snow and bus and snow and bus snowbus.

This morning I got up at 9:00am, which is early for me, because I had to go to Pioneer Square to interview a photographer for Redefine.

Went to the bus stop at 9:30am. Bus was supposed to come at 9:37am. It did not. Then it was supposed to come around 9:50am. It did not. Then it was supposed to come around 10:05am. It did not. I left. A bus finally shows up around 10:12am, so I run back down the hill, flailing my arms towards the bus. It drives on past the six people waiting at the bus stop (and my flailing self). I turn around and decide to drive downtown, even though driving is something I have been trying my best to avoid as of late. Failure this time. Failure, King County Metro. Perhaps there was traffic, or perhaps the bus drivers got snowed in (yes, it snowed in Seattle last night — enough to stick, in fact). Whatever. Whichever.

The interview itself went fine, although the photographer was not the quickest on-the-fly thinker, and therefore he loathed his answers and told me immediately afterwards that not only did he hate talking about himself, but he regretted having said yes to the interview and would have preferred to have done it over e-mail. -__- He asked me, “How long until you put it up?” and I said, “A week or so,” to which he responded, “I guess that doesn’t give you enough time to find a new interview, then.” That’s how much he loathed it. Intense! I think after he reads it, though, he’ll feel better about it. I also gave him the option of looking at the article and editing it accordingly over e-mail. So hopefully he’ll be satisfied with that.

mock trials!!! and i have a job!!!

So, this is going to be a really quick post. Man, I really need to catch up on my Los Angeles’ trip’s journal entries, but I’m slow as crap and have been busy these days building my portfolio and crappola. What would I do with a journal if I didn’t type as atrociously fast as I do right now?!!!

Click here to view my portfolio!
(It’s still somewhat under construction.)

Anyway, this morning, I went to downtown Seattle to go to a mock trial. Sometimes law firms put together mock trials to judge how successful certain cases will be, and whether they should be in fact brought to trial. This particular one I went to, even though I can’t divulge specifics about it, was AWESOME. Man, I wish I could do more of those things. I got paid $75 for like 3 hours and then an additional $22 for parking (of which I only used $3.75, since I took the bus there! I don’t know who charges $22 for parking anyways?!).

But yeah, it was really fun. Finally, I get to participate in something similar to jury duty, which I never ever fooking get called for. Godamnit. Anyway, the whole process made me feel like a freaky genius because basically, they had us go around before they gave us all the facts and told us to decide which side we were on — the plaintiff’s or the defendant’s. I chose the plaintiff because of Reason A, and I was the only one, and it turned out that Reason A was like the freaking crux of the whole case and made alllll the difference. And there were a few other points I brought up that no one else brought up, and yeah, I felt like a freaky genius.

And then Americorps called me and told me I finally have a job, even though it entails receiving a weak amount of money per month: $949. But I’ll qualify for food stamps, so that’s nice. It’s ghetto, though, but whatever. It’s a way of getting into non-profit when I don’t have any experience, and I can earn a $4,700 education award at the end of it, that I can use towards well, a Masters of Social Work if I decide that’s what I want to do, or a teaching certificate, or design classes. So really, it’s all goot. Here’s my job descrip:

“The Community Coordinator (CC) will have an opportunity to serve the Renton community by helping at-risk youth in public schools while developing skills in program management, volunteer management, and community outreach. The CC will be able to help CISR support youth as they develop skills to succeed academically, joining a unique community-wide movement that supports school success to build a better future for public school students, their families, and the Renton community. This position reports to CISR’s Mentor Program Manager, who supervises daily performance and activities. CISR’s Executive Director will oversee VISTA position and overall experience with the program. Specific responsibilities include: recruitment, orientation, and training for all volunteer mentors; Mentor-Mentee matches; Monitor and provide on-going support to ensure program success; data collection/analysis processes; Assist with annual field trip event; Help grow Mentor Program volunteer base.”

hockey! and a mini trip to langley!

