Hello again, Internet!
Well, it's certainly been a while, hasn't it? Usage has all but stopped since before I made the decision to Austin. Obviously, a lot has happened in that time. I won't bother the world with what has happened, but how things are now.
Parts of life are really good, and other parts ... are *really* discontent.
My job is great, Demian is wonderful, I have made a really close friend, I have the best kitty cat in the world, and I have a great success story! In less than a year I went from living on borrowed money to considering buying a house! That's the reality of living outside California.
But ... outside is awfully Texas. The weather is horrific and I hate being stuck indoors for 9 months of the year because it's too hot or too cold. And the people are sometimes awfully Texan, too. There's a fair amount of close-minded religion a lot of places I go - you just have to hear people speak - and a shocking amount of off-handed racism. Not to mention all the Obama-hate, the gun-nuts, the wildlife hunters, and this strange obsession with college football. Though, in all fairness, I hear people are more open-minded and liberal in Austin proper. Here in north Austin, it's more like the rest of Texas.
And there's a weird amount of state pride out here. I mean, Californians love their state, but we don't put Grizzly Bear silhouettes on our cars, we don't have cheeses in the supermarkets in the shape of california, we don't put ... lone-star-equivalent symbols on our cars and houses, 1 in 10 Californians don't wear shirts with just the word CALIFORNIA on in.
I was never a proud Californian until I moved to Texas.
And of course, there's the friends and family I miss back home. Plus, I'm having trouble meeting people and making new friends. It's awful lonely out here, and that's the hardest thing about living here. Regardless if I buy a house out here, my soft goal is to see if I can get a Dell job back home in 2 - 5 years.
Parts of life are really good, and other parts ... are *really* discontent.
My job is great, Demian is wonderful, I have made a really close friend, I have the best kitty cat in the world, and I have a great success story! In less than a year I went from living on borrowed money to considering buying a house! That's the reality of living outside California.
But ... outside is awfully Texas. The weather is horrific and I hate being stuck indoors for 9 months of the year because it's too hot or too cold. And the people are sometimes awfully Texan, too. There's a fair amount of close-minded religion a lot of places I go - you just have to hear people speak - and a shocking amount of off-handed racism. Not to mention all the Obama-hate, the gun-nuts, the wildlife hunters, and this strange obsession with college football. Though, in all fairness, I hear people are more open-minded and liberal in Austin proper. Here in north Austin, it's more like the rest of Texas.
And there's a weird amount of state pride out here. I mean, Californians love their state, but we don't put Grizzly Bear silhouettes on our cars, we don't have cheeses in the supermarkets in the shape of california, we don't put ... lone-star-equivalent symbols on our cars and houses, 1 in 10 Californians don't wear shirts with just the word CALIFORNIA on in.
I was never a proud Californian until I moved to Texas.
And of course, there's the friends and family I miss back home. Plus, I'm having trouble meeting people and making new friends. It's awful lonely out here, and that's the hardest thing about living here. Regardless if I buy a house out here, my soft goal is to see if I can get a Dell job back home in 2 - 5 years.