Category Archives: California

Meanwhile, In San Francisco.

Posted on by under California, Thoughts and Musings, United States

Outerlands

Back in San Francisco, life has returned to normal. Which is to say, generally avoiding writing my thesis with excuses like, “it’s so pretty outside!” And lets be honest, after living in Dublin for nine months, sun really feels like a drug, one I need to soak up before returning in six (gasp!) weeks. I don’t normally procrastinate academically, I pride myself on getting my work done about as fast as its given out. The truth is, that’s because I wouldn’t want something like a term paper to dampen the possibility of jetting off to Rome with my girlfriends. Regardless of the motivation, I tend to have little academic stress these days. So, why, here in the Bay Area have I taken to staring longingly outside, with my laptop propped open and notes strewn about in the vague hope they’ll jump onto my screen and arrange themselves into a semblance of a thesis? Why don’t I just write the thing? I mean, I am. Albiet, much slower and more begrudgingly than is probably appropriate.

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Back to America! Two Weeks in the Bay Area.

Posted on by under California, Food, United States

Golden Gate BridgeSix years ago I visited San Francisco for the first time. Six years ago, almost exactly. I remember it vividly, the drive back to Marin from Oakland airport and the traffic we hit, I even remember the smell of the air after leaving the airport. I remember these things because it was the first time I was visiting Alex. We weren’t dating at the time, those months felt so tumultuous, I was twenty and falling hard for this guy, whom I had liked since the day I met him 18 months prior. Everything during that time felt particularly heightened and raw, and I remember it in surprising detail. Much like this year, we had spent the winter months waiting for the sun to make an appearance and help us forget the long, dark days of a rainy climate, then, the Pacific Northwest. California represented sunshine, and a chance to spend time with someone special. And so, from the moment I stepped off the plane, San Francisco etched itself a permanent place in composition of my life. And there it would remain, six years later; I am always giddy to return. When I visit New York, and see that skyline for the first time in months, I feel a great surge of excitement, New York is a place I associate with a time of constant flux, or fast movement, of discovery. But not San Francisco, no matter how many times I catch the glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, I never feel that surge of energy, instead I feel a deep sense of calm. Continue reading →