Hollywood Swinging

First night in Hollywood involved a trip to Ralphs, Trader Joes and LA Ink.

After hanging out at the apartment for a while Sam, Anthony and I decided we were getting a bit hungry so we headed off to Ralphs for some dinner fixins. Ralphs is the local grocery chain (well there is also Albertsons, Vons and Safe-Way) in Hollywood. Heres a fun little tidbit for all you LA Ink and/or Kat Von D fans out there, our local Ralphs is right next to Kat's tattoo parlor...thats not something they show on TV now is it. We arrived as the sun was setting, which was perfect because here they build the parking lots up instead of out, obviously due to space constraints. This allowed us to view the sunset from the top of the parking garage as it set over downtown. We soaked it in for a few minutes, then attempted to check out the LA Ink mural but there are high walls and security, so a plan will have to be hatched for some photo taking. We then took the moving walkway down to the store, which was cool but even cooler when we finished and Anthony pushed the cart up the walkway to the car. We decided to make burritos, I found some mussels on sale for tomorrow lunch or dinner, Sam and I were excited that an LA supermarket had whoopies-though we didnt buy them, splurged and got donuts for breakfast.

Brought the food back, ate a snack, then headed out to Trader Joe's. Which if you havent been there its like Whole Foods and BJ's had a baby and that baby grew up and decided to actually have good deals on food and not shank people as they walked in. Unlike Whole Foods you dont have to sell your platelets to pay for your dinner. Fun finds of the night: Dried mango drenched with chili powder 1.89, Edamame covered with dark chocolate 2.19 and Charles Shaw wine for 1.99. Sam and Anthony found some neat foods as well.

A quick trip up to CVS and it was back home again. While Anthony made dinner, Sam and I unloaded some stuff from my car. Basically stuff that I couldnt or wouldnt want to replace if it got jacked. Came inside just as dinner was ready. Delicious burritos anthony! Played a lil wii, getting ready to watch the news, and hanging out.

Tomorrow I will be pounding pavement during the day and we are heading to Molly Malone's to see my friend Tylers band, White Lights, play. Wednesday I am meeting up with the lovely brandi Ellis for lunch, which I am super excited about. Oh and I think Anthony is going to set me up with a guitar book so I can start playing again!

Dont forget to smile

Welcome to the Hotel California

As I cross into California and prepare to go through another border patrol security check I am greeted by the sounds of The Eagles saying 'you may check out any time you like, but you may never leave.' It may be one thing if this were the only time on day one in California I heard this, however it was the first of three...thats right 3! Im wondering what kind of a tone that sets for my life here in SoCal? I could take the time to get all deep here and tell you where my mind wandered to while listening to this song...but Im going to challenge you to play it, on vinyl if possible, or while driving in a car with the windows down and make a journal entry of where this song takes your mind.

The landscape is beautiful, as you start to leave the desert the mountains change all sorts of crazy shapes and then fade into green rolling hills that look as though they have been painted on canvas and hung to dry. A quick trip to Oceanside to meet up for lunch with C turns into dinner at Chilis with he and two other marines, which rolls into shopping at a local bookstore for greek mythology and art books, onto the cinema to see LEGION-which was crazy! go watch the trailer and ended in me staying on base at Camp Pendleton for the night. ( I hadnt been able to get ahold of Sam til after C and I met up, so I didnt want to chance sleeping in my car for no reason.) I had no problem with this until this morning when I go to leave and like ten uniformed guys are standing on the balcony watching me leave...Im sure assuming the worst, but sorry to disappoint boys-nothing happened except two old friends, and two new ones, hanging out! Or maybe they were watching because its against the rules to have guests stay the night in the barracks, and were upset they hadnt found a way around this sooner, whatever. This was my first time being on a base in years and since it was after midnight when we all got back last night, you couldnt really take anything in, so on the ride out I made sure to take in all the sights and sounds. Its so weird, it is its own little community with restaurants, stores, movies, schools, and more. Im curious what it would be like to call a place like this home. Reminds me of Celebration, FL but with guns and tanks and stuff.

