How's it Going?

Mostly Empty Building Notes

When I moved in, I was the first tenant and second resident after the property manager. Hardly any cars parked on the street yet, and Cityside Park looked like a construction site, not the almost-finished park that it is today. I got used to the building’s layout, smells, and noises. I went on “exit walks”, which is what I used to call walking around the staircases and exits of my grandma’s condo building.

I even got used to using the auxiliary staircase to head for the bus stop (it’s slightly closer), until one day I opened the door and triggered the alarm. Guess they just hadn’t activated it yet. We didn’t have full mail service for the first few months (the delay seeming to be on the part of the USPS, which insists on installing its own locks but apparently does not keep those locks in stock).

Our mostly empty lounge was filled with acoustic covers of The Beatles, Pet Shop Boys, and Cranberries over the sound system. A chess set occupied a table, and I noticed somebody had moved a piece one day. I made my move, but it was reset before the match could progress much further. Seeing anyone besides building staff and contractors was a notable occurrence. That’s different now, with the building being, roughly, somewhere between a third and half full. It is nice to have neighbors.

The Mainland

Growing up in the Bay Area, we often referred to San Francisco as “The City”. I now want to remind myself that Treasure Island is part of the City, so I’ve decided to call the non-island parts “The Mainland”, or “Mainland SF”. When I go to the Mainland I sometimes feel like an ambassador of sorts. The librarian stared at my address when I got my library card, asking if it was on Treasure Island and then asking me how I could possibly get around. On the ferry, I heard remarks like “I hear those studios are awfully small”. For the record, I quite like mine.

I get my haircuts and my groceries at Embarcadero Center. Between that and the Ferry Building itself, there’s just enough going on by the waterfront to make living on the island almost convenient. I buy more things in cans than I used to. I fit one grocery bag in my backpack and carry one more - often to the Treasure Island Ferry but sometimes to the Muni 25 bus.

These days, things are busier on the island. I’m rarely the only one on the ferry, and occasionally it’s even packed with tourists. I’m no longer surprised when someone gets in the elevator with me, and we even have an occasional line for the Nespresso machine in our building lobby. I know my neighbors at least well enough to borrow a muffin tin.