(Couch)-Surfin' in San Diego

"Go West young man, and grow up with the country." Someone famously remarked that way back when, and though this country may be a lot more grown up than when that remark was first made (if not more mature), I am still "young", and as of the last time I checked myself in the mirror, I am also still a "man". So I followed those instructions, taking my wagon train (2 big suitcases, backpack & odds and ends) on the 21st-century equivalent of the Oregon Trail (Continental Airlines flight 1426) and found myself in the promised land, of soaring palm trees and perfectly tanned and chiseled beach bodies, and gentle yet persistent surf.

Of course, there's been a few bumps along the way too. I've been in San Diego since June 14, but I haven't blogged until now because I haven't had Internet except at work, and I haven't had Internet except at work because I've lived in four different places in the last two weeks. It all started when the septic system in the first place I was subletting backed up and flooded the bathroom and adjacent carpet, meaning that the carpet had to be ripped up and rendering the place unlivable. So the grad student I am subletting from, who was fortunately still around and extremely nice and helpful through all this, scrambled to find me places to stay. I am finally in the place where I will be staying the rest of the summer, though the place is being repainted and refinished this week, but once it is finished it will be like brand new! And it's in a beautiful neighborhood (where I hope to be living starting in the fall), 2 blocks from the beach, with shops and eateries within walking distance (even if they all close by 9pm), and grandiose Spanish street names like Paseo Dorado and Camino del Oro. The houses in this neighborhood usually sell for $3-5 million--it's one of the wealthiest in SD, but also happens to be very close to work, and there are a couple little apartment buildings that are actually affordable for impoverished grad students!

The biggest adjustment from Yale life (which many of you can probably relate to at this point) is the lack of constant bombardment with activities, extracurriculars, shows, parties, etc. The grad students I've met so far (most of the first years have yet to arrive) are amazingly chill and cool people, but mostly 25 or older--some of them are married, and most of them have established routines and things to do on the weekends. The one tradition that does seems to bring everyone at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (my subdivision of UCSD) together is the Friday evening get-together called TGIF--or TG for short, which I suppose just means "Thank God". And thank God we do, in a beachside lounge with ample amounts of free or very inexpensive beer. It is here that one faculty member about 30 years my senior told me the Governator's cuts to UC funding were like "cutting off your own dick", and where I met the director of one of the major programs here, who as it happens used to play tuba in the Dartmouth marching band. He bragged a lot to me about coming to the Yale Bowl and humiliating the Yale team...I broke the news to him that times have changed. I'm also signed up for surfing and ballroom dancing classes that begin next week, courtesy of the UCSD Recreation program (which has classes in everything from kung fu to hula hoop dance). And if I still get bored I can always go lie on the beach...yeah, it's a tough life here.

And if I haven't persuaded you to come visit me yet, here are pictures from my work area and neighborhood!







Happy summers, and keep posting about your adventures on this blog! Because, believe it or not even living in a place like this, I still miss y'all, but reading about your lives (no matter how much of a shitshow you think they might be) always makes me happy. :-)