On Friday evening, I went with Josh, Regina, and Josh’s cousin to a hockey game in Kent. I guess Kent built a new stadium, right down the street of where I used to work in Kent! Hadn’t been down there in FOREVER. Josh’s parents are fucking awesome and fed me yummy salmon with pineapple salsa on top. Then we went to the game, and hockey is a sport I’ve always liked, but MAN IS IT AWESOME. It is awesome. Fast-paced, exciting, awesome.

Saturday, Lenny and I went to Langley for their annual Murder Mystery Festival. Bought a bag full of books for $5. Very exciting. And also wandered around their other shops a lot, and submitted our answer. Got it wrong. Sadly. The next day, when I woke up, the first thing that came to mind was the fact that I for sure got the answer wrong, and that was not so pleasant. What came to mind briefly was another lady, and she turned out to be the one who committed the murder! Oh well, though. God damn the brain works in strange ways.

necesito buscar tiempo.

AH! I need to find time to update my blog because there is soooo much to write about my trip to Los Angeles this past week. FINDING TIME FINDING TIME FINDING TIME FINDING TIME… hopefully finding time day is tomorrow, although the logical breakdown of my schedule for tomorrow leads me to deduce that tomorrow will not be finding time day. Tragic tragicness.

That being said, it’s 2:15am and I’ve just done a buncha new crap to the Redefine website, which is actually getting love these days. Also, I’ve been doing a fuckload of Rosetta Stone’s Spanish program. Thus far, I am on Level 1, Unit 3, Lesson 4, and have not really learned anything. There are three Levels. I don’t feel like I’ll be fluent by the end of the three levels. Rofls. (Granted I am skipping a lot because it’s going over a ton of shit I already know.) The mic is also very frustrating because it’s not so accurate.

Yesterday, I had an Americorps job interview, which I think I did good on, and may get, but I was late to the place an hour and a half! Haha! Finding it was fucking impossible. And it will require a commute to Renton. But shit, a commute to Renton is a fuckload better than a commute to Tacoma. I hope I get it. Then I can do stuff.

i hate you, united.

I take an average of at least 10 flights a year — the majority of which are on United. Out of these United flights I’ve taken, 60% have been problematic in the last year, but it’s been okay, because they have been somewhat tolerable… slight delays here and there, adverse weather conditions beyond the airline’s control, etc. I have been forgiving. I have continued to fly United.

This time you guys have really mad me angry, however.

I booked a ticket through your website months before my trip from Seattle to Los Angeles. As I was going to fly from Los Angeles back to Seattle on February 17th, 2009, I ran into TONS of problems. My flight was at 8:17am. I arrived at 7:00am, with plenty of time to spare.

7:00am
I wanted in the line for self-check-in, because ALL the sign said was, “Self-Check-In & eTickets”. The line was HUGE, but moved fast. After waiting for 10 minutes, however, a United worker finally announced that this particular line, despite the unclear sign, was only for people who wanted to self-check-in with eTickets AND had baggage.

7:15am
So I moved to the line that was just six United self-check-in kiosks, with NO workers present. That was the “Self-Check-In” line. I brought with me my credit card so I could check myself in, like I ALWAYS do. My credit card was not enough. It couldn’t find my itinerary.

7:25am
I obtained my Mileage Plus Number by calling a friend, thinking that would make the difference. It didn’t.

7:30am
I obtained my Confirmation Number by calling back that same friend, because those numbers usually make the difference. It didn’t, though. My Confirmation Number, coupled with my credit card, was STILL not enough for me to check-in. Take a note from Southwest or Alaska or ANYONE, United. Your machines are ALWAYS slow, faulty, and terrible.

7:35am
So, I sought help, and went to the line where there was a sign saying, “Special Services.” Five other people waited in line for me, when I finally realized that even though the “Special Services” sign was played in a certain line, that line was really the line for odd-sized baggage. This was after waiting 10 minutes in a non-moving line. I was not the only confused one. Everyone was confused. I got out of that line before other people did, and they had to be told by a United worker who came by that the line was not for “Special Services,” but for “Odd-Sized Baggage.”

