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Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
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As I was awaiting the beginning of torts, I decided to check my phone. It had 7 missed calls from K and two texts from her imploring me to contact her. Fearing the worst, I called her. What could the reason be for such frantic attempts to contact me? She told me she hoped my pants and feet were wet since I walked out of the house this morning wearing sandals and jeans that she did not want me to wear.
My wife is the best
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Tonight is my last night as a resident of the city of Los Angeles. It is an extremely bittersweet feeling. On one hand, I'm moving back to the city where I grew up, where a good chunk of my family is within a 1 hour drive. On the other hand, over the past 6 years, I had some of the best times of my life in Los Angeles and with the people I met as a function of being in Los Angeles. Many of those people have moved on and are no longer around, but a good many remain.
Six years ago, when K and I arrived here, we knew one person, Ian. Now, we leave LA with a bounty of friends, many of whom we'll hopefully have for a lifetime. LA has been good to us in that way, but it has also been difficult. Distance from our families, problems with school (and collaborators who shall not be named), and living in a city that is so massive you often feel like a number were the downsides (I'll leave out the obvious downsides like traffic and "marine layer"). But in the end, the good far outweighed the bad.
When the date for my final defense was set, I was so excited to finish up, find a job, and move back east. Now, as I spend my last few hours as a citizen of Caleeforneea in a barren apartment on the corner of Exposition and Sawtelle, I feel a twinge of sadness. I've only lived two places in my life, and I've lived in LA for 20% of it.
Each of the previous top ten favorite things about LA got a lengthy description, but since I'm getting up in 8 hours to drive East, I'll just list the last four:
#4 - Los Angeles County Museum of Art
#3 - The Pacific Coast Highway
#2 - The J. Paul Getty museums (Getty Center and Getty Villa)
#1 - The friends K and I made
Peace LA, we're out.
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My fifth favorite thing about Los Angeles is the unbelievable mexican food. The first place of note, as detailed by the incomparable Greatest and Best Website in the World, is Faria's, at Pico and Sawtelle. Many a Sunday morning was spent enjoying the bounty of the Faria's breakfast burrito, but the cuisine did not stop at noon. Their pork in green sauce is simply perfect.
For the perfect dinner burrito, look no further than La Cabana in Venice. The Verde Burrito, stuffed with avocado, is to die for, and their margaritas are, for my money, the best in LA.
In a hurry? Try Poquito Mas, a chain that makes a fantastic Char-broiled chicken burrito, or Tito's Tacos in Culver City.
Simply put, outside of Mexico, there is no finer location for Mexican food than the Greater Los Angeles area.
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Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
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My sixth favorite thing about Los Angeles is North Campus at UCLA. I could wax poetic for hours about the beauty of the sculpture garden, walking the Janss Steps and turning around for the view, sitting by the Shapiro Fountain and taking in the architecture of Powell and Royce. But in this case, the old cliche applies, and pictures of North Campus are worth 6.02 x 10^23 words.
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My seventh favorite thing about LA is the diversity that is so prevalent here. All ages, races, ethnicities, and sexual preferences are not only present, but embraced. Drive through West Hollywood and feel the vibrancy of the gay community. Eat in Little Ethiopia. Visit a Russian Market in Little Moscow. Visit the largest Armenian population in the United States in Glendale. K-Town. Chinatown, Little Tokyo. But the best part is, the diversity isn't walled off into little enclaves. Everywhere you turn, you're surrounded by people who don't look like you or talk like you, and it is simply amazing. This is exactly the type of environment I'd love to raise a child in. Let them see how different the world can be. Too bad it is prohibitively expensive to do this in LA.
I should've been an actor.
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My eighth favorite thing about LA is the weather. Why wouldn't a 10-day forecast that looks this be a lot higher? Well, the downside is that this is the same forecast you see in December. While to a lot of people that would be heaven, I really miss seasons (hence moving back to Pittsburgh). But there's no denying how nice this weather is for 8 months out of the year.
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Dane Cook or Carlos Mencia?
Actually, it is a trick question, both are as funny as genocide.
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My 9th favorite thing about LA is driving Coldwater Canyon. There are a lot of fun roads to drive in LA, including Mulholland, but for my money, Coldwater Canyon is the best. If you get it on a sunny day, with minimal traffic, it is almost like being in another world. It definitely does not feel like you're driving through Los Angeles. You can double your fun by taking Coldwater all the way from Ventura Blvd as well. Despite the bad rep of driving in LA (and it is well deserved in most cases), if you stay off of the freeways, there are certainly a ton of fun drives to be had in the Greater Los Angeles area.
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We'll start the countdown of my favorite things about LA with my sweet tooth. Diddy Reese, on Broxton Ave in Westwood, makes hands-down the best cookies I have ever tasted. The chocolate chip are of course the traditional favorites, but the macadamia nut cookies are an underrated second choice. And the best part? The price. In Los Angeles, land of $9 Captain and Gingers, you get 3 Diddy Reese cookies, or an ice cream sandwich, for $1. Truly one of the places you need to visit if you ever find yourself in LA
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Saturday, March 29th, 2008
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Now that I'm done being a graduate student (for the most part), I'll be able to post here again. Please contain yourselves.
