Powell and Market

My first day of work went well. The commute to San Francisco is pretty long, but I don't mind. I've always kind of liked taking the train. The sounds, the people-watching, the sway from the upper seating level, the small carbon footprint, the glimpses of other cities... I do enjoy it. Bart is a bit less charming, but I'm still happy to be taking it instead of driving. Oh, and the people-watching is excellent on Bart, because I can watch the reflections in the windows in the dark tunnels. The $159 that I paid this morning for my June Caltrain ticket was a little painful, but I like belonging to the "club" of daily commuters. So élite. None of that one ride ticket nonsense for me!

My office is on the top (12th) floor of the Flood Building at Powell and Market. The building survived the 1906 earthquake! We have such a lovely view of the city--especially City Hall. I love it. I'll have to take some photos of the view, and of my work area, soon. For now, here's my building:


The people at work are very nice, as is the other intern. We started off this morning with a crash course in homelessness: the history, the causes, the major legislative acts, etc. Then, after an orientation to the office and our computers, I was introduced to my two supervisors. One is a staff attorney, and the other is a policy analyst (who got her Ph.D. from Cal, woo hoo!). I was given a writing project right off the bat, which involved researching the practices of Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia. Luckily, we had a DVD that had tons of info on the organization, so I actually spent some of my afternoon watching a movie. I kept getting this nagging feeling that I had read about Project H.O.M.E. before, and then I realized that Sister Mary Scullion, one of the organization's co-founders, was one of this year's Time 100! I recall being rather amused by the closing line of the article:

When Jon Bon Jovi (a loyal Project supporter) described Mary to the press as a nun "who swears and spits," the good sister merely replied, "I do not spit" — and then returned to her work of tirelessly saving her city, one desperate citizen at a time.

Well-played, Sister. At any rate, I finished the assignment, and cannot wait to see what tomorrow will hold! Let me know if you want to make a lunch date, SF kids...