Scoot scoot scootio... Oh oh...

Half an hour on my new scooter in Walnut Creek and I'm a sweaty mess. It's hot up in this mug. Definitely don't mind the temperature but now I'm wondering how disgusting will I be when I stroll into work on Monday morning? Is it time to admit that I  have to bring a change of clothes to avoid the pee-ewing from coworkers?

This scooter is riding pretty well. On nice smooth portions of the trail near my place, the ride is immaculate... gliding happily along.  But then come the bumpy cracky parts and.... well, whaddayaknow? It's still all good. Of course I've gotta put a little more oomph into it.  But the vibrating is to a minimum and I still feel safe as I stride merrily along.

I'll go for another ride manyana and time myself to see how many minutos I'm really saving on my commute. But it is promising that I was passing a ton of walkers along the way. This master plan of mine might actually work.

Being Single: Day 1

Okay, technically, I'm not single. Legally and love-interest-wise, I'm most definitely happy with another for the rest of my life. Forever and ever. Evah evah evah. Amen.

G is currently enroute to NYC as we speak (write? read?) and I won't see her for a week. This is the longest we've been apart for this length of time since four months into our relationship. For those of you who can't do the math, that's 12+ years ago. Add to that, I'm in a new city where I don't know too many people? Awwwwwwww yeah. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. All on my own.

What big plans do I have in store? Skies the limit. So far today, I worked until almost 7pm. Now, I'm on my way home to cook a huge pot of spam goulash. Then, I'll probably watch a marathon of new shows on the DVR or Walking Dead 2 on DVD. Heck, I might just bust open a bottle of wine and drink alllllll by myself.

How excited am I? Very. How sarcastic am I being? Not at all. I haven't vegged at home in I dunno how long. Who knows what I'll do the rest of my days solo. But all I know is I'm gonna enjoy it while looking fwd to having the wifey wife back home next weekend.

Visiting Seattle

Only a few days ago I was looking forward to seeing family and friends in Seattle. Definitely a fun time had by me. But... I'm ready to go home.  That was definitely weird... big move to a new city and only three weeks later... back to the place I had just left.  I think now is when it all officially begins. New chapter, adventures, people, experiences... It. Is. On.

I'm realizing it's going to be impossible to see everyone I want to see whenever I visit Seattle. This past week, I got to hang with coworkers because I went into the office for five days. I saw G's family because of her mom's birthday extravaganza. And I saw my immediate family because, well, they're my fam fam. At least I'm comfortable enough to not  feel guilty if I don't see certain folks. I don't  need that kind of stress in my life. But it's just a shame that there's not enough time for everyone, ya know?

Reminds me of a very close friend who moved to another state.  Years ago, she came back to Washington to visit family. When I found out she had come and gone without telling most of her friends, I was livid. I berated her something along the lines of, "CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE HERE AND DIDN'T LET US KNOW? I DON'T CARE IF, ULTIMATELY, YOU CAN'T VISIT BUT AT LEAST SAY YOU'RE IN TOWN IN CASE THERE'S A WAY WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!" Ugh. Thinking back at the whiney sensitive guy I was is embarrassing. Very overreacty. Or, "over-Rodney-ing". Yup, that's me. I still have that side of me but I've definitely come a long way from that dude I was and I constantly try to not be like that.

Of course, yearrrrrrs later, I know why she didn't tell me when she was in town. It's a tough situation, yo. I definitely should have been more understanding. Basically,  please don't pull a Rodney if you hear I'm in Seattle and you don't see me. Know that I'd love to but it's not always going to work out. On the other hand, if you're in SF and don't tell me? Oh maaaaaaaan, I'm gonna be soooooooo pisssssssed......... ;) 

Seattle bound

It's been less than three weeks since the move to the Bay Area and guess where we are? On a flight back to Seattle! It's G's mom's birthday this weekend and we're in town to celebrate her 75th. Yeah, big deal for sure if you ask me. I hope I'm as active and outgoing as my mother-in-law when I'm her age. The time I've spent in SF has been very short but I think we can jot down a list of awesome things I've discovered at work:

•  Fridge stocked with drinks: sodas, juices  
• All types of coffee: Starbucks machines, Peets Coffee, an espresso machine (I haven't gone once to SB)  
• Fresh popcorn popped at least once a week Roll Friday:  three diff people from our dept each Friday are responsible for buying everyone breakfast. The first time I was there, a couple people brought dim sum dishes! 
• Food trucks on Tuesdays and Fridays - not for free, but it's so convenient and introduces new delicious cuisines each time 
• Monthly dept fun get-togethers:  I attended my first one last night and the activities included beer pong & flip cup competitions. No, I'm not still in college. 
• Dog Fridays: those with canine pals can bring 'em in once a week as long as the doggies are well behaved. I'm not a dog owner but I do enjoy seeing everyone else's furry friends.

