Day 80

I'm up in the Bay now, for a span of three to four weeks. Upon landing and taking my bags into her apartment, George and I strolled down the block for donuts and coffee. My stock is recently high with her so she's been gracious enough to allow me to stay. I also quickly helped her spring clean and find some space for my luggage, my new computer desk, and my presence. The hope is that she'll find having me around so joyous that I can be here for an extended amount of time. This represents the longest period we'll have had occupying the same space since high school and it could lead to some momentous brother-sister breakthroughs. Or she'll tire of me and want to kick me out. Let's hope for the former.

In my idealized San Francisco life I picture myself wandering the city from one end to the other, iPod blasting and my feet never tiring. I'd drop in on friends during their lunch hours while spending the mornings and early afternoons at a cafe reading and writing. After six days of this I'll have met a new acquaintance that will quickly become a friend. She/he will introduce me to their social circle and I will have an opportunity to explore the side of the Bay that I've suspected but never seen. That acquaintance will be a writer or an artist, and also available to hang out during normal person working hours. I will be inspired and creative and finish a book proposal that will instantly get sold because of how marketable it is. Then when unemployment runs out, I will take a part time job that doesn't require much brain power but helps to pay the bills.

And I will finally have bills. Rent, electricity, cable, Internet, and cell phone. Plus a monthly budget that involves lots of movies. I will be technically poor but rich in spirit and culture. I will live in a three person apartment far away from the parts of town that teem with unwashed homeless people. But close enough to a bus line that I understand. I will be carless but friends will be willing to pick me up -- once in awhile.

I will have two special friends. One I'll meet for dinner every Wednesday (or Thursday) and talk about things that we can't talk about in the presence of others. Mainly gossip and "What did you think when?..." The other will be someone I never see but spend hours on the phone with as I walk the city. I will also date. Perhaps just one or two but they will be learning experiences.

That's how San Francisco will be, once I can muster up the courage to face the winds and go outside.