Sunny San Jo so far...

As we speak I'm sitting on our blowup mattress in our new apartment - watching tv (thank you cableguy for coming on Sunday) and spending my first night in the new home. Until the movers arrive with all of our belongings we're staying cozy with what few pieces we have with us. Even though this transformation has only taken about one week, it's been overwhelming at that. Finally, I am thrilled to feel like things are falling into place; it feels as if the craziness of the last week is beginning to subside.

I've been in the State of California for two days now and I've noticed a few things that I've got to become accustomed to:

-There are more Interstates and Highways than I know what to do with. EVERY single trip we've taken, whether to the grocery store or to Target, recommends traveling down a highway. We've had to get creative trying to soak in our surroundings when driving 70+ and dodging drivers, which leads me to...

-Aggressive drivers. I've always known that California is synonymous with aggressive drivers, but hot damn I've never realized how true this is! I found it quite peculiar yesterday that when going 10 miles over the speed limit I was STILL getting passed left and right.

-Suburbia. Our apartment is beautiful, and our apartment community is truly awe-inspiring - as if we're in a Mediterranean villa. What gets me is how spread out we are from anything. Grocery store - half mile away. Bank - mile away. This city is clearly auto-centric, and I didn't realize that's what I was getting into. 


-Public transportation doesn't seem so bad... sort of. We're not even two blocks from two light-rail lines... but said lines apparently run slower than molasses. Case in point: if I want to get to work via public transportation it would take me right around 60 minutes to do it. Granted, i won't mind being able to relax and zone out while on the train, but comparing a 60 minute ride (via bus AND light rail) versus a 10 minute drive... does that seem crazy?


-There's a plethora of agriculture in this state... at least in Northern Cal. Driving down from Seattle we witnessed fields, orchards, and groves of so many different fruits and vegetables that we didn't even know what to do with ourselves! Needless to say, it was very intriguing to try and discern each tree, shrub, plant that passed us by.


-For those of you that are familiar with Renton, Washington... that's where I feel I am right now.

-I have yet to see many pretty people. I really hope they're in hiding, or that I'm just not looking in the right place. There's got to be some fashionable folk down here in SJ, no?