California, Here I Come

Todd and I are going back to the Bay Area for a few days for Christmas, our first trip since we arrived in Boston a little over 4 months ago. I'm curious what it'll be like. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and family, but there's a part of me that dreads, just a tiny bit, seeing the Bay Area itself. What if I have separation anxiety and don't want to come back? I realize that I don't feel all that homesick anymore, and I like that -- I'm starting to see this area as home now too. But there are still things I miss, and I'll bet there are even things that I don't know I miss. And I won't know what these things are until I experience them unexpectedly.

For instance, on the very rare occasion that I hear somebody drive by playing loud music, I'm transported back to Oakland, where we kept our windows open year 'round and were frequently bothered by people driving by and bumping their songs (fo' shizzle). It's funny how something that used to be irritating is now an occasion for nostalgia. Hell, there were times I called the cops on loud street-partiers in the middle of the night, like some kind of crazy old lady. (Although once I was told by the dispatcher that, due to a double shooting, the cops were unlikely to come quiet down the block. Go Oakland!). But now I wouldn't mind a little street party to mix it up a bit in suburbia. I think being a crazy, slightly ghetto-fabulous old lady suits me fine. Though, if I were truly ghetto-fabulous, I would just yell out the window myself at the partiers instead of calling the cops. But I'm a little shy.

People often talk about California/The Bay Area in idealized terms: "Oooh! California! It's sunny all the time! It's so great! You don't even have a winter in the Bay Area!" In the past, I always scoffed. But now that I don't live there anymore, I can see why it seems so great -- it is (except for the ridiculous cost of living -- but at least the produce is plentiful and cheap). There really can be a lot of sun (except in the summer when it's foggy), and yes, in the Bay Area, winter is very, um, subtle. Even though it's not really all that cold here yet , I can see now why weather with a high around 60 during the winter months isn't really considered "winter" by so many people. Hey, you could get away with wearing assless chaps all year long like that! And I'm sure that there are some people who do. But I digress.

So my reunion with California will likely be bittersweet. But I promise (scout's honor!) that I will not go to our old apartment and try to do a citizen's eviction on the current tenants. At least if I did, it's not like the cops would come.