The Elephant in the Room...

So there is one VERY obvious difference between LA and the Midwest that I have avoided talking about for quite some time now. Not because it doesn't come into play in my life nearly everyday, but simply because acknowledging it, especially so publicly, makes it real. And having this become real puts me at risk for being uncomfortable and possibly feeling bad about myself. However, the point of this blog is to be open, honest, and push myself; embracing change and new experiences. So, in that spirit, it's time for me to admit that when I go almost anywhere in LA, I become the elephant in the room.  Like, literally the largest person in a sea of toothpicks.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not think I'm fat.  You may think I'm fat, and that's fine, you are entitled to your opinion. I am also not writing this for sympathy or reassurance.  I am not fishing for complements.  I'm trying to broach a topic that plagues FAR TOO MANY women today with some honesty and humor. Hopefully it will at least make someone smile; at best I would love to help someone feel like they aren't so alone when they are sitting on a bench outside of a store that makes seemingly child-sized clothes, waiting for their friends.  Also, for those of you that have never met me in person, I am 6 feet tall. End scene.

Ahem, back to my original point. Seriously.  I'm not kidding. Most days it feels like this:

 Buuuttt some days it feels like this:

I'm swear I'm not exaggerating either. I have never bumped into so many things with my ass when just trying to walk through a place; tables, clothes racks, bar stools, the occasional person in yoga class... it is pretty obvious that the businesses of this city are not planning for people of my stature and girth as their clientele.

"Arctic Blast"

Yeah... so it's "cold" here in LA.  I'm not gonna lie, this is the coldest I have been since I moved here, but I'm not about to break out my parka and my gloves.  And it's extremely comical to see how everyone here is reacting:

 

Again, I'm not going to pretend I'm warm, but I certainly know how to handle a night where the temps drop to the 30s. I think that weather is one of the cultural phenomena here that is most interesting to me.  Any deviation for the standard 70 degrees is thought to be "so hot" or "so cold."  What is really funny is that I have never been able to feel the difference in a few degrees as much as I have since I have lived here.  70 and 75 degrees feel different to me out here. Anywhere else, the difference would be pretty moot. But out here, you get used to the relative lack of weather, seasons, and significant temperature changes.  A deviation from the norm can be a huge difference. In the Midwest  Colorado, almost everywhere else I've lived, deviation is the norm.

Though I can admit to feeling chilly in our mild temperature drop, one thing I'm not going to do is act like this is the end of the world. Yes, the temperatures are annoying and, quite frankly, my house is not insulated for weather like this. But, it is a little refreshing to snuggle up with a few extra blankets and feel the brisk air on my skin.  Also, the "cold snap" is a good reminder of how wonderful the weather is here most of the time. When things are too perfect, sometimes it's hard to appreciate it. In Chicago, everyone in the city was outside on the nice days, taking advantage of weather and enjoying it. Here, perfection is the expectation, and nice day can easily be brushed off as another is soon to follow. I hope if anything, our "freezing temps" can serve to remind LA residents how good they have it.  In the meantime, I am going to continue to laugh at everyone that dresses the way I would dress when the temperatures drop into the 'teens.  It is really unnecessary, and the day I "get soft" and ask for a parka in this weather is the day I need to move.  For sure.

Dream Big: 2012 Summer Fun Goals

So far, we are just about half way through June and the gloom has been manageable.  I can only remember one or two days where the marine layer hasn't burned off and even more days where there has been no layer at all!  However, when the gloom sets in, it does make it a bit difficult to get out of bed in the morning...

Regardless, I have decided that in order to take advantage of my first summer on the West Coast (also known as my first summer that feels only moderately warmer than winter), I've set some "goals" that I would like to accomplish:.

Barcycle Ride
So last week, I was driving down Main St. in Santa Monica, and I saw this:

A Barcycle.  It's a bar on wheels that is powered by the patrons pedaling it.  I think I may have seen one of these before in Boulder (?), but that's not really the point.  The point is that I want to take part in this. In Santa Monica. This summer.  Accomplices welcome.  Nay, encouraged.

6/17/12 UPDATE: After looking into the Barcycle, we discovered that there is no alcohol allowed on board. So basically you pay $30 to ride this thing three block down Main St and go to a few bars.  Totally not worth it...


Vino, te amo.
Way back in my first post of substance, I promised that I would be enjoying wine country soon after making my way to California.  That hasn't happened yet, and I can think of no better time to take a drive up PCH to the SoCal wine regions than the summertime.  Thanks to my lovely friends, I believe this trip is already in the works.

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??

