warming up to the new place

It's true: I'm a terrible blogger. I've always -- okay, for as long as I can recall -- struggled with managing my time. Too much downtime this summer, that's for sure. My roommate and I continue to explore our new neighborhood -- or strollerhood, as we say. Yes, there are more strollers in the streets than dogs, or carts with groceries in 'em. In fact, next door from our apt is X-kids (that's right, not Gap Kids, though even that is within walking distance!), a store for every kind of baby gadget, toys, etc. It's like Target married Toy R us to form X-kids.

Not that it's a terrible change, of course, but I grew accustomed to the queer and dog friendly neighborhood for the last year or so. And now, now I live farther up the city that it truly feels like a whole other universe -- the right side of my street is quiet, residential, huge homes (with a lawn -- i'm not kidding; it's a trip), gourmet markets in "Rich Village" (which, uh, only has 2 -- TWO flippin' coffee shops: Starbucks and Peets!), and a public beach where you can see famous tourist attraction. Now, the left our our block is sort of known as a mini Asia World, as my friend called it, which means cheap produce stands, hardware and supply stores all within steps from our place! There are, thankfully, a few good places to eat: Turkish place with delicious salads, Peruvian (for ceviche -- score!), 3 bakeries (for fresh French bread, don't you know), a dozen Vietnamese, Thai, "Dim Sum to Go" -- what else, Burmese, Indonesian, Japanese, French Bistro and 3 Pizza joints (thank God). But the absence for us is Indian food and Mexican (can't live without burritos, you know?).

We have one huge used books and cds store, which is awesome, though I shop online for books. Three Irish pubs are just around the corner, which looks okay. So that's our new block. But no nearby Uni library. ugh. Lists are a comin'