But then I probably haven’t changed the date and time in this thing, so it’ll look like I was writing this in the middle of the work day. Hmm.
Yesterday being awake early apparently spurred me to play Boy Philosopher, for some reason. As you can tell, a life-changing event like emigration can turn the most reasonable of men (yes, me) into some sort of navel-gazing fluffhunter. However, today, let me give you the right answer for the rorschach test; you know, the one you spout at parties.
We’re both fine, and settling in, just about.
Ahem…
Well yes I could go into a lot more detail than that, but there’s a limit to what I’ll say on an open page. I will say that we’ve almost done everything we knew we were going to need to do before we left, and now we’re down to discovering things that are all-new. By that I mean we’ve moved into our apartment, we’ve bought a new TV (woo!), we’ve set up a bank account (and one with a credit union), we’ve gotten registered with all the right people, and I’ve even been paid a few times (as it’s happening ‘semi-monthly’, ie twice a month). We have a couch, a cat, a dining table, a couple of chairs, and a whole new series of incoming bills.
In other words, it feels like normality, albeit an always* sunny, surrounded by America normality.
And I have to say it’s pretty darn nice, at least in a superficial way. Life is treating us well. We have a bountiful choice of fresh produce and product whenever we go to one of the many local supermarkets. We can see all the movies we want when they open here. We have many choices in restaurants, which of course usually serve massive portions for reasonable prices. Oh and everything is open late. In fact shopping after work is a norm, not something you do on a Thursday.
What’s the one thing we’re missing? Oh yeah. You lot.
At first, our minds were both so occupied with what we have to do now every day that not being amongst people we know and love didn’t really phase us. Every day we were both busy with settling into a new home, dealing with new challenges and trying not to get killed merging on the 101 expressway. Now, that we’ve been here a while, it’s starting to nag.
It’s not so much that there aren’t nice people here, or that I feel we can’t make new friends – I think we have already, to be honest, and that feels great. It’s just that every now and then, someone pops into your mind and you think “Oh, I haven’t seen them in ages, we should…” and then reality intrudes, and you remember that no, they’re not just a mile or two away and all you need to do is pick up the phone. They’re thousands of miles away, and even if you did pick up the phone, the likelihood is you’d wake them up. This is how being homesick starts.
That only really follows if you assume home is where the heart is, which I guess is true right now. I lost my heart in Brighton as opposed to 30 minutes up the road (Sorry Tony Bennett). This doesn’t mean that we’re ready to move back, literally or figuratively; we made our choice and we move forward. Doesn’t mean I don’t think of you though, and past moments, and great memories.
Did I mention we have a guest room?
* Except for this morning! Where it appears to be raining for the first time since I got here. I knew that those big grey fluffy things in the sky meant something.
#1 by Gangrel at August 6th, 2009
Dont worry Rockjaw, i have been missing you as well (even though i have still been paying attention to you on Twitter).
Must admit, I have given serious thought to moving out of the UK when i *finally* get myself sorted out financially…. but i feel that like you, i will leave something behind as well (well apart from that caffiene sales will drop immensly in my town)
#2 by Dr Toerag at August 6th, 2009
I could weep. In fact I nearly did reading the last two posts. It was great to hear your voice from across the pond on the Limited Edition podcast. Maybe we’ll hear a new Tagline podcast one day, with you spilling all the Hollywood gossip?
When I was young, and my Dad was in the Army, I remember moving countries regularly, and missing so many people it’s silly. It does get better (you know that, of course) and the internet and suchlike makes it easier to stay in contact with those you miss.
But it’s still really easy to end up in a new place going to work, sitting at home with the family, and doing little else. I reckon a toga party might be a little wrong (you may be a little too old, sorry to mention it) but a barbeque with beers and late night DVD’s to mock is a must! Show your new friends the wonder that is……..
CONDORMAN!!!
#3 by Extremus at August 6th, 2009
Those big grey fluffy things in the sky either mean rain, or – more menacingly, that the brutal regime of the Sky Sheep is about to begin!
#4 by Shadowe at August 12th, 2009
Well… sounds like you’re settling in, and it’s pretty much as rough as I would expect it to be… and yeah, we miss you!
My darling wife is making all sorts of noises about arranging a trip out to see you, though. Like… next year. Sooner rather than later. (On that particular note – how hot does it get round your gaff? I don’t do heat very well. My trip to Portugal this year is in SEPTEMBER for that very reason.)
So… beware the sky sheep, keep blogging, send me an email sometime, and let us know how things are going at Trion!
Speak soon.
#5 by Rockjaw at August 22nd, 2009
Hey guys, sorry ’bout being slow reacting to the comments. They were all appreciated especially as they were nice.
Doc – I promise you we’re trying to figure out when to do another Tagline podcast. We came really close last weekend. It might happen this weekend. Stay tuned. Also: Condorman is a great idea. I just have to wait for my copy to turn up on DVD. Maybe it’s on Blu-Ray…
Shadowe – How hot does it get? Well we’ve seen it touch 100F here (37C) but that was in a heatwave. On average it ranges between the mid 70s (24C ish) to the mid 80s (30C ish). On any given day you can expect it to be over 70F, so mostly in the 20C + range.
In other words it’s generally hot. Some days very, some days, not so much.
I will say that San Francisco, which is a way up the road (about 20 miles), due to weird conditions, generally is cooler than here. The further inland you get the hotter it is.