Adventure in Tuscaloosa

Recently, Stephanie and I were bored and went looking for some adventure here in Tuscaloosa. We wound up at a local hunting and fishing superstore. Here are some scenes:

Camo attire and dead animals


Housewares and dead animals


Inspirational tableau of dead animals


Gun room and curious cat


Fake dead animals (to help lure real live animals)


Never too early to get 'em started

Ben Folds covers Dr. Dre

Check it out.
Did everyone know about this? He did it early last year. I just downloaded it; it's awesome. I like the album art too.

Wild Week of Weddings and Wheel Work

Well it's been another wild week around here. Liz's wedding last weekend was great. Hard to believe she's married now! It was great being around her and Van and family, not to mention Dan, T-Boz, Jan, Beth, Lindsey, Parks, and everybody else. Dan should have photos up soon.

Then, I got back here and decided to go get the Explorer's wheel bearings checked as recommended by Rick last week and Trevor over the weekend. Well, my bearings did need replacing - as did my front brake rotors, pads, my radiator, rear axle(!), and some other things. It took all week to get done and cost a pretty penny. Remember last week when we fixed the tranny thinking it was okay to put that much into the car if nothing else big was wrong? But there wasn't a great way to make *sure* there wasn't something else lurking? Well maybe I should have towed it all over town getting everything checked, 'cause between last week's bill and this week's, I think I may have made a different decision had I known. I love my Explorer...it's my tank...but I can't afford to pour this much money into it to preserve it beyond it's natural life. I'm happy to roll with it as long as it wants, but if there had to be an end to the era, and a new beginning, August and the new life in DC seems like a good time for it. Not now...me & the tank will be rollin' for quite some time.

Don't get me wrong...I love the legendary Explorer, I'm just disgruntled about its being a money pit these last couple of weeks. There are limits to what I can afford vs. what would be a better use of resources.

In other news, BarBri continues, and a favorite cheesemonger of mine, Cowgirl Creamery out of Point Reyes Station, CA, just opened a store in DC. I'm looking forward to that.

Finally, check out this new ACLU ad.

Weather Right Now

Tuscaloosa: Sunny, 97 degrees (7:11pm)
Santa Monica: Sunny, 69 degeees (5:11pm)

The Explorer is Back!

This afternoon I called Rick at Rick's Quality Transmission, just for a status report. I expected the Explorer to be ready tomrrow or perhaps next week, so imagine my surprise when Rick said it would be ready in about half an hour! So I got 'er back, with a whole new transmission and a new U-joint. The old one was about to fall out in the street.

Here I am driving joyously away from Rick's:


I've already gotten some road time, as I went to Birmingham this afternoon to pick up my photos from California and go to the good grocery store. Next item on the agenda: head to Mobile tomorrow for the big Liz Hallett wedding. I haven't been home in a long time; it will be good. It's always good to get back to the coast and escape from the damn hinterlands of West Central Alabama.

PS...in case you're wondering, the mileage is now just a hair over 270,000.

Explorer, etc.

The Explorer will ride again! I decided to fix it; shopping for a new car would just be too much of a hassle and distraction right now. Thanks to all who weighed in. The Explorer and I will be back on the road again soon, making you proud.

In other news:

Have you seen the I/O Brush? Look how cool this is.

Also, a recent LA Times article on shopping in London had the following absolutely true passage: "If I'm in the mood, I cross the street to Marks & Spencer, a British institution. The underwear floor is amazing, and Marks & Spencer's basic house-label T-shirts are softer than any I've bought in the U.S." YES! These are the shirts I have loved for 10 years! Article here.

Finally, I recently had the pleasure of meeting the mother of Dawn and Danielle Ripple. She's the secretary of Stephanie's new landlord in Montgomery. You'll be glad to know that the Ripples are doing fine. Danielle just had a baby. Jim...that could have been yours.

Transmission or Retirement?

So bar exam prep classes are well underway. Pretty miserable.

Also, the Explorer diagnosis is: all forward gears are burnt up. So unless I learn to go everywhere in reverse, a decision must be made. Either fix it, for a pretty penny, and hope the beast holds out for a few more years, or accept that the end is here for our glorious 12 1/2 year run. Normally, I would be all for repair, but considering the future, I'm not sure if it isn't time to let him go and downsize for my move to DC. That makes some sense, but then again, I don't know if I can bear letting the Explorer go until it really dies, no coming back. You know...if all we need is a transmission...hey, keep the good times rolling.

And if we did retire it, what would I do with it? Try to get something for it, either whole or in parts? Found the John Haffner Explorer Museum?

Also, I can't get by for two months in Alabama without a car, and looking for a new car during BarBri is not a good idea.

Hmmmm...

Wondering about fractals?

I give you, our old friend, Benoit B. Mandelbrot.

Other news: the Explorer is down, with a broken tranny. Diagnosis tomorrow.

Back in Tuscaloosa

After a nice last partial day in Santa Monica and a pleasant flight, I got back here late last night. I knew I was back when I heard a woman behind me on the jetway say "Okay, we're in the area of the country that knows how to fry okra; we're alright."

