Cautiously Optimistic

It's May 1st, the birds are singing and it's not terribly hot out so I've been gardening while Joel is fishing with the boys. A perfect lazy Sunday. Loads of coffee, cat conversations, and just a sense that I'm perfectly happy with a day at home. In January we branched out from just school to having the boys in various after school things. Skateboarding, Capoeira, Baseball, Carpentry,  and they still do piano too. Children's programs dropped outdoor masking after the Winter surge and then in March, at various dates, some districts made masks optional everywhere. That was a huge change for everyone. Having been burned by that happening right before Delta most of our circle have been pretty conservative unmasking when out shopping or in a classroom. But also opening up our risk profiles a little more as this time goes on. 

We took our first family holiday to our old stomping grounds in LA since fall 2019. It was a fantastic week.

We had a home exchange place to stay in just in Santa Monica walking distance from where we used to live. We saw some old friends and ate excellent Mexican street food. Took did a spa day with a friend and Joel took the boys to see the space shuttle and we honestly caught up on a huge amount of sleep. We were cautious about crowded places and masked a lot indoors for shops but generally with all the outdoor time it felt like a perfectly relaxing family trip to do and happy to have been doing it at a time where things are on an upswing and the mood is really joyous. 

After spring break in LA we all had to COVID test again to have the kids return to school and were very pleased when our school had only two cases after that wave of testing. 

Easter came next. Again we did something we haven't done in years, we hosted the egg hunt in our garden and enjoyed a sun filled happy day basking in the rays and sipping mimosas. 

Little Brother's First Road Trip

We decided to venture out on our first road trip when Caelen was three weeks old. We spent a night in Fresno with friends and then continued to LA where we spent a couple of days celebrating New Years with more friends there. Then we drove up to Carmel and spent a couple of nights just the four of us before cruising back home.

The kids did amazingly well in the car. Both boys are excellent car sleepers at the moment and we chose our hotel in Carmel very well. We had everything we needed. Austen, now nearly 3 years old, was happy to cruise around Carmel on his scooter. No need to pack a stroller for him.

And now some pictures I took preparing for the beautiful new years day party our dear friends threw. As always, I don't post pictures of people but they are available to friends and family on Flickr. Just drop me a line for a link to the private album of these party pictures.

Expativersary: our first year in Santa Monica

A year ago we were dragging four heaping luggage carts, a cat carrier and an 8 week old baby through customs at LAX. We marveled at the cold breeze that caught us off guard when the glass doors rolled open and we spilled out out of the arrival doors.

There were many moments in the following weeks that left our mouths agape and eyes wide. So many little details of American life that we'd simply forgotten about. We were still expats. This is not our home country but we'd lived in California before. It was almost a feeling of repatriation but without that same level of let-down we'd have felt if we were shunted back to Vancouver. This was our first destination outside Canada and we felt our time here was cut too short the first time and we'd never lived more than a few months at a time in LA before. Southern California was largely a new place to us.

This re-entry to the US had another new feature. We were on an L1A visa with all the countesy this "premium" visa affords. There has been a sudden lack of hostility at the border. Being on a TN1 or an H1B visa was tumultuous in the past. We've been through many humiliating and terrifying encounters with border guards who were merely underpaid and working under the assumption that all immigrants are inherently evil.

We were able to rush through our Green Card paperwork and these cards should be arriving any day now. Our old drivers licences just needed renewal and my Social Security card was a simple as a 10 minute visit to the Social Security Office where it appears I was ushered to the front of the queue and processed with impossible precision and courtesy. My card arrived a couple of days later. Our lawyers filed for a work permit for me just after we arrived and that too tumbled out of an envelope in the mail in a very short amount of time. It would seem that which visa you get does matter. A lot.

We're looking for a house to buy once the Green Cards do show up. It will be our first home even though over the past 13 years we've looked at buying homes many times. The market has always been too unstable or our jobs too impermanent. It feels funny to be planning more than a year or two ahead and not seeing a new country again on the horizon.

To sum of this year I have to say it's been easy. Making friends and getting oriented in our seaside home has been fun. I have never tired of watching the sun set over the beach every night nor have I ever taken the fresh breeze for granted. I am in love with farm-to-table slow food restaurants we've visited and am so happy to be able to serve up local organic food again for my family.

