Resetting patterns…
When I go Thailand, I don’t have a routine. I don’t have places to go, places to be, etc. There are no patterns. It is why I go there to write, although there is nothing unique about Thailand in this regard. If you go anywhere new or unfamiliar, this can happen.
Walking around Mountain View a few days this week after work, and I find myself with a lot of the same questions. Where would I go for this? Am I very far from that?
Initially in Thailand, I only learn where to get staples, and sort out some restaurants I may want to try later.
In San Francisco, I have patterns. If I am going to do A, I can also do B, C, and D along the way. If I get off at this BART stop, I can eat and X, Y, or Z.
Part of the goal of moving is to keep those patterns to a minimum. Where is the gym? Where is the grocery store? How do I get to work? And leave as many other things stack up for dinner parties, less-frequent ZipCar runs and city excursions.
This will enable me to build my primary patterns around writing and working out. I always return from Thailand having lost weight and written a lot. So, this will be an interesting experiment, seeing if I can use that model closer to home. These are also the primary patterns I want to migrate to NYC.
A weak argument can be made that all of these things can also be done in San Francisco. It is true, of course (before I started this commute), but it seems much easier to build a new foundation on writing and working out, and then, when that is established, start looking to fold other things back in. This is an easier method than taking nearly 15 years of living in an area and not doing those things, and trying to add them in. If I had a job in the city, this is what I would be attempting, though.
As such, I really need the apartment I pick to be comfortable. I need a place I want to go home to, like living in, and it feels like a nurturing space. That is what I’m looking for. A lot of the places down here are old places build in the 60s, and look like dreary oppressive worker bee motels from the outside. Who knows? Maybe they look nice inside and have been totally updated. I won’t necessarily rule them out, but the more upscale places have provided a better vibe from the outset.
So, the search continues, but can’t drag on forever. My contract ends in November, so if I am signing a 12 month lease, that is now overlapping into when I may not have a job (Many places will let you specify how long the lease is, so I could ratchet is down to end in December). The notion that this job could end before November is something I will plan for financially, as far as saving more money before I start anything that involves spending, but honestly, I can’t prep much more for that.
That is the current state of things. I am going to get a car and tool around Mountain View on Saturday, to try and see more places at once, instead of doing one-offs after work every day. More details soon.
