California Dreaming...on such a winter’s day

Winter arrives, S.A.D. sets in, I itch for an adventure. I am way too predictable.

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[on AIM]
Me: What’d you think of San Francisco?
Shannon: I loved it
Shannon: it’s beautiful
Shannon: a little windy
Shannon: but it really is a very beautiful city from what i remember, it was a while ago
Me: I'm going there
Shannon: when??
Me: maybe tomorrow
Me: interviews, you know
Shannon: oh haha cat ... are you leaving me again?

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It has always been a suppressed dream of mine to pick up and move out west. LA is too city – too much like New York. San Diego is too laid back – too many surfers doing nothing but partying. San Francisco… well San Fran’s much like Boston. Not that I’ve been there or anything.

But it was my dream destination, until I came home. Arriving back from France, I was relieved to melt into the country life of Mendon, being taken care of my family, catching up with old friends. I have nothing but debt. Living at home and finding a job in Boston – to which I could commute with my brother… and then go to the gym afterwards, which I was (surprisingly) almost looking forward to doing – would be the perfect opportunity to regroup, get back on my feet. I could do “that young professional thing” from the safety and comfort of my own home. And then, when I’m big & bad & 21, re-evaluate my life.

Unfortunately, it seemed the world had other plans for me. All the signs seemed to point to California since the day I arrived home. It was bizarre; no matter how many jobs I searched for in Boston, the best ones for me were all in San Francisco. I tediously searched craigslist for an affordable, dog friendly apartment, yet my only luck came when a friend called to invite me to be his new roomy – as of Dec. 1 – in his dog friendly, affordable apartment… in San Francisco. I said maybe, clinging on to that fading dream, but seriously pursued all local options. To this day, none have come through.

On the other hand, my application to my dream firm, which I will call "Company Anonymous", seemed to greased with fate, sliding down the fast track to success. Almost immediately after I sent my resume, a woman phoned me to say that she really was interested in me. I politely spoke with her, all the while thinking about the pricey plane ticket to California and how unlikely it would be that I even head out for an interview. That city’s just way too expensive; it’s not plausible. That is, until she told me she’d meet me here. Wherever I want. Whenever I want.

It was easiest for her to meet me the last week of November so I filled the days until then with local interviews. Most went well, some I’m confident will (eventually) lead to perfectly acceptable offers. Of course, none went as well as today’s. We just hit it off so well, this kind woman from San Francisco and I, and she was extremely enthusiastic about hiring me. The job she described sounded wonderful; an amazing opportunity that could start me on the career path in the firm and city of my dreams. If I wanted to, they could probably arrange for me to work from home or in the Boston office until I found an apartment out west. She even told me I’d be an excellent candidate for transfer to the Paris office in a few years. What more could I want?

And so suddenly I’m searching for that pricey plane ticket to Cali. Suddenly I’m devouring the pages of IKEA to see if I can actually afford a bed. Suddenly I’m taking my dear friend Kevin up on his offer of cheap board until I get on my feet. Suddenly I’m realized there’s a possibility I could be living in San Francisco before 2006.