Six Years

Most people in this country remember this day as the anniversary of September 11, 2001. The events of that day are of course in my thoughts today, but this day also marks the anniversary of my move out west. I signed my first lease on my first apartment out here on September 11, 2002, and it's from that day I caluculate my time in California. Six years seems like an awful long time to have gone by so fast. The thought is even more remarkable when you consider there's no way I ever expected to live in L.A. In fact, before I was accepted to a graduate program at UCLA, this city would have been at the top of my list of "Top 10 Places I Never, Ever Want to Live." The irony, huh? (Pr. 16:9) But events overtook my Midwestern sensibilities, and I had to decide whether or not I was going to risk entering the urban jungle in spite of the fact I'd only ever lived a small town and I knew virtually no one out here.

Against my better judgement I took up the challenge, and since arriving on the left coast I've learned quite a lot. Below are my Top 10 SoCal Lessons:

10. The big city can be conquered.

9. That brown cloud over the city is NOT the "marine layer."

8. Not even people in L.A. care about the Dodgers.

7. There are no limits to the crazy things people will do to try to make themselves resemble an airbrushed magazine cover.

6. Forcasters are even more useless than I previously realized.

5. You can find just about anything you want in the city, except a Wal-Mart.

4. Walking is ALWAYS optional.

3. Having no house and no garage does not mean you can't own three SUVs.

2. You're never closer to God than when in a car on the freeways of Los Angeles.

And the number one lesson...

1. Nothing beats home.