Eating In & Breaking Out

It has become obvious to me that I have to start cooking. Most food establishments around here close at 10PM and are a bit of a walking distance. This isn't anything like Brooklyn, where I lived above a deli and could get a sandwich at 4:12AM. There is a lot of great food around here, but unfortunately the restaurants' schedules are a lot different than mine.

I'm really enjoying the dry heat here but apparently, my skin does not. I was one of the lucky few to get away with clear skin throughout my adolescence. Well, I'm making up for it now because I am breaking out like crazy. I'm guessing it's because in NYC's humidity, you sweat a lot more so everything is getting washed out of your pores. I don't know if that's accurate. I may have made that up. Sorry, dermatologists. Anyway, I ran down to Lush to throw even more money at them for beauty products. I bought this weird green solid mass called "Herbalism" that you have to make a paste out of. It's really gross-looking but there are no harmful chemicals in it so you win some, you lose some. I also bought a toner and this shit had better work because nothing at Lush is cheap.

I also got myself a lovely neck sunburn due to forgetting about the importance of sunblock. It's only on one side of my neck so that'll be fantastic to look at once it heals into a fucked up tan. Ladies and gentlemen, always wear sunblock.

I am off to eat at an Indian lunch buffet. There was a great one at Jackson Diner on University Place and E. 11th Street near Union Square. I don't know how this one will do in comparison but I'm willing to spend the $9 to find out.

Here is a picture of some graffiti/street art I came across yesterday on my walk to Lush. It was brightened a bit with Instagram but you get the idea.

I Get Around

I'm currently enjoying some coffee from Brew Coffee Bar outside, enjoying the breeze. The cashier at Brew's recognized my TD Bank card and said it reminded her of home, since TD only exists in Canada and the East Coast. She's from Philly and spent a lot of time in Brooklyn, as did the barista. They were really welcoming and that was very nice.

I'm in what might be considered a quad but for office buildings. The gym I will be joining is here. The membership includes yoga classes so I'll have something relaxing to do while dealing with the culture shock. This is the nicest cluster of office buildings I've ever been in. There are a lot of butterflies around here and it's lovely.

I went to Helen's Cycles today to look into getting a bike. I can't go much longer without some sort of wheels to get around with. It was only a 20 minute walk but with no one else walking and the seemingly slower pace here, it felt like an hour. I'm looking into a hybrid bike because a cruiser is bad on hills but I don't need anything too fancy since I'll primarily be commuting through Los Angeles.

I'm getting tanner from being in the sun so much and I'm excited about that.

Here is a picture of some really tall palm trees to give you East Coast folk an idea of how big they can become. Coming from somewhere where there are hurricanes, it's hard to fathom being comfortable with having such a long, thin, and heavy tree so close to your house.

Walking Alone

I feel like I've been adjusting pretty well for the most part although there are a few things I wasn't aware of. I didn't realize that plastic bags were banned in Santa Monica and it costs an extra 10 cents for a second paper bag. I was wondering why the cashier gave me a dirty look when I asked her to hand me one more bag after she finished ringing us up.

I also didn't realize what people really meant when they said you need a car to get around LA. I mean, you REALLY need a car to get around LA. I am not exaggerating. It's not a luxury here like it is in NYC. It's a necessity here. There are literally no pedestrians anywhere. We were the only people walking on every block we strolled through. We've decided that we need to start saving up for a car right away because it's either walk 5 miles each way to get anywhere or depend on another person for a ride, which isn't always a safe bet.

We now have a small grill for our patio that sits on a tiny folding IKEA table. We have decided to wait on getting a TV. We have the iPad and the only show we watch is Breaking Bad, which is available on iTunes anyway. I'd rather save up for a couch and a car.

Here is a picture from this evening of a crowd watching a bulldog skateboard at the Third Street Promenade, an outdoor mall in Santa Monica.

My 1st Full Day in LA

Good morning (or afternoon in NY). Yesterday was a pretty full day. After eating mostly vegan the day I got here, I had the fattiest breakfast ever. There's a waffle place about a 10 minute walk from our house so I got a banana pecan waffle with Nutella. It was intense. We also blew $150 on cat supplies, which was crazy. We are trying to put our cats on a raw diet due to Rocky's allergies so we bought him some rabbit steaks, which he is refusing to eat, $45 later. As a side note, don't bother with any raw pet food other than Stella & Chewy's. We learned the hard way.

Mat's friend Sara picked us up and drove us to the IKEA in Burbank, where the temperature seemed significantly hotter for some reason. We got bedside tables, a mirror, a patio table, and some little things like garbage pails and a welcome mat. We are currently awaiting the delivery of the larger items.

After furniture shopping, we went to the famous In-N-Out burger, which I had been hearing so much about. It was a lot less expensive than any other fast food I'd ever gotten but to be entirely honest, it was just a burger. I guess I was expecting some heavenly glow after eating it from the way people made it sound but it was simply a burger. And that's that. Sorry, LA peeps.

