Is it too early in December for year-end Top 10 lists? I think not. My “I’ve been in California a year” moment passed in November; so, in honor of said milestone, here are 10 Things I’ve Learned About the Bay:
- There are bins of skateboards in the thrift stores.
- Some time in November the temperature hits the 60s, and people start to talk incessantly of “winter.”
- Tree trimming three palm trees takes a week, and the resulting trees look like chewed-on toothpicks.
- Water sports with a following include synchronized swimming.
- Hoodies really have become acceptable corporate attire.
- Yoga is the only religion no one questions.
- Tech companies not only fill the roads with charter buses; they fill landlord’s rooms with people who need a weekday work apartment, while their family lives in the mountains or by the beach.
- Carpool lanes are sometimes on the right, and apparently every traffic lane doesn’t need its own light.
- California schools have a thing for bears – also banana slugs and trees.
- Micro-climates are real. Be prepared.
Elizabeth DeOrnellas 