January 28, 2004
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Cleveland
I like Ohio. Cleveland is a pretty city in my eyes. Compared to stinky San Francisco, Cleveland is gorgeous.
I get really tired of colleagues who can do nothing but rave about how much they wish they could return to California. They are usually very boring people. When they get back to California, all they do is go to bars and drink all the time. (Essentially all they did in the Midwest, anyway. Gee. How exciting.)
I’ve done more in the Midwest than I ever did in California in the 6 years I lived there. I’ve been rockclimbing, skydiving, SCUBA diving, sailing. I haven’t been skiing, but I could have gone, if I’d been so inclined.
People are so nice here. I know my neighbors and my neighbors know me. When I moved to the Midwest, my neighbors came over and brought food. That was really something compared to our neighbors in California who never really introduced themselves.
Do I miss the beach? No. Water’s water. I do my work and when I want to have fun, I can easily fly to the beach. I don’t have to put up with masses of tourists. I can enjoy fireflies and see the leaves change colors instead of turning brown and dropping off.
I’ve seen Yosemite, and it holds nothing over the mountains of China. Sequoia was impressive, but a tree is a tree.
Colorado has far superior skiing.
In other words, California holds nothing for me. And I’m glad my colleagues are going there instead of me. Leaves more residency positions open for me here in the Midwest!
(SO LONG, SUCKERS!)
