Thank you for....

Something happened in the US while I was away. It's not bad but it affects me and I have trouble reacting to it.

Not too long ago, actually, it was a long time ago, it just doesn't seem like it, I raised my right hand and swore to "...support and defend the constitution of the United States...". Thus I became a soldier, like my father and step father before me.

I did my enlistment, got my DD214 and an honorable discharge, and then got on with my life. That was the end of it as far as I was concerned.

Germany 1993 - Spot the Californian.

While living my life overseas, my military past was never a item of conversation and if it did come up, it was usually just a simple "Yeah, I was in the Army, did my 4 years and got out". Simple and direct. meanwhile, the US has had transformed on how former military service is acknowledged. 

As I am on the job hunt, my military past comes up often. I am very proud of my service but it was a long time ago. So I am often faced with someone saying "Thank you for your service". I honestly am always at a lost what to say. My service is personal to me, not something I want lauded about. When people say this, and I know it is heartfelt and honest, it makes me uncomfortable. I did serve during a war and almost went, but it was generally just a job for those years. So I feel rather disingenuous with the praise as I don't feel it is that big of a deal. Again, this is only my personal feelings. I know a lot of vets and I only speak for myself here.

However, I smile and say something to the effect of "Oh, thank you but really it was nothing". 

A different country now, better for recognizing veterans, but for me, no need for thanks. I love my country, did what I felt I had to and that was that. Carry on.

What, and how, we eat

We all eat. 

I have recently had a bit of the old culture shock on this activity in the past week. Two specific items came up, one food related, one utensil related and both brought home to me there is a long way to go on this path of "reintegration" into American culture.

Let's start with the food item. Last week someone was over for dinner. I made pork, pasta and mediterranean vegetables.  The vegetables were red onion, bell peppers and zucchini, roasted in paprika and olive oil. During the course of the meal, it became apparent that the peppers were not my friends favorite. Since there were more veggies in the pan, I offered, more "courgettes". Her reaction was, "what are courgettes?". Ah, yes, I made that mistake of calling a zucchini a courgette. A usual term in the UK with no meaning here in the US. Some foods have completely different names. Examples;

• eggplant - aubergine 
• french fries - chips
• cookies - biscuits
• chips - crisps (not to be further confused with fries)

US Style

UK/European style

The second issue was how utensils are used. This started not directly with me but what we observed someone else doing at a restaurant. We saw someone eating, with a fork, in a very european way. There was a brief, and humorous conversation on this type of eating and how someone might have been taught this way. I confessed that I too, have eaten like this but it was not the way I was raised. I learned to use a fork in a "normal" US manner, but living in the UK and in Switzerland, I developed the habit of eating with the fork in an inverted position typical of the european style.

Most importantly though, was the discovery the other day it was National Margarita Day and the nearest mexican place was doing $5 margaritas!!!!
CHEERS!!!!

With salt.

Grid

I love maps, and if I'm on a boat, charts.

I find them interesting. When we observe the world visually, we do so at the limits of our ability to see straight line distances. On the ground this is hampered by objects, air quality and even the curvature of the earth. Therefore to make a logical representation of a large area and, to keep it from running into the abstract, we have developed maps. These help us maneuver around when we can't bridge the visual and spatial differences to get from point A to point B.

Between 19th and 20th looking south

Here in downtown, midtown, and to a certain degree East Sacramento, we don't need maps to get around. I know I have repeatedly extolled about the area here and you might suspect I would infer some near magical reason for this but no, it is simply because we have a grid system for the streets. And more importantly, a logical way of naming these said streets and making the address fit in the same logical way.

In general, east/west streets are lettered, with a small named alley in between, from "C" in the north to "X" in the south. "M" streed is missing as this is named Capitol Street, and it would bisect the capitol building on it's was from Tower Bridge in the west to the east.

North/south streets are numbered. From 2nd in the west to 69th in the east. But for today's blog we will stop at 29th, the eastern limit of midtown.

Downtown/Midtown

Address on letter streets start are prefixed with the number street on the west, example, just east of 16th street on H street will have the first 2 numbers at 16, followed by 2 more.

Numbered streets are a bit different, these are counted down from the letter street on the north. A address on 16th street south of S street has an address of 19xx as S is the 19th letter. 

So it is very easy to navigate the city, as long as you can count and read. Perfect.

Mod Cons.

Moving here, I took a hit on modern conveniences.

I was speaking to a friend the other day about apartments. She lives in midtown too and she said how when she moved from the suburbs, some of the things we used to take for granted are lost.

Big American Fridge!!

In the previous life, I lived in a house with ALL the modern conveniences. Swiss new build homes are built to an extremely high standard. Heavy duty foam insulation to keep the home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Large domestic water heater, over 100 gallons of 140 degree fahrenheit hot water always waiting. Triple paned UV protective windows. Underfloor heating,  modern bathroom and kitchen with a dishwasher and of course, a utility room with a washer and dryer.

The ubiquitous California wall heater

Yeah, don't have that now.

The apartment building I'm in was built in 1959, think Eisenhower. It has been recently remodeled, but the basic infrastructure is still pre spaceflight.

A california wall heater and a small aircon unit. The bathtub is, well, quaint. The kitchen has new appliances but the units are old school. Laundry is in the laundry room in the back of the complex. I have slatted/louvered glass windows and who has those anymore? However, I do have a garbage disposal.

A happy kitchen.

I might be making it sound somewhat down trodden and lackluster, but it is not I assure you. I have made it my home. I have my pictures up, furniture in place and it is warm and inviting. It is quirky and unique. I love it!

And there is a pool.

Midtown.

It isn't just New York City with a midtown, we have one here too!

And ours is better.

Yes, I know that will start a cascade of people saying "WTF dude, really?" but yes, I am serious.

