07.30.09
Posted in Life, Media & Internet, San Francisco, Twitter at 4.16 am by Caitlin
As some of you already know, I have signed up to go the month of July without alcohol. There’s just two more days to go and I’m proud to declare that I’ve lasted the month without alcohol.* I wouldn’t exactly say it was difficult but there have been a few occasions where I’ve wanted to have a drink, especially since it’s the middle of summer here in California.
I’m not just doing this to prove a point – it’s actually all for a good cause, or at least it will be with a little help from you. You don’t have to forego alcohol but just consider throwing a few sponsorship dollars my way instead. You see, I’m taking part in Dry July.
Dry July is a purely online fundraising initiative (no traditional advertising) where people sign up to go without alcohol for the month of July. All donations above $2 are tax deductible in Australia and the money raised goes to cancer charities around Australia (More info about beneficiaries).
As an (ex) Sydneysider, the money I raise will go to Dreams 2 Live 4 care of the Prince of Wales Hospital Foundation, an initiative that helps adults living with cancer. This is a special cause for me as cancer has touched my family, as it has the lives of many Australians.
I’ve currently raised $195.50. I’ve told my Twitter followers I’m aiming to raise $300 but I’m also in a head-to-head fundraising challenge with Tom Allen. He is currently on $215 and has upped the stakes by publicly declaring his target is $500. A little friendly rivalry never went astray so I’d certainly appreciate your help in beating him!
Thank you to those who have already generously sponsored my Dry July.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, here is the link to my individual DJ web page.
Your donations can be anonymous, if you prefer (you still get a tax claimable receipt).
Thank you for your time.
* Dry July allows you to purchase a Golden Ticket that permits you to drink alcohol for the price of $25. I used this for a single farewell drink on 4 July and have not had any alcohol since.
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07.12.09
Posted in Film, Food, San Francisco at 5.32 pm by Caitlin
I have finally landed in San Francisco after nearly two months of separation from my beloved husband. The flight from London was fairly long – about 10 hours – but uneventful and comfortable. I flew premium economy with Virgin Atlantic and was quite impressed with the service.
The last week or so in London was hectic, with last minute packing and finishing off work before the big move. My visa does entitle me to work here but I have to complete some paperwork first and it can take a while to process. In the mean time, I am a lady of leisure. It’s a good opportunity to take time to set the house up, look for work and make contacts, and work on my novel.
My husband stayed in corporate accommodation when he first arrived but moved into our new rental property last weekend. He’s found us a lovely Victorian cottage with a garden in an old neighbourhood. It’s huge compared with any of our London abodes and bigger than our house in Sydney five years ago – we have two bedrooms, separate living and dining rooms, a laundry room and a private garden. It is unfurnished and all my husband has bought so far is a bed so I also get the pleasure of decorating it.
San Francisco is pretty amazing visually with steep streets and wooden Victorian houses with amazing paint detailing. Our neighbourhood has really nice cafes and shops and a good vibe. Downtown is not too far away by public transport, though we are thinking about getting bikes (those hills would give us a good work out!).
On Friday we went to the opening night of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (or the SF Squared Festival) at the Castro Theatre, an old movie palace. It is an amazing theatre with beautiful period features – I especially loved the light fittings on the ceiling. The theatre was packed and the audience was very enthusiastic – clapping and cheering throughout the opening speeches and giving a standing ovation at the end of the film. It also shows new releases at the cinema, though only one at a time.
We saw The Gaucho, a Douglas Fairbanks movie set in Argentina, and it was great, both funny and dramatic in equal measure. The film had been beautifully restored and it was accompanied by an orchestra playing the live score, just as it would have been in the old days. The scenes with the Virgin Mary were originally in technicolour and this was yet to be restored, but we got to see out-takes that had never been seen since the original showing and it was pretty visually impressive. It’s just green and red but it somehow it fools the eye into believing you are seeing a fuller spectrum of colours. I guess 3D films where you have to wear red and green glasses must use a similar concept.
Yesterday morning we went to the farmers’ market in the Ferry Building downtown. It’s open Saturdays and Tuesdays and I think it’s going to be a regular for me – lots of lovely fresh fruit and vegetables, plenty of them organic, and great bread and cheese too. This place is amazing for fresh produce – at the moment we are eating some exquisite white nectarines, which have a really unusual flavour as well as being sweet and juicy. It’s not quite so good as Europe for things like cheese though, even in the artisanal shops, but it’s not bad. The bread is fantastic – we bought a lovely sourdough loaf and another loaf of crusty cranberry and walnut bread.
This morning we went to a local cafe for breakfast. In Sydney, breakfast was probably my favourite meal to eat out, especially around the Inner West where we lived. In London, it was possible but it always seemed like more trouble than it’s worth. San Francisco is much more like Sydney in terms of its cafe culture so this morning the hubby and I loaded up respectively on eggs florentine and pancakes with nutella and banana. The key difference with Sydney is that drip (filter) coffee with free refills is ubiquitous.
In general, the vibe of the city reminds me a lot of Sydney – it’s built around a bay, the houses are old, the streets are lined with trees (including eucalpytus, bottle brush and jacaranda), and the pace of life seems similar. It’s a lot colder though – this might be California but we’re in the middle of summer and the temperature is hovering around 16C. It’s about 10 degrees warmer in London right now! Part of the reason it feels so cold is because there’s quite a bit of wind. I fear my lovely collection of cotton summer dresses may be slightly redundant here, unless it gets warmer soon.
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I’ll put up photos when I can.
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For the past few months, I have been doing an automatic daily post of my tweets. Now the feed seems to be broken – the last update was nearly a week ago. I’m not sure if this is such a bad thing as it was overwhelming any other content on the blog. You can always look me up on Twitter if you miss it, but meanwhile I’ll try to keep this blog updated with original content.
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I was thinking train rather than bus though. 
