32 Reasons Why I Like LA
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

1. The weather is great and on the occasional day that it's not, I don't have to walk in it...I just have to go from car to building to car. (Note to reader: car to building to car could also be on my list of reasons I don't like LA...uch! I've already swayed!!! back on track...)
2. Outdoor activities - endless hiking possibilities, biking, etc...
3. A home. A real live home with lots of light flooding in with a back patio and a front yard.
4. Farmer's markets and delicious fresh produce
5. Grocery shopping
6. The ability to get in a car and take a road trip to Mexico, San Diego, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Arizona, Napa...etc. It's easy to get out to a lot of really beautiful places.
7. The beach, it's proximity, and the amount of days that you can use it.
8. For the first time in 11 years, I get to live in the same city as one of my childhood best friends.
9. It's a shorter trip to Asia, Hawaii, Australia and Bali than the east coast
10. The Mexican food is far superior
11. The sushi is pretty incredible too.
12. I've met a few great people that I'm so grateful to have in my life.
13. Target and Best Buy (they're hard to find in the city and even if you can - you don't have a car to get all your stuff home)
14. Lazy Sundays - I never learned that art in NYC.
15. Dinner parties
16. Exploring a new part of the country
17. YOGA!!! Yoga classes are definitely better in LA.
18. We found our puppy here - and the Mulholland Dog Park or Runyon Canyon beat any NYC dog park.
19. Palm trees.
20. The Beach Boys
21. I don't have my annual panic attack in the Times Square subway station because there are too many people and I'm screaming inside my own head for everyone to just move and let me get through to where I need to go.
22. I have a FANTASTIC therapist here.
23. Change is good...and Los Angeles has helped me to figure myself out, get out of my comfort zone.
24. It's an adventure that Matt and I get to share separate and apart from all the other people in our families...something different that we'll always have together.
25. Pinkberry. I know you New Yorker's don't like it but I say it beats chemically-tasting Tasty Delight ANY DAY.
26. The Arclight Cinema - you have to love a movie theater with assigned, comfy seats
27. The Golden Globes are on at 5 so I can actually stay awake for the entire thing (well...most of the time.)
28. Trader Joe's. I know there's one in NYC now...but there wasn't when I lived there and I freaking love this place...
29. Mani/pedis- They're cheaper and better.
30. My hairdresser, Robert, at Roman Salon.
31. Ikea with a car. No renting, no buses...pure ease.
32. My shoes are in MUCH better shape than they ever were in NYC.

Of course for every reason I've thought of here, I have 10 reasons why I love New York. But I suppose that's why I have this blog now, isn't it?

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 2:04 PM 3 comments  

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The Coffee Debate
Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Knoxville feels like it was sooooooo long ago - but I vaguely recall referencing the whole Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf vs. Starbucks thing before I left. For those of you who are not familiar Coffee Bean, this is a west coast beanery that Angelenos seems to swoon over. Perhaps this is one reason that I will never be considered an Angeleno.

Let's start by discussing the actual act of getting coffee in LA. You can't just "pick up" coffee on your way to work. Unless you are one of a select few that either lives or works within walking distance of a coffee shop, coffee entails getting in your car, driving to your coffee shop of choice, finding a parking spot (that's an ESPECIALLY infuriating part that generally includes also having quarters), and then post-coffee ordering, getting back in your car and driving to work while trying not to spill the coffee that you are slowly sipping when the guy in front of you slams on the breaks. In NYC, you walk out your door, stop to buy coffee on the way to the subway, and then head on your merry way. Sure, there's an occasional spill from the guy who bumps you on the street or the times when the subway stops short (although I'd venture to say that most NY'ers get their coffee post-subway ride) but all in all, walking through a Manhattan morning with coffee is an enjoyable undertaking and is a much simpler task than in LA. I know people. I know that I'm totally and completely biased and you can all write and tell me that you think it's easier to get a coffee in your car. (And maybe it actually would be if someone got smart and made some coffee shops with a drive thru.) But I don't buy it for a single second. Coffee is easier
in NY.

Of course, I can't say that I'm thrilled with the influx of a Starbucks on every corner. On one of my recent visits, I almost fell down dead when I turned to see the green sign where the Blind Tiger Ale House once stood. This is NOT ok people. That was a tangent. Back on track...

In LA, there are two coffee monsters - the nation-wide Starbucks and the west coast Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. (incidentally, Coffee Bean also has many international shops in places like Israel, Australia, and Qatar. Go figure.) Anyhow...people out here LOOOOOOOOVE Coffee Bean. I've never done a study of any sort, but I think that Coffee Bean is more popular out here than Starbucks.

