"Don't know when I'll be back again" - John Denver

NYC vs. SF

I've officially been working in SF for about 8 months now, and even though my contract with Citigroup is for only 2 years, it doesn't look like I'll be moving back to NYC for awhile. To be honest, I just love it out here, and the balance of work and personal life is so much better than it was in NYC. The weather is also a plus.

Anyway, since living here I've noticed some major differences between New York and San Francisco, and I'd like to share some of them with you:

1. In terms of living space, apartments in SF are still just as f@ck!ng expensive as NYC apartments, but you get a lot more bang for your buck. Example, in New York I paid $1,350 (my share) for a 1bd room convert at some luxury high-rise, where they shot Bravo's Project Runway. I had the pleasure of seeing my roommate naked all the time and even got a whiff of his pungent smelling salmon steak broiling on the George Foreman grill 4x a week. Additionally, 700 sq feet just doesn't lend you a lot of private space to have those intimate moments with yourself =) In SF $1,450 (my share) gets me a 1,200 sq ft 2 bedroom with huge walk-in closets and a garage in the Marina District (yuppie district) We even have this extra room, I believe San Franciscans call it a.....D-I-N-I-N-G room. In New York, my dining room was whatever space I could find to place my food on, usually it was the coffee table.

2. When they say, people on the West Coast are laid back, you have no idea. In New York, if you don't talk fast and get your points across within 30 seconds, people will punch in the face. In SF, I now have this thing called...patience, but I'll still punch in the face. Everything is slower here. The dogs walk slower, the people walk/ think slower, even time seems to go by slower. I swear if I were to drop a penny between my fingertips it would hit the ground slower in SF than NYC.

3. Mexican food is important out here. I never touched a burrito in NYC, unless it was at Taco Bell or the ultra-authentic Chipotle. Here, people consider Chipotle the equivalent to dog-food. I've never had so many
burritos in my life, you know how in Forrest Gump, that black guy talks about the different ways to cook shrimp, well I've eaten every possible way to make a burrito. Even the Mexicans at the local burrito joint know
me - they know me as Enrique.

4. People in SF are nice. I'm not saying New Yorkers aren't nice, but let's be real, New Yorkers are a special type of breed. Nothing shocks a New Yorker, we an can walk over a homeless person blocking our path in
sub-freezing temperatures while hailing a cab - truly h@rdc@re. In SF the gov't is so considerate, that homeless people are probably the wealthiest people in the city. They get free food, subsized housing, a stipend for their crack addiction, and they even get to enjoy the west coast sun. After learning of this, I am seriously reconsidering my profession.

There are so many other comparisons that I can draw upon like recycling in SF vs. don't caring in NYC, or fit and healthy in SF vs. chain-smoking and obese in NYC. Anyway, back to enjoying the West Coast weather, I hope everyone is doing well these days.

Tata,

Some things I do/see in the Bay Area

Vehicular Sadness

After dating my 1998 Toyota 4Runner for 8 years, we've decided to finally call it quits. She has been with me through thick and thin, ups and downs, and through all the hookups and breakups. I used her for roadtrips to random places like the outskirts of Harlem, as well as the picturesque scenes of Brooklyn which included the wonderful government projects and numerous bo-de-gas. I used her to rush pledges and transport them to places that made them crap in their pants, but nevertheless entertaining. And as Alex had pointed out, I used to have some sexy Transformer font Lambda sticker plastered all over the car, sexy indeed. I didn't always treat her well - after 2 accidents and 1 roll-over she still took be back, but with hesitation. After the accidents she was never the same. With that said, all good things must come to an end.

Toodles

Aloha

Happy Holidays...see everyone in NYC this Friday (Dec 22nd)

SF

I've officially been working/ living on the west coast for 1 week and I've assimilated to the laid back culture pretty well - I now have rainbow flip flops and I say hella in all my sentences. Restaurants close at 7pm and bars are pretty tame - SF is so laid back. It's growing on me, and hopefully I'll make some friends soon. Work has been challenging, but all the more interesting. Anyway, I hope all is well and see everyone on Thanksgiving. GOD SF's weahther is fucking amazing - its like always 75 sunny sky's. The weather definitely has an effect on peoples moods.

Sorry for being out of the social loop, but the last three weeks have been pretty stressful, filled with hours of  classes and 6 hours of homework every night. It was so bad that I didn't even realize it was birthday until Peggy sent me a text message. Maybe it's also because I hate adding another year to my age. Anyway, if you have no idea what I'm stressing about it's like this - so apparently my job in San Francisco requires that I go through this 2 month intensive Corporate Banking program in New York. Fifty-eight associates from around the world are required to pass 3 finance modules; in particular, financial accounting, financial statement analysis and corporate finance. The material isn't rocket science, but when you condense a semester of material into 3 weeks it gets pretty intense (imagine a mini MBA).  FSA and Corp Fin. should be a breeze, but accounting is a subject that I wish I could forget. In NYU I got a C+ and I celebrated, but in the program if you score below an 80 on any of the 3 exams - you're fired! That's right, I might lose my job, and this would be tragic considering I already had a stable job before entering the program. 

I just finished the accounting exam...I'm ready to drink...ALOT

Oh I close on my apartment next week --- FINALLY!

Here some pics of my colleages/classmates

david (brazil) - ji (korea) - me (new york) pretty diverse class

nicolo - straight from italy (he cried when italy won the world cup)

peace

Things Just Get Harder, When You Get Older

To say the least, 2006 has started off on an interesting note. With the addition of new friends and the rekindeling of old relationships, I've been able to learn a lot about the various facets of my personality. (wow, that was deep) My hope is that 2006 will start a new chapter in my life, where I will encounter new adventures and experiences in a new beautiful city. On unrelated news, I think that with each passing year, relationships achieve a newer level of complication in both a physical and emotional sense. In high school, you worried about how your "crush" percieved you, but as an adult, newer complications such as long-distance, money, and career objectives start to play a major role in personal relationships.  Ironically, I always thought relationships would get easier with each passing year, since it is the common belief, that with each previous relationship,one learns what he wants in their mate, but this is certainly not the case. I'm so damn complex. I swear I was once a woman in my previous life.

On work related news, I should be in San Fran for a week in May to visit my new team and hopefully catch some sun (for my San Fran buddies - which week looks good?) 

I finally decided on a way to spend a portion of my relocation bonus...Vacay!

TURKS and CAICOS (if you have no idea where this is, then open a Conde Nast mag)

My hotel view (at least that's what the resort promised me)

In less than a month, I will be here, and most importantly I will be able to swim in those beautiful crystal clear waters without a floatie. All I plan to do in Turks is 1) get certified to scuba dive 2) each conch 3) and sleep on powdery sand

Also I will be in Hong Kong for two weeks in June...anyone down...Roger I know you're down! LKF then to Wan-Chai!

BTW - I have great friends. Good luck Sue with the MCATS!!!

Goodnight

ES