Hindsight

March was a crazy busy month, all ending with a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina for the American College of Medical Genetics Annual Conference.  ACMG was a really great experience: I presented a poster, learned about new and interesting things in genetics, and got to catch up with many of the Chicago area GCs that I haven't seen in quite a while.

I also had the most delicious red velvet cake I have ever had in my life.  And lots of southern style mac and cheese.

Anyway, ACMG also gave me a chance to do a bit of reflection on how much my life had changed in a year and how everything thing that has happened has absolutely been for the best.  Even though, if you had asked me a year ago where I would be today, Santa Monica is probably one of the last places I would have guessed.

Bedroom for One

One of the biggest decisions I made when moving out to LA was about my living situation.  Aside from deciding where I was going to live, I was also deciding between living alone and living with roommates.  After weighing the pros and cons and realizing that no matter what choice I made, there were going to be days that I would regret it, as you all probably know, I decided to take the plunge and live alone.

After three months in my current living situation I feel like I have had enough time to settle in and that I can now assess the situation with clear eyes and officially say that I LOVE LIVING ALONE!!!  Seriously, I can watch whatever I want on the TV, I don't have to share the bathroom and there is soooooo much room in the fridge!  Seriously- look at all the Lean Cuisines I can have!

And there is still sooooo much more room!  I have seriously never regretted my choice for even a second though there are a few tiny things that make me miss having another person around the house...

Urban Jungle

Moving from the 3rd largest city in the US to the 2nd largest, I expected that I would be getting more of a lot of things.  More traffic, more smog, more people, more money (earned and spent), more sunshine, more professional basketball teams, more celebrities, more homeless people, and well, you get the picture.  One thing I was not expecting more of was nature.  I was actually expecting to move to a larger city and get less nature to account for the more of everything else.  LA has pleasantly surprised me by being a place that is FULL of natural beauty and outdoorsy activities.  Who knew?

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)....

Plastic Santas and Santa Anas

So... it's December and I don't think I have ever felt less in the holiday spirit.  It's not that I'm a Grinch or anything, it just doesn't feel like the holidays when it's 65 degrees and there are palm trees everywhere.  Oh, and it's super windy.  Earlier this week, someone commented that the winds must make me feel like I'm back in Chicago.  No.  No, the Santa Ana Winds DO NOT remind me of Chicago.  ALSO, Chicago is not significantly winder than any other city (see table below from www.currentresults.com) and earned the nick-name "The Windy City" for the "windbag" politicians not the weather .  In addition, I have never had large amounts of sand blown into my face in Chicago.  Snow, sure.  Sand, dust, palm leaves, not so much.

Average annual wind speed of the windiest US cities

(in miles per hour and kilometres per hour)

City	MPH	KPH
Boston, Massachusetts	12.3	19.8
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	12.2	19.6
Buffalo, New York	11.8	19.0
Milwaukee, Wisconsin	11.5	18.5
Dallas, Texas	10.7	17.2
Kansas City, Missouri	10.6	17.1
San Francisco, California	10.6	17.1
Cleveland, Ohio	10.5	16.9
Minneapolis, Minnesota	10.5	16.9
Virginia Beach, Virginia	10.5	16.9
Providence, Rhode Island	10.4	16.7
Chicago, Illinois	10.3	16.6
Detroit, Michigan	10.2	16.4

The Backstory

Moving to a new place gives you a chance to start over, potentially even reinvent yourself if you so choose.  And it all starts with how you present yourself when you meet new people.  Lately I've been thinking a lot about my "backstory"- what I tell people when they ask about what I do, where I'm from etc.  I noticed a while ago back in Chicago that I tend to alter my story based on where I am, who I am meeting, or how long of a conversation I wish to be in.  Now when I say alter, I don't mean lie.  I never say anything that isn't the truth, I just tend to leave things out or frame things in a way that fits the conversation I wish to have.  For example:

Question:
Where are you from?

Potential answers: 
1. I grew up in Iowa.
2. I went to school in Colorado
3. I just moved here from Chicago

All of these are true- but they all lead to very different conversations.  Unless specifically pressed, I tend to shy away from telling people I grew up in Iowa.  This isn't to say I'm not proud of Iowa, I just tend to find the conversations that follow to be... well... annoying.

Answer #1:
I grew up in Iowa.

Sample Responses:
1. Wow, I've never met a farmer!
2. You must really like potatoes!  (Yep, I've had people think it's IDAHO)
3. I don't even know where that is...
4. Heh heh, ever go cow tipping?
5. My [insert random relative] is from Iowa!  Do you know them?

