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Top 10 Things I Like About San Francisco (and the Bay Area)

So we’re headed back to the East Coast next week after seven and a half years in California. If there’s one thing I have to say about the place it’s this: it grows on you. A lot.

Yes, yes: I still miss “East Coast” people. When I tell my friends I’m moving to NYC, they often say (even if they don’t know I’m from there) “ah, that makes sense. That’s more your speed.” And it’s true. In general, West Coasters are a bit more… mellow. Yeah, let’s call it mellow. The ones I’m closest to are transplants or, in the case of my best friends, odd balls who get an exemption from Being Californian.

All my griping aside, I will say this: I love San Francisco and the surrounding area. There is a bunch of stuff specific to my life I will miss (as well as general perks of the West Coast.) Simply put: there's a lot of stuff that you just can’t get in New York City or the tri-state region (at least, not nearly as conveniently.) So this blog post is an Ode to California and my very public acknowledgement that while I still believe y’all are going to fall into the ocean someday in an earthquake, I think you are pretty neat.

This blog is called Toodle-oo because Google's informal synonym for goodbye is toodle-oo and that is the best.

Today is my last day at Trion Worlds. I feel weird even typing that, because in some ways, these past two years have flown by and in so many others, this company is my home, my family, and I feel like I’ve known these people and games for my entire life. Trion Worlds is, without question, the best company I have ever worked for.


This blog is, technically, a good bye – but I am refusing to actually acknowledge that this is actually a true “goodbye” because while I won’t be coming to Redwood Shores anymore, I’ll still be in our games every day, talking to the people who make them and love them, and those are the places that really matter to us, anyway, right?

Adventures with drunk drivers

Last night, my friends and I went up to Novato to play board games (we're amazing party animals. I'm glad you know this now.) We left around 11:45 at night and got onto the 101, heading south for our home in San Francisco.

Just past the Nave Drive exit, we saw a large white Audi SUV swerving in its lane (and occasionally out of its lane.) There were four of us in my car, and I was driving, and I felt this surge of ABSOLUTE HATRED for drunk drivers. Having worked in Novato for a better part of five years, I've seen quite a few distracted and likely drunk drivers on the roads, and since I had the luxury of friends in the car with me, I asked someone to call 911 and report this driver.

Because I’m terrible at good byes, here’s a blog post

Today marks my last day at 2K Games. It’s a big day and saying it’s also an emotional one would be the understatement of the year for me. 2K Games has shaped not only my professional life in a huge way, but also my personal one, making this a big milestone in pretty much every way possible. And while I may be moving on to new opportunities, today I’m spending this blog post looking back on the past six years and remembering the awesome people I met and the awesome things we accomplished.

Come Out and Play San Francisco: Undercover Capture the Flag

Last night, Greg, Cailin, Mike, and I went to Undercover Capture the Flag at the Westfield Mall in downtown San Francisco. We had really high hopes for this kind of subversive play: the game entailed you hunting down players on an opposing team and tagging them by saying "do you have the time?" No one in the mall was supposed to know you were playing and you were supposed to blend in - all the while looking for flags posted on walls throughout the mall.

So, that's what was supposed to go on, but let me tell you how it actually went down.

Journey to the End of the Night, 2011

For the past three Halloween weekends, San Francisco has hosted an event called Journey to the End of the Night as part of a larger Come out and Play festival. I learned of Journey from my friend Matt, who told me about it about a year and a half ago after he participated in one of these events in Germany.

If you want to learn more about Journey, go to www.totheendofthenight.com - and to hear about our experiences, keep on reading.

hi to you jimmy eat world!

my second favorite band, without question, is jimmy eat world. (tori being first.) my second favorite album, without question, is clarity. (boys for pele being first.)

last night, jimmy eat world played the fillmore, a teeny venue 1 block from where i live. they played the entirety of clarity, as they published the album 10 years ago.

my friend lydia got me a free ticket. i had a ton of work, and almost didn't make the show, but mike got one for a steal on the street, and we went together.

yesterday was a horrific day for me, and i was quite upset and stressed.

but i heard them play all of clarity, live, and i was about 100 feet from them when they did it.

it was awesome.

holy shit meerkat!

long story short: a shacker has a girlfriend who makes fleece hats. i live in california, and have no need for a fleece hat, but it was inexpensive and i wanted to support her.

her hats happen to be animals. and i could request a custom animal. so, of course, i chose a meerkat. because that is, of course, the logical thing to do.

below is the result. i even have a comparison shot of me and a meerkat so you can see how uncanny the resemblance is.

if you want your own animal hat, go here: http://www.hideebugdesigns.com/

thankfulness.

i have been told that i have been gloomy lately in my entries. and this is true. i have been pretty gloomy lately. some is irrational. some is not. some will mend. well, all will mend in time, right?

anyway. here's a list of things that are good, and that i am thankful for.

- cats that sleep on my feet
- miso who sits in my lap when i work on the computer
- pancake who has a cute face (we shall add to this later when she does not whine at 6 am, is potty trained, and i am over her chewing through my laptop cord which cost $86 to replace)
- an awesome fucking job
- an awesome fucking bunch of coworkers
- a car that i think is really awesome
- two sisters, a father, and a mother who are really supportive and fun and kind and wonderful
- a group of friends that now pull from real life means so that when i use internet forums, i can use them just to bullshit, and not feel the need to socialize with the people that annoy me there because i have no other friends and/or means to socialize, thusly i have to see them
- being debt free
- having lost some weight and enjoying thoroughly working out
- being an excellent cook and really enjoying it (and having a really awesome kitchen and easy access to barbecuing)
- lots of sunshine and good weather in california
- cheap, amazing wine
- accessible flowers so that i always have blooms on my kitchen table
- an apartment big enough to HAVE a kitchen table
- a farmer's market
- access to a city with all the food i like, and a town with all the takeout i could desire
- a beach within day's driving distance (albeit perhaps shark infested)
- knowledge that, no matter what the hurtles, i am successful, surrounded by loving and supportive people, and saving money, and that each passing day, these things grow stronger, and the goals that i am shaping for my future are becoming more and more real and incredible