LOL I read this at first as "How is Tuscany?" LOL I almost asked you if you were "Under the Tuscan sun" LOL

hi larry,
i know it sounds cheesy, but i'm really touched you asked--thank you. :)
moving here was pretty hard at first but i think geoff and i are getting used to it. there's nothing wrong with 65 and sunny this time of year! we finally got our first piece of real furniture the other day and our new house is pretty comfortable. it's BIG--too big, if you ask me, but i think we made the right choice.
i'm getting used to having to drive everywhere, but i've found my local spots and even a few by the university i like to get coffee from and hang out at. the thrift shopping is great and there's even a place that reminds me of the co-op back in corvallis.
i don't know anyone yet except the guy at the post office (who is cute and goes to my gym), the neighbor and a couple people i work with. also, i still feel the need to tell everyone i'm from oregon, so i don't consider myself fully acclimated yet!
as far as big cities go, i think tucson isn't so bad, though i feel guilty for living in the desert--too much west coast hippie influence, i think. people are watering their lawns left and right and everyone uses styrofoam! the succulent plant selection here is awesome and the possibilities for new zealand plants are just starting to dawn on me. i think i'm going to be all right for a few years.

-ming

Hi Ming,

I am so glad to hear that you are adjusting to Tucson and are even finding the place enjoyable. I know you were a little nervous about going there. I lived in a little town called Sierra Vista, which is 70 mi. southeast of Tucson. As a tourist, I always liked going to Tucson. There were lots of fun things to do there.

I agree with the watering. I think it is a shame when people use so much water in the desert. It is such a scarce commodity. I live in Denver and I feel the same way about it here. We are actually part of the great Northern deser. Bluegrass is not indigenous to this part of the world and I find it a real waste to put that much water on a plant that couldn't survive on its own. People move out here from the East and want to have the same kind of lawns that they are used to having. Things won't change until water becomes so scarce that they will have to pass laws on what can be watered. Actually, that has even happened here for the past few years. We have had water rationing in the Denver metro area, but there is still a lot of water going on to Bluegrass lawns. Okay, I'll get off my soap box. lol

Larry