Palo Alto Adventure

Prior

Booked an Airbnb.

Tuesday - Day 1

12:20 pm United Airlines flight from YVR to SFO scheduled to arrive at 2:49 pm. Arrived at airport at around 8:30 am with my TN application package. Note to self that parking on third floor of parkade is probably most efficient; second floor has no overpass, first floor was close-to-full. Went smoothly, was able to reach waiting area at 9:55 am. Took a nice around (probably my first time in the US area of YVR that I can remember). Flight delayed to arrive at 3:35 pm. Boarded flight by 1:09 pm.

For on-board drinks, they offer you the full can, which is much better than Air Canada / Westjet :)

Turns out SFO has no free luggage carts. I decided to do some exercise by traversing 3 suitcases around (one stacked on another). Spend too much time looking for a Clipper Card kiosk, later realized that I can get it on Google Pay all online -- had to go up and down a set of elevators.

Got on my Uber at 4:43 pm. Arrived at Airbnb at 5:22 pm.

Airbnb check-in went smoothly. No laundry machine, so I decided to do my laundry daily and hang-dry.

Had an rental viewing scheduled for 6 pm that I arrived late for 6:15 pm. For $1000/month, pretty decent place, close to bus corridor and Tesla office. However, there was no full kitchen (only microwave and fridge). I'm still contemplating if I can survive with my Instant Pot that I brought and perhaps an air fryer.

Took a slightly different route home. Stopped by a park in Stanford and was licked by a dog. Saw a lot of bikes and bikers around :)

Sleep good, ate some food my mom packed me (although I forgot to refrigerate, but got no food poisoning).

Wednesday - Day 2

Walked 1 hr and 15 min to reach a bike shop that was close to where my next rental viewing was. Tried out a single-speed roadbike. Was a bit hard to control. Ended up really liking this other basic 7-speed bike. Bought it for $250. Had a nice talk with the front-of-house lady.

Biked home to get helmet and lock. Then biked to next rental viewing.

This rental was (I believe) 3 UBC students plus other Canadian that all are interning at Tesla. Some friendly folks. Place smelled a bit funny. Not actually too sure what the rent was. However the place was really far away from any transit. In hindsight I feel like if I rented there and my bike broke, I'd be pretty stranded (as a cheapo).

Biked to the Tesla office to see how the commute would be. Pretty good ride, there was a curvy bike-path and a uphill stretch at the end.

Stopped by Grocery Outlet to buy instant noodles, baby carrots, bananas and eggs. Made a nice noodles + 2 eggs dinner.

Was playing around with the heater to get my laundry to dry faster. Got out of shower, turned on hair-dryer and popped my room's breaker. Was able to find breaker box in a hidden room and fixed everything (although did flick the wrong switch so modem was rebooted). Credits to ElectroBOOM for my breaker-box finding skills.

Thursday - Day 3

Biked to Chase Bank to try to create an account. They rejected me asking for a form. They said they wanted some letter from my employer (with address).

Went over to BMO US to try. Branch Manager said I should have sufficent docs but to come back at 1:30 pm. I went home to get my debit cards and also withdrew $25 in cash, which is required for the initial deposit. Btw this is my first time touching US cash this whole trip. I literally brought zero US cash with me (probably a mistake). Came back and was able to open the account ok. Banker kept asking me questions saving goals and put down some bullshit for car and home -- still have no idea why. They only needed my passport and $25 to open the chequing account. Turns out they need another $25 deposit to open the savings, which I didn't have; I did not open a savings. They gave me a few cheques. I was on my way. Process took about an hour fifteen minutes (they quoted 45 mins), so I had to reschedule my next rental viewing for 15 minutes later.

Biked to downtown Palo Alto for the next viewing. Really really nice place. Clean and tidy. Rent was $1450 + ~$50 utilities. I was super happy with the place, but landlady wanted to consider some longer-term applications first. Managed to pop the rear tube of my bike at some point. Landlady saw me and was able to give me a ride home :)

For dinner ate instant noodles + 4 eggs. Really full!

Got Tesla welcome email. One of the pre-boarding questions was my direct deposit account. Very glad I opened my BMO US account!

Friday - Day 4

Around 7 am called BMO Canada and BMO US to figure out how to transfer funds between my Canada to US account.Was able to get instructions from BMO US. However following those instructions lead to a blocked transaction on BMO Canada side. Called BMO Canada but they weren't able to resolve it within 45 min and told me to call the fraud line later. Bruv.

At 9:28 am I ordered a print for my most-recent I-94 ($0.46). Expected pickup time was 2 pm, but the actual pickup time was 11:41 am. Seeing the place in-person, I think I could have just gone in and done it instantly. There's a way to email FedEx the PDF and print it yourself at the FedEx print office.

