Welcome to the Sunny State!

I tried sitting at home eating bonbons all day, I really did. I guess I didn’t try hard enough though, because my efforts were thwarted by the fact that I don’t actually know what a bonbon is.

I moved to San Jose, California just 10 days ago from Sumter, South Carolina. However, this move has been months in the making. It started back in January actually, on my twenty-fourth birthday. Owen (my boyfriend, also referred to as ‘Superman’ sometimes) and I were lounging in a hotel that morning on a trip to Asheville, NC when he got a call from someone at Tesla, saying he had made it through the rounds of interviews for a body repair instructor position in California and they wanted to hire him! The selfish me immediately thought ‘Are you effing kidding me? This news on my birthday?’ But the supportive, loving girlfriend me (I know, I flatter myself) knew just how excited Owen was for this opportunity. The truth was, this job meant we’d be long distance again, and for anyone who knows a thing or two about Owen and I, you know that we could write the book on long-distance dating. So in the weeks that followed, as Owen prepared to move cross country to California, I made the decision that if I hadn’t found a job out there by mid-June, well fuck it, I was going out anyway. The days apart crawled slowly by, and finally I couldn’t deny the inevitable: I didn’t find a job yet, and I needed to hunker down and prepare for the move anyway. So one yard sale, several days of packing, 5 stuffed-to-the-gills boxes, and one bottle of Bailey’s later, I found myself flying across the country. After a pitstop in South Bend, Indiana for Owen’s brother’s wedding, I had officially made it to California. And I have decided that to keep you, my reader, following my every exciting word, and to keep me from resorting to eating bonbons every day, I am going to document my adventures, misadventures, explorations, and job search in California.

Owen lives in an apartment in San Jose (that’s “South Bay” of the San Francisco Bay Area) and I have spent the past week and a half exploring the area on foot and on bike, since I don’t have a car. Some interesting things I’ve encountered along my travels thus far: fake grass lawns, black squirrels, and a huge ass couch pulled onto a second floor balcony, our second floor balcony to be precise, via two skinny guys and a rope. I’ve learned not to go into the park at night, that ‘the city’ is now San Francisco, and that if I don’t like avocados yet, I better fake it til I make it. In all seriousness though, I’ve really loved what I’ve seen so far. There seem to be a lot more active people here, bike lanes on most major roads (!!) and an overall attitude of openness. I’ve already seen 60-something year old women wearing less clothing than I’d dare to in public, and people of all kinds enjoying themselves on the beaches and trails. Which brings me to my next point… Owen and I have done some awesome exploring recently.

Better get used to seeing these more often

My first full day here, Owen got a Tesla to use from work- thinking about how much that car is worth makes me afraid to breath in it- and we drove out to the Pacific Ocean! It was about an hour drive from where we live, and the drive there was almost as cool as the ocean itself. We took windy roads through golden hills and mountain forests. Owen’s goal, I think, is to make me sick in a Tesla. My theory is it’s some sort of rite of passage among him and his coworkers, but those cars can accelerate so quickly and with no delay at all, that I’ve heard it’s possible to make grown men puke. Anyway, I successfully made it through at least my first drive with all my guts intact. The ocean itself was spectacular. Way more wild than I’m used to seeing back east, complete with bonfires, driftwood, and my favorite of all- seals!

My first steps in the Pacific, ever!

Last weekend, after scanning a map of the area, seeing a park with the word ‘redwood’ in the name, and choosing to go there, Owen and I arrived at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This drive wasn’t in a Tesla, just in Owen’s old Jetta, so no chance of me vomiting this time. But what a drive it was. I swear, they don’t make roads in California like they do anywhere else in the world. As if the twists, turns, blind curves, and steep climbs aren’t bad enough, they also decided that cars should share the road with bicycles. And there are people here crazy enough to try biking these hills! I can only call them crazy because I’m jealous and one day would like to try and bike it myself. Anyway, Owen and I were grateful to arrive in one piece. The park itself was magic-level cool. We found a grill to whip up our venison-burger lunch, and deemed it the best grilling spot in a park ever. Although the park was completely packed with tourists (damn you, Fourth of July weekend), we were completely alone amongst towering redwoods in our little nook of the park. After an awesome lunch washed down with watermelon beers, we took a hike to a scenic lookout, suggested by an enthusiastic volunteer. The hike started in thick redwood forest but quickly climbed to what reminded me of high desert scrub. (Disclaimer: I clearly don’t know the ecosystems in California well enough yet, so bear with me through this blog as my descriptions get more accurate.)

This week started with a scare: my phone informed me that I had used about 3000% of my data, and I might want to upgrade to a larger plan, it kindly suggested. I went into minor freak out mode. I’ve never even been close to using my measly 1 GB of data every month. Apparently I had been punked though, because when I went to brag/panic to Owen about it, my data usage had plummeted down to my normal 0.1% level.

The week was wrapped up with an after-work trip to Santana Row, a super upscale shopping/restaurant sanctuary only a few miles away from us. I felt cooler than ever just peering into some of the fancier bars. If any of you visit us, it has already been decided we are taking you here. As Owen and I could not afford to even look at most of the food there, we stopped at Walmart on the way home and bought a gallon of ice cream each.

So, in summary: I don’t have a job, a car, or a properly functioning computer (my charger makes hissing sounds, heats up to about 700 degrees; understandably I don’t leave it unattended for fear of it starting a fire). I can’t even drive Owen’s car, for Pete’s sake. It’s a manual and my skills + California roads does not end well. Asked by several people if Owen is going to buy a Tesla (in his words): “I can’t even afford toilet paper, let alone a Tesla.” So. This situation might make some people nervous. But I am determined to adventure my way through this awesome state on my quest to find a fulfilling career and a new life with Owen!