. About 10pm, we ambled around looking for eats.
Day 3: Sunday. The day started with a dim sum brunch. I have found that I like the sweets and that there are probably too many variations of “shrimp in a noodle”. We walked to Chinatown, and then visited Japantown. We made a grocery run, and returned so that Chad could make it to his game that night. I made some progress on “Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norell” while Hann played WoW. About 9:30, we went out for Ramen.
I have found that I really don’t need much food here. And the hills are going to take getting used to. It’s a little over a mile to the subway station, and a few of the hills are ridiculous. At least that means I easily walk over 2 miles a day (because I walk on campus, walk to dinner, walk everywhere).
Day 4: Class starts. Well, I started off my morning but keeping a little turned around on the way to the subway station. I walked an extra 1.25 miles of a very nasty hill. So it was a good thing that class started later this first morning.
Hm, it’s getting quite late, so I will have to cut this short. Basically, I have class 9-12 and 1-4, with 2+ hours of homework each day and quizzes first thing each morning. So they will be working me hard. But the professor is funny and easy-going, so that reduces the grueling-factor a bit.
One thing, though. Me feet are pretty beat up from walking; I might need to get a better pair of shoes. I’ve been wearing shoes with straps across them (like maryjanes) and the tops of my feet are bruised and swollen. I guess I need regular tennis shoes.
PS. Planning to see “Daywatch” some time this coming weekend.
Short goodbye doesn’t mean I love you any less.
And I’ll see Daywatch, too. That way we can talk about it. We watched Nightwatch together, remember?
Yes, I do remember seeing Nightwatch. I didn’t even really know when Daywatch was coming out, but Chad asked me if I had seen any good lesser known movies this year, and I named Nightwatch. He said that Daywatch was out and bought tickets 🙂
I love you too, SB.