Of course I have my fair share of things I miss about Seattle. The commute. For sure. I went from traveling thirty minutes to eighty minutes (one way, twice a day). And I was spoiled with all the food options near the Seattle office. 

But most important... I miss the people a ton.  That's not a negative jab toward my SF coworkers. They all seem really cool and I know, in time, I'll get to know them better. But the RF crew in Seattle are a special bunch who I've had the pleasure of becoming close with in less than two years. I've gotten super close with a handful of them and I hope to never lose touch with those loonies. Looking forward to seeing them all the next several days. 

The Move

Pop quiz, mathematical hot shot. Travel 900 miles in a U-Haul at an average 8 miles per gallon x over $4 per gallon. What does that work out to? Well, if you were an outstanding math student in high school like I was (no, this isn't bragging), you'd know this calculates to: "holy sh*t, it cost so friggin much to move from Seattle!"

I knew what I was getting into cost-wise minus all that gas guzzlin. Ultimately, that was the worst part of that road trip over the labor day weekend. And if you think of all the things that could have gone wrong in our almost thousand mile transplantation, I would consider this a highly successful move. Thank gawd for the most awesome friends. I'm not one to ask for help so anytime I get a serious assist like this, I become overly overly grateful. There were six of us between the RAV and U-Haul on the road for over 16 hours. Plus the two meowing felines in the Toyota. I was never around the cats so I'm not sure how insanely annoying their never-ending crying went. But those guys seemed to make it through.

Once we arrived in Walnut Creek, our close friend joined in on the fun and our crew of seven powered through unloading the packed truck. You just don't know how relieving it was to get it all done. Sweaty, tired, exhausted, spent... etc. We were a disgusting mess but, over two weeks later, I'd say that was super worth it.

But why, Rodney, why?

Ten minutes into my BART ride home from The City, I'm now able to spend a little quality time with my phone. Sure, homie to my left has no idea that his backpack is all up on me. And, yep, the only letters I can think of are B and O.  With this packed-liked-sardines daily reoccurence, you might be thinking, "Rodney must hate it!" Well... I won't lie. It isn't ideal. But I don't mind it all that much. It's a new and exciting experience to be part of this hustle and bustle. Fun times.

The whole let's-one-day-move-away from Seattle idea has been brewing for several years now. I think G and I started talking about it in 2008. For her, she's lived in only Seattle... wait... WEST Seattle her whole life... only three houses. In fact, the place we were in before we left is where she grew up through elementary/middle school. She's always wanted a new outside-Washington adventure and I was completely down for helping her make it happen.

For me, being an army brat the first 14 years of my life meant a lot of moving around. I went to eight different schools during that time. I thought I was done with moving once my dad retired in Washington. But that was a long time ago and now I'm in the right mindset to explore a new area.

Thankfully I work for a company that values keeping good employees. Somehow, I fall into that category (oh yeah, I know... cray cray). So when I expressed interest in moving to SF, my manager supported me 100%. Unfortunately, there are no open account manager positions... meaning doing exactly what I did in Seattle... only remotely from our SF office.  We'll see how long this lasts. It's not a forever situation, even though I absolutely love my team/client. But, realistically, it makes sense that I have to switch off the account one day. For now, I'm gonna enjoy my role from this remote distance. Thankfully, the work aspect  of this transition remains somewhat unchanged.

Next up? I haul, you haul, we all haul, for u-haul...

Let's start over, shall we?

As many of you don't know (and only a very few of you do), I've had a blog. I've written only a few things here and there through the years.  I've always been hesitant to share publicly because I don't think  anyone really cares to know all my goings ons.  I've sometimes griped about people or overshared way too much and I think sparing you all the details was quite nice of me... right? Well... that is... until now.

In a perfect 48 hour day, I would have the time before sleeping to Doogie Houser my thoughts of the episode...errr... I mean, my day. That's not going to happen. But I'm going to give it my best to be consistent with this badboy.

I think this is the best time to get this party started (right?) since this is the newest chapter in my life. How many chapters have there been? I'd count this as number eight or nine... which we can get into later. But this one would be entitled "SF... The City...The Bay." I've lived in the Seattle area for 24 years and I think my move down here warrants creating a divider in the story of my life.

What's your role in all of this? Read, comment, talk to me in person about what I've written, attempt to ask me to tone down my TMI, be creepy and never tell me you've read it (stalker)... anything you want to do, go for it. If I've posted something about you and you want me to remove it, let me know. But there's only two things I ask. First, don't correct my grammar or spelling... I might be composing this on the train or bus or while I'm waiting for my tacos at a food truck. Be a little forgiving. Second, don't read my posts with Kristen Bell's voice narrarating an episode of Gossip Girl. I try to write the way I talk in for real life so keep that in mind. I'm far away from a lot of you... my close family and friends and I'm hoping this is a way to keep our relationship going for now.

Next post? Riding dirty from Seattle to Walnut Creek.