January 29, 2004

Don't Cry For Me, San Jose

Although I am very excited about our upcoming adventure, it was tough leaving San Jose behind. My nearly 5 years in San Jose was the longest I've spent in one area in the last 13 years. Sure, there are things I decidedly won't miss but I'm not going to dwell on the negative. Here are the things I will miss:

  • My friends--particularly my three IBM friends: Dorothy, Hai-Nhu, and Sandy. At IBM I was lucky to be placed in a department with three awesome co-workers who became close friends. We've gotten together every few weeks or so to play games, have dinner, or just watch Sex and the City, and I'm really going to miss our time together.
  • Book Club--Sandy invited me to join book club halfway through 2000 and I have loved it since. The mix of people was wonderful--everyone was very thoughtful and intelligent, and we always had different opinions about the books (except for a few that everyone unanimously hated). We had lively discussions and read a variety of books that I wouldn't have read otherwise. Kevin and I are still reading the rest of this year's books, even though we won't be able to attend in person.
  • Jennifer, my hair stylist. Oh my gosh, finding a good stylist is like striking gold in a stream bed. What will I do without Jennifer??? (and she's in book club, too!)
  • Restaurants, especially Bento Xpress. I ate at Bento Xpress, a fast food Japanese restaurant basically every day. All of the employees know me by sight and when I walk in they say "Number 2 with root beer?" Their teriyaki was awesome and I loved their gyoza (potstickers) and their homemade miso salad dressing. Boy, I'm going to miss that.
  • My doctors at Stanford. They saved my life--what more can you ask for?
  • Our fenced in yard. Scout loved the yard and it was so nice not having to escort her everytime she wanted to go outside. Hamburg will be a challenge.
  • Our church. Wesley United Methodist Church was a wonderful home for us.
Posted by Shelby at January 29, 2004 08:07 PM