Seeking perfection. Falling short.
I’ve been thinking more about this and I definitely left a few things out:
1. My doctor at One Medical Group (Dr. Snyder is awesome & so is the whole OMG concept)
2. The sausage, egg & cheese bagel from the corner market near work
3. Feeling like we’re “hip” and at the center of things/history/events, living here in DC
4. Vapiano’s Greek salad
Now that we have the baby, we are always toying with the possibility of moving back to California to be closer to family. This got me thinking the other day. What would I miss most about DC?
1. New friends
2. Parkmobile
3. Free museums & events
4. Good Stuff toasted marshmallow milkshakes
5. Metro
6. My office
7. Potbelly sugar cookies
8. Our first house
New Friends
We’ve met so many wonderful people since we moved here in 2007. Through work, school, hobbies, parenthood…
Parkmobile
What do you mean I don’t have to feed a meter? Best. Invention. Ever.
Free museums & events
There are so many great (FREE!) things to do here. There are all of the Smithsonians (I can go to the Portrait Gallery & American Art Museum on my lunch break), lunchtime performances at Harman Theatre, jazz in the Sculpture Garden, etc. No city can match this.
Good Stuff milkshakes
Might I never have a toasted marshmallow milkshake again? It’s like vanilla, but enhanced, with a jumbo toasted marshmallow on top, with thick whip cream. Perfection. Thanks Chef Spike.
Metro
Full disclosure: This is also on my list of things I won’t miss. It’s a love/hate relationship. But it does make my commute very efficient and makes it possible to have only one car.
My office
My office has wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Mass. Ave. It’s on the edge of Chinatown, making Union Station, Chinatown, Penn Quarter, etc. all within walking distance. And it’s just 5 metro stops from home.
Potbelly
Their sugar cookies are like a stick of butter rolled in flour & sugar, with sugar crystals on top. A zillion calories & fat grams, but oh so delicious. I’m also fond of their sandwiches thanks to their hot peppers. Yummy.
Our 1st house
It’s so shiny and new. Everything works as it’s supposed to. There is minimum maintenance (both in & outside). It is our first house. The baby’s first house, which she won’t even remember.
Stay tuned for those things that I most definitely will not miss.
Superficially, Palm Springs is my Shangri-La. For me it epitomizes mid-century modern, California cool (minus the ocean). Have I ever been there? No. As a native Californian, I am ashamed to admit this. But I did consider getting married there, sight unseen.
But scratch the surface and there are a few blemishes. Unfortunately for me, I really like trees (real ones, palm trees don’t count), and it has been my experience that the desert is short on those. Work. What the heck do people there do for work? They don’t, you say? Hmm… well, when that magical trust fund materializes, I’ll start looking at real estate. Come again? It gets how hot in the summer?
From afar, one can overlook the drawbacks. And I plan to. Palm Springs will forever be my happy place.
My alma mater is currently exhibiting “Carefree California: Cliff May and the Romance of the Ranch House.” Although I would never wish to return to college (eek!), a visit to Santa Barbara to visit my best friend and see this exhibit would be a treat. Alas, a cross-country trip isn’t in the cards.
I love, love, love me a ranch house. No exhibit for me, but luckily, this just arrived in the mail. I’m saving it for the weekend, when I can curl up on the couch with my latest acquisition and daydream of occupying a ranch house of my own one day. California dreamin’, indeed.
As much as I love the traditional and distinctive San Francisco architecture, this house makes my heart go pitter-patter. Love.
Today my employer posted an opening in Sacramento for the same position that I currently hold. Oh my. The temptation to return home is strong, although numerous factors weigh against a move at this time. But, but… [Commence plug for Sacramento] it’s affordable, has several cute communities, including a revitalized midtown with cafes & shops, is 2 hours to both Tahoe and San Francisco, 1+ hour to Napa & Sonoma, is not humid, And those are just the general reasons!
On the personal front, there are 3 grandmas & 2 grandpas within 1/2 an hour, one of my best friends is still there (Ray’s best friends are within 2 hours), there is McKinley Park (flat, safe, 1-mile running loop), my workout group, the SF Giants are nearby, as are tons of other friends and family. Did I mention Napa? Wine! Le sigh.
It’s uncertain whether we will ever return to California permanently. For the time being, I’ll continue to look at it through rose-tinted glasses (fiscal freakin’ disaster anyone? hello allergies!). But I can daydream.
