California Dreaming
On the way out to John Wayne airport some of my coworkers and I saw Tommy Smothers. He was with his security guard, hanging out watching everyone board, smiling and looking delighted. He flew coach too. It was pretty funny. He looks great. Interestingly, we didn't see any celebs out in the O.C airport like we did right here in ole Wisconsin.
Anaheim is not my kind of town. It's a good spot to stay in a hotel, and get a shuttle to Disney if you have the kids but beyond that, concrete smog filled jungle. Minus the massive smog, it reminds me of Houston. I honestly haven't seen that kind of notoriously present SoCal smog on previous trips out there...the mountains were totally obscured this time.
SoCal is such an interesting mix of pure beauty and nature, and pure excess and materialism. The dichotomy. Someday, there will be no choice but to go back to it's natural ecosystem...green lawns will be like they are in the Iraqi desert...only for the very elite and ostentatious of the community. I actually took shorter showers out there, knowing of the water conservation issues that are out of control there.
I live our Indo American contingent. I went to a dinner/awards ceremony for the group and the sense of community within their community, and warm extension they provide to their friends of western descent...awesome. It was a good way to end this trip.
So, it's 1:21 here, but 11:21 there. I need a shower and need to crash. I do love California and am sad for my friends who are teachers there, and the lady interviewed on NPR last week about her and her husband's state jobs, and inconveniently place furlough days. They can't just take two weeks at a time and save money on daycare or glean anything from the imposition. They also may go into foreclosure. It's clear that the feds need to back off the medicinal ganja scene there to start, and then let Cali start finding additional new ways to gain revenue. My brother who lives out there says his peeps believe that the harsh, incredible economic woe they are feeling is going to fan out across the country. Some others have argued that indeed, with Obama's short sighted fiscal policy directives thus far, we are all headed for economic collapse and its resulting doom and gloom.
Now I lay me down to sleep.
Anaheim is not my kind of town. It's a good spot to stay in a hotel, and get a shuttle to Disney if you have the kids but beyond that, concrete smog filled jungle. Minus the massive smog, it reminds me of Houston. I honestly haven't seen that kind of notoriously present SoCal smog on previous trips out there...the mountains were totally obscured this time.
SoCal is such an interesting mix of pure beauty and nature, and pure excess and materialism. The dichotomy. Someday, there will be no choice but to go back to it's natural ecosystem...green lawns will be like they are in the Iraqi desert...only for the very elite and ostentatious of the community. I actually took shorter showers out there, knowing of the water conservation issues that are out of control there.
I live our Indo American contingent. I went to a dinner/awards ceremony for the group and the sense of community within their community, and warm extension they provide to their friends of western descent...awesome. It was a good way to end this trip.
So, it's 1:21 here, but 11:21 there. I need a shower and need to crash. I do love California and am sad for my friends who are teachers there, and the lady interviewed on NPR last week about her and her husband's state jobs, and inconveniently place furlough days. They can't just take two weeks at a time and save money on daycare or glean anything from the imposition. They also may go into foreclosure. It's clear that the feds need to back off the medicinal ganja scene there to start, and then let Cali start finding additional new ways to gain revenue. My brother who lives out there says his peeps believe that the harsh, incredible economic woe they are feeling is going to fan out across the country. Some others have argued that indeed, with Obama's short sighted fiscal policy directives thus far, we are all headed for economic collapse and its resulting doom and gloom.
Now I lay me down to sleep.