So we got here late Friday night, and without any real hiccups. The only thing was that our flight was delayed about an hour so we arrived in California around 11pm (2am EST). We were exhausted, but so happy to finally be here and be able to rest for a few days before having to think about unpacking. Of course, Patrick and I got a cold the week we have to move, but we were able to make it through and get some rest on Thursday night. We need to send a shout out thanking our friends and families for all of their help in our move. From packing the pod, preparing for the garage sale, offering to bring us a meal, taking furniture off of our hands, finishing clearing out the duplex, etc.
We ended up getting rid of almost all of our furniture because we couldn't fit it all in the pod. So all we brought is our bed, tv stand, crib, dresser and 2 bookshelves (that were taken apart). We have already begun searching for furniture and will hopefully find a couch and dinner table soon.
Friday night our bodies were very confused with the time change, but luckily by Saturday night we had pretty much adjusted.
Saturday we took it easy. Woke up watched football (all day), saw our new apartment, and drove around our new city a little bit.
Sunday we went to church. The message was great - talking about the Sabbath. After church we were invited to eat lunch with a group of young adults in the church/graduate students. It was a really good time and we got to meet a lot of people. For dinner the pastor's wife Mindy came over and made dinner with Elizabeth. We had a mini dinner party! Tomorrow Patrick starts his first day or work
Monday – Patrick had his first day of work. Everything went well. He spent most of the day filling out paper work and then the second half of the day in a meeting. He doesn’t have a computer yet – so there isn’t much he can do. He did make a friend at lunch who introduced him to the Greek restaurant next door to his office and then they played ping pong at the office. Apparently most people bring their lunches and play ping pong together at lunch time; which Patrick LOVES!! Patrick learned at his afternoon meeting that he was going to be taking over a project and will have to go on a business trip at the end of the month (they are making him jump right in). We decided to go ahead and just jump right in…. so we went to the Downtown Menlo Park community group with a group of people from church. We had a great time and made some new friends.
Tuesday – Patrick had day 2 of work. It went well. I hung out with Sarah Brodine and we kept 2 other kids from church and she showed me around downtown. I did a little grocery shopping with Elizabeth, and when we were taking the groceries to my apartment I met our neighbor. We also took this time to go on a date night. It was really fun! We went to a pizza place (Howies Pizza) at the Town and Country. After dinner we went to Starbucks to sip on a warm beverage and chat and we learned that Menlo Park is a sleepy town. The Starbucks closed at 9. That will be a little bit of an adjustment.
Wednesday – Patrick had work, played ping pong and had prepare for a meeting with clients in the next day – it was a late night at work. I spent some time at our new apartment and unpacked the few boxes we had checked on the plane. It made me feel accomplished. Elizabeth and I cooked most of the day preparing for students to come over for dinner. It was fun – always more fun to cook with someone else.
Thursday- Patrick had another late night at work (we think this wont last forever once we get in the groove). Today was a real relaxed day for me – I didn’t do much. A lot of Craigslist shopping. At night Patrick hung out with Britton and some guys from church and I went to see a movie with Katie and her roommate, Kate.
Friday – OUR STUFF ARRIVED!!! We have not unpacked yet because Patrick had to work but we plan to unpack tomorrow. Some new friends from church have offered to help, which is awesome. Hopefully our car will arrive tomorrow. We are happy it is the weekend and so excited to move into our apartment. I did go walking with another new friend today.
Saturday- First we hit some garage sales and got some
furniture for our apartment. We
had to leave just about all the furniture behind, except for our mattress, crib
and a dresser. Two of our new
friends helped us unload our pod (we got it done in an hour and we are on the
second floor – They rock) and we started unpacking (the bed was the first thing
– so nice to be in our own bed again).
We got take out at a Chinese food restaurant in downtown Menlo Park
(highly recommended by friends) and relaxed.
Sunday – Second Sunday at church. Met some more people – reconnected with some other people we
had met when we came to visit. Our
community group merged with another community group and had a Pre-Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving meal together – it was a feast of sides. It was a really sweet time.
