I've moved!

Well, this was the week. I finally took the plunge and moved into my new "digs" in Davis on Wednesday. I'd moved most of my stuff down on Monday (coincidentally, Colin and Janet were buying a car from someone there, so were going through that evening), so I just caught the train down on Wednesday with my last few bits and pieces. It's been a productive couple of days of finding the nearest grocery stores (a few options within reasonable walking distance) and getting some of the administrative formalities at the University completed. On Thursday I attended an "orientation" session for visiting academics, which was very informative and helpful. Then, on Friday, I managed to sort out some other admin issues like getting a UC Davis staff ID card and signing up for email and network access on campus. I should be meeting with the researcher I am working with for the year on Monday, so the "holiday" part of my leave is starting to draw to a close.

I came back to Rocklin for the weekend on Friday evening, and helped Colin and Janet with their garage sale this morning. The sale is actually a huge neighbourhood effort, sponsored by one of the local estate agents. There were over 250 households participating in the area, and "our" street won the prize for the best rate of participation (gift vouchers for some restaurant in the area). One of the neighbours was selling a small office/typist chair for $5, which is perfect for my room back in Davis (one of the few things I still needed to get), so it was a good day's buying and selling here.

I've attached a photo of the view from my "desk" at Colin and Janet's (I may have irritated my sister slightly by describing it to her on the phone the other day!). The view from my desk in Davis is a lot less interesting - mainly consisting of a pathway and the neighbour's house.