having a home is good.

 Last week was a bit nuts. Anyone who knows me knows that I struggle with decision making (this includes ordering food at restaurants). In the end, I always choose the more realistic choice (luckily) and that's what happened with my apartment hunt. I totally lucked out and will be living with a friend from high school (Maddy, for those of you who know her). The apartment is pretty spacious and though my room is a bit small, the common space is huge and has a ton of potential. The current roommate is taking a lot of stuff with her so we will need to become decorators quickly - it's a good thing my parents will be in town next weekend and my mom is a regular Martha Stewart. This weekend I walked by many small furniture and accessory stores - my wallet is going to suffer immensely, but whatever it takes to make an apartment a home is worth it!

It's been interesting getting used to my work schedule (I know this is a lame and boring topic). I'm in the office by 8:30AM and it's already 11:30AM in Boston - I think I'm going to be finding myself at work even earlier as time goes on. Thank god I'm a morning person and can function without coffee. I'm starting to get into the swing of things and figuring out the city a bit. The general downtown area is going to be easy to tackle in the first couple of months and then I'll start to spread my wings a bit. There are so many neighborhoods I want to check out: Sunset, Noe Valley, the Mission (already been there once) and some of the other neighborhoods on the outskirts.

Some cool places I checked out this weekend:

• 83 Proof - a bar in SOMA - it's actually near my office, which could be bad news.
• Marriott Hotel - the downtown hotel has an awesome view of the city. I met up with a fellow UMasser (friend of a friend) and we had a drink there.
• Top of the Mark - in Nob Hill, it's the equivalent of the Top of the Hub and Space Needle, but less expensive, a little more relaxed and there was a great band. We got our dance on.
• The Tipsy Pig - the name alone made me like this place. Then I got there and LOVED it. Great back patio, really chill and great food/cocktails.
• Polk Street - this street in general is so cool - great shops, bars and restaurants. I can see myself walking around aimlessly for hours here.
• Nook - great little cafe/coffee place. Outdoor seating, which is a selling point for me. I had good company so that made it even better - although the highlight was the French bulldog that walked by and wouldn't leave my side. I will definitely be "working from home" here.

In other exciting news, I now have an iPhone. This has been revolutionary because it's making it a lot easier to get around here and get lost, but not too lost. It's also going to aid in my ability to keep in touch with people back east, which is incredibly important to me.

The whole weekend was awesome - again, great food, great company and really a great welcome to San Francisco. I am looking forward to my parents visit next weekend and can't wait to show them my new home! One last thing I wanted to mention is a great website that a new friend told me about: www.sfonthecheap.com. It's a whole listing of free and cheap things to do around the city - JUST what I need.

Au revoir until next weekend!