Chloe in San Francisco!

So I made it! So far, so good. Moving from Wyoming (pop. 1/2 million) to the city (pop I have no idea but a lot) is quite a quick and drastic switch, but I should be used to uprooting myself by now -- though I hope that's going to change! The city is kind of scary, but I try not to talk to strangers and not get hit by the bus, and so far I've succeeded! I do keep committing the social faux pas of talking to the bus driver though, but after a few stunned/cold looks in a row, I think I've broken that habit.

So how did Chloe find herself here, sharing a tiny-ass, one bedroom, overpriced apartment with a friend of hers she met at Yosemite? Well I'll tell you how...

It all started a long time ago...when Chloe started to get really fucking tired of having to re-start her life every six months. It's been fun, a lot of fun, but it gets really tiring after a while to have to reinvent your persona every where you go. She especially found this lifestyle frustrating in the male department, having left numerous boyfriends behind, including a Mormon in Alaska (Chloe officially goes on the record to NOT suggest dating a Mormon, ever, now, or in the future) a sweet, but kind of dumb "boyfriend" in Ecuador, a really pretty cool guy in Peru (a relationship with whom she attempted to continue after leaving Peru, but realized it was inevitably doomed from the start), and an especially awesome, adorable boyfriend in Wyoming, with whom happily she continues to be friends, even after parting ways.

In an effort to stop the vicious circle of starting over, Chloe decided she needed to PICK somewhere and SETTLE DOWN for like, 30 seconds. Which is what I'm trying to do here!

As my time in Wyoming drew nigh, I realized I needed a plan for what to do next, and I needed it fast. Serendipitously for me, my friend Carolyn needed a new roommate at precisely the same moment I planned on moving away from Wyoming. Taking that as a sign (or an easy way out, you pick) I decided to jump at this opportunity and move to San Francisco.

Which is what I did! About a month ago. But not without many adventures along the way....

I ended up staying in Wyoming a few weeks later than I had planned on originally, which meant I had to spend my last days doing crap housekeeping work (mostly bleaching bathrooms -- fun!) and experiencing the very beginnings of Wyoming's cold-ass winter. I got out just in the nick of time, let me tell you. I spent like three days at my mom's house in Washington, and then Andrew (the awesome adorable boyfriend) met me and we started on our Great West Coast Adventure Road Trip.

We started out by taking a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula and headed southward after that. Luck was on our side with the weather, and we actually got to SEE the mountains in Olympic National Park. It was pretty cool! The beach was way cooler than I thought it was going to be, too. GIANT driftwood, cool rocks, awesome. Check out my new Facebook page for pictures!! We spent a few nights camping (for free!) until we made it to Astoria, where we stayed in a hostel. Astoria, as some of you may know, is famous for being the film location for the cult classic The Goonies, the house of which we, of course, visited. I'm sure the owners LOVE that. The hostel, however, was kind of scary, but cheap, so it was okay. What was even better lodging though was staying in a yurt in a campground on the coast. For some reason yurts are really popular in Oregon..weird. I highly recommend staying in one if you get the chance!

After that we went down the Oregon coast, hitting up some more beaches, playing around, etc. Before we knew it we were in California, where Andrew (from Ohio) was very excited to see a palm tree. Highlights include: The Redwood Forest (those trees are HUGE), the giant Paul Bunyan statue outside the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, and bowling in Fort Bragg. Soon we were on Highway 1, the famed coastal highway, known for its spectacular views and jagged cliff faces. We were having a grand old time, and barely arguing at all!

Our luck, however, was about to change....

Now, some of you are familiar with the Chloemobile, my crappy bright tacky blue '96 Plymouth Neon, with the peeling paint and the bumper tied on with twine? Well, it turns out, this road trip was the Chloemobile's last hurrah...

Yes, folks. It was time for Chloe and her Neon to say goodbye. I knew this day was coming, but I just didn't know how SOON...

So we're driving down the coast, slowing but surely approaching San Francisco. Our plan on this particular day was to explore the Point Reyes National Sea Shore and then stay with my friend Rose who works at a hostel at the Marin Headlands, half an hour or so (without traffic) away from San Francisco and Chloe's new home. It was mid-afternoon, and we were heading out to a light house, which is waaay at the end of a remote road. Luckily, however, before we got very far, my car simply stopped running. We towed it to a mechanic in the neighboring town where they determined that the timing belt had snapped, which, for anybody who knows about cars will realize, means your car is busted. Busted for good.

