Isurrender to it, allow it to encompass me completely. That is, when I’m in or on the water. I confess — I have never lived more than a few feet or miles from an ocean or bay, Atlantic and Pacific. I’m not the mountain type, nor am I enamored by the plains or deserts...
By Joseph Ernish
Published: January, 2006
Isurrender to it, allow it to encompass me completely. That is, when I’m in or on the water. I confess — I have never lived more than a few feet or miles from an ocean or bay, Atlantic and Pacific. I’m not the mountain type, nor am I enamored by the plains or deserts. Yes, they have beauty, grandeur and uniqueness; it’s the subtleness that’s lost on me, however. I crave constant change, the kind that wide bodies of water offer. Don’t get me wrong, I have spent many a memorable time in either locale, as long as there was a pool or lake nearby.
Strange, considering that my first conscious memory of the life aquatic was being forced off the diving board at the YMCA. Sink or swim! shouted the sadistic instructor. I choose to swim … even if the water had other plans for me. So, the drill was repeated a few times until the mothers, who were watching, had had enough. So much for having an ex-marine drill-instructor teach the water babies swim class.
Now, I relax, because living in San Francisco, being close to water no matter where I am in the City, is comforting to me, even if I cannot actually see the Bay or the Ocean. It’s those positive ions at work. It’s the lifestyle.
As an Interior Designer, I like to think of myself as being closer to a lifestyle planner and coach. I design for living and integrate Genus loci — the spirit of a place, interior and exterior.
Unlike other major cities, San Francisco and its surrounding areas offers its inhabitants the greatest diverse lifestyle, politically, socially and geographically. No matter how beautiful and serene your home is, what matters most is the quality of life you live, not only inside but outside of your home and neighborhood — literally and figuratively.
...being close to the water, no matter where I am in the City, is comforting to me... It’s the lifestyle
As San Franciscans, we are lucky - some say privileged - to be surrounded by the water and all that it entails. We have great access to public transportation to bring us there cheaply and conveniently. We still have our ferries for touring and crossing the Bay. Someday, it’s the journey and not the destination that pleases me most.
If it’s all fogged in at the beach and along the marina green, leave the car behind and explore the waterfront. If you have never been there, you are missing one of the best areas in the City. Explore, discover, surrender to it. It’s our natural resource, part of our City’s design, and our lifestyle.
By now I’m hoping that you are getting my not so subtle point of integrating the ocean and bay front locales into a unique urban experience weekly or even daily. Many of us succumb to local-itis, being happy in our own neighborhoods and not wanting to go beyond. But, if you are like me, once I’m headed for a destination close to the water, I’m happy to surrender the effort and breathe in the sea air that surrounds me here.
Joseph Ernish is a 30-something Interior Design Consultant living in San Francisco for the past six years and loving it. Educated on both coasts in Architecture & Design, he owns the small ID firm of Design Consortium which offers affordable, timeless designs for all.
