San Francisco

Tonight I am in San Francisco for an interview tomorrow. It was a bit of an ordeal getting here, mainly because I needed to get someone to cover my shift at the hospital tonight and it became very complicated. At the last minute, we got it figured out and with a combination of frequent flyer miles and a one-way plane ticket purchased less than 24 hours before I was to leave here I am. I had to fly here via Portland, which I realize doesn't make much sense but it was the only way to get the ticket with miles. Luckily, an earlier connecting flight was running late and was still in the boarding process, so as soon as I landed I walked to the gate next door to see if there were any seats left. Lucky me, after only 5 minutes in the Portland airport I was on my next flight, and arrived in SF an hour before I was originally scheduled to leave Portland.

It's raining in San Francisco. Really really raining. My first stop upon arriving here was Wallgreens, to buy an umbrella. Now I'm holed up in my hotel, watching Seinfeld, and trying to think of questions for my interviews tomorrow. I love San Francisco. Which is kind of funny, because I've never really spent any time here. It's like my Paris--people dream of living in Paris, right? Well, I dream of living in San Francisco. I love how the city is all tucked into the hills, surrounded by the water. I love the houses, stuck up right next to each other but each with its own personality. It's really not practical, I realize that. We would never be able to afford to buy anything in this city, probably couldn't afford to rent either. It's crowded. I'd probably have to give up my Toyota and get something in an automatic. And parking. Bleh. But there's something about this city... even when it is pouring down rain.

I'm staying in a little hotel in the Cole Valley neighborhood. It's up near Golden Gate Park. It's a perfect little hotel, pretty cheap as far as hotels go in big cities. It's very European--small, simple, basic. That's really all I need. I always feel I'm wasting all that space (and money!) in the big chain hotels. The front desk guy here has been very helpful. He directed me to Walgreens for my umbrella, recommended the Thai restaurant around the corner, and then loaned me some silverware when they didn't give me anything to eat my takeout with.

More tomorrow. I may have many hours to hang out in the airport. My interviews are done at 3 pm. They have me scheduled to have dinner with some faculty at 5:30 pm, but my flight back to SD is at 8 pm, so I don't know if that is going to happen, or if I will just head to SFO at 3 and try to get on an earlier flight. I hope it stops raining by tomorrow morning, I have to walk 3 blocks to the hospital and even with my new umbrella, it will be a very wet walk in heels if it is still raining.