Is it August 15 already? According to my computer, it is. And since my computer hasn’t risen up in rebellion against its fleshy masters (yet), I’m inclined to believe it. That means today marks my seventh year in San Francisco. This fact blows my mind a little. It doesn’t seem that long ago, but I guess that’s the whole mortality thing in a nutshell. Seven years ago today, my overlong car trip across the country, with my worldly possessions crammed into the back seat and trunk of a Nissan Sentra, came to an end. I had a couple hundred bucks to my name and the promise of a job working at an as-yet unnamed videogame website at Ziff-Davis — this, about two months after I had vowed to stop writing about games and so something more productive with my life. That vow obviously didn’t work out so well. Still, I continue to hold out hope that someday I’ll figure out how to be a worthwhile, contributing member of society.
For now, I feel like I should do something special to mark the occasion, like revisit the first restaurant I ate at once I’d arrived for good. But I saw a few weeks ago that the place closed down recently. That’s probably symbolic of something, but I have no idea what. So… I guess I’ll just keep plugging away at GSQ5, then.
… if anything, you should celebrate the occasion with roast duck over rice.
As someone who’s planning to pack up everything and move out to San Francisco at some point, I’d be interested to read more about your experience moving out there and how you were able to survive in a city that freaking expensive. Perhaps that’s a good subject for a future blog entry…?
Warg, I love you. Roasted duck over rice it is.
The secret to surviving here, for me, was to live an extremely lean lifestyle of buying practically nothing until I could pay off my debts and build up sufficient work on the side to get myself situated. I had about a year of comfort and low stress before my girlfriend (now fiancée) lost her job and I had to support us both. Which I’m still doing, and which is pretty much completely impossible in a city this expensive. The lesson here, I guess, is to fly solo? Hmm… nah.
Do you now find yourself using the word hella a lot? I think that’s how you know you’ve officially become a Norcal citizen – seamless integration of “hella” into your everyday speech.
Anyway, congrats. Lasting 7 years in SF shows some tenacity.
Considering the sheer amount of drek that substitutes for video game analysis and journalism out there I consider your contributions highly valuable. If moving on to grander things is still a dream of yours I wish you great luck. But right now you are helping to fill an intellectual hole in an industry with a dearth of viable replacements. Your contributions are very much appreciated.
Anywho, happy anniversary!
That’s…incredible. Today actually marks my 7 year anniversary living across the Bay, in Berkeley.
Here’s to a good choice, I guess!
Not to be cheesy, Jeremy, but you contribute so much already. You bet your ass my kids will grow up reading GameSpite Quarterly. What you do is plenty worthwhile.
I’ve been in Boca Raton for over four years, but I haven’t gotten in any deals with this town’s supposedly numerous white collar criminals, although a man who claims to be one of Don King’s photographers frequents the convenience store I work at.
Just visited San Fran for the first time ever, cool place
@”Still, I continue to hold out hope that someday I’ll figure out how to be a worthwhile, contributing member of society.”
But, what profit is it to a man, if he gains the world, yet loses his videogame journalism? I think your site is the ONLY one of my 2001 or so regular sites still kicking… Though it’s come a long way since then. :)
This post made me think about how long I’ve been casually visiting the gamespite-toastyfrog sites. When I first saw a link because of the MGS Thumbnail Theater, not sure I envision myself visiting in 2010 at that point. Then again, if you told me I’d be posting this in 2010 back in those days, I might not be too surprised.
This post also makes me recall when I first found ToastyFrog. I believe that it was Tycho from penny-arcade.com who wrote about the paper fanzine. I still have the last two issues on my shelf somewhere. I remember the launch of 1up.com too, and being pleased to find people like Parish and Pinkard working there.
Heh… it’s a funny old thing, life.
But I guess everything has worked out pretty well so far, so no regrets, right?
Happy 7th… umm… anniversary of moving to San Fransisco? Yay!
Trying… really… hard… to resist participating in the “I’ve been visiting this site forever!” contest.
I remember wanting to pack everything up and move to California right after I graduated high school but I just sat on the couch until the feeling passed. I think I really dodged a bullet on that one.
Congrats, Jeremy!
I’ve been a worthwhile, contributing member of society (more or less) for the last twelve and a half years. And let me just say – it’s overrrated…