Life in Malibu

Wednesday January 13, 2009

Malibu, CA

Rainy in the morning, Gorgeous in the afternoon

Wow, hard to believe it has only been 1.5 weeks since I've been back to Malibu.  It has not been as easy as I thought I would be.  I am a bit disoriented and getting the stomach flu 2 days after I arrived did not help.  It's been a whirlwind with a "to do" list that keeps on growing.  And never mind starting a new position!  But just when I thought I was getting overwhelmed and about to break down, I meet strangers that offer kindness.  At Bed Bath and Beyond while buying a mattress cover, a couple gives me a 10$  coupon to use as they have enough coupons.  I meet a woman who lives in Corral Canyon and lost her home from the fires of two years ago  who helps me by paying for my groceries at Ralphs after I forget my wallet!  And I am re-united with Yuki-chan, Skipper and Professor my 12 year old tuxedo cat .  And of course, the ocean.  I forgot how calming the ocean is.  Waking up to view of the ocean everyday…. I can't complain.

Many people have asked me what I miss most about Japan.  I miss many things and everyday I think of something.  But I think its going to take me a good month or so after I settle back in my home in Malibu to reflect back on the three years in Japan and write my thoughts.  

I also thought about what to do with my blog.  I was going to take a hiatus and only blog about cooking, knitting and my travels but decided to start a new category called "Life in Malibu".   I've met people from all over the world and it will be a good way to let them know what I'm up to and introduce them to beautiful Malibu.  So this is my first entry about my "Life in Malibu".

Sunday January 3, 2010:  My first Malibu sunrise of the year.  View from my bedroom

First, let me introduce you to Professor.  I adopted him and his brother Gilligan when he was a kitten when living in Manhattan.  Gilligan is no longer with us.  I thought I lost him to the coyotes in Malibu but later found out that somehow he ended up in Malibu Colony ( a very chi chi and expensive neighborhood where many celebrities live) and is now living with a nice family there.   I was seriously thinking of bringing Professor to Japan but given he is an outdoor/indoor cat, decided it was best to leave him in Malibu.  While I was in Japan, he was taken care of by two wonderful women who loved him and spoiled him to bits.  I thought he would not remember me but he did!  And he was so excited to see Skipper although Skipper was disappointed he was still around.   Yuki-chan also loves Professor and tries to play with him but Professor has no interest.  But just like the old days,  every morning, when I take the dogs for a walk, Professor follows us, so we all walk together.  

Professor who is camera shy

And here is a summary of the first week and 1/2 of my life back in Malibu.

First thing I did when I got back, was activate my new iPhone. Only to find out that ATT coverage sucks big time in Malibu.  Good thing I can use the wireless as I'll be using Skype a lot instead on the iphone for phone calls from Malibu.  I have not had time to play around with it but it is on my to-do list.  My priority is to get my work email and calendar synched with the iPhone and to explore the different photography apps.  My photo teacher Alfie has recommendations on his website.  I'll be checking it frequently for some cool iphone photo apps.  

I also went to my favorite SoCal food joints for some fabulous food that I could not get in Japan.  The day after I arrived, my first stop was Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Malibu Country Mart where I had to have my "soy no sugar added Chai Latte".  Wow, I was amazed how much Malibu Country Mart changed.  Out are the local stores, in are the trendy stores like Intermix and Maxfields.  So sad.  Maybe next weekend, I'll take the dogs and walk around to see the extent of the change.  For lunch,  I went to In-N-Out burger for a double-double with cheese, onions but no tomatoes, fries and…. a vanilla shake.  Yikes!  Lots of calories but mmm SO GOOD!  I did burn some of the calories at Costco though shopping for cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc for my home.   Then I got the stomach flu so was bedridden for a couple days and only had water and herbal tea that I brought from Japan.  Fortunately, I bought some soup before I got sick so I was able to have that too.  However, when I recovered I was dying for a breakfast burrito so headed to Lily's in Malibu for the world's best breakfast burrito with California orange juice.  My original intent was to go on a detox but that is going to have to wait until February when things settle down a bit.  I did make it to my favorite grocery store in Malibu PCGreens (Pacific Coast Greens) and bought this Kombucha drink that is supposedly good for you.  But the taste…. not so good.

