Anyone who knows me will tell you that I really do live by the saying, “I do what I want.” My recent trip to San Francisco is the perfect example of why that statement is true in every possible regard.
I had originally planned to head up for 3 days to meet up with some friends from work and pop into our main office for a day. However, a call from Jasmine changed all of that. We drove up two days early, and stayed an extra week. We stayed at 3 different Airbnb properties and crashed with a good friend on the last night of our adventure.
While fun, our time spent in SF was entirely productive. I worked from our main office which helped me reconnect not just with the people I work with, but the culture as whole. Oh, it’s 5? Beer me. I took calls while intense ping pong matches were going on in the background and sat in on meetings rather than watching them online. Plus how can I forget company happy hour? While I was working, Jasmine was interviewing and handling her own work back at the house.
Sure enough, once we were off the clock the good times rolled. Whether it was bar hopping in the Mission, drinking in Dolores Park, catching up on television, making dinner plans or catching up with good company- we didn’t waste a single minute. I slept 5 hours at most each night I was there, but I was never tired. I was so happy to be where I was, with everyone who was there, that it was easy to pull through.
Instead of heading home Wednesday we pushed it back to Friday, just to round out the week. Moreover, our third adventuremate, Dallas, was sticking around until Friday. Of course, once Friday came, the rain rolled in and the thought of driving home was less than desirable. Instead of spending 5 hours driving down the 5, we took to the town. Company happy hour set us on the right path, but being with good people made running 4 blocks in the rain well worth it. We caught a colleague’s show across the way and had one of the best breakfasts at midnight. I found parking in record time and woke up for work just in time.
The drive home was entertaining to say the least. We sang ’90s hits and talked about the move to SF. While I love Los Angeles with all my heart, I need to take a break. Most of the people in LA aren’t from here. These are the same people who carry that pretentious LA attitude that so many people hate. They’re the people who are focused on what you have, rather than who you are. I love this city, but anyone who was really raised down here tends to be incredibly down to earth. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times people have doubted the fact I was from LA, simply because I was so nice. I’ll admit to being guilty of being a shallow asshole- but who hasn’t been? (Honestly, there are few bags more beautiful than my Fall ‘08 Marc Jacobs Venetia.)
San Francisco is a whole other ballpark. People are just as snobby as they are in LA, but they’re intellectually snobby. When people were asked what they were going to do, I heard “I’m going home to read” more than I heard anything else. I’m not a regular reader, but I love that the people up there are. Try saying that in LA on a Saturday night and you’re bound to get some confused looks. (Let’s face it, even our hipsters are lazy and read cliff notes.) People are strange, friendly, and easy to be around. I love that everything is centralized and you don’t need to worry about putting gas in your car because you can hop on the Muni.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love LA. I always will. This city has so many things that SF could never replicate- Mexican food being one of them. My family is here and so are so many of my friends. My choice to leave isn’t based around anything other than my need for change. I need to take a risk, make a change and take a leap. Staying in this city, although comfortable, is just that- comfortable and I want to much more than that. We initially set a deadline of March 1st, but I have a feeling it’ll be pushed back. Granted my tax return is covering a pretty portion of my move, I still have Hawaii, Coachella and New Orleans to work out. So many plans, so many choices and so many things are happening- I’d have it no other way.
Coming home from this trip was rough, but necessary. I came back just in time for “Grown Up Christmas.” Walking into a home full of my family and loved ones really showed me just how much I have here. While the gifts were nice, just being around people I know missed me was good enough for me. I will admit, the ring my grandma got me made it a bit better. (See what I did there?)
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to unpack my suitcase just so I can re-pack it for Hawaii in two weeks. As always, can’t stop, won’t stop.
