10.10.2011

Gosh it's been forever!

I apologize for the delay in updating the blog! Things got busy really quickly!



James started school and had to hit the ground running. Graduate school has been intense so far - on top of adjusting to a new city and new friends.

As for me, my full-time job has been to find a full-time job. It has been a challenge, but with the wonderful prayers and support of my family, I managed to find a good doctor who I will hopefully be working for soon, God-willing. It is only part-time for now, but there is potential for full-time.

Yup, that pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.

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On another note, I will share some things I have learned about LA so far...

- Traffic is just a part of life...like eating and sleeping. There is no such thing as, "I'll just quickly run some errands." Also, the phrase, "I'm about 20 minutes away" usually means about an hour. On the flip side, people care a little less if you are a few minutes late because everyone knows how traffic is here.


Looks like something from another planet

- Everyone we have met (with the exception of a few people) came from somewhere else in the US or world; LA is so diverse!

- The junkiest cars here are nicer than my car was when I got it.

- The weather is so warm that people are still wearing shorts and tanktops. I have heard that you can actually tan at the beach over Christmas vacation.

- You actually bring your own shopping bags to the grocery store, so that you don't waste plastic/paper bags. It's really nice! 
- You learn to take parking wherever you can get it...especially if it is free (which is very rare)! Even if you have to walk a mile to get to your destination. It actually is possible to spend more time parking than driving. 

- You never know when you are going to see a movie set...we saw them filming a scene from the new Batman movie downtown.

- Tickets to Las Vegas from here are really cheap. I'm not planning on going, I'm just saying :)

- This is the only place where you can get a parking ticket right outside your apartment - apparently you have to move your car for street cleaning...I learned the hard way :( Parking is just downright confusing.
Sample LA parking sign
- LA is such a huge city that it can actually take hours just to drive from one side to the other. Also, it is hard to remember which areas are subsections of LA (like Taylor Ranch is in Albuquerque, Culver City in LA), and which ones are completely different cities (like Rio Rancho, or Santa Monica here).
 
- Although we haven't seen any famous stars yet, it's weird to think that the guy at 8:30 in the morning at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap who looks like Tom Cruise probably is Tom Cruise.

- There is no easy way to tell north/south/east/west here like there is in NM, but in general...South = beaches, North = mountains...it's crazy to have both!
 
VS.
 

- And finally, even though we have yet to feel our first earthquake, they probably happen all the time. Wikipedia says that LA has 10,000 annually! I wonder if that is true...

4 comments:

  1. Do the red words form a secret code? (This question is rhetorical: no matter what you say, I'm going to assume that they do and try to decipher it.)

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  2. So what was your conclusion to my imaginary puzzle? :)

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  3. Hi Jenny,

    I hope you like the job that you take and we are praying for you.

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  4. Thank you! The more prayers the better :)

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