Terse Systems

I’m back in San Franciso. I’m staying in the Marina. I drove down at the beginning of June, and I’ve been going out almost every night since then.

The Marina is a strange place. I used to live in Marin County, and always thought the Marina was pretty much the same thing. It’s not. The Marina is a whole nother animal. It’s the staging ground for people who will eventually settle down and buy a house in Marin.

The Marina is young. Everyone is my age. Everyone is physically fit. Everyone is attractive. And most people have a sense of style, or at least a sense of fashion. I came down from Redmond, where putting on sweatpants is considered dressing up. This is something new and different.

In Redmond, everything shut down at 10 pm. You couldn’t even order a pizza. Go to Chestnut Street and the place is just warming up. There was one good coffee shop in Redmond. Chestnut Street has one every block.

Added to that is the problem that I’m working on a website devoted to fashion. I’m being educated against my will. I can identify jeans and handbags on sight. I’m being taught the difference between cotton and denim. (Which is still confusing, because denim IS cotton.) I know that salmon brings out the color in men’s skin and that LV outranks C&C. So walking down Chestnut shoves new and interesting facts into my brain… how is it that so many women can buy three thousand dollar handbags, or even know that it’s fashionable to have one?

So I’m suffering from culture shock. But it’s more than that.

I’m different than I was. I’m more assertive. Calmer. Happier. Admittedly, I’ve not exactly led a harsh life the last few months, but I go to places I used to hang out in SF, and I remember feeling different.

It’s an odd feeling. I’m past the point where I can really carry off the tech geek image any more, just because I know too much. But I’m not sure of what comes next.