10 Things I Miss About Silicon Valley

1. The weather

   Oh sweet balmy days, how I miss thee as I avert my gaze from the triple-digit thermometer. 

2. The food

   So many restaurants, so little time.  

3. The gays

   No, that's not a typo. I said the GAYS. That's right. I want me some gays! I know they're here somewhere. I just haven't found any to call my own yet. No one asking me to whip up a couple of mini skirts for him on my sewing machine. No one enticing me to one of the Balls so I can feel inadequate next to all that unattainable male perfection. No one to tell me that outfit makes my butt look big so just put it back on the rack right now!

4. Working at KPMG

   Sweatshop? Yes. But did I meet some excellent people who are still good friends to this day? You betcha. And did I have great fun getting everyone together for happy hour so we could all relax and have some fun? Absolutely. If you are an accountant and you want to get ahead in your profession, work for a big public accounting firm. What doesn't kill you makes your resume stronger.

5. My condo

   There is something to be said for owning your own place, knowing you can paint or demolish any time the mood strikes you. Of course, you end up in decision coma about exactly what to do first/what color/what style so you never actually DO any of those projects, but that is entirely beside the point.

6. Vietnamese Pho

   Especially Pho 909 in Milpitas, otherwise known as "Dirty Pho" to me and my lunch buddies. Pho restaurants (pronounced 'feu,' like 'full' without the l's) are known for their giant bowls of noodle soup, but I always get the vermicelli dry noodle dish with grilled pork and fried eggroll chopped up and strewn about the top. Don't expect Vietnamese eggrolls to taste like Chinese eggrolls. These are soooo much better. Just pour a little fish sauce over the giant heap and proceed to heaven.

7. Happy hour

   Drinking with friends every Friday night without exception. God I miss that. You know, I own a Prius now. And I only work 'til noon every other Friday. AND my job is 30 minutes closer to the Bay Area than my home. So, in theory, I could dust off my Happy Hour Coordinator hat and drive up there after work one Friday a month, no problemo. Hm. HMMMM. ::Must look into this::

8. The glamor of high tech

   No it isn't really glamorous. In fact, watching all those promising start-ups go under was downright depressing. But the IDEA of working in the high-tech industry was glamorous. I miss the excitement of "what could be" if all the planets aligned and the VC's came a-calling.

9. Convenient air travel

   I loved, loved, LOVED living so close to three international airports. Fresno has an international airport, too. At least they call it "international." But it costs twice as much to fly out of Fresno and I usually have to layover in one of the big airports anyway. And on the way home, no matter how long and exhausting my trip, I'd rather drive for three hours than sit around bored at the airport waiting for my connection knowing I still have a white-knuckle trip on a prop plane ahead of me. (Did you know less experienced pilots have to fly prop planes until they earn enough hours to graduate to the big planes?)

10. My peeps

    See #7 Happy hour. My peeps are the ones who attended happy hour regularly and made me laugh. Ah, the golden years of drinking too much, eating too much, and having too much fun. Oh how I miss thee. 

Technorati Tags: Bay Area, List, Yearning

Comments

[Jenn Bo]

Excellent list!

I always tell people that "pho" is pronounced like "fuh" as in "f*ck". In my neck of the woods there is a restaurant called "What the Pho?" and I always giggle to myself as I drive by. I have no idea if it is really fu*ll or fu*ck but I think it is the same.

My list of the bay area would go something like this:
- Peeps
- Happy Hour (accountants in Seattle view happy hour like little French man Steve did - "why would I want to spend MORE time with YOU PEOPLE." - face squished in disgust). I still go to happy hour because Busby's co-workers are into Happy Hour (they don't even wait for Friday - any evening is game). But I PREFER happy hour with my tax buddies. Then we can complain about work for a bit and then chastise ourselves for TALKING about work. (The shame!) In any case, venting is not always a bad thing.
- My boss (although I have a good one now)
- Food: Pho 99 (best vietnamese pork), Burrito Real (and that other hole in the wall on old middlefield with the best carnitas), Hunan Home (when it was good - not so much anymore), Joy Luck dim sum, the diner on calveras blvd with the yummy cakes, Bannana Leaf, Amber (can't long for Tumerik any more), etc. I could go on, but I'll stop.
- One more call out for my peeps!

[J. Clerkin-Whitcomb]

Ahh...Poor little lost one.
Get thy fag-hag self over to the Tower District, where you will find your people waiting to greet you with open arms and feather boas. (Not to mention some good restaurants)Let your iridescent eye shadow be a beacon unto them
and you shall be lost no more!

[G]

He waits at the door, hope in his heart, a tear in his eye . . .
Empty office, empty nest . . .*SIGH*

[Guest]

You can find lots of Pho in Fresno. Have you tried Pho 99 on McKinley; Pho Paradise on Fresno St between McKinley and Clinton; May Cafe at Fresno and Clinton; many others also.

[GetSheila]

Great tips, z! Any good ones in Merced? I work up there most days. Thank you thank you! I will check them all out.

[Guest]

Don't know Pho around Merced but I expect it shouldn't be hard to find.

Also if you haven't, check out a couple of websites for Fresno.

Creative Fresno (creativefresno.org) is a collection of area professionals, knowledge workers, and creative types. They are pushing to improve the city. They also hold mixers around town, the next one is tomorrow, Sep 8. Info at this page, http://www.fresnofamous.com/node/3649
fresnofamous.com can also connect you with lots of cultural and urban type events in the area.

http://www.mindhub.org/ is the online discussion boards for Creative Fresno. Sometimes some interesting posts.

And don't forget, Fresno does have a craigslist spot. LOL