February 1st-9th.

So, its already the 9th January. I mean February- though I have to admit that I am really confused about what month it is so excuse me if I suddenly turnaround and call it August. It could be any month what with this constant same weather! hah!

I thought I was getting somewhere with getting caught up, but of course that is up to the end of January! Time is still ticking onwards and we are still doing other stuff to talk about.

So first off beginning of February (1st in fact) I went to the San Diego Safari park with a friend. The Safari park is up in Escondido which is closer than the main zoo but we had never been for some reason. I know me and hubby didnt go when we came away on holiday in 2009 and 2010 because it seemed expensive and we only had limited time each time.

Well, the safari park has a parking fee- $7 or $10 if you arent an annual member, a bit steep really and unusual given that the main zoo which is in the park in Downtown is free parking. The Safari park is much smaller than the main zoo, however I really liked that the animals were free to roam. There are many options for the safari, only one of which is included on the annual membership so we went with that one and it was fine.

Really enjoyed it there so need to drag hubby back at some point in the near future.

Friday 3rd we picked up our Scottish friends and headed down to the Shakespeare pub, those who have been reading previously will remember that there is a Brit Meet up group there once a month and we had not been since November so decided it was time. We got to see quite a few of the same people that were there before and met some new people too, including someone who was born in the same hospital as me- yes it was around 3 years later, but still? Dont expect to move thousands of miles away from home only to meet people who lived pretty close.

Saturday hubby and I decided to have a bit of a staycation. First stop was the Flying Leatherneck Aviation museum, a place where my brother and dad had been when they were over, this is based in a military base in San Diego. The museum is not huge but it is free and worth giving a go. We did of course give them a donation.

Next up we headed to Little Italy for a wander- hubby had never been but I went with my Scottish friend so he was wanting to see it for himself. We had a wander around and then headed to Landini's for pizza. I had wanted to try somewhere else but as I had been there before hubby wanted to go!

We decided after that to wander around Seaport Village, Embarcadero park, along the harbour past the USS Midway and the Maritime Museum and then back to Seaport Village. We need to at some point go to both the USS Midway and the Maritime Museum. There is seriously so much to do in San Diego and the area!

 We still had a couple of hours til we had to meet our friends for dinner, so decided to check out Shelter and Harbor Island. Not many pictures taken there.

Lastly we headed to Mission Bay park and Mission beach to watch the sunset.

We headed onto Hillcrest after that for dinner with our friends- the place we ate at was Hash House a go go we have been informed that this place is mega busy for breakfast but at dinner time it was relaxed. The food was good. Some of the portions were huge where as what we shared was a reasonable size!

After dinner it was a quick walk around Hillcrest before an early night.

Sunday was a quiet day which consisted of food shopping, driving practice, girl scout cookies and SuperBowl. To be fair it was needed after the hectic weekend and the busy Monday which was planned.

I had two interviews on Monday- one I got offered the job (but have declined because the hours are just crazy) the other I was not offered because I wasnt prepared to work weekend evenings.

Tuesday I had a phone interview- same problem as the second interview in that I wouldnt work weekend evenings- well, I want to spend time with hubby at some point you know?

I have another phone interview today, after having applied for 24 companies up to next week this week has been time off from applications. The forms are dull.

Thats all for now.... back with another update soon...

Social Butterfly

So time for another update. No photos this time.

It was last Tuesday I updated last on what we have been up to I mean.

Wednesday we went and had a meal at a place call Elephant bar (www.elephantbar.com). You see I was really wanting to go check out some non chain restaurants. Eating in chain restaurants is all well and good when you are a tourist but once you live somewhere you have to start eating in local restaurants and discovering what there is to offer.

Of course. This restaurant was not a local, it was a chain. Often it is difficult to tell. Prior to moving out here I could probably name about 20-30 restaurant/takeaway chains (Taco Bell, KFC, McDonalds, Rubios, Burger King, Denny's, Wendy's, TGI Friday's, Claim Jumper, Applebees, Chilis, Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, Cheesecake Factory, Panda Express, Subway, Dominoes, Carls JR, In N Out and Outback were the ones which immediately came into my mind when I think of chains). However, I was wrong, there are hundreds of chain restaurants.

The food was ok. It had a different choice to that of many other American chain restaurants. Thing is I when we have friends or family visiting I want to be able to recommend or take people to places which are one of a kind and not just some chain which you can get anywhere.

I had hoped afterwards to try out the little cupcake place which is near to the Target we go to. Except it was shut. So we ended up in Starbuck's. A day where trying to escape the chains failed completely.