Tried to setup a USPS P.O. box to recieve important mail while I had no fixed address. Was able to make it all the way to the payment stage to realize they don't accept international credit cards. I only had $25 in my new BMO debit card, which was not enough for a subscription (~50 dollars). Called them to see if I can do it in-person, and they said yes.

Left Airbnb for USPC and was able to rent a P.O. box for 6 months for $100 (apparently 3-month option wasn't availible?). I had no proof-of-residency and person was ok with it :), only had to give my passport.

Immediately filled out online application for SSN (where that application is continued at the office).

Went to FedEx to pickup my I-94 printouts.

Stopped by Summit Bicycles to buy a bike tube ($10) and patch kit ($5).

Took local train from California Avenue to Redwood City. Remember to tap in and tap out Clipper card. Had a chat with a guy from Turkmenistan that is visiting the area. He said he and a buddy was contracted to do work for a startup, but they were not happy with it. He's there to convince the startup founder at stanford to chill-lax.

Went to Social Security Administration to get SSN. Everything went ok. Passport plus I-94 (in paper form) is sufficient. They're going to send SSN card to my P.O box.

Visited the library there. Nothing too interesting. Redwood is definately more urban-feeling than Palo Alto. All cars and no bikes around. No cozy tree-filled small streets to bike or walk along (unlike area around Palo Alto).

Tried to apply for a Real ID with California DMV. They required a code send via text or call but wouldn't accept my Canadian number. Walked to the office in-person. ~20 min wait and was able to apply. Listening in on what the agents said to others, I didn't think I had sufficient proof of address. Left. Still have an appointment number of that will be useful.

Caught a train home, then walked home. For some reason Airbnb host decided to install more outlets in my room (without telling me beforehand), probably due to me popping the breaker (I told him about it). I was a bit uncomfortable with the unexpected room entry (when I was not home), and had a few messages with him, and I think he understood my concern.

Attempted to replace my bike tube with the new one. Managed to pop the new tube. Looking at some YouTube videos, I think my new tube was pinched between my rim and bead, so wasn't able handle the pressure. After a lot more YouTube-watching, I was able to patch up both tubes, and put my new tube in my wheel and no leaks. Finally!

Biked to Grocery Outlet and got some tortilla chips, zucchini, sausages, and more instant noodles. Wanted to have some more food as I planned to visit San Francisco tomorrow.

For dinner I "sauteed" (no oil) the sausages and mouth-bit chunks of zucchini. Then added water and instant noodles. Nice change from yesterday.

Saturday - Day 5

First rainy day. I had planned to visit San Francisco today and decided to go through with it. I was able to schedule another rental viewing for tomorrow so I could not reschedule this.

The train to SF came every hour and the ride was quite peaceful.

First stop was the Cable Car Museum. Amazing experience! I found the mechanics and history of the cable cars fascinating. A person who was working on cable lines for mines saw horses being dragged to death down a hill due to an accidental slippage and decided to innovate on transportation. How the cable cars handled intersections and curves was also ingenious.

Next I walked through China town, saw the cable car turntables, and went to the International Art Museum of America. The latter of which had weird vibes. There were a few artist's whose works greatly dominated the entire museum.

Walked around a bit more and then headed home. I was also able to figure out how to get the International Money Transfer of BMO Canada to not block my transaction -- the solution is to not go above my daily limit. The blocked transaction error message didn't say anything about that ._. They should hire me as the developer.

All in all, good trip. Took a nap on the train back.

Sunday - Day 6

Bloody rear tire of bike leaked out. It was my new inner tube. There was a small leak at the base of the valve. I don't think it is patchable. Rest in peace $10.50. Although I think the experience it provided worthwhile. I was able to swap to my old tube quite quickly.

Rode to Palo Alto Bicycles and bought two inner tubes (/21). My Rogers credit card did not work. Had to pay with my debit, which probably now had <\3 remaining after this transaction. Rode to BMO to withdraw cash from my BMO Canada account then deposit into my BMO US account.

Rear tire seems to be very leaky now, as it was fully depleted by the time I left the BMO. Pumped it back up, and was able to carefully ride it to my rental viewing.

Very sweet elderly lady showed me 5 rooms. Liked one of them very much, which is for $1450. Pursuing it further with her and her agent.

Swapped the rear tire tube with the new tube I bought. Boy was I getting good at this. Removing/putting on the wheel, removing/putting on the tire and tube, and unhooking/hooking the brakes felt much easier this time. Rear wheel was good again. The pump was a bit weird, wasn't able to get as much pressure as I'd liked.

Rode to Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and checked it out. Pretty cool exhibits. There was a tech-on-a-back (back as in a person's back) that I wasn't able to figure out what it was for, but liked its looks. Honestly, I'm not sure if art museums are my thing.

Dropped by the stanford book store to see the merch. $56 for a Lululemon t-shirt with Stanford name :O

Biked around the campus a bit then headed home.