Ben explained non-stop from the Airport to the Apartment all the virtues of the car.  He really likes it, from the leather seats to the GPS navigation. I found the GPS Navigation quite rude: I would be in the middle of a serious conversation and she would interrupt, just when I am about to reach a pivotal point, with a “left turn now”.  Ben likes her a lot since she is a more patient navigator than me: every time he misses a turn, she would respond politely in an even tone: “make a legal U-turn at the next intersection.”

The only feature I found exciting, is the hybrid technology. Hopefully we can save some of the ozone layer. Oh, it’s a Lexus RX400h.

The garage stuff wasn’t trimmed at all: we just couldn’t let go of any of our outdoor toys, especially since California is the such an outdoor mecca. Here you can do anything from spa-ing (is there such a word?) to back country camping. So hopefully Ben’s tearful goodbye's to some of his computer equipment will translate into ‘Hello Sunshine’. And I have to work less, a lot less....

 

Ben and I have already compiled a list of places we would like visit in the vicinity, so we’ll keep you posted. I promise.

With a lot of pictures being sent back and forth, thank you Internet, Ben decided on an apartment, and signed the rental agreement. Somewhere in November, our move arrived, and poor Ben was completely overwhelmed by all the boxes.  In December we had to go to Germany for 2 weeks, and then we had a quiet Christmas.  The New Year started with a great time in Miami with Nuhraan at wonderful mild temperatures.  So finally in the first week of January, I got to see our new apartment and car.

The apartment was a good find, it on the eastern side of Davis, which helps a lot for Ben’s commute. The building is brand new, on Google maps we are a empty lot. On the northern side is a golf course, and we are on the south side with some soccer fields across the road. So all in all it’s nice and open. On the other side of the golf course is farmland. That’s the part that I like best. The size was a bit of a shock at first, since the Atlanta house was so big. But once we got over that, we really enjoy compacting our life. Our aim is to live more simply and mobilize our life more. We’ll still have luxuries of course, but only the ones we really need. I sound like Mark Twain I know, but you get the drift, right? So we sold/donated a whole bunch of furniture and other stuff. The only things we kept that couldn’t fit in the apartment, are our dining room table and chairs; they went into storage.

Yes, we know it’s a disgrace that we haven’t updated our site since 2003! Cecile’s Mom gave her a speech this morning on how working too much is like chasing after the wind.  So after an acute attack of guilt, we decided updating the web site would be a good remedy. Plus we are connecting with the non-wind elements in our lives. That will be you, our family and friends.

 

Since the last update, as most of you already know, we moved back to Atlanta and now, in January we have moved West yet again, to Davis, California.  Ben is on a project for the State of California: it’s a huge project and will last around 3 years. There was just no way the he could fly back and forth for that period of time, plus we like it more out here anyway. I am still divided among some support contracts and internal new development at EPI-USE.  I’m flying to Los Angeles every other week, which at least now is much closer.

 

Ben’s project is located in Sacramento, but we didn’t get a good vibe from the place. Okay, I have never been there, but people I spoke to didn’t burst with excitement. So I consulted the earthly version of the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” aka “The Lonely Planet Guides” and looked at all the small towns around Sacramento. The moment I spotted Davis, it was love at first sight, we’ll sort of, maybe first site.  Since I was too busy to come out and really look at the place, Ben had to find an apartment and car for us, completely without me. Which was quite a scary thing for him to do, because “what if Cecile doesn’t like it?”. We all know women look upon these things with a different view.

Also Davis is a short commute for Ben, since he works on the Western side of Sacramento, and that’s the side Davis is on. Plus it’s closer to San Francisco, a fabulous city to play in.