Sunday, Nov 4, 2007

This past Tuesday, I experienced my first earthquake while i was working late that night. It was a 5.6 and only lasted 5 seconds max. I have to say it was kind of exciting. Had I been at home, I wouldn't have felt anything. Living in the Lower Nob Hill area means that all the buildings were built on solid bedrock. I'm not sure why but I'm glad.

Work is still busy but things are settling down and my main project is almost coming to an end. I still have to do a few more things but hopefully by the end of the week it'll be all over. I hope my next project will be more challenging.

Also I'm planning on going to Vancouver for Christmas this year. Almost my entire family will be there, it's the first time in many many years since i spent Christmas with them, it should be fun and the first time not having freezing weather.

posted by piperboy 9:24pm PST

Saturday, Oct 20, 2007

I've been living in SF for almost 5 months now. I can say for the first time, I feel like I've settled down and ready to do some more good work. Adjusting to Ad agency life has been very taxing. I've always been busy with work and freelance but never have i experienced such fast pace and demanding work environment. This week I am slowly getting used to the fast pace agency life and am learning to cope with things better. I hope to get more out of this experience and learn a lot before i move on. Hopefully in a year or 2 I'll be able to move on to something even better. In the mean time, I'm trying to wrap up my freelance work soon and focus more on some art projects. I'm in need to do my own creative and just enjoy living in SF more.

posted by piperboy 5:00pm PST

Wednesday, Sept 12, 2007

I'm glad to say that life in San Fran is fast! I've been here for 3 months and been busy non stop. Not that I have a busy social life but most of my time has been occupied working or doing freelance work. I'm enjoying work but have decided to take less freelance. I really want to enjoy the city and see more. It's hard when I'm just thinking about work.

My mom and sister came to visit during labour day and we did a lot of touristy things. It was nice to see family. I've had 4 visitors in SF already. it's a beautiful city and i'm hoping to stay for a bit. Not sure if I'll stay long term.

Had a chance to catch the Yoshi Toshi "Strange Tales" show and the Tezuka exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. Both shows were incredible. I especially enjoyed the Yoshi Toshi wood block print. The details and storytelling is incredible. I am truly inspired.

posted by piperboy 11:49pm PST

Saturday, Jul 14, 2007

My first week at the new apartment was great, I actually slept very well dispite having an elephant living upstairs stomping around all hours of the day. I've only been woken up by him on my first night. So far it's been really quiet and I've been sleeping continuously. I've managed to organize a lot of my stuff. What sucks is this weekend I will have to work and probably work long hours on Monday. I hope I won't have to stay up all night Monday. Will see. I'm working on a presentation for a pitch to Kraft foods. It will be fun and i won't mind working hard to help win this business. It will give me more confidence and hopefully raise my profile within the organziation.

posted by piperboy 1:37am PST

Sunday, Jul 8, 2007

Got a 6:30am call from the movers today. They told me that they'd be arriving at my apartment at around 7:30am. Initially they were supposed to arrive between 9-10am! Living near downtown is a hassle, there was no parking space available and had to use the bus lane to unload. Not sure if the movers got a ticket but it's good that they came on a Sunday. Any other day, we'd be screwed. I'm glad they came earlier as i was able to unpack most of my stuff and had time to arrange some furniture. I still have a long way to go but right now I'm happy with what i got done so far. I'll probably take a week to finish getting organized. I pretty much have to wash all my dishes as they've been wrapped in boxes for a long time. I wished I could take a week off and just settle in and relax. I'm just glad to be in here and staying. Tonight will be my first night staying here. Hope I can sleep well.

posted by piperboy 10:07pm PST

Sunday, Jul 1, 2007

Happy Canada Day!! This year will be the first time that I don't have July 1st off. Most of my friends in Canada are enjoying a long weekend, having vacations while I'll have to work. boo!

On Friday, I signed my lease and picked up my keys to the apartment. It was very exciting as I was able to start moving some of my stuff and buy a few things for the apt. After I left the apartment, I decided to head down to the Apple store and check out the crazy line up for the iphone. Insanity is an understatement. The street was packed with people trying to get a glimspe of the opening. At around 6pm, the store reopened and the crowd started pouring in. Here are some pictures of the moment.. I've never seen anything like this in Canada, and hopefully I won't, it's another sign of the evils of capitalism at work. Somehow I wondered if some of the people in line were paid by Apple's PR department to bring more attention. Over 200,000 iphones were sold in it's first day, wonder how many ended up on ebay?

Saturday and Sunday were both action packed days, I went back and forth to drop things off at the new place and went shopping for a few house hold items. I usually really enjoy going to Ikea but this time, I couldn't wait to leave. I had to take the BART and wait for the shuttle bus. The wait was long and exhausting. I will probably have to go back again on Wednesday. "Sigh* I've been looking online for more furniture as well and saw a lot of nice but expensive thigns. Right now I'm thinking of waiting until my stuff arrives before I go buy anything new, I don't think I need a lot except for a bed and a couch. I like the Barcelona Day bed and am looking for something similar and small. I get my cable and internet installed tomorrow morning. I wished I had a TV but will settle for just internet. I think I might need to buy an air mattress as my stuff probably won't be arriving anytime soon.

posted by piperboy 10:20pm PST

Sunday, Jun 24, 2007

So I've put my deposit on my apartment on Saturday and realzied that i really don't have a lot of furniture. This gave me an idea to check ebay and craigslist for cheap finds. I really enjoy mid century furniture as they are not mass produced and environmentally friendly. My search has led me to a lot of interesting finds mostly expensive pieces. Ebaying is really addictive to say the least but fun when you find something good. During my search I've discovered a few online guides that list a lot of good and somewhat inexpensive antique stores in the SF Bay area. A good one is YELP. It gives reader review so you know what to expect. Another good site is San Francisco Apartment Therapy. These sites will be very useful in my search for good cheap(er) furniture.

