Discovering San Franciso

Startup Crawl event, feedback

It's an amazing event! Startup crawl consist in many startup which are opening their door, furnish food and drink at the same time. You can go there to discover buildings of your favorites online services, meet employees and other people for networking.  

Most of the time, startup have cool atmosphere, in each one you can find funny things that you don't imagine to find in a work place. At the same time you eat and drink a beer, and meet many people to exchange about your life, technology and business. It's definitively a good moment to share and exchange!

I went to this event with Fabien and Adrien. First we went to Pivotal labs which develop Ruby on Rails software, Engine Yard it a deployment and management Ruby on Rails services, Sauce labs which provide open source services and finally to Scribd which provide a document share platform. We was very good welcome in each of these companies and I thanks them for this.

I juste take a funny picture from Scribd:

And a little video of Scribd. I did not take picture and video of other companies:

My vision of an american cinema

Just a little post to share to you something I just lived. I went to the cinema to see the 2012 movie. About the movie, nothing very exciting. A irealistic stereotype cliché story but with very impresive special effects. Come back to the main subject. First each american people (or almost), buy his 2L Coca Cola goblet and his big pop-corn packet. Seat are, for sure, wearing hole to welcome it. After 45minutes of advert and teasers, and I'm not kidding, the movie start. What amused me was the american people who was laughing about the ridiculousness of the scenes and laugh about it like it was the best joke ever. So we laugh about things that should not be funny. Of course, I'm comparing with a french's cinema. Indeed, french do not laugh like this for action movie. I very enjoy this atmosphere, the american way of transforming sad things in funny one is a very good way of watch movie and I adopted this comportment by doing the same. A very big culture difference!

Photo: Vivian Viola

Temporary flat

After 2 weeks in the 6m^2 Stéphane's bedroom, where I was sleeping on the ground, we decided to rent a temporary flat to let us the time to find something else without living in a cellar.

We are now living in a furnished flat, with a rather good location, with 2 bedroom. It's a temporary one because we want a 3 bedroom flat. There are also some extra not necessary but that we appreciate, I let you discover them in the video. The flat is on the 2000 Broadway St:

The great American food

For sure American food is not the best, but it's something we can appreciate. Often not gastronomic, but fat and generous. You can find this food everywhere in the world but it every time still different from the American's one. 

When you eat American food you discover nothing very news for you, burgers and sandwiches made in my opinion a bip part of it, finally it's not so bad, you like eat but may be not for everyday. You can see above some of my experiences:

In and Out Burger. A famous Western United States fastfood. It was founded in 1948 and is one of the top fast food in customers satisfaction surveys. There are only few basic menu but there are secret menu that you can only find by internet, I give you one of them here. I choose one secret burger: the 2x4 (2 by 4).It mean 2 slice of beef with 4 slice of cheese. You can modulate the 2 number but the maximum is 4. A guy order a 100x100, amazing! Btw the burger was hella delicious.

 

A Bagle, something I'm fond of. American people eat this for breakfast, you can put whatever you want. Beacon, ham, tomatoes, eggs, cheese. Like I used to eat only salt things for the breakfast it's perfect. Cheaper, fast to get, I love it!

 

A typical sandwich. Just after going in a bar we wanted to eat a little thing before go to bed. In America little it's a kind of medium or big size of France.

 

The last one is simply a picture of a typical basic american restaurant. You can see that many things happened into this, the guys only cook fried things, burgers and pizza. You just seat down to the counter, the guy who is asking you what you want to eat call you "Friend". There is a little TV just in front of view with an old movie, it was one of the first Star Wars. After a while the movie stop and you can see the noise on the TV. The guy does not pay attention to this. So the people who was looking begin to speak, just a little. So you look around, you see old picture and advertisement while you are eating you burger in a cardboard plate. An american get up, look a the wall pictures, ask the guy since how many time he do this job, he answered that is all his live, that now he do this for pleasure, that he likes his job. In this place you feel like in a Drive in on the side of a lost road like in a movie. It was a very great moment that I shared with Fabien, simple, but so amazing. 