Of the things we miss, it's our friends back in Singapore and the side trips we used to take we miss the most. We also miss the late night walks in the Botanic Gardens and spicy Peranakan cuisine. I'd love to go back soon for a visit and would welcome another stint of time in SE Asia though right at the moment this is exactly where I'd like to be. Cheers!

Grapevines in Santa Barbara

Wine tasting room in Santa Barbara

Picking Strawberries

Santa Monica Farmers Market

The hashtag

I started a thing on twitter where I number my thoughts that I feel are related to reverse culture shock in our move from Singapore to LA. I'm up to 54 now and thought it would be fun to archive them here. It was particularly fun to read the first ones again.

Culture shock #54: smiling! When you smile as you pass someone on the street here they smile back. #reversecultureshock
— Stacey (@singaporestacey) September 2, 2013

53) I've been hit-on more in the past 24 hours than in my past three years in Singapore combined. #reversecultureshock
— Stacey (@singaporestacey) July 21, 2013

52) I had to watch Adventure Time to understand current pop culture references. #lumpies #reversecultureshock
— Stacey (@singaporestacey) July 21, 2013

Settling in again

First of all, we found a place to live! We looked high and low (mostly high though... have you seen west side real estate lately?) and from Hermosa beach to the Palisades. We viewed tiny places in corporate plasticy condo buildings and some total dives. The process was pretty frustrating and unfortunately we had quite a list of must-haves to try to satisfy. In the end we got location and character and took a hit on in-suite laundry and 18 stairs. I know... as a new Mom I'm probably blissfully unaware of what a pain in the ass it's going to be to haul Austen upstairs and haul laundry downstairs but I'm pretty excited about the rest of the perks. We have a little ocean view, our windows let in fresh cool salt air and every room gets sunlight. We're a few blocks from the beach, Main St (Joel's office) and all the shops and restaurants of the shopping district in Santa Monica. We're also by a library and a short walk from Whole Foods. There's no reason to drive anywhere at all. Lots of things are going into storage as our place is a little smaller than the last two places we've had but there's something kinda fun about curating your collection of crap and putting some of it away for some other time.

At 11 weeks Austen's almost rolling over. Every day I'm packing away another outfit he's grown out of. That makes me sad but I'm equally happy to see the bright chirpy boy who appears a little more each day from this tiny infant.

We've had great company in our transition. My mother arrived with us and her departure was chased with the arrival of Auntie Nan and then there was a short overlap as she departed and Joel's parents arrived.

We have yet to actually move into our place as our stuff has not yet reached the port here and then we have customs to clear. I'm hoping we'll finally be in on the weekend of the 8th. After that move-on we can begin to plan a road trip up to SF and Marin. We are aching for that but it has to wait just a little longer. If anyone needs the new address, send me a message or fill on the contact form on this blog here.

Our move from Singapore to LA

I know you’re curious. How did three adults, a cat and an eight week old baby do on this 24 hour odyssey? Overall I’m going to say, it went well. Here’s the story as I remember it in my jetlagged state.

Three packers from Altair Global came on May 6^th and spent 7 hours in our place meticulously making custom boxes to fit all the furniture and bubble wrapping delicate things. The din of all that packing tape was deafening and to add to that our neighbours were jackhammering at the same time. Austen loved it. Our helper arrived in the afternoon to clean and by dinner time all the big stuff was done. To celebrate we headed down to My Thai in Holland Village to spend one last night in our hood.

The next day the 20’ container arrived to take our boxes away. The landlord and agent came by to take the keys and officially transfer the remaining year and a half of our lease to our friend, Stefan. We were extremely lucky to have a really nice landlord and a good friend who was willing to move at just the right time to help up out.

Our final night was spent staying with friends and having a BBQ in the humidity we’d soon find hard to be able to comprehend. 

The travel day began at 1:45am. We left for the airport at 2:15 and were at the check-in desk at 3am. Here we are with three baggage carts, the baby in the stroller and Kopi-o in a carrier at my feet.

Even after checking our bags we still had four pieces of carry-on luggage, the stroller and the cat carrier. Walking through the airports was a gongshow. Kopi-o and Austen were quiet and well behaved except for one time that Austen decided in the middle of the Narita airport that he needed to eat RIGHT NOW and made a wail that pretty much confirmed to passersby that we were actually torturing him. 

Kopi-o at my feet

Austen in his carseat on the plane

Between feeding and changing Austen we also had to try to get Kopi-o to eat and use the litter. We did this by taking him in his carrier into various bathrooms and producing a small tray of his litter and a little travel bowl of food. The whole way there he refused to pee and only ate one bite of his food. It was very frustrating but I can’t say we didn’t try. I think he fared ok though. He never panicked and was very happy when a hand came into his carrier to cuddle up to.

