Leaving San Diego ...

Well, ew and I are finally in Singapore, though our arrival right before Chinese New Year has delayed our ability to actually get settled and look for our own housing.  So right now, we're grateful to have some family here lodging us, until we can get bank accounts, phones, and our own place where we can finally hang up our clothes.  We moved out of our place in San Diego about a month and a half ago, and have really been living out of a suitcase ever since.  It's been difficult living in this state of limbo ... you don't really have the freedom to go and do whatever you want, and you don't have the security of actually having a place to live.  But now that we're in Singapore for the indefinite future, I figure I should get back to writing about all the things I forgot to write about while hectically leaving the states.

A lot of people asked what I would miss most about San Diego (well, maybe not a lot of people, just my own thoughts really), and I had a hard time coming up with an actual list.  Most cities are generally similar once you actually live there ... work, exercise, find something to eat, get a drink.  So are there specific spots in San Diego that I'll particularly miss?  Pho Ca Dao in Mira Mesa was probably my most frequented restaurant, and while their broken rice was the best I had in San Diego, I'm not sure if Asia will really be lacking in Vietnamese food.  Churros el Tigre probably won't be available outside of the states, but we went there so infrequently (mostly because the vendor always moved places) that it's hard to imagine me truly missing a churro cart.  None of San Diego fine dining was truly memorable, from Mille Fleurs to A.R. Valentien.  Bars?  Syrah?  Altitude?  Both memorable spots, but none that can't be found in any other city.  So upon reflection, I think what I'll miss about San Diego is not so much in what I did, but small cultural differences, like being able to listen to pop music.  Keeping up to date with movies.  Watching sports live.  Playing basketball.  Weather.

Growing up in San Diego, you sometimes take the town for granted.  It doesn't have a lot of industry, great variety of food, and it tends to be an older demographic of people, but it has incredible weather.  One where you can enjoy the outdoors, whether it's by the beach or at the CVRC basketball courts.  It's a very livable city, despite its reliance on driving 20 minutes everywhere, as there's enough access to get mostly everything you would want.  It's a place I definitely appreciate growing up in as a child, and even discovering again as an adult, and I can understand why my parents chose to settle down there.  But sometimes we have to see other places in life, and that's where I am right now.