ok
this one will probably be in installments as the memories of the past two days come back to me

i arrived in san francisco to realize that the handle on my roommate's suitcase (which i had borrowed and promised to take good care of) was broken at some point in transit from l.a. to my destination. i was immediately distraught. however, upon my exit from the baggage claim at the airport, my spirits were lifted. have you ever in your life been fortunate enough to get the feeling upon going somewhere that you just belong there? i was instantly calmed and felt whole driving around san francisco. i love it here, and it is everything that i have ever wanted out of a place to live. it is crowded, but there are not too many people everywhere, and the traffic is not bad at all, because the public transit system is very efficient and not costly either. the hills dont stop, and neither do the beautiful houses packed tight together like sardines. they each have their own character, story, and intensely diverse occupants. they are any color of the rainbow, and each is different in its own unique way.
after my uncle and i arrived at their very own tall skinny house, and i dropped my stuff in their front room, we walked around a few corners, a few flights of stairs, and down the street to a coffee shop. apparently these are everywhere and i am overjoyed by it. they are small, personal, and not costly at all. after a huge cup of good coffee and a good talk, we walked back to the house and waited for my aunt to get home from her meeting. this woman is awesome, let me tell you. both my aunt and uncle are entering their 50's but my aunt is still insanely active. she is a triathelete, and works for berkeley. both are extremely intelligent and liberal, and i am sure are the most like me in my whole ENTIRE family. we made dinner (smoked turkey risotto and fresh steamed brocolli) and had a glass of wine and watched a movie.
i called it a night early, perfectly content and happy.

i woke this morning to the smell of fresh coffee and the local npr station playing (this is how i know these people are really my family). turns out they did their own radio show broadcast the night before i arrived...let me know if you want to hear it.
we sat and enjoyed the morning for a while, and then left for lunch. we ate at the beach chalet, a restraunt on the beach just on the other side of golden gate park. it was GREAT, and after we took a short walk on the beach. a failed visit to the flower garden later, we ended up at ameoba records, where i found a much longed for copy of the andrews sisters on vinyl, and a limited edition mars volta lp as well. let me tell you guys...this place is awesome. they have almost anything you could ever think of, both on vinyl and cd. the staff is highly informed about music and are all very nice. i almost felt uncool compared to them, and though i feel that my knowledge in music is fairly impressive to some, they blew me away. i'm a huge fan of this place if you couldn't tell.
we're off to dinner soon at a place called blue plate, which as it happens, is across the street from the coffee shop that we visited yesterday.
you will probably get another post from me before tomorrow, or after i get back to d-town tomorrow night