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

New Year, New City, New Job

2014 is upon us.

Just as 1814 saw the Congress of Vienna redraw the landscape of Europe and the colonial world.

Just as 1914 saw a world war break out that changed the identities of nations and framed the struggle for peace in the 20th century.

Just as 2014 will see a period change from me that will forever be linked with the future of world as we know it. (I suppose this is technically true.)

Last year saw complacency break down into chaos as I left everything and spent 40 weeks wandering (part of which time I was in a desert). This year will see a return to the normality of life, but in a new and improved framework. Yes friends, I am moving away from Seattle and relocating to San Diego. I have accepted a job in San Diego with - surprise - The Navy.  I'm getting back on the same horse, but this time in a different organization doing different work. So it's all the thrill of a new job, but without restarting at the bottom of the totem pole.

I was offered the job right before Christmas and accepted it, and I'm moving down there next week. My girlfriend Carly will stay up in Seattle for the time being and eventually come down when she finds a job. But this means that I need to find a place to live again. So I'm back on the craigslist looking for places. I realized this might be my last new roommate for awhile and I've had quite a few roommates in the past.

In my first "Roommates" post I counted I lived with 20 people over the course of college. That number didn't change much post college until this summer when I moved back into a house in Ann Arbor. So I think it is time for a new count of my total number of roommates. Remember I only count people that I lived with for at least 2 or 3 months so summer sublets count. Someone staying at our place while they were between leases for a couple of weeks doesn't count. Live-in girlfriends don't count either unless they really lived there.

Roommate count by year we started living together:

Pre-2005: Laura, Julie, Mom, Dad - 4

2005: Max -1

2006: Jake, Sara, Rachel, Ross, Pete, Aaron, James, Fritz - 8

2007: Sara, Paul, Courtney, Emily, Brett, Al - 6

2008: Brick, Andy, Jay, Max, Paul, Matt, Zola, - 7

2009: N/A

2010: Tyler - 1

2011: N/A

2012: N/A

2013: Kevin, Tyler, Carly - 3

2014: ?

So I'm at a cool 30 different roommates.  Only five of which I've chronicled in "Roommates" posts. Some may not be worthy, but perhaps I should do a few more of those posts. They are awkward and fun. 

But overall I'm excited about the new job and moving to sunny San Diego. It has all happened pretty suddenly, but I think it will be an exciting life change. So California here I come.