In a nutshell

Look, friends- here’s the deal. I love blogging. I’ve done it since I was in the 8th grade, and I intend to continue doing it for as long as I can keep it up. These days though, I’ve gotten bad about the actual act of blogging. I’ll think about post topics while I’m on my bike, while I’m in the shower, while I’m running reactions– you get the picture.

 

However, I never get around to actually typing out my thoughts. That’s my fault. Once upon a time, I even spent enough time on blog posts to include photos with captions and much more. Oh, those were the days. I promise I’m still alive though!

But, I’ll try to be better about this. I have a couple of worthy things to blog about, even. This post will not be about any of those worthy things. Instead, consider it a catch-all for the last few months of my life. A few tales, thoughts, random occurrences from here and there. Proof that I’m still a fully functioning human being.

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Now that I’ve been in California for more than a year, I have a mental list of things I really appreciate/like about California. I keep this running list in my head because every time someone comes to visit, it’s always inevitable that he/she asks, “Don’t you just love this place?” I have to have something to respond with, right?

 

The list is as follows:

1. I have not seen a flipping mosquito, ever. Okay maybe once in a blue moon, but it essentially equates to never. Perhaps this is a function of the places I’ve lived and where I work, but this is a glorious, glorious thing coming from the humid bug-hole that is Houston, TX.
2. The sushi is superb. Thanks to guest lecturers at Scripps and friends from out of town on business, I’ve been able to eat [for free] at some unbelievably good sushi restaurants.
3. Avocado is king. In Texas they put BBQ sauce on everything; in California they put avocado on everything. Both are perfectly acceptable in my book.
4. You can run year round here, at almost any time of the day.
5. You can also find a multitude of cycling routes/lanes/roads/paths all around San Diego, and the cyclists all seem pretty nice.

That is about all I can really say for sure, always applicable, all the time. Occasionally I appreciate other things, but nothing else comes to mind as belonging on the ‘absolute’ list above.

 

Now to be fair and balanced, I will give the abridged version of things I cannot get over and will go on and on about if you let me.

1. The weather is, in a word, awkward. Yes, living in a bubble is nice for things like running, but I don’t like feeling cold to the bone in the middle of July. There are no seasons here, and I miss feeling appropriately hot.
2. The cost of living is ridiculous. Gas, rent, groceries, beer, cover… yes, I still clip coupons.
3. Southern Californians… don’t even get me started on the majority of them. I think there should be “Southern Hospitality” booster shots for all humans age 18 and older to correct their attitudes.

 

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I go through pangs of, alongside missing things about Texas the state, missing Texas the school. [Duh.] I shall write a few sentences about those things.

 

I miss Camp Texas very much; it was something right up my alley, but the people I did it with were from all walks of life, from all parts of UT, and it was just one big party every Friday of the spring until August.

 

I miss 24-hour places. Coffeeshops. Grocery stores. Eatery diners. Friends’ apartments.

 

I miss yelling and cheering at the top of my lungs for Texas Volleyball and Football. No, you don’t understand. I would use my paycheck to buy expensive tickets to see Texas Volleyball play this year—that’s how much I miss seeing games live.

 

I really, really miss getting breakfast/lunch/dinner/coffee with people one-on-one and sitting in one place and talking about life for long periods of time. This used-to-be-a-few-times-a-week occurrence now happens once every few months. Sad.

 

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In an effort to keep the pendulum swinging and the calendar turning, I plan trips to see people [boyfriend, family, friends’ weddings, reunions] periodically. These trips keep me sane. Perhaps on these trips, though, I come off as insane because I miss feeling as alive as I do when I’m traveling. Occasionally, fun things happen.

 

During one short weekend trip, I got to get dinner with one of my best college friends in the airport. That same night, I celebrated my boyfriend’s 21^st birthday with a bunch of CS majors. The next night, while wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, I was less than three feet away from Mark Zuckerberg in real life. I also rode a mechanical bull and did more country two-step/line dancing in one hour than I did in the last six months.

 

Until the next trip…

 

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