2024 California Trip

4.24-5.3 LA+SF

California hasn't changed much, but for those few days I was a tourist full of curiosity and fun. Every day was a collection of American stereotypes — stepping on the gas pedal hunting for fast food joints and tourist spots, downing three cups of coffee a day, hitting the beach eight times.

The sea breeze whipped up sand that stung my legs like acupuncture needles. Walk a bit more and you'll find that most dock animals live freer than people, and certainly more comfortably than me. It was also the first time I realized how much I love the ocean. Maybe I really should work toward a beachfront house — after all, who wouldn't want to open their door and step right into the waves?

The food was a blast. I tried to revisit every restaurant I used to frequent during my school days. Honestly, after years of watching my sugar intake, everything American tasted sweet, and eating fast food without any pressure didn't trigger any physical reactions. So "stress weight gain" does make sense. But regardless, my calorie intake definitely exceeded the limit during those days — time for a month of salads.

As for the car, I used a Microsoft employee discount to rent the crappiest Chevrolet. This American car not only had a dancing throttle but also a catapult-like brake. Yet even so, as long as you drive enough and floor it hard enough, even a soap box can be fun to drive. Pedal to the metal, one tank every three days — a week's worth of driving probably topped a whole year of crawling on Beijing's Third Ring Road.

I met so many people. Many of their lifestyles were admirable and enviable. And the more conversations I had, the more I wondered: if on March 28, 2020, the day before Singapore's lockdown, I had chosen the flight to Los Angeles instead — how would my life path have been different? Would I have stayed in LA or moved to San Jose? Would my weekends be spent fruit picking? Road tripping? Hiking? Would life have different worries?

But life has no "what ifs," and I had no more vacation days left. Board the plane, go home.