I fell into bed after that around 4PM for a "nap" and ended up waking up at 10AM this morning. All the lack of sleep and jet lag caught up to me, plus having to take a Benedryl due to the cats rolling around on my pillow. And don't forget all that shopping, amiright, ladies?!

Here is a pic of the Santa Monica Pier. It is not nearly as epic as Coney Island (or as dirty. Let's be honest) but since it was a bit reminiscent of Coney, it was nice to see.

LA at Last

After the whole cat ordeal, we made it back safely through streets that looked like New Jersey with palm trees. As we got away from the freeway, the streets became nicer and nicer.

I entered my apartment for the first time. It was very surreal. I feel a bit like I'm staying in a hotel. I keep referring to Brooklyn as "home" so I'm trying to get out of that habit.

Since I came with only the clothes on my back, Mat took me shopping. I ended up getting a lot of makeup since I left most of it behind. I'm not excited about how much it cost but it'll be used every day so I should stop feeling guilty. I also got some shorts (which I haven't worn in years), underwear, flip flops, t-shirts, and pajama pants.

Tomorrow I might go out to buy a proper purse because I only have a small one. Mat wants to take me to West Hollywood so I'm interested to see the LA everyone seems to complain about. I have no expectations either way. I'm just very curious about it.

We walked to the beach and I dipped my toes into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life. Here's a pic.

Trash, Packing, and Flying

I am currently awaiting my flight. I'm not going to lie; I am in a very bad mood. Traveling with 2 cats is very difficult. I am bleeding in multiple places from trying to get the cats in their carriers and getting past the TSA agents was a nightmare. I almost cried. It's difficult enough to travel with 2 nervous animals and have to take them out of the carriers. To make my life worse, one of the TSA agents SHOVED me while holding one of them and said, "Don't come near me! I have asthma." I'm sure walking past you for 2 seconds is going to trigger an attack. How do you even stand up with lungs that are so frail? I am trying not to swear on here but the things I think she should be called would make a sailor blush.

Anyway, last night, I was up until 5AM trying to throw out everything I didn't pack. After working for 10 hours or so, I probably only got about 1/3 of it done. I wrote my landlord a long apology and I feel really bad about it but I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to carry at least 40 garbage bags down a steep flight of stairs for hours and my body gave out. They have to clean the apartment anyway so I also told my landlord that he can throw everything out except for a few specific items that the new tenants wanted to keep. I got about an hour and a half of sleep and I will be taking Dramamine due to motion sickness so maybe it'll help me nap.

The backpack I have with me is this incredible Swiss Gear bag I found in my closet. I managed to fit my MacBook and charger, a book, a magazine, a change of clothes, letters, my wallet, meds, makeup, my iPhone and charger, sunglasses, personal hygiene products, a bottle of water, a photo album, my journal, a Moleskine notebook, and some more stuff I can't recall. If you plan on traveling at all, I definitely recommend this bag 100%. It is a lifesaver since I'm lugging around 2 pet carriers on my shoulders and my only option was a backpack. Get one now. (I should be paid for this)

I am anxiously awaiting boarding time. I have to pee but I don't know how I'll get into a bathroom with pets. I need an Ativan STAT.

I am posting a picture of my precious cargo and praying that they aren't too traumatized after this whole thing.

Packing and hauling

At this point, I am absolutely down to the wire and trying to accomplish everything last minute as I usually do. My mom came by and helped me out a lot. I cannot thank her enough. We put everything I wanted to keep in boxes and bins, lugged them down my lethal staircase, rented a U-Haul cargo van and drove it to my parents' house on Staten Island. A warehouse worth of boxes are now sitting in my childhood bedroom for storage.

Of course, now that I just got home from that whole ordeal, I'm seeing things that I didn't do. I suppose I'll be running around like a nutcase tomorrow trying to ship things last minute.

The carriers for the cats came. Since the sedatives for animals can sometimes kill them, we are going a more holistic route. There are a lot of natural calming remedies and we are using 3 of them. Before you take animals on a plane, you have to get a certificate of health from the vet. I took them both to the vet on Monday, one at 9AM and the other at 2PM since I had only one carrier and don't own a car. The first cat was a nightmare. Sophie yowled the whole way and peed all over the carrier, which dripped onto me. Luckily, Rocky was a lot better although he looked pitiful in the carrier. I am not looking forward to getting them on the plane.

It's very weird to see your entire life packed up into little boxes as though it was nothing but a bunch of junk that can be tossed in the back of a truck. In going through everything, I found all my old journals, ticket stubs, pictures, and even a greeting card I bought when I was 16 for no one just because I thought it was really sweet. I never thought I'd see that card again and now it's at the bottom of a plastic bin, collecting dust in a room I left behind.

Tomorrow will be spent bringing useful things to Goodwill and recycling/throwing everything else out. My landlord is going to have to remove the couch but otherwise, I'll handle it on my own. This whole process has been bittersweet. It was sad to see the entire life I will be leaving behind but it was nice to see so many things I forgot I even had and to be reminded of all the memories I associated with them.

Here is a picture of my street in Brooklyn. It is my favorite street in the whole world and I always said that if I ever became rich, I'd own one of these houses.