Home Sweet Home

I am home in NY for the holidays. I arrived Friday night after a very bumpy and odd flight. I should have known I was in for a long day when I was flagged in the security line for a bag check and pat down. All because I had a few candles and magnets in my bag that I was giving as gifts. Even the security guard who came to clear me was annoyed he had been called over. Rediculous but I smiled and laughed because I had time to spare and he was easy on the eyes. Hey I get action were I can these days. Anyway I sat and watched some man paw threw my underware and then take the items in question back to the xray to prove it was in fact a candle. I repacked my bag and just as I sat in the waiting area with my starbucks I hear my name being called to go to the gate. First flash is my mother has tracked me down but then that seems odd so then I thought they are taking my bag bc it is slightly to big to be a carry on. Turns out they wanted me to move seats to help a mother and child sit together. I was happy to do it and went back to the waiting area. That is where I saw a couple that I literally prayed to the Lord above not to sit next to. They had to be in their upper 70s, wealthy New York couple, loud and dressed somewhat eccentric. Him in a simple suit and her all black with a kelly green hat and plaid Prada bag. I said ok just loud NY couple, welcome home. I ignored her asking the men at the gate what food they offer then ignored her telling her husband that they should find food then again maybe not. Ignored the staring at people who she felt were beneath her. BUT I could not ignore what happened next. She took off her jacket to reveal a skin tight black top and leggings. No bra and when you are wearing a size too small a black top will become see through. Oh yes I saw everything. Nauseated I entered the plane. The rest of the flight was not as strange. I met a woman named Sara who sat a few seats away from me. Typical Californian, blond, tan skin, 40ish, brought snacks which she shared with everyone. Wasabi peas and carrots. Next to her was Emily who was 12, lives with her dad most of the year and her mother the rest. Her mom is remarried and living in NY. Now I dont ask people questions or talk. I just smile and it pours out of them. I listen and enjoy hearing their stories. I am happy to be in NY.

And the holiday parties start

Last night I went to a Christmas party at a friend of a friend's house. I didnt know many people and the ones I did know I had met only a few times. It was a neighbor hood party with a few extra people like myself thrown in. The people were all very nice but I was noticeably the youngest one there and the only unmarried/no kids person as well. Little hard to talk about kids and husbands when you dont have one. Also hard to explain to people why you are in California when they make comments like "oh really? you just moved to here...no job"... ya fun. We did a Yankee swap which is always fun. I had a few gifts throughout the night like gift cards. I did pick the one gift I had no use for, it was a "mom calender". A super organized calender for big families which everyone thought to be hilarious considering it was me that was stuck with it. Luckily a woman made her husband take it from me bc she felt bad. I ended up with The Hangover 2 on blue ray which sucks bc I dont even have a tv or dvd player right now lol. My cousin has a yankee swap next week she is going to and is going to take it there. The same people will be at this one so it will be funny.  I wont be there so I wont have to deal with the backlash :)

Grow a Pair

I love this website : http://fuckyeahgirlswithshorthair.tumblr.com/
So many women with adorable short hair. I have been a short hair wearer for a long time now. When I was young I had longish hair I think twice but otherwise its always been short. In high school I wore it to my shoulders but its HS so I didn't want to be noticed that much. In college I went from a bob to a buzzed back of the head to spiky to bob again. I love short hair, its so much fun and its nice to be set apart from the long hair drones that are out there. People hide behind their hair. When you have short hair it shows confidence. I mean it puts your face right out there. So when I see women with short hair I know what kind of woman they are  :)

Under Pressure

Christmas shopping is usually my favorite thing to do. I love thinking of what others would want as a gift. Seeing how happy they are when they open it. The hunting for good buys and great ideas. I tend to spend way to much and give too many gifts. This year however I don't have the money.  I am not working right now and my small savings is going fast. So this is where the frustration comes in. I am trying to be creative and use my art background and skills for gifts. I did a few crafty things that look good but I feel its not enough. In years past I knew what I wanted to get and found the best deal for it. This year I am drawing blanks as to what to get and have no energy to hunt. I think I know why. California. Yup I am blaming the warm weather and sun. Just last week I was at the beach. I am not ready for Christmas, its not cold and there is no snow. It doesn't feel real. I need to get my act together asap. OK! I am running to the outlets!!! I will let you know how I do!

Pancakes, Coke and McDonalds Will Cure All

Last night was a friends birthday so we went to this nice Japanese place called Tomiko. http://tomiko.com/. Cool place with some good specials. They kept happy hour going all night on a Saturday. Perhaps they are in trouble but whatever the reason it helped us out haha. One of the things we had was the spicy calamari which I have to go back for as well as the spicy pear martini. I unfortunately didn't get that one but got a mandarin orange martini that was like drinking an orange halls cough drop. I was given some really good sake though. Now I know nothing about sake and have only had it a few times but I know a good drink when I have one. Daiginjo Sake "Tears of Dawn" its called. The pic above is the bottle. Very smooth and everyone seemed to enjoy it. As suggested by a friend I might use it on a date, give the illusion of knowing what I'm doing and order it.

