I'm Moving West of LA----AGAIN!

I’m moving near LA, AGAIN! I really am moving back to the vicinity of Los Angeles, and yes, just west of it.

My View of LA

A little closer, now....And Finally:

OK, for really real, I’ve moved about a mile away from where I temporarily lived in downtown Milwaukee. Gotcha! It’s “up the coast”, and just west of a classic building named, “Los Angeles". I’ve moved slightly east of the 405, generally considered by those in Cali to be less desirable than west of the 405, but I can’t seem to get away from living west of LA. ;) (for those not familiar, “the 405” is a “freeway”….perhaps one of the more annoying “freeways” in the country, generally “clear” from 11 am to 1:30 pm, and after 10 at night, and random miraculous times).

Here’s where I’m situated: 2233 N Summit Ave Apt 412, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Bonus features of new apt: built in a/c unit, hot and cold running water, garbage disposal, water closet, parking, heat included, and the most ridiculous of all…a rooftop solarium and sundeck (see view below)! I could watch the sunrise from my roof. I could also throw a party up der, hey. There may be fireworks-watching being that Milwaukee is the City of Festivals and has fireworks nearly every weekend of the summer. There’s a Whole Foods about two blocks away (danger! danger!), a small library nearby, Beans (the hip Milwaukeeans know this place, with quite possibly the best salsa ever), the ‘ole watertower, and the Lake! I’ll be bicycling to work, as soon as I find a bicycle. I have high hopes to live in this place for quite some time. I’m happy to be in a more modern building (lack of character and all), and to be relieved of the feeling that I’m in college again (although I have heard a couple of drunk people off North Ave, unfortunately). Some of you have heard the roommate stories. Feel free to ask if you haven’t heard, they’re somewhat amusing (in retrospect).

So, come visit me in the City of Festivals!

Tiny White Things

What lesson has just been re-learned by this (2 years in) California girl? Lots of tiny white frozen things en masse can sure slow things down. My car may be frozen to a snowbank. It shore is beautiful, though.

There ended up being about 17-18 inches (50 cm for those of you who do metric) with drifts nearly as high as my head (6 foot, 182 cm), and plowed snow high enough to sled down. I feel very sorry for the people without snowblowers. Wednesday, our offices were closed. Been a while since I could say, SNOW DAY! Thursday, it was zero degrees F and windy as I walked to work. Talk about brisk. I had to duck into a business along the way to warm up. The sun is out, however, bring on the vitamin D.

Here is my car before I started shoveling:

Doesn’t it look pretty? I don’t know how long it took me to dig around it, but I managed to pretty much clear it and rock it back and forth a little over the top of the plenty-o-snow that drifted underneath. I was nearly immediately sore in the key shoveling muscles. The morning after that , I saw that the stupid-s**t service that clears snow for the neighboring businesses had the audacity to blow snow on top of the parked cars and street rather than in a different, more correct direction (this was 2 in the morning, I know cause it woke me up). I was slightly cheesed to clear off my car again this morning when it didn’t snow anymore. It’s hard enough to dig out from the city plows.

The totally fun part --- after the storm, I saw a lot of people on their way to sled, play, and a few even went snowshoeing. I would have really enjoyed a good snowshoe. Last time I did that was in sixth grade at Camp Na-Na-Bo-Sho. I heard one coffee shop was open on Brady Street, and several people showed up. People were walking down the streets since no traffic was out and some sidewalks still had snow up to at least kneecaps. It was quiet…no road noise. The air was so beautiful, and it wasn’t terribly cold despite a wind. Regardless of my sprained toe, I had to walk a little. Lake Michi gami was outstanding! Splashing waves, crazy colors (dark blue clouds over the lake, clear blue sky over the land, brown water, blue water, frozen water, white snow). I think the lighthouse on the break might have sideways icicles.

Here are some photos from the local paper, some of the drifts are really cool and look like ocean waves: http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/photos/115017994.html

My favorites are “No lifeguard on duty”, and an imprint of the back of an SUV, including license plate, on a snowbank in a parking lot. There are a lot of pics there, I’m sure you’ll look through all 300-some (written with sarcastic tone).

I feel like I’m under some kind of contractual obligation to say something about the Packers and how they should GO!, but I won’t. It just doesn’t seem real. It’ll be fun, though, I hope, to watch the game.

