little. yellow. different. A weblog by Ernie Hsiung

Moving to San Francisco

All the talk about taking a new job at Brickhouse brings me to this point as well: Starting in July, I am renting out my unit in Fremont and moving to San Francisco. And not just anywhere in San Francisco, but in the Mission District. I used to joke that the Mission was a place where only two types of people exist: heroin junkies and product managers. Well, burn me a spoonful of drugs and give me a copy of Microsoft Visio, because I’m comin’ home.

To illustrate the contrasts between my current and future living situations, I’ve written a simple list.

Commute time:
Fremont: 1.5 hours including traffic and parking and time sobbing in the men’s restroom from the stress of commuting
SF: 20 minutes, walking and BARTing

Building style:
Fremont: Two-story condominium, build in the 90’s, vaulted ceilings. Actually, not too bad.
SF: A Victorian, converted into three separate units. A fucking Victorian! It’s like I’m going to be living in Full House, except not in a safe area and there’s absolutely no children that will grow up into born-again Christians, meth addicts or socialites. There will, however, be a laugh-track machine.

Children:
Fremont: Greater in number, mostly Indian or Taiwanese, agitated due to the apartment complex not allowed them to play outside due to liabilities
SF: Fewer in number, agitated due to their mothers previous heroin addictions; may or may not be in a street gang

Neighboring commercial building of establishment:
Fremont: Kentucky Fried Chicken
SF: Lexington Club (For the record, this will actually be the second time living next to a lesbian establishment. I know, crazy, right? I was also going to be a really inappropriate comment about chicken or fish, but that got self-censored by my notoriously refined taste in humour. With a fucking u; that’s how refined it is, bitches.)

Neighbors:
Fremont: Angry older woman in her 50’s with tall plants in her patio to prevent neighbors from looking in. Has a bobblehead cat on her SUV.
SF: Laurie, who referred me to the apartment. Fellow gay geek, no bobblehead cat that I am aware of. +10.

Parking:
Fremont: Ample, but I have a parking space.
SF: Shitty, but I have a parking space.

Social life:
Fremont: Zero, on a scale of one to, well, anything
SF: It’ll be at least a million times better; unfortunately, a million times zero is still zero.

Welcome back! We’ll celebrate tonight!

I’m waiting for the photo stream of things you buy from your neighbors on the street for 10 bucks or less. Heck, you’ll probably score an iphone within the month. Remember, you can wipe the blood stains off the glass surface.

Well, here’s hoping you’ll write often!! Good luck on the move and new job.

Sigh. My old hood… (Sort of.)

Welcome! I just moved to the Mission myself. My commute’s a bit longer, though. (All the way to the Valley.)

When speaking to Laurie before he headed off to SF, I told him he was obliged to track you down and get some thingbox linkage from you.

I see my plan is coming together nicely.

Bwhahaha.

Will your parent’s be able to visit as frequently as they do now?

Tis a shame for those of us with no life who enjoy your stories about your parents. I have had many of the same situations. Glad to know I am not alone!

Pictures! I mean, pictures? Please? Don’t make me track you down Streetview-style!

Hooray!

You forget the ample parking at the Fremont Hooter’s.

welcome home sweet little. yellow. differernt.

Man, I’m envious. I love the area.

A perfect mix of sunsets and sushi.

Don’t discount that social life thing. You can probably work that ‘new to SF’ fresh-meat thing to really get laid on manhunt for a few weeks.

awesome! i hope you love it–i think you will. you’ve got crepes and burritos and tapas and pupusas galore in your ‘hood!

Welcome to my ghetto! Maybe if you get up at 7AM you can beat out the other sticker-covered Mac-using, designer-glasses-wearing, my-other-bike-has-no-gears-riding trendoids for a table at Ritual Coffee Roasters where you can sit all day solving the internet’s problems while looking Mission-fabulous. It’s just not as easy to be sloppy here as it used to…

dude i like eat in the mission all the damn time so we can have endless random dinners.

Welcome to the city, Ernie! I climb at Mission Cliffs, which I believe is in your soon-to-be area. If you’re cool with hanging out with Strange Intarweb People, you’re welcome to a Three Rings poker night some time.

Hey Ernie! I’ll be working in San Francisco for a couple of weeks in late July, early August, want to meet up? (No matter how many times I write this, I can’t make it not sound like I’m some kind of fanboi)

Have a fantastic time. San Francisco is so much fun.

By the way, love the ‘thumbs up’ photo of you on Tom Coates’s flickr.

加油 from 北京!

Hey, I live in the mission and walk to BART to go to work as well. We met some years ago at my friend John’s birthday dinner; we were sitting in front of each other. I’ll say hi to you if I see you on BART.

Hmm.. I live right next to the Lex. too, looks like we’re neighbors!