Happy Halloween and October Comments

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  The opportunity to dress up as someone or something else and change your life for a night? Plus you get free candy?  Priceless!

When I was a kid, we always had the neighborhood Halloween party at my house, and there were always adults available to take us around to get us some candy.  I remember one of those wonderful adults dressing up in a witch outfit, taking a goblet around and declaring "Drink or destruction" while we shouted "Trick or treat".  I sure hope she got some wine.

Besides being Halloween, though, it's also the last day of the month and that means it's time for me to comment on your comments.

Way back at the beginning of the month Kristi commented on a September post about Anger, because her "high school communications class taught that anger is always covering a deeper emotion, usually hurt of some kind."
I totally agree with you Kristi, but I'm not sure what to do if the hurt seems to be caused by not agreeing with someone else's opinion.  I can apologize for the hurt I've caused, as that is never my intent, and I can be gentle about expressing what I believe.  I hope that can be enough.


In the category of correcting and/or extending my posts, Alias informs us that 101 is also the last known generalized Fermat prime.  MA Reynolds shares that the anniversary of Columbus' landfall in the New World should actually be celebrated on October 23rd.
Thank you both for the additional information, even if I don't totally understand your comments.  It's a classic case of me knowing the words, but not really comprehending the totality.


To Kelly Erskine, who will be sure to call us when she goes out of town to see if we'd like to take care of her pets, as we enjoyed taking care of our friends' pets, we only work within the city limits.   Sorry.

Whether your plans include handing out candy or turning off all your lights and hiding out, I hope all of you are having a safe and happy Halloween, and that the little goblins in your lives are also safe.

Tsunami

These signs are all around where I am now staying.  They are a little worrisome, as the land directly inland slopes down from the ocean and is very flat.  On the other hand, when I was a kid and living here, there were no signs or directions, so I guess this is a step up.

Long, long ago I attended kindergarden a small block northeast from the beach.  At some point in that year, my teacher wisely thought that she should educate us little ones about tsunamis.  I don't remember what we learned, but I have vivid memories of the nightmares.  Boy, was my Mom pissed at that teacher!

In my nightmare (the same most nights), the tsunami came and my family was swept away from our house and away from each other.  It being a little kid's nightmare, there was none of the harsh reality of an actual tsunami. There were no trees or parts of houses to injure us, and mostly what I remember was all of us bobbing along the top of a giant wave until I woke up. Still, it was pretty scary to a five year old.

Now I know a lot more about tsunamis and the early warning system that exists.  I know what to do in case of an earthquake and I respect the power of the ocean.  I don't have nightmares about tsunamis anymore, but I am still pretty happy anytime I see this sign:

Beaches of yesteryear

If you walk southeast from Venice Pier along the beach or the boardwalk, you will come to a large fenced off section of sand.  Why?  It's a preserve for the California Least Tern so that the birds have somewhere on the beach to nest.

Every time that I walk by the area, I think, "That's what this entire beach must have looked like a long time ago."  Inside there are small sand dunes, native plants, and a distinct lack of tire tracks.

It's pretty much exactly like the sand dunes we used to camp on when we were kids.  Those sand dunes were somewhere near Ensenada, Mexico and are probably completely covered by condos and hotels.

In any case, the sand outside the fence is completely different.  It doesn't have any vegetation and is completely flat.  I'm not exactly sure how the City of Los Angeles maintains it in that state, although I do know that a machine combs through the sand at least once a week dragging some tool that picks up trash.

I wonder what would happen if the entire beach were allowed to go back to nature?  I wouldn't mind laying down my towel next to some plants.  Although I would need to be careful around those least tern nests. . .

New friends

Meeting new people can be intimidating.  Meeting a large group of new people, some of whom you will have to be creative with in a small space for a prolonged period of time, can be downright daunting.  Your brain buzzes with questions:  Will I like them?  Am I dressed for the occasion?  Do my armpits stink?

This weekend I got lucky.  I got to know over twenty people I had never seen before, and they were all great!

About ten of us got together Friday night at the hotel's complementary happy hour.  The laughter flowed as freely as the alcohol, and we all shared small bits about our lives.  The next morning, the rest of the crew showed up and we all continued the meet and greet.

And you know what?  Over the course of the two days everyone was genuinely friendly, my outfits were fine, and even though my armpits did stink, no one mentioned it out loud.

Now that the weekend is over, I have nineteen new close buddies from all over the world.  I can't wait to go see them in Germany, Norway, and Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Sitcom room update #1

Laughing, learning, and lack of sleep.  That's what I expected to get from the Sitcom Room writing workshop and it has delivered.  I have been awake for almost twenty straight hours, much of that spent in a small room with four other people trying to be funny.

Now I'm just exhausted, so I'm going to bed.  It looks so inviting!

I'll write more later. . .

Sitcom room weekend

Today and tomorrow I am holed up in a lovely hotel next to the airport with nineteen other passionate people trying to learn how to write a script for a situation comedy.  It's a television writing class comedy workshop called the Sitcom Room run by Ken Levine, a professional comedy writer who has written for M*A*S*H*, Cheers and Frasier.

As I write this, I actually have no idea what is going to be happening over the next two days, but I am both excited and nervous.  I hope that I am funny enough and that I don't embarrass myself or my team.  I also hope that I like everyone and that everyone likes me.  That's not too much to ask, is it?

I'll report back after the weekend and let you all know how it went.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Get outside for me, as I'll be trapped inside trying my best to make people laugh.

Playing tourist in your own hometown

Los Angeles is a very large city and it has a ton of things to do.  I would be the first to admit that I have seen only a tiny percentage of its many touristy attractions.  But yesterday I got the chance to see one I've never even heard of before.

Apparently the Gamble house is one of the premier examples of a Craftsman house designed by Greene and Greene, brother architects.  And I gotta say, it was pretty cool!

I learned all about this amazing historic site.  It was built from 1908 - 1909. It's called the Gamble house because the man who had it built was one of the Gambles from Proctor and Gamble.  It cost less than $100,000 to build. It is owned by the city of Pasadena, run by USC, and the money to maintain it comes from the Friends of the Gamble House.  But facts are just facts, and this house is a thing of beauty.

The house is gorgeous, all soft curves and many different kinds of warm wood, teak, oak, mahogany, cedar and maple.  All of the fixtures and furniture are beautiful, many of them designed by the two brothers.  There are also several Tiffany pieces and a couple of rooms furnished by Stickley. It had all of the time's most modern features, indoor plumbing, electricity, central heating, and a garage complete with gas tank and pump.

But my favorite feature of the house is its three, count them, three! sleeping porches.  I want a sleeping porch at my house . . .

So the next time you are at loose ends, go be a tourist where you live, you might be surprised by what you find!