Ciao, people. Pray for meltage and no more significant snow. Punxatawney Phil predicts an early spring.

Californ-i-a. A Visit.

Surreal. Being somewhere, feeling strangely at home in a place you’re visiting. Like when I first moved back to Milwaukee I would say to myself…double darn! I wish I could go to Beans and Barley to get the fresh salsa! And then, duh, I’m here, not in California. It happens every once in a while here, too, where I think there’s someone in Cali I’d like to visit, but I’m here. While visiting my sis, I had these panic moments, like, where’s my car?!!? Because I usually parked it out front. But, it was sitting in a parking lot at the MKE airport. It was disconcerting.

What wasn’t disconcerting was seeing sis, bro, and the kids. Great to have some time talking with sis while sitting near the ocean. She’s such a lovely mom. Still a lovely seester. Excellent to see my nephew attempt walking. Well, squats, really. Stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. He’s such a cutie and so much fun. Good to have a dance with my niece, who’s almost four. She’s a twirler. I’m more of a bouncer- shaker. We get along really well in spite of this challenging difference. She’s practically talking like a grown-up. Soon she’ll be philosophizing and prognosticating, fer heaven’s sake. My brother–in-law talks like a grown-up too. He’s really coming along. ;) He’s always got good advice for me, which is appreciated.

Also got to visit with friends I haven’t seen in a few months, have some good chats. Things have really changed a lot for them since I left. A lot of people seem to be in transition these days. New things to do. New job dynamics. Relationship changes. And so on.

Played Rock Band. New songs, same band. These are fantastic people to be musical with in video-game format. Actually had fun singing Lady Ga Ga if you can believe that. Surprise of the evening. I feel badly because I just can’t get into the instruments of said game. It appears to be the same as my “real life” band, that I really want to sing back-up and dance. Hm. You and me, we’ve got a bad romance…ro ma roma ma oh ra ra la ma ra ma la ma ding dong, etc. A couple of my friends got into an accident on the way over that evening and still ended up making it! Amazing. Silly man mistook his accelerator for a brake at a stoplight. Yikes. They sound like their bods are in OK shape, but now to partake in the pain of insurance/repair/new car? I feel for them.

It seems like it’s been a helluva winter overall. Maybe I’m tainted because I’ve been sick, sprained my toe, I’m cold, etc., seems like one thing after the other, and so on, and so on. Does anyone else feel like it’s time for a run of the positive? Come on, spring!

Sun. Rise.

I didn't mention in my first post how great it's been to be nearer my family again....so here's my 41 year old version of a shout out up north! Parents, cousins, aunties and uncles are all nearby, and it's good to know I'll be able to spend time with them for the holidays and other random occasions.

I’ve been enjoying morning walks near Lake Michigan since I’ve returned. I live only about two blocks from good ole Michi gami. Every morning is pretty, but one particular morning was super-fantastic (not the picture shown). I’ll try to use my adjectives. I have a lot, but it’s hard to find them on demand and they're not the poetic variety.

So! The sun was doing its thing, making its way up and around. This morning there were both dark clouds and white fluffy clouds, somewhere between cirrus and cumulonimbus, the only types I remember from meteorology class. Um, why is weather called meteorology? Meteor? Anyhow, the clouds. So, the colors reflected on the clouds were pink and purple, a little orange. These colors also sat right on top of the lake, of course, such that when the many geese and ducks took off, their wings splashed up pink water. There were also cute little ducklings practicing flying around in circles nearby the tribe. Because some of the clouds had moisture in them, the Milwaukee skyline had a rainbow. I also saw fish breaching. I know typically this term is only used for whales, but I think I’d like to apply it to smelt, bass, or perch in this case. I don’t remember this phenomenon of fish jumping out of the water….has anyone else seen this? They like to see sunrise, too? As the sun progressed, there were streaks of pink and yellow shooting from behind the clouds. The air was warm, a non-speedy wind was blowing, and I almost felt like diving right into the lake myself.
I envy ducks, by the way. Fly, swim, walk. What an awesome mode-of-transport trio.

Oh, I had two major realizations as I walked the lake. Often, the ducks are lined up in a row. Also, the duck and the goose are typically together on the lake. You know what I’m thinking about, right?