First off, it's nothing like NYC's version. Midtown here is a flat residential district with a selection of commercial areas interspersed on major avenues. Mostly, is small apartment buildings and homes. The commercial areas have a mix of garages, restaurants, bars (a lot of bars) shops and generally everything else under the sun. There isn't much you can't get midtown and so much to do.

Graffiti Sacramento style.

It's also, compared to what people imagine a midtown to be, quiet. Sure, there is some traffic, the occasional firetruck and even a train hor two, but generally, it is peaceful here.

Palm trees, it is California

It is a great mix of urban, suburban and even a bit rural as on the north side is the almond exchange and its open space just beyond. Giving the feel of being just next to the farms of the Sacramento Valley.

However, there are issues here. homelessness is chronic. Even outside my apartment building, as I write this, there are two homeless men sheltering from the rain. Also there is the G word, gentrification. But I still see a mix of families, elderly, young, middle and working class in the area so this could be more a downtown issue. I'll do downtown in another blog post.

So yes, even with those detractions, it's a lovely place and I am happy I landed here. I like midtown!!

Cars

I have a car, it's California, I need one.

I am not going to go on about public transport, that will be a different entry sometime. No, I will focus today on our cars and the difference I have faced when here, and I can assure you, it is different.

Over in Zurich, cars are, generally speaking, not an essential item. I know of many people who don't have cars, or even driver's licenses. The need for personal transport is not as great. 

Not seen in Zurich, ever.

Those who do have cars in Switzerland, generally take very good care of them. It is expensive to own and operate a vehicle. Fuel is around $5.90 a gallon (5 Feb 2019), insurance is in my case, 30% more expensive, and service costs are way over the top. Add parking, tolls, the two sets of tires (summer and winter), it becomes really pricey, fast.

And now to here in Sacramento. Cars are cheaper, by far. Either new or used, the price is lower. Also, contrary to what people seem to moan about, fuel is cheaper. I got gas for $2.99 a gallon the other day. Insurance is cheaper and you can get your oil changed for a fifth of the price in Zurich.

Now for the reasons that car ownership is cheaper here;

• There are A LOT of cars around, the market is a whole lot larger. More inventory, lower prices.
• Fuel is not taxed as much here, but that also makes the price more volatile.
• Insurance is not as good here. My liability tops out at $1 million and I had to ask for that as extra. In Zurich, it was 100 million (the franc and dollar are equal value). and no, that's not a typo.
• Oil changes are done only ever 30000km, (20000 miles), so it is a limited market again.

Broken down RV in the middle of the road.

But the most glaring difference is that here in California you can drive a "car" that is falling apart. I was following a minivan today with the bumper hanging off and being dragged along on the freeway. I have seen cars with no bumper or headlights driving around. Bald tires, no tail lights, no windows, cracked windscreens, missing fenders and space saving spares being run down to the rim.

Pretty sure a Zurich cop would have a heart attack here.

Water

All major cities in the world have one thing in common, their proximity to water, with the exception of Atlanta. Whether it be a river, sea, lake or canal, water plays an important part to a city's location.

Zurich of course is located on the Zürisee (Lake Zurich) and straddling the Limmat river. Sacramento is located at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers. The city was named for the river, not the other way, FYI....

Sacramento River

This blog is not about the location of bodies of water but the quality of drinking water.

And now the battle begins.

Let's start with the "high water" mark on municipal water quality. The city of South Lake Tahoe and the humorously acronymed South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) deliver, without doubt, the BEST water you can get out of a tap, period. That stuff could be bottled and it would fly off the shelf. I challenge anyone who has tried it to doubt me.

South Lake Tahoe

Zurich, and in particular, the village of Galgenen where I lived, has, to be honest, awful water. It's potable and safe, but it is so hard, you can actually see the minerals floating in a glass. I'm not kidding, it was crap. It seems to surprise people when they hear that. They imagine the Alps and the crystal clear waters, which are indeed there. But the drinking water comes out of the ground, and well, like I said, it sucks.

Zürisee

Now to Sacramento and the similarly humorously acronymed Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The water quality here is amazing. I have to admit I was quite surprised, and pleased, that the water from the tap was so nice! I have not bought a bottle of water here since moving. I see people at the grocery stores filling up their five gallon water jugs, but for me, tap all the way!

So for me, easy verdict, Sacramento and SMUD win the tap water battle between Zurich and Sacramento.

Dog

One of the few "items" I moved back to the states with was Charlie, my dog.

Enjoying the evening.

He was born in Romania, rescued by a charity and delivered to Switzerland where we adopted him. When it came time to move, Charlie came with me.

I think he is a mix of a black lab and a whippet. More whippet in the end.

He has had an adventure to get here. Flown to Chicago with my father and then driven to Wyoming to stay for a few weeks. Then I collected him and we drove here to Sacramento.

In Switzerland you are required by law to get your dog registered with a vet and the local government. In this process, all shots are given, a microchip inserted, or verified if already in place, and a tag issued, along with a fee.

Not too different here. In the city of Sacramento, you are supposed to register your dog and have a rabies vaccination and a microchip. So when it came time to register Charlie here I grabbed all of his paperwork (shot records, vet certifications and pet passport) and headed down to the animal shelter on Front Street.

Lots of people were there on the day to adopt a pet which was great to see. When I got to the counter, a very nice person helped me. What transpired was that having paperwork from Europe was not only normal for them, it was helpful as everything was in one easy to collect place. I was in and out in 10 minutes. Now Charlie is a legal dog in Sacramento!!

A side point is that, in conjunction with the weather, he is shedding, a lot. He has always been living in places with a hot summer and cold winter, so his coat is a bit too thick and he is shedding. As well as him becoming shed master, his coat is begining to lighten to a brown.

New place, "new" dog!