Wander Life

Something Fishy

Well, I thought I should start out by showing the pictures of the rest of my apartment (since, as my sister pointed out, it appears from my earlier two picts as though I have no place for clothes...or a bathroom).  So, here are those:

Ok, so, now you've seen it all: my home.  I've also found this pretty sweet canyon near by with running trails, so maybe I'll have to include those picts sometime to give you more of a feel for the area.

But, now, as I'm getting a little more settled in, my life is beginning to consist of more than just my office and apartment, so I actually have some pictures of "the outside" for ya.  Today I went to the acquarium in Long Beach with a friend from work and got to pet the sting rays and all that.  A good time was had by all (especially since in the month of September if you work for a non-profit, you get in free...and, as we all know, a free good time is the best kind of all).  : ) 

So, here are some pictures of that: sting rays, cool bright fish and this crazy seahorse thing.  Pretty amazing creatures down there in the deep blue sea, ay? If it weren't for the sharks, I may even want to visit sometime.  (But that's a big "if" since I really do have an immense irrational fear of them - "Jaws" pretty much scarred me for life.)  Anyway, without further ado, here's your mini-tour of the Long Beach Acquarium.  Enjoy!

 

 

The Weekend Wrap

Well, I made it - made it through a weekend of moving in, a week of work, a weekend of weddinging it up in Arkansas, and then another week of work.  All to arrive here: my first day of not having to wake up for anything in particular.  Sure, I have lots to do still, but, on my first non-schedule-filled weekend here, I'm taking full advantage of it.  I slept in, surfed the 'net (which is happily working at the moment), stayed in my pajamas till noon drinking coffee, went for a run in an uncharacteristic (but very welcomed...by me) down pour and then made (and ate) pretty much the best wrap ever (which consisted of a sundried tomato basil tortilla, mayo, deli mustard, sliced turkey, pepper, craisins, walnut pieces, lettuce, bean sprouts and bleu cheese crumbles - washed down with a carmel latte; I know, it was almost too much goodness...I think my sandwich skills are really going to thrive here and will start expanding into the wrap genre; mostly out of necessity, of course, since I have virtually no other cooking skills...).

So, now I'm happily rested, exercised, watered and fed and thought I'd post a few pictures of my place, now that it's in a semi-presentable state.

Kitchen:

Living Room (aka the bedroom):

...Ok, now I'm off to run errands and enjoy the rest of my rainy southern California day.  I should have taken a picture of my wrap, I guess (would have gone nicely with the title), but...I scarfed it down too quickly.  Maybe next time.  : )  Till then, have a great weekend!      

Goodbyes, Hellos, and a Little Rock Wedding (with a tarantula, to boot)

Well, there are a lot of things I have plenty of - plenty to catch people up on; plenty of pictures to get uploaded; plenty of e-mails to write; plenty of boxes yet to unpack; plenty of moving logistics still to take care of (changing my address, changing my license, etc); plenty of new faces to get to know (new co-workers, new neighbors, new fellow daily commuters); plenty of freeways to become familiar with (I have never seen so many freeways in my life as in SoCal); plenty to learn about my new job; and, in general, plenty of changes in my life and routine to get accustomed to. 

But one thing I don't seem to have plenty of is...time.  So desperate for a chance to run, eat, or, at least, sleep was I the other day, in fact, that when I came out of Target and found a flier on my windshield advertising a "will do your chores (like grocery shopping and laundry)" agency that I actually considered calling.  But then it would have just been one more thing to add to the to-do list, so I scrapped the idea.  But still, just to consider it seems pretty pathetic on my part.  I certainly wouldn't mind having my Chinese cleaning lady here, though....

Anyway, hopefully, that helps explain the tardiness of this post.  I'm sure things will settle down soon, and I'll get settled in and can start relaying more detailed happenings.  But, as it is, I'm pretty much just going to give a mad recap of the last two weeks, throw in a bunch of pictures, and call it good for now.  Hope this can appease you for a bit.  : )

So, first some picts of saying my goodbyes (again).  My dad and I left Sept. 5th to drive the 15 hours from Brush Prairie, Washington, to Pasadena, California.

   

Then, once we arrived, my dad and I set to taking my apartment from this to this:

Not that it has arrived, obviously.  Still lots of work to do (one of those "plenties" I was talking about), but when I get it more situated, I'll try to put up some more picts.  There really is a lot I could write about my neighborhood (I like it a lot, so far), but suffice it to say for now that I'm enjoying my little studio above the coffee shop.

And, lastly, some pictures from this past weekend, during which time, my friend, Greta, got married in Little Rock.  I was thankful that it worked out for me to go 'cause, well, I think anyone who can commit to getting married deserves to have their friends come out and support 'em.  : ) 

Greta's folks, Marj and Bruno, kindly put me up for the two nights I was there, and, one evening, they even made room (temporarily...and unknowingly) for an unexpected visitor...of the eight-legged variety.  Apparently, Arkansas has tarantulas.  I'm told they don't usually make their way into the houses, but this was little comfort to me as it did make its way into the house.  The house where I was staying...and sleeping.  I can only chalk it up to my aforementioned lack of sleep that I was able to close my eyes that night at all.  Tarantulas!  In America!  In the house!!  I'm still getting over the shock...obviously.

Anyway, this, of course, did not detract at all from the merriment of the occasion.  Greta and Grisha got married; the wedding and reception were beautiful; and I successfully navigated the LAX airport.  Hoorah!  : )  So, here, then, are the picts:

   

Yikes, ay?  I know.

Anyway, that should do for now.  Have a great week, everybody!  Hopefully, I'll check back in sooner than in two weeks this time.  Hopefully....

California, Cooking & Cats

Well, first off, my brother and sister-in-law's cat had two kittens.  One is pictured here.  (It's the one in the middle.)  My niece may not be sure what to think of them, but I think they're kinda cute.  I mean, they're kittens - they're supposed to be cute, right?  I think it's pretty much a prerequisite to their existence.

And, in other news, my trip to Cali went well.  The purpose was to find an apartment, and that I did.  So...success.  I also got to hang out with ECHO-days friend Daphne, which was a nice bonus.  Turns out, I'll be living about three miles from her, so...more larks to come, I'm sure.  And it's an easy commute to work, and, seeing as how I'll be living near LA, that's nothing to sniff at....  When I get it all set up, I'll take some picts and send out the invite for peeps to come and visit. 

And lastly, my sister-in-law (Sarah, who conveniently is also a friend) had the clever idea of having a cooking party with our other friend, Emily.  I'm no great cook, but I do know what some Asian dishes are supposed to taste like, so...I made a good taste-tester.  : )  We made dumplings and chai tea and spring rolls and sauces and such.  Figured if I can't be in China, the next best thing is to eat like I am, right?

So, here are some pictures from that.  I'm not sure if I'll write  again before driving down to Pasadena on Wednesday, but, if not, I'll let y'all know how it goes.  Until then, happy holiday.  Eat well.  : )