I Am This Woman

Now I’m really behind… having skipped another day, with no catch-ups. Ah well, the sop to my conscience is that at least I’m busy and living well, rather than grinching in the background.

Yesterday, we drove up from San Diego to Los Angeles… I intentionally wanted to take all day. We took the PCH from Camp Pendleton to Newport Beach before it got very very old. But lunch in Laguna was nice (nice barely does justice — we ate at Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. More on that later). The traffic was light (comparatively for LA), and our hotel is comfortable, though the food in the lounge is meh. It touts itself to be awesome, but it’s meh.

And with the millions of new sights and stimulations, I find myself overloaded just enough to be mentally tired and really not able to hold a thought long enough to blog in the way I prefer blogging. To wit, I opened a window last night to catch up, and then saw something shiny and got sidetracked. I guess this week is a kind of creative vacation, but in fact, it too is an important brain-expanding activity — to break with routines, to see new stuff, with no other purpose than to find the right exit or intersection for the taco stand or our hotel.

I just signed up for Stumble Upon, and this is an interesting way to surf where you can do just that. Tell it what things you’re interested in, click on “Stumble!” then say “ooooh, shiny!” and click the box saying “I like it.” The plug-in remembers the site, jpg, whatever for you, and then you can move on to the next shiny thing. What you clicked is going to be in your list, and then when you log into the main page, you can send the link to “friends.” This is an excellent way to see new things in rapid succession.

Now if there was a way to capture some of what we saw yesterday: the contract between Laguna, Hollywood proper (which is not the glamour capital, but a hodgepodge of somewhat distressed off-brand businesses, once you get past Rodeo and Beverly Hills) and then Burbank. It’s amazing to me — the cultural geography of a “Little Armenia” and signage in Russian, one strip of Korean shops next to a strip of Chinese ones. The exits for famous landmarks such as Hollywood Bowl, Ford Theatre and Laurel Canyon Drive. And everywhere? nail salons.

Tucked here and there are casting agencies, media and post-production companies and… nail salons. Later today, we will be bombarded with sights, sounds and fatigue as we brave the crowds at Universal Studios.