Graduation Goggles

"Graduation goggles is the nostalgic feeling one has about a time or someone in their life when it is about to end, even if the time was completely miserable." -How I Met Your Mother Wiki

Sweeping declaration: How I Met Your Mother IS the show of our generation.  It is just SO relate-able!  There have been more than a handful of times when I have felt that the show is portraying events that have happened in my life or could be applied to situations in my life.  This is no mere TV sitcom my friends, this is a guide for living life in your mid 20s-30s.  Sometimes a "what to do", and sometimes a "what not to do".  From "nothing good happens after 2AM" to "the mermaid effect" life lessons abound in HIMYM.

Today, we focus on the concept of "Graduation Goggles," defined above. And per HIMYM, it looks a little something like this:



Click here if the video doesn't show... sorry...

 Lately, I have been having Graduation Googgles ALLLLL over Santa Monica.  And honestly, I would not describe my time here as completely miserable (not even close), but there have been frustrating and difficult circumstances. For example, LA traffic, something I have complained bitterly about in the past, had me nostalgic the other day.  I was exiting the 10 on to Lincoln after work and was stopped on the exit ramp in a line of cars.  Right outside my window was the "Welcome to Santa Monica" sign, and as I sat there looking at it, Sarah McLachlan began playing in my head to accompany a sepia toned slide show of the good times in Santa Monica. Riding bikes down the beach, drinking wine with friends, splashing in the ocean after midnight, gatherings on my back patio... all interrupted by honking when I failed to see that I could move forward.  Whoops.

The marine layer has made me nostalgic lately as well.  Which is truly bizarre because this weather phenomena occurs in San Diego as well.  My June has not seemed so gloomy, despite a lack of morning sunshine.  It appears that I have made my peace with the gloom, possibly because after enduring a tropical storm in NYC at Kendall's graduation, I realized that a cloudy sky with no rain is pretty great in comparison.

And graduation goggles for my job?  Not so much honestly.  Maybe that will happen in these next few weeks?  Who knows.

Anyway, my point is that my time here in Santa Monica/Los Angeles is winding down, and perhaps my biggest disappointment is my LA Bucket List.  Whenever I am about to move or leave a place that I have been for a good portion of time, I like to make a bucket list of things to do in order to maximize my time.  I actually started this tradition when I was studying abroad in Australia. It was a wonderful tool, because in my last 1-2 months in Sydney, anytime I found myself in my room with nothing to do, I would pick something off the list and have a mini-adventure.  The bucket list I made for LA is simple and relatively short.  As I have stated before, I feel like I have most of the things I wanted to so since moving here. Regardless, here it is...

Transplant Theory: Oxen and Chameleons

Along with palm tree and fake boobs, another thing LA is full of is transplants: people who have moved to LA from other places.  People who actually grew up in LA are about as rare as snowflakes.  I've met many a transplant over the last six months and have actually started to categorize them into two groups in my mind: oxen and chameleons.  Stay with me here, it's good I promise.

Oxen are the stubborn people.  The ones who move to LA and refuse to give up their customs and traditions from their old way of life.  They are often the ones who have moved to LA for a job or a relationship, not because they actually wanted to move to LA.  They tend to pick out the negative qualities of the city and claim that it's fake, plastic, and materialistic. They refuse to let the city change them.

Chameleons are eager to blend in and become "Hollywood." They are the people who have come out to LA to try and live the California lifestyle. They often have preset ideas about how living here will change their lives, and genuinely want to embrace change and absorb what LA has to offer. They may desire fame, fortune, or something else entirely, but they see LA as they key to their success. They want the city to make them.

Now, obviously not everyone fits into one of these two categories, and quite honestly, the people I gravitate towards and all of my friends out here have a healthy mix of both animals, perhaps we call them, oxeleons. They are open-minded, up for trying new things and having adventures, yet they are grounded and confident in who they are and where they come from.  They want the city to inspire them, but not define them.

