Of my 10 years spent in California, I have to say by far that the eight spent in Northern California were pretty much better than the two in San Diego. I can attribute this to several factors.
The biggest factor to me really is the scenery. Right from my first visit on Labor Day weekend in 1993, I knew there was something special about Sonoma State University. I believe it was the small-town atmosphere that surrounded it. The urban/suburban sprawl of San Diego had not served me well, I was used to a little town here, a little town there kind of thing in Pennsylvania, so Rohnert Park did it for me. As I was into taking walks, the town had a perfect set-up. It was also bike friendly. Close by was an equal sized and smaller town called Cotati. I liked the feel of that town as well. 8 miles to the north was the bigger burg of Santa Rosa where I would move after graduation. About 30-40 miles to the west was the Pacific Ocean, depending on where you were headed. To the north and east were local highways and byways containing many a winery. I am not too much into wine itself, but there were a few varieties I came to enjoy now and then, especially Gewurtztraminer, a German that became my favorite.
And then there was San Francisco itself, a convenient big city to explore when there was time...just 48 miles away. It was almost like the convenience of having Philly so close when living in the Reading area, only the drive to and from San Fran/The City/don't call it Frisco was more pleasant. Then there was Oakland, a less pleasant city, but always good for an A's game. Further south was San Jose. I never had much use for that place because it lacked a lot for me besides congested freeways.
North of Santa Rosa were picturesque valleys, lots of forests, some hilly terrain...and an odd town called Eureka...and 100 miles beyond that, Oregon. Between my buddy Scott and I, we saw it all.
In 1994, my folks drove me to Sonoma State for my first semester of classes. I had my mullet at that point. I immediately liked my new dorm and most of the people I was living with...hey in an 8-person suite you can't like EVERYONE, but I got into the environment much better than I did in West Virginia. Plus, on day one I met my almost-common-law-marriage buddy Scott Catania. We stayed pretty good friends and roommates for the next 8 years. We are still friends, but distance and individual family lives lessen the communication.
I met a lot of other people I still maintain contact with via phone or social media at Sonoma State. Many of our dormmates ate together in the Zinfandel dining hall or got together in our little common area outside for talk or games or both. Several drank fairly often and a few did some pot. Scott and I weren't really into that s o often we just drove around in his car at night, listening to rock and maybe grabbing a drink. In the next semester, a few people moved out and we got some new blood. This second semester I definitely felt better adjusted to my newer surroundings and was quite happy to be there.
In the fall 1995 semester, Scott, our friend Rob, and I moved into the on-campus apartments. The difference between dorm and on-campus apartment was that you got your own food and a kitchen, but no dining hall access. Down the hall from us were our friends Karen and Kimberly from the previous year. We had a 4th roommate in our apartment in the form of a guy suffering from Tourette's. I probably could have been nicer or at least civil to the guy, but I had anger issues regarding my parents' divorce and he lit my fuse more than he should have. All of us shared a nice 2 semesters together. In that second semester in the apartment, we made a camcorder movie, which ended up being fun but I no longer have the tape sad to say.
In the summer of 1996, Scott and I got an OFF-campus apartment, one we actually had to pay rent for. It was pretty convenient to school via bike or car (on nice days I biked there), and close to Rohnert Park and Cotati stores for convenience sake. Also that summer, I had a job as a painter (or REpainter) of the dorm interiors. That was a cool gig. Rob joined us for the fall as he still had 2 classes to take but by Christmas he was back to southern Cal.
In May of 1997, Scott and I graduated. It was sort of a sad time as I was closing a chapter of a positive period in life. The next month, we moved to a family(Scott's family that is)owned apartment in Santa Rosa in the Rincon Valley area. I liked that location a lot, but we got an even better gig 8 months later when we moved to another family-owned place close-by for RENT FREE...in exchange for us taking Scott's grandma June wherever she needed to go. As I was more sporadically employed with either temp jobs or substitute teaching during this period, I was the one who more often did this, and it was a pleasure. June and I had already become good friends in all the times Scott and I went to her house to do laundry the past 3 years.
In early 2000, I went back to Sonoma State for the classes to get a teaching credential and graduated in mid 2001. Once again I met some good people, but most good people tend to be fleeting when the time is up. This was no exception. I did maintain a friendship with my classmate Jacqueline up until I moved to Las Vegas.
In the realm of social (dating) life, I was still not what many would consider in the stud category and this was evident when trying to get a dating life going in AND out of college. During my bachelor degree-seeking years, I was interested in Kimberly and a frequent classmate named Sarah, but alas no romantic sparks with either (though my friendship with Kimberly has been renewed in recent years when she moved to Las Vegas). Out of college, it took a while but I had an on again/off again relationship with another Sarah, a Chinese girl, for about 2 years, as well as with a girl named Jody for 2 brief spells in 2000 and 2002. The dating waters had definitely gotten warmer, but it wasn't hot until Las Vegas...well at least a more constant SIMMER there!
Besides going on drives and trips with Scott, I took frequent drives by myself. My favorite drive was a nighttime jaunt to Goat Rock State Beach. On clear nights, you could see tons of stars in the sky...on cool nights that was a personally satisfying feeling.
Toward the end of my time in northern California, Scott's grandma June had a bad fall and she had to move to a sort of nursing residence. Scott and I moved into her house to keep an eye on things. That year between graduating from the teaching program and moving to Las Vegas was probably my most restless time, and it was certainly a period of depression. After getting a swift kick in the ass from my own grandma, I proceeded to get on finding teaching jobs and interviews and what not. It was a long frustrating period...one trip even involved a car accident...until I interviewed in Fresno for the Vegas job. Once I got the YOU'RE HIRED packet in the mail, my whole demeanor changed and I had a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
All in all, I could live these 8 years over again in a heartbeat, maybe change one or two things...but then again, life's direction has a purpose, so one must have some faith in the course of nature...or say FUCK IT. One's choice.
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