One really funny difference I noted passing from Asia into America is that in Asia people think pets are icky and are all goo-goo eyed over the baby. In the US people think babies are icky and are goo-goo eyed over the cat. Kopi-o is now the number one most celebrated member of our travel party.

So we finally landed in LA and cleared customs. Our first stop was for coffee and then burritos before checking into our serviced apartment. Everyone crashed for five hours while Kopi-o conducted a thorough parameter sweep. After a late dinner out we are now stretched out on the bed playing white noise because it’s too quiet to sleep. We’re also freezing! I somehow never got a chance to finish pulling my winter clothes out to pack so all I have are a few silk sundresses and one thin sweater and it’s 16 degrees at night! Good thing we’ve got plenty of duvets to huddle under tonight. 

That's all for now. We're going to attempt to sleep again and will update the blog as we settle in this new home.

Graduation trip part two

I left off at the end of Disneyland. The family, filled with churros, had just left for Canada up the PCH and Joel and I moved into a suite in Santa Monica. Joel started back to work using the LA office nearby and I did what I do when Joel's working in LA: walk up and down the beach, stroll vintage stores, eat amazing food at little cafes and drink really great coffee. People like to hate LA. I get it, the highways inland are hideous, the urban sprawl is epic and there are some major cultural differences between the two sides of California. That said, LA is just a breeding ground of new music, new art new architecture and urban cool in all it's untamed forms. If you situate yourself somewhere like Venice, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach or any of the west side beach oriented areas it's really not a bad place at all. I love living in jeans and flip flops, having salty wind blowing through my hair and knowing that the next whole foods is probably only five minutes away.

A roommate and a road trip

One of my best friends in the whole world moved to California this month and is staying with us for the Summer or until she gets settled. It's been so great to have her here. We drove down to LA to visit Joel this weekend. It was a total blast. We spent an evening out in Disneyland, walked the Venice boardwalk, drank loads of coffee in the sun and took a drive out to the Griffith Observatory. Here are a few shots from our observatory trip. This is one of the few places you can get a picture of the Hollywood sign though I really needed a longer lens.

Q. Where in the world are Joel and Stacey?

A. Sometimes in Fairfax, sometimes in LA

Spring, the season of weekly flights and filming hysteria is upon us. Joel, being the Pennington he is, manages his overtime hours and fits in his cycling training for hours in the wee hours every morning. Around LA. He's not all that fond of the inner city routes but looks forward to the longer weekend rides in Malibu. He also claims that riding "California Screaming" in Disneyland's California Adventure is part of his training. If he's successful at proving this DL will become a haven of athletes. Imagine that. 

I scaled back my school schedule to make room for (drum roll) skating and (another drum roll) a life. I know, frivolous. I got a little burnt out on school in the fall and have diversified my weeks with skating and more regular running. I hired a skating coach here and will begin to work with her tomorrow. I also took a trapeze lesson at a circus school yesterday. So to all the kids that made fun of me when I was too scared to venture up the ladder to the tree-house... try the ladder to the top of the trapeze platform. Fear of heights conquered. Without the use of a trapeze, I fly to LA every other week to see Joel. A schedule we are pretty used to now. 

The Academy of Art is giving me an Associate of Arts degree (AA) in May of this year. It's nice to have that under my belt though I will most likely keep working toward my full degree over the next few years. An ongoing gallery of school projects of mine is growing on Deviant Art

That's all for now! If you're in Victoria, enjoy the snow or buy some really huge patio heaters.

Farewell to Los Angeles Part Two - Moving Joel back home

After a full day of recovery from the wrap party we packed up Joel's apartment in Marina del Rey and crammed every last jar of peanut butter into a convertible we rented for the trip back to San Francisco. With a bicycle wheel packed tightly between me and the door (Joel is an expert packer) we set off this morning with a tiny point and shoot camera in hand and proceeded to spend a day mostly laughing and taking a series of random and somewhat ironic photographs which I have posted on facebook for the viewing pleasure (or turture) of our friends. It was a long day but a good one that ended with us finally crawling in the door to our house and getting into our bed and being home for good. We made it!! THE END.