So...law school completion: check. Finally returning to Cali: check. Now I have two days to readjust before the bar exam prep class begins and I'm back in lockdown for two months. It's gonna be a great summer in Alabama!

Final Night

Last night was the last night of my trip. Hence, even though it was cloudy, I still went out to enjoy the sunset, one of my favorite LA activities.



So today I'm doing some last fun stuff, then packing up and heading east. Esha and I just went to Peet's and to California Map & Travel, a store I used to frequent. Sadly, they are going out of business, but it means good deals until they close in a week or so. Right now everything in the store is 75% off, so I just got 5 books that would normally be $106 but I got them for $26.

Time to pack...

Desert Day

I had a long day yesterday in the desert. Drove out to Palm Springs and then south over the mountains to Anza-Borrego. It took a long time; lotta ground covered. I finally got down into the desert, after many winding mountain roads, in late afternoon. It was great to commune with cacti again. And I went through so many different climates and geographies, the temperature ranged from 107 to 53! It's amazing that there are so many diverse worlds in such a small area. California, baby.

After nightfall I went to La Jolla to have dinner with Cheryn. That was great too. Now I'm back for my last full day here. Unless I just stay.

A few pics from yesterday:


The Colorado Desert


Me with a friendly barrel cactus


Another friend - the Ocotillo

Eat Chocolate

From CNN: "Study: Chocolate may boost brain power"

Now all I need is a study detailing the many benefits of bacon.

LA update: I'm about to go to the desert for the day. Out to the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area, then over the mountain to Anza-Borrego State Park.

Busy Afternoon

Well today was busy. After the market and some light shopping in Santa Monica, I drove up the PCH, through Topanga Canyon, and up to the Valley to visit Katie Rogers at work. She gave me the grand tour of the animation studio where she works. There were all kinds of neat drawings and storyboards and other animation things everywhere. Looked like a really neat place to work.

Then I drove through Laural Canyon to Hollywood, got a bacon & cheese dog at Pink's, hit Samy's Camera, Trader Joe's, and got a mexican mocha at Sabor y Cultura. Next, a cruise through downtown to say hello to my old friend the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and finally back home. Now, I'm hungry and it's time to hit Norms!

First, some scenes:

Palisades Park


Redwood Hill Farm's feta: the cheese that started it all for me.



Topanga Canyon. You can see the creek lower left and kinda see the road on the right. This is 5 minutes from the ocean.

Cheese & Apples

Reporting live from the Apple Store on 3rd St. Promenade. Just went to the farmers market and got cheese - the very cheese from Redwood Hill Farms that sparked my cheese love about 3 years ago. It's another beautiful day.

Hello.

Planes

One of the joys of Santa Monica is planes flying overhead. Just to the south is LAX, so you see all kinds of trans-Pacific big beasts. And just to the east is Santa Monica Airport, so you have small private planes flying directly over you. This is all best seen from the beach, of course.

What prompted me to write this post just now is that I just walked out of the apartment and heard a distinct big jet sound above. It sounded like a lumbering 747. I thought, "that's gotta be a 74." And once I got clear of the trees and looked up...sure enough! 74, on downwind for LAX!

Live Report from Beverly Hills

I just saw Rick Fox, ex-Laker and husband of Vanessa Williams, eating at a sidewalk cafe on Beverly Drive. He looked at me with lust.

Also, I forgot to mention...I hadn't even been in town 30 minutes yesterday before I saw a film shoot in Santa Monica. Right there on Main was a bunch of crew, lighting, and other equipment, all swarming around a white Lamborghini. Hollywood, baby.

Eli

I just had a great 3 hour visit with my old compadre Eli. I met him at the old Raymond St. apartment and we walked down to Main for breakfast at Mani's, then a nice walk down the boardwalk in Venice and back. He's doing well. More on his world here.

Here we are sitting in stands watching basketball at the Venice Beach courts.


Alright...time to get back out there. I think I need me some Jamba Juice...

Back on the West Side!

So yeah, I'm finally back in LA. It's wonderful. I can't believe it's been almost three years. So great to be back. And after a few cloudy days in NoCal, it's absolutely gorgeous down here. I'm staying with Esha and Mary Kristen in Ocean Park, just a few blocks from my old apt. We had dinner tonight at Toi Rockin' Thai Food, where Jiin works, and Katie stopped by there too. I haven't even been here a day and I've already seen four of my friends here. Next - breakfast tomorrow with Eli.

Here's a little natural beauty for ya - today's sunset, from the edge of the continent.

"Urinates in Toilet"

I arrived in sunny LA today. Saw this ad on a bulletin board in Venice:

SF Antics

Stephanie and I listening intently to Matt & Marielle at dinner at Medicine on Thursday night.


Here's Dan eating in Chinatown yesterday.


And here's me & Matt at the Apple Store last night. Photo taken by a MacBook's iSight webcam. Stephanie and Marielle were close by, enthralled as ever.