7:45am
I went to the line next to that line, since I figured the “Special Services” was THIS line. It turned out that this line was NOT the line. THERE ARE NO SIGNS ANYWHERE, OR IF THERE ARE, THEY’RE COMPLETELY *WRONG*.

7:50am
I finally asked a worker which line I should go to. Of course, she pointed at yet another line with NO SIGN, because you folks at United are absolutely INCOMPETENT. There were 7 lines, and first off, they are not in NUMERICAL order, and go from 3 to 1 to 2 to 7 to 6 or whoever knows what else. How stupid is that??? Then, despite the fact they’re in the wrong order, they’re not even in the RIGHT place, with some lines having 2 signs or even 3 signs, and others, like this line I was supposedly to get help from, with NO SIGNS AT ALL.

7:55am
I finally talk to a lady at the counter; she asks me where I am going and I say Seattle, and that it’s late. She scoffs at me, saying that the reason I’m going to miss my flight is because I’m late. Which is extremely offensive, and I tell her so, because I’ve been at the airport for an hour already, trying to fuck around with your company’s incompetency, messed up lines, and defunct machines. She tells me she will reschedule me for another flight, which will route me through San Francisco to get to Seattle. I say okay. She puts me on a 10:50am flight to San Francisco with a connecting flight at 1:50 from San Francisco to Seattle. But then she gives me my original Seattle boarding pass, and tells me that if I hurry, I might still be able to make the flight.

8:00am
Get to security, and things go smoothly there, because they’re not as incompetent as the workers at your company.

8:10am
RUN to the gate, which is a good ways away from security.

8:15am
Get to the gate, and oh boy! I’m going to make the flight! It got delayed until 8:55am!!!!! I’m HAPPY!

8:20am
I realize that the boarding passes I have are only the boarding passes to San Francisco. I don’t actually have a boarding pass for the Seattle flight! Oh no! I go to the counter to obtain a boarding pass so I can actually board the flight to Seattle. The worker there tells me that THE FLIGHT TO SEATTLE IS FULL. So basically, the lady who checked me in: 1) Didn’t tell me the flight was delayed; 2) Took me off the flight I was originally scheduled for, scheduled me for another, and still told me to run to the gate to catch a flight I WAS NOT EVEN ON. WHAT THE HELL.

8:25am
The worker at the gate for the Seattle departure tells me that she doesn’t know why they scheduled me on a 10:50am flight to San Francisco, when it was only around 8:25am. She fuddles around for 20 minutes, trying to rebook me on a flight to San Francisco that leaves from Los Angeles at 9:15am. It’s really kind of ridiculous, because I’m going to have to wait no matter WHAT, but I let her do it anyway.

8:55am
Walk/run literally quite a ways so that I can get boarded on the flight because it’s going to board soon. Get to the gate just as they’re starting to board the plane. YAY!

9:00am
OH WAIT. THIS FLIGHT IS DELAYED, TOO! DELAYED UNTIL 11:00am. United, you are untrustworthy and my amount of misery is pretty much unbelievable.

death valley, day two — death valley is the SHIT!

That morning, we got up, and took FOREVER to leave which I was like BLARRGGHHHH about, especially because it became obvious that it was going to rain. Finally, we left.

(Jeanette’s picture.) Right before I was stuffed into this car…

(Jeanette’s picture.) Bye-bye tent!

we headed over to the shop and picked up some supplies. The shop lady told us that we should check with the ranger’s office about road conditions. Luckily, we did go to the ranger’s, and found out that the place I had wanted to go to most — the fucking Playa, where those rocks are that move when no one is watching — is not really accessible unless you have a 4×4 with brand new tires, blahblah. So we couldn’t make it, and the ranger said that since it was kind of raining, it wasn’t a good day to go anyways.

(Jeanette’s picture.) Moving on… first real stop: Devil’s Golf Course!

This scenery is more than words. Ferreal. Never seen anything so freaking crazy. There was also a Devil’s Corn Field, which unfortunately, we didn’t stop by, but it was really kinda cool and well-named, too.

Good ol’ salt and mud and rock!

(Jeanette’s picture.) Next stop: Badwater! Here we are, demonstrating that the water is, indeed, bad.

