Coffee and chatting

Last weekend I was in Atlanta and spent time with my family who are generally based in the east. I am the western outlier.  We spent a lot of time reconnecting, again, mostly me as I was away or so long. This was done with a beverage in hand most times and a lot of the time it was coffee.

There is something about talking to someone, really connecting with them, over coffee.  I remember a fair few years ago, drinking “International Roast” in a canteen cup at some bridge site, demo range, or other training site in Germany really enjoying the conversations.

In Europe of course the coffee was great but, as I look back, I realize I didn’t in general, drink coffee and chat to people. And because of this, I never did have those deep conversations. I must exclude my time sailing here, that was a whole different level, both in coffee and conversation.

Back here in the states, it is different. People really do talk over coffee, a deeper conversation then normal. Perhaps it’s the caffeine enhancing my awareness? What ever it is, I forgot how much I missed talking over a cup of coffee. My work colleagues appreciate coffee and we have great conversations here. Mostly work related of course, but other topics come in to play as well.

All this really hit me this morning as I was drinking a coffee with someone and realizing how deeply into the conversation I was, how it was both visceral and cerebral at the same time. You don’t get that with juice.

Not coffee related, just a great shot of Sacramento.

A Grey Overlay

Fog. Not a big fan, at all.

In Zurich, there was fog, quite a bit of it. From September until November, a seemingly solid blanket of fog descended on the valley. This was the same in Zug as well. So, for months, if you lived under the fog line, you would be in this grey soup wondering what happened to the sun and beginning to suffer rickets.

OK maybe not that bad, no one got rickets.

There was an escape however. You could live above the fog line in one of the higher towns and villages, or on the weekend take a train to a mountain village and soak up as much sun as you could in a few hours. This was quite common, the weekend exodus to the sun. This dichotomy led to the saying “Unter grau, oberer blau”, which translates roughly to gray below and blue above.

Where"s the city?!?

But hey I live in Sacramento, that is all behind me now.

Ah, sorry, no.

Sacramento fog it turns out is just as bad, well not really. It does try to clear out in the afternoon, not very successfully though. The past few days (weeks? months? eons? – OK it’s been two days…). It is a thick fog as well. Some days I can’t see across the street. Damp, dark and spooky. Meanwhile, I have a friend at the edge of the central valley sending me pictures of piercing blue skies. Rub it in.

Unter grau, oberer blau indeed.

Find the New

Sacramento is not a new city, in fact, it is the oldest city in California. Incorporated on 27 February 1849. Zurich on the other hand was listed as a Roman tax station in the 2^nd century, so it wins on this one.

Burglar Alarm?

As the baby of the two it is not with out it’s historical charms. As stated in an earlier blog, the core area of the city is in a grid. Old Sacramento, Downtown, Midtown and East Sacramento. Today though is about downtown and the small historical things seen.

On the walk to work I pass by a mix of old and new buildings. It is the little things that stand out in relation to age. A building can be made to look old but something will give it away. Same for an older building masquerading as a new one.

It is these little clues I love to see and each day I see new ones. It is one of the differences from Zurich. Buildings are clearly old or new, not much middle ground. Even when an old building is revamped, the core aesthetic is not changed. Its still an old place.

I like the attempts at trying to hide and or mask the age of a building. It’s very “New City”.

As usual, loving SacTown.

Just Chill and Wait.

I have a new job!

Same type of work, IT systems and network management. Its what I do, and I like to think I do it well. I guess after 20 years, you have either mastered the task or the ability to sham. And I don’t sham….. Anymore.

But that is another story...

However, those days are over. I am a fully functioning adult (really) and I manage to do what I need to do.

Back on to the subject. I walk to work now, which is fantastic. The weather has been great, and it makes a lovely open and close to the work day. It takes me a grand total of 14 minutes from locking my front door to sitting at my desk on the 16^th floor. That dear reader is most excellent!

Downtown and the Capital

Moving on up!

