Live from LA

You may have noticed a new blurb in the left sidebar: The Sexy List [link broken, but see bottom of post]. Check it out, then send me your own lists!

Two weeks after my return from New York City, I now find myself in LA, pretty much permanently. I hadn’t intended to move so soon-heck, I still had untouched boxes of stuff I’d brought back from Berkeley-but I found a great deal on temporary housing and thought I’d better take advantage of it: one month’s free stay in an art history professor’s condo, just for taking care of her cat while she does research in London. The only hitch was that her plane ticket was booked for 28th August, so I had to move in by then. Still, it’s a wonderful opportunity. I get a leisurely month to explore LA, get to know a new kitty, and look for an apartment, all the while living in a really gorgeous complex: sixty-eight acres of condos, trees, and grassy expanses.

What stresses me out about living here is that since it’s LA, I need to learn how to drive. Yes, I have my license, but I did not drive in college and hardly at all in high school. I’m getting better, but I’m definitely still inexperienced. I find the whole process of driving alone frankly terrifying. My hands shake and my mouth gets dry and my heart rate goes up. I’m completely not exaggerating. I talk to myself, too, but this seems to help so I guess it’ll continue. At least if people think I’m insane maybe they’ll leave me more space!

I was going to write a lot more here, more thoughts about New York and grad school and my summer working, but I am now exhausted from two hours of driving! And I’m craving cookies, so I think I am going to head out again and get some! Newman’s ginger sandwich cookies are my target . . . wish me luck finding some.

[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com. Below is the Sexy List, as archived on my computer.]

non-obvious things that are sexy

• the way linguine looks heaped on a plate
• a single gardenia floating in water, and
• the scent that goes with it
• male competence
• Prof Klein’s English shoes
• compassion
• strong feet
• morning light
• sound of a cello played well
• trees
• dark chocolate
• roses in bloom
• letting go at the right moment
• aïoli

sexy, but obvious

• dancers and dancing | fit bodies in motion
• toned tummies and strong backs
• youth
• iPods
• body heat

obviously not sexy

• cat food
• paper cuts
• sand in swimsuit
• white athletic socks
• middle age that looks middle-aged
• inferiority complex
• road rage
• politics
• dry skin