The real question I have been asking myself lately is, which animal am I??

Soybeans to Oranges

Welp, it's been about two week since my last post.  It's not that I haven't thought about blogging, it's just that... well, life has gotten in the way.  Which is good I guess- it means that I have things to do and that my experiences here are becoming less novel and more routine.

Guys, I live in LA.  Crazy.

This also means that it's finally time to write this post that I have been sitting on for quite some time...

One of my favorite learning techniques is to use metaphors or comparisons of things I'm familiar with to get a grasp on something new.  This worked great for my students (I think...) and was also successful in helping me master the rules of rugby when I was in Australia.  Using football as as staring point, I was able to make connections and understand a new game... and meet cute Aussie boys ;)

Anyways, as you may have gleaned, this post is going to make a comparison.  In order to orientate and get my lay of the land out here, I'm going to equate the areas of LA to their Chicago neighborhood equivalents.  I'm also gonna go ahead and say which area I prefer though the total is not generalize-able to an overall LA v Chicago throwdown, they are just entirely too different.

***Disclaimer*** The comparisons are based purely on my impressions and biases after living here for approximately three months.  What I have to say about Chicago is most likely true, but I may have some misconceptions or over-generalizations about LA.  Also, being that I am a fairly open minded person, these impressions are subject to change as I continue to assimilate in the area.  For now, I present you with... (Drum roll please)....

Blending in

Ever since we were little, my mother stressed blending in and not acting like tourists when were were on vacation.  Especially when we were in Colorado- Mom wanted everyone to think that we were locals.  Blending in was no easy task with my father aka Tourist Man taking pictures of EVERYTHING:

With his tiny camera backpack of power and the hat he only bought
yesterday, he dons his socks with sandals and sets off to experience
AUSTRALIA!

Yeah, ok.  We all kinda failed on this one...

Mom would fight the powers of Tourist Man by not letting us eat anywhere we could eat at home and making Ken and I keep walking when Dad jumped into a random bush to take a picture of a flower.  In Colorado, we were supposed to try to dress like locals (aka, wear our pajamas to breakfast- done and done!); the hallmark of fitting in was being asked for directions by some "lame tourist."

Stay classy San Diego

I'm not good with down time.  I am, in fact, so bad with down time that when I was in Australia I got a job, joined a gym, joined a club and made multiple "To Do" lists with different places, foods, activities and events to experience in order to minimize down time and maximize... well, my Type A personality...

When I was unemployed in Chicago, I baked.  A lot.  My roommates would come home to a kitchen full of literally hundreds of savory tartlets, various vegetable salads and dessert concoctions (ya know, for balance).  Packages of treats were sent to the neighbors.  It. was. obscene.

With my California  "To Do" list at a seemingly never ending standstill I really have no choice but to embrace the down time and learn how to relax and have some fun.  Not that I don't know how to have fun.  I'm really fun.  It's just usually... scheduled fun.  Earned fun.  At it's best and most wild, it's responsible spontaneity.

Not to be wine-y...

... but I have never been a fan of wines made from grapes grown in the Midwest. Call me a snob but they just don't taste good. The climate condones small, sweet grapes and if I wanted that flavor, grape juice is far cheaper (most of the time). One thing I truly love in life is wine; not just because it has a higher alcohol content than beer but because of the complexities in the flavor and the science behind creating the perfect blend (nerd alert).

I started developing my palate (I know, snobby) when I was 20 years old and studying abroad in Australia.

Sydney Uni Wine Society Grape Escape 2006

I joined the Sydney University Wine Society and began going to tastings all semester and eventually on a 3-day "Grape Escape" to the wineries in Mudgee, AU. This is when I really began to enjoy drinking wine and when I was first introduced to the process behind it.

Yes, I will take any excuse to use this pic!

It is my FAV!

Soooooo... all that being said, the Midwest really surprised me yesterday by allowing my mom and me to be a part of the craft by harvesting grapes! Something I have wanted to do FOREVER!