All "decked" out

One of the biggest criteria I had for my new place in LA was that I wanted to have easy access to the outdoors.  Whether that was living close to the beach or having my own patio- I was determined to get something.  One of my favorite things about my Chicago apartment was our deck space.

  On the nice days, I practically lived out there.  A LOT of stuff when down on those decks:

Baby it's cold outside.

That's right, I said it.  It's in the 50s and I am freezing!  I could turn on my heater, but I don't want to because I feel like I should be better at this.  I just moved from Chicago where this would be a perfect fall day!  Gnat says this means that I'm assimilating- I say I'm getting soft.  Is feeling cold in mild weather on my Angeleno check list???

Regardless, since I was feeling chilly I decided that today would be the perfect day to cook my favorite Chicken Curry Soup from college.  This soup would appear about once a week or so in The Grill in the UMC where I worked.  When it was there, I would eat it regardless of what I had brought for lunch (or get it and save it if I had already eaten... or eat it anyway...).  For my graduation present from CU, Jan, one of the women I work with managed to snag the recipe for me.  It apparently took some effort to get the chef to release the recipe and because of this I'm going to keep it a secret.  I will post pictures of cooking it though.

Finished product, delish!

Soooo, the recipe is meant to be sold in a cafeteria-like atmosphere, and therefore, it makes 6 gallons.  I quarter it to make 1.5 gallons, which is still a lot.  Hopefully I can share some with my neighbors to try and make friends with them :)  Otherwise I guess I'm just eating it until January...ish...

No place like home.

Philosophically, there are multitudes of different opinions on what constitutes "home".  People, places, things, states of mind or combinations of these.  For me, it's difficult to describe how I view "home" because it's more of a feeling I get.  I feel a comfort, familiarity and warmth with floods of old memories and excitement for new ones.  For me, home is not necessarily where I live, though places I live do often become home.

I knew October in LA was going to be difficult for me- the weekend I moved into my apartment is the only weekend I have had and will have in the apartment all month.  To top that off, all of my weekends would be spent with many old friends in all of my favorite places.  This past weekend was the motherload.  First stop:

Swimmin' pools and movie stars...

That right!  I finally loaded up The Duchess and moved to Santa Monica!  My apartment in Chicago was the only place I have lived in for more than a year since I went off to college.  I wouldn't say I'm a moving pro, but it has definitely become somewhat routine for me.  Except for this move.  NOTHING about this has been routine.

After being told that my original move-in date was October 1st, it then got pushed to October 5th.  My U-Box couldn't get delivered until the 8th so I got everything arranged for Saturday and would get the keys from my landlord on Thursday the 6th.  On the 6th, surrogate mom Sara and I drove up to Santa Monica with some of my stuff in The Duchess only to find that the house was still being worked on...sigh.  They promised it would be finished and cleaned by Saturday.  Sara, The Duchess, my stuff and I all drove back to Huntington Beach and ate Chinese food.

At this point, I'm supremely anxious.  All of the back and forth: alleged house, alleged job.  It's a lot.  And don't get me wrong, it's not like I've been living in a cardboard box on Hollywood or anything- my surrogate parents and housing were wonderful- I'm just so ready to start my life and get settled in.  In a way, I feel like I have been in transition since March...

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.

It's all happening.

It began with an ice scraper...

...and my heart has been pounding ever since.  I'll do my best to keep from word-vomiting my way through this entire post.  (By the way, that is seriously my ice scraper in a different pattern).

Chicago says CHEEEESSSSEEE!

Yeah, I know.  I'm a huge dork.  Just trying to keep things interesting...

So, since my last post I finally got the pictures off of my Dad's camera.  I had to take his compact flash drive to a photo kiosk at Target and make a photo CD since apparently my version of windows was "attacking" his software and "fouling" it up.  All my fault, bad daughter, shame shame.  In the Sale house, electronics never break on their own or just stop working.  You always "had to have done something!"  I apparently conspired with Vista to take the compact flash converter under siege and reject the drivers from the camera software.  My bad.  

The kiosk was actually awesome because it allowed me to tint the pics, enlarge them and print them so they are all ready to move on to the display step... once I figure out exactly what that step is...

Drum roll please......

Hopefully you can see that this spells out C-H-I-C-A-G-O.  It's probably easier when they are horizontal (TWSS?) so use your imagination.  First C is a Cubs jersey, H is the Wrigley Building from State St, I is the Water Tower, second C is from the Chicago Theater, A is the El tracks running above Lake St, G is from Giordano's, and O is the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. 

