Page created 9 Dec 2002 by ulyssess00 , last modified 9 Dec 2002 by ulyssess00
URL: http://www.invasivespecies.gov/geog/state/statemain.shtml
i was reading a friend's livejournal a few days ago. this is a guy who spent most of his life in the phoenix area and was quite the socialite. but recently he has taken a job at a newspaper in a small town an hour or so away from Sacramento, CA called Yuba City. and despite coming from "the big city" (a very arguable point when it comes to phoenix... but thats a different string) he has delved right into his new small town surroundings, making friends and discovering the place where he lives. he said that there is this temptation to want to always keep in touch with the people and events in AZ, which is entirely possible in this age... but that he has had to learn a very important lesson:
Live Locally.
and he is so much better off for it. he even made up a new word to describe a quality that something in his new home town may posess: Yubacity (rhymes with velocity.) now, a lot of us no longer live where we grew up, and are away from what is or once was "home." wether or not you do, how do you "live locally"? what makes your state, city, neighborhood, street, block, building etc, unique? who lives there? where do you eat or drink? do your laundry? walk your dog? it suprised me how little i knew about my neighborhood once i really sat down and thought about it.
like most residents in the North Park kedzie apartment building, i dont pay bills. i have a tuition for that.i scrape money together for school payments, groceries and pleasure. (and beg my dad for car repairs.)
this is why it fascinates me that there are people who get paid to shovel, sweep, and salt my driveway, parking lot, sidewalks, and most noticably, the steps leading up to my back porch.
there are people far better off than i who have to do this kind of thing themselves.
Our Postman, Mike, is a really nice guy. He always sorts the mail in an intelligible way, and he's always super friendly. Sometimes it's a little creepy how friendly he is, but mostly it's just really nice. I like Mike. Unfortunately, his mom's been really sick lately. I think he might have had to put her in a home or something.
i just stepped outside and noticed that the leftover salt-rock that remained after all the ice on my back steps melted has been swept away in the past few hours. interesting.
kids.i took a study break this evening and went for a walk. i went by the theatre building which is usually empty, save for the occasional students rehersing a scene for class.
tonite it was full. of parents... and kids. little kids. it was north park elementary's holiday performance.
i sat in for a few songs.
children. they're amazing.
all of this could have been happening, literally, in my own back yard... in a room i would call my second home even... and i wouldnt have known.
i have a new favorite christmas song now, too.
i have cousins that go to north park elementary....they live just up the street....what a strange family....i should be warned when NPE comes to town
There will be a candle light vigil in my town tonight at a crossingguard station. The town's infamous yet beloved crossingguard, Jesse, passed away last week (infamous for writing down your license number if you were going over 5 mph in the school zone- this after he'd yelled at you and practically jumped in front of your car cause there were small children walking on the sidewalk). He was 72, very active and civic-minded. He was the town library's Santa Claus for over 10 years.
I am a proud graduate of North Park Elementary, me and my class of 13, we were the biggest ever at the time. So, when I was working for good ol' Bill Hartley I was ALWAYS the one to work the christmas shows and graduation, let me tell you when you are trying to be cool and in college and stuff the LAST thing you want to see is your grammar school teachers and principal, talk about getting knocked down a peg.
for preschool. i was in a class with K.Wiberg. we had mrs. olson for a teacher. i had a red oval for my name tag. i also got in trouble for biting a girl on the arm. i think it was misty something... she was in the writing poetry workshop that we had at NPU, when i was there for a while.
i have lived here before but i am still new. and this time i am permanent. the apartment i have inhabited is one block from the street made famous by the movie of the same name: magnolia. the sidewalk in front of our building is permanently stained by little inedible purple berries that fall from the trees that hover overhead. the last time i lived here, after dark the same sidewalk would be covered with gigantic roaches. on this sidewalk i had my first encounter that made me somewhat nervous to walk alone at night. the alley behind our apartment used to provide nighttime entertainment as it was prime for arrests. now it is prime for car alarms set off by show-offs who drive their souped up cars really fast through the alley. living within a ten mile radius there are twenty-two known sex-o
My roommates and i have a strange, almost friends but not quite relationship with our local white hen clerks. Believe or not, we go to White Hen with other motives than just a pack of cigs or beer sometimes. Dont hang out outside of convenience store context, but talk if we see eachother on the street.
