A Month in SF
Phew, and what a crazy month it has been! My initial plan to post every week was obviously not followed. But now that my beloved Canucks are out of the playoffs, and the greatest TV show ever has finally come to a close, I’m hoping to have more time to provide updates via blogging.
Moving In
Not long after I arrived in SF, I was lucky enough to snag an awesome apartment in the Glen Park area. This is a tad south of the city, but close enough to make it to the center of San Francisco in about 30 minutes by walking/BART. The area is rich in culture, a blend of Hispanic and Chinese really shows the diversity of this city. The apartment itself is not far from Mission Street, which has an amazing array of food markets, restaurants and bars. I’m about a 10 minute walk from the grocery store which is really handy, and there are plenty of shops within 2-5 minutes that will sell a cold case of beer for cheap.
Over the weekend I came across the Broken Record, which is a local pub about 15 minutes away. While it does seem like a dive (heck, the Yelp listing names it as a dive bar), the people were very friendly and the food was delicious. This is a whiskey bar, and while I’m not a big whiskey drinker the locals told me I will be shortly. Pretty cool stuff!
Transportation
As mentioned above my new place is quite close to the Glen Park BART station, which makes it easy to explore the city. However, my main mode of transport these days is by bicycle. I invested a few hundred dollars in some commuter bike gear (portable pump, night lights, bag, etc.) and so long as you stay away from the hills, San Francisco is an easy city to navigate. I can usually get to work in about 15 minutes. In addition, over the weekend I did a bike ride to Golden Gate Park in about 45 minutes. From there it’s an amazing ride back home long Ocean Beach on the west coast of the city, following the Pacific Ocean.
There are times that a vehicle would be handy though, like making a trip out to IKEA in Oakland to load up on some funiture. Enter Zipcar! Zipcar is an awesome car-sharing program with many locations in San Francisco. Basically, you go online to reserve a vehicle for a set amount of time, and pay about $9/hour. This covers the car rental, gas and insurance. I paid about $25 total to rent a car for a few hours, head out to IKEA, load it up and bring it back. I don’t plan to use the service that often but it’s really handy to have in case you need to drive somewhere.
Life @ Atlassian
It’s been a busy first month working for Atlassian and getting ramped up with the team. I love our office located in the Mission District, it’s easy to get to and there’s an unlimited supply of restaurants to check out during lunch time. The team has been amazingly supportive and it’s been exciting to meet new people and hear their stories.
We’ve also had some amazing events, from Kayaking in Sausalito to a company picnic on Dolores Park. Too much fun I tell ya!
June is going to be a busy month for us, as the 2nd Annual Atlassian Summit will be taking place on June 9 - June 11. Last year I attended as a customer, this year I’ll be attending as an employee. I’m booked to work Starter Day, as well as the AtlasBar which will be an awesome experience. What more, there will be lots of good times had with the Welcome Reception, Firewater After-party and Summit Bash. And the best news of all is that this years event is sold-out. I’m excited to have a blast with our awesome customers and get a better understanding of how they use our products!
Events
Of course there’s lots of do in San Francisco. As mentioned in my previous post I’m a big concert fan so I’ve been trying to get to as many live events as I could. A quick recap of what I’ve seen so far:
- Jakob Dylan at the Regency Ballroom - An amazing venue with some awesome tunes.
- Jeff Garlin at Cobb’s Comedy Club - My first real comedy show, Jeff was hilarious!
- San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamond Backs - Explored AT&T Park and got to see the Giants come out with a win!
- Mardi Gras - An awesome display of culture in the Mission District with food, music and dancing
Next up on the plate is Thrice this week back at the Regency Ballroom. I’ve also got The Black Keys lined up for the fall, as well I’ll be heading back to Cobb’s to see Tracy Morgan later in the summer.
That’s all for now!
Dylan