Interlude

It occurred to me that I had not posted anything since July 11th and a lot has actually happened since then.  So before getting back to the apartment hunt, I should probably fill in some gaps.  The first thing, actually, the main thing is my gainful employment.  After sending out many applications to various design firms in both NYC and San Francisco, I was becoming more and more open to the idea that there was a possibility that I might not get a good job offer if I didn't broaden the scope of offices that I was applying to.  Fortunately, however, as my confidence was at an all-time low, I was approached by an office opening in San Francisco and the opportunity sounded better the more I heard about it.  After several exchanges of emails and telephone calls, I had an interview set up in NYC, as two of the head guys of this new office were heading there for a meeting.  

There was a few things unusual about this interview.  Perhaps the biggest thing was it was a joint interview--it just so happens that a good friend of mine, Justin, was also offered an interview after I suggested he talk to my contact.  We weren't competing for a position, they were just interested in hiring a few more people.  In any case, the other thing was that it wasn't so much an interview as it was a wine-and-dine situation, where we were being told all of the potential of the firm: travel opportunities abroad, large-scale design projects, comparable pay and benefits, and more . . . it sounded terrific.  On top of that, the two guys we met were awesome with the same sort of dry, sarcastic humor that I've grown to know and love about myself and there was an obvious passion for good design on their part.  

We drank, we dined, we laughed . . . one thing lead to another and we were told that they would give us offers.  The following two weeks were some what anxiety-ridden.   We waited, and waited to see the offer so that we could 1) accept, 2) know what our budget would be for rent, and 3) be sure that they weren't jerking us around and really wanted to offer us a job.

Finally it came, and they had a tad bit of wiggle room for negotiation.  Things were falling into place for my future.  I knew where I would be, I know where I would work . . . but the next big hurdle was housing.  Justin and I figured if we could sit together for a year working on thesis and thesis prep--arguably the most stressful times of our graduate school careers--we'd probably handle living/working together fairly well.  So we began our research on the renting situation in San Francisco.

There are plenty of resources out there to look for apartments, however we've learned that aside from understanding the neighborhoods as best you can from 3,000 miles away, there really isn't much you can do to secure a place.  So the anxiety of receiving an offer over the course of two weeks was followed by the fear of apartment hunting over the next week or two, along with the strategic planning of the most efficient/cost-effective way to move across the country.  

So that should be enough to catch you up to the trip to San Francisco--although most people that read this probably already knew what was going on.