Thursday, January 31, 2013

The One with the Adjusting

There are some things that are different in California from Ohio.  And some of them are a little harder to adjust to.  Maybe it's just me but some of these things are just bizarre!

1)  Motorcycles.  There are a lot of them.  And they drive higgly piggly through traffic.  They freak me out coming up the middle of the highway.  Geesh!  I used to try to avoid motorcycles.  I'd stay back as far as possible or pass as quickly as possible.  But there's no getting away from them here!

Maybe its that I was in a horrible car wreck flying through the air on the interstate...but I always think of the worst case scenerio when it comes to motorcycles.  A small pebble.  A little wobble here or there.  And then I run over a body.  It's one thing to hit a car on the freeway...but hitting a motorcycle.  I couldn't handle it.  They would have to take me away in a white coat.  I'm not adjusting to this one.  At all!

2)  Drive thrus.  Come on!  People in Cali have cars.  Why aren't there any bank drive thrus?  Why aren't there any Starbucks drive thrus?  They're all over Ohio.  Those peeps in Seattle know they work in Ohio..why not Cali?  People have kids in car seats in Cali too ya know!  There are random McDonald's drive thrus...and your Jack...whatever restaurants...but I need caffiene!!  And a bank every now and then.  This one's not easy either!  Update - I enrolled Max in a preschool...the only one that had availability.  Guess what, it has a drive thru!  I can't believe it.  It's genius but I still can't believe it.

3)  No rain.  It seriously hasn't rained since we've been here.  One day of sprinkles...and it wasn't enough to send Hugo running.  It's been total sunshine for 2+ months.  I can live with this one! Update - We're now in the rainy season.  It's still been like 10 random days with loads of sunshine in between.  I'm loving this one!

4)  Shopping mall.  I'm in need of a shopping mall.  I'll be driving to Concord tomorrow for a shopping mall trip.  I'll let you know how it goes.  It's 20 miles outside of Emeryville.  Seems odd to me coming from the land of retail.  I'm adjusting...though it's weird.  Update - Now that we're in God's Country (aka Marin County) there are mountains, ocean, the city and...MALLS!  Nice ones!  Yay!!

5)  Grocery stores.  I know I've complained about this one but I just haven't found the right place.  Yeah...there are Whole Foods everywhere.  And the Berkeley Bowl..(which is fabulous in its own right) and Trader Joe's.  But we're feeding a family of four here.  And $5 for a gallon of milk that lasts about 3 days just ain't happening.  So I've been going to BB, TJ's and Pak N Stab Save.  I hate having to go to 3-4 different places to get what I want.  Although the fresh fruit and veggies are fabulous!  I'll adjust..eventually. Update - In God's Country there are better Safeway's and a great Trader Joe's and Mollie Stone's (even more expensive than Whole Paycheck) but I still miss my Market District Giant Eagle. 

Overall, life is good.  Being a SAHM is great.  Now if we can just find a house... Update - We found a house!  Yay!  More of that to come. Now that we're somewhat settled, hopefully I'll post some more!



4 comments:

  1. 1. Don't become a California driver - we hate them in Nevada. They NEVER use a turning indicator and they drive way too agressively!
    2. You should have moved to Nevada - we have drive thru wedding chapels - for those times when the boys want to get married, just for the weekend (We have really easy divorce laws too)
    3. Nevada average annual rain fall is 6". The sunshine is nice - but it's not so nice when you have to conserve water in the summer and your grass turns brown. sigh! In Ohio, only rich, hoity toity people had sprinklers - God watered all the yards.
    4. Not a lot of shopping malls here - we have two. One is old - and the other is all outdoors. Malls aren't supposed to have every single shop outdoors - there is supposed to be an inside area where teens hang out and flirt and make fun of each other and old people walk early in the morning.
    5. Look for a Raley's or Knob Hill foods....they are good. Our Walmart has a really good grocery section - and you can't go wrong with a place where you can buy Depends, diapers, Midol, alchohol, icecream and McDonald's fried all in one place and then step outside and see the Wienermobile.

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    1. 1)Ha..already a Cali driver. 2) I still want a drive thru bank!! 3) Everyone here has sprinklers..our new house does too. 4) The mall here in Marin is outdoors too. I love it! 5) Don't have either of those that I've seen. And I haven't seen a WalMart since I left Ohio..have no idea where the closest on is..but I wish! Our closest Target is a 30-45 min drive. I was addicted to Target so I'm guessing we'll be saving money. :)

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  2. This was great! Love it. I have to say though, my parents always had (and have) a sprinkler for the front and back yard and they are FAR from rich, hoity or toity! LOL! :-)Here's the Walmart in Marin: 150 Beach Rd
    Marina, CA 93933
    Phone: (831) 883-9138

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    1. That's in Marina, CA..which is two hours away. Closest one is about 30 mins away and a toll bridge.

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