fall 2024 in review
moving to sf, starting a new job, and everything else in between
I used to publish somewhat frequently termly reviews while I was at Waterloo (see 4B term in review, 4A term in review). Now I'm out of school I thought I would graduate to writing a year in review like most people do, but so much has happened in these past four months thought I would focus on this quarter instead!
So to no further ado, here were some highlights & learnings from this fall 2024 :)
moved to the bay
With a few hiccups along the way!
I did the big move from Ontario to San Francisco! The move itself was a very stark welcome to adulthood - all the bags I checked were all lost/delayed, my flight was delayed by 4 hours, and I funnily ran into someone from my high school at my airport gate. Nothing feels more adult than arriving to your destination and having to call multiple insurance numbers.
A few lessons:
(1) Very thankful for airtags! They felt like an expensive purchase initially but was so great for a peace of mind - I actually ended up knowing where my luggage was before the airport staff.
(2) Take photos of your suitcase and belongings. This makes it much easier to help people identify your suitcase, and in the worst case that it's lost, you at least know what exact items were in there and what you can reimburse to get replaced.
(3) You're entitled to reimbursement, even if your luggage is just delayed by a few days. You can reimburse any items you need to get in the interim (clothing, toiletries etc.) while you don't have your luggage. My reimbursement ended up taking over a month to come in, so I wouldn't buy things you wouldn't actually purchase yourself, but was still super helpful.
Everything actually ended up working for the best at the end, because I was actually pretty worried about how I'd transport all my luggage from the airport to the temporary apartment on my own, but with the luggage delay they ended up shipping it directly to my place which was a win!
started work at netflix on the design technology team
Ahh first full-time job out of school! I wrote a little bit about why I took the role here. So far it's lived up to what I've been most excited about - the first project I got to work on is in a space I'm really interested in, and I really love working on things that are consumer/member-facing. I can't share too much more about what I'm working on publicly but I really am enjoying it so far.
There's also no shortage of work to do - there's always design teams looking for coded prototype support and fun experimentations to collaborate on. I participated in an ML/design hackathon my first month and am in constantly in awe how much I can learn here especially as the first new grad in the design org.
work travels
I didn't realize how much travel I get to do in my role which is pretty fun (although is very project dependent). From Sept - Oct I went to Chicago, NYC, and LA all for work trips - Chicago was for a user research study, NYC was for my team onsite, and LA was for a new grad/new employee onboarding event.
The user research trip was particularly interesting - actually observing how real users might interact with something you've built is fascinating, and more often than not they behave much differently than your expectations! Something I really love about my role is how closely it's looped in with user feedback, research, and the design process.
I explored a bit of Chicago on my last day which was also cool to see - definitely an underrated city and gives me the vibes in between Boston and NYC.
culture
Although I'm the only new grad hired in my org (design) and on my team, I've been enjoying having the other SWE new grads around! Netflix did a great job at cultivating a strong new grad community, and people were a big fact in my job decision - one of the factors I mentioned in my post on the job trifecta.
I didn't realize how much having a new grad community would make a difference but it's such a special feeling walking into office and having people you can eat lunch with if your teammates aren't in and having people around you going through similar experiences of moving away and navigating Netflix. These relationships are the ones I won't forget and I'm still in touch with some of the interns from last summer who are working elsewhere now!
During our LA trip, we visited the iconic theatre at the office, toured a real set, did a Q&A with the Emily in Paris team, went on a Hollywood bus tour, and learned more about other parts of the business. Sometimes I get so immersed in the tech and product side of things that I forget about the entertainment and media arm of the company. This trip was a great reminder that yes, you’re working for the company making that show featured on the Sunset Blvd billboard you just passed!
It's also generally an exciting time to be at Netflix, especially with live coming up (the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson and the Christmas NFL show), games, and more.
commute & choosing where to live
I've never lived in South Bay before so I wanted to try it out for a month as I had to be in the office (in Los Gatos) 4x a week for onboarding. I lived in San Jose with other new grads and also drove a car by myself for the first time. It was definitely a period of growth going from not driving on the highways at all, to leaving hangouts early to drive back in daylight, to finally be comfortable visiting friends in Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and other parts of the bay and driving back at night.
I slowly realized I didn't enjoy living in South Bay much at all - it almost felt like I was back in the Toronto suburbs except it was always sunny. I crashed in SF over the weekends and felt exhausted juggling living in both locations. The peacefulness and quiet were nice, but there wasn't much to do outside of work other than maybe go to the gym, drive to a nearby South Bay "downtown" for dinners and drive out to hikes/beaches on the weekend, and most importantly found myself missing out on being able to hang out with people in the city. So, I decided to apartment hunt in SF and settle there instead!
