this is happiness (wooooo)

I think 'This is Happiness' off of Gavin's album has grown on me; I particularly like how he says/screams 'this is happiness', followed by a sarcastic 'woooo'.

Actually, today was lovely. I spent a leisurely morning bumming around, ate some delicious leftover pizza, and then dolled myself up in my new black tshirt-style dress, awesome blue necklace from London, and my blinding gold gladiator sandals. Then, I went down to Palo Alto to look at an apartment. After seeing the outside, I didn't even bother to keep the appointment to view the inside; I could tell that I didn't want to live there. And I really am now eager to live in the city (more on that in a minute). So I went to Target, and then to a Starbucks to look at apartments in SF on Craigslist.

Around 4:30pm I went to a going away party for my friend Jen Lui, who is leaving in a few days to go to business school. One of her friends hosted a barbecue for her, and several of my oldest coworker-friends showed up, including a couple who have left the company; Tolu, Lizzie, Kim, and Jane were there, and Joann showed up as I was leaving, which gave me a chance to hug her before she moves to Singapore for 2+ years. It was lovely to catch up with all of them, although of that group, between people who are on leave or have left the company or switched offices, only Tolu and I are left in this office now :( But I'm having a traditional lunch with Lizzie and Gyre on Thursday since she moved to a company down the road, so it's not like I'll never see them again.

I made it back to Berkeley just before sunset, and then played some desultory Rock Band. I also talked to Vidya -- if the stars align, I may get to call her 'Chandlord' for a year, which I'm v. excited about. But if the stars don't align for that apartment, I still intend to move to the city, so I've been reading up on Craigslist, identifying where my employer's shuttle stops are, etc. Rent in both the city and the south bay is horrifying; in fact, when I told my parents how much I would be spending on rent, they told my brother, who said to me: "If I could budget [$x, where x>$2000] a month for rent, I could drive around, pick out a house, ask the family to pack up their shit and be moved out by the end of the day, and for that price they'd probably leave their daughter to cook and clean for me." And yes, the idea of paying rent in SF for a small apartment when I could buy a small town in Iowa is appalling -- but I don't want to live in a bad place, and I can forego some of my more frivolous expenditures (although Dolce and Gabbana's sunglasses line may go out of business). So, I'm resigned to my fate.

Now, though, it's time for bed; if I do move into Vidya's apartment, I will have little to do for the next couple of weeks, and I should really put that time to good use by working on my novel. Goodnight!