Been super busy since I’ve been back. I started my new job at ASQ (where I worked 1991-2004) at the most intense time of year for the quality award I work on (final assessment of site). This is a new department for me, kind of separate from ASQ since it's contract work with the Dept. of Commerce. I was booking 7 hotels for meetings, signing contracts, making sure specs were on target, cutting checks, and trying to learn new processes and people. I’d be working on one meeting, and someone would call me about another. Hotels, government employees, award examiners, cost centers, details details details. Hard to keep it all straight – I had to keep asking myself what city I was in since they were in different places across the US. I got heartburn and headaches from it. UCLA wasn’t exactly that intense. It was mostly boring, or frustrating. Us peons weren't actually empowered to learn and grow, and actual hard work usually occurred only because of woefully inadequate processes or poor preparation based on woefully inadequate processes (the good part-at least I got to dabble in class-taking there and healthcare didn't cost an arm and a leg). I did enjoy being busy here, however, and really am enjoying my colleagues. We have a lot in common and a lot of laughs. There’s not an oppressive, painful quiet like there was in my previous job. Important. Good.

{Does anyone have a follow-up to healthcare costing an arm and a leg? I can't quite come up with a good sarcastic ironic remark about that - something about not being able to afford the care it would take to replace the arm/leg you lost from it in the first place....um...}

I'm happy to have gotten through the last few weeks relatively unscarred. I think it all went well considering new job and new place to live. The place I’m living is working out temporarily. It’s not a place I’d want to be in the long term, which I hate to say out loud for fear of the hex curse, but it’s OK for now. I have three roommates, who are rarely here at the same time. It’s a cool old place, but has many features not for me. In the interest of not venting too much negativity, highlights include dimming lights when you turn stuff on, noisy heat, stained carpet, too much crap everywhere, a shower with a curtain that must be beaten into submission, a toilet that splashes, (the bathroom is very old-I've never hated a room more). There's more. It's kind of like LA for me....good place to visit, I'm honored to know great people, don't want to live there.

So. Therefore. Thusly. I’d like furniture and a brand new comfy bed with pictures of friends and family on the wall and bright sunny rooms. I don’t want to settle in too hard and accumulate a bunch of stuff in this limited space (and before I know where I’m going to be living longer term), so am living from boxes and bags for now. I have a solid vision of what my living space will look like, all new-ish and quiet with parking, and near Michi gami. But for now, I can walk to work, to the lake, and am in a good spot with nice people. All in good time…

I'm Almost Breathing

In a rather whirlwind move, I went from the lower-left to the upper- middle. Gave notice at UCLA, packed my car, and took off. To summarize, I found a job back in Milwaukee and decided it felt like the right move for reasons still somewhat mysterious to me, and probably to a few people who know me well. I even moved before the contract was signed. It got signed a few weeks after I started the job. I might be a little crazy. I never thought I’d move back here. Hm.

Spent one week getting myself across this great country of ours in my eggplant Honda, and it was…great! The freedom of the road! If you’re ever btw. jobs or just have a lot of vacation time, use it for a major semi-unplanned roadtrip. Make spontaneous stops. Pick cities that aren’t busy.
Did I mention I actually got lost getting out of LA? I did. I’m not embarrassed to say it out loud (anymore). I was in the right lane for ‘The 10’, and then somehow missed another lane change and ended up somewhere that was else. Got a nice tour, some wry laughter, and some good swearing in (see photo, obviously an artist's rendering of how I felt and not me actually whipping the bird), then eventually got back on the easterly.
It was a typical dreary smoggy situation leaving LA, which felt fitting for my departure. After getting almost just barely out of town, my exit to the next freeway was closed, I took the only exit that didn’t have a gas station immediately off the highway, and also had a traffic jam in the desert, about 50 miles out of town when I thought I would be free. Urg.

After the traffic jam, it was all smooth sailing! Whew! You can imagine my joy at not having half a million cars immediately surrounding me at all times. My car did not overheat nor break down through all the 100 degrees and uphill nonsense (nor did it the rest of the way). I even got myself a double rainbow (what did it mean?) to welcome me to my first stayover in Hurricane, Utah. My hotel room had a heart-shaped tub, for some reason. These are the little things that make me happy.

The next day I went to Bryce National Park, a spectacle of the natural sort. It rained a bit, but that just made it more pretty when it was finished. I talked to some Germans on the park bus during the downpour, who taught me the correct way to say danke schoen. These are the little things that make me happy.







