Life in Two Harbors

Our life in Two Harbors (TH) has now begun. So what is it like?

As far as my job goes, it's still very start-up-y (to coin a useless phrase). I had been working from home on a slightly different computer set-up (Debian there, RedHat Enterprise Linux here), and thus I am learning the differences in systems administration, and downloading and installing packages and perl modules I need, and, of course, lots and lots of trouble shooting. After two weeks, I finally got the web page I built in Maryland working correctly. I'm still spending a fair amount of time dealing with move issues - settling insurance issues, trying to schedule the move of our household goods, trying to make sure our bills are being sent to the proper address. (I am learning the insidious disadvantage of the 3 hour time difference.) Science-wise, I am playing catch-up to try to figure out project requirements and what questions we're trying to answer and come up with solutions that don't include a 40-person IT infrastructure and a 300 node grid. On top of this, a new conference center is going up (http://biology.usc.edu/BooneCenter/ - warning: lots of images, so don't click unless you have broadband), and just as I started working, they started shipping houses across the channel. Not too much of a disruption there, a house driving up the hill and past your office door.

One thing that has been difficult has been a lack of a vehicle on the island. It's about 2 miles to campus from TH. For the first week our friends were out of town, so we borrowed their 4Runner. The next week we had to do with occasionally borrowing a University vehicle. I adapted my commute by borrowing a kayak and paddling across the harbor (flat, straight, not dusty) instead of walking the road (hilly, curvy, very dusty). For the most part, this is exactly as cool as it sounds - a little exercise, a way to enjoy the water and weather, a pleasant commute - but I don't have a proper waterproof bag yet, so I don't risk taking anything electronic (except, of course, my phone).

The two biggest problems we've encountered so far are laundry and groceries. There is an overused laundromat in town, and an overused laundromat at WMSC. Both are far enough away from the house that it's unpleasant to get there without a vehicle, and, like I said, they're overused making it hard to find an available machine. We have solved that problem by purchasing a washer and dryer this weekend (our unit has hook-ups). We went to the mainland this weekend and bought a pair at StuffMart. The island idiosyncrasy here is that they will be delivered to a USC pier to be hauled across the channel. I need to call the facility and let them know to expect it and put in on the next available boat. So laundry should be solved when they arrive and we can get someone to hook them up.

One solution to the food problem is to drive over to Avalon, on the other side of the island, but since we don't have a vehicle yet... (Plus, there's a pronounced price mark-up.) The other choice is to stock up on the mainland. (Guess what else we did this weekend.) A third option is to attempt to shop for some groceries on-line (Amazon has dry goods!), but selection there is spotty, and you can't get milk and vegetables. A fourth option is to add to the order the WMSC dining hall puts in each week. We're starting to figure out how well each of these options will work for us. We haven't missed a meal yet, but we have run out of things like milk (two Things, remember?) and bread (oh yeah, everyone's eating lunch at home).

One thing that should simplify our life is our other major purchase of the weekend, a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. It's unbelievable how hard it was to find a used 4-wheel drive vehicle in LA. Either they have 100K miles or they're overpriced brands or they're not on a truck body. We finally reached desperation after two days of shopping. Luckily this vehicle popped up, and I think we got an okay deal. It is also at a berth at the Port of LA waiting to be put on a barge. It's disheartening to spend $16K one day on a vehicle and the next drop it off and only receive a little piece of paper. Not to mention we only have one key for it, but that's another story...(stupid microchips).

Don't know what else to say right now. I've met people at WMSC, but nobody in town yet really. Except for the Harbor Master. He's married to one of the admin. assts. at WMSC. On busy weekends he even drives a shore boat, and we happened to be down at the dock in TH and the Things got into a conversation with him. (Thing1 is not so shy.) The funny thing is that I didn't realize he was the Harbor Master, since he was driving a shore boat, and we ended up going to a Conservancy dinner that same night with him and his wife. I laughed when I realized it was the same guy.

But I guess that's TH in a nutshell. They guy driving the shore boat is the same one with whom you attend a dinner at a Boy Scout camp run by Mormons and attended by the former CEO of Pioneer along with other well-heeled, old money types. You know, like every other small town.