Cool!

(Jeanette’s picture.) So it was quite cold by this time, and we started walking and walking on this trail that was covered with salt…

We walked and walked and walked and smoked a little weed beforehand, and Matt walked back because he got cold, and Jeanette and I kept walking, but the view never really got all that super exciting, unfortunately. This was the final view. I don’t know if we shoulda kept walking or not, but yeah.

Artist’s Palette, I think. It was a drive-by shooting, this one.

Golden Canyon. Is that asphalt!?!! It sho’ looks like it, sho’ nuff.

(Jeanette’s picture.) So we were walking, and it was cool and all, but finally we see these “trails” that were created by water eroding the rocks, because… well, the rocks were super brittle kinds you can break with your hands. So, we decided to head up the mountain up these “trails”… and it was awesome. Like, a really awesome, strenuous, vertical hike!! Awesome! Matt went up a ways but then stopped, and Jeanette and I went up higher, and then the trail stopped. Because the rock was so brittle, though, there was rubble basically everywhere, and it became quite difficult to go up really high without kicking around rock. but it turned out okay. God forbid a rockslide!

(Jeanette’s picture.) We were lucky — it was raining on and off the whole time, but as we were going on this hike, it stopped!

On the way back down, Matt tried to dig out this big ass rock which was stuck between a bunch of little rocks, and I tried to stop him because that could like kill a person if it went sliding down that whole trail! He wouldn’t stop, though, but then I started walking ahead of him, and then it started raining, and finally he stopped.

After we climbed back down, there was this COOL ASS MUD!!! SO COOL. I stood there photographing it for a long ass time, and Jeanette and Matt went back to the car early and eventually pulled it around to get me. I was obsessed with the mud, really, though. More pics:

Like… seriously. How amazing is that? I’ve never seen something like that. Believe you me. I also poked the hell out of the mud. I poked the hell out of it!!!

Soon, the raindrops were affecting it.

Then we left the park. Without even seeing HALF the park, it was one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen, with all of these different landscapes I’ve never ever seen before.

The sunshine! A beautiful view on the way back!!!

These are all drive-by shots!

(Jeanette’s picture.) Me sleeping, on the way back home, apparently a lot of the times, with my eyes open.

About halfway through our drive, it had apparently snowed in the mountains. Looks so weird!

Back in city life. Blahblah.

I ended up making this picture for Matt because he wanted a picture where he was with Tay Zonday AND jumping the awesome jump.

THE END OF CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!! I leave the next day, early ass in the morning, and my flight gets delayed like six hours. DEATH. X__X

death valley, day one — sand dunes are the SHIT!

We left the house at 5:30am, and then this was the view at around 6:00am. Matt drove in his ex-Park Ranger Jeep.

We tried to stop by Calico ghost town along the way, but it was a major tourist trap, and it wasn’t even open yet! But it was so touristy you had to pay a $10 entrance fee! WTF!

We drove and then came across this old mine shaft thing or something, and the cool part about this area of the state is that they don’t care where you drive. At all. There are no fencings anywhere. So we decided to try driving up that hill where that mine thing was… but that didn’t work out too well. Ha.

The next stop was at Death Valley Junction, which wasn’t a ghost town, but it might as well have been one, haha.

(Jeanette’s picture.)

Finally, we got to the park. We paid for the daily fee, and then went to pee in an extremely stinky outhouse.

Then… first stop: THE BADLANDS! This is Jeanette and Matt demonstrating that these lands are indeed bad, and need to be punished.

The Badlands are BEAUTIFUL. It’s hard to choose what is the best part of the park, because it’s all so damn cool. This is one of my favorite parts of the park, but they pretty much all are equally awesome.

(Jeanette’s picture.)

(Jeanette’s picture. I LORV IT.)

(Jeanette’s picture.) There was this idea to do symmetrical poses for a while…

Matt doing some crazy jumping, grabbing shit.

(Jeanette’s picture.) Oh yes, symmetrical pose. The best one of all, I’d say.

