this is the deck of my house yesterday. We had been under the siege by snowy and icy driveways for three days. To get out the house for airport, I had to drag our suitcases through the whole block covered with snow and ice to catch a cab, since no vehicles could drive in (wait, I am not talking about Buffalo, right?)
This is where I am today-Sunny and warm La Jolla! Sunlight stays in my room at Estancia all day long. Enjoying Rancheros cuisine (not sure what’s the difference from California cuisine, but what’s in food is not important anymore) at the Spanish Corridor, wondering in the spa garden of Eucalyptus, lavender and citrus trees, I wonder how I could leave southern California for Seattle. Or is it only a temporary feeling in the winter.
We’ve been Seattlians for one year. August 13 of last year we flew in with 8 suitcases. Nobody told us the map in Seattle is not corresponding to the direction. We drove around space needle for about an hour to locate our apartment at Belltown. We are not very outdoorsy people, and we did not take advantage of hiking, skiing, boating or jogging that the city generously provides. Green lake is our favorite spot so far, where we can see a lot of weird-looking dogs and chubby-face babies when we strolling around the lake. I remember the weekend before Christmas, both of us received some bonus/gift cards from our corporate employers, and we went shopping, dinning and cinema at Westlake center without feeling guilty. That’s the first time we felt ‘wow, we are finally out of school’. New Year’s eve, we had a private show (felt like that) of the firework at space needle through the big window of Bin’s dim office.
I don’t know how long I will call Seattle my home. It did give us our first home. I got my first job here and we will have our own business set up here. And very soon we will have our first child born here. We entertain our friends and guests with barbecue at our patio, and we have to gardening every month. Do I feel Seattle home? When we first moved to our new home in Maple Leaf, we were very pleased by the natural scenes and absolute suburban tranquility. Now, I kind of wish there is a coffee shop or a cinema in my block instead of trees and lawns. I guess I miss city life very much. If I had money, I hope I can buy a second home in downtown. It seems not very realistic now-Bin read in the newspaper the other day that a condo of 2000 Sq feet in downtown will cost 1.7 million dollars now. It seems our neighborhood is getting renovated day by day. Though nothing in short walking distance yet, more chic cafés and restaurants appeared on Roosevelt Blvd this year; Northgate has a brand new and very cool community center plus public library open up last month. Across the street, Barn & Noble will be open up in two months. I think that’s a sign of a young and intellectual neighborhood coming into being. I guess I am witnessing an urbanization of a then suburban area and I am excited to see the change day by day, even it means we are losing the tranquility to some degree. I hope l I will feel more at home with the time being.