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.

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!

Three of us this weekend!

Had a bit of a gallavant this weekend.

Out for dinner on Friday night at: Waterloo and City

Fab Gastro Bar within walking distance - highly recommended.

Out for dinner on Saturday night at: Kaizuka

Our fave Sushi Restaurant on the Westside

Out for dinner on Sunday night at: Whole Foods

Sitting at the bar having salad and a glass of wine - while shopping troll by with their shopping carts during their Sunday Shot -- only in La-La Land!

On Saturday and Sunday - there was three of us at dinner - me, the Ginger Prince and his new iPhone 4. For the past couple of years, I've managed to convince him that he doesn't need an iPhone - he just makes calls and sends the odd text message. He doesn't use a computer for work - so isn't really tecchie savvy - but that's all changed now. We bought a Mac a couple of years ago - and since then - he's been getting more familiar with surfing, hunting out music - we have about 16k songs, and surfing through our photo's - nearly 18k, and this year - I introduced him to Facebook - and he's now an FF -- a facebook fiend! Never a day goes by, that he doesn't check in to find out what's going on with his friends back home.

So I couldn't fight it anymore -- the time had come - and I dragged him off to the local AT&T store. Don't go to the one in the Marina - they don't sell iPhones - how mad is that? AT&T is the only service provider in the US - and one of the 3 stores in the area's doesn't have iPhones.

We were heading to Santa Monica to the Mac Store - but on the way, went past another AT&T store on Lincoln Blvd - so stopped in there instead. What a fab store! Joclyn helped the Ginger Prince get his phone. I also caved, and traded in my ancient phone in for something new and snazzy - looks like something a teenybopper would have -- but it has Blue Tooth -- my new mini has blue tooth, but my old phone didn't - so it was a good enough reason to upgrade.

I spent about 15 minutes getting to know my phone - the GP spent all weekend snuggled up with his!

On his way to work today he emailed me a photo he took of the Coliseum - so I guess he's figured out how the camera works!

Mar Vista Farmers Market - LA

Mar Vista Farmers market on a Sunday-- used to be nothing in the area - now we have this!

Follow this link to view more details about it: http://marvistafarmersmarket.org/

The Mar Vista Farmers’ Market is a non-profit organization.
It came about as a result of local business owners and neighbors’
desire to create a Mar Vista Town Square.

The first Mar Vista Market took place August 6, 2006.
In just a short time it has more than met it’s goal of bringing fresh,
direct-marketed produce from California farmers to the
community. Sundays are a bustling example of Mar Vistans
coming out to shop, eat, and visit with their neighbors while also
achieving broader social impacts – from community development,
to health and nutrition, to preserving family farms.

Airports

I left LA yesterday, and it never ceases to amaze me - how terrible LAX airport is. I left from the Tom Bradley terminal - and I bypassed the cafe and bar in the departures hall, fully expecting a better choice of establishments the other side of security.

Boy was I disappointed. There was one tiny bar which had a hot dog stand as the only form of solid sustenance. Well I don't eat meat - and to be honest I'm not sure I'd eat them if I did. My vodka and orange cost nearly 10 dollars - and the tinney speakers belched out bad covers of early disco.