To say it's been a while would be understating it a tad. I believe it's been a year. Pfft. Well, as they say, there is no time like the present. And presently I will commence detailing the things that annoy, anger, inspire, and soothe me.

I am in a state of weirdness. Life feels stagnate in many ways but it's also in flux. I am living alone for the very first time in my entire life. The kids are all grown up and have abandoned me left home. My husband is working out of state and I only see him once a month or so. It's just me and my two cats. I am trying to enjoy this and for the most part I am. It's nice to know where everything is and it's nice to do laundry for one. My nights are sprawling, glorious times spent snore-free. If I feel like playing Angry Birds for 8 hours straight there is no one there to complain that I don't love them.

But it's boring and lonely at times. There is no one there to laugh when I fart. No one to tell me that the neighbors aren't being THAT loud and to just chill out. I have to make the coffee every day and take out the trash when I get home. If the fridge is empty, that's on me. And I have no one to scratch my back or rub my head when I am feeling tense.

Also, I have a huge apartment. It's really really large and I could easily get by with half the space. The emptiness is magnified by all the space (although, said space is really clean since no one is around to mess it up). So, I am in the process of finding a new place. I'd like a house the same size, or a much smaller apartment. That probably makes no sense. But now that I am no longer legally responsible for anyone, I can do whatever I want.

The long-distance thing is indefinite. I don't know how long it will be. I love my job and have something resembling a career for once, so I am not eager to leave it behind. I like Austin a lot, too, so I am not eager to go back to Southern California. I am sure the house I love here for $1700 a month would be double that in So Cal. We'll see what happens. I'm trying the one-day-at-a-time approach but that's not really my style. I like looking forward to things. Ahem. I mean I like looking forward to things that make me happy. I don't like looking forward to uncertainly or undesirable things. Duh.

I suppose this is growth - being on my own and learning to like it. I think I am mostly afraid that I am starting to like it! As a former Navy wife, I know the drill. After six months, I have now adapted to life without my significant other. Naturally, that is when they come back and fuck everything up. Sigh.

More to come. I hope. I think I am much better at this than just about everything else right now.

My, oh my. It has been so long. I must fill you in on all the incredibly exciting things that I'm doing. But first, let me bookmark the dashboard of this here blog and try to remember checking in on it more than three times per year.

OK. Done. Unfortunately, I don't have the free time to really even get started at this moment but rest assured that I will update you later.

Until then, bises.

Once upon a time I wanted to be a teacher and then I grew up and wanted to be a professor. And then life happened. Kids, marriages, houses, jobs, bills, et cetera et cetera. You know the drill.

A while back though I decided to go to college. It took me 8 years to get my bachelor's degree. I'm okay with that because I was also working full-time + in a job that paid actual real money and actual real bonuses and also provided other cool perks like health insurance and 401(k) and all that great grown-up stuff. I made some of my best friends through my job too, so there's that! But wait, there's more... the job I was doing is typically done by people with at least a bachelor's degree already so I feel fairly accomplished that way, too.

I am in a whole new career now (communications) and I love it. But I can't stop thinking and dreaming of the profession that fulfills almost every single desire I have in life (career, or otherwise). I wanna teach, people. I want to read and think and write and talk to other people about reading and thinking and writing. I want to share my enthusiasm for culture and history, especially of the American sort and be around people who geek out on it as much as I do.

So, now that brings us to my current endeavor which is getting into grad school. I took the GRE, I'm writing my personal statement and compiling my package and hoping strongly that I am accepted into my first school of choice. If any one reading this has any experience and words of wisdom please comment or email me! I really, really want a "Dr." in front of my name.

Can you believe I actually forgot that I had a blog? Sad.

I think I am bored enough to actually start writing again.

Famous last (blog) words.

I am free!

I have broken out from behind the Orange Curtain.

I have escaped the land of too many people, too much traffic, way too expensive houses, and far far far too many breast implants.

I have moved to what is quite possibly one of the coolest cities I've ever seen. In America, at least.

My whole life has changed in major ways. I mean MAH WHOLE LIFE! The whole enchilada, as they say. Like, I am talking every single thing has changed. I will bore you with the details now! If you care, and you know you do, clicky the "read more" button thingy!

First I must state for context that I have been insanely busy for, well, most of my life actually, but the last 3 months in particular.

I am proud to say that I have done less the last 3 weeks than I used to do before lunch! You read that right.

