As you can see from Frank’s post below (and the graffiti on the masthead above), half of us is in California and the other half is still in Michigan. (Or is that 1/3 in California and 2/3 in Michigan, counting the beagle? Better put it that way …)
Yes, I wouldn’t have minded, in some ways, staying here. The job situation is abysmal, however, and there are some other features of A-Squared that I really won’t miss (namely, hyper-aggressive drivers, particularly the women, and the gray, depressing weather). We’ve had our ups and downs here. I’ve enjoyed the wide-open spaces (compared to the Bay Area) and the cheaper prices and the better education system. I’ve hated the political scene, the A-Squared folderol snooty nonsense and did I mention the gray, depressing weather?
The beagle and I will be here for another couple of months. At this point, I have to finish the final work on my master’s degree for UM. That all ends on 15-June (a month from today, thank god) with much celebrating. Then comes the packing and the retracing of steps we took three years ago (has it already been three years since we moved to Ann Arbor?!). I plan to bid adieu to Midwestern Wholesomeness around the Fourth of July (tentatively) and head the Jeep west, to return to the decadent Land of Fruits and Nuts from whence I came.
My feelings about returning to Caly-forny are complicated. In many ways, I’m glad to go. In some ways, I dread it. I dread the crowds and the freeways and the expense. And Ann Arbor certainly doesn’t have a corner on snobbiness. But I miss the weather and having my marriage (at least somewhat) legally recognized and the job situation is so much better and we have friends there (one of whom had to be evacuated down the slides from his Palm Springs to San Francisco Alaska Airlines flight this afternoon when the MD-80 filled with smoke after landing at SFO … but he’s fine and no injuries, thank goodness).
The education climate there is difficult. Very difficult. It will be a very, very interesting first year of teaching. And I will greatly miss all of the wonderful friends I’ve made during this year. One already landed a job; she will be teaching third grade at a school on the lower east side of Manhattan. So, the end is nigh anyway. Our little band of comrades is breaking up, preparing to go hither and yon.
And so it’s time to say farewell to A-Squared AirBeagle. The site’s not going anywhere; I’ll just re-brand it. I’m considering B-Squared AirBeagle (which stands for Berkeley and the Bay), but that’s pretty obscure. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy my final two months as a sort-of Michigander. The Beagle and Frank and I thank you for reading over the past three years. The next three in California should be … interesting, to say the least, so stay tuned!