Life in Solana Beach

I haven't even been here a full week yet, but I'm working hard to get acclimated. I'm trying not to be grumpy and keep a positive attitude. Here are some of the things I like so far:

• the weather - flip flops year round? I'm on board. As much as I love shoes and fashion my daily attire is much more lazy student than Vogue subscriber; it makes getting dolled up all the more special.
• the beach - on the 4th we crossed the street, went down the stairs, and hung out w/ friends. They brought a hibachi, and my Independence Day dream of having a hamburger and a hot dog off the grill came true. They also let you drink on the beach here, and when we ran out I just took the cooler back home and refilled. I gave boogie boarding a try, too!
• the vegetation - since it's warm but not too hot and sunny but not scorching the growing conditions are pretty favorable for a wide number of things. People have the most amazing rose bushes, lemon trees, succulents and other lovelies in the gardens. I've got 4 little pots of seeds out back in a first attempt at an herb garden.
• my job - I trolled Craiglist for a few weeks before moving out here and on my first full day started working as a personal assistant to Mr. Z. He's a little cuckoo for coco puffs, but he's liberal, puts his money where his mouth is (in the form of anonymous donations), and super nice. After our 1st hr together he gave me the keys to his Audi so I could run errands while he napped. Yesterday we shared green tea and let the insurance company know that big companies can't keep treading over the rights of individuals so they'll see us in small claims court.

That said, there are a few things I'm less than excited about and need a little more time to get used to:

• the weather - one day and I'm spoiled. It's been overcast the past 2 days, and I am positively indignant about it.
• sand - an unfortunate corollary to the beach. I grew up in a pool, but I'm really trying to embrace the salt, seaweed and sand of beach life, so long as we're at the beach. The problem I have is with the sand infiltrating every square inch of the apartment. You can't have a cup of tea without getting grains in your mouth. I find sand everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. Every time I change I think I'm going to find a pearl in my lady garments. No amount of vacuuming, showering, scrubbing, sweeping or sticky-lint-brush-rollering seems to help.
• the neighbors - the owners of the house are gone for the summer, and the current subletters are not the quietest people. Why they feel the need to practice their jigs in the wee hrs of the morning in cement shoes is beyond me, but that's clearly what they're doing because there is no other plausible explanation for the noises coming from above.
• the bird - our apartment is accessed through the back patio doors, and there's a sloping driveway beside the house that leads to it. Apparently there is a nest on this part of the property - where exactly we can't tell - but the mama and papa bird have been dive-bombing with tenacity that would impress WWII kamikaze fighters. Paul actually swatted one of them the other day in a half-hearted defensive arm swing. I don't like to interfere with nature, but I also don't fancy getting my eyes pecked out by some avian soccer mom.

Still, I'm a big girl and am soldiering on. Today's task is to crack the code that encrypts all the information on the website for the California DMV.