I like it here. But sometimes I'm jealous.

Our apartment is amazing. It has granite countertops, lots of space, is virtually soundproof, and has a panoramic view of the SF bay. And we finally have some real furniture, plus--plus!--a digitial piano for TCH to play (in his past life, he played competitively). We've taken a good 2 or 3 steps up on the apartment living scale.

The only problem is that our fantabulous apartment is in the middle of what is referred to as "San Francisco's largest-ever mixed-use redevelopment project, Mission Bay." Until two years ago, there was nothing here but rail yards. In fact, if you google earth my address you will see an old satellite image that shows, well, nothing. All around us there is undeveloped land, construction happening, etc..

This means that there are a lot of places to shop and eat that are within walking distance during the day, but at night they're off-walking-limits. Fortunately there's good public transportation. But for someone like me, who's used to living in neighborhoody places like Coolidge Corner and Harvard Square, it's a bit of an adjustment. No big deal, just an adjustment - but I admit to feeling jealous of people who are living the classic San Francisco life, in a cute little hilly neighborhood where they can go around the corner for dinner or coffee in the middle of the night if they want without having to tiptoe through a half mile of sketch.

I don't think I'll have to wait long for things to improve-- there's a cafe opening up downstairs in my building, and in true (as it turns out) San Francisco fashion, the "cafe" turns into a bar in the afternoon. Love it! Yes, it's true: in San Francisco, cafes also serve beer and wine. Places called "java joint" are usually plastered with neon-light booze signs that turn on in the afternoon. This probably has something to do with my proximity to AT&T Park, where the SF Giants play baseball (we can hear the crowd cheering during games), but it's still funny. We also have a pub on campus that I haven't gone to yet but am retaining in my arsenal for a future desperate day, and some place called "Peasant Pies...the hand-held meal" that sounds kind of California-strange but is apparently quite good. So mostly I am feeling sorry for myself and need to get over it.

The other really cool thing is that I'll be across the bay in Berkeley at least three days a week for school starting in the fall, and it's really neat over there. Neighborhoody with a beautiful campus and TONS of really good food for less than here. And we all know that I mostly live for food. And also chocolate, which is technically food but I think deserves an elevated status.