Hey there, 2010!

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Happy One Month Shy of My First LA-versary! I like this time of year - even more now that I don't have to stand in the subway sweating through a coat, turtleneck, scarf, and ill fitting "work slacks." Right now everything feels full of promise and possibility. I haven't screwed anything up yet. Goals still seem attainable in the face of sleeping in and catching up on my DVR. Great big things might happen. Or perhaps I'll enjoy a consistent lull of nothing too awful happening. I feel like I should reflect upon this decade and outline the highs and the lows. Ten years ago I was preparing to start my second semester as a transfer student at NYU...and moving into my fifth dorm, and six months away of meeting my now husband. It's been sort of a blur since. This is my first decade I didn't have school years and semesters to divide my life. Basically 2003-2007 felt like one long year. And 2009 in LA felt like one long May.

We really did have people at our Christmas party...

During our first LA Boozenog, I got a little busy heating up pigs in a blanket and Trader Joe's Samosas to take pictures. Some guests took pics, so I'll bug them to put them up on Facebook. In the meantime, here's my faux Elle Decor photo spread. In LA, you have to choose to have it feel Christmas-y. You're not going to have Rockettes or giant trees or Santas pissing in the gutter thrust in your face for over month. You're going to have to make due with lights wrapped around some palm trees and the Christmas tree contraption on top of the Capitol Records building. The weird thing about Christmas in LA, is that no one runs around saying "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas!" When I do acknowledge the holidays during a farewell to someone, the recipient of my well wishes sort of looks at me like I just reminded them to return a book at the library or pick up their kid. ANYWAY - Merry Christmas (and remember to throw the Netflix envelope in the mail)!!!!

I've had a two week long day.

The last time I posted we were bloated on turkey, and now I'm trying to keep a dead tree in my living room alive long enough so my friends can drink around it. I don't know where I've been these past two weeks. In the car, I think. After ten months of living in LA, I'm now beginning to feel busy. Feeling busy is as fleeting as gestures are empty in this town, so tomorrow I could be back watching RoboCop 3 in the middle of the afternoon. I want to plow through this next month and get to 2010. Anyway. Just checking in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Here are some of my favorite awkward/funny/cute/a little creepy Thanksgiving family photos I Google-imaged.

I'm now considering that Master Cleanse thing after this week

This week's food intake: a million egg frittata at Bottega Louie, prosciutto pizza and calamari at Delancey, sliders and tempura at The 3rd Stop, too much sushi at Niko Niko, meatballs, garlic bread, canoli, cheap wine and iceberg lettuce at Palermo*, and drinks at Tiki-Ti that add up to a bottle of dark rum and a bag of sugar. Good times with good friends, but there's not enough Yakult in the world.

*If you want to watch someone actually hustle at his job in this slow, "whatevs" town, take a look at the hipster bus boy at Palermo in Los Feliz. It's so refreshing watch someone give a shit about something.

California Field Trips #3: More Santa Barbara

Last weekend Alex and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in Santa Barbara. My "sell out and cash it in" fantasy has always been a beach house in Malibu. I think I might be leaning towards Santa Barbara as the place to go when I'm a millionaire and don't care anymore. I can't quite put my finger on it, but everything is sort of perfect there. I think it's Oprah's magic. I'm having a problem uploading pictures. Here are Google images of San Ysidro Ranch. We went here for dinner on our anniversary night. Jackie and JFK honeymoon-ed at San Ysidro. We stayed at totally charming, but less "Jackie and JFK" hotel. There was a whirlpool tub, not in the bathroom but right in the room. If only the tub was heart-shaped, we could pretend we're in an 80's Poconos Mountains resort commercial.

Shitcanned-tivities #4: Obsessively Update Your Address Book

My life will be perfect if it looked like this, right?

The past few weeks I had a few professional opportunities that went nowhere fast. To fill my time, I got a chest cold and a new BlackBerry. I've holed myself up this past week revisiting and updating contact info for every temp job boss, former co-workers, comics, actors, wedding vendors, high school and college friends, and creating some master database of everyone I've ever met that can be reached easily by phone and computer. Hyper busy work organizing is a fantastic way to make you feel like you're doing something productive while actually earning no money or professional credit. Other anal chore recommendations include cataloging old greeting cards, creating too many folders in your email, recording birthdays and anniversaries, throwing out old coupons, alphabetizing books, collecting every log in and passwords for every website you've ever visited that require a log in and password, and ignoring your blog because you think you haven't done anything interesting lately...obviously.