Simple, technology-augmented steps to a newer, housed you:

1. Create a Bloglines account or otherwise download an RSS feedreader application of your choice.
2. Go to Craigslist and do a search in a specific neighborhood for what you’re looking for.
3. Grab the RSS feed and stick it in your reader.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any other neighborhoods you’re interested in.
5. Let your boss/project manager/sensei/commanding officer/whomever know that you’re looking for an apartment in SF and you may need to pop off early to go check places out here and there, and that they shouldn’t be giving you any crazy deadlines because that’ll mean you won’t have time to look at apartments which may mean ending up homeless, which in turn means that you will go live with them. This is not a threat, this is “creative time management.” It’ll work, especially if you’ve talked up your amazing collection of formaldehyde-preserved exotic arachnids in the past.
6. Check that shit in your RSS reader like every day, multiple times per day if necessary.
7. If there’s a listing that sounds even remotely good, call. Call right now. Some places get snapped up fast. Arrange a viewing.
8. Go check it. Have your list of questions ready, like if you can repaint, what the neighbors are like, etc.
9. If the place is being shown by some sort of rental brokerage, and the broker is there to answer your questions, grill them hard and look for inconsistencies in their data. They’re there to make a commission and they will say what they think you want to hear when you ask about soundproofing, plumbing, etc.
10. Have your renter’s history/info with you in case the place is so sweet that you want to snag it. Also have your checkbook ready in case you can put a deposit check on it to hold it while you go through your credit check. Other methods of staking a claim, like licking the front doorknob and calling “dibs!” will probably not work.
11. Keep up steps 6 through 10 until you get your happy apartment. Congratulations, renter!

And if anyone has a one bedroom or large studio near one of the highways that they’re gonna rent out in the next 6 weeks, drop me a note, yeah? Grazzi.