Accidental Tech Gal Workouts

I'm ever so sorry for the lack of posts the last few days, it was a busy weekend and has been an even busier week thus far. I had a few friends in town from LA, tons of errands, and few rooftop gatherings to attend to better see the lovely blue angels. Us tech gals can't always sleep, eat or work out as much as we like so I'm dedicating tonight's post to accidental tech gal workouts.

1. Hauling a** to the bus -- or other forms of public transpo...I know I referenced this before, but I don't think I can stress how often I do this. I blame nextmuni.com and the crackberry...as soon as I see there is a bus coming and by sprinting two blocks I will save myself 15 minutes of waiting, I just can't say no. Sunday is an excellent example; I forced my brunch mates to sprint across Van Ness in order to catch the bus before it sped off. Of course, I was the one leading the charge and who triumphantly caught the doors while gasping "HOLD THE BUS" -- but what did you expect?

2. Climbing hills in SF -- and by climbing hills, I mean just trying to visit my friends. SF is full of hills (my friend who was here this weekend was flabbergasted that we walked everywhere/no one had cars) and you have to be prepared. I carry flipflops in my huge purse pretty much 24/7 because if I don't, my feet bleed from the heels and I just can't handle that. Have you ever tried walking up to Union from Polk street? What about up Dolores street through Noe Valley? And North Beach is a whole other issue that I'm not even going to bother going into.

3. Carrying all your crap -- Being a city girl I have to carry everything with me. This means when I go to the gym, grocery shopping, or even lugging my laptop from work, I gotta handle it all on my own. Now if you combine carrying all your crap with numbers one and two above, you've got yourself an even bigger problem. I received my wine club shipment today and let me tell you, dragging an awkward box on the bus was definitely not enjoyable. Plus, I find myself limiting my grocery options to things that are light so this means no heavy liquids, canned goods and forget laundry detergent!

4. Stairs -- My office building has seriously the scariest elevator ever. Every day I feel like it's touch and go. I know you may think I'm making a big deal out of nothing but seriously our mail lady told me our elevator was the worst out of any on her ENTIRE route! It often acts up which forces us to climb the five or so flights of teeny tiny devil stairs and by the time you get to the top, you practically keel over in pain. Of course this is completely independent of stairs in residential dwellings (SF, people, SF) that I'm not even going to get into!

Ah, the joys of being a tech gal! At least we burn calories faster than your average chica, right?

The Vaaaaalley

While I am an SF gal at heart, trips to the valley are both necessary and appreciated. Whether it's Palo Alto, San Jose, Mountain View or even the dreaded Sunnyvale (soooo far!) it is nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. That said, the valley has its own form of bustle, it's just often on El Camino instead of Market St. I'm often surprised how many people commute daily between the SF and the SV, I did it myself for a year and I'm glad that time is behind me. Plus now when I do go I can take the train which makes my life SO much easier. My only issue is that the train doesn't have wireless! A lot of other public transpo options in SF do have it, one would think the major connector between two technology hubs would get it together! Life is hard when a tech gal can't always get what she wants...

Tech Gal Necessities

There are certain things that every tech gal needs to be successful in San Francisco. My top five consist of:

1. Amazing friends
2. Consistent tech tools
3. A bus pass
4. A very large purse
5. A high tolerance for bullsh*t and alcohol

1. I have amazing friends. Seriously, these girls rock it hardcore. Even though none of them are in tech, they always listen to me ramble about twitter, respond to my late night texts and sometimes even come with me to happy hours. Whether near or far (wink-wink to my ladies who don't reside in SF) I am surrounded by some pretty great gals.

2. Tech tools that actually work are key. My crackberry saves my life on a daily basis. Whether checking nextmuni.com, finding a restaurant anywhere in the city or tweeting while on the bus, it keeps me in the loop. An ipod is also key. I do a ton of walking around the city and music makes everything go faster. And of course a laptop, duh.

3. Fast Past...'nuff said. I take the bus probably 4-5 times a day and it makes my life a better place. Plus, I'm ALWAYS running to the bus, so it's great to not have to dig in my wallet for change every time.

4. While Teddy R. carried a big stick, every tech gal needs a huge purse. Whether it's flipflops because your heels will hurt after one lap around the bar, snacks for a long night out, or your laptop, jacket, phone charger, camera and a ridiculous amount of schwag you have accumulated over the period of a night, it pays to have something to lug it around in.

5. Both are important. Falling over after a beer is not a successful networking tool neither is walking away from someone even if they are boring. Trust me, I have seen both in action and it never ends well.