I get to come home! (But life here is good.)

The deed has been done people! I fly home on December 17th! And with all the miles my mom had racked up, it only cost $5.40 round trip. Pretty cool huh? Anyways you all better mark your calendars :)

SO, what's new, you ask? Lots of things, say I! First, the job: Although I am back in San Luis Obispo county for the weekend, I have been down in San Diego for my new job. Yay! I work at San Diego Miramar College, and I'm living in Coronado, which is one of the most gorgeous places you could ever go on the west coast. Miramar College is a junior college (or community college) about 25 minutes northeast-ish of Coronado, not too bad of a commute. Miramar is in the process of developing a new Medical Lab Technician Training Program, and that's why they hired me. Even though it's only part-time for now and is not always the most thrilling, I know I'm doing something important for this program and the school. Hooray!

I've only been working in the afternoons, so I just recently signed up to volunteer as a tutor at Miramar. I don't get paid for it, but I don't mind. I have my first real appointment on Monday, with a girl named Michelle, who needs help with math. Wish me luck!

In other spare time I've been babysitting some really cute kids from New Zealand. Not only are they adorable, but they have the most fascinating little accents as well. Below is a picture of 4-year old Lucy, or Loossaayy, as they say (there is also 5-year old Emma, and 7-month old William).

Unfortunately, they are only here for another week and are going back to New Zealand soon. I will definitely miss listening to them talk.

I'm also still trying to sight-see as much as possible. A few weeks ago I went with my new friend Lindsey to a place called Point Loma, which is a national park just north of Coronado. Like Montana de Oro on the Central Coast, it's full of awesome cliffs and spectacular photo-ops.


Remember that monster of a boat my parents bought a few weeks ago? Well, it has proven sea-worthy, and well worth the 7 or 8 years my dad has waited for it. It is still in a marina in Annapolis but will be taken out of the water for the winter soon. Here's some cool pics the sales guy took of the rents coming back into dock. Check out how nerdy and cute they are:


Moving on: Now that I am in San Diego, I am closer to my cousins Jeff and Katie and their girls Quincy Jean and Zetta Sue. TheCaliforniaInitiative first met the girls a number of posts back when I had first gotten to California and visited them for just a few days. They live in Encinitas, which is about half an hour north or Coronado. Quincy (Q-bug) is 2, and Baby Z is almost 3 months. Take a look! (The little man in the foreground below is 1-year old Wyatt, Quincy's cousin on her mom's side. He's quite a character, as I'm sure you can tell from this photo.)

This one looks vaguely reminiscent of Morgan's wet-lipped wild-eyed look when he was a baby. See the resemblance?

And here's Z with her Daddy. Now, I did not photoshop extra cheeks into this picture. They actually are the size of melons.

And in the spirit of family, I had very well-missed loved-ones come visit! Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim flew all the way out last weekend just to see me! Just kidding, Uncle Jim had business, so I showed Aunt Jude around Coronado and met them for dinner a few nights. It was SO wonderful to see them, and a total breath of fresh air to know my Maryland family is still as wonderful as they've always been :) So here's the photographic proof that it is not difficult to visit Shub in California:


To be sappy for a sec - I have had more than one person, when I tell them how much I miss home and all my family and friends, ask me if I regret coming to California, or if I could go back in time, would I just choose to stay. And my answer is always no. Although I do miss everyone more than I ever thought possible, I know I am learning a lot about myself, and as cheezy as that sounds, it's actually rather true. Driving all the way here and seeing so many different places has opened my eyes, and made me appreciate my parents and my brother and my home even more. And it's starting to make me more independent.. which is what I should be at this point in life, right? I'm so blessed to have such tremendous people putting me up in San Diego, and such amazing family to fall back on when I get lonely. So even though I don't think I want to ultimately settle in California forever, it's actually pretty great for now :)

OKOK enough of that crap. I drive back to San Diego on Sunday and then I am again driving up to the Central Coast for Thanksgiving! This time with a different side of the family!

I still miss everyone just as much as always and I can't wait to visit when I come home for Christmas!

Much love,

Shub :)

Pumpkin Patches, Boats, Haircuts and San Diego!

