Tales of a past life

When I called home this week (late in the evening, since I can’t seem to remember that I'm in a different time zone), I told my dad to grab a pen to write down our new address. I rattled it off and spelled the street name for him: P-A-L-M-Y-R-A. Even as I did, I heard him shuffling into the next room. “Hold on, I’ve got to wake Mom for this.” For what?

“Jo,” he whispered. “What street in Orange did you live on when I met you?”

In a sleepy voice, she said: Palmyra.

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns. I knew my parents met in this area, but had no idea my mom lived in Orange at the time, let alone on the same street. Like so many other things about this adventure, there is a certain meant-to-be feeling around our new home.

We are mostly moved in and unpacked. That’s after seven trips to Home Depot and a four-hour marathon at Ikea. You might be surprised to know that I married an interior designer with impeccable taste. Pat had a vision and I think he nailed it.

Pat is keeping busy. He has a few projects on his plate, including something kind of big that I’ll let him share when he’s ready, and he is working on finding a part-time job to supplement. His main to-do is to establish long-term residency, so when he starts grad school in 2014 or 2015, he’ll pay in-state tuition. Right now, his top choice is California State University, Los Angeles.

I started my new job as Marketing Content Specialist at CHOC Children’s. What a great fit for me. This hospital is so highly regarded here, and everyone I’ve met loves coming to work every day. I can’t wait to see how my role can fit into the very cool things they’re doing.

Meanwhile, I'm still putting in a few hours a week freelancing for CoxHealth, and I’ve been so happy not to cut those ties completely. (Miss you guys terribly.)

We are trying to experience southern California as much as possible without breaking the bank. Our goal is to try something new every weekend. Thankfully most outdoor activities are free. We spent an afternoon at Laguna Beach. It was beautiful and relaxing and perfect. Except for the frigid Pacific waters, which I’m told is the norm. I may have to invest in a wet suit. We had dinner and went shopping at The Block, a fun outdoor retail area in Orange. I took Pat to a local brewery/restaurant there. It was delish, but Mother’s and Springfield Brewing Co. still have our hearts.

This past weekend, we went to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We bought tickets to see Vampire Weekend before we left Missouri. We had toured the Bowl a couple of years ago, but I was not prepared for a live show. If you ever have the opportunity to see a concert there – any concert – do it. The stage is at the base of a mountain, with rows of seats up one side and picturesque rocks behind the stage on the other. It creates an incredible sound experience. You are encouraged to bring your own food and drink, so it was fun picnicking and uncorking a bottle of wine in our seats. The band gave an amazing show. We had a blast!

This weekend, we’re thinking about traveling up Pacific Coast Highway for the first time to an L.A. beach, like Hermosa or Malibu. People are recommending all sorts of activities to us: hiking in the Laguna canyon, day trips to Santa Barbara and San Diego, taking in a Yankees (er, Angels) game. We can’t wait to do it all.

Title lyrics – Step, Vampire Weekend