Left la at 8am and it took 4 hours on foggy roads to get to vegas. Wasn't really looking forward to the drive, and its a bit dismal when you drive into vegas diuring the day. But its a balmy 56f - and am looking forward to strolling around.

Slice of NY in LA

I had an out-of-state experience yesterday.

I spent 2 years living in Manhattan, and have many vivid memories of my early days there - visiting a deli to order a bagel and coffee - and being intimidated by the frenetic pace and quick fire questions of the counter staff. The get-'em-in get-'em-out - "wadda-u-want?" approach to customer service took a bit of getting used to, especially since I was fresh off the boat from jolly old, gentle-paced England.

I knew I'd transitioned from "visitor to NY" into "local" - when I could order my bagel and coffee during the daily quick fire challenge, and got annoyed with "visitors" who fumbled and umm'd over what they wanted to order.

Bagel places in LA just don't have the NY edge. Most of them are Californian watered down, sanitized versions of their NY counterparts. So the bagel experience just isn't complete.
I was in on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica yesterday. Not a usual haunt, but as I walked to my car, my senses were assulted by the smell of fresh coffee and toasted bagels, and I was drawn, hypnotically, to the outside of New York Bagels & Deli.

It's an unobtrusive store front, and truth be told, a little dodgy looking. But the aroma's lured me to the front door, and that one step over the threshold transported me 3,000 miles, and once again I was in Manhattan.

The interior decor and ambiance was classic NY, and the bagels and coffee didn't disappoint! And for that extra touch - all the staff wore, classic blue NY Police Department tee-shirts - with the shop logo - NYBD. I left there smiling, vowing to return.

Giving Back

Determined to break the cycle of work home work home work home, I planned out a change in activities when I flew back from the UK in October. The fab thing about transatlantic flights, is you get an opportuntity to do a lot of thinking and planning.

Of course my number 1 new activity was the increase in Blog frequency, in attempt to find my "voice". I also signed up to start a JC in Feburary, to start working on my degree. And just to balance it out, I'd like to give back, and do some volunteering.

I reached out to a couple of learning institutions. An Adult Literacy School, and an Kids after school program -- both to teach English. My first option was the Kids after school program, I submitted my application, but didn't get a response. When I followed up they were most contrite, but by then I'd already reached out to the Adult Literacy contact. And I have a meeting with her in 20 minutes.

How great is this sketch?

I found it on runawayjane's blog. She has a great blog about Travel related topics, and includes some of her sketches.

She also publishes an eBook out which you can buy. It’s called the Independent Travel Resources, and was created with the aim of providing any backpacker or independent traveler with a specific collection of resources, for everything they need both pre and post departure.

Expat Blog

Success! I tried getting my Mavi Skies blog onto Turkey Expat Blogs-- but because I don't live there (yet!) - I couldn't.

As I'm an Expat in LA - I created Roving Jay and started blogging about LA life. And yesterday I got added to the LA section of the Expat Blog. I'm going viral!

Thanks for reading.

Oldest school-kid in town!

Yesterday I applied to West LA College! My Education journey has been quite sporadic since being in LA. I've always wanted a degree, and probably about 10 years ago, I started doing a BA degree at University of Phoenix. It was an accelerated degree program - one night of school a week, followed by a specific number of Study Group hours -- I really wasn't a fan of the school or some of the students -- but I did love the learning. I especially loved the Philosophy classes. I got quite a few credit - it was so long ago, I can't recall how many. But I eventually stopped going - even though my Company were paying the $300 per credit - that's $900 per 5 week class!

A few years ago - I enrolled in SMC - Santa Monica College - I signed up for 2 classes my first semester - a Photoshop class and a Psychology class -- I loved the Photoshop - but the Psychology class was a nightmare - masses of ready - and my head hurt - so many concepts to grasp - so I dropped out.

I've kicked myself back into action - and have signed up for the Spring Semester in February 2011 -- yesterday I completed my on line application, and today I received my student ID and my acceptance email.

Tonight I logged on the student website and took the Online Orientation class -- I think I get 1 credit for doing this!

I have signed up for my English and Maths Assessment on November 30th - but I may try and do it sooner.

My registration date is on December 14th!

DMV on a Monday morning

Tips for visiting the Culver City DMV! Don't go on a Monday Morning. I had to renew my driving license - and got there bright an early - or so I thought -- the line was already around the corner of the building.

Half an hour later I was still only half way there:

But that wasn't the end of the experience. Once inside, I was assigned a number - and had to wait another hour to get my chance of speaking to the person at the counter. I tried to work out how the numbering system worked - but couldn't figure it out. I was a G# - and they called G's for a while, and then none for 20 minutes. I was going to wait for 30 - before I started to complain -- just when I was starting to get annoyed - I noticed an electronic banner on the back wall - advertising "wait time at the Inglewood DMV 0 minutes"! Thanks for rubbing it in! The G's finally got back on track - and the lady at the counter was really nice - and there was no line to get my photo taken.

I've had the same photo on my license for 10 years - so I'm not sure how I feel about being updated! One bonus is - that although my photo will be fresh and new - my weight was kept the same!! I'll never be 105 lbs again... but each time I look at my license - I can relive those glory - skinny puppy - years!