Ben: Ikea

I’ve been thinking about when I first moved to San Francisco ten years ago. Cindy was one of the small handful of people I already knew upon arrival. She made me so welcome, took me on tours and scavenger hunts around the city, drove me to IKEA et al. I was 24 and had never made up a new home from scratch before. Besides how helpful she was and how delightful and energetic she made those first weeks in the city, I have this absolute burned in memory of her visiting my new apartment and insisting I needed a doormat. I pointed a shitty scrap of carpet that came with the apartment, surely that was fine. No, she said. I bought a new one promptly. So grateful for the friendship and support when I first moved here.