Settling In to Life

Well, we have officially been living in California for six days! It's still hard to believe this is real and not just an elaborate vacation. The apartment is unpacked and the cat has adjusted to his new domain without a hitch, though I (Liz) think he would have us know that this is HIS new apartment, he's just being generous and allowing us to live with him. The screen door is definitely his new favorite thing. He sits glued to it like a teenager to a smartphone all day when the inner door is open. I can't say that I blame him; it's so beautiful here. And there are squirrels and birds right outside the door. Talk about fascinating!
I have to say: I think the most amazing thing about being out here is that we haven't met a single unpleasant person yet. I'm sure they live out here, too, but even when being an inconvenience (e.g. needing our landlord to come out and fix multiple things, backing a sixteen foot moving van out of tiiiiiiiny parking lot and blocking it up for our neighbors, or having absolutely no idea what we want to order and holding our server up) patience and smiles have abounded from everyone in our path. It's incredibly inspiring and has caused me to look over my own life, especially as I prepare to move back into the service industry. Why do I have a short fuse with people when it is my job to be patient with them? The person who takes five years to order has no real lasting effect on my life and, in fact, taking the extra time to go over the menu with them drink by drink is the SERVICE part of CUSTOMER SERVICE. All the cleaning tasks are a side part of my job, but they feel like the most important. And, in life in general, so what if there is an adorable old lady crossing the street at 1/100th of a mile an hour and keeping me from turning right? I should be proud of her for being out and about and inspired by her determination to walk places, not frustrated that she's keeping me from getting to whatever unimportant place I'm going. It's not life-or-death, it's probably just the library. (Granted, the coolest library ever, but still...just a library.) People are a gift and life is precious. When did I lose sight of that? When did WE lose sight of that? My life and time are not more important that anyone else's.