No, I'm not dead...

A few observations:

1) People in the greater Los Angeles area can't drive as evidenced by the rear passenger panel of my new car. Despite the best intentions, you really do have to look prior to making a left-hand turn from the center lane. It would also help if you didn't say "woopsie, I don't know what happened" to the pissed off person you just hit. I guess at least having insurance and stopping is a start...

2) Del Taco = Taco Bell with fries. The first time I experienced this phenomenon, I thought I had gotten away with something. I was all, "they gave me fries and they didn't even catch it." Not only was I still on the corporate dole meaning that I was getting reimbursed for the meal anyway, I also got free fries. Free meal + Free fries = crazy delicious. Unfortunately, just proves how much I don't pay attention to the details. I no longer feel special. It was like that time in high school when we went to Kentucky Kingdom for Physics day (stop me if you've heard this one) and everyone was boarding the pirate ship ride (you know, "tastes great...less filling") except me because I was further back in line and the guy told everyone to lift their arms for the safety bar only it didn't occur to me at the time he was only addressing the people on the ride and I had a brain misfire and lifted my arms too and felt really dumb for doing so and couldn't play it off like I was just being a smartass or something...

3) Cell phone reception is not good here. Just to add to that, it is not always 70 degrees and sunny. Standing outside on the balcony when it's 40 degrees and raining to get a phone signal is not fun.

4) Vonage + TiVo = no new TiVo programming. While I am happy to say that as of today, I feel as though I am back in civilization--not that I didn't have cable and a phone in temporary housing and then later at the extended stay motel, but it wasn't my phone or cable or even really my computer (which died for a period of time so I had no access to Mapquest)--dial up just doesn't cut it, and I went from having a dial up connection using my work computer to having no dial up, no phone, no cable, and no good cell phone reception for the last week or so. Didn't even know about Tennessee until today. And while it is 65 degrees and sunny, it will rain again next week. It never rains in southern California my ass.

5) While I feel like I will have to hock things monthly to afford my current rent, I still refuse to pay $.5 million on a "fixer upper" with less square footage than the apartment I used to rent for $350 in Kentucky. I don't care if real estate is an investment or if things appreciate here (housing bubble say vhat?), I'm not doing it.

6) Pasadena is like Evanston with palm trees.

7) One day, I will work less than a 12 or 14 hour day. I just know it. It's coming. I can feel it. Any day now....soon. Really. Not even like where I think that one day I will be thin again like in high school. I think the work thing will happen before the body thing.