Rainy LA
Winter in LA means something very different than anywhere else I have lived. In the midwest we would get heavy snow with below-zero wind chills. We would get out our parkas and snow-pants and don our boots before heading out for hours of frozen play in the snow.
In Washington I encountered a similiar trend. My first winter there a blizzard hit so bad that the whole city shut down and it took forever just to walk the two blocks to Dupont Circle from my apartment.
This winter, my first on the west coast, I am pleased to find that although I don't get to have any snow outside my door the weather does change somewhat.
For the last few days we have gotten the tail end of the torrential rains that caused all of the flooding up north that I have heard so much about on the news. These few rainy days at home have been a great occasion for relaxation and reflection. In the last week off work, Julie and I have gone from an incomplete apartment to the beginnings of a real home.
We still don't have a sofa but almost all the boxes are unpacked, the furniture is all assembled, and--as you can see from my flickr stream--we are cooking regular meals in our new kitchen.
While I look out my window at the falling rain I reminisce. For me that means going back through the thousand or so pictures I took last year and enjoying the site of many faces that I won't get to see again for a long time, if ever. I smile at the memories of my week living in New York City as a laborer on Christo and Jeanne-Claude's momentous project in the Central Park, The Gates. I remember with fondness the many hours in the car getting to know Anthony Clark as we drove to Cincinatti for Rachel and Amy's wedding. I remember trips to the beach. Hikes in Appalachia. Parties and dinners to numerous to recall. I remember almost daily lunches with Rob Levy in the various cafeterias of the U.S. Senate. I recall movies with Paul Adler, early weekday breakfasts each with David Segal, Eric Gold, and Eli Staub spent in the most profound discussion I have ever shared with friends.
I remember the hard choice I made this year, the choice to uproot myself and leave all these friends and this community to try my hand in a new city with a new job focussing more intently on my chosen career. Since making that choice a few months ago life has been transition.
This last week has allowed me to begin to settle again. As my mind turns to my absent friends and distant community I am starting to think of ways to maintain the relationships that make life so rich. Next weekend Julie and I are heading up to Oregon, a first for both of us, to celebrate the wedding of a college friend. We will celebrate with rarely seen friends and relish every moment of this special occasion. It is opportunities like this that form the backbone of ongoing friendships but more importantly it is what fills the void in between.
This has never been my strong suit but, like so many things, I believe that I am getting better at it with age. Here's to a year filled with growth and exploration but also with strengthened connections to distant friends.
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Who is this guy?
If you guys wanted to see a snowy New Year's, its a good thing you didn't come to Chicago. We're having torrential downpours and thunderstorms today, too.
I always chuckle about people's expectations when it comes to the varying climates of the country. Many summers ago, I was in LA visiting my grandparents. The return flight, connecting in Chicago, was delayed as O'Hare had been shuttered by severe storms. We had already boarded the plane, and the two elderly women sitting next to me were convinced that the captain was lying, since everybody knows that it never rains in the summer. Let alone a thunderstorm.
You are tagged!
Welcome to the "Five Weird Habits" web meme! You can read the particulars (and my entries) here.
Have fun, and Happy New Year!
By the way, sorry to read about the rains in the L.A. area (mudslides, etc.). But it'll bring gorgeous, green hills for the next few weeks, which is a plus.
Happy New Year! Love to you and Julie. We miss you guys.
Sam, I miss you. DC isn't the same without you.
BTW, I didn't get the L.A. job, so the forces of evil conspire to keep me away from the Sam/Julie goodness. I think I may be in Massachusetts this time next year.
You're both incredible people to have such a network of friends. We miss you.
It has been in the 40's and 50's here, so Peoria winters are changing...not the same snowy winters with sledding and cross-country skiing that we had when you were younger! It is great that you are keeping your old friendships current. I also hope that you'll make new friendships of equal depth in your new home. See you in a few days.
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