Day 4: discover of SUPINFO, SOMA and Six Apart...And solving the Windows 7 secret

 First day of school, in reality a introduction to the year of school that finally did not happened. But we discovered the Fisherman district where is the school, we saw the famous Golden Bridge and Alcatraz jail. There is also the place where begin the famous cable car of San Francisco. For sure it's an expensive but cute district. Moreover the sun were with us!

 

Then we went to SOMA(South Of Market) to visit one flat, not very bad but noisy and very dark. Then we was very hungry, like the place was near Stephane's work, we went to a restaurant he knows. It was the best food I ate since I'm arrived to San Francisco. We all took rice which was delicious! It's the Basil Canteen, Thai restaurant. 

 

After this good lunch we went to Six Apart, on the way I saw a huge Left 4 Dead advertisement and a dog with a bag, one more time, I know, you are jealous! We was welcome by Beau, who is the Movable Type project manager. He showed us the Six Apart's offices which are hella cool! Thanks to him, we will come back!

 

In the Muni, we understood the incomprehensible Windows 7 ad. As you can see it's a stupid idea, we think that it's because there customer ask "I want that Windows do this, and now it does it" than the slogan is "I'm a PC, and windows 7 was my idea" (but these one are, presently, almost no display):

     

Day 3: Food discovering and come back to China

A new sunny day was begining, after a little of work for everybody, we go to take a breakfast in a Jamba Juice to drink delicious fresh fruits juice, fresh grass for Stephane (picture above) with very great sandwich, yummy! 

  

Then we went to Bank of America to open a debit account and get temporary card. Thing done in 1h with a very nice agent and 2 identity statement. Then go to the Westfield San Francisco commercial center, you can see a part of it with a picture of the dome.

 

After a cool afternoon, a visit of bedrooms in China Town, we went to SunSet to go a chinese restaurant own by a family member who come from Hong-Kong. There restaurant is at 2241 Judah St and is named Yan Yai Seafood Restaurant. During we was going we went in front of a beautiful house haunted for halloween. For sure we were very good welcome and food was delicious, a little come back in China that we liked.

    

On the way of come back I see an amazing Left 4 dead 2 advertisement, I know you are jealous! There is a funny thing on the San Francisco's subway, in order to open the door, you have to push on a bar which is at the same level than leg, original...

 

SUPINFO San Francisco's building

You can see above the building of my computer sciences school, SUPINFO, which are very good. It is spacious, enlightened with a crazy view on the golden bridge.  

Have a look on the video for visiting:

Day 2 Discover of SF

The second day we enjoy discovering SF with a beautiful weather after a little breakfast just near the flat. Then we walk along Embarcadero where we saw a very beautiful landscape, seagull and pelican flight.

Embarcadero. 

The Bay Bridge.

Incredible incomprehensible Windows 7 adware, US version.

 

Sam Wo,in the center of China Town, a Chinese restaurant where we found Chinese atmosphere, cleanliness and also flavours. In advice you to take starters which are very cheaper. A very good place if you want to eat good Chinese food.

Temporary bedroom

Stéphane is out of kindness to welcome us in his bedroom, you can see above a video about it:

Arrival to SF

Here, some picture about my arrival to San Francisco, with a good sun and a sweet temperature, 15°C. The immigration cross was good, the agent was nice and less serious than I expect.

First we went to visit the downtown, we go to the Apple Store to discover the Mighty Mouse and the new iMac 27". Then we go to a Drive In and then buy some stuff to sleep into Stephane's bedroom.

It's 9:30pm, local time but 5:30am in Paris, so it's time for me to go to sleep

 

Just after our arrival, I already see the famous big trucks.

 

The 12 ways highways...

 

Arrival to San Francisco by the south, activities zone.

 

A build in the Union Square district.

 

A Drive In's Juke Box.

 

To finish, the Drive In's menu, I ate a BLTA; Becaon, Laitue, Tomatoes and Avocado which was forget.