My New Neighborhood

I'm right in the center of the Hawthorne-Belmont area, so I'm only about three blocks north of Hawthorne, which is full of independent (and in many cases eccentric) stores and restaurants. There are also plenty of bus stops along Hawthorne, so I don't have excuses for continuing to indulge in my bus phobia (it seems to be a combination of fear of getting lost and fear of getting yelled at by a bus driver--I had some bad experiences in St. Louis). Starting probably in April, there's a farmer's market just about a block from my apartment.

I'm planning on applying for volunteer work at a library that I haven't yet visited--it's the Belmont branch, on Belmont and 39th (I'm on Salmon and 21st), so it's within walking distance.

Today I took a walk to Safeway in order to get a jug of honey (I know it's extravagant, but it's for health reasons--my chain-smoking mother messed up my respiratory system during the first almost two decades of my life, so my throat gets clogged up easily). I saw a grey tomcat in the parking lot (I've seen at least five cats in the parking lot of my new apartment complex) and walked down the street past brightly-painted big Victorian houses, one of which has Tibetan prayer flags strung across the front porch and has a front yard almost entirely surrounded by dense bamboo. I came to a corner, turned, petted a big blue-eyed Himalayan cat, then a few seconds later petted a grey and brown tabby with white boots, and soon came to Hawthorne Blvd. Straight across the street was the Grand Central Baking Company (which is kind of like the St. Louis Bread Company), and about a block up the street was a fabric store called Cool Cottons (where I'm thinking I should drop off my resume). On the other side of the street, as I kept walking, there's a fruit and vegetable market in a tent called Uncle Paul's or something like that, with big neon hand-made signs with messages like "Kiwi 25c! Wow!" I was tempted to stop there instead of Safeway, but I decided I'll do that next time. Safeway (a regular grocery store) is on Hawthorne and 27th, a short walking distance.

Walking back from Safeway, I walked along the side of the street that Uncle Paul's Market is on, so I got a closer look, and I walked past the intersection where I had first gotten onto Hawthorne. On almost the corner of Hawthorne and 20th there's a little 1940's era movie theater (where I went with my dad to see the latest Indiana Jones flick) where I discovered they're showing Coraline at 3:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow I'm going with the Vegetarian Meet-Up Group to the Coast for volunteer work cleaning the beach, but I'm thinking I'll be going to the movie on Sunday. I read the novel Coraline and am a really serious Neil Gaiman fan--Neverwhere is probably my favorite fantasy novel and I've read it 7 times.

On a previous visit to the new apartment, before I moved in, I noticed a purple and green Victorian house with the sign Salmon Street Writer's Group out front. They have writing workshops and they do cost money; who knows, maybe someday I'll teach workshops there. Further past the writer's workshop is a deadend with a red brick school facing it, and next to the school is a plain park which, at the time, was full of seagulls. I have so got to take my camera there on a rainy day--it seems like I see more seagulls on wet days.