Every once in a while I look over at my computer, sitting on Yvonne's little homemade desk, in her little studio apartment in Los Angeles, California and my screen saver is doing it's thing when I see pictures from the months passed. Sometimes it's a picture of Linda and Sean when we were together for our little mountain adventure, or something from Halloween in Hollywood, or a picture of the Saint Louis Arch, and I think wow, I was there. Since my laptop has about 2 megabits of memory space, there isn't too much stored on this little guy, but in the few folders that remain it amazes me when I get a chance to look from this comfortable spot in LA, with Christmas music playing behind me, that I managed to take myself to all those places. Imagine I have friends who have done a whole hell of a lot more then I have, speak a ton more languages, have made more love, laughed more, and maybe cried more too, although I'd be willing to arm wrestle for that one. How incredible is life?! A few short months ago I was in China, basking in the last bits of a Shanghai Summer, teaching yoga, working still, cruising around on my little bicycle, soaking up last moments at the spa together with girlfriends getting emotional and laughing together one last time. We tried hard to ignore what saying goodbye really meant. We said our simple goodbyes together, and privately I cried and ached in fear of what the hell I had gotten myself into. My life was transitioning again, and as you can already predict, she's still unsettled. I said goodbye to Jutta last, got on that damned plane, and reluctantly said goodbye to China. After countless dinners, and countless pseudo-goodbyes because I didn't really know what to expect in the upcoming months and I really did not want to say goodbye, I was really on the plane. I was really going 'home'.
Now that I've been here a couple of months my English, though never quite bad, is still getting better. I've been staying with Yvonne in her little studio apartment near UCLA. I have to move my damn car all the time because there isn't enough parking for me in her building, and the rules in this town make it so that I can only park on the street for two hours at a time, except on Sundays. For a while I was nervous that I gave up something quite good in Shanghai, for the uncertainty of something that could end up quite bad in Los Angeles. I went back to NY, and thought for sure that I ought to move back. After all, if that's where I want to end up, then why all the fuss with bouncing around in the meantime? I've been spending a whole hell of a lot of time on the beach, meeting all the crazies that one girl can manage at a time, but enjoying every minute of it. One day I actually sat for a couple of hours while a tax accountant unleashed his frustration with an inner ear infection that's made his life hell for the last couple of months, and the kitchen faucet that he can't quite install properly. I've met a giant German in roller blades with a cover band on more then one occasion, a manhattanite accupressure therapist here for a conference at UCLA, Greg-the director, who is gradually becoming a real friend, and just today an older fellow with spots on his shiny bald head who wanted to talk about the weather. Those special people are just a few of my most memorable beach encounters, but there's plenty more. This afternoon, after going to look at a really great apartment near my new office, I went to the beach to say goodbye to the place that had treated me so good during the last two months. The relief in giving up my endless summer is not only in replenishing my pathetic bank account, but also in the fact that LA has grown fairly cold in the last week, making my daily wardrobe problematic. You see, I pretty much wake up and put my bathing suit on, so the drop in temperature is a nice transition for my lifestyle and wardrobe as well. Tomorrow, it's off to the salt mines, long pants, and yes, even a shirt and shoes are required. I suppose that if I grow really nostalgic on some days, I could actually wear my bathing suit under my work clothes to make sure that I feel at home. I also think that there's enough sand still jammed under my toenails and inside some pockets, that I could sprinkle a little around my desk, just to make it through life as a real live working girl.
Tonight I strolled through Hollywood, and started to get really excited. Strolling in a car is a special LA thing. Imagine how fast you would drive in your Chevy Malibu through Beverly Hills while you spy on how the rich people live, to get a feel for my pace in Hollywood tonight. Now, Hollywood, there it is...totally crummy, totally not beautiful, but totally amazing. There are a whole bunch of production studios there, and yes, palm trees, little places advertising something "Photo...." which to a Hollywood novice, sounds exactly like something related to the entertainment industry and thus awesome. I'm going to be working in that area for an architecture and interiors firm with strong ties to the beloved Shanghai. I went into the interview feeling fairly confident, and when it was all said and done, especially after my new boss fired away question after unrelenting question, I took the job he offered. Tomorrow is my big day, as a big girl in Hollywood, and I'm really excited.
Action!!!
What I've been doing.
Also, I've been doing lunch.
Back to the beach.
Yoga, and the beach.
Pelicans, on another day at the beach.
Yvonne and her Aunt Sophia
seize the day
Enjoy the present, as opposed to placing all hope in the future.
The dollar ninety nine wine. I'm not into it, but it is 1.99
A Feast. Hot dogs, burgers, Cucumber slices, Dumplings, Hummus, & dollar ninety nine wine.
Yvonne's kitchen and the equipment that makes it so darling.
Oh. The beach, again.
Pretty colors outside Yvonne's bathroom window.
A bonfire for Yvonne's friend on the beach.
Wow, are those real?
Chile, my buddy.
Erin and Ernie
Erin at Ernies old apartment.
Amy Tan
Total Babes
At her finest.
Dracks!
When I'm not wearing a bikini, I use it for other important things
Mmm, a hike with Erin.
UP UP UP
Fab hairdo
It actually took us a long time to even get it this good.
Mmmm. Pretty, huh.
Those little stones glittering like the sparkles they always wished they could be.
Cave paintings
Mmm.
A sleepover party with three fine grrls, after a night of meeting comics and a baby
Thanksgiving Success
Shopped, and dropped.
A shopping trip on thanksgiving night that started at midnight... and then 7 hours later...defeated.
American Apparel at about 3am. I took this for Mikey because that's his friend Sona in NY.
Vank, cruising while I battled to keep my eyes open. Tonight this girl is at a Lionel Richie concert.
My spot in Yvonne's apartment.
My side is the left. Can you tell? Why?
Ta da. I made miracles in this kitchen for thanksgiving that brought me back to NJ in an instant with my eyes closed and my sniffer wide open.
Toilette
Cello Rock n Roll is playing, for sure.
My new bike that was found near the dumpsters.
Until the next update, I love you and miss you, and can't wait to see you again.
Love
Love
Love
Kristin