The commute is rough but I mostly go to the office 2x a week (occasionally 3x) since most of my team is distributed. I've learned to make the most of it and it's almost a blessing in disguise. Outside of doing work tasks, I can also use it to knock out any miscellaneous tasks like prepping for meetings, responding to emails/slack, planning my week, and annoying errands I wouldn't want to dedicate other parts of my day to.
My experience in San Francisco became even more special because I intentionally chose to be here, and I'm very much trying to make the most of it where I can.
apartment hunting
So this was the first time I looked for an apartment in SF that was for an actual lease, not a sublet! For neighborhoods, I was looking into Hayes Valley, NoPa, Lower Haight, Alamo Square, Pac Heights, & Russian Hill.
I honestly feel like you really can't go wrong with whatever neighborhood you choose! Each neighborhood has its own charm or specific streets that have all the shops & restaurants, like Hayes, Haight, Union, Polk, Divisadero, Irving, and Fillmore. You could also prioritize whether it's important to be really close to parks or to water. But SF is so small it's pretty easy to get around to most places!
For me, I really wanted to live somewhere that had the typical SF charm (bay windows and older finishings) instead of the newer builds, even though those may have made my commute much shorter, and somewhere sunny (so anything left of twin peaks was out) with easy access to other parts of the city.
I ended up settling on a place in Russian Hill - it wasn't the first neighborhood I expected to live in but I'm loving it so far. I'm just a few minutes walk from the gym, close to Fort Mason Park/the water, tons of coffee shops and restaurants on Polk st, and easy to get to Pac Heights, North Beach, the Mission + Hayes, and downtown. The main con is that it's right on a hill, but I've gotten used to that by now.
I started looking a month before I wanted to move but even 2 weeks is enough because most places were ready for immediate start dates. Some things I learned on the apartment hunt:
You have to know immediately after the viewing if you want the apartment or not - some things go fast, especially if multiple people are touring it, you'd want to put your application in sooner
Part of me wished that I had come earlier and done the apartment search prior to starting my job - I didn't anticipate having so many work trips in October and I only had my Airbnb until Nov 1st, so I had to speed-run apartment searching at the end of September.
I thought a lot about trying to live close to friends (a lot of my close friends lived near mission bay, hayes/alamo) but realized it didn't matter too much - true friends will come to where you are! We usually take turns hosting/visiting each other's neighborhoods or meeting in the middle. SF is pretty small, and most friend's locations aren't permanent anyway (a lot of them are planning to re-evaluate once their leases are up). It also ends up being a happy surprise when I do end up meeting new people who live in my neighborhood or nearby (i.e Nob Hill or North Beach) because I always get so excited to make new neighborhood friends, making me more open to new friendships!
sf-maxxing
Although I lived in sf for a total of 12 months before this (during internships), I feel like I've seen more of SF and the bay these 4 months than previously. I think it was mostly a mindset change - life truly is so much more fun when all the places are just things you have yet to try on your bucket list.
One of the biggest highlights was finally completing the SF Crosstown Trail —something I’ve wanted to do since moving back. I got the chance to do it in mid-November! The 16-mile trail crosses diagonally through San Francisco, passing through John McLaren Park, Glen Park, the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, and Golden Gate Park. It then continues through Sea Cliff and the Presidio before ending at the Lands End Trail.
It felt like an ambitious plan to do this the morning right after my housewarming, but I'm glad I committed to it because I didn't know what other weekend would've worked to pull it off. It was a rare opportunity to pass through parts of San Francisco I wouldn't normally find myself in: I found a beautiful basketball court nearby John McLaren Park, was in awe of the forest-like paths in the middle of the city, and really enjoyed our lunch stop on Irvine St which had a ton of great Asian food, and bookmarked it for future food spots.
I also visited the Mill Valley Library, which has been on my bucket list since seeing Patricia Mou post about it on X. It was so serene to be in a library surrounded by greenery and nature, almost like you're in a reading nook in the middle of the forest.
I also visited the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa with some friends and it was really inspiring to learn more about Schulz's creative process in developing the iconic Peanut comics. It was remarkable how he delivered a new comic strip every Sunday for nearly 50 years. It felt special to be in the town that was later his home for many years - seeing the ice rink he frequented and his favourite cafe all right by the museum.
Some other bay area trip highlights include visiting Sausalito (which is just a 30 min bus from my place on Golden Gate Transit), along with visitng Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz on labour day weekend!