I would be lying if I said that there are certain things that I do, indeed, like about Coffee Bean. Their sizes are small, medium, and large. Their coffee is WAY better than the gasoline that Starbuck serves and by this, I mean their regular old, "Can I have a coffee?" They have delicious flavored Iced Teas. But that's where the goodness ends. Because Coffee Bean uses powder vanilla and chocolate to flavor their drinks. First of all, aforementioned powder is inSANEly sweet. Sickeningly so. Secondly, you start out with a mocha at the beginning of your drink, but you end with globs of sugary, granular chocolate powder at the end. Does that sound good to YOU?

So while I am in the minority, I remain a Starbucks enthusiast in a land of Coffee Bean connoisseurs. I'll take a grande non-fat mocha over a medium vanilla latte any day. Of course the last time I got either in LA was easily a month ago...because I had to drive to get there.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 1:30 PM 4 comments  

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This weather sucks.
Monday, October 29, 2007

It's too hot here for sweaters and I'm pissed about it. I opened my closet this morning and I have absolutely nothing to wear. Sure, I have an entire closet full of beautiful jackets and wrap sweaters and turtlenecks. But I can't wear any of them because it's 80 degrees outside!!! It's Halloween in two days and it's freaking 80 degrees. I know that I'm supposed to like that about LA. The weather is one of the upshots of this place. But I couldn't possibly appreciate it less right now. I want to bundle up my body in a blanket of warmth and comfort and this stupid weather is telling me to get out my sandals and put on a tank top. Screw you LA and your sunny, hot, October afternoon.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 12:26 PM 0 comments  

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The leaves are perfect
Friday, October 26, 2007

I got my perfect fall day. The leaves blew across the street in a perfect swirl and for a moment, I felt as though I were in a scene of a poignant, thought-evoking film. I stared out the car window at the trees - a brilliant collage of fiery reds and oranges and yellows. The grass was covered in crunchy browns and deeper jewel tones. The air was crisp - just chilled enough to give your cheeks a slight hint of pink but the shining sun smiled down upon us as though to say, "Don't worry kids. I'm here watching and I always will be."

There's something ironic about being in that perfect fall setting and hearing the sound of the shovel digging into the pile of dirt. Like nails on a chalkboard, it sends shivers down my spine. I hate that part the most...perhaps because you have to see the descent into the ground and there's absolutely no way that you can NOT come to terms with the loss you have experienced.

But I was glad to be reminded of the woman that you were. A bold, strong, compassionate, lover full of chutzpah. A true liver of life. You took lemons and made lemonade. And I was glad to have the opportunity to honor you with words that brought not only tears, but laughter as well. My father-in-law, who only got to meet you once, came up to me and said, "I'm sorry I didn't get to know your grandmother. She sounds like she was a truly phenomenal woman." And that is exactly what you were.

My aunt's students sent her condolence cards and we read them today as we sat and ate, the way that Jews do while they sit shiva. And they were truly prolific. One of her 7th graders wrote:

I am so sorry for your loss. Even the sky shed tears for your mother. But she will always be with you. Mothers always are.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

It really was a perfect fall day. They sent you off in style, Grammy - exactly the way you deserved.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 7:23 PM 0 comments  

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I raise my glass...
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I remember the way that you'd talk about the price of grapes at the grocery store. I'd ask my mom, annoyed that the days coupons and groceries were the topic du jour. "Grammy's family owned a grocery store. That was her business at one time." I didn't get it then - but I get it now.

I remember using your breasts as pillows. You loved it- having a granddaughter on each side. They weren't breasts to me...they were Grammy's pillows and they were the warmest, safest place to lay my head.

I remember the way you'd give advice. I was having trouble with my now husband once, and at 83, alzheimers and all, you looked at me and said, "Michelle, honey, stop making such a big deal out of all of it. Just think of him like he's a very good friend who's going to be around for a very long time." You were so smart.

I remember our phone calls when I lived in NYC. "Are you flirting?" you'd say when you checked in. "Because you can't meet boys if you're not flirting." You made me laugh at the simple brilliance of your statement. You were right...how could I meet boys if I wasn't flirting?

You were a true matriarch. You were the mother of 4 kids whom you raised almost entirely by yourself. You had 4 children-in-laws that you treated like your own. You had 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandkids...and you gave each and every one of us love. You were at every recital, every play, every sporting event, every graduation. Nothing was more important to you than your family.

I remember, when I was a little girl, the way you'd say to me, "How much do I love you?" and you'd raise your arms and say "Up to the sky." And you did.

You made the best fudge anyone's ever tasted, the most incredible apple pie. Your apple pie caused arguments when Uncle Michael would ration it out at Thanksgiving so that he could have enough for himself. "Don't worry, Michael," you'd say. "I made you a whole other one." You always took care of everyone.

