heatherly's Profile

I fall asleep to the muni bus going by, traffic, random people talking, skateboards, etc. Occasionally we get sirens and car alarms at night, but not often. I don't even hear muni any more -- especially not since we get heavy drapes, sound-minimizing blinds, and a fan. Even though we're in the middle of the city, we can hear the foghorns on really foggy nights, too. It's lovely.

Waking up is another thing altogether. Neighborhood construction, semi trucks rolling by, rush hour buses... nothing compares to the dulcet tones of the GARBAGE TRUCKS. Seriously, of all the things that could possibly drive me nuts living in the city, the only thing that really bothers me is those damn garbage trucks. They're deafeningly loud-- impossible to drown out with the fan, the blinds, blankets over my head... And they come every morning. I really don't understand it.

I grew up in Monterey and whenever I go home to visit my parents, I'm always amazed by how well I sleep. I'm pretty sure it's because it's so quiet. Still, I love the city noise (except the garbage trucks). I just wish we had more birds.

ltboatshow's idea of making a map is a great one. I've never bought a house before, but I did this for my last apartment search and it was really helpful. There's an even easier way to make a map, though: use Google maps. If you have a google account (Gmail, etc.) just go to http://maps.google.com while you're logged in, click on My Maps, then click on Create New Map and go from there. It's pretty self explanatory. You can draw points (using different graphics), areas, and paths. I drew a bunch of areas that I would be willing to live in, then added a bunch of important landmarks (grocery stores, schools, etc.) then put all the apartments I was looking at on the map with prices, descriptions, etc. It was especially helpful to my boyfriend, who didn't know the area as well as I did.

Here are my standbys:

- Hummus and pita
- Quesadilla with avocado and maybe some beans
- Grilled cheese
- Scrambled eggs and english muffin or toast
- Toast topped with soft boiled eggs, salt, pepper
- Toast with avocado and salt on top
- Egg/cheese sandwich (on an english muffin)
- Steamed broccoli for veggies
- Raw red pepper (with hummus maybe)

- Huevos rancheros -- put some shredded cheese on a tortilla, pop it in the toaster oven (or microwave), fry a couple of eggs and put it on top of the tortilla/melted cheese, top that with some storebought salsa, and avocado if you have it.

- And my latest favorite: homemade pizzas. This is easy if you plan ahead and stock up. In a recent Everyday Food, Martha Stewart had a great recipe for whole wheat pizza dough. It makes 8 perfect sized individual shells for the freezer. When you want a pizza, just pull one out, top it with pasta sauce (I keep homemade pasta sauce in the freezer), shredded mozarella, a chopped up Aidells sausage, maybe some onions or red peppers or mushrooms, stick it in the oven at 450F for 18-20 mins (better if you have a pizza stone), and you've got an awesome meal that honestly did not take much time or effort. I guess it's a little more difficult than "stick it in the microwave and go" but it's totally worth it and does the trick when you really don't feel like making a full-fledged meal.

I also freeze balls of cookie dough for a much needed homemade cookie fix. Granted, I don't ever actually end up COOKING the dough because eating raw it is just too tasty.

I do sometimes eat prepared food, like Amy's frozen burritos, or Annie's mac n cheese.

Bah. I only wish I had this problem. 3,000 square feet worth of stuff to get rid of? Oh noes! Try packing two San Francisco studio apartments worth of stuff -- already pared down to the essentials -- into one small (<1,000sf), awkwardly laid out, two-bedroom SF railroad flat. That's what happened when my boyfriend and I moved in together about a year ago. When your new bedroom is so small that it doesn't fit even one dresser in addition to the queen bed (let alone two), then we can talk. (Our solution: renting a storage unit. $70/month for a giant closet to hold our camping gear and sentimental things-- worth every cent.)

Also, how is this green? The article advocates getting rid of your perfectly functional 30 year old furniture because "30 years is long enough! Time to bring in some fresh new furniture!" How is that advocating the idea of waste not, want not, reuse as much as possible, etc.?

Last January I moved to an old apartment with single-pane windows right on the 5 bus line. Fortunately we're on the 3rd floor and there's no stop at our corner, though there is a stop sign. During the day, the noise doesn't bother me at all, unless I'm trying to watch a movie. At night, I no longer wake up to the sound of buses. It took a month or two to get there, though. What does wake me up is the garbage trucks in the morning. Those horrible, hateful things. Plus we live near a large supermarket, so the big-rig delivery trucks are also super noisy. Cement trucks are another big culprit. (Let's not talk about the neighbors with the loud ass motorcycles, or the really annoying car alarm that goes off everyday.)

ANYWAY. The point is, you will likely get used to the MUNI, even though it doesn't seem like it just yet (I'm assuming you just moved in). We have a three-pronged attack for the bedroom:

1) Heavy velvet drapes, like these from IKEA. The blue-green is gorgeous. Expensive, though.

2) Under the drapes, high quality noise reduction shades. We got these. They're great. Really well made, and diffuse the light beautifully too.

3) Honestly, though, what's made the biggest difference has been using the air filter as a white noise machine. It has the added bonus of making the bedroom air really fresh and clean.

Hope this helps!

Hey, I think I know where that is! Near Alamo Square, right? I live a couple blocks away. :)

Lame. I grew up in Monterey and my best friends' family had a kitchen with terra cotta tiles and it was fine. Monterey is colder and more foggy than Santa Cruzy. It doesn't freeze that much in that area. I've seen countless houses with terra cotta roof shingles; how is that any different?

Ohh, I would love one of these! When I first saw these I marveled at how beautiful they are, and how I could never afford one...

Thanks AT:SF!

I think it looks pretty good already! My one suggestion would be to get some plants to enliven the area. I don't know much about gardening, unfortunately, but something lush and green and a bit of color. Maybe a mid-sized potted plant in the far left-hand corner (Meyer lemon tree? can those go in pots?). That and/or a planter or two coming out from the side of the the balcony edge like a window box. I wouldn't put plants on top of the balcony because you don't want to block the view any more than the balcony already does. Can you have plants on the outside of the balcony or is that against your HOA rules? Because that could be nice, if so.

Oops, sorry, I just now reread-- you said no light. Never mind!