Drove up I-5 to LA. Checked out Sams digs, walked around Hollywood, which is where they live and have been taking up location at a Starbucks (thanks in large part to Alison, Oliver, Charlotte and Chloes farewell gift :) To my left, outside on the patio, there are two chess games going on. One between a 12 year old boy and and 85 year old man, who is no association the child. the other between two 30 something friends who are discussing and debating each and every move. To my right a late 20s guy, in a gray muscle shirt, tight jeans and old skool aasics, has taken seat right next to me and is nose deep in "youll see it when you believe it...the way to your personal transformation." Based on his grunts and laughter some parts are very funny, some enlightening, and some deeply sad. Hes now talking to his mama about upcoming auditions and getting some good support, which is nice. I wish him the best in transforming his life. Directly in front of me a young girl is losing herself in a Nora Roberts book, and Im thinking she may want to continue reading behind closed doors...if you get my drift. A Strapping young lad is now reciting the paly 'Snakebit' to himself, Im asuming in an attempt to land a part soon? His lips are moving passionately as he tries to keep from flailing his arms while acting out the part. Its actually really fun to watch him step in and out of character, at times completely forgetting there are other people in the room.

In a city that is filled with people moving too fast to look around, it is nice to see a mix of young and old taking time to play games, read, relax, be with friends and push the pause button, even if only for a moment. Just two blocks from the Sunset-Grower Studios you are nearing Hollywood and Vine, an area filled with tourists and people en route to somewhere else. But here the locals and transplants alike are mingling and chillin.

And oh my goodness I think I just officially saw the most beautiful white man of my life...if you took Portlands Johnny V( i think thats the one-plays bass, was CYY) and Justin Timberlake (circa the blonde curly nsync days) mixed them together, stretched him to about 5'11" medium build, aged him to about 35, gave him a soul patch-beard thing, vintage leather jacket, cowboy boots, tight but not too tight jeans, and topped it off with a smile with just the slightest scar above his top lip (after all, you all know how I like myself a little physical imperfection-usually hockey nose or Dermott Mulroney style lips) which when he flashes it, weakens the knees, melts minds and breaks hearts, that would be this man-god I was just had the pleasure of meeting.

Extremely random blog about nothingness in California after days of not blogging is a good start, right? Im off to hook up with Sam and Anthony and cant wait to see what the first night in the Hollywood Hills brings. I think it may bring rain...and who knows maybe even a lil thunder and lightning *insert picture of me flexing here* :)

Oh and lastly a quote from last nights movie, Legion:

"If you were to not wake up in the morning, if today were your last day on earth, would you be proud of what you had done and the person you were? If the answer is no you better start living right..." Or something like that.

Don't forget to smile

J

More cowbell

Or how about more water towers. You know when you are in the south because each town fights to have the biggest most impressive and well decorated water tower.

Arrived in Wilmington, technically Monkey Junction, around 730 last night and was greeted by a fabulous hug from Cath-a-leen-ie. It poured the entire way to her place but then miraculously was gorgeous as I closed in on Carolina Beach. I got to check out the Lion Head Zoo, which as its name states, is a zoo in which you must walk through a giant lions head to enter the double wide building that hosts the zoo...only in the south. A wrong turn and some back tracking and I arrive at the massive complex Cat calls home. As I walk into the apartment I am greeted by friendly faces on the wall...some of which are me...doing ridiculous things. This sparks great stories and a long trip memory lane. No time is wasted though I change in the parking lot...from the soaked flannel to a lovely TWLOHA Tshirt...thought id dress up a bit. I realized I hadnt eaten much since the yummy oats and nectar at Sophs, but I did have some mushrooms and dried apricots as i crossed the state line, and thats it. So my belly had a few choice words for me, prompting me to eat an apple and a Fresca.

We drove to Front Street. Which has a similar feel to parts of the Old Port, but with less drinking establishments and more trendy hangout spots. One of my faves is the Soapbox, but sadly there was no live music on this night. We opted to check out a cave underground that moonlights as a storage facility for old games...which you must be 21 to play. I got really excited when the sign outside was advertising Jenga and CORNHOLE! Cathleen had never played and I hadnt played since Opa Fest (during the Greek Fest) this summer in Portland. Although the entrance made you feel like you were walking into a werewolves lair, once inside the vibe was so chill. Amazing art by many artists hung on the wall, there was a secrets and lies wall-similar to the post secret idea, Jenga, checkers, operation, cornhole and more. Sadly there was no Guess Who!

Cat and I had an audience as we flung bags of corn around and were eventually challenged to a game by some homeboys newly based at the Air Force base in Greensboro(?) After much trash-talking from both sides, the end result was a tie...which of course couldnt happen so it was a sudden death shoot out. the dude who had yet to score a point, got 2 in the hole! Not impressed, well I mean really I was, but I dont like losing. We shook hands gracefully, posted some secrets on the wall, said goodbye to the random penguin, took some pics and went to get some sweet potato fries at Hells Kitchen. My oh my what an ordeal it was just to get fries. All we wanted were fries!! Met a college basketball coach who had some big money on the game, dude who vacations in Denmark, ME- and was wearing the shirt to prove it, and a zoologist who was convinced Cathleen and I had to save the local watershed...I think he had too much jungle juice at dinner.