Farewell Los Angeles Part One - The Wrap Party

So here we are, four months and four days since Joel came down to LA "for a few weeks". (I think they like him.) He's working his last day today though I'm not sure he is a picture of productivity. Last night was the wrap party - basically the shoot is over and the company threw a lavish party in a West Hollywood night club on Sunset Boulevard. I flew in last night just in time to make it to the party and meet the whole crew from A Christmas Carol. So we cut a rug til 11:30 or so and then 25 of us walked up to Perversion, a Goth/S&M club. It was one of the more entertaining club experiences of my life. I was half expecting to see those kangaroo guys from Tank Girl show up. It could happen. Around 2 when doors of the club were closing we piled into a Stretch H2 Limo which was painted in a Lion theme and had a hot tub on board. Oh boy would my mom be proud. So that was it, our night of debauchery in Hollywood.

A weekend in LA

LA Spring 2008, a set on Flickr.

Home is where the furniture lives

I've been home from my extended Christmas/January (hey why not) holidays for three weeks now. Joel is still working in LA with no clear end to that period in sight. Despite the easy three day a week school schedule, and having my friend Jessica here to help out, it's been a chaotic time. Joel and I have flown or driven back and forth every weekend. He flies up every weekend he can and I drive or fly down for the ones he can't. Often this means I spend four days in LA and then three up here and then go back again. I've hardly spent any time in either place, I'm always just unpacking when I have to pack up again. 

Weekend in LA

I flew down to LA for the weekend to celebrate an early Valentine's day with Joel. We had dinner together overlooking the water at a great restaurant called Cafe del Rey.

I also visited the Getty Museum where I mostly took in the Graciela Iturbide photography exhibit. I'm starting a black & white film project this Wednesday so it's a great point to pause and take in some amazing work. 

Life goes on

My week in LA is drawing to a close. Joel and I will drive back home to Fairfax for the weekend and then he'll fly back to LA again. 

My girlfriends Nancy and Anne-Marie will arrive in Fairfax next week for a little visit and then the three of us are going to drive up the coast to Vancouver and Victoria (Canada). 

Joel will fly in to Victoria from LA at some point depending on how things go in the next few weeks. I should be seeing him for a week over the holidays. Then I'm staying in Victoria till my classes start in San Francisco at the end of January. 

Joel will probably stay in LA most of the time until March with the work he's doing in the studio in Culver City. Probably flying back for some weekends (we are going to the special hell for people who have enormous carbon footprints).

If you can remember all those details I'll hire you right now.

Disneyland

The Disney family staff party was last night in Disneyland. They closed off the park after 6pm to non Disney employees and from then til close employees and family had shorter lineups and paid less for 'food'. We mostly just walked around and looked at stuff. I went on a few rides with Joel but we mostly just strolled around together. This being the first walk we've taken together in many weeks.

Santa Monica, 3rd Street Promenade

I set out alone today to explore the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica. It's basically like Robson Street for you Vancouverites only more high end stores and palm trees. Kinda nice to go somewhere walking oriented. 

I'm going to fire up the BBQ and take Joel some dinner soon, same routine different city. 

Marina del Rey, Venice Beach

Joel worked today and I spent a tough day walking up and down Venice Beach. The beach is just a couple of blocks from the apartment complex and is a cultural melting pot of weird and wonderful characters. It's also home to that outdoor gym or "muscle beach" you see in films that are set here as well as this famous basketball court which I believe was in NBA street. 

 Our place here is cheerful and cozy with an outdoor pool, hot tub and garden courtyard.  I think Joel will be pretty comfy for the next while and it's certainly not a bad place to hang out when I visit. 

Just a side note, Virgin airlines is now running cheap flights back and forth from SF to LA. It will make visiting by air more viable though I'd have to calculate that carbon footprint... Gulp.

Quote of the day

Stacey: "Is this for garbage or recycling?"

Ben: "This is LA"

LA, the beginning

We just finished the drive from Fairfax to LA today. It took about 11 hours though it was all beautiful. We stopped in Big Sur and Santa Barbara for meals and rolled into the apartment complex where we're staying with enough time to have a bottle of wine with our friends (and also Joel's coworkers) who are now our neighbours. 

We are in Marina del Rey not far from Hollywood and Culver City where the film studio is. 

I'm staying for a week right now and Joel is likely going to be here for three months. This was announced a couple of days ago, it's not a great scenario as we've just barely finished unpacking our place in Fairfax. But this is the life we have, it's chaos, we have two places now and I float somewhere in between.