As with anything in our modern word, this is not completely smooth or even risk free. One of the intersections I cross is I Street and 12^th Street. This has recently become a very dangerous place traffic wise. In the last year there have been 3 major collisions, two of which happened with in a few days of each other last month.

From the info I have, it seems to be all related to people trying to beat the traffic lights. It probably doesn’t help that the streetcar/tram/light rail (choose your name for it) travels on 12^th. People don’t want to wait for the train or other cars. Each time I am at the intersection I wait as my crosswalk light turns green and watch some one run the red light. It happens every time.

So here is my public service announcement for the day; wait for the light. It only takes a minute. No one should be in that much of a hurry. Either you’re going to crash into another car, hit a pedestrian, or make the Thai place on the corner a drive through for the third time.

At least there is one saving grace, the closest fire station and ambulance crew is at Station #2, at this very intersection, on 12^th and I Street.

Open 24 Hours

Switzerland was an amazing place, no doubt about it, but one of those nagging items that would occasionally get to me, as an American, was the fact that once the sun went down, generally, everything closed.

Normally this was good. A slower pace, more time at home ect, but if it was 3 AM and you were hungery, your options were severely limited.

Now that I am back in California, this is no longer an issue. Many places are open 24 hours; gas stations, grocery stores, check-cashing places and most importantly, restaurants.

Of course, using the term restaurant is being a bit generous here.

I refer to the ubiquitous American Diner. Healthy options don't exist. Its cheap, fast and flavorful. Just what you need in the middle of the morning after a night out drinking and dancing.

The unusual suspects

Last Friday (errr, Saturday morning) after a great night out, we stopped at a well known diner chain and for an hour we ate, talked and enjoyed the early morning.

SOOOOO TASTY!

This is one of those truly quintessential American things. Nowhere else can you do this, even if you wanted to. We have something here that is special. Part of Americana and I am so happy I can experience it again.

Folsom California. Even here you can find a Welsh Flag

Possible New State Motto

Two of the many things in the news recently about California are wind and fire.

No puns about earth please....

So we have just finished quite a 24 hours here in Sacramento with some robust wind and quite a few fires. There were large fires in the Bay Area and a quite destructive fire in the Wine Country, still raging today.

Carquinez Bridge - California Department of Transportation

The region's largest electrical provider PG&E is shutting down power lines before hand to reduce the chance of a falling high tension line starting a fire, again.

It was the same last year when I arrived (yes, almost one year) with fires raging north of here. But this time the fires were closer, much closer. Two freeways were closed in Sacramento today due to a fire, a shopping center suffered a fire in South Sacramento. Brush fires in the River DIstrict, adjacent to downtown, were burning. As well as this, they are trees down everywhere and quite a lot of dust in the air.

The price we pay living here I suppose.

But this leads me to the title of this post.
After fires, wind, (we had a tornado last month), floods, blizzards, drought and earthquakes, I came up with a new motto...

"California, Still Hurricane Free"

Fences down

"Here are you sandwiches, thank you"

One of the things I didn't know I missed was the random conversations you have here in the states.

In Switzerland, people are generally restrained in their interactions with people in public. With the exception of the greeting of the day, there isn't much else said.

Here on the other hand, conversations get personal, quickly.

Todays example....

I went to the store to get some sandwiches. At the counter I said "hello" to the woman working there, whom I have never seen before. By the time I had the sandwiches I was made aware of the following things;

• She has a son
• Her cousin and her just bought a duplex together
• she is moving this week
• She is missing her nieces ice cream social today
• She is divorced
• Has a boyfriend but he "doesn't understand"
• Every month she gets $350 in child support
• Two hours after moving into the new duplex, her son damaged the floor
• The floor is hardwood laminate 
• The boyfriend "still doesn't get it"
• She was very thankful I was there for her to vent to

So there you have it, a MAJOR difference between Zurich and Sacramento.

You don't get that in the Subway on Sihlstrasse.

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