Rainy Days in California

 Last week we had our first rainy day in California. Of course, being the good Midwestern girl that I am, I was prepared and pulled out the umbrella from my car. I even ventured out to get groceries in the rain while everyone else huddled under shelter. Like I said, rain is certainly not the typical weather here. I have never been in a place with so many “perfect” days. The temperature is slowly getting hotter each week, but in our first month here, the temperature was neither hot nor cold, a concept that I have trouble explaining to family and friends in Minnesota. I was actually starting to miss rain, and Gabe is still hoping for a thunderstorm.

As you can imagine, the beautiful weather means that most people spend their time at the beach. Since we’re not exactly the surfing types, we’ve spent most of our time outside disc golfing. California is the birthplace of disc golf, a sport that we started playing together in Springfield. Apparently, most native Californians seem to think this hobby is only for hippies and college students. We keep enjoying it anyway.

Our jobs are really what’s kept us busy lately. It’s hard to believe that Gabe has been at his internship for over a month now. Although he has had to do some chores typical of an intern (like buying edamame for his boss—that’s California for you!), he’s also been put to good use and has worked on important projects. Blizzard creates and produces video games, but since Gabe is working with the cinematics department, he has had the opportunity to work with the filmmaking side of the company. Many of the producers he works with were formerly producers with DreamWorks, Disney, and other major animation and film studios. The most important thing is that he is loving the company and his work.

My job also started at the beginning of July. I have been teaching Spanish students at GEOS Languages Plus, a language school that teaches English to university students and adults who have come to America to learn the language. Every summer, GEOS hosts a holiday program for high school students from Spain, France, and the Caribbean. In the morning, the students learn English and in the afternoon, they do site seeing activities. So, not only do I get to teach them, but I also get to chaperone them on their activities. Since I’ve started, I’ve gone with groups to Huntington Beach, Sea World, and on a tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. Next week, we go to Universal Studios!

And yesterday, Gabe and I celebrated our two-year anniversary. We’ve had quite an adventure already and still have many, many hard decisions ahead. We’ve gotten tired of each other, pushed each other’s buttons. But at the end of the day, I know that we have each other for all the adventures—good or bad—that are still ahead. And that makes it all worthwhile.