I stopped about a billion times on the next leg of my drive to Grand Junction, CO, home of Colorado National Monument. Great park, small, non-crowded, pretty. The scenery on the way was breathtaking. Breathtaking. Sun setting behind me, little roy g bivs in my car (you know why, Val!), the landscape was lit in that burnt red/orange color, white clouds, amazing. Seriously, I think I stopped at every scenic outlook. Got to Grand Junction at 11 at night. The plan was 8 or 9. Oops.

I really really certainly recommend all parts of the Colorado Plateau. In addition to the red landscape further west, you have Aspens, Colorado River along the highway, etc. Nothing sucked about it. (even Nebraska and Iowa, although having a rep for being boring, are quite lovely)

OK, this is weird, but as I type this, I’m hearing a song called “Waiting for the Light to Change”, which was my theme song in LA. Hm.

My next stop was Fort Morgan, CO. Small town, USA, not much to report, just a nice stay, home-cookin’ restaurant, comfy bed, great sunrise. These are the little things that make me happy.

Then, on to Lincoln, NE. I stopped by Buffalo Bill’s place on the way. He wasn’t there, but I did see some buffalo. In Lincoln, I went to a vineyard and had a private wine tasting! Just cause no one else was there, but it sounds good. It was sort of fun to chat with one of the owners. Again, I say, I went to a winery in Lincoln, Nebraska. Let’s contemplate that for a second.

After a stop in Grinnell, IA, where I crashed at a friend’s who wasn’t there :( ....I was on to Wisconsin! I spent all day getting back, stopping at parks, witnessing the crazy flooding down there, crossing the good ole Mississip at Dubuque (while playing Pat McCurdy), witnessing the beauty of western WI while trying to keep ahead of an impressive gathering of dark clouds and lightning to the north, which was also quite pretty, and finishing up with a really decent rainstorm at about Oshkosh. These are the little things that make me happy.

It’s been great to reconnect with friends and colleagues, watch movies on a blow-up screen on the lake with a red moon rising behind while eating deep fried fish, have thai-coconut curry soup at The Sugar Maple, watch the actual sugar maples change colors, Packers games, get together for dinner with girlfriends and get a bonus squash, sing harmonies and learn guitar chords, salsa lessons, among other good stuff. You know who you are, and these are the big things that make me happy.

Things I miss about Calfornia:

-My sister and her family!
-Friends who enjoyed Rock Band and sarcastic remarks in or near UCLA.
-My transplant pal who I’m no longer around to commiserate with in The Second
-Year-round farmer’s market
-Philosophical chats on the bluffs above the ocean
-A solo drive along the coast up north to see seals and tar and get a heart-shaped rock from a stranger
-Sunset against the mountains

Things I certainly don’t miss and in fact make fun of about California:

-Traffic
-Billboards and twirly signs re: botox and plastic surgery
-The people who choose earthquakes over tornadoes. You can actually SEE them coming and you can run away!!!! I win.
-The cost of gas (about 50 cents more than here), or a bottle of Miller friggin Lite ($1.50-2.00 at happy hour here). Not that I drink Miller Lite, but just on principal.

The things I kinda forgot or never really noticed about Milwaukee:

-Bumpy roads – I didn’t realize how smooth roads in CA are until I got back here. My shocks do indeed need replacing, and 100 degree swings in weather do indeed rough up the road.
-Orange construction drums everywhere
“-I don’t dance unless I’ve had six beers….” All right - I sure didn’t forget this, but it only took me like, three and a half days to hear it again. It must be painful to be that clenched, my good German man.
-I’ve never seen so much jaywalking in my life. Mostly I’m for it, but sometimes people are just stupid getting in the way of cars that have the right of way. You can’t get away with that in CA -- you die, or get a $180 ticket, and that might be because you just didn’t bother to push the button since you’re going with traffic (right, Beth?).
-Rush hour downtown consists of nothing, really. At 5 p.m. only, there’s a two-block long line to get on the highway. Oh, the horror.

The things I love about this area that I may have taken for granted before:

-Sunrise over Lake Michigan…beautiful and with different character almost every morning
-The lighting, the sky, the clouds, the trees, the Fox River up north
-Actual living things besides people (I saw 2 red foxes walking to work the other day! Well, they were hanging out, I was walking to work. I live downtown fer cryin outside! Foxes!)
-Having a drink beside The Milwaukee River, sometimes commenting on the smell
-Getting together for a football game on Sunday