Three observations, two I didn't believe 'til I saw

1) It's really windy here. People told me that, and I believed it. It's like any other windy city, more or less. The difference is that the winds are cold. That's what I didn't believe. Here it matters whether it's a Northerly or a Southerly. If it's a Northerly, it's a tropical wind that warms the air. If it's a Southerly, it comes direct from Antarctica, non-stop. And it's cold. It turns a 53-degree day into the feeling that you're on a chair lift at the top of a mountain in the middle of winter on a stormy day. Actually, it really reminds me of the wind on a run at Mt. Hood Meadows, which I can't remember the name of--the one at the top of the mountain that was only sometimes open (on clear days). Something like "Texas" sounds right, but I dunno. (If anyone out there remembers, drop a comment.) Anyway, the wind here is like that--pushing you around, penetrating your clothes, going horizontal, and taking the tempurature waaaayyyyy down.

2) The nightlife in Welly doesn't really get going until Midnight. For real--I didn't believe it either, but it's true. Went out last Saturday around 10, had a good time, but then left a bar at about 12:15am and the place was just going off. Incredibly crowded streets and bars, and that lasted until about 5am. I lasted until 7am, when I was glad that my new apartment (which is working out great--and will be better once the remodel of the loo is over) is a 10 min. walk from all the bars.

3) I forgot what commuting was like. If there's one thing in favor of Bakersfield, it's that you don't have to go far to get anywhere. So in Bako, Memphis, Kentucky, and--yes--even LA, I had very short commutes. No longer than 12 min. to walk or drive in any one of those places. The last commute I had was really in Portland in 1996. But now the walk to the bus (roughly 4 NYC blocks-between-the-avenues) and the bus ride take about 25-40 min. depending on whether I can catch a bus right away. It really takes something out of your day. Gotta figure out how to make that more productive. Thank goodness for ipods.