Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
follow-up to "reasons i hate san diego"
I have listed in a previous post a few of the many reasons I hate san diego. since then many things have changed: I am now nearing the completion of my M.S., I am working at a well-paying job that i love, and I have gotten to know the city much more.
My unhappiness being here in this city has increased.
There are times when i would rather be back in Kentucky than be here. i think the only thing that has kept me sane is that i've learned of a couple places that i really enjoy (and can now afford).
There are three things that I am going to add to the list of reasons I hate San Diego. I am doing this as a method of coping; yes, this city has set me into such depression that I need something to help me get by.
1) When I first started my new job, one of the first things that I loved about it was the fact that a couple of my coworkers read. Yes, you read correctly. I suddenly realized something I'd been missing when I said to one of them: "wow, I don't think I've had a single conversation with someone about books since I left Kentucky. Not one person in my graduate cohort has mentioned a book they were reading for fun." Nobody in my cohort (or at my job, for that matter) has heard of Bukowski. So this reason for hating San Diego is because reading is does not register on peoples' priority lists. Seattle, where I will move in September, is the most literate city in the country, has as a city landmark the central library (check out the pictures below), and has one of the highest-educated populations in the country. There is an alternative, San Diego.
2) I looked at locations advertised on a low-brow art web site (Juxtapoz) and found that Seattle has about 30. I looked and the Los Angeles area has probably 60. San Francisco has about 50. Just for curiosity, after I saw these numbers, I looked at San Diego. Three. Yes, three. As in the number 3. Honestly, as soon as I saw this I understood what I've been missing here. I've already been to all 3 of those galleries, and this is why I'm depressed here. My expectations were not met. At that point I turned my thoughts to my coworkers: is there anyone in my department-- nay, my company-- who I could converse with about art? No. I've tried: I tried striking up conversations about my trips to the Museum of Contemporary Art, I tried responding to their questions about contemporary art (I showed them Frank Stella and Yves Klein), and I've tried explaining the lack of art to them, and nobody understands or listens for very long. They (San Diegans) are simply not interested in art.
3) God, these weirdos. I'm sorry if you or someone you know are/is a San Diegan, but they are the weirdest people I've ever met! Blank stares, quick look-aways when you make eye contact, the "duuuuude" mentality, the eagerness to go surfing, the fright at the thought of walking a couple blocks, the satisfaction with chain stores, the desire to move out to the suburbs... so weird... Small minds. I've met full-grown native San Deigans who have been to Coronado two or three times. I've met full-grown native San Diegans who have never left the county and have no desire to whatsoever. One time when I remarked that I couldn't believe their lack of travel experience, they actually asked rhetorically, "why would I want to leave San Diego?".
4) Chain stores. I've never met a population so content with chain stores. I find that I am usually the one taking the San Diegans to locally-owned restaurants of which they've never heard. Actually, I'm usually the one educating San Diegans about their city in general. Not 'educating' in the condescending meaning of the word, but educating in the sense of exposing them to things they didn't know about this city: its history, culture, bars, restaurants, neighborhoods, and current events. But back to the point, this is chain-store country. Avoid anything north of the 8 (in particular Mission Valley), east of the 15 (except for City Heights's international areas), and south of J or K.
To a degree, "a city is what you make of it". But I moved here to go to progressive, quirky, environmentalist California (basically, as I understand it, north of Fresno). And I'm just so tired of living in places that I hate. I try with San Diego every day, and it just seems like this city doesn't allow it. The people who are comfortable here are people that were San Diegans before moving here- they love all these things I hate about it. And to those people, I wish them happiness and am glad they found a city they love.
For me, I think I'll move elsewhere and find happiness where it's not so elusive.
My unhappiness being here in this city has increased.
There are times when i would rather be back in Kentucky than be here. i think the only thing that has kept me sane is that i've learned of a couple places that i really enjoy (and can now afford).
There are three things that I am going to add to the list of reasons I hate San Diego. I am doing this as a method of coping; yes, this city has set me into such depression that I need something to help me get by.
1) When I first started my new job, one of the first things that I loved about it was the fact that a couple of my coworkers read. Yes, you read correctly. I suddenly realized something I'd been missing when I said to one of them: "wow, I don't think I've had a single conversation with someone about books since I left Kentucky. Not one person in my graduate cohort has mentioned a book they were reading for fun." Nobody in my cohort (or at my job, for that matter) has heard of Bukowski. So this reason for hating San Diego is because reading is does not register on peoples' priority lists. Seattle, where I will move in September, is the most literate city in the country, has as a city landmark the central library (check out the pictures below), and has one of the highest-educated populations in the country. There is an alternative, San Diego.
2) I looked at locations advertised on a low-brow art web site (Juxtapoz) and found that Seattle has about 30. I looked and the Los Angeles area has probably 60. San Francisco has about 50. Just for curiosity, after I saw these numbers, I looked at San Diego. Three. Yes, three. As in the number 3. Honestly, as soon as I saw this I understood what I've been missing here. I've already been to all 3 of those galleries, and this is why I'm depressed here. My expectations were not met. At that point I turned my thoughts to my coworkers: is there anyone in my department-- nay, my company-- who I could converse with about art? No. I've tried: I tried striking up conversations about my trips to the Museum of Contemporary Art, I tried responding to their questions about contemporary art (I showed them Frank Stella and Yves Klein), and I've tried explaining the lack of art to them, and nobody understands or listens for very long. They (San Diegans) are simply not interested in art.
3) God, these weirdos. I'm sorry if you or someone you know are/is a San Diegan, but they are the weirdest people I've ever met! Blank stares, quick look-aways when you make eye contact, the "duuuuude" mentality, the eagerness to go surfing, the fright at the thought of walking a couple blocks, the satisfaction with chain stores, the desire to move out to the suburbs... so weird... Small minds. I've met full-grown native San Deigans who have been to Coronado two or three times. I've met full-grown native San Diegans who have never left the county and have no desire to whatsoever. One time when I remarked that I couldn't believe their lack of travel experience, they actually asked rhetorically, "why would I want to leave San Diego?".
4) Chain stores. I've never met a population so content with chain stores. I find that I am usually the one taking the San Diegans to locally-owned restaurants of which they've never heard. Actually, I'm usually the one educating San Diegans about their city in general. Not 'educating' in the condescending meaning of the word, but educating in the sense of exposing them to things they didn't know about this city: its history, culture, bars, restaurants, neighborhoods, and current events. But back to the point, this is chain-store country. Avoid anything north of the 8 (in particular Mission Valley), east of the 15 (except for City Heights's international areas), and south of J or K.
To a degree, "a city is what you make of it". But I moved here to go to progressive, quirky, environmentalist California (basically, as I understand it, north of Fresno). And I'm just so tired of living in places that I hate. I try with San Diego every day, and it just seems like this city doesn't allow it. The people who are comfortable here are people that were San Diegans before moving here- they love all these things I hate about it. And to those people, I wish them happiness and am glad they found a city they love.
For me, I think I'll move elsewhere and find happiness where it's not so elusive.
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