First days in the Inland Empire

We survived the move from San Jose to the 909, as my friends in Pomona are calling the area. Is everything in Southern California reducible to numbers? Sometimes I wonder.

Ru and Zig managed through eight hours or so on the road. They were surprisingly well-behaved, at least until we got to the house. Then it was a locked bathroom while my wonderful friends and students unpacked my car and the truck. After dinner and running my San Jose family over to a local hotel so they didn’t have to sleep on my empty floor after a day of lugging and packing and driving, it was just the three of us again. And then the snarling and growling and carrying on started. It’s been slightly less than a week, and they’re still snarling on and off, but behavior is improving. Last night, both of them curled up next to each other on the (bigger) desk while I worked. I expect it will continue to improve as I continue to unpack, and make this more like a residence than a storage space.

This is the furthest south I’ve ever lived. It’s been warm – so warm that on Friday I was able to go swimming (score one for moving to a place with a community pool). The idea of swimming a couple of days after Christmas/various other winter holidays related to solstice is foreign to me. Pardon me if my brain still thinks it’s July. Still getting used to California. Even after almost two years, the perpetual sun, vivid colors, and mountains framing the sky are strange sometimes.

Speaking of mountains: I can’t get enough of these mountains. Here I thought I was going to miss my beautiful Santa Cruz Mountain view. But I’ve got Mt. Baldy (Mount San Antonio) looming a few miles north of my front door, Mt. St. Gorgonio off in the eastern distance, and the start of the Chino Hills somewhere south of here. Driving around, just looking at the landscape, has been breathtaking. California continues to be filled with beautiful surprises.

School won’t start for a week or two yet, so I have some time to unpack and get adjusted. I’m hoping to be more communicative in 2014, as life is settling into a new rhythm. I’d had ambitious plans for 2012 and 2013 blog-wise, but life got in the way. Now maybe (note: that’s not a challenge, life) it will cooperate more.

Have a wonderful New Year, and thanks for reading!