December 30, 2003
December 30
I was hoping that I'd be able to update in L.A. (where I spent this and every Christmas) but, unfortunately, my fiance wasn't able to load the program I use for this site onto my grandmother's computer so the days in California had to go unaccounted for. The first few days were nice, save perhaps for the discovery that colonies of ants had populated the bedroom we stay in since last year. The first full day we spent in L.A., Monday, the weather was balmy--springlike by NYC standards. Actually, the weather was nice that day but the first two-thirds of that day were not. Every year when we go to L.A., my sister and I have our shopping rituals--we hit the same spots year after year and this year was no different. A good portion of the time, we get stuck having to ride the bus which is what I ended up doing the first few days. The transit system in L.A. can be pretty daunting but fortunately there's a number you can call to figure out how to get to your destination which is what I use everytime I take the bus. So on Monday, I went to the bus time in time to catch the first bus I needed to get to my destination but the bus didn't arrive til late and as we pulled into the intersection where I needed to catch my second bus, I saw that bus driving away. Since it's a bus line that runs pretty frequently I figured I wouldn't have that long of a wait to catch the next bus but that next bus didn't arrive until 50 minutes later.
Now this is the difference between waiting for public transportation in NYC and L.A. In NYC, the primary mode of public transportation are subways, the majority of which run underground and run pretty frequently. In L.A., the primary mode of public transportation are buses which are supposed to run on schedules but only do half of the time and the other half of the time you have no idea when the next bus will arrive. In addition, bus stops are outdoors where you not only have to deal with the elements but also the large amounts of traffic that L.A. is notorious for so besides the sun, rain, heat, or cold you often find yourself waiting at very large intersections watching cars zoom by or stopping in front of lights, which is unpleasant in and of itself added to the fact that you're inhaling all those exhaust fumes. On top of this, reluctance to sit on the bus stop benches often prevails because bus riding is often the realm of the indigent in L.A., including many homeless.
So I was pretty grumpy, to say the least when I arrived at my destination and was much relieved to find a public restroom at a local Starbucks. This is another problem with L.A.--the lack of public restrooms. Now this has been said of NYC and maybe it's just because I know where to go in NYC but the lack of public restrooms is a real problem in L.A. I think this is in part because there is a substantial population of homeless in the city but it still doesn't excuse the situation. Just an example--Third Street Promenade is pretty much the shopper's equivalent to Herald Square in terms of its popularity and you'd think this would be a place where they would accomodate the shopper's bathroom needs but this is not the case even here. When I went here on my second day in L.A. the only public restrooms to be found were the ones in the mall at the end of the promenade. Bookstore chains in NYC are always a reliable source of these in NYC but Border's had none and the one at Barnes & Noble was being renovated which I thought was extremely poor timing on their part, it being the holidays and all.
At any rate, going back to Monday, after I did my shopping I had to go downtown to meet a friend and by the time I arrived to the subway station where we were meeting I was not a happy camper because there had been no public restrooms along the way, and because I was stuck waiting in a very sterile looking subway station in an area I did not feel comfortable in (downtown L.A. is nothing like downtown NYC) with some weirdo who was hovering behind a glass elevator not so far from where I stood waiting for my friend. Just as I was approaching wit's end, my friend arrived, we jumped on the subway together and got off a few stops later. I'm a woman of routine and my routine with my friends in L.A. is karaoke, since they were the ones who first got me into karaoke and the karaoke in L.A. is loads better than that in NYC. We went to this place called Brass Monkey, a popular karaoke spot in the city. I'd heard about this place before and thought it was in Hollywood, and had imagined it to be this retro diner looking place with a stage in the center that was extremely popular and trendy. In reality, and to my pleasant surprise, it was this English pub like place, pretty informal but also a comfortable karaoke venue. The music binders were probably the largest I've seen so I was pretty happy. I found the two songs I've wanted to sing for forever but are never on the song lists in karaoke venues in NYC, submitted my selections and got to sing all three of my submissions. And the people who sang (myself excluded) were really good--I think people in L.A. in general tend to be better karaoke singers than people in NY but it's probably also because there are so many aspiring entertainers in L.A.
One thing that intrigues me about L.A. is the fact that identities seem to be much more fluid in this metropolis and while this can be at some times annoying it also makes things more interesting. One example was this guy who got up to sing--a really dorky looking Asian guy who I thought for sure would sing something conservative but ended up thrashing to a Led Zeppelin song. At any rate, I love karaoke and this was a great place for that so Monday night was definitely a highlight of the trip. Unfortunately, the rest of the trip was pretty boring, consisting mainly of eating and shopping which is what we end up doing most of the time when we're in L.A. much to my fiance's dismay. Hopefully next year we'll plan better.