Luckily however, we were not that far away from Rose at this point. We had to do some quick thinking and coordinating in order to make it this last leg into the city now. "Well," I though to myself, "it's a good thing I have a *cell phone* now; that will make this so much easier!" But unfortunately we were stranded in the last place in America that has no cell phone reception, so we spent like $20 on goddamn pay phone calls. But that's okay! We got a nice slice of Northern California Americana while we waited for Rose to come pick us up after work. And we drank Grocery Outlet beer out of a Nalgene while people watching from a bench on the sidewalk. Luckily again, Rose has a Subaru, so she was able to fit all my stuff, myself, herself, and Andrew all in the car, with room to spare. We wheeled my car behind the police station, and I waved goodbye..sadly..as we pulled away.

By the way, I have to give major props to Andrew during this whole ordeal. He was soooo nice and sweet and patient, and didn't get pissed off at all, even though or plans had to suddenly change pretty drastically. I was kind of freaking out (which I'm sure you can all imagine pretty well) and he was being so nice about it, talking to the mechanics and what have you. Do you see why he's so awesome and I was sad to leave him?? By the way I'm sending this email to him too, and I can imagine him now, right this second, shaking his head at me for EMBARRASSING him like this, but any of you who have met him will understand why I must do it because of how adorable and squishy he is!

Anyway, after all that drama, we eventually made it to my tiny-ass apartment. When I say tiny-ass I mean, TINY-ASS. Carolyn and I have to share a bedroom. Luckily (or unluckily) neither of us have any love interests at the moment, so THAT'S not an issue, but hopefully we WILL have love interests, whereupon it will BECOME an issue. But by and by the place isn't so bad. It's just small. We're just kind of casually looking for apartments right now, and when the right place comes along, we'll know. Or something corny like that.

Now, you may be wondering, how is Chloe funding her extravagant lifestyle? I'll tell you how...

I was kind of worried about finding a job. I was thinking it might possibly take me a month or two, but it turns out, I found a job right away, within a week of hardcore looking. I work for a property management company, doing admin assistant stuff. The point of this position though is to grow within the company and become a property manager myself, after I put in my time. So..you might think, well that sounds pretty promising, and it might be..but I'm just not totally sure. The problem is I don't get paid enough. San Francisco is EXPENSIVE!! And I barely make enough to cover rent, buy food, and the occasional six pack. I WILL get a raise, but I'm not sure how much, or when. I need to talk to my boss about that..but he's on vacation. Next week though, I will. The other question is, do I WANT to become a property manager? Is that what my life goal is going to be now? It could be..I'm not sure. I don't have one strong *passion* that is driving me to strive to do one particular thing, so it's hard. There are a lot of things I could do. I just have to pick one...

Which is what I'm trying to do! Pick something and STICK with it. Hence why I want to stay at this job. The longest I've stayed at any job in my life is a year. And there are good things about it..I get all the holidays off, they're pretty laid back, and today I've been continuing the tradition of farting around at work and have composed this email almost entirely while on the clock! And from where I live currently I can walk to work. It takes me about half an hour. Which means I get a little bit of exercise every day. Besides, walking to work while listening to my iPod makes me feel like a rock star! I feel like I'm in a music video..or I'm on drugs. Or both. It's kinda weird. And also, one of the coolest things about San Francisco is that people throw away perfectly good stuff all the time. I've gotten a bunch of free stuff just by finding it on the street! It definitely sets up a definitive pecking order, however. And I am obviously towards the bottom of that pecking order...

Now what I have to work on is my social life. To that end I have just joined this club called Urban Diversion. Carolyn and I went to their open house the other day and decided to become members. They put on all these social events. A wide variety of stuff, from pub crawls and poker nights to hikes to trips to Thailand to speed dating. Speaking of speed dating, I'm going to try to drag Carolyn to one next Wednesday! Should be fun. The people in the group all seemed pretty cool, and they gave us free alcohol. But that was probably in order to loosen us up so we would join, but it totally worked! Social life here I come!

So in a nutshell, although there are still some things I have to work out, life for Chloe is pretty good. And I am pretty happy. I walk down the street, listening to my music, and I start to hear the Mary Tyler Moore theme song play in my head...and that's me! Well kind of. :-)