My arrival in California Saturday marked the beginning of a new adventure. I want to to take this opportunity now that I have been here a few days to recount my experiences and share some thoughts and photos of the first couple of days just before the kickoff of WWDC.
Day 1: Arrival
The flight to San Francisco was one of the more delightful I've flown. Normally, I am stressed and anxious the entire flight. I'm not particularly fond of flying despite having done it many times. There's something about being in a cramped metal capsule you have no control over piercing its way through the sky that is only slightly unnerving to me. Nevertheless, I was able to find solace thanks to my recent anti-anxiety exercises as well as by taking advantage of Delta Comfort+'s free alcoholic drinks. The uneventful flight lasted for a few hours before making its landing at SFO.
My original plan once landing was to hop aboard the Caltrain and head straight for my Airbnb. However, I then decided it would be more fun to grab a bite to eat somewhere in San Francisco before making my trek to the southern end of the bay. The airport layout was not entirely clear which way to pick up mass transit, causing me to walk the wrong way a few times, but I did eventually figure out how to pick up the BART.
I made my way on the train down to Indochine Vegan, a restaurant specializing on plant-based Asian cuisine. The eggplant tofu was pretty savory and delicious. The cooked purple veggie and spongey tofu soaked up the sweet and perfectly salty marinade. After a satisfying lunch, I decided I should probably make my way towards my Airbnb so I could drop off all the luggage I was hauling around.
It was quickly obvious to me I failed to understand the mass transit system correctly. I made my way the wrong way down the BART a couple of times before hitching a ride on the bus and making my way toward the Caltrain station. Unfortunately, I had just missed the previous train to San Jose and had to wait over an hour for the next one. Frustrating! I'll be more careful in planning ahead my transit next time, although I did appreciate the spontaneous decision to see the city and grab some delicious plant-based bites from a local eatery.
Finally, the next Caltrain arrived. I boarded with all of my things and sat down for a nap that I desperately needed after an early day of traveling across the continent. I was able to catch a few Z's on my nearly two-hour trip down the Bay before arriving at San Jose Diridon Station. The transportation optimist inside of me was ready to catch a bus to my destination about two miles away. In reality, I instead opted for a Lyft ride after exhausting myself from the day's events. I arrived at my Airbnb and realized an item exploded in my luggage. As a result, my room and suitcase smell wonderfully fresh of bergamot (love ya Carmen).
Later on, I was feeling hungry and not yet sure of my surroundings other than noticing during my Lyft ride a restaurant called Vegetarian House. This piqued my interest as a young vegan, so I made my way there on foot, a modest 28 minute walk from the house I am staying at. At Vegetarian House, I ordered mock BLT with avocado. It was scrumptious and the faux bacon fairly faithfully simulated the taste of the real thing (without the cruelty or cancer!). I seem to have luck finding good restaurants and meals on a whim, and for this I am thankful.
Making my way back, it was quickly becoming late. The sun had set; the temperature had fallen. I arrived back at the Airbnb to meet my host. We introduced ourselves and chatted a bit about life and work. Then we bid separate ways to head to bed. I was pretty beat by this point, so bed was a fantastic idea. I dozed off into my new environment with explorations awaiting in the morning.
Day 2: Adjusting & Conference Prep
I gave myself an extra day in between arriving and the start of WWDC to settle in and explore the city a bit. There is something about the California air that's different form home. One could describe it as fresh, crisp, and sweet. The latter of these probably has to do with the diverse plant and flower species that simply couldn't survive in the harsh continental climate back in Michigan. One particular plant I've noticed emits a pungent and sweet aroma permitting the air around it. This bush is found on several street corners and people's yards. Maybe I can find an AI app to identify that type of plant! It adds to the ambience of the bright, ever-shining California sun painted over the lush landscape. Warm to hot during the day and markedly cooler at night, this climate seems to be the ideal temperature for outdoor activities requiring just a light jacket if any additional layers.
I got things neatly arranged around my Airbnb, unpacking some clothes and other items. I then proceeded to make my way to the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to register and pick up my badge for a fun and informative week ahead at WWDC.
Apple gave everyone a WWDC jacket as well as some really cool pins. The ones depicted here on my jacket are the Swift logo and the old-school rainbow Apple logo. In the other pictures, you can see the convention center decked out in this year's WWDC themed artwork, depicting collaboration between little animated humans. Pretty neat concept underscoring the need for inclusion and diversity among software engineers. I will focus on WWDC specifically in another post.
I hung out around the registration for a little while, enjoying some "free" lunch and mingling with some like-minded developer folk out on the sunny, open front porch of the convention center under white tents and high hopes.
After hanging around for a while, I made my way to pick up some groceries from my love Whole Foods located just outside the downtown near the SAP Center, home of the Sharks. I picked up some sustenance for the week including some fresh, local almond milk and sweet red cherries - a summer time favorite of mine.
After dropping off my groceries at the Airbnb, I went back to the convention center via bus to soak up the remainder of the day and mingle. Unfortunately, I left my badge at home, so I made my way to grab an "Oregon chai latte" with almond milk nearby at Caffe Frascati. Yum, this was smooth, sweet, and tasty. Luckily, the conference preview was ending anyway, so I didn't miss too much. The café closed soon as well, so after briefly working on my own app I made my way to Whole Foods again (!) to pick up a couple groceries I forgot the first time around. I also grabbed some potatoes, sweet and Idaho, from the hot bar. Man, were they tasty. I adore potatoes, in case you don't know.
Headed back home was a fun adventure, figuring out the most optimal bus schedule and realizing I'd still have to walk quite a ways that late at night. Oops - thankfully I'm a white male, and I also didn't mind it. It's been peaceful to stroll the city neighborhoods, comparing and contrasting them to those back home. I finally made it back to the house I am staying at, threw on some Silicon Valley (appropriately), munched on some of the WF hummus I picked up, and then eventually passed out for an exciting keynote to kick off WWDC the next morning.
I learned a few new things about travel and mass transit during my first couple of days here which I hope will serve me well the rest of the week and heading into my next adventure. Overall, it's fun to be away from home and have a unique and different schedule. We often get stuck in our routines and need to be reminded there's a world outside of those to absorb and experience. This so far has been a nice change of pace after dedicating myself closely to my work and learning the ropes of a new role for the previous four months. And this is just the beginning of my journey. I hope to share more updates with you all soon!