I think they turned out pretty well, but displaying them could really make or break it.  I have a long poster frame from Target that I could put them in, but I still kinda want to get them each their own glass with clips and then attach them together with a piece of wood or something... we will see.

Suggestions and comments welcome!!!

Out with a bang

Alright, so you know when you were a kid and you would get a new toy and play with it all day, everyday for like a week and then never again??  I find that as an adult-ish person, I still have this quality though now it mostly applies to workout plans and guys I attempt to date.  I'm also concerned that this may happen to my blog.  So my first 5 posts were all consecutive (*cough* excited child) and then followed by about 5 days of radio silence however, I feel that I have a perfectly good excuse for my lapse: playing in Chicago!

Before I head out to California, I really wanted to make one more visit to the city I love enough to consider one of my three homes (Iowa and Colorado would be the other two) and soak in all of my favorite things.  It seems logical that I should have memories of having fun, knowing my way around a place and spending time with people I love before I'm lost, confused and friendless on the coast.

Growing up...again.

Well folks, while the month of August has left me feeling like a freeloader on my parents couch, this first week in September has skyrocketed me towards my new independent life in LA.  Here's the progress:

1. I finally have something in my name other than debt

Ok, so we are actually celebrating a successful tire change.
This does accurately capture my emotions about the ownership
of said vehicle though.

While The Duchess (long story) and I have been together for several years now, she technically belonged to my parents.  Now, she is truly and legally mine- along with two blown-out front speakers and a faint smell of squid from a transport malfunction for an AP Bio project (don't say I never did anything for you children of STL).  And the speakers hadn't crossed my mind for YEARS (I know, I suck) until I saw my Dad type "As Is" on our "contract" (and I probably just got myself in trouble with PaulSale).  Regardless, I own a car, I'm excited, and yes, you will have trouble conversing with others if you sit in my back seat.  No, that smell is not my car, it's you.  Just smile and enjoy the music.


2. I've been put to the test
My time in Iowa has left me both bored and board- as in studying for my genetic counseling certification exam. Mom and I trekked to the Quad Cities this morning so that I could sit for my 3 hour exam while she shopped and did other productive things.  I will not know if I passed the test for a few months (gaaa, I know) but it was an important step in my career and now leaves me with time to focus on other endeavors.  Which is important because....

Photo pulled from Google Image Search

3. I see movement
That's right, a plan for the big move is falling into place.  I've been told to get out to California as soon as I can- and the week after next is the target!  So while I'm fitting all the pieces to transition me and my stuff occupying the 'rents 3rd stall garage out to LaLa land, I'm making one final trip to Chicago this weekend to toast the previous milestone with some of my classmates and enjoy what may be my final days with a real social life for some time.  Once I'm in LA, I'm pretty much starting from scratch.  More on that later of course :)

Are you ready for some football?

Photo courtesy of FX

I know I am.  Football is a sure sign of fall (I'll save my obsessive love of fall for another post) and the weather this past weekend in Iowa was a perfect match for the start of high school football and college football (even if Colorado's debut as a Pac-12 team was less than stellar). With the pro season kick-off rapidly approaching I must say that I'm excited for a new venture in the football arena this year.  No friends, I'm not talking about the new indoor football team in CR, I'm talking about fantasy football!  This year, in addition to manically cheering on my Buffs and my Bears, I will be managing and dominating my fantasy league with... wait for it.... Refrigerator of Sweetness.  Epic, I know.  If you don't get it, sorry you're not awesome.

I knew that fantasy football was for me after watching the first two seasons of The League on FX.  If you haven't seen the show, I recommend you watch it immediately; it's hilarious and takes place in Chicago.  I can only hope that my fantasy league incurs such debauchery and absurd competitiveness.  I must say, I was fairly disappointed when my draft order was doled out to me in an e-mail from ESPN as opposed to being determined in a manner such as this.

But in all seriousness, I cannot wait to start fantasy football- and the wait is almost over, my (autopick) draft is at 5am tomorrow morning!  I've spent the last several weeks participating in mock drafts, tinkering with my autopick strategy and reordering my pick preferences to ensure a championship combination of beefy and agile gentleman is delivered to my inbox much like a present under the Christmas tree.  I'm confident that my obsessive planning and organization coupled with my adorably competitive nature will pay off.  After all, I am going against a bunch of genetic counselors, most of whom are female and one of whom is a male that thinks football involves kicking a black and white ball into a net...

Wish me luck!  I'll post the roster tomorrow!

Also... it appears that the closest thing LA has to a professional football team is USC... who isn't even bowl eligible this year and has lower stadium attendance than Colorado (!?!?!)... here's to hoping I find a good Bears bar!