So....it flew by. One year living in California. Made it through every season.
What have I learned?
*** I never knew how beautiful a desert could be. Desert....barren, desolate, deserted....no, not at all. I actually prefer to see homes desert landscaped, the way they should be. If you like grass, you shouldn't be living in the desert. Do you know they actually reseed twice a year? There is a winter grass and a summer grass...what a colossal waste of time, money and energy....proper desert landscaping is beautiful. Some desert plants bloom with beautiful colors, cactii come in all shape and sizes, rocks, too. And don't forget the palm trees!! Besides the visual beauty right here at your feet, there are the mountains! We didn't get to see them snow covered for long, or even fully covered...but they are breathtaking. It seems so simplistic...it's just big ass rocks sprinkled with some white stuff, but they are majestic, with or without snow!
We have enjoyed the beauty in so many ways. From hiking, to laying on a floatie during the peak of the heat, to laying under the stars....I can't even pick a favorite. Even running is always pleasant. Yes, even in the heat....the scenery distracts you from any discomfort. We even love the windy season, the sound of the wind is similar to the sound of the ocean...the palm trees making a rhythmic swishing sound which is soothing.
*** It REALLY is a dry heat. But more than that I have learned...the sun is HOT...it doesn't really matter if it's 65 or 105...the sun is HOT! On the flip side...it is chilly without said sun...in the shade it can get reallly cool in the non summer months....even when it's 95...it has been cool in the shade. I have laid under the stars when it was 85 and needed a blanket. We got lucky and had a warm winter. (Sorry East coast friends!).I loved it...everyone else? Not so much!
***You can't judge a neighborhood here like you can in Philly. In Philly it is quite obvious when you are in the "hood". I recently found out that one block off a street I have run on a few times, a couple miles from my house, had a driveby shooting at 2 IN THE AFTERNOON! I have reevaluated where I will be running. There are a few houses scattered here or there that need some TLC, but nothing that screamed "bad neighborhood".
***We thought having the birds in their own "house" outside would mean no more white dust everywhere! Yay, a clean house finally, after 13 years of owning parrots.....welllllll....newsflash...that wind I was talking about....sand, dirt, silt, whatever you want to call it....it's everywhere! Honestly, a small price to pay to be able to leave your windows open. We hate air conditioned air, no need to worry about rain....and the wind makes it cooler. So we sweep...A LOT....and dust as much as we ever did. You would think it can't be good for your lungs but people out here live forever, so how much harm can it do?
***Driving here is a challenge. Because there are so many people who come for just the winter, we get people from everywhere, so there are all these different driving styles. Slow people, fast people, old people, weavers, stay putters...run the light, brake hard on yellow...you just can't guess what the other driver is going to do...and then there is the motorcycle law...stupidest law ever! They can drive BETWEEN cars....like on the line between lanes! I will never get used to a motorcycle just whizzing up between me and a car a few feet next to me! Seems like a really bad idea. There seem to be a lot of pedestrian deaths here too. Many on those motorized scooters...driving is an adventure!
***Coming from a rural area, this place seems like the big city to me. Getting used to neighbors so close...smelling their cigarette smoke while I lounge on my floatie (hell even on my sofa INSIDE!) is taking some getting used to. Listening to dogs at any and all hours of the night...not so fun. Where there's more people, there's more noise and more crime. Yet sometimes it can be surprisingly dark...especially driving. It is crazy how dark it gets. I don't like driving at night, street signs are impossible to see.
***Wildlife...while I personally haven't seen that much...it amazes me that coyotes come into populated areas...and eat your pets if you leave them out! Dave is now learning about all the critters that the heat brings out. He sees lots of lizards at his work (at the airport). I'm ok with lizards....but he has also seen some spiders that I made him stop describing when he started with "It's the size of your hand.." and it hurts like hell if it bites you...and it's very aggressive....but it's not poisonous..oh THAT makes me feel better. Also ..scorpions, apparently they are sometimes seen at homes...and snakes...
