Happy New Year

Well, I have been kind of silent about my plans for a little while and what's going on with San Francisco. What is going on with San Francisco, anyway? Well, according to the New York Times, today it is partly to mostly sunny, in the high 50s, with rain expected toward the end of the week. Which is good to know, since that is where I will be. Yes, that's right. I have a plane ticket for Tuesday morning, January 1, 2008. I am going to start my new year off right this year. Happy New Year, everyone!

Pictures

A Christmas tree next to palm trees in Union Square, near where I stayed.

















Looking up Taylor Street toward Nob Hill.

















A flowering tree in Union Square. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it looks very exotic to me. Probably normal as far as SF is concerned, though, I'm sure.
















The entrance to Golden Gate park near sunset.

















Looking out toward the Pacific.




















A shrub outside someone's house. I thought it looked like a muppet monster.

Back to Boston

I really don't think San Francisco wanted me to leave. Or I didn't want to leave it. Or both. First, I forgot to return my room key to the hostel. It was funny how after only a few days, it had begun to feel like home. Maybe holding on to the key was some subconscious desire to stay. I don't know. But the driver of the airport van was nice enough to volunteer to take the key back for me, and the people at the hostel said they would send me my deposit, which is just so very decent of them.

Then, when I got to the airport, I had a massive hold-up at the check-in counter. I thought I would never even make it to the security gate.

I was kind of sad when I did, too. And I was sad when I got on the plane.

Arriving in Boston the next morning I had a momentary feeling of home, and returning from a long journey, which I was. But immediately after that, the anxiety set in. Darn, I was home.

So I went back to my place and made scrambled eggs. I brushed my teeth in the same old bathroom with the same blue-flowered wallpaper, and I thought about the hostel and the cable cars going up and down the hills. And now it's cold here. Blah.

But I've been there. I've seen it. And next time I'm not even going to bother getting a return flight.