There's a really interesting show on The History channel called Cities of the Underworld. The show travels hundreds of feet beneath the city streets into the meandering tunnels, abandoned subway lines, hidden water supplies, dank dungeons, eerie tombs, clandestine hideouts, and forgotten cities that have been lost to the hands of time. It's remarkable to see how many layers of past civilizations lies underneath so many cities within Europe. For those of you tired of mindless reality shows and interested in historical shows on the Discovery Channel, this is a must. While looking for more information online, I discovered an interesting map that reveals a detail map of New York Underground. Instead of past civilizations, you'll see what's 800 feet underneath your feet.

posted by piperboy 9:51pm PST

Friday, Jun 22, 2007

Well they say, persistance pays off and you know what? It's absolutely true. After my barrage of phone calls and unexpected drop in to my dream apartment, I finally got an answer from the manager. he said they had a couple who applied for it as well but rather have me (single) take the studio. Hurray for all singles out there!! It feels so good to have that off my list of things to do, now I can relax and enjoy the city like I should. I've been Apartment hunting a lot during work time and been leaving early or taking longer lunches to look. Next week will have to concentrate 120% on my work.

Tonight I am meeting some Brazillian artists at a gallery. It's going to be nice to meet new people, hope it'll be fun. Also picking up the art piece that I bought not too long ago. so excited to get my hands on it, at least now I'll have a place to put it.

posted by piperboy 6:28pm PST

Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007

Apartment hunting is really overwhelming, especially when you don't know the city and have to go during lunch time and after work. I feel like I'm about to explode at times. Somehow it seems like there is some kind of test you need to pass before being granted access to view the apartment. I've left 3 really polite messages over the course of 2 days. Finally, last night I got a call from the apt manager, he told me one applicant's credit didn't check out and it's open again. So today, I finally got to see the apartment and it was to die for. Absolutely gorgeous, I was quite impressed and I really want to take it. The Manager told me that he ran out of application form and for me to call him and arrange for a time to pick up. When I heard that I felt like he was playing some kind of game to see how badly I wanted it.

I had a meeting at work so immediately afterwards I called at least 7 times and no answer. So I left another 2 polite messages and decided to go ring his buzzer at the building. After a pretty bad day at work, i went not expecting him to be home. Anyway, his partner gave me the forms and now I have to fill out the application and bring it back to him tomorrow. My patience is running thin but I want this bad. it's going to end all my stress, hopefully! to be contined...

posted by piperboy 7:58pm PST

Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007

Today I applied to get a Social Security Card, it was quick and easy. The location of the Security Administration office is kind of cool, i felt like i was transported to Cuba or something. Then I looked at 2 more apartments, one is really nice but kind of small, I really like the location and the building is clean. The only down side is that they don't have a laundry room. I'd have to walk a few blocks to the laundromat. Haven't done that for a while. Not sure if i'm up for it. But beggars can't be chosers now. I'm kind of excited about apt hunting again.

So since I don't have a lot to do at night, I've been watching a lot of TV. My place has a gazillion channels, somehow, I only watch maybe 3 of them. It's just too much to go through the guide to see what's on. With that said, I've been hooked on Kathy Griffin's My life on the D-list. I never really liked her but the show is quite entertaining. Didn't know she was in Pulp Fiction either. I love the way she makes fun of pop culture and our obsession with celebrities.

posted by piperboy 11:38pm PST

Sunday, Jun 17, 2007

Arrived in San Francisco last Saturday. It was kind of chilly and I got to my condo pretty late in the evening. I was really sad to leave my friends and family in Toronto, I've been living there for most of my adult life and have made some good friends. It was really hard leaving but I guess we all have to move on. I hope to stay in touch and visit often, or hopefully they will come and see me in SF. The condo I'm living in is a few blocks from work and across the street from the AT&T Giants Stadium. Here are some pictures of the area. There's a lot of baseball fans in the city, it gets extremely busy when the Giants play home games. My condo is giving away 2 tickets to the All Star Games in July, hope I win, it would be fun to see that or sell them on eBay. They cost $1k each.

Last Monday I started work at AKQA, so far it has been good, people are very helpful and friendly. Everyone there is really bright and talented. I'm hoping to learn more than here than my previous jobs. The weather has been extremely nice and warm, we experienced a heat wave, basically nothing like the heat waves I experienced in Toronto.

The only stress has been apartment hunting. So far I've looked at 2 different places, the first one is a bit further and in a sketchy neighbourhood. it's in the Mission district. I've been told it's an artsy neighbourhood. On Friday, I found a nice studio apartment on Post Street and Hyde. (Google Map, shows the distance between this apartment from work.) There's a huge walk in closet that can be used as a bedroom. It's about 9 blocks from the Muni Train, it's near the Civic Center. I really liked it and hopefully my application will go through.

on Thursday, i went to an Art show opening put together by a co worker. He started the same day as me and belongs to a Brazilian art collective. The show featured street art, and I bought a piece from a 19 year old Brazilian artist Estandelau, his work is really mature for his age and hopefully he'll become big in the art world. Here's the piece that i bought, it was very cheap and I'll really enjoy it.

posted by piperboy 7:00pm PST

Thursday, Jun 09, 2007

Moving to San Francisco on Saturday. So long Toronto!

posted by piperboy 2:07pm PST