Hubby and I went for another meal on Thursday with his work colleague which was over from the UK doing training. This time we checked out Urge. Urge is not a chain! woo!( http://urgegastropub.com/ ). The food there was slightly different to the norm in that they had twists to the items on the menu. Pretty good food and plenty of beer too! Could well become a regular spot for drinks if not for food. Shame that someone will always have to drive!

Friday we had a meet up with the Temecula Brits Meet-up. No, we dont live in Temecula but it is only 40 minutes drive away from where we live. Downtown San Diego is between 20-30 minutes depending where we want to go. Yes, we live right in the suburbs.

The meet-up was in the house of two of the people who attended, it was actually in Murrieta and not Temecula but close enough. The house was enormous. Three car garage, 4-5 bedrooms. You couldnt help but feel amazed about the size! Of course when I got home I had to google the cost of renting. Unbelievably we could rent a house similar size for what we are paying for our two bedroom apartment in the suburbs of San Diego. However, the drive would be equivalent to what hubby was doing in the UK to work and we had always planned NOT to have the commute.

The meet-up was fantastic. The person who organises the events works for a company called Fresh &Easy (www.freshandeasy.com). She had come over here as a contractor for Tesco (yes, that Tesco) to set up a supermarket for the USA which is based on the Tesco model but rebranded for the US Market. We chatted to so many people. There was a lot more people there than at the San Diego Brit meetup and all had come out here for different reasons! Some have been out here 25 years, some married and moved here. It was so interesting to hear about their experiences! Some were quite shocked that we were already out and socialising given that we had only been here 10 weeks (11 tomorrow).

Saturday after a lazy morning we headed into Hillcrest to meet a couple that we had met through Yelp. Actually let me rephrase that. I started talking to her, I arranged it all with her and then the men just attended! We hadnt been to Hillcrest before but I really liked it! I am actually about to head back there to meet the same lady again (now that I know she is not some serial killer) for a proper exploration of the neighbourhood and possibly to explore another neighbourhood if we feel inclined.

We met them for Brunch. The place we went was The Local Habit (http://www.mylocalhabit.com/), we had a good chat, had some drinks and also had food. Unfortunately it would seem the chef was either off or having a bad day as the food was not spectacular! I have been informed that usually it is good so perhaps a return is required.

Saturday evening was in Hillcrest too. Something tells me we moved to the wrong area of San Diego. Saying that if we lived in that area the trip would be a 20-30 minute commute for hubby. So many things to think about. At least we have another 11 months to decide where to live if we are still wanting to live out here. Decisions, decisions...

The evening was a housewarming party, it was for two of the people we had met on the two San Diego Brit meets we had been on at the beginning of November. We had a great time and got to speak to people from all over the place, some Brits, some from California and others from other places in the USA!

I enjoyed being extremely social. Anyone who knows me well knows that being a social butterfly is what I enjoy best. Getting out there and speaking to people. Needless to say it would seem that we are indeed finding our feet pretty well.

Sunday was a wet day, there seems to be one each weekend lately. Hopefully this wont be the trend forever! Not really anything to note other than we visited a Fresh and Easy Supermarket and discovered they sold Custard Powder! YUM!

Yesterday I passed my written driving test! This means I now have a learner's permit which means I can indeed start learning to drive. I shall start in the next few weeks. I dont think I will be saying much about that when I do!!

So the week ahead? I am off out today then hubby has a 4 day weekend and we will be experiencing our very first thanksgiving! woo!

Moving along.

I need to step it up with the posts, things are starting to happen quickly this end now! Woo hoo!

A friend of mine who lives in the UK commented on how proactive I have been when it came to the move and how I didnt expect people to come knocking on the door. In some ways I would be inclined to agree. In others ways I could have been more proactive.

For example I could have taken part in some meets on Meetup quicker, I could have looked into Yelp quicker. In fact I could have got my learners permit, signed up for courses and the gym quicker.

However, anyone who knows me knows that I have to do things in a specific order. This order was as follows:

-Get out here.
-Find my way around the area.
-Find my feet.
-Find an apartment.
-Get the apartment paperwork sorted.
-Move in and get unpacked.
-Help M find a car.
-Submit work permit paperwork.
-Work towards meeting some people.
-DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to get learner permit.
-Join Gym.
-Join some adult education classes.
-Learn to drive.
-Once work permit obtained (if accepted) get a job.

