Traffic, traffic, and more traffic

After two full weeks, I am almost used to LA...except for the driving. I only live 5 miles from work, yet I feel that I am driving all the time. I might think "I'll go over to such and such town" and it will take me 30 minutes to get there. Last weekend I went "driving" in search of a cool coffee shop and ended up in my car for an hour and a half without finding one. I know with search engines like Google things shouldn't be so hard, but if I don't write it down I may never find it. Downtown Lawrence is so unique with awesome coffee shops on literally every corner, but here all you find is Starbucks and Coffee Bean.

So, I found a roommate. My friend Chris Lemmon introduced us and she is really cool. She lives in a house in a "not so good" part of town, but the house is really quaint and the neighborhood is nice. Rent is a lot cheaper than most places and it is only 7 miles from work. I am probably moving there September 1st (my birthday). Though there are a lot of apartments here, there are a lot of neighborhoods with houses for rent. I've had plenty of friends in Phoenix live in "questionable" areas, so I feel completely fine with the decision.

After a full week of researching cars, I finally ventured out this weekend and did some test driving. I've never experienced car salesmen, but a few this weekend took the cake for sleaziness. First I spoke to a man at a Toyota dealership who had a strong accent. I couldn't understand a thing he said, and I thought, "how did I end up with this man?" Yesterday I test drove a Honda Civic and the woman working with me said, "this car gets 40 miles per gallon." Are you kidding? Only hybrids get 40 miles per gallon, though a civic might get close to that on the highway. She said it so seriously, and I corrected her. Each dealer tried to get me to buy the car on the spot, but I decided to look a little more. It reminds me that I need to do more research and know what I want before I go.

Work is going well, but slow. I had hoped to have some jobs by now to get the juices going, but all I've been working on is a parking garage and all the design is done. Most of our jobs are large and take months or years to design, so I understand that they haven't put me on one yet. I will most likely help different people out and try to pick up new knowledge along the way. I'm sure it will take a few months before I feel a part of the team. People at work are pretty cool, but they are pretty focused on the job and after hour social events seem to be limited. People rarely go out to lunch, at least not in large groups like I'm used to. I find that relationship building is slow and difficult. I've always thought of work as a "mission field", but that definition is starting to evolve. I see work now more as my responsibility to cultivate the earth. I've had a lot of time to listen to podcasts while doing busy work to the point where I am sick of my iPod.

Trader Joe's on every corner and Starbucks at work

I've been in LA for less than a week, and I'm already feeling like a native...ok, not really. I have traveled throughout the city a bit but covered no more than 60 miles any given trip. I visited Manhattan beach, downtownish, Hollywood, North Hollywood, and Culver City.

I arrived in LA on Friday August 1st and everything went well, but I failed to anticipate how to handle three HEAVY suit cases and a carry on. I found the apartment, bought groceries, unpacked and called my new LA friends.

On Saturday, I went to Manhattan Beach with a new friend Naomi who I met through Amanda, a Lawrence Native. In the afternoon we drove close to downtown and looked at a few houses that Naomi was considering. I was considering living with Naomi, but the drive is too far. We ate dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant called Masa.

Sunday I went to church in Hollywood and was rear ended on the way. Yes, I was rear ended my third day here! There was no damage to the car, but my body was a little stiff. I've had better luck since then and have learned how to drive in LA...no sudden stops, PAY ATTENTION, commit, be defensive. Driving on the streets is not too different from Lawrence except there are sooo many "23rd Streets."

My job is AMAZING. That is where the Starbucks comes in. Although I am not a big fan of the company, I immensely enjoy the automatic coffee machine at work. All you do is decide the size and brew, press a button, and fresh coffee is poured into your cup. No more burned coffee! The jobs we do out of this office are mind boggling. This week I started helping out with a project in the middle east that is a resort complex...kind of like Dubai. Supposedly we do a lot of museums and will be designing the MEP for the Guggenheim Museum in Dubai. My supervisors are very focused and have already given me an assimilation plan for the next 6 months. I have a lot to learn and some amazing opportunities. Supposedly they are going to fly me out to the Midwest for a "school." Maybe I can have friends visit me!

Tuesday I visited a bible study in North Hollywood and met two aspiring actors. They were actually really cool! I am amazed by the people I've met here. A new friend is a model and her boyfriend designs jeans. They are both friends with the guy who films Rob Bell videos. I have not met any musicians yet though, so Lawrence has LA beat! :)

Yesterday I visited my favorite favorite hippy/natural/organic/granola grocery store called Trader Joe's that is only located near the coasts. If you've ever been there, you'd know what I mean and if not, I am sorry!

Tonight I had dinner with a friend of Karen Armstrong's (from Vintage) daughter. She is really cool and their house is close to a cute neighborhood called Culver City. We enjoyed an amazing dinner with a glass of wine.

I can't believe tomorrow is Friday! This weekend I will be car shopping and apartment hunting.