i think you guys do it to make me jealous. of what, i don't know. but its working...
being in the mountains, bozeman is amazing. but being in the middle of montana, it is also bizarre.for some reason, the stop lines are painted on the street where there's no stop sign
bozemanites can't figure out how to manage a four-way stop
ulyssess, they use sand here instead of salt (though there hasn't been any snow to speak of.
also, ulyssess, i agree... kids are great. or maybe i've been spoiled by the great kids in the plays i've done here
I MISS DIVERSITY...everyone is white here!
the pace of life is slower here... i am finall mellowing out.
that is all
I can't think of a single place of busines withing 10 miles of my house where I don't know at least one person that works there. In the local bar on the mountain we decide how good of a night it is by how few people we don't know. Last night at the gas station, which is accross the street from where I used to live, I was asked where I had been lately. The lady that works there apparently misses teasing me.As for home. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I grew up in the far burbs of Chicago and know a few of you from that area and my dealings with CPBC and NPU. These days I'm over 1,000 miles from there and don't see ever going back, well except to visit. Other than my sister and a few friends I have no ties there. I have more reason to go back to CPBC and the UP than anywhere else I've lived in the past.
Maine is homey, but not home. It's a strange way to live I guess.
scinatfilm - I almost took a job in Bozeman this spring. Another came up in Missoula. What do you think about there?
Sometime, anyway... I for one miss you, and I'm sure that toastboy does. :)
or so they say... I don't quite know what that means. My dad was navy and home changed every two years on average (sometimes more, sometimes less). And it's funny now living in a small town where people literally are born and die without moving more than 15 miles in between except for a random day trip. Poeple who've been here for ages talk to me like I will be here forever too. I won't. This is not the kind of town I'd pick for forever, and I've never been in one place for longer than four years (and that may not count cause it was North Park and I took long vacations)... Do you think a person can become so socially acclimatized to moving that they can't stop? This idea bothers me and makes me sad, but that doesn't mean that I don't think it might be true...
Down the street they are building the new Discovery Channel headquarters and so just past that is some new development where I was hoping they would put in some nice locally owned independent businesses. HA! What was I thinking. We are getting a Panera, Austin Grill, Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill, Borders and some TBD. It's going to make downtown Silver Spring a freakin zoo and I'm afraid it will drive out some of the nice independednt restaurants that survive in the downtown. On the upside, they are remodeling the AFI theater which is in the same block. What we really need are a few more dive bars within walking distance. I gripe about living where I do all the time but it's really not that bad. Nice apartment compelx, close to the largest urban park in the country, really close to the metrorail, close enough to the beltway (only important until I get a real job in DC). It just pisses me off when it looks like they are trying to transform downtown silver spring into another downtown bethesda. All the same damn franchises on every street corner.
smax, i must say that i've only been to missoula once, very briefly. when i went there, it had been a long time since i had been out of bozeman, so seeing a larger city was comforting, but i don't know more than thatlukas, maybe i'll see you after i take over discovery channel and put programs of substance on the air instead of the fluff that's on now.
So waiting at the train platform and this guy walks up to me. His eyes are bloodshot and red rimmed. And his five o'clock shadow was in full effect at only 10 am. He sits next to me and and asks if he can "Bother me for a bit." As soon as the words left his mouth I could tell he was gay. Which is fine, but what does a coked out gay guy want with a 20 year old chick at 10 in the moring?So he proceeds to tell me all about his strange "party". I'll tell you in his words.