After arriving back at the digs I unrolled the faithful chair bed, or FnF if you will, that has hosted many a guest. and on Alex Roys great advice I slept with my head on the soft part...thanks Alex! If I were you Id race the boys up to get to the fnf first too. Slept 4 hours and am now getting ready to drive 6 to catch up with Tasha, and am so excited to meet baby boy Owen...whos now 5!

Pics still to come.
thanks for reading this installment of the great adventure of 2010!
Have a lovely day

Splendora!

What a whirlwind of a trip its already been. After leaving Philly Sophi and I met up with a friend in the cute little downtown of Warrenton, VA to have $1 tacos at the Main Street grill. After our severe pizza throwdown last night we couldnt eat much but grapes and bread for breakfast but then I realized how much of a champ S is when she ate an entire quesadilla and fries when i struggled with chicken tacos. Walked around downtown, found an old kitchen thats now exposed to the outside world with angel and gargoyle statues guarding it, took some pics, said goodbye to M then trucked on to Charlottesville.

We arrived to find that S's car was still in tact, even though a very rough dream had warned the only things to remain may be her tires, axle and Obama sticker. Inside we found most of the House of Dimes was home. Let me take a minute to describe this HOD. From the outside it looks like just another white house attached to a new apartment building...?! But once you step inside (on any other occasion but today due to some recent remodeling) you are pleasantly surprised. Walk into the kitchen which doubles as a hall to the first of 10 housemates room, B, is an extremely creative and fashion forward designer who makes most of his own clothes. Back through the kitchen, turn left to find some amazing paintings and other artwork done by the residents here...they were each given one week and specific colors to create and sort of design and although each cheated just slightly by adding one maybe two colors, the end result is a wonderful wall collage that is the spark to many conversations. Sophi has this wonderful ability of painting flowers so realistic they look like they were dried and glued on, Mikes scene of a Sahara sunset looks like something straight out of Africa, Stephanies face is gorgeous and Brendens windblown silhouette is beautiful. St comes out just as we are looking at these paintings, a fellow architect, she has this cool laid back, feel about her...a few hours from now she will be making buffalo wings for A in a cute little nighty...and really what better homecoming for her beau.... Pass a few more bedrooms and you enter the back entry fully equipped with antique craigslist find bar, mirrored walls, bright lights, old maps of the city and crazy cool drop lighting that leads you upstairs to yet more rooms and more housemates to meet. B and W looked especially handsome as they pregame for the UVA bball game, S room is a sanctuary, a place to calm and relax with more tranquility than most spaces allow. I do especially love the fairy wings in relation to Trex figurines. Another A is in the kitchen evaluating the amount of time and energy to redo the redo. I should note that this reconstruction I am soon to mention was brought on by the owners of the property and not the tenants, as Im sure it would have gone much differently if so. There was an attempt at some pretty severe redecorating during vaca...an attempt that seems pretty badly planned and unfinished. If we lived in cartoon world, Taz would have been the previous houseguest. Both kitchens were changed a bit...downstairs they added a washer/dryer which is so great, but now there is no storage. Upstairs they ripped apart the kitchen to add cabinets and counter space, but was so awkwardly done that there are now only 2 1' counters and 2 high liquor cabinets that dont utilize the space of the wall. S spent some time reorganizing, and did a great job reconfiguring the table, storage and misc. items. I think once some open shelves are put in and possibly the fridge door is switched itll be much more workable. Another fun thing we discovered is that the ceiling caved in on one of the downstairs bathrooms. Each floor has one large and one small bathroom, the large bathroom upstairs had a burst pipe that was unknown and finally showed itself by demolishing the ceiling of the bathroom below, leaving a nice sludge for K to clean up.

