__2004-08-08 @ 12:28 p.m._______
We have a place to live in north Oakland, about a block away from Berkeley. We are constantly looking for a place of employment and are very much in the transition period between calling the bay area a vacation spot and actually calling it home. It may take a little while for us to really get out of this state of mind. I think it's a combination of scenery, the aura of San Francisco, and the lack of people we know and are friends with...oh, and the money thing as well.
But, this is not to say that we are in any way unhappy or dissatisfied with our decision to move out here. I LOVE it out here. There are so many places on the east bay that are just great for walking around and checking out locally owned shops and diners- fucking ass loads of different Asian restaurants, Mexican places, Ethiopian, Italian, Indian, ect. The record stores are great, vintage stores are all around the Berkeley campus, and even though we haven't taken it yet, the Bart is very close. The weather is indiscreet, for the most part, from day to day. I would compare the weather here so far to an average autumn Midwestern day, early October- sunny but not hot. In some ways, the East Bay reminds me of a really big Iowa City connected with Minneapolis (Oakland). Our proximity to the Berkeley campus might have something to do with that, but they definitely have an overblown ped mall area. The political views are on par with Iowa City and Berkeley has similar colors (white, black, gold- they have blue as well but you get the point)! Oakland is so much like Minneapolis in its layout and feel it scares me- oh, except for that weather thing- yeah, definitely doesn't get even close to negative temperature.
San Fran is the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Its uniqueness lies mostly in its geography. The rolling hills, pacific ocean, bay, city, neighborhoods, bridges, nearby small islands, ect. Plus, the widespread cultural diversity is amazing. I really hope that we get to live in the city for a year. We went to the cubs/giants game yesterday- saw Greg Maddux win his 300th game and burned the fuck out of our faces in the bleachers. Still, it had to be one of the best dates I've ever been on. SBC Park had veggie hot dogs and veggie burgers! What the hell kind of ballpark is that? A fucking cool one. SBC Park is definitely the 2nd best Park I've ever visited. After the game, we went out to the pier and checked out the view from the bay and relaxed a little while...until we realized how fucking sunburned we were. So funny, Jill actually has a sunburn on her lip! Anyways, I get the feeling we'll be going into the city as much as we possibly can on the weekends...as long as we can afford it.
So we live above a gay bar. On thursday, friday, and saturday nights we get a gentle pulsating beat from the floor. It's actually fine, we just went down to the bar on friday night and met the bartender (who poured us very stiff and free drinks for most of the night). While its not on my wish list for apartment perks, I don't mind the pulsating drone too much. Considering the deal we got on this place, I'm not going to complain.
I have two new favorite bands right now- The Stone Roses and My Favorite. My Favorite has a song called "Homeless Club Kids," that climbs into that perfect song category. LYeric sample plaoow-
The ghosts of dead teenagers sing to me while I am dancing
They're sad and young
and they'll be sad and young, forever.
Sad and ridiculous enough for ya? No? Here's the last line (which I'm not even sure they sing, which would be actually hilarious if they just put it in the liner notes for a laugh)
And I cry until I throw up
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