City of Angels

Boris closeup
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Los Angeles is a fun place to visit. The majority of my time there was spent exactly in this spot (in my Uncle Wayne's backyard) reading, and staring into THIS face. This is Boris, Wayne and Aesook's (my aunt) Weimaraner. He's very energetic, loves to play fetch (which we did for hours, daily), and whines instead of barking.

We also spent a lot of time eating. My uncle is an excellent cook, and he also loves going out for a good meal. Needless to say, I was well-fed. I don't think I have eaten so much red meat and seafood in one week before. Which is why I am going vegetarian for a week...

So, here are some photographic highlights from my trip...

Traffic

LA - traffic
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On Friday, Aesook had the day off from work, so we drove to an outlet mall outside of Palm Springs. Driving through the desert was beautiful. Since it is spring, the mountains were lush and green. In a few months they'll be dried up.

At the mall, I went crazy (well, for me) and bought a pair of Tommy Jeans, 6 pairs of socks, 3 bras, a J Crew shirt and a pair of sandals. All for 70 dollars American. Wayne, on the other hand, seemed to think that the 90 dollars he spent on one pair of pants was a steal. Riiiight...

On the way home we were stuck in traffic for two hours. Yikes! No fun...

Andale!

Olvera street
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On Saturday, Aesook and Wayne went to a wedding, so they dropped me off downtown for some wandering/adventure/exploring time. First stop: lunch on Olvera street, the birthplace of Los Angeles and a flurry of Mexicana. I had two beef taquitos with avocado sauce (mmm...) and a chili-mango lolipop (not so yum). I also bought myself a cute Mexican peasant top.

Downtown LA

California Centre
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Although my Uncle Bing's buildings are scattered all over Vancouver, he also has this one in downtown LA. It was supposed to be one building in a larger complex, but the deal fell through, and this was the only one left standing.

I also walked through the Jewelry district and the Fashion district, where I bought a funky tank top.

Downtown is crowded, and stinky. The leering men made me a more than a little uncomfortable.

Grand Central Market

Grand Central Market
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Lunch number two. I went to Grand Central Market. I love markets; they are so lively and you can find all kinds of weird food, like fish tacos! They were really messy, and not that great. But it was an experience! For some reason, they have sprinkled sawdust on the floor...

Hollywood sign

Hollywood sign
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Once I got tired of downtown, I took the subway up to Hollywood.

Yeah...I know this picture is cheesy...but I had to take a picture of it. And to get to it, I had to walk along scummy Hollywood Boulevard toward Hollywood and Vine. Girlie shows, tacky souvenir shops, stars of extinct Hollywood stars, and sketchy tattoo parlours. Not all glitz and glamour.

Dancing feet

Fred's prints
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Just before being picked up at Hollywood and Highland, I found a pair of feet in which to step out front of the Chinese Mann Theatre. When I was a child and taking tap dancing lessons, I would wish I could dance like Fred. (This was when I realized how uncoordinated I am.) Oddly, his feet are not much bigger than mine. Small feet...small...shoes!

Wayne and Aesook took me to a Korean grill restaurant in Koreatown. We had this grilled beef that was very yummy. Afterwards they made fried rice in the fat...yum. Reportedly, Kevin has not yet been privileged to LA Korean food. I was told to brag about this.

Venice beach

Venice beach
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On my last full day in LA, Uncle Wayne drove Boris and I out to the coast. Here is a Wayne Thom original shot of Boris and I on the Venice Beach boardwalk. Probably if he got his hands on it, he would Photoshop out the manhole cover. Dogs running loose, pigeons scurrying away from dogs, tacky souvenir shops, henna tattoo artists, paddle tennis and guys working out at the Muscle Beach gym. Strange place. My camera batteries ran out of juice, so I had to buy a set of 7 dollar batteries to get the next two photos taken. I think it was worth it.

Sand between my toes

Malibu - Zuma beach
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

After Venice beach, we drove along the coast past all the mansions, and had lunch at a roadside seafood restaurant. I had fish 'n chips and Uncle Wayne had mussels 'n chips. Then we went to Zuma beach, where my uncle had lived for 2 years back in the 60s (or was it the 70s...). Anywho, here he is chasing after Boris (who was chasing a jogger). Shortly after catching him, and as we were headed back to the car, the lifeguard warned us of the 300 dollar fine for having dogs on the beach. On the way home we drove through the canyon - very pretty...but no photos.

Almost Comp-lete!

Arts County Fair - Me with Alan and Leah
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

I have been studying all weekend for this damned comprehensive exam. I'm not really worried about it, but it's better to be prepared than not, considering I am counting on passing this thing to graduate. Anyway, my strategy has been to sort through my binders/piles of course notes and put in a crate what I think is most important. (Two years in a crate.) Not only does this help me prepare for the comp, but it also allows me to be rid of many journal articles that I won't need. Lightening up the load just in case I need to move at the end of the summer. Now that I have organized them, I am now reading/skimming through them. A tirelessly boring task considering how much overlap there is between my courses.

I realize that this is probably one of the most boring blog entries I have ever written. Which is why I have attached a photo of fun times. This is Arts County Fair, an annual party that is held at Thunderbird stadium - big party. This year the headlining act was the New Pornographers. Lots of drunken froshies. And at least 5 drunken graduate students. Believe it or not, this is the "less drunk" photo.

Encouraging Inventor

Once again, my brother's blog has provided me with procrastination tools as I attempt to study for my Toxicology final. I took a personality test online here, and this is a visual representation of my personality:

A written report can be accessed here.

Uncovered

In reference to Melissa's last comment...That's really funny. I did something very similar with my asparagus last night. I pureed a glaze made out of ginger marmalade, sesame oil, sushi vinegar, salt and pepper. Tossed the asparagus in it, and threw it on the George Foreman (b-day present from Kevin) with some dumplings (yes...EVERYTHING can be cooked on the George). Also cooked up some Japanese soba noodles. Fantastic...Best meal I've made since...Friday, when I made a mushroom and asparagus quiche with creamy smoked gouda. Mouth watering yet??

Other things that are exciting these days (besides eating):

My Ontario Health Card expired in March, but because I had no access to my mail until my dad recently sent my tax receipts, I had no idea. So, now I am without coverage (hopefully the Student Health Service won't clue in) until I apply for the BC Medical Service Plan. Since I have been living in BC for longer than their 2-month waiting period, it should kick in automatically. We have to pay premiums here...bah!

This is the last week of classes. I have 3 exams. A toxicology final (non-cumulative) on the 10th, a take home exam for Occupational Diseases due on the 12th, and my big (scary) comprehensive exam on the 18th. This last one will determine whether they deem me able to graduate and will test me on everything I've learned in the last two years.

The afternoon of the 18th, 2 hours after my comp is over, I fly to Los Angeles to hang out with the celebrities and my Uncle Wayne, his wife and their dog. Apparently there will be a lot of eating (which I look forward to). Maybe I will also do some touristy stuff too, like go to Disneyland, Universal Studios, cruise the stores on Rodeo Drive, go to the beach!

A week later I will come back and start working full-time for my professor. Looking forward to spending the summer in sunny (!) Vancouver.

Speaking of which the sun is shining, so today I will rollerblade out to campus! Paper editing day!