Driving down Washington Blvd in Venice to get to In-N-Out burger and Costco

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Malibu Country Mart

 

My Lunch at In-N-Out burger

Lily's Breakfast Burrito

PC Greens – my favorite grocery store in Malibu.  They carry organic veggies, high quality beef and chicken, gourmet foods and natural supplements.

They were having a special on Kombucha so I decided to try the Kombucha tea blended with Guava.  Not so good but supposedly good for you.

After recovering from the stomach flu and getting my energy back, I started looking for the many things that I left behind before leaving for Japan.  One of the things I missed the most were my tea sets.  I love drinking a proper cup of tea and fortunately found the tea sets that I left behind pretty easily.  While cleaning, unpacking, and putting my place back together again, I took herbal tea breaks with a snack from Japan – candied chestnuts which I love!  I brought all my tea from Japan including the herbal teas that I bought in Laos.  

Cup of Mulberry Tea from Laos served in my Royal Dalton tea set my sister gave me for one Christmas

Candied Japanese Chestnuts that my cousin gave me before leaving Japan

Then on January 6, Wednesday afternoon, I was finally re-united with Skipper and Yuki-chan.  I was worried they would forget about me as they were getting the royal treatment from their Uncle Michael and Aunt Amy.  But they remembered me!  Skipper remembered the house and Professor was excited to see him again although Skipper was disappointed Professor was still around.  Yuki was nervous with the new place and I was worried how she would react to Professor.  But she loves Professor and tries to play with him although Professor has no interest.  But just like old times, every morning, when I take the dogs for their first walk around the complex, Professor follows us.  I am going to have to try and get a photo of the walk because it is quite a sight to see two dogs and a cat walking together.

I also took the dogs to the beach.  Skipper immediately recognized the beach and had lots of fun.  Yuki-chan was nervous at the beginning but then fell in love with the beach and now eggs me every day to take her to the beach!  What's good about the beach is that Yuki can run around with the other dogs and Skipper gets to take his time sniffing around that by 7pm both dogs are sound asleep.

Skipper at the Beach:  It has been 3 years since he's been to the beach

Broad Beach in the morning.

Yuki-chan's first beach experience.

They had fun meeting and playing with other dogs from Malibu

Yuki-chan doing pee-pee on the beach – a No NO!

Yuki and Skipper paw prints

Skipper sound asleep on his favorite couch which belonged to my mother after a day at the beach

Yuki-chan, totally exhausted.

My air shipment also arrived, which meant, most of my clothes and shoes arrived.  They were to come at 8am but showed up at 615am instead!  Anyhow, it was a lot of work sorting through the clothes and getting the closets organized but I managed to do it after working on it all day.  I was also determined to get the kitchen, dining room and living room together and managed to get a lot done.  However, I still have a closet full of boxes to go sort through.  And then there is the ocean shipment.  Sigh…

The pile of clothes that arrived from the air shipment

 

In the middle of moving, getting the iphone, shopping and stomach flu I did manage to buy a car.  I fortunately did all the research while in Japan so knew exactly which car to buy – Prius Model IV in dark gray with gray interior.  What was disappointing though was that no dealer would offer me a discount or bargain.  So much for the economy.  I guess demand is still high for the Prius.  I did manage to get 1000 dollars off which surprised many people. 
Anyhow, I love my new car!

My new wheels

Driving PCH- Pacific Coast Highway in my new Prius

It seems that every spare moment I've had the past 10 days was used to get the house organized  and to add more and more items to the "to do" list for the house.   I am going to try and get as much done this weekend as work is going to pick up rather quickly.  This week was my first official week at the new job and have been spending time contacting people and getting docs, etc to get up to speed on the projects I'll be working on.  But I have to say, being able to walk the beach when things get stressful is pure bliss!

Westward Beach, Malibu: Sunset on a Cloudy Day

Zuma Beach, Malibu:  Sunset after the rains