why moving to another state can be harder than traveling the world

February 11, 2013

Friday marked our one-month San Diego anniversary (San Diego-versary?) and my, so much has happened in just 4 weeks. We: moved into our new apartment, scored a ton of awesome furniture at flea markets and thrift shops, met new people, tried out Ashtanga yoga, networked like CRAZY, secured freelance gigs and made about 1,000 trips to Target.

But now all that movement has for the most part settled and I finally have time to reflect on this big change we’re going through, and you know what? In some ways it was much harder than I thought. In fact, moving to California has at times been harder than traveling to third world nations with just a backpack and some common sense. I mulled over our RTW trip so long that I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. It was also a bit of a fantasy life, where I could city-hop, eat great food and live responsibility-free. But San Diego? I just threw my arms up and said, “OK!” and I’m now absorbing just how drastic of a change it’s been to go from a booming metropolis like New York to backpacking to a completely new city, where I have no family, just a couple friends and no clear vision of what’s next. And not knowing what’s next for someone like me can be a struggle.

Each chapter of my life was about looking forward. In high school, I looked to college. In college, I looked to New York. In New York, I looked to traveling. In traveling, I looked to San Diego. And now that I’m in San Diego, where do I look? I’ve always had trouble sitting still, constantly dwelling on the future rather than soaking in the present, and in the past month I felt it like a hot fever.

Food

the ultimate birthday cookie

February 8, 2013

These cookies had me at hello. I first spied them on Pinterest and thought to myself, “Whose birthday is coming up so I have an excuse to make these babies?” Colorful sprinkles, rich cake-batter flavor — they were just asking to be unwrapped on a birthday. My friend Sara’s big day was looming and she had requested anything with chocolate, and just like that, I found myself picking up a bottle of sprinkles and box of yellow cake mix.

Style + Beauty

working from home and dreaming of fancy office supplies

February 6, 2013

I’ve never worked from home, but now that life has taken me down the path of a freelance writer — at least for the time being — I can roll out of bed, change out of pajamas (and into my harem pants from Thailand), and get to work within a matter of minutes. That said, I’m used to getting dolled up for the office, interacting with other people and viewing my home as a no-work zone, so it’s going to be an adjustment.

What’s not going to be an adjustment is being able to decorate my workspace however my heart desires. (The desk we got off Craigslist is a wee bit small for Eaman, so it’s mostly mine. Whoops! Not really.) This has meant an inordinate time drooling over beautiful workspaces on Pinterest and coming up with a few supplies I’d like to see at my desk once my wallet gets a little fatter.

around san diego

neighborhood watch: solana beach

February 4, 2013

A recent meeting had me heading 30 minutes north to the upscale town of Solana Beach. Considering ~~I hate~~ I’m still shaky driving on the freeways and seeing an opportunity for exploration, Eaman joined me to make a day out of it. We kind of live for one-day adventures in new cities and towns. We spent most of our time in Solana’s marquee area of the Cedros Avenue Design District, which is home to more than 85 boutiques, galleries and cafes. I was totally smitten by all the local talent. Quirky stationery and vintage mirrors and upcycled furniture, oh my! And that’s not even mentioning the beautiful beach. The residents are seriously so lucky to have that within walking distance.

around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks

burger lounge

February 1, 2013

If you didn’t already know, traveling for 13 months and then picking up and starting fresh in a new place do not come cheap. Our tight budgets mean a lot of meals at home, but when we got a buy one-get one coupon in the mail from Burger Lounge’s Hillcrest location, I did a little happy dance. A restaurant outing, hooray!

I knew it’d be worth our time and precious money because the Yelp reviews were stellar. After Eaman and I devoured the signature Lounge Burger, we concur: This was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had*. Great quality grass-fed meat, fluffy buns, Mexican cola (meaning it’s made with real sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup) and BBQ sauce prepared with chipotle and freshly brewed coffee. Isn’t that crazy? Crazy delicious.

*I generally eat vegetarian except for burgers, meatballs, and beef hot dogs. It’s strange and I can only chalk it up to my love for “fun” foods. If you’re veg, Burger Lounge also offers a quinoa patty.

Life

video recap: january 2013

January 30, 2013

Pictures say a thousand words but videos set to music are so much more fun. That’s why at the end of each month, I’ll share with you a video recap of what we did, where we went and what we ate that month. It’s a fun and different way to share our stories, not to mention a cool new skill for me to learn. Today we start with January, in which we spent the holidays in Oklahoma (where Eaman is from), drove to San Diego, moved in and started this California life. To be honest, I didn’t capture quite everything about January. (Notable exclusions were trips to Black’s Beach and the Little Italy’s Farmer’s Market.) But I’m slowly getting used to the idea of turning on the “video” switch when I’m out. Be careful: You might just be in a mini-movie the next time you’re with me!

Three reference points:

– It’s a custom in my culture and family to drive over lemons when you get a new car. It’s meant to bring luck.
– Eaman and I found ourselves in our own Hitchcock Birds spin-off when we naively ventured to a duck pond in Oklahoma. We weren’t even at the pond’s edge before the ducks and geese rushed out to chase after us and our bread. It was scary.
– We’re waving a lot in this video.

Enjoy!

Music: “Home” by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

around san diego - Life

i got a job! and other bits from the weekend

January 28, 2013

– I got some great news Friday: I secured two steady freelance gigs — one in writing, the other in social media/marketing, both workable from home! Goodbye, funemployment; hello, real world. We celebrated at d bar with an indulgent chocolate cake that was paired with a vanilla milkshake. The presentation was just as awesome as the chocolate deliciousness. And they don’t mess around with their chocolate. Hello, cavities!

– They say rain is so infrequent in Southern California that, if it drizzles, people look up and wonder what the liquid is coming out of the sky. Yet somehow, it rained this weekend. Considering it was also in the 30’s when we first moved here, it’s safe to say we ushered in all the atypical weather.

– In an effort to combat cabin fever, we joined a friend for dinner at Amarin Thai Saturday night. I was really impressed with the flavors, and even more impressed that they nailed the larb, one of our favorite foods from SE Asia. It’s a dish of minced chicken, beef, pork or tofu tossed with cilantro, lime, mint and red onion.

– Breads, like these, are my favorite thing to bake. They’re easy, always tasty and feed a lot of people. It was pure joy to bake without the problems I had in NYC (an oven that turns off intermittently or burns whatever’s inside).

What exciting (and unexciting) things did you get up to this weekend?

Life

lessons on SoCal: the crazy freeways

January 25, 2013

Having gotten my drivers license just months before leaving for college, living in a college town that didn’t require a car and then moving to the mother of all pedestrian cities, New York, I haven’t had that many opportunities to drive. And frankly, I don’t even like driving. I like my feet and bicycles and subways. All that’s different now that we’re San Diego. I need to learn to love it. Or at least tolerate it.

So far, I’m getting used to cruising around neighborhoods and downtown — craning your neck past the obstructed view to see if you can pull out takes getting used to! — but I’ve yet to hit the freeways. I’ve been relying on Eaman for that so far. Here’s the dilemma: Once you take an exit, you immediately have to change lanes because the next exit is upon you. The other dilemma is you can’t always stay in the right (slow) lane: That lane’s often only for the next exit and the next lanes over are only for another highway. So you’re forced to switch over multiple lanes to get to where you need to be. Oh and the third dilemma: People are aggressive drivers over here! Where’s the mellow, man?

I’m not really looking forward to jumping on the freeway. I know I’ll get used to it, but right now, I sense it’ll be much like this clip below from Clueless.

Watch, have a happy Friday and send me some words of driving inspiration if you have any!