As it stands I am in the process of working towards meeting some people, have made an appointment for Tuesday for obtaining the learner permit, will be joining the gym and signing up for adult education classes over this weekend. I am getting somewhere.

Some weeks are more proactive than others. This week for example has had days of nothing and days of full on activity. As well as moving forward with my life I have been trying to keep up with everyone I am currently in contact with.

So. This week, what have I done?

No, I havent just sat on my bottom despite feeling a real urge to at times.

I have been Yelping, have joined Reddit too. Have been on both of those sites networking to meet other people. It is getting somewhere. I did think on Thursday I was getting nowhere. But its all looking up now.

I have been doing letters and writing Christmas cards to go with them. Sending from now onwards will mean that I wont have to spend a fortune in one hit.

Monday M got his car. I didnt actually get to see it, he didnt get home until gone 8 and then it was put in the car. I didnt get to see it on Tuesday either.

On Tuesday I posted off work permit forms in the morning, in the afternoon it was the library with a friend. In the evening I was stood on our balcony. It wasnt warm but I felt like taking in some fresh air. You can imagine how surprised I was when two Coyotes walked past. About as surprised as I had been in fact at seeing a Skunk on a porch in University Heights on Saturday! Wow at the wildlife in San Diego.

A friend and I went to the zoo on Wednesday afternoon. M and I have a year membership to the zoo which allows us into the zoo and the wildlife park as many times as we want. The zoo is enormous so when I went with the friend we only got to see about half of the animals. It is great that we can go back again.

M and I went for a meal at TGI Friday's with a work colleague. Today was off for a drink with a friend. We said we would go for coffee but as neither of us drink coffee it was juice for us both.

I feel I am slowly getting somewhere. All the hours on the internet is paying off. The scary thing is that if I get my learner permit next week then learning to drive will be the next point! EEK.

Our social life is coming together. We have a meetup we may go to tomorrow evening, another next Friday, a housewarming next Saturday then we are going for our first ever thanksgiving meal at the house of another new friend! WOW.

I need to get photos on here of the zoo. Well, the animals we have seen so far together with pictures of the Mustang. But that will have to wait.

There are up days and down days. BUT I am getting there slowly. Rome was not built in a day. A new life cant be built in a day. In fact, given that we have been here only two months we arent doing too badly at all!

Time goes by...

We have been here two months, how has time gone by so quickly.

So what has been occurring since 30th October?

We had a Halloween party/housewarming party. Though considering there was only 6 of us I would be inclined to call it a gathering. Halloween was a slight disappointment. Many of the kids are taken out to the strip malls as they get free sweets (candy) from all of the stores there. Also to get into the community in which we have our apartment you have to have a key. I am guessing the children which live in this complex went to the strip malls instead!

Friday it rained and rained and rained. Quite a change in temperature too. It seems that November to March there is more rain but there are still warm days in between. Went out with the ladies during the day on Friday. We went to a mall which is not far from here, about 7 miles in fact and is all indoors. We all decided that actually we are not a fan of that mall.

We had heard there had been an accident on the I15 so we took another route to get back. This route was long, avoided all freeways and took us around the mountains past Ramona. It was certainly scenic.

We ran into Home Goods and also ran into Walmart and Home Depot. It was one of those days though where nothing quite went to plan!

Friday evening M and I went to a meet up at the Shakespeare Bar which is downtown in the Mission Hills area of San Diego. This was via the website Meetup.com and was for British people living in San Diego. We of course want to meet up with people who have always lived in San Diego or at least in USA but this was the first meet up we had both been interested in attending.

There was about 12 people at this meet up, some had been here a year, some as long as 10 years. It was good to hear about everyone elses experiences and get some tips. We will certainly be attending future meet ups with the group.

On arriving back at the apartment we found a wet spot in front of the fridge. At first I was panicking that the fridge/freezer had broken which would be a bad thing given that we had been shopping and had salmon, beef mince, chicken, pork, Pizza and ice cream in there! However, on closer inspection it seemed the water was coming from the ceiling.

M and I went car shopping on Saturday, the day was bright, warm and sunny, retrospectively thinking we should have done something more exciting and made the most of the weather!

 M had decided he wanted a Mustang so we headed to the Auto Parkway up in Escondido. First stop was a Honda Garage. There was one in there that he test drove while I sat in the customer lounge drinking free Starbucks hot chocolate. Yum. The car was silver grey, was convertible and only a year old. However, it had 30,000 miles on the clock and was an ex hire vehicle from Hawaii. A big no. Hawaii is very wet (it rains a little at each day) so there was some rust and god knows how well it had been treated and serviced given its history as a hire car!

