First of all, I’m sorry for how overdue this post is – every time I’ve sat down to write this, I couldn’t bring myself to finish, because I feel like there are too many things that I wanted to say, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t say my farewells properly. And the longer I waited, well, the better it had to be, right? Then, one recent day, I heard on one of my favorite podcasts, Reply All, about this thing called “Email Debt Forgiveness Day” – a day for us to dig out an old email – or, ahem, blog post – and respond, ignoring the amount of time that has lapsed. I thought it was quite brilliant and decided to do this, a week ahead of the official Email Debt Forgiveness Day…
ANYWAY, podcast recommendations aside, I do have a late announcement. Just over two months ago, I moved all the way across the country, to Northern Virginia/Washington DC area. It was a pretty tough decision – on the one hand, there was a dream job opportunity, but on the other hand, I had grown pretty attached to San Diego. I’ve mentioned a couple of times on the blog that I’ve moved around a lot, and San Diego is actually the city in which I’ve lived the longest. It was comfortable, and I had really begun to consider it my “home.” In the end, I still chose the dream job, and through a lot of tears I packed up and said goodbye to my friends and the city that I love.
Now, even though I’m more used to living here in NoVA, even though I’ve found great places to eat and made new friends, even though I’m loving every aspect of my work, I still reminisce about San Diego a lot. The meals that I’ve had, and more importantly the people that I’ve shared them with. Thank you to the friends who shared birthday meals with me, who indulged in my late-night taco cravings, who were always willing to try new things with me. Looking back, I am also really glad that I was able to document so many wonderful meals and share memories of those meals with my readers here. Thank you all for being with me through my San Diego journey – I truly appreciate all the comments, emails, and feedback that I’ve received, and you all push me to learn new things, and to challenge myself to become a better writer and photographer.
Last but not least, I’m filled with gratitude when I think about the friendships that I’ve made through blogging in San Diego – thank you for your support and advice, insider tips on the latest restaurant openings and what to order, thank you for being so passionate about food and sharing that passion with me. I’m so glad that I had the chance to meet many of my fellow bloggers in person, and I wish that I had taken more initiative and met up with all of you more often, but I do hope and believe that we’ll stay in touch – after all, I’ll always be able to follow what you guys are eating, right? Thank you all, again, for your friendship. It’s been the most valuable part of this blog.
So with that, thank you, San Diego. I’m excited for new beginnings, but I won’t ever forget those five wonderful years I got spend in paradise.
Some of my favorite photos of San Diego, one from each of the five years that I spent there:
This is so long overdue but I wish you the very best with your new city. I’ll always remember you teaching me how to soften the flash on an iphone (with the help of a simple napkin) to help take food pics! May your new journey be safe, filled with joy, and complete with happiness :)
Won’t lie, I’m gonna miss being able to jump on your blog anytime I am completely out of food ideas. But of course a dream job for you is well worth that mild annoyance! Here’s hoping the ‘and beyond’ will be just as awesome as San Diego was.
Aww thank you :)
Jinxi
So sorry for the late reply, but a huge congratulations to you on achieving your Ph.D and for your new job! I am so glad that we met and were able to share some food adventures in the past years. Wishing you all the best in your new endeavors and your career. If you are ever back in San Diego, we need to go out! :)
Thank you CC! Best wishes to you, Bert, and TC as well! I love that I’m still able to get updates on all the happenings in San Diego through yours and everyone else’s blogs. And yes! Let’s definitely hang out when I’m in town again!
Hi Jinxi, I’ve read your blog for awhile even after I moved from SD. But funny thing is I moved to DC, and kept wishing there were DC food bloggers like those I missed from SD–my dream has come true!! So happy you’re out here and I hope you keep up the great food adventures in your new life!
Thank you!! I definitely plan to start posting on DC soon – still trying to find my routine in life ^^”
Congrats on landing your dream job! Hope that you will continue to post. DC is definitely a lot close than SD was for me.
Thank you!
Good luck, Jinxi!
Thank you!! ^^
I’m happy for you Jinxi….follow your dream! Wish you the best! Take care…..
Thank you Kirk!!
I’m still holding out hope that you’ll be able to come back to San Diego and have your dream job! But at least you are in a city with lots of good food too.
Aww I know :'( I miss you guys!! Maybe we can meet up on the east coast when you guys come over to this side of the country sometime =)
;/ Sad to see you go, but super excited for you and the dream job you landed. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll make your way back to SD! So many things to catch up on. Congrats on finishing your PhD too! And last, I’m visiting Chicago soon and hope to get some of the eats you were able to stuff inside your bellies. No Alinea this time, but we did book Frontera Grill. :)
Hi Darren, thank you!! These past few months have been a whirlwind, and I’m finally getting back into the routine of things. Enjoy Chicago and Frontera!! Stop by Xoco next door for a churro if you’re not too full after the meal. I’m actually contemplating a visit to Chicago again sometime in the summer – there are just too many things to eat there!