Dear California,

Now that I’ve moved out, there are a few things I’d like to say. Our affair was never a secret and even though not many people understood our love, we had fun. My complaints about you weren’t a secret either and though we’ve parted ways, I find myself thinking about a few things:

Trader Joe’s, Elephant and even Whole Foods. Yes, I miss you all! TJ’s: I miss your great prices, your friendly employees, your cool-looking stores and the variety of mostly health-conscious and fair trade items. I’ll miss your smooth and mellow, light roasted coffee, your mochi ice cream and the free samples, not to mention the two-buck-chuck. In fact, I miss you so much I have written to your corporate offices asking that a store be open where I currently live. Elephant, I will miss your rewards points from which I got over $30 in free merchandise in less than 3 months, your great little gifts and of course, all the paraben/laureth sulfate-free cosmetics. I will miss the organic wine and the easy-to-find parking. Whole Foods, aka “whole pay check”, I will miss you too. Even though you are ridiculously expensive, I have a soft spot in my heart for you and your salad bar. Your food selection and your produce are the best, so is your overpriced, hormone and antibiotic-free, cage free and vegan fed meat. I will never forget how I used to spend $80 when I thought I’d spend $10, how your express counter was mostly empty and the great party trays. You touched my heart when you started selling plantains and moro (bean rice) in your hot food section. I think if I had waited a bit longer, you might have had the entire Caribbean menu. I will not miss your crammed parking lot, your $3.99 mini-avocados, nor your $2 apples… but I want you back. Yes, I also wrote to your corporate office for a store here.

California, I will miss your outdoor space (the national parks, the state parks, the hills, the Sierras, the redwoods, the sequoias). You are one beautiful state! No wonder everyone wants to live there. When I look out my window now, all I see is stores and sky. Where did the mountains go? Where’s Mount Tam? Where can I go hiking? I saw a camping sign the other day and wondered where could one possibly hike around here… the creek?

I will miss the old, established neighborhood-feeling all around Marin County, the mature trees, the health-conscious environment. I will miss Sol Food. They might rush you out and over-charge you, but the food sure is good and I started eating at that restaurant when it was only a booth at the farmers’ market. Speaking of which, I will miss the oyster mushrooms at the Sunday’s farmers’ market at the SR Civic Center. Those are the best I’ve had on a stir-fry. I’ll miss the variety of vegetables in the produce department, partly thanks to the many Asian immigrants living there and how cheap they are (the vegetables) … well, relatively speaking. I will miss China Town, the Asian Market in San Rafael and just knowing that I can buy my curry paste.

I will miss living somewhere where most everyone is a Bush-despising liberal. I will miss having the Terminator as my governor and the chance of catching a glimpse of Gavin Newsom while driving by City Hall on a Saturday morning.

I will miss the great access to cheap, California-made tofu. Yes, I can get it here, but have to pay a premium.  I will miss my tarot reader. Arisa, you were the best! You always cheered me up when I visited you, reminding me of how everything was just OK and how I was on the road to radiance, prosperity and happiness. I will miss the peaceful, calming ambiance of Open Secret and how it was walking distance to My Thai. I will miss the hippie parties and the bon fires and all the new-agey stuff.

However, I will not miss the jammed roads in desperate need of repair, nor Marin County’s highway patrol and cops, always standing by to nail you for the most unfair of reasons in their ever-lasting efforts to fund-raise. I will not miss the 20 minutes it used to take to go two miles (from Terra Linda to Central San Rafael) or the jam at the hub. I will not miss the overpriced stores: yes, California. I knew all too well that when my sister in PA told me she got a blouse in Macy’s for $12, I would never find it when I went looking for it at Northgate. The most discount you could afford to give was 35%. You suck! Also, I will not miss not being able to buy a decent size home anywhere desirable. I hope you’ll learn your lesson now that your over-valued housing market has come crashing down. San Francisco, I will not miss your dire parking situation. Paying $27 for all day parking at the Financial District, or having to park at Sutter & Stuckton to then freeze my petuti walking to Union Square or to the 5th street mall in the middle of winter. I will not miss your fogginess nor how cold you are even in the dead of summer, especially in Richmond and Sunset… but I’ll miss Limon and Roccapulco in the Mission and all the Mediterranean restaurants. California, I will not miss how far you are from home and the mere fact that you are next to a cold and gray Pacific Ocean. That is a bit much for this Caribbean gal aching for a warm, white sand beach. Every time I flew home and back I would wonder “what the heck am I doing so far away”. Your beauty and grace made me forget, but was it worth it?

Anyways, you were great. All in all, I will miss you. I can’t say I’m coming back and it’s not like you’re sitting there waiting for me with all your popularity, but we had a good run. Maybe if I can save enough money to afford a home there someday I will come back to settle in Napa Valley … or maybe I will just wait for the rest of the country to catch up to your style and retire somewhere really, really warm.

Love,

tuttysan