Getting a parking un-ticket in L.A.

Since living in Los Angeles (I'm going on 8 years now), I have definitely gotten my share of parking violations. Between morning street cleaning in Westwood, Palms, USC, and Mar Vista; expired meters at UCLA and USC; one ticket for parking against a red curb (I parked late at night and didn't see); and one ticket for parking on Vermont in Koreatown into rush hour (I didn't think lunch would last that long), I would be a whole lot wealthier were it not for my careless non-driving.

So after leaving campus on Monday last week, as I approached my car from up the street, I was definitely not shocked when I noticed that a small, white envelope had been tucked under my windshield wiper. Usually I know when I may be unlucky because I've been kept late and my parking meter has probably expired, so I started to become confused and angry at L.A. and myself.

I extracted the envelope and examined the paper inside, scanning it in attempt to determine my fault. Imagine the pleasant surprise and relief when I found a reminder from my Figueroa Corridor Community Ambassador informing me that my radio faceplate being visable (sic) might lead to a future car break-in. Various sorts of crimes occur with some frequency in the area immediately surrounding USC. I was regularly reminded of this by the weekly (or more) crime report emails sent to USC until I set up a filter to remove them from my inbox.

What the Figueroa Corridor Partnership is doing to try to prevent car break-ins seems helpful and interesting, although I wonder about how effective it will be in deterring car crimes. Though this completely anecdotal, I am the worst when it comes to protecting my car from break-ins. I regularly go to my car to realize that I have left it unlocked, I have left my window half-way rolled down, my wallet sitting on the passenger seat, or similar things. As far as I know, my car has never been broken into. I have friends whose cars, on the other hand, have been broken into multiple times. Alex's car was broken into (stereo and other things stolen) when he had parked in my apartment complex's gated, locked garage. His stereo was fancier than mine, but his car also looks like a kicked-in aluminum can. My CD player doesn't work, although you wouldn't be able to tell just looking at it.

I'm unlikely to remove my radio face plate as a result of the un-ticket notice, but getting one does make me feel like the area around USC is a little bit friendlier.

My first real sailing capsize

We went sailing yesterday in good wind (16-17 knots) on a UCLA MAC Vanguard 15 and I experienced my first unintended capsism*. It's not the first time I have capsized a boat; you're forced to do it in Sailing I. But there, it's less clumsy and more planned.

We were tacking and I was on the port side of the boat, but I was too slow to get to the other side because my shoe got stuck underneath one of the hiking straps (you purposefully put your feet under them so that you can lean really far out of the boat without falling into the water). And then, in slow motion, the starboard side got higher and higher and I was not on it.

Not long after, I was in the water.

Not only did the boat capsize, but it turtled as well, i.e., went completely upside-mast-down.

It took two attempts for both of us to get the boat upright with us in it. The entire experience was cold, wet, and somewhat windy, and not at all the sort of thing I would want to do on purpose. But it did remind me that Alex is exactly the person I want to have around in a real emergency or other confusing circumstance. Also, we make a good team. I can sink a boat and he can re-sail it.


* I don't think "capsism" is actually a word, but thanks to Google I know that somebody once used it here.

Organic Vegetable Delivery Box by L.O.V.E.

We have been getting organic produce delivered from L.O.V.E. Delivery for a little over a month now, leading me to believe that the arrival of Tuesday's box was our 5th. I became interested in organic vegetable delivery last summer when I lived with a roommate in the Bay Area who used a similar service up there. I became re-interested when we were at intergalactically-themed Nova Express Cafe in West Hollywood for a friend's birthday, and I saw a L.O.V.E. flyer.

Alex and I decided to try it out and have been happy with it so far. We subscribe to the small vegetable box (they say it feeds 2-4) for $28.50 a week. You can customize the box week to week and decide what exactly you'd like to have in it. Our most recent box included:

1 bunch of Beets, Red
1 bunch Broccoli
1 each Cabbage, Green
1 - 1lb. bag of Carrots
1 bag of Carrots, baby peeled
1 bunch Celery
1 each Chard, Green
1 head of Lettuce, Red Leaf
1 -8 oz. bag of Peas, English
1 - 4 ox. bag of Spinach, Baby
1 - 4 oz. bag of Sprouts, Alfalfa
1 - 8 ox. bag String Beans, Green
1 - 1 lb. bag Tomatoes, Roma

We have discussed the fact that getting the box delivered and eating more organic fruits and vegetables hasn't led to major life change or anything, but we like it.

More specifically, we like:

• The Vegetables: We get a variety of vegetables that are fresh and in season; what they put in the box makes us more likely to try cooking vegetables we haven't tried before. But it's fully customizable, and you can create a list of "Never Sends" (eggplant is on our list) that they will, not surprisingly, never send. It's fun to decide what to put in the box, and has been a collaborative experience for us the past couple of times.