"Well the night started out normal enough. Me and Alfred went to Spin and than Rehab, you know what those are." Yes I knew what they were, gay bars. "So Alfred and I are out having an awesome time and then the bars close?! So we went and stood outside the Manhole looking for a party." I'm thinking this guy has got to be over 30 years old, what's with the partying? "So outside the manhole we see our freind Michael, he's this cute Latino boy, and we decide to throw an imprmtu party at his place. Now at his place these two guys show up, Sean and...whjatever his face. Sean's boyfriend. Well that was no fun because Alfred and I both have crushes on Sean. But than Sean gets a little too tipsy and takes turns with all 3 of us! Me, Alfred, and Whats-his-face!" My face must of gone white, or my jaw drop...I couldn't beleive this random guy was confessing this to me like he was in church and I was his priest? "Oh no, not like all the way, taking turns,but you know." I nodded, I felt no need for him to go any further. "Well then the whole night got weird...So you like boys or girls?"
Than my train ride got weird. I answered his questions until he got off at the trendy stop, Damen Ave., excaliming "Gentrifucation! The bane of my existance!" I laughed a little under my breath, and proceeded to write it all down in my notebook...
you coming out to Bluestone saturday? 1130 looney toon saloon.
what about Meqqa at metro tonight? i think i might be able to go, don't know yet. i will try to call you?
I broke up with meqqa...maybe I'll check out bluestone, haven't yet... you know? Gimme a call at my house, if I'm not there leave a message.
My neighbors
This happened on last Wednesday. The papers make it all seem like a big accident. Unfortunately, that may not be the case.... Oh, and she teaches at my school.
Click the Man dies, Driven over by his wife headline....
just one more reason why SUV's should be outlawed. its hard to accidentally kill your husband in the driveway with an Escort.
didn't actually contain any information. it sounds completely fishy to me. maybe it is a small town thing, but why did everyone go on and on about all the activities that dude liked and how extended family would do anything for him? if i were the sheriff, i'd think someone had something to hide.
But it is quite likely a domestic despute case... Our street is very dark at night, no lamps, so it's slightly possible that she didn't see him... But, people here back out slower than anything cause of all the rampant wildlife that could injure your car, and the neighborhood is considered a very safe place to walk even if you are a slow moving person... Plus, the police were there for hours and hours and hours- more like a crime scene than an accident scene... Her 5 year old son was in the car...
I spent all morning at the town MVD- that would be the DMV to the rest of the thinking world. I now how another temporary NM license plate- I have had several of these to this point. The good news is that I might have a "real" plate within the month...finally. I ended up having to get on the phone and talk to a higher up to request them shipping my title asap (something the MVD workers have been unable to get them to do). I feel like I accomplished something today!
apparently gov. gray davis is in the midst of a recall war.take him out or keep him? i'm not much in favor of how he runs things, but as to who to put in his place: "No primary would be held to qualify candidates for the recall ballot; any person who pays a $3,500 filing fee could be on the ballot."
interesting spin on election ideals. do we want any joe schmo who can come up with four thousand dollars or would we rather have someone collect campaigning funds to show support and put them closer to the microscope before electing them?
...that since it was made possible in the 70's in CA legislature to recall a gubenatorial election, an attempt has been made after every subsequent election. this, however, is shaping up to be one of the more succesful ones.california: you better realize now that you really fucked up when you let orange county happen. awful bands, powerful right-wingers, but damn... so much good vegan pan-asian cuisine... i am torn....
El1z@beth @nn Chr1stens0n, my most-beloved (and only) sister gets her braces off today. I believe corn on the cob is on the menu for family celebration dinner this evening.
Nostalgic question of the day- Do you remember getting your braces off? (I do...my teeth felt HUGE!)
...never had 'em...
