The last two months have been wild. I have been caught up in moving to San Francisco and exploring the city. Going from a slightly greener and very dry Salt Lake City to humid city life by the sea has been an enormous change. But I love every minute of it.
Living in the city has its pros and cons. I love the convenience of being downtown; we’re close to everything important. It’s easy to run errands, pick up groceries, find new shops, and take in amazing views of the city at every step. A con: it’s necessary to watch where you step and keep an eye out in some neighborhoods, but this comes with living in every big city.
A short walk, and I can see the Transamerica Pyramid and the Bay Bridge. I can wander north into Chinatown and then even further to Fisherman’s Wharf. The gradual visible changes between neighborhoods create a beautiful blend of living that melds together. The neighborhood’s various styles and layouts differ so drastically; it’s like walking through different cities sometimes. But I find it comforting and refreshing; there’s more life here, more choices, more.
Walking downtown among the skyscrapers, I’ve managed to get lost a couple of times. It’s easy to get caught up in the beautiful architecture, the modern mixed in among the old Victorians. The sheer height of these buildings and the contrast in designs among them are captivating.
I love how dense the city is, with almost more than 4x the population as SLC jammed into approximately 49 square miles, every inch of space is utilized. Instead of being spread out for miles like SLC, it’s meticulously stacked and organized to fit as many people in as possible. I love hearing so many different languages being spoken when I walk around. I love being a part of this multi-cultural microcosm. It’s like living in a kaleidoscope, mesmerizing and beautiful at the same time.
I’m still settling in, getting familiar with the city’s layout, and trying to memorize the patterns. I’ve managed to compile a list of places I already go regularly and an even more extensive list of places I want to visit.
While I’m exploring and learning about life in SF, I’ve been getting back into my daily writing routine (writing 2k words a day), writing poems here and there, and of course, I’ll be pulling out my novel that I’ve been working on for years now. I have a few ideas for a handful of short stories I’m still contemplating about, but I can feel I’m about to go into an extensive streak of writing in every spare moment I have.
The Pandemic & More
While I’ve been going through this enormous change, it’s been a balancing act between staying positive and aware of the Delta Variant. I feel safer living in SF compared to SLC, the response here to COVID-19 and now Delta is proactive. They take it seriously here.
I wear a mask when I go out because I don’t want to get sick. Even though I’m fully vaccinated and if I get COVID-19, there is a better chance that my symptoms will be less severe and an even lower chance I’d have to go to the hospital; I’m not interested in taking the risk.
The long-term effects of COVID on people’s health are concerning, and the risk of spreading COVID to an unvaccinated person who has a higher chance of dying is reason enough to keep my distance.
I appreciate that SF has reinstated a mask mandate that applies to everyone regardless of their vaccination status. I’m just waiting to see what happens in the fall. With the number of cases in the U.S. rising already and children getting COVID, I feel like there is a good chance of soft closures in some cities.
In no way do I feel like things are “back to normal” I am getting the impression it could be another year of uncertainty, deaths, and a consistent rate of cases until the U.S. and daily life starts to resemble pre-COVID times.
Besides the Pandemic, I’ve been keeping an eye on politics, the insane weather resulting from global warming, and the details coming out about the January 6th Insurrection. There is so much going on, the world has been shaken up, and I don’t think things will settle down any time soon.
But I’ll take my slice of success and paradise living in SF with my boyfriend; I’ll take this welcomed change and keep going. I’m not going to blindly pretend things are “back to normal” or will go back to the way it was. That’s just not the case. It’s the time to plan for the future, stay aware, be active, and stay safe.
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