I'm leaving LA.

I am coming off a 20 hour work day that started yesterday at 1pm. I managed to catch about 20 minutes of sleep sitting upright in an uncomfortable wooden chair. On top of which I began my day coming off a mild bout of food poisoning. And now I am finally done...and I have to leave for the airport in about an hour. No time for sleep. No time for shower. No time for decompression. I simply can't wait to be back home and out of this city where there is never enough time.

The most wretched hive of scum and villiany. Part 2.

I find myself once again in the City of Angels. I have been here far too much this year if you ask me. My last trip, this place almost redeemed itself. I really had a great time. This trip is not so much. I hate this city and I have no desire to be here, or regret for leaving it so soon.

It is nearly 8pm. I have not eaten anything all day. Still. I am waiting on overpriced room service. I'm watching the second or third Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not sure which. Maybe it's Part 5. How should I know? I'm sitting 21 floors above downtown LA and I'm annoyed as fuck (that's right, I said it) that everything is turning out exactly like I thought it would, but hoped it wouldn't. When the world reminds you that it actually is like it always has been and nothing has actually changed. Nothing and no one will ever change. And you just aren't cool enough, like you never have been and never will be.

Well, fuck that. I'm doing better than I ever have and I owe it all to leaving this cesspool. I just hope after this weekend I don't have to come back for a long time to come.

Korova Milkbar

I went to a place called the Moloko Plus last night.

It was nothing like this.

Sunday Baking.

I baked today. I enjoy baking and I like getting my hands into dough, but sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get me to actually do it. It’s such a time commitment and a kitchen clean-up commitment. I’m doing “Almost No-Knead Bread 2.0” recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. I love those guys – and they have a free podcast that is super informative in addition to their magazine (which is wonderful). They both have the same recipes, just in print or video form and there are lots of handy tidbits of cooking knowledge sprinkled throughout. Anyway, I’m trying to double my baking when I bring myself to do it, that way I hopefully will have enough baked goods to last me until the next time I feel like spending an afternoon getting flour out of my tile countertop.

Here’s the bread after rising overnight waiting to go into the oven. I thought I had completely screwed up one of the loaves as I didn’t do a proper yeast starter and just threw my yeast in with the mixture. But so far it seems like they are both progressing well. The properly yeasted loaf was much more pliant when kneading, but as far as rising size they are almost the same.

Here’s loaf #1 out of the oven. This was the correctly yeasted loaf. Recipe calls to let it cool for 2 hours after baking…but I don’t know if I will last that long. It looks and smells really good and I’m awfully hungry.

I almost made it two hours. Check out the inside. And, yes, it is as yummy as it looks.

Crazy Cat Lady.

People call me the crazy cat lady. Yeah, I have three cats. It’s true. But it’s only for adorable moments like this:

Pets reduce stress with their adorableness, you know. That’s why my blood pressure is so low.

Cast in the role of Angry Drunk #2

I went to the Widmer Brothers Oktoberfest celebration last night. I didn’t intend to stay the whole evening. I had wanted to go into town and make a concert or two, but they served really big beers and I soon found myself second guessing my ability, need and want to ride my bike across the river to go watch a concert by myself. It sounded like an awful lot of work. So, I stayed and I drank more really big beers. By the end of the evening I felt cast in the role of Angry Drunk. I was getting snippy and bitchy. I don’t do that very often. I’m one of the most level headed and understanding people you will ever meet….but I was kinda being a bitch and I was surprised with myself. But in my defense, five people, when four start to couple up leaves Liz as the angry drunk bitch wishing she had stuck to her guns, not drank as much and gone to the concert alone cause at least then I would be alone with music.

The stars and driving.

I was told Mars is really close to us right now and it’s screwing everyone up. I think it’s screwing up everyone’s driving. There have been so many people this week who I have seen run red lights, ignore pedestrians and cyclists, almost hit cyclists (and then tell the cyclists that they will hit them in their giant truck that they have to have someone guide them into a parking space like it’s a plane), stopping in the right lane and blocking traffic when there is excessive parking and pull-off area to let someone out of their car and talk to them, people honking when you change lanes after going for a block with your blinker on trying to get them to let you in, and just general bad road manners. I wanted to honk the horn on my bike this week….but I don’t have one. I think I’ll get a bell. Meep. Meep.

I have 10 ringgits and I’m happy.

I have a theory that it takes four months. That’s how long it takes to adjust to a new situation. A new city, a new relationship, a new break-up, a new house, a new job, and so on. I haven’t exactly been one to stay in the same place for a long time and I have found myself at these four-month markers over and over again suddenly having a feeling of happiness and satisfaction with where I am. I had this last night. And, indeed, I thought about it and it’s been just over four months since my last new situation transition.

I had that flash last night that if 13 year-old me were to see me she would be really, really excited (I was going to use a crude descriptive there, but opted for the boring “really, really”). It’s the feeling that everything is where it should be right now. And I was really happy with myself right now, and that’s a pretty big thing. Not worrying about the past or the future, but knowing that things are going right, right now. And really that’s the best you can ever strive for. And I thought to myself, you know, I am out by myself, but I’m have 10 ringgits in my pocket and I’m having a damn good time.