San Francisco

I was able to go to San Francisco last week (for the first time) for a training seminar. All expenses were paid by my adviser (except tips). I attended a training on NVivo, which is a program to help code anything from documents to videos to pictures to audio files. It really is an amazing program, and nothing like any program I had used previously. My adviser felt it wise to send me to the training as I'm using the program to code my thesis data. At first I was hesitant because I thought I could figure it out on my own. (I'm pretty proficient at computer programs and can figure most things out.) But like I mentioned, it's nothing like any other program I've used. So off to San Fransisco I went. (It was originally going to be Tampa, but that conference filled up too quickly. San Fran was a nice consolation prize.)

Day 1
I woke up at 3:45 a.m. in order to get to my shuttle at 4:30. (Thanks to my friend Daylee who also got up at the crack of dawn to give me a ride to the shuttle.) The shuttle arrived at the airport around 6 a.m. That meant I had 3 hours to kill before my flight. After checking my suitcase and waiting through the huge security line (tip: don't travel the morning after a 3-day weekend), I went into Burger King, got breakfast, and did some stuff on my computer. I then went to my terminal and watched shows on hulu to pass the time. I could have been doing homework, but that wouldn't have been any fun.

My flight went through Vegas, where I connected to another plane. On the way to Vegas I had a nice chat with the guy, Jeremiah, next to me. He was on his way back to LA from Provo. His wife lives in Provo and is still attending school at BYU. He graduated last year and is working in LA. Talk about a long-distance relationship. Ug.

I get to San Francisco around 1:30 p.m. their time. That means I'd already been up for 11 hours. My hotel shuttle arrives promptly and I head to the hotel. The shuttle driver was super nice and answered all of my questions. He got a nice tip. After checking in, I headed next door to Max's, a very eclectic restaurant. I indulged in a cheeseburger, as it had been MANY hours since my last meal. Afterward, I thought about going into the city to investigate, but was so tired. I fell asleep around 5 and slept straight through to the next morning. (I don't think I've slept that well since my mission.)

Day 2
Holiday Inn's have a GREAT breakfast. I was super satisfied every morning. After breakfast, I caught the shuttle back to the airport where I got on BART, the area transit system. It took me all the way to the financial district, where my training was.

I sat in training all day. My brain was overloaded with information on the program. I sort of felt like I did after my first week of grad school....too much information and not sure what to do with it.

I thought about hitting Union Square on the way back to the hotel, but I was tired again. I pretty much fell asleep when I got back to my room.

Day 3
Pretty much the same as day 2. During lunch I had the most amazing wrap from the food court downstairs from my training. (I think it was the highlight of my day.)

I did hit Union Square on the way back to the hotel, but wasn't too impressed. There wasn't anything there that I couldn't find anywhere else...expect the interesting people. :) After getting to the airport (the final stop of BART), I tried giving my ticket to some men because I still had money on it. They acted like I was trying to sell them drugs. Such a different environment! I decided I'd keep the ticket as a souvenir. (Silly men.)

Day 4
Get up at the crack of dawn again to catch a 6:30 flight home. While waiting in the SLC airport for my shuttle, my cousin Eli (who works for Skywest) came and found me. We were able to chat for about 30 minutes before my shuttle came.

I only took one picture the entire time I was in San Francisco. It was of the interchanges outside of the airport. I get so excited when I see roads over roads...I'm weird, I know. I didn't do any of the touristy things to do in San Francisco. It's hard to investigate a city when you're on your own. Next time I'm there, I'll be sure to plan some 'fun' time.