I’m back in San Francisco after a week of kicking it in the mountains with my bro. On Sunday I drove back through Yosemite—mighty gorgeous—and arrived in gloomy, cloudy, and chilly San Fran that afternoon.

I immediately went to check out an apartment in Inner Richmond. I was really hoping it would pan out as I could move in immediately. However, it didn’t really suit me. That left me homeless, which turns out to be quite a normal thing here.

I had a rental car so I drove around the city checking out neighborhoods for about three hours. Around dinner time, I decided I needed a place to sleep for the night.

My backup plan was to get a suite for a week while I looked at other places. So that’s what I did. I am currently living on Post street, which is kind of close to Union Square, around a lot of other hotels and shopping. Seems like a lot of the people in my hotel are internationals. I’m here until Saturday, which is great incentive to find a sublet before then.

But today I didn’t have much lined up, so I walked to Golden State Park, which is about three miles away. Along the way I hit some shady neighborhoods, or blocks, I should say. Shadiness seems to exist on a street-by-street basis.

When I got to the park, I came across an international footbag tournament. I ended up watching the entire third-place set (best out of three). I bought a beer, sat in the grass, and relished a sport closely related to soccer that I would definitely suck at (I’m terrible at hacky sack).

I also got a call from a SF native, a friend of a friend. He picked me up from the park and drove me around several neighborhoods—he’s in real estate. We then grabbed some dinner at Brandy Ho’s in Chinatown. I got the smoked ham and garlic gloves. Good stuff.

Finally, I had a sublet interview in the Mission District at 9 pm. That seemed to go well and the people were nice. The neighborhood also seemed pretty vibrant, although very, very Mexican. Not that that’s a bad thing.

On Sunday, and even at points today, I felt a bit stressed and longed for the comfort of my own place in Pittsburgh. It’s hard to give up the security of what is known for the unknown, and to be on your own. It’s exciting and good for growth. But it does make you appreciate what you’ve established and the people around you.

Before I had a place to stay yesterday, I was feeling pretty low and lonely. But just 24 hours later, I’m starting to feel like I know what’s up. (It’s only a matter of time before I know every cake shop in town.)

Tomorrow is my first day at Adaptive Path. Tomorrow evening, I’m looking at another apartment.