After settling in and greeting everyone with lots of hugs and OMG's, S, St and I decided to walk through UVA to downtown for some Splendora and possibly a lil Hookah. It was fairly warm so the walk was lovely but we soon realized a restroom was needed which had us wandering the halls and grounds of locked buildings for about 20 minutes. Once we powdered our noses it was off to the trolley stop, which turned out to be the 7 bus to downtown. SPLENDORA is this cute little gelatto shop with about 25 different flavors for your sampling. you can take a 2 minute tour of out back if you so choose...we opted to just dish it out. Pistachio, Mango and Pumpkin were mine, S got Salted Caramel, Mexican Coffee and Maple, St got pear, pumpkin and another. St peaced out to get groceries for her late night buffalo party...S and I went to the top of a parking garage to take photos and talk about the history of Cville, which is really interesting. Oh and the story of how UVA came to be...so cool, thanks Soph. Checked out the ampitheater where Alanis played, stopped by the hookah bar but there was a big cover, due to live music, and only about an hour left so we stopped by the Jefferson and another music venue before returing to the HOD. Trolley dropped us at the fallic lighthouse and we hoofed it up to the house. Soph organized I read and facebooked for a minute. OH and I have to mention that S is going to live on a boat with Travis in Puerto Rico soon....and we may start a hotel with Richie and Abi, so she is getting rid of most material possessions which means Steph and I were gifted with a ton of S stuff. I am crazy happy and so thankful that S gave me an entire new record collection with...wait for it...Bob Marley, Sage Francis, Modest Mouse, Apathy, Beatles, Joni Mitchell and so much more. SO AMAZING! I had left all my records at home for the trip, but brought my portable record player, so this is so cool. I also received a new pair of cowboy boots and the fairy wings that adorned the wall. Its like Christmas x10.

After a sharing of dreams we had breakfast of oatmeal and nectarines...Ive never had syrup on my oats and have to say its quite yummy. Hung out in the cute little breakfast nook upstairs, which is two walls of windows that overlook the street. Now S is reading 'Families we choose' which talks about the legal rights of gay parents, and im blogging. St got more groceries to make homemade mac and cheese for her outing with A's mom. I wanted to leave at noon, its now past 1 and I need to get myself in gear.

Hopefully pics will be on here soon. Off to stop #3

Motownphilly back again...

First day of road trip/epic cross country move went different than expected but was spent with great company. On a day when the plan was to leave at 9am Sophi and I ended up leaving Maine at 230pm. I suppose that is what I get for packing the night before and morning I plan to move cros country. Mom and Dad all but pushed me out the door, and I dont even live there, I think they are viewing this as some trip and ill be back in a week or two because all Big Momma kept saying was 'have fun on your trip sweetie.' No 'Good luck, youll do great, blah blah blah.' I know they love me, but it was the strangest goodbye to date. Stopped in Providence to give Woody a lil sisterly love and take back my guitar he decided to steal on his last trip home. Happily surprised that he decided to restring it for me. Met his boss and some of the lil kiddos he plays basketball with. Another stop at the Vince Lombardi truck stop for a soft pretzel, which their was only one of...and we were off to Killadelphia. Arrived around 1130 to Richies house, danced in the street with Abs for a min then straight to Jae's. I love Jae, truly, but the dude put Sophi and I in his roomies room for the night, stating it was available because the dude had moved out, oh but wait we definitely woke up to some dude wanting to sleep in his bed, and it was taken. So we packed up, I made breakfast for the gang...banana bread, grapes, orange juice with mangoes and chocolate milk and Soph and I are both online on Jaes comfy bed. Shes gathering directions for the next leg of the trip and Im attempting to blog. We are also practicing spanish with Cesar, and planning to move to Puerto Rico and open a resort. Sophi is going to lead horse trips, Trav will lead scuba trips, Abs will manage the hotel, Cesars doing the web design and PR, Ill do interior decorating, photography and childcare. Off to eat the food, I think we may stop in DC to hang out with Obama for lunch then spending the night rocking out to Lady Gaga at the House of Dimes.

Attempt #4 at blog #1

Okay so I have messed up two blogs now and am reposting from another...I may be the worst blogger to date...

Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go

I wanna be sedated!

It is just before noon the day before departure, and I have a ridiculous amount of stuff to do. Getting the golden nugget worked on in a few hours- new wipers, alignment, oil change and god only knows what else. After that is taken care of it is home to the rents to unload the car of all camp stuff and repack with traveling gear and California bound items. Oh and did I mention I have to leave room for Soph and her stuff, bah. Itll all work out for sure, and I have always performed best under pressure.

I am so excited to travel for a bit with Soph, spend time with Abs and Cesar in Philly, and really just to see what the road has in store for me.

As I write this, I am listening to a song being written...about compost. I am going to miss this place more than I realized. It has been a wonderful experience and I feel blessed to have met, worked, laughed and lived with all the amazing folks this fall.

Okay time to officially give up my room in the Stone House.

More to come soon...