Allegedly, Mark Twain once said “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” (Various sources dispute that he was the one who actually said it, but it’s been attributed to him regardless of whether he said it or not)
I’m beginning to see why. I’m currently in the midst of my first real summer in San Francisco and let’s just say that “sunny” is definitely not the way to describe it. Before the summer solstice, things were beautiful up here. Clear days, not too much wind, good temperatures. I took full advantage of spending time outside and exploring Golden Gate Park. Now I’m glad that I have.
I’ve heard summers up here leave quite a bit to be desired. It’s crazy. Once summer “officially” began (right after the summer solstice), we have not had one single clear day yet. Up here on the hill, we’ve been socked in fog every single day. And it’s COLD. However, my friends and family back home in Southern California are dealing with temperatures upwards of 100 degrees. Oh yes!
That said, I still love it up here. The rest of the year has been absolutely perfect. So I guess I can put up with 2 months of crappy “summer.” Though it’s interesting to note that when I visited my sister during the summer before I moved up here, that I had always managed to come on beautiful weekends. So there’s definitely hope.
I had an interesting experience earlier today (err… yesterday now). I took part in a usability study for a company called Six Apart, testing some software and offering feedback. For an hour’s worth of work, I was paid handsomely! That was definitely a nice injection of cash. Thank goodness for Dot Coms and their seemingly limitless bank accounts (I need to find a way to get involved with Google, now that they are worth over $80 billion dollars). I also had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, which makes the work I did sound like its top secret and dangerous. 😉
(Though now that I think about it, I’ve actually worked with a few companies that have required me to fill out NDAs, all of them technology firms: Electronic Arts, Breakaway / Firaxis Games and Six Apart Inc.)
This weekend, I’m doing a 4 day long backpacking trip with Meghan and her Dad and Step-Mom (as well as some of their friends) in the Trinity Alps. That is going to be exciting (plus I’ve only been in the Trinity’s one other time and remember it being absolutely beautiful). And yes, I know… my friends have already jokingly warned me that I should be prepared in case her Dad tries to stab me with a kitchen knife. So I guess it’s a good thing I have previous experience in dealing with that. 😛
Anyway, I should go to bed. I’m doing an excellent job in destroying my sleep schedule. (I’ve been sleeping from something like 3AM to 11AM every day)
The next time I post, I need to mention an interesting purchase that I recently made (with the help of my parents). Some people already know about it.
Let’s just say “OS X.” 😉