How'd they do that??

Birdcrap Covered Rock, Sunset Cliffs

While out walking on Sunday, I passed by this rock.  I've seen this rock about about 50 times and always thought it would be so cool to sit out on that rock if I could clean off the bird crap that covers it.  Somehow, someone climbed out on this rock to put up this sign.  Hmmm...

Coming up on Two Years

It's days like these that remind me that I love being here: Sunshine, 73 degrees, not a cloud in the sky.

The other day, I was confronted by Z about me not wanting to live here.  How I have a strong aversion to not wanting to become a part (integral or not) of California.  Yes, I make fun of Californians a lot.  So do a lot of transplants I meet out here.  I've met some great people from CA; I've met some crappy people from CA, but isn't that true everywhere?

Yes, I miss The South. I miss my family.  I miss the Cracker Barrel.  I miss driving on the Interstate without the feeling of fighting for my life.

Yes, I don't want to raise my family here. I believe CA has a lot to offer a child in terms of things to do, diversity, and open-mindedness.  But I don't want to raise my child in an apartment. I want my child to have a yard, get grass stains and ride her bike safely on the street.  I want to call her in for dinner when the sun starts to set. I want her to know her neighbors and know her neighborhood. I don't want to pay $800K for a house.  I just don't.

But I love the healthy choices out here: the organic food, the farmers' markets, the art galleries (although not the best, still, at times, pretty cool), the beaches.  Maybe I'm just like my mother: she's never satisfied (a la Prince, not seriously like my mother).  I'm sure if I ever moved back to the South, I'd complain about the humidity, the air conditioning bill, and the lack of an ocean within 10 hours of my house.

40 Days and 40 Nights

I wanted to take a picture, but I was driving.

After what seemed like the length of Noah's experience, the rain has finally subsided.  The sidewalk is puddled, the ground is smushy, the trees are drippy.  The rain pours off of our rooftop because Southern Californians must not need gutters very often.  Before I could even get off of the porch to go to my car, my feet were wet as the rain ricocheted off the pavement.

As I drove home from work, the sun, for the first time in DAYS, almost blinded me. (Why would I take sunglasses on such a rainy day?)  And as I turned the corner, the most beautiful rainbow hung over Point Loma.

Thank you, Sun, for shining today.

Hanumas / Chrismukkah

Light the Tree!  Light the Menorah!  Let's celebrate!

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Our lovely home--full of cultural and religious understanding!!!

Christmas in San Diego

Rudolph had a mishap

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So on my way to sign up for the local Y, I passed upon this house.  It gave me an odd sense of nostalgia because I didn't think anyone in San Diego would have ever gone hunting, much less also taken a trip to their local taxidermist to have it mounted.  My sisters both have dead animals hanging on their walls (thanks to their partners...my sisters don't hunt).

This is my second holiday season in San Diego and I can't believe how quickly time has flown.  I still don't think I've FOUND San Diego, but I have learned to love my little niche of it.  Several things have happened to make me realize that I don't want to move out of here.

First, I've been thinking about going back to school for acupuncture and Oriental herbal medicine.  I know that in whatever I do, I want to help people, and lately, teaching has started to frustrate me.  It is at no fault of where I work or the people I work with or the students I teach--it's all about me.  Although there are plenty of people who can and do, I just can't imagine being 55 and teaching ESL anymore.  The generational gap and the cultural differences are somewhat overwhelming at times and I just don't know how to handle them.  

My students party at clubs, love club music, and adore getting drunk.  I, on the other hand, like staying home and watching movies and drinking a couple of beers or glasses of wine.  I see the undying hope of the future in my students eyes, and in my own I see the weight of the world.  I want to help make the world a better place, but I don't know if I have the energy to teach others to make it a better place.

So, the Oriental medicine school in San Diego will literally cost me an arm and leg because I would probably have a stroke from working so hard to pay off the loans.  There is a school the E's dad works at in Orange County which is half the price and totally do-able.  After deliberating with Z about our options (OC or LBC), we just couldn't imagine moving...but it wasn't out of the question--yet.


Then Z and I decided to go for dinner at The Pearl in Point Loma.  We were dressed very casually.  Yet we were treated as if we had just walked in begging for scraps.  They sat two stupid looking blondes in front of us (although they came about five minutes after us) because they lied and said they had four people (I always knew blondes couldn't count).  We walked out after the host would not apologize for their disorganization or their discrimination.


We came back to OB to go to The 3rd Corner.  We walked in (in the same clothes) and were treated like customers.  We had a great meal: I had the shortribs; Z had the NY Strip.  I also ordered the Chocolate Tart for dessert with coffee.  I couldn't say more about this place.  Not only because the food is delicious, but also because of their service to their customers.  I have been here on at least five occasions--dressed nicely, casually, and beachy--and each time, I have been treated the same way.


If I can't live in the South or on the East Coast, I want to live here.  I love you, Ocean Beach!

and bus

I'm so excited my eye is messed up!

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My First Trolley Ride!

So here is a picture from my first experience taking public transportation!!!

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