no apartment, but yes everything else

its 553a, the second day Ive had to wake up so goddamn early. Im sitting at metro and first waiting for the airport shuttle to bus me to sjc where Ill be flying out to lax. yesterdays apartment was thankfully nothing I fell in love with, meaning no double October rent for me just yet. it was nice, and truly a 2br, but I just didnt LOVE it. it had absolutely horrendous parking, which I was told is the moat notorious part of this part of the city to begin with, and the closets left much to be desired. so, after a few staring matches with the other potential lessees, most of whom seemed like white middle-aged families or white young women with her roommate, I decided to leave without trying for it. it had nothing to do with the fact that the atmosphere seemed unfriendly, almost hostile. the tenant was nice enough, but was separate from the approval process entirely. yet everyone seemed to want to make overzealous attempts at small talk, speaking over others who may or may not have had questions or more small talk. it just wasnt worth it. for this, and the issues already mentioned. to get to the showing, I had traveled to sf by car and Bart-- first driving to Fremont, then barting the rest of the way. I had a gut feeling there would be no free parking in this area, and I had just received a parking ticket on Monday for no good reason other than, by some awful coincidence, I ran into a woman who said they dont check meters on labor day. turns out she had no idea what she was talking about. on my walk from the Bart station to the apartment viewing, I was scoping out the places I would eventually settle down to start work. I was looking for coffee, free wifi, and atmosphere. there is plenty of all three in little Italy. I love this part of the city. I walked into a cafe on a side street off of Columbus, and I got a bagel with cheese and egg. before he rang me up, I asked what kind of cheese, and he said cream cheese. I wanted melty provolone, and told him as such. he looked at me, and said, ok. just dont tell the boss. he didnt charge me any extra. it was delish. after the viewing, i wanted coffee. one place which Id been to before seemed like the one but I forgot they only take cash. but I could tell the baristas were feeling extra friendly because when I was first in line, and I sneezed, not only did they say the courteous bless you, but one of them pulled out a tea packet and said, here, Ill make this for you. I declined, but said I would like coffee, but quickly realized didnt have enough cash. he said, no no, Ill make it. just stay. pay later. i declined again and made my way out. I was thinking Id come back after getting some cash, but I felt I wanted to go somewhere I hadnt been before. I walked into caffe Trieste, apparently an old haunt of cappola, Alan Ginsberg, and Kerouac, according to yelp. it was definitely full of charm, history, and amazing cappuccino. I dont care if its touristy. Im being paid to work here!! I worked for a few hours and got hungry for lunch. I yelped Italian places nearby, convinced I wanted pasta. as you can see from the photos, I didnt get pasta but instead treated myself to a near-twenty dollar thin crust circle of heaven. it was so light, so tasty, the prosciutto and cheese and ample yet delicate tasting tomato sauce sent my tastebuds on a rocketship to the moon. it was so good. I worked here the rest of the day. cafe baonecci = little Italy, for now anyway. I actually had another tastebud pampering on Monday when, as I mentioned, I was also in town. I had brunch with q and Danielle and mike at a place called the pork shop on height. I took pictures. the southwest scramble and the reasonable price alone could have served as a reason to move here. the food in this city is so good. what more could I want - hills to run, and good food to masterfully undo those runs. Im excited that the search is still on for the perfect apartment. other photos include one of the labor day barbecue we had on Sunday, where I relaxed poolside- something Ill miss about suburbia. and the drive up from lax we took on saturday. also, a view of where I stood waiting for the light in north beach. and a photo of the adorable cross body purse i got at a store in nob hill on monday. life is lovely.