Alright peeps, lots of little things have happened in the last few weeks. To start, I spent a weekend with my little cousin AJ a few weeks back. I took her to the beach one day and she had a grand ol' time playing in the tidepools in her girly little bikini. The next dy we went to the pumpkin patch and we had quite a day there too! Since California has absolutely NO seasons, it was nice to pretend that it felt like Fall. Being that this place was the only pumpkin patch/orchard on the central coast, it was very busy; but we had fun anyways. We fed goats and pigs, rode the hayride, picked our own pumpkins, had homemade cider, and got lost in the corn maze! Hooray for Autumn! I took lots of pictures because she's so uber cute.

Nathan also got himself a very sweet bearded dragon named Harry, although she is a girl. She is also very cute and apparently loves bathtime. Keep in mind how long my hair is in this picture:

As of now, I am actually in San Diego! I came down here last weekend to get things set for this new job. More on that in a bit. On my way down to SD I stopped in LA and spent the weekend with my wonderful Christopher :) He took me to some awesome places in the city, including a sweet hooka bar and an even better bar after that! With drag queens! Yay! We had a blast. Funny that we both ended up on this side of the country huh?



Walking around downtown LA we (much to Christopher's dismay) stumbled upon one of the seven American Girl Places in the whole country. I realized at that moment that all of my childhood fantasies had come true. I would have absolutely KILLED to be at this place 12 years ago. MAN it was awesome. At that age I had to buy my American Girl, Molly, with my own money, so I certainly did not have the funds to come to one of these places back then. But it's ok, because now I've been there :)

So I finally made it to SD and I technically start the new job on Monday. I am currently living with my roommate Bits' parents in Coronado, CA, just off the coast of San Diego. I am going to be working part-time at San Diego Miramar College about 25 minutes north of Coronado, so I am also in the process of trying to find another part-time job. Only problem is, NO ONE IS HIRING. One of these days things might turn around. For now I am grateful for this position, and for the place to live right now :) Below is the view of the San Diego skyline, which can be seen after a short bike ride to the other side of the island.

More news! My parents have, after what seemed like years of my father sitting on the computer looking at boats, finally purchased their own. It's a 36' yacht-type dealio with lots of good room to spread out and sleeping space for at least 5! Wow! This means that at some point they will be renting out the Gaithersburg house and taking the boat down the east coast... or something like that. Whatever they end up doing, I always have to remember that home is where they are :) So here's some good pics of the boat:





Cute boat huh? So about the haircut.. I grew my hair out mainly because I listened to my best friend Nikki, who told me it made me look older. I decided a few weeks ago that it was too long for me to manage anymore... I knew I wanted it cut, so I decided to go all out and donate it! Wooooo! So I went today with Mrs. Hopkins to get my hair chopped away. Paul cut a good 8 1/2 inches off, enough to donte to Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths. Before it was cut, it was longer than it's been since first grade, and now, it's just super short. It's ok though: Pantene Beautiful Lengths partners with the American Cancer Society, whom I have volunteered for before, and they give their wigs to cancer patients. Even if it is a haircut I hate, I feel so great about donating my long locks. Here's the before and after:


Even though it's short, the beauty of hair is that it grows! And I cut it for an awesome cause. I think part of me is accepting the new look more as I write about it. I suppose that's a good thing! It really is super cute and makes me look, as Mr. Hopkins says: "well into your teens!" which is certainly better than the 12-year old I had going before. The pictures don't really do it much justice but that's ok; you will just have to come visit me to see the real deal :)

I miss everyone SO much and I can't believe I wasn't home for the Terrapin Homecoming! Oh well, better luck next time, boys; and better luck to basketball maybe.

I love everyone!

Love Shub :)

Weekend in San Francisco!

So I had decided that before I moved south to San Diego I needed to get up north. Those of you from marching band know that Kenny Leftin works for Google and lives in San Francisco! Soooo the following is a summary of the crazy weekend we had. As with the road trip, please check out the full album on facebook if you like.

