Vacay

I went to visit my sister in Cambridge for a week - just got back a few days ago. It was really nice and get away from New York for a little bit - after all, 'Unorthodox' had ended and I wasn't really committed to another long job and it was just a great opportunity to leave.

I realised how similar my sister is to me in many ways (of course, we are siblings) and yet how very different we are - a direct result from having led very completely different lives.

She married young, had kids young and then developed her career which led her to the academic life she's in today. She did it the other way around from most people and that's why her perspective is totally different from most. For example, we were watching 'Sex & the City' (I think it was Season 1 - oh, it's the UK, so of course it was Season 1 - haha) and she did not relate to any of the issues the women were angsting about.

Now I'm not a huge fan of SATC by any means, but Season 1 was poignant because it brought all the issues women have to fore : as they grow older having worked on their career and 'themselves' all their lives, they wonder if Love has passed them by. They also wonder if their standards are too high having 'priced themselves out of the market', to put it crassly. Of course, being over 30 and living in NYC is also a pitfall in and of itself.

My sister doesn't get that of course, she got married right after college. She has an extremely challenging and fulfilling career but she got that after her marriage and kids. It was interesting to see how she just didn't understand what all the fuss was about.

I don't really fit into that SATC mold either. I hate fashion, shopping and lunching. The bar scene is quite boring and I never delved into New York City quite the same as other women did. But I did feel for those women who search for Love like this elixir of Life except I didn't like how these women had to put restrictions on it (clearly, they wanted men who could afford them a lifestyle they were used to).

Anyway, it was a really nice vacation. The pound dropped drastrically against the dollar so I could afford a few pairs of shoes (they never have my size in the US whereas the UK always offers size 3s) and not feel too bad about it.

My sister has just moved to Cambridge for 3 years on sabbatical from Exeter and it was nice to visit a new place and it's only 50 minutes from London! We cycled everywhere which was nerve-wracking at first (and always) but the way the vehicles respect you as a cyclist and give you space makes you feel much better. We didn't get in the car once except the ride from the train station and to the airport. We biked to church, Tesco (the supermarket), downtown and 3 miles upriver to Grantchester and had tea under the apple trees in the Orchard like many many esteemed scholars did before us.

Mike and I have discussed moving to the UK at some point in our lives. I think I have always felt that I wouldn't end my days here in New York.We just bought a house so definitely a good chunk of it would be spent here but I just can't see myself as living here till my 60s...
Mike is very open to moving, he's always been the only one I dated that didn't rule it out right away. I had a long term bf in Malaysia who always said point blank he would never leave and no other guy had ever understood what it was like to be hemmed into a place and feel yourself ossifying into this label/demographic segment. I appreciate that about my husband: that even if we do end up living here for the rest of our lives, he doesn't have the mindset not to leave should the day come.