After 3 years of living in Oakland, Celestina and I have moved back to SF. I'm ecstatic about it, I feel like I'm falling in love. Our new place is in the Outer Mission/Excelsior neighborhhood. There is a huge park a block away, lots o' restaurants and best of all it's quiet. Right now church bells are gently chiming. ahh.

West Oakland was getting me down, i just couldn't live in our funky house on Adeline anymore. The 580 freeway, the recycling center with it's constant sound of breaking glass, the cart pushers all the constant garbage dumped EVERYWHERE! It was making me depressed there was just too much for me to filter out. My well being was at stake. Now I'm not knocking Oakland, I'm glad I had a chance to live there.
There are alot of changes happening in Oakland some for the better, some for the worse. Gentrification is a big factor in my old neighborhood. Where brand new condos are being built up (at half a mill) right next to Victorians and homeless encampments under the freeway. Artist warehouse/communities still thrive in Oakland where it seems non existent in SF. But, even those same warehouses are under threat as well.

The things that I loved about living in Oakland were, the old Victorians, soul food, the Parkway, BBQ, rescuing feral cats/kittens and most of all living next to Russell and Grace Robinson. They have been living on Adeline for the last 50 years and have seen their church leveled to make way for the 580 freeway, their children grow and move away, their neighborhood change. They looked out for us, told us that having young people next door made them feel young. I will miss them the most, I wish that we could have packed them up and moved them with us.

I'm home back in the city that I love warts and all.