Start of new life

And so, I have arrived in California.

The first week here has not been easy. I arrived on Wednesday, July 27th and my first mission was to open a checking account at an American bank. That part was easy; the problems began when I tried to put my money into it. Back in Canada, I've decided that instead of bringing cash into US, I'd make a money order and then deposit it as soon as I open an account here. Unfortunately, Bank of America decided to put my money order on hold for a week, which has really screwed up my plans to get an apartment by the end of the weekend.

Nevertheless I spent the next 3 days looking at apartments in both San Francisco and Mountain View(near work). What I soon realized is that housing in Mountain View is both cheaper, and better than housing in San Francisco. The downside ? Mountain View is BORING. And by boring, I do mean boring. There is absolutely nothing here.

Finally, on Sunday I've discovered a fairly decent place in San Francisco. It is only 5 minutes walking distance to Google Shuttle(free shuttle bus that takes San Francisco Googlers to work every morning, and home every evening), the building itself is fairly nice and it's right in the middle of the city, close to all the entertainment. The apartment is small(bachelor apt, 450sq feet), and is very pricy. Nevertheless I decided to take it due to the advantages described above. My placement there is still not guaranteed; if nobody else takes it before me on saturday, then I will move in(I can't take it before Saturday, because Saturday is the earliest I can come to SF, sign the lease and pay for it)

Monday was the first day at work. No big surprises. I'm back with my old team, working on Google Print (http://print.google.com). Right now I'm in the process of re-familiarizing myself with the system, and just getting up to speed with the changes that happened here while I was gone.

On Tuesday I got myself my very first cell phone. WOHOO :) They have very nice pay-as-you-go plans here. For a $100 you can get a card with 1000(basically 10 centes a minute, anytime, no long-distance charges within US). Given my phone-talking habits, I think this should suit me very well during the next year.

Anyways, enough rambling for now.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That sucks about the money issue. Although I am sure it is a minor set back in the great, new life you are starting. Good luck in all you future endeavours, Iliya. I know you will do well. It was nice knowing you. Make sure to visit us in Toronto sometime.

Graham
8:28 AM
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