20 January 2006

and it begins


yes. this is me in my car. driving with all my things to california. this is actually day three in arizona. amazing how you can learn to drive without the ability to see out your rear view mirror (had to learn that in my corsica b/c the rear mirror kept falling off due to poor shocks + missouri roads) or your back side windows.

stayed with friends in pasadena last night (thanks gail & chris). moved into my basement in burbank this morning. currently sitting on the floor, keyboard on a short stool, monitor on two boxes, phone cord from my landlady's bedroom, down the stairs to my pc. classy set up. :)

can i talk about traffic now? wow. first off - driving for three days, little neo holding together well, loving the 75mph in nm & az. i get to the I-15 in cali. everyone's going around 75mph in the mountains - three, four lanes of traffic, large semis, DOWN, like a roller coaster. #1 problem - the scenery is gorgeous & i'm dying to look out the window, but thankfully understand that to do so would actually kill me. #2+ - 75/80mph! 3/4 lanes! semis! survived that only to arrive in los angeles traffic. the 210 isn't even the worst, but boy it can keep your heart rate up. i think it's generally five lanes and everywhere, people drive like they're being chased. my friend donna said people don't often get pulled over for tickets in la, which surprised me - but now i see why. there's no way you can concentrate on getting where you need to go, not killing people, and staying within the speed limit.

today it was a bit easier once i unpacked my car and could utilize all of my windows. but still. i feel like as soon as i start moving in the car, my hands are locked to the steering wheel and i'm singing a mantra of directions in my head, so i don't have to try to look at my paper. survived the 405 twice today to hang out with my friend john. on the way home, everything was grand until there wasn't a recognizable exit. pretty much doubled my return time, going in circles mere minutes from my house. and then, the street parking that is supposed to be so available? apparently not at 11:30pm, or at least not when an airport van is parked outside your house. so got to park a block or so away.

but. it's gorgeous here. smells good. i'm right by the mountains. there's an orange tree in my front yard. and there's still so much to see.

10 comments:

  1. Yay! You made it!

    I will certainly be a regular reader, provided you're a regular poster. Can't wait to learn of all you adventures.

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  2. yessss! i made it into the blog. i'm basically famous now, aren't i?

    first, please tell me that you weren't actually driving when you took that picture.

    second, i LOVE california traffic. it's an adventure every time you drive. :)

    TIP-if you want to "sound" like a californian, call them freeways...not highways, like we do in kansas.

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  3. hurrah for arriving safe and sound! and orange trees and mountains! i the rented minivan once while we were in LA and i felt like i was in the fast and the furious. but hey, i bet within a few weeks you will be saying things like, traffic?? what traffic? , reading a script and sipping a coffee all while zooming down the "freeways"!

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  4. "free love on the free love freeway". (david brent) so glad you arrived safely & you can start to settle in! your place sounds great. we need to plan a trip to see you soon!

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  5. freakin' awesome!

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  6. i must say the zippy nature of my neon has come in handy often. :)

    and yes, donna, i was driving. i actually took a lot of photos and even some video with my digital camera whilst driving. there were a few times when i even thought - oh, donna wouldn't like this. but now i have them for posterity, so it's okay. :)

    and kerry - can you bring david brent with you for a visit?

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  7. get to work!!

    just kidding. enjoy the sun and don't let your first week go by without getting to the beach.

    but seriously...get to work.

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  8. A few things: 1. I'm imagining you out there in Cali this morning. What are you doing on a Saturday, I wonder? Where do you start when you're at the begninng? Sounds like you've made a good start so far.
    2. Love your sunglasses in the picture. I've had a hard time finding ones that are stylish w/0 being too stylish, that don't slide off my nose, and that don't convexly warp everything you see.
    3. I hope you will visit the "Mac" museum and send me a postcard. And tell the bed bugs in the hostel hello for me. Excited to read about all your adventures. Wow this is long. Sorry.

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  9. you are so cute!!!!! have i ever told you i like you???

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  10. I thought for sure you had stopped to take hose scenic photos (well, except for the obviously blurry one). I admit, I had to ask myself, if I would stop, but I figured that you reasoned, "I'm going to be on the road for 3 days, what's a few moments for memories?" I suppose you can drive and make memories all at the same time. Talented you.

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