When my braces came off, the now unopposed outward forces in my mouth caused too much pain for me to have all the crunchy foods I had been waiting for. I suppose that's what you call irony. ...OR PURE EVIL.
although I have had dentists ask if I did, damn I've got straight teeth!(Now there's something you don't hear people brag about much!)
woo! they put a potbelly's in the new restaurant development just about a 5-minute walk from us! goodbye rock hard abs (yeah right), hello potbelly!!
congratulations. potbelly's is so good.
are you talking about the CNC building cause thats where i go for my potbelly's goodness, it's only been there for a few months.
there's a potbelly's in the cnc building!? sweet jesus on a unicycle! that's great! i'm so having a wreck before class tomorrow night.
If you live in Chicago but have never been to Margie's Candies before, NOW is the time. Run, don't walk. No, drive, because it's cold and after you finish your ice cream, you're going to need a stretcher.Seriously, bring someone on a date to this place... it is totally awesome.
...and never gone here until this week!
i'm sure Jackie would love that place.
It's nearly the perfect date spot.
Their Turtle Sundae is the shiznit, come on it's served in a giant shell shaped bowl! It's a must for anyone who hasn't been!
a zillion times, but never gone in. I really like the Fudge Atomic Sundae too... that's pretty killer. It has crispy chocolate on top and the hot tasty fudge.
It doesn't cost much more (if any more) than regular bread in the aisle, but it's so much better! It doesn't last as long but you won't be eating tons of preservatives. And most grocery stores sell it.
southern california. i love all of california.i'm probably going to be trading rooms with my roommate so she can have a bigger space. i've offered this situation to her several times, but now that it's probably going to happen, i'm sad to think about losing my view of the mountains at twilight.
When you become more health conscious and start looking at labels on food products, it can be somewhat alarming.
Try to spend a day just eating things that you know what they are. For example, look up every ingredient on that box of cereal. I tried this once and was very hungry.
Whatever happened with the condo?
Just sent in an offer. I should hear mid-next week if they accept it or not. The whole process it a bit nerve racking. My head kinda hurts.
I went to the Valencia County Fair last night. I've done this every year that I've lived here. I always go on a school night because I know that it will be less crowded. I found out the first year that I was here that students who show livestock in the fair love to show it off and are always really really happy that I showed up. Last night's highlights: I got to meet "Potato"- a pig raised by one of my cheerleaders, I bought some good red chile salsa made by another cheerleader's dad, and I had the best corndog I've ever had in my entire life.
I was reading about an Oregon family the other day. The husband and wife met in NY at college. I forget where they lived first but they started to grow a garden. Then the next year they made the garden twice as big. Then the next year they bought some goats and moved to Oregon to sell goat's milk cheese. They didn't like the milking so they decided to grow grapes and make wine. Now they have 3 kids and live on a farm in Oregon. They sell wine and they eat their own produce from their farm. I thought that was cool.
i've started driving 'over the hill' twice a day since i got this job in beverly hills. this means i get to take laurel canyon to and from work. no more sitting, practically parked, on the 405. instead i get glimpses of quirky homes situated on along the hillside, overgrown eucalyptus trees and green, green, [right now really green] grass. there's a house that collapsed that i pass all the time now. it looks like a giant stepped in the center and just kept on going. right in front of the remains of the house there's a mini-river flowing into the street. all that water trying to find a place to hide.anyway, i reach where laurel cyn peaks at mulholland drive and look out over this little crevice in the earth that kind of makes me think of middle earth or something, but for the human sized houses that seem taped to the side of the hill. and then i get to glide down the other side past more ridiculously expensive but still charming, nestled homes and right into hollywood.
i love the smell, the look, everything about eucalyptus trees.
(This seemed like an appropriate entree.)inkblot, you're right -- if the tomato farmers went on strike, the tomato mining conglomerates could just find somewhere cheaper to grow tomatoes. But, what if the to-market machinery was different? Doesn't it seem possible to give the growers a more liveable wage while keeping the price of tomatoes the same? This necessarily means the sellers making less profit -- but there is the gratification of knowing that you aren't exploiting the growers for the cheapest possible price for their goods.