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has been decided, and it isn't pretty. Click here to read.
However, a stunning dissent was penned by Justice Stevens. To take one section from it:
"Reaching back still further, the current dominant opin-
ion supporting the war on drugs in general, and our anti-
marijuana laws in particular, is reminiscent of the opinion
that supported the nationwide ban on alcohol consumption
when I was a student. While alcoholic beverages are now
regarded as ordinary articles of commerce, their use was
then condemned with the same moral fervor that now
supports the war on drugs. The ensuing change in public
opinion occurred much more slowly than the relatively
rapid shift in Americans’ views on the Vietnam War, and
progressed on a state-by-state basis over a period of many
years. But just as prohibition in the 1920’s and early
1930’s was secretly questioned by thousands of otherwise
law-abiding patrons of bootleggers and speakeasies, today
the actions of literally millions of otherwise law-abiding
users of marijuana,9 and of the majority of voters in each
of the several States that tolerate medicinal uses of the
product,10 lead me to wonder whether the fear of disap-
proval by those in the majority is silencing opponents of
the war on drugs. Surely our national experience with
alcohol should make us wary of dampening speech sug-
gesting—however inarticulately—that it would be better
to tax and regulate marijuana than to persevere in a futile
effort to ban its use entirely."
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Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
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This song always reminds me of waiting at my dad's house for Kaz to show up, because he insisted on taking the long way, and going through South Park to "pimp" and hang out with John Coates and Joe Matteson.
Thus, this also brings back memories of the Red Rocket.
"Long Way" Kaz, ahh what a great memory.
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1. What were the Pens doing on Sunday?
2. There's a note, in my handwriting, on my desk at work that says "Call Gladys about specific time". I don't know anyone named Gladys and have no idea what this means.
3. Only 69% of Americans can identify the Vice President. That's a comforting thought.
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Saturday, April 14th, 2007
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just how exciting and nerve wracking playoff hockey can be. Than god we're back in it.
Fleury played out of his mind today.
Roberts is turning out to be the best tading deadline accquisition since Ulf and Ron Francis.
1-1 and going back to Pittsburgh? I love it.
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Thursday, March 29th, 2007
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how you can often associate songs with particular people or events?
This songs always makes me think of Tara Klinkenberger, and of senior year of high school.
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Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
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Today we find out who is in and who is out. Who got the shaft and who paid the committee off. How wrong will Seth Davis be, and how many times will Jim Nantz try to kiss Billy Packer?
For the record, even after the less-than-stellar performance by Pitt last night, anything less than a 3-seed is an abomination, and a 2 should not be out of the question.
I taped the show so I could enjoy a wonderful day at the J. Paul Getty Center, and thus, we start late.
And we're off!
Florida is the overall #1 seed?
What?
The other #1 seeds: UNC, Ohio State, and Kansas.
Kansas? Say what? Their power numbers are pretty despicable. How about that, 5 minutes in and there's already two errors. Not really shocking.
Midwest region
#1 Florida
#16 Jackson State
#8 Arizona
#9 Purdue
#5 Butler
#12 Old Dominion
#4 Maryland (what? After that embarrassing loss to Miami?!)
#13 Davidson
#2 Wisconsin
#15 Texas A&M Corpus Christi
#7 UNLV
#10 Georgia Tech (after that loss to Wake? Yikes)
#3 Oregon (Hmmmm....)
#14 Miami (OH)
#6 Notre Dame
#11 Wintrhop
Well, a few overseeds, but so far not all that bad I guess.
West
#1 Kansas (Again, a sham)
#16 Winner of Florida A&M and Niagara game
#8 Kentucky
#9 Villanova (a bit low I think)
#5 Virginia Tech
#12 Illinois
#4 Southern Illinois (Hmm)
#13 Holy Cross
#2 UCLA
#15 Weber State
#7 Indiana
#10 Gonzaga
#3 PItt (I can live with this)
#14 Wright State
#6 Duke (Way too high)
#11 VCU (should give Duke a good game)
Actually a good bracket, except for Kansas.
Pitt gets Wright State, then presumably Duke/VCU, then UCLA...I would love to see that.
East
#1 UNC
#16 Eastern Kentucky
#8 Marquette
#9 Michigan State
#5 USC (a bit high)
#12 Arkansas
#4 Texas
#13 New Mexico State
#2 Georgetown
#15 Belmont
#7 Boston College (a tad high)
#10 Texas Tech
#3 Washington State (way too high)
#14 Oral Roberts
#6 Vanderbilt
#11 George Washington
Hmm, some errors there
South
#1 Ohio State
#16 Central Connecticut State
#8 BYU
#9 Xavier
#5 Tennessee
#12 Long Beach State
#4 Virginia
#13 Albany
#2 Memphis (WAY TOO HIGH)
#15 North Texas
#7 Nevada
#10 Creighton
#3 Texas A&M
#14 Penn
#6 Louisville
#11 Stanford
Memphis deserves a 2 seed as much as I do. That's ridiculous.
And these analysts are morons. They pick 3 #1 seeds and a 2 seed to make the Final Four? Come on, don't you get paid to make better picks. Geez.
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