I had a good time chatting with people and did more laughing then I've done in a few weeks. Love that feeling when everyone has the same energy and drinking at the same pace so we are all in sync. Ended the night at a friends where there was hope for dancing but we all were getting sleepy and just hung out more. Today however I woke up feeling a tad slow and in need of painkillers.  Well worth it of course :)

flashback

Last night we were talking about cartoons we miss from childhood. I think it started because I found Snorks on tv and was thrilled then confused at why I liked it so much as a kid. While we were talking I remembered a movie I used to like as a kid. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. Actually I couldnt remember the name but with 2 other 30somethings in the room it was named with excitement. We looked it up on itunes and watched it. Little flashbacks of my childhood while seeing the Jim Henson Muppet's. Even the voices used brought back memories. It was a nice way to sit with family once again and get ready for the holidays

Date Night

So I kinda crashed but was also invited on my cousin and his wife's date night. We went to this very cool, stylish place called Solace in Encinitas,CA. http://www.eatatsolace.com/ I loved the artwork in this place. Hey they have a pic of "the dude" on the wall. The food is amazing there as well. So I had no idea that date night was all about indulging on good drinks and rich food. We had a cheese plate for an app plus we ordered the grilled cheese dinner as an app to share. 4 different gourmet cheeses in this grilled cheese. Then we each ordered dinner which looked so good I tried to take a pic. We even got so bold that we ordered dessert. I do feel slightly uncomfortable and not at all datish but it was a fun night. Hey how can you go wrong with good food and good company...come on.

I did notice the table next to us. A woman and a guy on a first date. The three of us spoke about it while walking to our car after dinner. While the girl was in the restroom the guy made a phone call and told whom ever was on the phone that the date was going great. I hadn't paid much attention to them but we did notice he did all the talking. It made me think of the dates I had been on where the guy did all the talking. Where I walked away knowing everything about him and he not knowing a thing about me. I'm guessing like the girl tonight, no desire to see these guys again. He thinks this date went great but did it really? Is he selling himself to her because he is insecure or is he that conceded? I always took it as conceded but my male cousin saw it as insecurity. hmm something to think about :)

And The Freaks Come Out At Night....

Sunday we went to LA for the day. Its about 2 hours away so a good day trip. We did all the fun things like the walk of stars, Hollywood sign, Santa Monica pier and the yummy Randy's Donut. Now I could go into detail on all the fun things we saw but I'm not. I feel I want to focus on one issue I kept noticing.... the homeless and freak situation in LA. Now in NY we had Giuliani who made all the homeless magically disappear and the freaks well they cant afford NY anymore.  In LA they are everywhere. At the beach you have to walk around them. On the Santa Monica Pier they are all around. So while your trying to buy a hot dog or take a picture with your kids you can try to ignore the guy with the gorilla mask dancing to Michael Jackson. There were quite a few half dressed people talking to themselves and dancing to music only they can hear.  Hollywood blvd with its walk of stars is littered with people asking for money or trying to sell you something you are not sure what. You spend half the time dodging tourists and the other half dodging the sketchy people walking about. Now there is sketchy and there is sketchy. The kind on Hollywood blvd are the people with no hands lighting fireworks..yes you read me right. Try to walk past that and pretend you are really interested in Danny Divito's star. It reminds me of Time Square in the 80s. Not a place you wanna be at night. And oh yes I feel terrible for the homeless yes yes yes but its really a situation out here.

Although on another thought if I was gonna be homeless I would do it here. Perfect weather, freedom to set up camp anywhere you like even in the middle of a sidewalk, sleep on the beach and you can get a dollar taco on just about every corner.... just saying

while writing listening to: chakakhan, song: papillon

Sigur Ros: one of the best bands and why

I am unable to sleep and when that happens I like to go to apple trailers and see whats coming out soon. Look at what I found. INNI, its a film by Sigur Ros. I am so excited!! They are a band unlike any other band. Their music doesn't just play to your ears it goes around you, through you, you feel the music. So I was so excited to see a trailer for a film that is basically just a live show. The write up on their website says it takes you to an intimate place with with band in that its them playing stripped down. I have yet to see them live so this has got to be the next best thing. Anyway check out the music, you wont be sorry :) and you will probably recognize a bunch of songs from commercials and movies.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/inni/
http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/band/disco/inni/

First Blog!!!! YAY

Hi! Welcome to my blog! First my name is Liz, I am 33 years old and have just made the jump from New York to California. I have always lived in New York except for the very few years my parents lost their minds and moved us to Jersey. Thank God they realized what they had done and moved us back to the suburbs of NYC. I lived there until 2 months ago when I picked up and moved to California. Its been an adventure alright but I am loving my new life. I'm not sure what this blog will be really. It might just be about a woman's journey to a new place, sex and the city Cali style, or life as an unemployed family mooching artist....I just don't know yet. But what I can say is that it will be hilarious and touching because thats what my life is.

PS as I write this I am watching a Paranormal State marathon and I am really upset by the state of the investigators skin. Does everyone on this show have bad skin? Perhaps they need to stop worrying about the dead people and worry about their dead skin.... a dermatologist is needed asap