OH WHAT’S THIS?! WHAT’S THIS?! SUZYOTA IS LIKE TOYOTA AND SUZUKI ALL IN ONE!

They got hungry, so they decided to buy some lunch at the local lunch place. Me? I decided to bring my leftovers from the previous night’s Valentine’s Day dinner, because that was an expensive meal, and bringing it would be my only chance to eat my dill rice and tomato-y dish.

Matt signed Jeanette’s “lame” name.

(Jeanette’s picture.) First, we drove to the campsite. It wasn’t originally the campsite we’d wanted, but it wasn’t the MOST touristy one, either. We set up our tent, which was really freaking amazing and was set-uppable in like ten minutes. RIDONKULOUS!!! I want one of those super tents!

The owner posing with his tent!

When we first got there, we started stacking rocks.

And then!! A ROADRUNNER!!

He’s running!

So we get our tent set up, and then we drive and drive and drive. We pull over so Jeanette can switch with Matt driving, and then Matt does this awesomeness. His last name is Meeks, so it makes sense! Hah!

Then Jeanette starts driving like a grandma.

The first stop was Salt Creek, so we decided to get out, but then it was a really long walk to nowhere, really. So, we didn’t walk all the way before overhearing someone who had just gone there that it wasn’t anything much. So we headed back. But man, there were SO MANY ROCKS! And I picked up two rocks to keep for home, and Jeanette got about a zillion of them haha. I don’t think she ever got them out of Matt’s trunk, where they were put after she picked them up……………….. the walk took FOREVER though because seriously, Jeanette was picking up like every other rock, and there were SO MANY ROCKS! It was so weird that they were all out there, and all different… not sure what geologically caused so many different kinds of rocks to appear in one place…

Next stop: Sand Dunes!

Now, I’d never been to sand dunes before, but damn, they were fun!! We walked and walked and walked and walked up and down hills, up and down… being slightly careful of not getting bitten by scorpions, but not too worried…

There were these interesting clay-like areas that could be lifted up and stacked. Pretty neato.

Stacked!

STACKED!

While climbing up the sand dunes, the sand makes interesting little footstep marks! A lot of the hills hadn’t been treaded on at all, actually.

Pretty layer of black sand, which was notably harder and coarser than the fine sand!

(Jeanette’s picture.) Close-up!

(Jeanette’s picture.) Look at this!

Sand dunes are weird. But awesome.

(Jeanette’s picture.) Mmm, my disgusting feet.

(Jeanette’s picture.) Matt jumping down hills!

(Jeanette’s picture.) This was our end goal: the tallest sand dune. It was so godamn far away, though…

(Jeanette’s picture.) This doesn’t look that tall, but it really is.

(Jeanette’s picture.) We are waking towards the apex!

(Jeanette’s picture.) There was quiiiiite a linnnnne.

So, we got to the highest point, and then ran down. It was pretty fun actually. A lot less scary than I thought it would be, and it was a pretty steep hill. Jeanette was scared at first but got over that too, I thinks.

On our way back, Jeanette is walking like an old woman with a walking stick. The conversation back was quite funny, although I don’t remember details, unfortunately.

Next stop: Mosaic Canyon.

All these stones were marble. SoOo smooth… sOoO amazing. These pictures don’t do it justice WHATSOEVER. It was really nice, and really quiet, and there were barely any other people around. We climbed up, and then I would throw rocks down and hear how they clanked and echoed in the silence. It was awesome, because marble clanks and clacks so very well.

These need some color correction. Godamn.

(Jeanette’s picture.) My superhero picture!!!! BOO-YAH!

(Jeanette’s picture.) The rock’s detail!!!

(Jeanette’s picture.) GROUP PIC!

(Jeanette’s picture.) Matt posing!

(Jeanette’s picture.) Me posing!

When we were done with Mosaic Canyon, it was dark enough, and it was time to head back.

That night, we sat around and made ramen for dinner. Bloorg!

Then it was fun with lights time with Jeanette! We decided she’d write something.

She decided on “love.” “Write it backwards, though,” I said, and she said, “I did,” and then I showed her the picture, and she’s like… ha… (at herself).

