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WOW.
A ton of stuff has happened in these past few days. Lots of words to squeeze between these big blue margins. So, I'm segmenting my "Intro to LA" posting into a few chapters. Kudos and hugs to anyone who makes it all the way through. Here we go...
CHAPTER I - New Year's Eve
Friday December 31st, after the usual teary parental goodbyes at the airport, I hop an early plane from Houston to LA. Get into town with minimal hassle, and Jenny and her mom meet me at baggage claim. I'm given the scenic route from LAX to Jenny's house, via a long, winding coastal road that steers us past a lookout point where Jenny and I spot some dolphings playing in the waves. The weather is dreary, a steady thin drizzle interrupted by blasts of rain that strike like tiny nails. Still, the cliffside views are overwhelmingly beautiful.
After unpacking two suitcases and three boxes, Jenny, Pearce, and I strike out in search of Mexican food. Later that evening, after I'm fully unpacked and slightly napped, we enjoy a home-cooked New Year's dinner with Pearce's family and a friend from high school. This same high school friend hosts a cozy New Year's Eve party at his house, where Jenny, me, and six of her high school buddies chug champagne and, from our vantage point high atop a bluff, watch eleven fireworks displays explode over the city simultaneously. We stay up playing movie-trivia board games and being goofy until 4 am.
CHAPTER II - New Year's Day
Back at the Brown household, Jenny, Pearce, and I meet up with Jenny's mom Sally and hop in the family car. We pick up Sally's sister around 5:30 am and roll up to Pasadena to catch the Rose Parade. After scoring a sweet spot right at the start of the parade, we marvel at the floats, dancers, horseback riders, and high school bands as they strut by. Highlights include ten-foot animatronic raccoons, fifteen-foot animatronic dragons, and other assorted tall, robotic creatures, all made entirely out of flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
Quickly fading from severe lack of sleep, we cruise back down to Planet Brown and nap like it's our job. Afterwards, Jenny heads out for her 2-year anniversary with The Boy, while I finish unpacking. I share dinner with Sally and watch "Saved" on DVD. Clever film; better than I expected, although Mandy Moore butchers the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows"....I'm sorry, but you don't "adapt" Brian Wilson's melodies by injecting them with white-girl teen-queen pitch-corrected"soul". You sing them exactly as they are, because they're PERFECT. And shame on you, Michael Stipe, for co-producing this musical travesty. Minus fifty cred points, cueball. The rest of the night is pretty uneventful. I go to sleep. The dog wakes me up. I let the dog outside, then let her back in. I go back to sleep. The dog poops on the rug. The end.
Random thought: Josh Groban looks a LOT like Zach Braff. This, while true, is entirely pointless.
CHAPTER III - Last Official Day of Winter Break
I wake up in time to say goodbye to Jenny as she heads to the airport to trek back to Evanston, then get a driving tour of Rancho Palos Verdes from Sally. We stop by the famous In 'N Out Burger for lunch. I am overwhelmed. A little driving, a little shopping, a little of the rainy, dreary weather that's plagued my entire LA experience thus far. Supposedly it "never rains this much" in Los Angeles. Great. We traverse the freeways and scope out Mosaic Media's building on Sunset.
Back at home, I get my internet hooked up in time to turn right around and hit the road again. I roll up to Beverly Hills, to the Oakwood apartment complex (where most of the NU interns are staying) for the first meeting of our internship class. Heidi, our supervisor (a total LA-type, fast-talking, schmoozy, comes off a tad superficial) introduces us to the industry and our assignments while we scarf down pizza. After class, I hang out with a few guys who are interning at film companies - Jonathan, Jonathan, and Joe. We chill, swap opinions about the class, and vaguely decide to organize a group trip to Las Vegas on one of our long weekends. Will this actually happen? Keep checking this journal to find out.
One long dark and rainy drive later, I'm back on Planet Brown for a decent night's sleep before my first day at work. Which you can read about in the next post. Oh, and congratulations for making it this far! You must be very interested in the tiny details of my day-to-day life. I'm flattered. But you really ought to find a more interesting hobby.