Beaten but not out.

I’m definitely feeling a little downtrodden right now. Not sure why today is any different than yesterday. 

This morning I went in search of a parking spot that could be a little more permanent. Following my cousin’s suggestion, I drove to the Sunset District. Not exactly the nicest part of San Francisco, but it was a generally residential area with a pretty good amount of foot traffic. The parking restrictions on the street I found were “No Parking from 8:00am-10:00am on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month for street sweeping.” Pretty grand, considering most other places were, at best, once a week street sweeping, and at worst, daily restrictions with widely varied hours. Took me close to an hour of circling about the neighborhood, but I finally got lucky and found a spot.

Then I packed up my backpack with just the necessities, which actually means I pulled out all the crap I usually carry with me, and hopped on what I think is called the Muni for $2.00. Pretty freakin cool, the Muni. It’s sort of a subway, but it mostly travels above ground on the rails. Really, it functions more like a bus than what I imagine a train to be.  Anyway, it took me from where I parked across town to the area called Mission Bay (I think. Might really be SoMa.). This is where the Flip Video offices are. I was going to send in my Flip MinoHD to be repaired, but when I saw the address, I thought I’d drop it off in person. I also thought I might try to get a job with them. The walk off the Muni to their office was very short, but the office building they were in was nothing short of maze-like, though I’m sure now that I’ve been there it would be much easier to navigate. I knocked on the door, some girl came out. I explained why I was there, she took the box I had packed it up in, and went back in and shut the door. Pretty much no communication and certainly no talk about my mention about looking for a job. I guess as long as my camera gets fixed, I’ll be happy. She probably didn’t have any hiring capacity anyway, and from the glimpse I got through the door, it didn’t seem like anyone else was really inside.

Now I sit in a Starbucks typing away and trying to figure out my next move on this Friday afternoon. Brian and Vanesa are having an awesome Sushi Night at their house in Sacramento. I’d really love to go there and join in the fun, but I definitely will not be giving up my parking spot. Pretty sure there’s a public transit way of getting from here to there. That might be another adventure.

As for the feeling down and out bit. I’ve definitely not yet given up, but I kinda see how ridiculous this plan was. I’ll be sticking it out for at least a full week, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to last longer than that. Worst case scenario, I’ll have a good story, some interesting experiences, and a more intimate knowledge of the lay of the land here in San Francisco when I actually do make the move. Wish me luck, though, because I really want this to work out.

Time to figure out how to get to Brian’s house tonight.

-Max

P.S. It feels good to write again. I’ll definitely start including some pictures to break up the monotony of words (for you ADD internet kids), but if you have any suggestions, let me know!