Ten Days a Californian

If my calendar is correct, ten days of living in California is today. As someone who’s lived in one state their whole life, nay, one metro area in one state, it’s been a huge change. The world around me is fresh and exciting, but equally craptacular.

The good news is, I’m not leaving. Maybe that’s also the bad news, who knows. We’re here for the long haul and I’ve discussed and mentally prepared for it quite far in advance. I even highlighted my trip by day in summary (day ~1~, ~2~, ~3~, ~4~) and reflected briefly after all the dust settled.

I’ll just come right out and say it: this place is dry. Not dry like “my clothes are dry, this dryer rocks!” More like: “my clothes turn to dust! This dryer rocks!” The humidity was 14% today. That might not seem like much but to compare, think desert. No, not dessert. One “s,” like the sounds snakes make… in the desert.

See exhibit A.

That about sums it up.

It’s not all bad, though. Moving from a state that gets eight feet of rain a year to a state that gets sloppy seconds from Mother Nature has perks. It’s sunny, a lot! This time of year, we were lucky to see the sun. It rained. Of course now that I’ve moved away, Washington’s getting a sexy session with the sun and there’s a lot of sun to go around.

I’m also tan. It took exactly one day to become tan. Us northern people tan easy. Too bad it doesn’t make traffic any less of a suck-fest and California drivers any more skilled at using their turn signals.

I could rant for a solid hour on California drivers, but I don’t think that’s necessary. This guy has a pretty good summary on video, so consume this 18 minutes of sad-but-true. Half of this I see on a regular basis.

I don’t feel I’ve given California enough credit. The ocean is damn awesome and I love being so close to it. Without traffic, it’s 45 minutes. That’s spectacular. In Washington, it was a four hour romp (each way) that included an hour (each way) and $50 (round trip) on a ferry. Given the scale of the Bay Area, everything’s so close, too. Public transit (train-based) is legit and quick to move around. The bus system blows harder than Katrina, though. Who needs to have a 45 minute layover half-way through a 10 mile journey?

Maybe this guy:

Oh well.