Settling in

We have finally begun to settle into our lives here in California, which is a relief. It has been nearly 3 weeks since we moved into the UC Berkeley student housing and we both agree that this is the nicest apartment we have ever had!

(Ryan hanging our masks from Uguanda and Lesotho)
(Tah-dah!)

Couple that with living with your favorite roommate of all time (sorry all prior roommates...MFG, BB, JL, RM, CF et al) and we're in a state of happiness.

We really miss our friends back in Indiana and can't understand why they won't give up their prosperous and interesting jobs there to move here and be with us. That would make things even better. Alas, we must meet new people and new friends....the Christmas card list grows longer.

Ryan loves his law classes and we see this as a confirmation that starting law school (and leaving his PhD program) was the right decision. I am assuming it is extremely rare for a first year law student (known as a 1L) to actually LIKE what they are learning. But he IS and we wouldn't change that for anything.

As for me, I'm starting my job search - if anything new or interesting comes up, I'll let you know. A lot of people have been asking me about this area of our lives, and I appreciate the questions but so far I don't have a lot to report. I have to admit that the well-intentioned questions such as "how is the job search coming?" can make me feel a wee bit depressed that I'm not employed yet or making 6 figures. Yet.
(I'm not really expecting 6 figures but I thought it would be nice.)

I'm sure there are many who will still ask and I recognize it is a sign of shared hope and confidence in my ability to find a job. BUT....it is the primary question people ask me thus I hear it multiple times a week. I could use a break for a while. Hopefully the next blog post will make a gigantic announcement about an interview for my dream job. Fingers crossed.

In other news, we have taken some gorgeous bike rides and are actually enjoying living on the 3rd floor of the building without an elevator. Our legs are shaping up nicely which is clearly a bonus.

We have discovered a number of wonderful places to take scenic walks, the joy of farm fresh produce at a nearby store (Ryan actually ate some tomato and LIKED it) , and possibly the cheapest gasoline station for miles around. I actually filled up for $3.93/gallon when all other stations were selling for $4.05.

We have also rediscovered our love for In-n-Out Burger. Visit us and we'll help you get addicted.

(Albany Waterfront Park)

We have had the opportunity to see 3 friends from Boston - TW, DA & GA, and HC were all out in the area over the last 2 weeks and it really helped us fill up our time with good conversation and the assurance that we will, in time, make new friends that we like equally as well.

Also during the last 3 weeks, we celebrated our 3rd anniverary. It was a lot of fun - though nontraditional for us. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant, walked around the campus area, and wound up (finally) buying the board game Scrabble so we no longer have to play on our travel edition. Ryan was the high scorer, but he beat me by only 8 points. Not bad.

We're looking forward to the weeks ahead - Ryan's 30th birthday, a Welcome Back BBQ in our honor, hosted by our friends J&G, and a visit up to my parent's house toward the end of September. We're busy (go figure) but we're having fun.