It's not all smog and pixie dust over here.

I just realized that my 'you know you're from LA when' was totally depressing. So I would like to add some things that I adore about my new city, things that make me want to wrap the whole metropolis up in a big hug and let it seep into my veins. In no particular order...

1. I drive by the Hollywood sign on my way to work.

2. There are hills! And I can drive up and down them! I would like to specifically recommend Baxter Street in Echo Park.

3. I live 2 blocks from a yummy Indian restaurant.

4. People here get their daily vitamin D from the sun, so people are friendly.

5. Going for a walk outside can happen 360 days a year.

6. I can walk to the Griffith Observatory.

7. If there's a specialty store for it, it's usually no more than 5 miles away.

8. It's hard to decide which yoga place to go to.

9. I'm no longer percieved as crazy liberal, but just normal.

10. Humidity does not happen.

11. FOLIAGE. LA is a living tribute to all things floral and green.

12. You can dress however you want on any day of the year, and fit right in.

13. When it's 9am in Michigan and the teachers over there are starting 2nd hour, my alarm clock is just going off.

14. Pacific Ocean. Enough said.


15. Not everyone is fake, like some would lead you to believe.

16. You can watch a TV show, run to the grocery store afterward and potentially run into someone you just saw on the screen.

17. No salty roads.

18. No frostbite.

19. 92 different languages spoken here every day.

20. You can catch a great band most any night of the week.

21. I live a block from a place called "Nature Mart".

Celebrity Sighting #1

First of all, I should mention that I am not cool. I spent most of my life assuming that if I ever met or saw a celebrity or anyone of importance that I would either pretend to ignore them completely, smile possibly say something witty, or not recognize them at all because I really don't see a lot of movies or watch much TV.

Boy was I wrong.

R and I went to a friend's birthday party, and had a great time listening to said friend's band. Afterward we were hanging out on the sidewalk chatting with friends, when someone incredibly tiny walked by. She was wearing black, and I detected wispy blond hair and bubbly cheeks kind of like I had when I was younger. Did I mention she was tiny? That was the first thing that got me thinking "maybe that's like an actress or something".

So what do I do? No no, I didn't discreetly look to see who it was. That would have fallen under the "cool" category, which I do not belong to. Nope, I had to be the one who, without thinking, got up on tiptoe and leaned over the people I was with to see who it was. Said person caught me leaning and staring, and abruptly darted the other direction, as anyone being leered at would do. This was my second clue that she was probably someone noted. Sure enough, half an hour later, I keep hearing "did you see her too? She was here, I swear!" And I had to be the idiot gawking from the sidewalk.

I hope I get better at this.

I'm caught between two worlds...

I only put the ones that apply to me. Most of you will only find humor in half this list. Sorry. You know you're from Michigan When... "Vacation" means going to Cedar Point. At least 1 member of your family disowns you the week of the Michigan/Michigan State game. Half the change in your pocket is Canadian... eh! Your idea of a traffic jam is 40 cars waiting to pass an orange barrel. You know how to play (and pronounce) Euchre. It's easy to get VERNORS ginger ale and Sanders hot fudge sauce, and Faygo pop. You know how to pronounce "Mackinac". You've had to switch on the "heat" and the "A/C" in the same day. You bake with SODA and drink a POP. The word "thumb" has geographical, rather than anatomical significance. You show people where you grew up by pointing to a spot on your right hand. Traveling coast-to-coast means driving from Port Huron to Muskegon. When giving directions, you refer to "A Michigan Left". You know that Kalamazoo not only exists, but isn't that far from Hell. Your year has 2 seasons: Winter and Construction. You believe that "down south" means Toledo.

You know you're from Los Angeles When...

You’re driving on the 101 and see a clear cut definition of where the smog begins and ends.

You go to the beach and see that real lifeguards actually do look like the lifeguards from Baywatch.

You begin to “lie” to your friends about where you are (i.e. “Yeah I’m like 20 minutes away”) when you know that it’ll take you at least an hour to get there).

You eat a different ethnic food for every meal.

You look around at the nice cars around you during traffic, thinking it’ll be your favorite Laker or WB star.

You know it’s best not to be on the 405 at 4:05 pm.

Getting anywhere from point A to point B, no matter what the distance, takes about “twenty minutes”.

You’ve inadvertently learned Spanish.

You know what “sigalert”, “PCH”, and “the five” mean.

Your TV show is interrupted by a police chase.

You know someone named Freedom, Rainbow, Persephone or Destiny.

You think that Venice is a beach.

You drive next to a Rolls Royce and don’t notice.

Calling your neighbors requires knowing their area code.

You have a favorite Thai restaurant.

When giving directions , you follow up with the phrase: “With/Without traffic.”

It is not unusual for your waitress at a restaurant to have blue streaked hair, a dragon tattoo and tounge piercing.

Walking out of Jamba Juice, you see that a movie is being shot on-location across the street.

You have to yell at your bank teller through a 2 inch thick wall of plexi-glass.

You know that not everyone in Beverly Hills is a millionaire.

The guy at 8:30 in the morning at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney IS George Clooney.

It’s sprinkling and there’s a report on every news station about “STORM WATCH ‘99″