I've been back in LA for 36 hours now and already I'm bored. O gets back to me tomorrow night, so until then I've just been trying to fill my time with business and errands and tasks and such. I already got myself a job, can you believe it!? First day back and I got hired on the spot at my first interview. Finally, this town might be starting to see what a catch I am. If only the restaurant industry could just pass the message along to the men of Los Angeles, that'd really solve some issues.
If you're following me on my social media platforms, you know that I was just home on the east coast for two weeks, celebrating a dear friend's wedding, the fourth of July, and a friend's 21st birthday. It was a hectic and stressful 13 days, to say the least. If you're not following me on my social media platforms, that's a bad life choice on your part. @samimatarante on Instagram and Twitter, go add me right now. I'll wait here til you're done.
So I'm assuming you're all expecting a blog entry about that trip. Well, just like Julie Chen says three times a week on Big Brother, "Expect the unexpected." You all thought you were about to read a blog all about how wonderful my time in New Jersey was, but I'm here with something else to blog about. You say I was too much of a lazy sack of shit to post this earlier and now I'm playing catch up; I say I just like to keep you guys on your toes. All about perspective.
So, pretty much immediately after I hit publish on my last big post in June, I got a text from my former roommate and current friend, Maddy, asking me if I'd like to take a spur of the moment trip to the Bay Area. As quickly as I read the text, I was sending an "I'm so down" text back to her. I literally had just enough time to pack a bag and take a yoga class before I headed out her way to start our trip.
I hadn't seen Maddy in a little while, but she was the first real friend I made in Los Angeles and every time I see her we pick up where we left off. Most importantly, she has a dog named Muggsy, and he's the best damn animal on the planet and when Maddy and I lived together, I also got to spend every day with his little smushy face and I've missed him every day since we moved out. So when I found out he was coming with us, that was like the perfectly fresh basil on top of the perfect pepperoni pizza. (Forgive me, I just got back from New Jersey. I've eaten a lot of pizza in the last few weeks.)
LOOK AT HIS SMUSHY LITTLE FACE
Dog or gremlin? Jury's still out.
So the three of us ventured up to Oakland, where we spent the first night, and Maddy showed me all around her old stomping grounds. She went to college at Berkeley, so we got lunch around there. After we had our fill, we ventured out to San Francisco, a city I've been wanting to visit forever.
Even to this day, having lived in Los Angeles for almost two years now, I still feel like this is not the city for me. It is the perfect place for me to be right now, and there are definitely times when I'm wearing sunglasses drinking a pressed juice as I get into my yellow Volkswagen Beetle after a yoga class, when I realize I may fit in better than I think I do, but for the most part, there's no feeling like when I'm on the east coast. I've always felt that if there were a city I'd fit into on the west coast, it'd most likely be San Fransisco. I was right.
I fell instantaneously head over heels for this city, with all it's hills and history and vibrance and mellow vibe. I mean if I were way way richer and didn't want to be an actor anymore, I know exactly where I'd relocate to.
Maddy's sister lives on the street where Mrs. Doubtfire takes place, so I got super touristy and took my camera out every chance I could.
Later in the day, we went to Dolores Park in the Mission area of SF, where you're allowed to openly drink, so of course we took advantage. We sat there soaking up the last hours of sunlight, drinking beers, and listening to Maddy's tales about her recent trip to Southeast Asia.
The entire Mission area felt so familiar. At first I couldn't place why, but I realized it felt very similar to Brooklyn. Graffiti-covered walls, hipsters on bikes, and countless cool bars and shops. I was extremely close to going on rental websites and seeing how much a room would be to rent.
That night we cheers-ed to Maddy's birthday, and drank shitty tequila & ginger beer, and I was already planning the next time I'd come to this city in my head.
The next day was Maddy's actual birthday, and we both kind of just wanted to lounge around, eat really good comfort food, nap, and hang around the house, so that's what we did. Later on in the early evening, we finally made it out to walk around, get Maddy a cupcake, and take a quick look at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was super foggy, so I doubted I'd be able to see it in all it's glory, but it was worth a shot anyway.
This is Maddy and I. We also took a nice smiling picture, but this is way more true to who we are.
As you can (barely) see, it was an extremely overcast and hazy day. Usually my favorite time to take photos, but in this case, I was minutely disappointed that these vague pictures are all I have to show for my Golden Gate Bridge experience. But I decided not to get too upset, because I'd definitely be visiting again, and SOON.
The streets and houses were so reminiscent of London, and parts of New York, that this foreign city immediately felt like home.
Honestly, I've already been planning my next trip to San Francisco. I had the best time with Maddy, her sister Erin, her brother Brian, and all the other great people we spent time with while we were there. It is one of the few cities in the world that I have felt so connected to I could picture myself living in.
We got back with just enough time for me to clean my apartment, grab brunch with Rachel, pack my bags, and head to the airport for my trip home. It was the perfect escape, another one I didn't know I needed until it was over. I was so sad after the departure of my friend Dylan, that I needed a distraction to fill the last few days before my flight to New Jersey, and what did I get?
I promise, people. Put goodness and positivity out into the world, and it will come back to you.
I hope this little excerpt was enough to keep you interested while I work on my next post all about the saga that was my trip home to Jersey. It was a doozy, and I'll warn you now there's going to be a lot comin' at ya.
Until then, I've got a new job, Olena's return to my arms, and auditions to worry about, so I hope this entry was enough to keep you intrigued for a little while longer! Thanks for reading, as always, and be sure to comment and share this with friends, loved ones, hated ones, coworkers, your pets, the government, the Jonas Brothers, the bagger at the grocery store; I'm not picky, whoever!
Have a kickass weekend! Xo