I apologize to the three faithful readers out there for my long, l-o-n-g overdue post. Life got in the way of blogging and frankly, there was no super-interesting topic about which to plot down my ideas on paper the web.
Actually, scratch that. Much has happened since my last post about Cabo. Most of us secured our summer internships, scrambled to sublease our current apartment units (for those moving to another location for the summer job), frantically studied for our last set of first year's finals, and had a bazillion goodbye gatherings where many a tear was shed for the folks going away for the summer.
Here I am crossing the Bay Bridge. Touristy picture, but whatever.
And now here I am, up in San Francisco (SOMA area, in case my three faithful readers care to know). I arrived here about 2.5 weeks ago now and it feels I've been in the city for thrice that amount. I put off the apartment-hunt for longer than I should have, and found myself in panic-mode as I scrolled through pages and pages of ads on Craigslist. I finally found a place in a very ideal location (and yes it's mucho $$$), about 0.2 mile away from my workplace. There is, however, an ironic twist to this supposedly-happy story: I will be travelling to a client in Los Angeles for at least 1/2 to 2/3 of the week.
The overriding good news is that I'm learning a ton at a rapidfire clip. I suppose the great thing about going into consulting at a fairly early stage in one's career is that it's beyond challenging but incredibly enriching at the same time. It's not easy work by any means and the travel can and will wear you down, but I hope to learn as much as possible during my time at the firm and make some meaningful connections along the way.
And I figure, there are tons of Andersonites up in the Nor Cal area for the summer and great eats abound in the city, so I might as well fully enjoy the summer + internship experience while I can. I'll only be up here for 2.5 months and the first 0.5 month passed by in a blink. So without further ado, here are some pictures I've taken over the course of the last couple weeks. And no, it's not because I have nothing else to write about, I'm saving more stories to share with the readers later.
Josh & Miho @ Hog Island Oyster Co.@ the Ferry Building Marketplace. I was feeling a bit sick that day so I had to pass on the oysters. :(
One of the must-go attractions in SF is the Ferry Building Marketplace. It's a food-lover's mecca. There really is no other way to describe the place. Just do yourself a favor and go if you've never been. The same goes with Fisherman's Wharf, except the last time I went there, I was terrorized by a flock (fleet? Army?) of angry seagulls. I've been a bit hesitant to go back since. They do have an amazing assortment of fried seafood + clam chowder, though.
And then some of my friends introduced me to the world of the Mission Mexican food taquerias. So far I've been to both El Farolitos along with Pancho Villa. The immediate surrounding neighborhood can be a bit dicey, but the food makes it well-worth the (harrowing?) trek.
Pancho Villa shrimp + carne asada nachos. The orange salsa on the top right corner is quite possibly the best condiment created, ever (well, right after sriracha).
Oh, and I can't forget to mention that I've been walking around a ton. There are those who say that Los Angeles isn't really a "city," because everything is spread apart and no one takes public transportation. I can attest that this is somewhat true: I drive my car to go a destination that is 0.2 mile away. But this clearly is not practical in SF, where pedestrians + cyclists rule the streets. So I've been walking everywhere (and got a busted toe in the process), and finding some cool vendors on the streets, such as:
Creme Brulee Cart. Whoa.
The Creme Brulee (I'm too lazy to add in the accent marks, bear with me) Cart. I seriously stumbled upon this gem while walking around and was absolutely floored when I saw the guy torching the stuff right then and there. FLOORED, I tell you.
Today's lunch with Kathy & Josh. They have a breakfast buffet featuring hot waffles + fried chicken + gravy/syrup. Amazing.
And this was today's lunch with some Anderson friends at Farmer Brown's. Note the Philz Coffee cup in the background. Apparently Philz is a downright religion institution in SF.
I hope to blog with some frequency in the near future. For now my summer internship is keeping me plenty busy and I am learning a ton everyday. Hopefully the next post I write will come sooner than later and I look forward to meeting the class of 2014 soon (a big, fat congrats to all those admitted!)!
