NAPA, Calif. - The Starbucks barista's sing-song announcements that drinks were ready for pick-up could rouse anyone from sleep.
"Venti iced coffee for Thomas!" the young woman said with the intonation of a high-school cheerleader.
"Tall nonfat latte!"
The day before, the same upbeat employee had greeted each customer in the Silverado Plaza Starbucks with her trademark glowing smile and had asked, in her welcoming way and with a Sharpie at hand, "What can I get for you?"
Jocelyn Kirsch, at your service.
One half of Philadelphia's "Bonnie and Clyde" duo has called Northern California home since her high-profile arrest in December, with then-boyfriend Edward Kyle Anderton, 25, on charges of conspiracy, robbery, identity theft and other crimes.
They have a May 12 preliminary hearing in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, although sources say that the two will face federal charges for their crimes.
These days Kirsch, 22, works at Starbucks, handling many credit-card transactions. She's also a docent-in-training at the di Rosa Preserve: Art and Nature, a hybrid of modern-art museum and nature-conservation area in Napa, about 50 miles northwest of San Francisco.
Not quite the punishment some of her alleged victims and former friends might have wished for, but not exactly la vida loca Kirsch had lived in Philadelphia.
During a lunch break last week, Kirsch strolled through the shops of Silverado Plaza. Outside the Jamba Juice, a Daily News reporter approached her and asked her to comment on her criminal case.
"I can't, I'm sorry," she said, completely composed, looking intently at the reporter. Then she walked away, oversized bag over shoulder, and made a phone call.
Cool as California.
Suburban California living, even in traffic, is as close to polite and peaceful as one can get these days in the continental United States. Folks are friendly, and "no worries" is a natural part of the local vernacular. The beautiful green mountains, a lake here and there, and rolling vineyards inspire serenity.
Its day-to-day life is almost the polar opposite of Philly's fast-paced, in-your-face living. But, in Philadelphia, Kirsch lived her dreams as a Drexel University student - including rubbing elbows with His Royal Highness, Britain's Prince Charles.
Now in California, the former Drexel senior bunks with her mother and stepfather, Jessica Eads, 55, and Michael Eads, 58, in Novato, Marin County, about 30 miles north of San Francisco.
The Eadses' white- and teal-colored ranch in the Indian Valley section of southwest Novato is worth at least $1.2 million, according to zillow.com. The 3,043-square-foot house, on an uphill street that ends in a cul-de-sac, has four bedrooms and three baths. Eads bought the 32-year-old house from his father, Charles, in 2002.
Novato - home to Birkenstock, the hippie-shoe manufacturer; tea distributors The Republic of Tea, and, next year, ImageMovers Digital, a 3-D animation unit of Walt Disney Studios - was recently named Most Affordable Suburb in California by Sperling's BestPlaces, a data-analysis Web site. The median home price is $856,000, according to Sterling's.
The street where Kirsch lives was once a chicken ranch run by the Bloom family, neighbors said. The Indian Valley neighborhood has an eclectic mix of older and new homes, some of which have tiny vineyards on the front lawns.
The Eadses moved to Novato, population 51,500, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 2003 and are "reclusive" and "private," neighbors say.
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