It’s been a week since I flew into LAX to begin a new chapter of my life in Southern California. For the most part I’m settled in, now. It’s great being with my son again and helping he and his wife, Laia, with the newborn, my grandson, Jackson Legend Williams. But settling has required some adjustment.
The weather is considerably different here from Florida. Although the climate in Orlando is considered semi-arid, it always feels like it’s about to rain because of the humidity. And though it doesn’t rain everyday (and can go for long spans without any precipitation) it certainly rains more than it does in Irvine, CA. Here, the humidity is generally lower at midday. This time of year, it tends to be foggy in the early morning, though.
Another adjustment I’ve had to make is the time. It’s 3 hours earlier here. That means stuff I used to get up to do at 3 AM I can do at midnight before going to bed. Also, if watching a night game on TV, it usually starts before sunset and ends around 9 PM. I’m not sure my body has completely adapted to new scheduling requirements, but I am better off than I was the first day here. I’m told that adjusting is worse going from west to east. I don’t doubt that. I recall how painful it was getting used to being back in the States after spending two years in Asia.
This is not my first time living in California, either. While I served in the Air Force, I attended the Defense Language Institute at Presidio of Monterrey, where I spent about a year studying Chinese Mandarin. I’d like to drive up the coast to revisit some memories I have of the place, but I’m not sure when or if that will happen. Even though Monterrey is in the same state, it is about as far away from Irvine as, say Orlando is to Charleston, SC. Also, this is not my first time in the LA area. One of my fellow DLI students and I took a trip down here during 4th of July weekend in 1983. We stayed at his cousin’s apartment in Newport Beach, which is roughly 5 miles or so from where I’m living now.
I have some friends who live in California. One lives upstate a bit. A couple of others live in LA. A fellow Pandamoon Publishing Author, Katie Masters, lives in the next town – maybe three or four miles from here. I’ve already contacted one of the LA people, a former model, actress and author. We’re meeting soon for lunch. My friend from upstate will be driving down here around mid-month. Since her birthday is around then, I’m thinking of taking her to a movie and dinner. A couple of editors I know live here, too, as well as two of the voice actors who have done Audible books for Pandamoon authors.
My immediate plans are to finish a revision of a book that is set in this area. It’s funny, because when I wrote it I had not been in So Cal for years. There are things I need to correct.
Concurrently I’ll be looking for a job, something to help with expenses while I’m here. Yes, a lot of things in California are higher, but so far what I’m seeing is that housing, fuel and taxes are the big difference. Everything else seems to be priced around the same as it was in FL, with some variation for food depending on where it is produced. A lot of fruits and veggies are cheaper here, for example, because they are grown in state.
The One & Only Elgon 