Saw another one which was red and was a 2006 one but didnt test drive that one. That one happened to be in the garage next to the Chevrolet garage. Well, it would be rude NOT to go look at the Camaro's while there. I so want one of those. We sat in the Transformers model. Gorgeous car but over budget by a long way!

Next up was the Ford garage, well given that the car is a Ford we knew there would be some there. There was a number of new Mustangs and four certified used vehicles. M settled on a white 2008 Mustang which has the "pony package". Yes, M is calling it his little pony! Hahah!

The process of buying the car was not simple. We dont have a cheque book. Basically when the bank account was set up it was set up to our UK address, we couldnt change the address until we were in our permanent address out here (this took 7 working days) and then we ordered the cheque books. It takes up to 3 weeks for them to arrive.

The garage couldnt take the payment by debit card, it needed to be a cheque. The bank we are with has 3 branches in San Diego county, the main one in downtown is only open Monday to Friday and the two in Chula Vista are only open til 2 on a Saturday. It was half 1. It takes 45 minutes to drive to Chula Vista from Escondido. There was NO way of us getting there in time.

On top of this we needed to have the insurance in place before we could buy the vehicle. So M was on the phone to an insurance company while we were trying to work out a way to get a cheque. We couldnt put a deposit down by card, they advised the vehicle could only be held with a cheque.

The sales person took us back to our apartment in the Mustang where we had some blank cheques (nothing printed on them at all) so that we could pick them up and have a cheque to hold the vehicle. However, this was to just hold it over the weekend, the printed one was still required.

I stayed here at the apartment when M went back which was a good thing as he was there for three hours filling in paperwork and in the end they didnt even take the blank cheque, instead they got him to sign something saying he would be back Monday. Such an ODD procedure.

We had been due to be at another meet up with the British group of people at 5pm. However, we didnt end up there til half 6 due to the delays with the car! This meet was in University Heights at the British food shop called Rosie Lees. There was a lot of the same people as the night before but they were all lovely and we got to meet a few others too.

Around 9pm we all went round the corner to a bar called Cheers which was a gay bar which they would descrive as a dive bar but I really liked it in there. There is normally only one meet up with this group a month but they had this second one to celebrate Guy Fawkes. You cant have private fireworks out here so it was just an informal gathering.

Sunday started off pretty dry. We had to take the hire car back then go and pick up another hire car (it needed to be one that could be returned up in Escondido) then headed back home. It started raining again. So Sunday was just food shopping and chores!

M tried (and failed) to start a fire in our fireplace. The apartments do not have any insulation out here so whilst they are very good at staying cool when its hot they are very chilly on an overcast or wet day.

Yesterday the maintenance guys came to the apartment, fixed the water issue (the recirculation pump was not working so there was no hot water in the en suite bathroom or in the kitchen unless you ran it for ages), replaced the two light fixtures on the balcony which were not working and also sorted the leakage issue- there was a ton of leaves blocking something which was causing the rainwater to go down a vent and drip into our apartment. Well, actually it was more of a bulge into the ceiling and then some dripping through the light fixture. They are still getting the roofing guys to come take a look. JUST in case.

If this has been our apartment in the UK we would be panicking about the cost of all the repairs and replacements. Thank goodness its rented. Takes a huge pressure off us.

Monday lunchtime it was down to get a cheque. I managed to direct M around the downtown without the use of the sat nav.  This is not an easy task believe me. M then dropped me back, took the hire car back and got the Mustang! I am yet to have sat in the car (since he has owned it) but I am sure its only a matter of time. Photos to follow (once I can take them in daylight).

Today (Tuesday) was a trip to the Post Office then to the Library with one of the ladies. It was also the first day where I have felt relaxed, no surprise given how much we have been doing!

Zoo tomorrow with the other lady! Road trip at the weekend!

Other stuff we need to do... get my flu jab, apply for my gym membership, apply for a learner's permit (for me to learn to drive) and when that arrives find me a driving instructor. Not sure I will be wanting to drive the Mustang though! Also need to try and attend more Meet ups and possibly visit the bar down the road (this could be an entry in itself!).

The work permit forms have gone off today. Couldnt be sent before as we needed two months payslips.

Little by little it's coming together. So much paperwork when starting out!

Enough rambling. This is long enough. I shall return MUCH sooner with a post about fun stuff. The past three weeks fun stuff has not been happening!