Traveling and exploring new places sometimes brings out the homebody in me. The instability that comes with living out of suitcases and on various couches is inherently freeing and unsettling.
I left Karen and Manu’s SoMa loft on Wednesday, and am now settling into my sister Ahrie’s Haight-Ashbury apartment. It’s in more of an organic neighborhood (in terms of urban development and groceries), with plenty of shops, restaurants, and a market. The apartments themselves are quite different.
Ahrie’s apartment has the comforting scent of an old Victorian. I recognize the clean scent of wood mingled with something that can only have come from breezes spreading the aromatic essences of flowers and earth. (My college house in Berkeley had a similar scent in the summer, which is when I moved in, and which is how I will always remember it.)
What it lacks in high-tech amenities, it makes up for in charm and character. It feels like a home. There are tchotchkes galore. The kitchen is huge. The bathtub has feet.
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The initial excitement of my first couple days in SF that woke me up early in the morning and kept me buzzing into the late hours faded yesterday. My plans to go out dancing gave way to Roman Holiday and a warm bed at 10:30 PM.
I spent most of yesterday indoors. But it doesn’t feel the same as staying cooped up in a typical New York apartment (this doesn’t apply to you if you are lucky enough to live in an apartment with plenty of natural light). Staying indoors can feel like sitting outside, only you don’t have to look presentable or pay for coffee. In California, you are more likely to have more space and more sunshine. Period.
Anyway, I happily worked away on EatWell bundled (because SF summers are cold) on a sunbathed couch while wearing pajamas. I left only to pick up a few groceries. And if there were better wireless (I barely picked up someone else’s signal, and only intermittently), I probably would not have left at all. But happy as I was, all things must end, including staying indoors.
I’m currently caffeinating at Cole Valley Café, a few blocks down from Ahrie’s apartment. The WiFi is happy, and this will probably act as a second home to me while I’m in SF.
