I went to the post office yesterday to drop off a writing contest entry. But this isn’t a post about the virtue, or lack thereof, of writing contests. The thing that really struck me was noticing how the counter was completely walled-off with bulletproof glass. Each window had an airlock-like structure in which a customer [...]
I finally gave in and bought a Bluetooth headset. You know the kind that people wear while walking through stores, either annoyingly talking to what seems like themselves, or else annoyingly leaving it in their ear while not in use, a pretentious status symbol without the status? I’m one of them now. In my defense, [...]
The cost of living in Los Angeles is nuts. Seattle can be expensive (and was especially so back in the dot-com boom), but L.A. is a whole new league. It is for this reason that people as old as me still have housemates. And heaven forbid your tank hits empty while you’re in Beverly Hills, [...]
There’s a webcam on the portal page in my browser, and the window rotates through various Seattle views. At different points last week, it produced these images: Meanwhile, here in L.A., it was sunny yesterday and sunny today. I expect it will be sunny tomorrow, and then probably sunny for like the next century and [...]
I was in a West Hollywood coffee shop today, when a man came wandering in, searching for something. He paced about a bit. He left the shop, then came back in. The man looked at the two customers seated at tables. He selected the guy who wasn’t me, and asked him a question: “Excuse me? [...]
As part of my struggle against homesickness, I bring a little piece of Western Washington into my rented garage/laundry room/bedroom each day. My personalized Google page includes a link to a webcam pointed off of this beautiful island in Western Washington. I was surprised to log in today and see that they have snow! Meanwhile, [...]
I found a black widow spider on the side of our front porch today. How super cool is that? That sucker was evil looking! All shiny black with these sharp, tapered legs and the famous red hourglass shape. In the cold dampness of western Washington, such critters can’t exist. There’s almost nothing poisonous to be [...]
It’s an oft-quoted “fact” that Seattle has an abnormally high suicide rate, attributed to lack of sunshine. As a native, however, I have fond memories of soccer games in the drizzly cold. I find the grey winters cozy. Fall is my favorite season. And now I’m spending my first “fall” in Los Angeles. It’s the [...]
What’s with the helicopters? Several times a week, police choppers fly overhead. They’re really close, and really loud. They like to make as much noise as possible at about three in the morning, using powerful lights to peer into people’s yards. Are there seriously that many manhunts going on in L.A. Each week?
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