One week into my sabbatical from work, and the process of recovering my mind and writing again feels in many ways like physical therapy after an injury. Once the pain has dulled, you think you're capable of previous levels of performance, but the reality is that you're a long way off. Baby steps are needed, and basic facts are the writing equivalent of baby steps.
The move from New York to San Francisco went easily enough. A. and I have a spacious apartment steps away from Dolores Park, and within a few blocks of some of the best food San Francisco has to offer (including the famed Tartine bakery, the artisanal ice cream of Bi-Rite Creamery, and the perpetual line at Delfina Pizzeria). As a general rule, women who visit our apartment note the lemon tree in the backyard, and men note the lack of parking.
The New York vs. San Francisco conversation has been beaten to death, so suffice to say both of us find San Francisco "nice" and "fine", but pretty lame. We can't abandon the metrics we embraced in New York. Last night, as we experienced Fashion's Night Out in separate cities. I went to SoHo and found the entire neighborhood joyously overwhelmed with people expressing themselves in every possible way through their clothing. A. went to SF's Union Square and found little more than a DJ playing for no one in particular in Macy's. I could be wrong, but I don't think we'll be calling San Francisco home for very long.
In the meantime though, we are consoled by two new additions to our household -- our kittens, Evey ("Evey-chan") and Maxwell ("Maxmax"). Evey is smart, affectionate, and a bit of a princess. Maxwell is earnest, loves soft things, and is usually playing catch-up to his sister in the smarts department. We like to joke that Evey will go to an Ivy League university if we push her hard enough, and Maxwell may want to consider vocational school.
So that's the domestic update. As mentioned above, I recently began a three-month sabbatical from work and for the rest of September and a good part of October I'll be wandering around the American Southwest in a jeep with my backpacking gear, with no agenda other than to go wherever each day takes me. If anyone wants to meet up with me, I can pick you up in Las Vegas or Salt Lake City with two days notice. As much as I romanticize solitude, I'd love the company. In the meantime, I plan to update the blog more frequently and in a more meaningful way as my life flows back into the nooks and crannies I've neglected.
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