We’ve been here at our new home for a little over a year now, and it still seems like we just moved in. We all settled in quickly, even the cats, making a few adjustments and creative additions along the way, and it’s become a home of our own. My desk still sits against the wall in the office, with the black bookcase squeezed into the corner, full with music, reference books, toys and stuffed animals, art supplies, and yes, even snacks. Up on the wall are a few prints by the always amazing Ukiyo-e Heroes, who I highly recommend. When I’m home, Cali likes to interrupt my work by jumping up onto the desk and sitting right there in front of the main monitor, demanding attention. (Juli tends to be more demure, sitting on the floor next to me and plaintively poking at me with her paw in hopes that I’ll take the felt ribbon toy out of the desk.)
The view out the big window to my left isn’t as grand as Spare Oom’s was, but instead I get a great view of the surrounding neighborhood, and on a clear day I can even see Mount Tamalpais poking up in the distance. I get to hear the whoops and hollers of the little kids during recess at the elementary school across the way. Both cats love looking out those windows and watching the cars and pedestrians, and they really love it when the crows and ravens fly by.
We might not be as close to retail and coffee shops as we used to be, but we’re still within walking distance. We’re also close to the Big Famous Park, which we visit a lot more now than we used to. And I’m still a short work commute away that gets me there and back in about ten minutes. It’s a much quieter neighborhood, but it isn’t remote, and it’s still in my favorite part of the city. We’ve been here in San Francisco for twenty years and change and we have no plans on going anywhere else anytime soon.
I still remember that day in 2002 when my mom told me about a travel show segment about the city, and thinking man, I would love to visit someday. Little did I know that three short years later I’d be flying out of SFO after a few days of apartment hunting, and looking out the window at the city’s skyline and thinking yeah…this is going to be my home.
Owning a home is definitely a new thing for me; I was absolutely certain we’d be forever renting. For the first couple of months I would get this sense of urgency that I really needed to write and mail out that rent check, only to remind myself that it was a mortgage payment now. That sense of permanence is not something a lot of us Gen-Xers got to experience throughout our years to this level, and we’d gotten used to it to the point that it was just another thing to grudgingly accept. It’s made me rethink a lot of personal things in my life, and it’s also made me learn how to fix and adjust things on my own instead of calling the building owner. [One funny side note: I never realized how many quarters I spent on laundry until we owned our own washer/dryer unit — one of only two must-haves on my want list, the other being a garage — and all those coins just started piling up instead of being used.]
In a way, this office has become to me what the Belfry used to be at my parents’ house: it’s where I clock in for an hour or two to work on my creative endeavors. Whether it’s writing, playing a bit of guitar, journaling or even doodling, it’s the one place in our home that’s completely dedicated to that and not much else (other than curating my music collection of course). I can focus here, despite the occasional distractions (cat and otherwise). I can also keep my creative work in here, leaving the other rooms for other things in my life.
I’m still getting used to this place being ours in the ownership sense, but I’m glad we made the decision to make it happen.
Welcome to Bridgetown 