• The Box: Has helped us to cut down on the amount of packaging our daily lives seem to generate. Each week we put out an empty reusable box and get one back filled with the goods.

• Delivery: C'mon, everyone likes getting things delivered to them. Flowers are nice, or something you ordered from eBay or Amazon.com. But really, someone could deliver you some poop and it would make you a little bit happy. (My claiming this does not mean I want you to send me some.)

• The Price: I could get cheaper produce by shopping for it by myself, especially if I buy non-organic. I think after doing some estimates and calculations, I decided that I could buy non-organic equivalents for about $18ish. But I feel like the amount I get is quite reasonable for the quality and price, and I don't mind the delivery.

• The Price, 2nd: The way things are set up on the web menu, you can replace items in the box with other items from a list of produce items. If you remove something from your box, you can put other things depending on how much room is left in the box. It must be the case that this is tied into the price of the various items, but it isn't transparently. That is, you don't see how much each item costs when you're deciding whether or not to put it in your box. It feels better this way because we can afford to eat good food, it's likely healthier not to make eating decisions based largely on immediate monetary cost, so that's one less thing to worry about.

The best way to try to implement a good habit is to make it as easy as possible to do. We are advantaged by the fact that Alex is vegetarian and I love veggies. Maybe it would be easier if the vegetables came washed, and maybe chopped. Cooked, even. Or if they would just eat 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables-a-day for me. But this is pretty good.

weather.com looking out for my interests

I was checking the weather again, when my eyes drifted to the sidebar containing "Today in Los Angeles."

Here they often have things that are sort of weather-related. Scanning the list, I saw "Rush Hour Traffic Conditions", "Allergy and Pollen Conditions," and ... what the? "Baby Animal Slideshow." Baby Animal Slideshow?!?! I clicked on it and, sure enough, pictures of baby animals. This is quite awesome, because I am happy to look at pictures of baby animals whenever I'm given the opportunity. Indeed, I often frequent cuteoverload.com.

Links that did not worked claimed that I could show off my pets by submitting photos or video of my pets. I wonder how long it will be until weather.com will soon allow me to show off my lip syncing talent, stand up comedy, or other things that should be left to YouTube. Meanwhile, I am trying to think of other things I would like to see on weather.com.

weather.com, or note to self: notice the small things that make you happy

I used to leave home in the morning with no idea what the weather would be like outside immediately or for the rest of the day. It must have been years ago, maybe in college. Now I almost always check weather.com in the morning at some point before I leave, or before Alex leaves (if he asks). At one point I added the weather forecast for Los Angeles, CA (90066) to my bookmarks toolbar so that, at any given moment, information about the weather would be a mere click away.

But more recently I found myself checking the weather even if I wasn't planning to go anywhere, i.e., on days that I had intended to work at home all day. Or even multiple times during the day, just to see what outside is (objectively) like.

I think it comforts me that I have instant access to weather information. The information helps me feel calmer, more relaxed, even a bit more happy. Right now it is clear, 50 degrees Farenheit, and it feels like 50 degrees. Better yet, clicking over to the 10-Day allows me to believe that I know what the weather will be like for the next week and a half. On Sunday evening there will be some chance of rain, followed by just a 10 percent chance of rain for the rest of the week.

What else in life can you bet on with any degree of certainty about the next week and a half?

secret package

Sometimes I come home to this scene. Someone has disturbed our welcome mat from its regular flat-to- the-ground -in-front- of-our-door position. It does take me about 3 seconds to go from "What on earth?" to "Oh, we must have a package." Today it is a cartridge full of laser printer toner, having arrived via UPS Ground.

It is raining today, but the second floor balcony makes it such that there's no chance of our doorstep getting wet. Sure, there's a bit of wind, but it's not like the package is going to blow away. They must be using the doormat to decrease the likelihood of parcel theft.

I appreciate the additional effort the delivery person must have gone through to reach down and pull the welcome mat up over the box. But it also makes me wonder ... who do they think they're fooling?

Six months

Today is our six month anniversary*. It's been a good six months, full of joy and no wedding planning. We don't have specific plans, but will probably end up doing that which people do on their anniversaries. Today I also

• Upgraded my amateur radio license to General Class.
• Submitted the necessary paperwork to become a TA at the MAC.
  

And it's still morning!

Elaine has spent her morning at Costco. We spent some time discussing the purchase of a second Wii, but since most of the conversation occurred after Elaine had finished checking out, we decided that selling a Wii on Ebay would be ``added stress''.


* We have debated whether it is possible to have a six month anniversary, but ultimately decided that this was acceptable in colloquial English.