Oh, there we go!!!

Then sleep. And blindness and being led around by Jeanette when my contacts were out.

let’s talk turkey.

Life
A reaction to emptiness
Time
Continues for the Boogyman
Just give me one
Chance
To feature you in sunshine
And we could both
Dance
The aphids swarm away

Hello, hello
Losing concentration
Losing motivation
Losing ground

Solo solo
Don’t like moderation
Starved for conversation
Are you down

Love
A reaction to some soft skin
What about
Trust
I’ve seen it here and there
And give me some
Girls
Be careful what you wish for
So take me
Out
Woo honey let’s go dancing

Hello, hello
Losing concentration
Losing motivation
Losing ground

Solo, solo
Don’t like moderation
Starved for conversation
Are you down

Don’t stop wasting people’s time
One day soon you’re gonna shine

IMA ROBOT – LET’S TALK TURKEY.

los angeles, day five — valentine’s day with friends?!

The next day, I sat around home for a while while Jeanette took her car to the shop to get it fixed. She ended up having to change her tires! Aiee!

Meanwhile, Claire picked me up, and we walked around Melrose.

Neckface!

Einstein says, “Love is the answer!”

Barack, Hilary, and John!! Clown-like!

Mao’s Kitchen is more a cafe than a Chinese Restaurant, although they serve some pseudo-Chinese food.

Rhino shoes? Well, alriiiighty then.

That evening, Claire, Phil, Jeanette, and I went to eat at some Persian restaurant. I got a really tomato-y dish. It was goot. And there was some good conversation! I miss hanging out with Phil Wu. He makes me crack up. He was reading or reciting something, and I told him to do it with a British accent, and to my surprise, he actually did. It was like, hilarious. Dinner was a fun and random sampling of assorted foods. Woot! Jeanette’s chicken was sooooo delicious.

That evening, we went to an Anavan show at the Smell. We got there early, and Jeanette wasn’t aware that it was an all-ages venue with no alcohol, so we had to go get her alcohol. She wanted to take me next door to the Edison, but my tennis shoes would not suffice. Instead, we walked down a couple blocks to another bar…

As soon as we got there, and Jeanette was at the bar, she started talking to a gay couple, and soon they became our brand new buddies from Kansas City. They started off by saying that everyone in Los Angeles was really mean compared to how nice everyone was in Kansas City. Then they said that they had gotten beat up before by like 6 other dudes (3 of whom went to jail?) for being gay, and that everyone in their town knew everyone, but that didn’t make them want to leave. They were pretty funny. I liked the blonde guy. He reminds me of someone… somewhere… I don’t remember who… and I don’t remember where… they were also talking about how the black guy could adequately pretend that he wasn’t gay, but the other one, who was flaming, obviously couldn’t. Heh.

Afterwards, we went back to The Smell, which I had wanted to go to for a long time because I’d heard such good things about it, and lots of bands like HEALTH and No Age had gotten their start there. Anavan’s show was EGGCELLENT, but not as good as last year’s SxSW showcase was. I actually liked the last band, Extreme Animals, surprisingly, better than Anavan, though. Although their music was like happy hardcore crap I don’t usually like, it was a lot more layered and so technically proficient since they were making it live right there. The crowd was also full of youngsters, but it was cool, because they were all really energetic and dancing their asses off. Pictures didn’t come out so well. The venue also had like a zine rack and a book rack — both of which were really cool additions. The end. Valentine’s Day with friends. Wee!

los angeles, day four — hollywood, rain, and mexicans!

This day, I went with Jeanette to her office and then worked out of Coffee Bean coffee shop for a while…! Then I headed over to Hollywood to meet with Jeremy for lunch. Well, actually, I went to Hollywood then walked south a while to meet Jeremy at Mario’s Peruvian Restaurant. A strange name for a Peruvian restaurant, yes.

But before I got there… the Hollywood subway station is silly.

Along the way, I passed this silly ol’ car.

I got to the restaurant before Jeremy got there, and waited in the very long line. Finally, we got a table right when he got there. We had a very long meal and conversation and it wast goot. It’s been a long time but chatting is all pretty much the same. The food was also suppppppper good although really salty. But so good.

