Settling In.

I can't believe I am writing this, but I think the Great Deck Painting of 2009 is over. For almost 3 weeks, our deck was allegedly being "painted" but this turned out to be a short way of saying "overhauled and crowded with workmen all day trying to drag this sucker out as long as humanly possible."

Our large deck that overlooks downtown Encinitas and the ocean also happens to be our only entrance and exit. So its been like we've had 8 roomates this whole time. When I go in and out of the house, do laundry, or just sit working in the office, I wave to them outside the windows. While having friendly faces around is nice, the jackhammering and the inability to get a grill or patio set has been limiting. In fact today I couldn't go out or in at all because the paint was drying. Imagine my relief that by the end of this weekend I will be enjoying dinner outside, fresh off the grill. Oh man, that is going to be so cool.

The last two weeks have seen us taking a stab at creating a routine. Chris & Kate wake up super-mega early, go to the train station which whisks Kate to the city and Chris goes back to the house and works for awhile, goes to yoga, works some more, and then fetches his wonderful wife at the train station again in the evening. I will let Kate go into further detail as to how she is managing in the US Justice system.

I on the other hand am really enjoying working from home. And considering I get up at 6am with Kate every morning, I get more done by noon than I ever did working a standard 9-5. It's also good because the projects that I am working on now are all on EST timetables. I'm also really enjoying sampling the yoga studios in and around our house. After a lot of classes, I'm starting to get a feel for which places seem like good communities to be a part of. I found one studio in Solana Beach that is interested in taking me on as a teacher, and this is by far one of the nicer studios in the area. I am told I should have a few classes by the end of September, which is nicely timed with me coming back from a yoga teaching retreat in Montana.

We've already learned two things in the last two weeks about living in California. First, the state of California wants your money; and 2. It will stop at nothing to get it. I went to the DMV to register the car, and man, the CA DMV makes Mass and Virginia DMVs look like fancy VIP rooms where you are given mongrammed robes and foot rubs. When we bought our Prius in April, we did so because we didn't want to pay the outrageous sales tax CA charges on their cars. But when I got to the DMV I was politely asked to fork over another $1200 to make up for the difference in sales tax between the states because CA decided to go and pass a law demanding the difference on any car purchased from Sept 2008 on. These are the most expensive license plates ever. And they are not even vanity ones!

But we are having some real fun as well. Two of our latest excursions center around food. First, we went and checked out a fish place called Blue Water Seafood - a shop that only sells fish and is a bit of a dive. So much so that it was featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." It even has a little spray painting in the entryway commemorating the host's memorable style:

We each got a fish taco and a fish sandwich. The blackened snapper was amazing. Two fins way up.

We also went to Michelle & Pietro's house for Burger Night. Pietro is a lover of gourmet burgers and remembers where and when he's had certain burgers the way parents remember important moments in their children's lives. Together they also experiment making their own, and Pietro's newest creation, a Hawaiian Burger with a pineapple relish made from scratch, was simply amazing. I almost ate two. I want to discuss how nice it was to hang out with two funny and engaging (and engaged!) people, but I can't stop thinking about the burgers. That's how good they were. I'm not sorry.

So that's the latest and greatest. We hope to have some pictures of the place up soon, once we get a few pictures up on the wall and a place to sit outside. We have jobs, people to hang out with, and something resembling a routine. We just need to keep making sure we suck the marrow out of this place and not take it for granted. I'm starting to get used to sunsets in a way I never thought possible! Come on over and you'll see what I mean. Just be sure to wear shoes you don't care about. They may still be painting the deck.