Milestones

17 years ago (and a week) I started this blog.

10 years ago today I moved from Seattle to San Diego. I packed whatever I could fit in the back of my Camaro, drove down I-5 and stayed with Jello in SF. The next day we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping in Santa Barbara for the night. After making our way through LA we arrived in San Diego and celebrated by having a beer at the bar inside the Hillcrest Whole Foods.

Jello and I at the grocery store bar

0 years ago Michigan won the National Championship. Their first since 1997, when I was 9. At the time I was young enough to think it would be a somewhat regular occurrence. But it was a long arduous road to get back to the top of the mountain. Many better writers have waxed poetic on this journey and what it means. For me it's sheer joy and elation, having stood in the Big House and watched us lose to Toledo in 2008. All those low moments and having to watch all the players who graduated without ever sniffing a Championship, or worse, a win against Ohio State. Those lows make this high feel even higher.

I'd love nothing more than a Michigan dynasty. But it's a rapidly diminishing marginal return. That feeling of the first win against Ohio State after losing 8 in a row doesn't compare with their feelings if they had won a 9th. Just getting back here, even once is enough for me. As Blake Corum said "Business is Finished". I will still be a huge fan forever and watch every game, but that weight of them desperately needing to win each game feels like it's been lifted. Maybe not against our rivals who we need to beat to keep talking trash, but if we lose to USC or Texas next year, I think I'd be immediately at peace with it. I don't want to wait another 26 years, but I'm content to ride this championship for at least the next 10.

One Week in California

It seems like so much has happened in the 2.5 weeks from my since my last post. I've gone from not ready to move at all to being comfortably settled down here in California. So here is a catch-up of what I've been up to.

I was pretty busy getting everything ready up in Seattle. Carly is going to move down here eventually once she finds a new job, so I left most of my possessions in Seattle and we will move everything down at once. My plan was to bring just what I would need for a few months, mostly whatever clothes I could fit in my Camaro.

Picture I took on my walk this morning

I also got my Jeep back running so it would be ready to move down. I also realized that southern California will be the perfect place for the Jeep and an ideal locale to drive it to the beach and such. I ended up having to take it in to get a new carburetor put on it since the old one was worn out beyond repair. I left it with Tyler along with some other things that don't fit at Carly's place.

On Friday the 11th, I left Seattle and drove down to San Francisco. It was a long drive and it gave me ample time to reflect on leaving Washington and about what to expect once I got to California. In San Francisco I stayed with Jello who said he wanted to join on the drive down to San Diego and do the Pacific Coast Highway. I'm always down for a traveling partner so I let him "saddle up" in the Camaro. The drive down CA-1 was terrific. Everyone says the drive going south is better than the one going north. It was breathtaking. We bedded down for the night in Santa Barbara and then finished the drive the next day.

I had set up a place to stay for a week on AirBnB for when I first got down here. So I moved into a room in a house for a week and the other guy who lived there was super cool. He was able to give me some advice on places to live and some cool local things as I looked for a place.

This past Monday I started my new job. It took until Thursday afternoon to get computer access so the first part of the week was a little slow. I read a lot of documentation. But once I got computer access I was able to start doing stuff. Which was mostly training. But I did get to meet most of the people I will be working with and was able to familiarize myself with the new organization. It definitely helped coming into this job with a background in how the Navy works, especially how Naval facilities work.

My new place is in Sunset Cliffs

Each day after work I tried to check out a new part of the city while looking for a place to live after my AirBnB ran out this weekend. After spending many hours on Craigslist I finally found the perfect place on Wednesday. I was looking for a furnished place that was short term and relatively cheap. This was not easy, since most everything was either not short term, not cheap, or not furnished. But eventually I struck gold. I saw a post for an ideal place, and I jumped on it. I moved in on Saturday.

My new living area

The place I'm in now might be one of my favorite things I've ever done. It's up there with being born, seeing a boob and experiencing the miracle of human flight. I'm in a what I guess would be called a Mother-in-Law apartment, or a secondary suite. It's an apartment behind this beautiful house in Ocean Beach. It has its own separate entrance and has everything I need. Whoever built it, really outdid themselves. It has a small but beautiful kitchen and bathroom, a walk in closet, washer and dryer, and a nice sized living/bedroom area with a wall mounted TV. It also has an outdoor patio with a nice grill for me to use. This place is perfect for me.

The kitchen and bathroom

Best of all though is that it is less than 300 feet to the ocean. I can see the water out of my window and can hear the waves crash at night. It's so choice, and surprisingly within my means. I checked the price and the the house sold last fall for $1.5 million. So I'm basically living in a quarter of this 1.5 million dollar home 300 feet from the beach and I'm only paying $1400 a month. That includes all utilities, internet and cable along with a bi-weekly cleaning service that she pays for. The owner is a super nice lady who is in her 40's or 50's who lives in the main house, and I can see the Koi pond from my front door. It's really the perfect set-up for me and I couldn't be happier.

Outdoor grill yo!

I'm also really digging Ocean Beach. It's kinda an interesting little beach neighborhood. There is a fair amount of run down little cheap beach houses with the typical beachy/druggie population, but there are also some beautiful homes like the one I'm staying in. There are a bunch of bars by the beach and some little restaurants. It's really a cool place.

The ocean is about 20 seconds away

I've been getting settled in these past few days and I've been enjoying the weather by getting out and walking or jogging around the area. Overall I think I'm going to be really happy in California and I'm excited to get everything else down here and have a more permanent home, although I'm not sure I ever want to leave this place that I have.

The Sunset from Sunset Cliffs