MOVING IN

Since my last post, I am finally sleeping at my new place. It'll be two weeks this Saturday night. It's a bit spartan still, and I still have no shelving to put my books on, and it's piles, piles, piles, but slowly I am beginning to get organized. There's an IKEA store not far away (Burbank), and I spent a bit of an overwhelming three hours there yesterday trying to find the perfect bookshelves and some other gaps in my furnishings. In the end, I walked away with a bookshelf-CD rack combo (you can insert the CD dividers into the bookshelf) that seemed pretty multi-purpose. Still nowhere to put books, but at least I can get rid of three CD boxes on the floor! Most of my computer stuff is out and connected, but still no internet. That will require a bit more tech support from the cable company - and my 2000 Mac isn't getting any younger, making for constant compatibility problems with software or networking. As soon as I get a job, I'll splurge on a newer computer. I have done so about every 5 years, and it seems to be about time again.

My apartment building is on a fairly quiet side street and has underground parking (fortunately, since every on-street space gets crammed by 6:00 pm every day). It's an attractive, smallish building with 24 units on two floors with lots of plants and flower beds in the middle courtyard. I still don't really know any neighbors, but I have borrowed quarters from one woman (who had the ill luck to be standing in the courtyard when I was desperate to get my laundry done!) and helped one man move a piece of furniture (I had the ill luck to be standing in the courtyard when HE needed someone!) My goal is to be fully moved in by the end of August so I can focus on other longer-term goals, like getting the damn job, for one!

Now that most of my stuff is finally in once place again, I have been trying hard to get my life back in order again - taxes were due August 15 (postponed from April 15, when I was in the middle of the dissertation drafts), bills have to be paid, charges that were supposed to be recredited to my Visa account need to be tracked down by letter, etc. It seems I am almost a year behind in so many things. My monthly bills have gotten paid miraculously, somehow, but a lot of other business has lagged. Not to mention personal correspondence, sending pictures, etc.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Ann is mostly down in Fallbrook these days and doesn't get up to LA much. Last time was August 9, which became the birthday celebration I didn't get to have on the day itself, July 30. Ann reserved a table at the restaurant of the Getty Museum, one of LA's most beautiful locations, perched on a hillside overlooking the city and Santa Monica Bay. Somehow, the small party of friends managed to get to the restaurant through LA traffic, finding a space in the 9-story underground parking structure, and the wait for the little monorail that takes visitors from the parking entrance up to the museum itself. Lunch was great, and I got a couple presents - including a mug from the Getty itself. The rest of the afternoon till closing time at 6:00, we all walked around the grounds, stopping to see the late religious paintings of Rembrandt (several of St. Paul), and more important to most of our crew, apparently, the museum gift shop! All in all, it was a very nice way to celebrate my 48th birthday - and the museum employees at the entrance to the Rembrandt exhibit even sang me "Happy Birthday"! How often does that occur?

THE HOLLYWOOD LIFESTYLE

Yes, folks, I am no longer "Paul of Arabia" (or even "Paul of Urbana") but now "Paul of Hollywood" - not to be confused with Frederick's of Hollywood.

I am still waiting for Ann to bring her guestbed up in Cam's pickup Wednesday so I can start *sleeping* in my own apartment in Hollywood (see previous post for new address), but my lease officially started August 1. I must say it feels extremely satisfying to have a place of my own now after several months living out of my car. Maybe I can start getting a bit more organized finally!

TUT TUT

Last Friday, Ann brought the gang up from San Diego county - her old college friend Riitta Malkki and daughter Kari on a visit from North Carolina - and we met up at a Thai restaurant with old Aramco friend Kim Ayers and her financé Alan Petker. After gorging ourselves, we raced over to LACMA (LA County Museum of Art) for the King Tut exhibit. (Kim is a member and got us all tickets.) Counter to my expectations, we didn't have to wait in any enormous lines. You set up an "appointment window" of 15 minutes days ahead, in our case, the window was 7-7:15 pm, and you show up and get whisked right in. I think it's all by appointment; we didn't bypass masses of people standing in line. Inside the exhibit itself, however, it got a bit crowded. I have to say I was a bit let down because 1/3 of the exhibit came from other Egyptian rulers, not Tut Ankh-Amun's tomb. And the most sumptuous pieces of all, the 10 layers of sarcophagi surrounding the mummy, didn't make the tour. So it was interesting but not "wow!" And I expect I'm a bit jaded after seeing the complete collection in the Egyptian Museum many years ago!

MAPPING THE WORLD

I found an amazing map website this morning (better than Mapquest and Yahoo's version) I recommend to one and all:

http://maps.google.com

Google, already one of the classiest acts on the Web, has upped the standard of custom mapping on the web. You can look up a street address and view it in three versions: (1) satellite view - a photograph over the location, (2) regular street map, or (3) "hybrid", a satellite image with street names superimposed - more useful and user-friendly than you might imagine. To gild the lily, they even have an amazing up-down-right-left navigation button that whizzes smoothly in any direction you choose from the original map. You can tour an entire region quickly - like flying a small plane over the city! It also has the normal zoom in and zoom out feature, as well.

Now, it's time to experiment ...

Just fill in my new address 1745 N. Kingsley Dr., Los Angeles, CA

in the blank at top and hit the "Search" button. Experiment by hitting "Satellite" and "Hybrid" at the top of the map for different views. You can see very clearly where the flat land ends and the Hollywood hills begin. I'm about two streets south of the hills. (To get rid of the annoying Address bubble, just click on the x.)

Now, for fun, try your own home address!