Where I Wanna Be

I'm not sure if it's the looming surgery, the rainy weather we've been getting, or if I'm just in a bad mood, but I'm feeling like San Francisco is not the place for me. I was once very excited about moving to "THE CITY" even though I enjoyed living in Oakland for my first year out of b-school. San Francisco is a city that is adored by so many people for it's great weather, culture, and scenery, but I'm just not feeling it.

It's hard to be a single guy in San Francisco... let me switch that up. It's hard to be a single black guy in San Francisco. Hmmm... let me try that one more time. It's hard for a single black guy, who likes to do black people stuff, in San Francisco. You might ask, what is black people stuff? If you don't know, I can't tell you because yall might steal it, just like yall did with jazz, hip hop, and Michael Jackson (it's just jokes folks). On the real, there are some distinct differences in the stuff we like to do. The following websites are humorous represntations of this:

Stuff White People Like

Stuff Black People Like

BTW, I like so many things on both of these lists.

I feel like I'm floating around in a place where I'm never really able to be myself. When I truly want to be myself I pick up the phone and call one of my best friends who lives in Baltimore (this happens an average of once a day). I'm known for pulling the race card on just about any issue, but I'd like anyone who is white to think about a time when they were the only white person around. It's not too comfortable is it?.... (be honest). Well that's my everyday life. A life full of mis-judged handshakes, awkward hug/kisses, and Britney Spears requests. When I was out here in undergrad, I could always head to Ujaama (the black dorm on campus) to get a spades game, slap some bones, or have some barbershop-like banter. I don't have an Ujaama right now. I don't even have a Mirrielees (where most of the athletes stayed).

Just yesterday I took a trip back across the bay just to hang and it felt great. The diversity of the Oakland is amazing and I don't feel as out of place. The problem is, (as I've mentioned a bunch of times) I hate to drive and I can't get to work in Palo Alto via public transportation without it being a 90 minute (one-way) ordeal. Try catching a cab in the East Bay. BART only runs until 12am. So I guess I need to really figure out my priorities.

Then I got to thinking... why do I even live here? I mean, my job is here (and that's not to be taken lightly during these economic times), but there is really nothing keeping me here. I'm single with no kids, no dog, no real-estate, YOU GET MY POINT. I originally picked San Francisco because so many of my close friends were in the area, and they sure didn't have any problem leaving me here by myself. :-)

So I'm thinking that I need to really start mapping out my next move, whether it be back across the bay, or across the Atlantic Ocean. I think I've decided that San Francisco doesn't really do it for me.

So keeping with my theme, I did a little mix about the cities that I think I could live in. A change of venue might be coming once I get my knee is back to normal. I promise to cheer up for the next posting. ;-)