Our things have arrived (a few days late)

We expected our things to arrive the Saturday after we did. This would have meant a week living out of our suitcases and sleeping on the air bed mattress. This however, did not happen. There were problems at the warehouse, too many deliveries in one day; there were problems with the permits and parking spaces. So needless to say our things took an extra week to arrive. It was FRUSTRATING and I don't think my back has recovered yet.

(OUR TV!!)

Last Thursday morning Door-to-Door arrived with our two containers!! That afternoon 4 movers showed up and carried all of our things up 4 flights of stairs and into the apartment in 1.5 hours. WOW! They were amazing!


(OUR BED!!)


So most of the boxes are unpacked. We still need a few large pieces of furniture (a wardrobe, a couple of book cases) but I thought you would all appreciate these photos of our process. :)

Things you see on the street

For the past few nights we've walked down Polk St for dinner. It's a happening street with lots of little restaurants and boutiques. Great spot!




For 2 nights in a row we walked past this sushi restaurant and outside were these 2 dogs. Lounging. I had to take a photo; they were so cute and lazy!

With every new place I move to, there are new cultural norms to get used to. Moving from East Coast to West Coast has definitely brought some of those new cultural norms into the spotlight.

For example, every store (Walgreens, Safeway, the corner store) will ONLY give you a brown paper bag. Usually its a recycled brown paper bag; Jay said he thinks that giving plastic bags might be against the law here.

Another example is the driving. I think we've moved from one extreme to the next. DC is known for its SUPER aggressive driving, but people here seem to be almost passive, to the point of being an obstruction.

A bonus to moving here is the overall improvement in customer service. People are SO nice. A lady at a Burger King drive-in said "Good Morning" and "Have a nice day." In DC this is unheard of, but here it happens all the time. People are nice, courteous, polite, helpful; its amazing!

Quote of the Day

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

~ Maya Angelou ~

where we live

One of the cool things about San Francisco is that all of the street corners have the name of the street imprinted in the concrete.




We live on the corner of Van Ness and Chestnut.








We also have a really awesome entry way and door!










Check out flickr for awesome photos of the city from our walk today - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hferguson_photos

City Basics - the 411 on San Francisco

The city's population is 845,559.

The sales tax is 9.5% (Bummer!)

415 is the city's area code.

Geographically speaking San Francisco is built on 43 hills on just 47 square miles surrounded on 3 sides by water - the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

Weather-wise - San Francisco is oh-so blessed. Weather is mild year round with temperatures seldom rising above 70 degrees or falling below 40 degrees.

Month	Max	Min	Rainfall (in.)
January	56.1	46.2	4.48
February	59.4	48.4	2.83
March	60	48.6	2.58
April	61.1	49.2	1.48
May	62.5	50.7	0.35
June	64.3	52.5	0.15
July	64	53.1	0.04
August	65	54.2	0.08
September	68.9	55.8	0.24
October	68.3	54.8	1.09
November	62.9	51.5	2.49
December	56.9	47.2	3.52

So if you are planning a visit it looks like August - October is best!

We have arrived...

For those of you who have been following our adventure across the country via facebook I am happy to confirm the reports are true, we have arrived! Safe and sound. Our journey across the country went from Arlington, VA; to Wapaokoneta, OH; to Kansas City, KS; to Boulder, CO; to Las Vegas, NV; to Bakersfield, CA; to Palo Alto, CA; to HOME! I uploaded photos to flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hferguson_photos/

Please comment, tag and share!

Since arriving in SF life has been at a non-stop fervor. Jay started working at Odopod (http://www.odopod.com) on Monday. We hadn't yet signed our lease so I spent the day walking around SF; found the library, it was amazing! Five floors of books and so spacious and clean, loads of computers. I also found a fabulous little place for lunch Morty's Deli (www.mortysdeli.com), then found a park to read and nap. Great first day! That night we signed our lease and moved in with our 3 suitcases and airbed mattress. We are still waiting on our shipping containers; we were expecting them on Friday, but it seems that they won't arrive until Tuesday. FRUSTRATING! But I guess that's how it goes; never smoothly.

Today, I walked to Safeway and Trader Joes and bought some strawberries and apples. The idea of carrying all your groceries up the hill and a mile down the road to your apartment is good for curbing spending. We also FINALLY got our internet and TV set up so tonight, I think we might order pizza and lounge. Sounds good doesn't it.

Check back regularly, I'll keep this updated with photos, antecdotes, and more of our adventures.

I am a runner

I am a runner. I will overcome the fog, the wind AND the hills in San Francisco.
I think I need a running buddy.