And yes - I still have more things on my bay area bucket list! Hit me up if you want to do any of them with me, or if there's anything on my list I should add:
Walk/run to Sausalito on the Golden Gate bridge
Muir Woods
See the sunset on Mount Tam
The highway 1 drive from SF to LA
I also didn't realize how much my time in SF previously in 2022 and 2023 compounded to now. Finally coming back and moving here full-time almost felt like I was coming back home. After posting about moving back here, I was met with a ton of positivity, excitement, and DMs from past colleagues and friends I'd met from my times in SF previously asking to catch up and hang out now I'm back. I think I'm really starting to find my people here, and as much as I love sporadically visiting other cities, it's nice to finally have a home base and invest in relationships in one place.
hosting, adult friendships, and spending my time
I could probably write a whole new post on adult friendships itself. Transitioning from school to the adult world is interesting, and also liberating in a sense. I've found that I worry less about coming across as "cringe" online or in the work I do now I've graduated since you no longer have to deal with judgment from classmates. The people you spend your time with on a day-to-day as an adult are the ones that you intentionally choose, and that shift has made a big difference.
I think also one of my biggest lessons is to also choose people that choose you. Sometimes friendship "rejections" hurt even more than romantic ones because it's not something we're naturally accustomed to experiencing. You might realize there are some people you might be the one who's constantly reaching out while others can be flaky and don't end up showing up last minute. I learned that it's important to not take these things personally - some people might already have their cups full with an existing friend group they give a higher priority to or might simply be too busy. But through hosting, reaching out, and experimenting you eventually find the people who do show up and reciprocate and that's what matters.
I've also made it a point to do something fun most Friday and Saturday nights with friends. Not out of necessity, but moreso that there's a small window of time when people in their early to mid-20s are still in the city. I feel like it's a prime time to have memorable experiences and stimulating conversations with people, and it's as simple as just going out to dinner with 2 or 3 friends, trying a new hobby (ex. making puzzles) or having a movie I wanted to watch and inviting some friends to do it with me. I wrote a little bit about it in my post on how I want to best spend my time and how I try to dedicate dinner for social periods. Ofc I still like a weekend evening in (especially when the day is packed) but it's nice to carve out time for it especially when friends are busy with their jobs during the week.
vc events
Of course, SF is nothing without their VC-sponsored events! I've been organizing a women who lift event monthly - a free workout class for women builders in sf with Khushiand Amanda which has been a ton of fun. It's been a great way to meet other women in tech across the city and also empowering being in a safe space learning how to weight lift. It's something I look forward to every month!
I also dabbled in hosting a poker night with Katie and finally put my dining table to use! Poker nights seem like a really easy way in getting different people together in some friendly competition.
I'm definitely looking to do more events now I'm finally settled in, but prioritizing more recurring events!
rabbitholeathon 5.0
We held our 5th rabbitholeathon at the beginning of December in Orem, Utah. This time we did a themed rabbitholeathon, with the theme being focused on incentives, institutions, and infrastructure. I truly think each rabbitholeathon keeps getting better and better after each iteration, and this was no different!
This was the first one we've slightly shifted the age group from late college folks and older, had some people from government-tech backgrounds (probably because of the theme), and had people come in from as far away as the UK to join. The house we had was massive (had an indoor basketball court, pool, and an escape room inside the house) and gave some cozy vibes for rabbitholing. Each time I leave rabbitholeathon my book recommendation list gets longer and my heart feels overjoyed from all the curious people I got to meet.
Huge thank you to Quinn, Kasra, Lidia, Anthea, Arjun, Dani, Jaclyn, and Amir for bringing this to life, and helping keep rabbitholeathon going :)
parting thoughts and focuses for q1 2025
Looking back, a lot has happened over these past four months and it went by so quickly. If you made it to the end here, I'm also so grateful for you all reading all of my ramblings and life updates - a big change in 2024 was how much of a community I found from writing online and I'm excited to continue doing so.
For the next quarter, I still haven't fleshed out all my goals yet, but I'm mostly looking forward to organizing more recurring hangouts, hosting more at my place, carving out more exploration and creative time, and finding more thought partners to collaborate with. I also want to hit more things off my SF bucket list, get into running, and group sports, and take advantage of the nice weather here.
Another goal I've been thinking about is diversifying my content intake. I'm guilty of always re-watching the same shows on Netflix (because I already know they're good!) but I want to push myself to try new media and read more books. I'd love to become more well-read and informed about the captivating stories that surround us. Welcoming any and all recs!
~ mathu
hi beautiful being, welcome to this city (again!). check out the china beach during sunset:)
Really resonate with a lot of the SF vs South Bay and new grad friendship sections. Also Kruti feature!