Posted by Jennifer at 06:46 PM
December 21, 2003
December 21
So Adam and I had defrosted our freezer on Thanksgiving and ever since then, everything in our fridge has been icy cold or frozen because the block of ice that rimmed the freezer is now gone and the frost from the freezer permeates our fridge. After an entire liter bottle of Pepsi completely froze over and became completely decarbonated upon thawing, I tried decreasing the temperature setting, unwittingly shutting off the fridge in the process. Now everything in the freezer has melted or probably gone bad. Grrrr...
Que Sera Sera has a really funny post about getting calligraphy pens as a Christmas present one year and how it bit her in the ass. Speaking of which, my fiance and I just just ordered our invitations and...
Posted by Jennifer at 06:44 PM
December 18, 2003
December 18
How we met, part I
Inspired by this website, I will share the story of how my fiance and I met. Before internet dating became popular, before I knew what bloggers were, I did a zine and on my way to meeting a friend, I saw a flyer for a zine fair that would be taking place that weekend. I was excited because, for some reason, there are very few zine fairs in NYC, and at that point zines were still something I was very enthusiastic about. I schlepped into the city with my zines and made myself home at a table when this guy asked if the table next to me was open. I nodded and he started setting up. I glanced over at his zines and seeing the covers with band names I didn't recognize and the newsprint contents, I immediately wrote off the zine as one I wouldn't be interested in. But we started chatting and the conversation was good and even when his friends showed up to keep him company we still kept talking. I have to say his charm started to erode my defenses when I saw the disarming stickers he had brought with him to promote his zine and he asked if I would do him the honor of wearing one. Then when I indicated I was going to go out to smoke a cigarette he accompanied me and sitting outside on the steps he noticed a mark on my knee, the remnants of a recent wound sustained, and this impressed me. After we decided to cut out of the fair he asked if anyone wanted to go for dinner and when his friends politely declined he asked if I would still accompany him to which I readily agreed. "I know this great place from when I used to work in the East Village," he said and he brought me to this place called Yummy House and I couldn't help but stifle a giggle. He graciously offered to pay for me and on our way out of the restaurant he paused for a moment so that I bypassed him and opened the door. Once we were outside he passed me his fortune, "Doors will open for you."
Posted by Jennifer at 06:41 PM
December 17, 2003
December 17
So I had my second session of acupuncture today--it's not bad but it's not something I exactly look forward to either. I'm a pretty restless person so lying still for half an hour outside the context of sleeping is not something I'm that good at. On top of that, my holistic doctor uses some kind of heat lamp on my stomach which gets really hot ten minutes into its timed operation. The first ten minutes aren't too bad--as the lamp warms up you can pretend you're sunbathing on a beach or just lounging outside on a warm summer day. As the lamp gets hotter, however, you want to inch away from the lamp but you're too scared to move because during the last session pain struck as soon as you moved a wrist or leg. Then the lamp gets really hot and it feels like you're stomach is burning and you're thinking isn't this supposed to be a therapeutic lamp? Then why am I in pain! And even when you feel compelled to finally push the lamp upwards gingerly with your needle-covered hand it still hurts and you just have to wait for the lamp to click off and the heat to subside. In the meantime, you grow increasingly bored and fidgety and try to rustle the tissue you lie on top of to remind the doctor that that you're there and ready to have the needles removed. Maybe it's not as bad as I've made it out to be, but I guess for us non-meditation and yoga types, acupuncture can be a tad bit boring.
Posted by Jennifer at 06:38 PM
December 16, 2003
December 16
I'm not sure why David Cross is on my list of favorite people. Mr. Show was a show I wanted to like but I found too uneven. I've only seen one of his stand-up shows though I did find it funny. Maybe there's something about his bald head and the glasses, maybe it's his occassional apperances in things like Yo La Tengo's new music video, but something about him is just appealing.
Interview with David Cross
Posted by Jennifer at 06:36 PM
December 14, 2003
December 14
Before blogs became popular, I wanted my own website and I actually had one for a little while back in '96 (it may still be around but unfortunately I don't know what the url is) but I had totally relied on someone to create it and we lost touch shortly after he developed it so it never got updated. Sometime around '98 I went out and bought an html book but, sadly, I don't think I ever cracked it open. Around 2000, I was introduced to blogs and found my new love and periodically since then I've told my then boyfriend/now fiance that I wanted my own blog. I even registered for my own pitas page that year but didn't get around to do anything with it. I'm a Pisces tho' and I think this may have something to do with the fact that it's taken me nearly eight years to actually start something like this and thanks solely to my fiance who created this blog for me as an early Christmas present. Kudos to my honey! .
Posted by Jennifer at 06:34 PM | Comments (0)