Whenever we went to the movies, you would ask for "very little ice" in our drinks and I was embarassed. For years I thought of that and I'd cringe. But guess what...eventually I got smart and realized what you knew all along - that they fill the whole freaking cup with ice! Now I, too, ask for "very little ice."

Once, you paid for our entire meal in coupons at Friendly's. You loved a good bargain.

You could laugh at herself. A couple of years ago, Matt and I went home to visit you and you came out to greet us in the hall.
"Mert!" you said.
"What Grammy?"
"Mert!"
"You mean Matt?"
"Oh..." quiet for a moment and then a little giggle. "Matt!"

You got this fabulous look on your face when you were enjoying great food. You'd look at us out of the corner of your eye, almost as though you were doing something you shouldn't be doing...and you'd quietly smack your lips a few times.

You were the cutest woman I know. You always had a twinkle in your eye. And you were stubborn as all get out but we all learned something from your willingness to look at things from another perspective every now and then. And you danced at my wedding, Grammy. You were determined to - and you did.

I know it was time and I'm glad that you don't have to suffer anymore. Although no one can say you lived an easy life, you lived a very full life and you were loved more than you know. But it's never easy to say goodbye, never easy to lose someone you love so unconditionally. Who was so warm and so wise and so close to your heart. You were always there for me, Grammy, no matter what. You were such a phenomenally special woman and I am honored to have had the time with you that I did. And I'm grateful to have had someone in my life who loved me...loves me...the way that you did and always will.

So I raise my glass to you, Ruthie. I raise my glass to you.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 9:49 PM 2 comments  

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LA is Burning
Monday, October 22, 2007

I returned to LA to what is likely the worst outbreak of fires since I moved here three years ago. There are six different areas that are burning, where people are being evacuated from their homes, uncertain whether or not they'll return to something still standing. Some of them are being described as the worst fire outbreaks ever.

Can you imagine? I mean not like, "I know. That's so awful" imagine. But really and truly imagine. It's horrible enough to think about a fire starting in your own home. When I was a little girl, I used to have a recurring nightmare about a fire breaking out in our house. I would wake up in a cold sweat, grateful that I was lying in my bed in the middle of a pitch black house. But can you imagine miles and miles of scorching flames blowing wildly out of control , hopping over mountains and canyons so quickly that no one and nothing can catch up. Where all you can do is leave your home and hope and pray that everything will be OK?

I am very much an "everything happens for a reason" kind of person. But these forces of nature - the rain that we need to live our lives that turns into floods and tsunamis, the fire that warms us and reminds us of winter and hot chocolate and family that turns into these raging monsters - I don't understand the reasons these things happen. Is someone somewhere trying to prove something to us? Perhaps it's a reminder that we, with our guns and wars and hatred and power struggles, are really just little peons who wield zero control over the strongest force of all - Mother Nature. That's what I tell myself at least as I watch people lose their homes and even worse, their lives. Because I don't understand the reason. I can't think of one possible reason why this would happen.

I'm lucky - right now, the fires are nowhere near my home. For now, my family is safe and my home is safe and for now, I only need to have concern for all of the people that are being effected. But I can smell it and I can feel the winds blowing. And I'm watching it on television like everyone else that lives in other parts of the USA saying "Did you hear about the horrible fires in Los Angeles?" But then you start to know people who are being told to evacuate...and it hits closer and closer to home.

It is always amazing to me when people ask what I would try to rescue from my home if, God forbid, it were on fire. From the second I was aware of the possibility of a fire in our home as a child, I have always known the answer to this question. There has only ever been one thing in my home that has felt irreplaceable to me.

Pictures.

Years and years of memories wrapped in several albums. A single picture brings me back to a place or a person or a moment. With a single glance, I can taste that moment like it happened yesterday.

Someone I spoke with this morning said they had gathered all of their investment information, their taxes. I was impressed with their practicality but my answer didn't shift - not even for a moment. If I had the opportunity to rescue some object from my home in the event of some insane and inexplicable natural disaster - it would be my pictures.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 3:50 PM 0 comments  

Leavin' on a jet plane
Thursday, October 18, 2007

So with strikes looming and pseudo-musical tv shows premiering, I have been a crazy little woman without much time to write...and tonight I'm off to my home away from home, LAX, to go to Knoxville for a dear friend's wedding this weekend. Before I go I'll leave you with this for next week - Coffee Bean or Starbucks or something in between? As a New Yorker, I've had immense trouble with the Coffee Bean of it all, but other's from the coast that is not west were in love at first sight. Different folks - we'll discuss next week. Have a great weekend and if I find a computer I'll post from Tennessee...

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 8:57 PM 0 comments  

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