Since Google loves guests, I left Arroyo Grande early on Friday morning to meet Kenny at the Google campus for lunch. Google is probably one of the most incredible places I have ever been to. I was constantly asking Kenny how he ever got any work done. They have everything from a gym to volleyball courts, a pool, a ball pit, places to nap (appropriately called Nap Pods), and around 15 different cafes. The best thing about the food, other than that it is all organic and uber-healthy, is that it is all free! The only thing you ever have to pay for as a Googler, is the unhealthy candy, which is priced according to how unhealthy it actually is. What a novel idea! As such, there are very few fat people that work at Google. I have yet to find one.

After seeing and experiencing oh-so-much of the Google campus, I decided my favorite part was the free bicycles. Since there are some 12 different buildings throughout the whole campus, they have Google bicycles that you can take from one meeting to the next. The best part is you feel like a kid again because you have to pedal backwards to brake. This of course completely made my day.

After an exciting tour of Google, Kenny and I made our way back to the city so that we could get dinner and go out on the town. Before dinner he took me to his favorite places in the city. Here's some stuff we saw: First and foremost, the Full House houses!





We climbed 5 flights of these -->






to be able to see this: (that's Alcatraz in the distance, which I like to call Azkaban).

The Parthenon-esque Palace of Fine Arts:

And we ended on a beach to watch the sun set over the Golden Gate Bridge:

Friday night I also successfully parked on a hill in San Francisco. Don't forget to turn your wheels in!

Whew! And that's just Friday! I will try to keep the rest if the weekend a little shorter.

Saturday morning we made our way north-ish to Napa and Sonoma for wine country! On the way there I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge! Hooray! We hit 2 different wineries in Sonoma, where we not only got to taste wine, but also different cheeses and different olive oils! After two wineries I decided I had had enough and would not partake in too many more tastings, a decision which we later learn was a VERY good one. As this is wine season, downtown Sonoma was packed with craft fairs and things going on. We got to see the beginning of a grape-stomping contest. What a culture!

We also found a kitty at one of the wineries. Her name is Lola.

Anywho, we did about 5 in all, and then collectively decided we needed a break, so we went to a place called Lake Henessey to watch the sunset. After leaving Maryland I have come to realize that sunsets are some of the most beautiful and accessible things one can experience. They happen everywhere, without fail, they are ALWAYS calming and gorgeous, and they are always completely free of charge. What could be better? So here's some of that:




If you thought that was the end you are sorely mistaken! Mwahaha. After the sunset we made our way to downtown Napa for dinner. But not before I experienced my first ever sobriety check. Eeek! As this is wine season and it was a Saturday evening, they have random sobriety checks throughout northern California. Remember how I said it was a good decision to stop after that second winery? Let's just say I passed with flying colors.

So we ate dinner at a place called Ubuntu, a super expensive, uber- gourmet, vegan/ vegetarian place that blew my mind. One of those places that if you watch enough Top Chef, you know the names of the people that work there. Anyway, above is one of four dinner platters we ordered (this is also a double portion). Wow!

Following a very exhausting day full of vino, sunsets, and gourmet platters, we concluded with another night out in the city, and some very good beers.

Is she done rambling yet? Not quite people! We still have Sunday! Sunday morning Kenny had a show he had to play at in Oakland, so I followed around his friend Maura (who coincidentally went to Maryland as well) while she took me to some of her favorite spots. We rode the cable car to the top of Nob Hill, the highest point in San Francisco, and visited Grace Cathedral, the Episcopal Cathedral in the city. Go Espicopalians!



We then met up with Kenny after his show, went to another craft fair in the city, and spent the afternoon lounging in Dolores Park, right across the street from Kenny's new apartment. A gorgeous end to an amazing weekend.

All in all, I don't think I have ever had more fun in only 3 days time. It was certainly a weekend full of firsts: parking on a hill in San Francisco, driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, sobriety checkpoints, and so on! Lessons learned: Google should rule the world, driving stick in San Francisco must be the hardest thing in the world, and seeing other cities and other cultures is the greatest thing in the world!

I miss everyone sooooo much. For those of you that do read the blog, I am sending lots of love your way!

Love, Shub :)