So far we have only seen one black widow at our place. My friend has them by the dozens at his place...he also has potted plants and vines, which they love....needless to say I will not be getting either! I have seen an occasional road runner..they are so darn cute, but have yet to hear them "beep beep"! Hummingbirds!! Love them! We don't even have a feeder but they love to come to the grapefruit tree while our parrots are in it!! I could watch them forever! Oh and a mountain lion or bobcat (really is there any difference if it's eating you who cares exactly WHAT kind of cat it is!) was seen at a local golf course...now I don't like to sit in the backyard at night alone....I hear things and think I am being watched!!
*** Unrelated to the desert, I learned I can not work around food....other people just don' follow the guidelines to the tee and I can't deal with that! So I ruled out quite a few jobs with that acquired knowledge!
*** I have learned the wonders of a swamp cooler. Without humidity they are a blessing. Saving us lots of money by not needing to run the AC, that we don't like anyway! We literally ran the AC only a handful of times last summer.
***I learned California is not nearly as expensive as the rest of the country makes it out to be, at least not this part of California....oh wait ..yes it is....stay where you are!! (I have also learned that I like "off season" when there are less people in town! Driving is so much nicer!)
***I have learned to never leave home, ever....without sunglasses and water. I have always taken a bottle of water with me, but in PA, everything was at least 30 minutes a way and my mouth gets dry fast and I just drink a lot of water....here....HERE, You can't even go for a quick trip to anywhere without water. Going to Lowe's for one item, it's only 2 miles from home....doesn't matter...MUST HAVE water!! And I hate wearing sunglasses....hate it...have never found a pair that is comfortable on my ears and nose....doesn't matter...you MUST always have sunglasses. We have the occasional cloudy (by our standards, not east coast standards) day but it is RARE. Just keep a pair of sunglasses everywhere....extra pair in the car, in your purse...never be without...
I hate wearing a fuel belt (that's a fancy term for a fanny pack that holds your water bottle)...I hate the sloshing sound the water makes, hate the way it bounces...so I learned to run routes with parks with water fountains. I can get away with that in the winter (ha ha , it is still so weird to call it winter!!) but now that summer is coming again...I will need to bring water. Even in the winter I need to let the water fountain run for a while if it's not in the shade, my first mouthful of nearly boiling water was loads of fun!! In the summer the fountain never gets better than luke warm. Small prices to pay for the scenery I have when running...and never having to run on a treadmill again.
*** the best thing I have learned is that I can be happy, really, really happy...I still don't know why and I don't really care...but since I have been here nothing can take away the underlying happiness I feel. No job, sucky job, family strife,hormones...nothing, nothing has kept me down. I honestly don't believe it is California...I tend to think it's not being a pharmacist....but like I said --I don't care why...I just really am glad to have found peace and contentment.
I read The Secret a few years back. I was on the fence about the whole idea. But I figured writing down some "wishes" couldn't hurt. In PA on the fridge my note said "perfect house in California, peaceful, happy life"... is this the perfect house? I don't know, but it is working out really well. We should have bought smaller but we do use a good bit of the house and I really like the birds house. More importantly I believe I have achieved the peaceful, happy life. I could have written stuff about money...some examples in the book people did..and supposedly got the million dollars or whatever number they wrote and focused on. But the book stressed to write what you REALLY want....and money isn't something I felt I needed or wanted deep down, it felt superficial. My true desire has been contentment. And I have it....so it may be time to update my note...but I still don't have a desire to put money on it. I would love to have my son here, but it seems wrong to ask for something that would affect someone else's life even more than mine, if it is meant to be, he will love it here and decide to move...so I keep the note with "happy, peaceful life", I have added "good jobs"...I am trying to think of a way to word it to really define what a "good" job is....because that is so vague. Dave's job has good benefits but mediocre pay and kinda crappy hours...although getting out at 2 pm has it's advantages...maybe I should add something about my website?
There I go again rambling....time to wrap it up....
Bottom line...I learned I like it here...no ...I LOVE it here....if we hit the lottery or inherit tons of cash, we will move to the beach, so Dave can find his bliss, too....but until then this place is just about perfect!!
No comments:
Post a Comment