It all started with Paris. In November when Mr Rice took me to Paris for my 40th birthday, we fell deeply and madly in love... with each other, I hope; with life; with the city; but most importantly, perhaps, we fell in love with the philosophy that Parisians seem to hold which is "Work to Live" rather than what we are used to which is "Live to Work". They take pleasure in food, wine, coffee, a cigarette, and good conversations with friends. They talk passionately and they take a lot of time off of work! They walk places. Everywhere in fact. I know that is not unique to Paris, but it struck us more there than anywhere else we have been.

As soon as we got back from eight wonderful days, two things happened. We decided then and there that it was time that the talk about moving to Austin, TX became action. We started plotting our move.

The second thing that happened is we found out my daughter was pregnant. More on that later.

We had discussed moving to a number of different places throughout the world, actually but we settled on Austin for a lot of reasons: lifestyle, affordability, proximity to my family (not too far, not too close), and I will say it again - Lifestyle. Austinites live well, most of them. They are friendly, politically engaged, outdoor-loving, and a whole bunch of other things that we are. The philosophy here in my experience is much more aligned with "Work to Live" than anywhere else I've lived in the past 20 years. A lot of cool people we know or have met, are content if they have beer in their fridge. I am not subjected to the same boorish conversations I was often subjected to in the OC about stock portfolios, problems with nannies, the latest kitchen remodel, their mortgage, or their trip to Tuscany. Not that there is anything wrong with any of those things. But, you know, just not my bag, baby.

Greg started sending out resumes and in February lined up several interviews in Austin. He flew out here and interviewed. He flew back out in March for a second and a great place offered him a job. He packed up his car and moved on April 13th. He started his new job on April 20th.

I was sort of stuck in California however because I was finally in my last semester at Cal State Fullerton where I had been working on my bachelors degree for 8 embarrassingly long years. I wasn't quitting now!

So, long story short, I gave notice at work (3 months!) and finished up my last excruciating semester of school. April 1 to June 1 were probably the hardest 8 or so weeks of my life! Greg was away, I was home, working 8+ hours a day in a busy, stressful, demanding job, managing the apartment building where we lived in San Clemente and finishing up that pesky school.

I know I am leaving out a lot of details but you should still get the gist.

I hired movers on May 20th who took all of our furniture to Austin. I graduated with my BA on May 24th - Greg flew out for the ceremony and caught a plane right after back to Austin. I worked a few more days, cleaned out my place, packed some stuff up. On Thursday night, Jordan, the two cats and me loaded the car and took off. We drove straight through and landed here 23 hours later at exactly midnight Friday night.

That was three weeks ago tonight. I have been working for the same company as in California but the work is much easier. The traffic is non-existent, for my commute at least, and our apartment is one million times better than where we lived in San Clemente. It's gorgeous, quiet and private. I L O V E it. I have never been more relaxed ever.

In the last month, I have quit being an executive assistant, I have left my job as property manager of an apartment building in San Clemente, I have finished school. I am looking at a position that could be very challenging and fun and lucrative and I am also toying very seriously with not working at all. As Tom Petty sang, the future is wide open. From this point on I am not settling for anything that I don't want to do. I am not wasting time on anything that isn't part of my dreams. And I am not living a life that I only partially like. It's all or nothing, baby.

I will have to tell you more about the impending grand-child soon. I am about to take off and go get a (cheap) happy hour drink with my man and start my weekend.

 




Ariat Heritage Western, Women's 8.5 B/Med
Bought at Boot Barn, Lake Forest CA

The first thing I bought with my bonus was this pair of righteous new boots. I can't wait to live in a place where people know and appreciate boots!

(I am moving back to Texas with my hot, hunky husband for those of you who don't know. We will be in Austin very, very soon!)

I discovered three things of excellence last night. We already loved the newish cheese market and wine bar in downtown San Clemente, with its sophisticated but cozy and comfortable atmosphere and its great wine and beer selection. But we've added three new things to love about the Cellar.

1. Sasha Evans. A blues/jazz singer from San Juan Capistrano. If you live in Orange County or even LA or San Diego, I highly recommend you check her out. She is loverly with a capital L. (Her MySpace is here: www.myspace.com/sashamoon)



2. Creme brulee bread pudding from the Cellar in San Clemente. I already loved their mac and cheese, and usually make a point to get some about once a week or so. Now I think I may be going there just for dessert on alternating days! This delicious, decadent dessert is made on premises and served with Brown Sugar & Buttermilk ice cream, also made on site. Utterly orgasmic.


3. Pinot grigio, alto-adige, italy, tiefenbrunner ‘07 - delicious!
The wine was on sale for $27 a bottle.

The Cellar
E: info@thecellarsite.com
P: 949.492.3663
F: 949.545.6273

156 Del Mar San Clemente CA.
92672

Open Tues - Sun, at 6 pm