Afterwards, Jeremy dropped me off in Hollywood, where I was going to take the typical Hollywood walk around. It was a good thing he dropped me off, because it started POURING, and I started walking around Hollywood, but it was pouring too hard, so I got back on the subway. Since I’d gotten an all day subway pass, I decided to head over to Universal City, where Universal Studios was. I really wanted to go to Universal Studios, btw, but it was way too fucking expensive. And yeah, I got there, but there wasn’t much to look at, and what there was to look at Jeanette said I probably wouldn’t like.

READ TALE OF AN EXPERIENCE WITH A HOMELESS MAN HERE.

Another subway thing.

So since it had stopped pouring by the time I got to Universal City, I took the subway back to McArthur Park, because I lubs teh Mexicans districts. I decided to walk north a ways and then head over east. As I was doing so, some older Mexican dude, probably about 40s, stopped me, and I took off my headphones to listen to what he had to say:

Him: “ID?”
Me: “What?”
Him: “ID?”
Me: “What?”
Him: “ID?”
Me: “I’m twenty-five!”
Him: “Forty dollars!”
Me: “I’m twenty-five!”
Him: “Forty!”
Me: “No necesito!” (I don’t need it!)
Him: “Oh, no necesitas!” (Oh, you don’t need it!)
Me: “Porque tengo veinte y cinco anos!” (Because I’m 25 years old!)
Him: “Oh! Man!” *Slaps me on the back*

Hahahaha. Hilarioso.

Right after speaking with him, I passed the not so grande grande mall. Hahas.

One of the reasons I love all the Mexican Districts in Los Angeles (frankly, the best part about L.A. is the international areas) is because they have such colorful, beautiful storefronts for the simplest of things.

More things I’ve passed.

Lovely, holed-out Ambulance sign.

As I was walking back, I had to duck into a construction site to take on a phone interview with some Americorps dude. Luckily, that construction site’s fencing didn’t smell like piss.

Kept walking back la la la, taking pictures along the way.

Pretty dilapidation. Although… I wish the left side wasn’t as off-centered. :/

Neat-looking parking lot.

Passing over the freeway, on the way back to Jeanette’s office.

Nope, I didn’t put the leaves in it. But I like this!

Before stopping by Jeanette’s office, I happened upon this lovely, lovely bookstore that was so so so cuuuuuuuuute. I HAD to go in, and they specialized in old things. So, I ended up buying this set of pretty small, index-card sized books… there were 10 booklets, and each of them featured “Four Minute Essays” by this one dude, and they were essays about all sorts of things. I didn’t finish a complete one, but one of them was like, talking about how people in America didn’t like Socialism because it was European, when in fact, Democracy in its ideal form IS Socialism. Now, not all the essays are about politics, but yeah, that’s the only one I remember at the moment. But such cute cute books. Set of ten, for $50.00! Eeps! I don’t know why I did it, but I did haha.

Nice picture of Jeanette in her office building.

That night, Matt Buchholtz (Stretch) hooked Jeanette and I up for tickets at the Improv theatre, Groundlings. Groundlings is a famous improv theatre where people like, Will Farrell, for example, studied at and worked at. Pretty fucking hilarious. They did sketch comedies, not improv the night we were there. But… it was AWESOME. Really small crowd, but highly enjoyable. It also featured the girl from the Progressive Insurance commercials. Ha. One of them was about a couple that was super awkward on their first date, another was about a buncha Old Navy runway models who kept posing over and over again when they couldn’t get off stage because there was a door leading to backstage that kept getting stuck, and my absolute favorite was one where this couple went over to the girl’s gay uncles place, and every little thing they told the uncle made him freak the fuck out and move something from the table to the floor or from the counter to the table all while moaning and groaning. Hard to describe, but man was it funny. I was laughing so hard haha.

After that, Jeanette drove me through a bunch of Los Angeles to give me a “car tour.” Yay!

Oh snaps. This WOULD be here!

That’s about all we saw. Then sleep.