Fair-trade coffee is a good example (well, fair trade anything, I guess). Simply by removing the middle man and the giant coffee corporations, I can pay the same price for gourmet coffee and yet know that the growers who made this coffee are making higher wages because their goods are bought more directly for a living wage.
I believe that part of the reason this works is that if coffee growers around the world said, "hell no, we won't grow," people would pay more for coffee because it's worth it to them -- but it is practically impossible for all the impoverished farmers around the world to organize to raise prices when what that currently practically means for them is that Folgers won't give them an extra nickel a pound so their family starves that year.
I'm not challenging you directly, but your statement about generosity got me thinking. alh and I decided to try to only buy fair trade coffee becuase it is one of the few things you can almost always find "fair trade" products of if you look around for. I wonder what the other denizens of the diner think about this (and other related) issue(s).
Gotta go.
All the trash on the way to and from work. It's all over the roadways. Mostly on exit and entrance ramps. What is going through the heads of people throwing their cups and papers out the window of their cars?
at least, that's what's going through their heads. probably.
this is in response to your request for advice on moving to l.a.you will need a car. each of you. it is virtually impossible to live here without one.
things happen pretty quickly as far as renting goes. they want you to walk in with the freedom to say, we'll take it, write a check and have that be that. i do not suggest van nuys.
sherman oaks is where we live and have lived the entire time i've been here. the good things about it are that it is convenient: alh can drive to malibu on the 101 which is accessible and you can get to santa monica - albeit a pain in the ass - on the 405 which is also accessible. there is a community feel here. it's kind of like a small town in a way. there are good restaurants and pretty good shopping. it's also not a bad drive to hollywood, beverly hills, downtown etc. if either of you change jobs or whatever.
this is a city that weeds out the weak. it will allow you to get to your lowest point, but if you stick it out to that place, you will be lifted back up. coming here with jobs, i'm sure, will help that. it sounds like you have a plan that will ease that pain slightly. and being outside the film industry works in your benefit. so does knowing people in it.
it can be a hard place to meet new people, but if you're open to it and seek it out there are some really interesting and lovely people to be met.
look for a place to live where you can walk around to different things you need or want. if you're anything like me, you'll miss walking, particularly at first. it helps to have things in close proximity - and a safe neighborhood to go running or for an evening walk. you might check out studio city. parts of north hollywood are nice. burbank is also quaint [but a little boring if you ask me].
a lot of people would tell you to get a thomas guide first thing - it's a huge book of maps of l.a. - but i borrowed one only recently and haven't used it at all. figuring out the layout of such a sprawling place can be tough, but when you take the trial and error approach you wind up knowing the city very well.
confidence goes a very long way here. it's more about how you put yourself out there than what degree you have or what you've done. it's a little depressing if you've got some good stuff on that there resume, but it is what it is.
i'm sure you'll do great here and i really look forward to seeing you both in sunny so cal.
From my friend Aimee:
Hello young, hip suburbanites and other people who I am friends with who are not actually suburbanites...As you may or may not have heard, Jason took a new job at the Daily Herald as the graphic designer for its new "young readers initiative," called Beep, located at www.beepcentral.com. The site launched a couple weeks ago, and if you could go there once and a while to read the v. interesting articles and participate in the enriching online community, you would probably be helping me keep my mortgage paid.
Also, Beep is having a launch party on March 9 at Alumni Club in Schaumburg. If you go, print out the VIP pass located here: (e-mail smax for link) which will entitle you to 2 free drinks and free food. If you are one of the first 250 people there (let's hope there are 250 people there), you will get a goodie bag with free beep and Q101 merch, which you could probably give away as gifts to your unsuspecting nieces and nephews. You will also be entered in a drawing for a 7-day vacation from Apple vacations.
Incidentally, I wrote this article: http://www.beepcentral.com/story.aspx?story=740