Let's talk about the weather ...

So, on occasion, it rains in the Bay Area. Mostly when H (or any other Brit) visits.

Unusually it was cooler than 20 degrees today AND a slight breeze was blowing. Pandemonium ensues.

The real estate agent we saw was in a tizz. "It's cold today!" she exclaimed (It was 19 degrees.) "AND blustery too!" (ALL the leaves were still on trees, AND they were still looking somewhat green ...). We tittered with polite laughter as H and I exchanged knowing looks. She apologised profusely for the few leaves in the garden that had ruined the otherwise immaculate lawn. I positively swooned with their definition of a storm.

And the rain. Oh what can I say about the rain? Forecast - showery storms in Palo Alto.

And to make matters worse, the sun came out! For the whole afternoon!

The drops of rain didn't even touch the ground before it evaporated. There were meant to be storms. It wasn't even close to a sprinkle, that's how pathetic it was.


"A storm is coming!" said the lady at the Hoover Tower Observation Platform at Stanford University (which is beautiful by the way, worth a visit). "Not sure what her definition of a storm is," muttered H with mock irony ("Is there any other kind?" I thought  ....).  While I imagined wild gales sweeping man, dog and child away in a tornado-like swirl, I fear it will only be stronger sprinkles of rain followed by the sun coming out to make its obligatory appearance in the afternoon. So not the storms we were thinking of ...

But as we know, talking about the weather to an Englishman hasn't got anything to do with the weather. Rather, codes and nuances for how your life is playing out. If that's the case, that obligatory ray of sunshine that makes its appearance every afternoon despite the rain MUST be code for "everything going swimmingly". I can't help but smile. If that's the case, I'll take a little sprinkle with obligatory sunshine in the afternoons instead of a little sunshine and a large dose of rain, heck forget the sunshine, just rain in that case. Stormy ones. I'll take the Bay Area storms any day.

Bring it on.

Lots of Love from (Sunny with occasional sprinkles) California xoxo

What is a home?

Change is never easy. D is pretty good at playing it cool, and never letting on that things bother him. 

But it transpired that his concept of "home" has been destroyed by our move away from Hardy Road. The act of moving out ALL our belongings and renting it out to someone else has nullified our home for him. He thinks we are on the hunt for a new home (which I guess we are). That we are "homeless" as it were. 

It's a difficult concept to explain what "home" is to an 8 year old. But then again, maybe he has got it right. It's that simple. 

Move out from house + Move into temporary accommodation = no more home/homeless.

I suppose my idea of home is different, simply because we lived in what I perceive as "temporary accommodation" till I was at university(ironic no?). From 0-9 years, I was living with my paternal grandma. Then from age 9-15 years we lived with my maternal grandma. From age 16-18 years we lived in our "forever home" but soon after I left for university and lived in London in a flat for 6 years. A place where I couldn't stay on for more than the duration of my studies. But that felt more like home than anywhere else that I had lived. (Maybe that is why I have always thought of London as my home ...) Nowhere else did. I was always on the move in that sense. Always something else to look forward to because where I was at at that time was never the permanent solution. 

So "home" to me became about the people, the experiences, the places I was at rather than the physical. I still don't collect things, I don't buy things to make a home (which in some ways I do feel sad about), I don't decorate (or decorate sparsely). I suppose I don't believe that I will be in my forever home. I am a nomad hear me roar?

Which is why leaving Hardy Road wasn't hard for me. Leaving London was. The Tate Modern, V&A, South Bank, skyline of London, South Kensington, Kensington Gardens, Bayswater, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus. The people that I have met over the years. Friends that I have come to know well from all walks of life. People I hold dear. They were what I thought about before I left. I had so many good memories of London at those places with good friends.

Which is maybe why leaving Hardy Road was hard for D and H. For them, it is more about the physical home. The physical place that they held memories at. The houses I lived in were pretty painful - crammed full of people, no privacy, yes full of love, but no space! D& H have had pretty decent houses to be brought up in. Their own space to be their own person. 

I now realised why for years after moving back to Singapore after uni, I craved coming back to London, why I saw it as home more than Singapore. Why, only now, I feel the need to set up "home". An English friend who recently moved to Sweden mentioned this in our recent visit. She crossed over to Asia from the UK for 12 years as an expat and landed in Sweden recently. At the same time, I moved from Asia to the UK and recently landed in California. We compared notes and she said that only upon landing in Sweden had she finally decided that it was time to create her home. Not "live out of a suitcase" as it were. 

I agree. Who knows if California is forever, but I think it might be time to create my "forever home" (replete with doggies!) wherever I am. With sun of course. 

Definitely with sun. 

Lots of love from California xoxo

Welcome to my first post!

Hello all!

And how are you today? 

I'm fine. Day 2 of California and it's off to a good start. We have our new Sim cards, looked around areas to live in and gone for a swim. Slightly off kilter with jetlag but doing well. What's there not to like? 

I must apologise as so far but all I feel is a sense of relief. I must confess that the last few years in London have been difficult. And even though California cannot (must not) be a panacea to my problems that I faced in London (all through my own creation I might add!), I feel a great relief at having left. I miss the people dearly, but I do not miss the weather, nor the travel.  Nor the British passive aggressive unspoken rules to the Nth degree (more on that later!). London will be home in many ways, but in others, it remains foreign and aloof. A city that you have to love and/or hate. 

California living is, so far, pretty easy (she says on day 2).  The Americans are open and warm. You don't have to pretend to like someone when you don't (and I've already not pretended to like anyone today!). I haven't driven yet. That could be why. Tomorrow, H asks me, would you like to drive? Hmmmm. Not my strongest suit but hey, what the heck? I won't get anywhere if I don't drive. So I shrug nonchalantly and say "Yeah, why not?" Good luck Californian drivers.

Who knows what's going to happen next but the sun is shining and there are cowboys and indians in electrical stores (I know! How crazy is that? Refer to pics here guys!) so let's just go with the flow. It's all too crazy and nutty to process at the moment and I'm going to just run with it. I cannot complain, life is good. We have an outdoor heated pool. In winter. It's 23 degrees Celcius outdoors. I feel the daggers from the Londoners now. 

All that remains now is to leave you with pictures of the wackiest store I have been to so far. Yes folks, it is an electrical store selling electrical goods. And yes, that is a Wild West theme. 

Enjoy!

Lots of love from California!