rural santa monica

So we live in the middle of the city here, as you can tell by our address: 17th Street, eh. But when I look out the window from where I'm sitting now, it could be out in the country for all I can tell; that is, if I ignore the little bits of apartments peeking up over the trees on the other side of the highway there. And from our bed, which is very low (more in the nature of a matress, really), things look even more rural: all we can see is a very country-lookin telephone pole, a few palm tree tops, and the peak of a tile roof.

Even when you actually look around, our neighborhood seems a little more rural then you'd expect; I think it's because of how deserty it is in LA. The plants are not, I don't think, what I expect in a city. And there are also little traces of the old resort town Santa Monica used to be, in the little detached bungalos with their cute little lawns and gardens and chain link fences. I wouldn't go so far as to say they look out of place, crammed in between a car dealership and an auto-body shop, but no more would they look out of place on the end of a lonely dirt road.

All in all, it's an interesting effect.

- Dan

Yummy Eatings

So, in case you're wondering, my boyfriend Dan is the most wonderful boyfriend in the whole entire world. But i bet you want Evidence. So here goes:
today while i was working the most annoying eight hour shift ever (10:30-7, so there's no room neither in the morning nor in the evening to do much but sleep or go "blah, that shift really sucked") dan came into town and brought me lunch he made for me (a delicious peanut butter and banana sandwhich) and then went home and spent hours slaving over the most yummy dinner in the history of dinners i've ever had cooked for me by any boyfriends. (heehee. if you'd ever met any of my former and utterly useless boyfriends, you'd see how much of a joke that last statement was.) But seriously, the dinner was really good. we had yummy rice and tofu seasoned with green onions and garlic, and then a cold salad of carrots and broccoli with lime sauce. i won't give away the recipe, mostly cuz i don't know it, but you can look in the moosewood cookbook if you're curious.
and that dinner was the best news of the day, because other than that i mostly folded pants.
that's all for today, except to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE, who is my little brother who turns 19 today, and therefore isn't so little anymores, at least not in his mind.
And my boyfriend is the best guy in the whole entire world. did i say that already? oh. sorry.

-Leah