venice is clear and warm and good. after a month of acting the drifter on 2 coasts, i'm all gratitude for having a little place and some peace. the rabbit is happy. jacob and i are happy too. i tried living with a guy once when i was a dumb kid and it was a disaster. but I'm liking this. He's a great cook, we eat cheap and organic (about 5 farmer's markets around here each week), and we don't seem to get tired of one another. he won't let me put up my beloved frida kahlo art (lame), but i made him throw out tons of worthless garbage he didn't need (stoked). compromises! we moved down here after knowing one another for exactly 6 months. yup.

so, big surprise, it's not a good time to job-hunt. no one is hiring, there's a freeze on state jobs down here, and about 400 applicants for every half-ass part-time job i find. but when we set out to sell ourselves, it's like an adventure as opposed to anything scary or nerve-wracking (ok it's a little nerve-wracking. not only does money not grow on trees, it doesn't roll up in the tides either). we try to keep it light-hearted and make one another laugh when there's temptation to brood. I've gotten some helpful leads from friends, so thank ya'll for that. it means a lot.

but we live simply enough. i mean, the beach is half a block from our doorstep. the boardwalk goes on forever, you can follow the beach for miles and miles, through multiple oceanside cities. we live in venice but sit close to the santa monica border. this is a very walk-y and bike-y part of L.A., so it's not like everyone is living in their cars. there's so much to do that involves breathing delicious air and not spending a thing. i love the cruiser-bikes everyone rides here! they are hot, i really want one. we found a good local bike shop and the guy hooked me up and was great to talk to. we hung out w/ him for a long time.

people seem generally sweet and personable. definitely a beach culture, lots of buskers who are half outta their minds hold court on the boardwalk. it can be annoying but the circus is easy to avoid. one day a guy just ran up to me and grabbed one of my curls and twirled it. some audacious stuff. Venice and Santa Monica used to be sketchy. "The slum by the sea", there was lots of gang activity, poverty, and it was cheap to live here. Now SM is bourgie and shiny, it's so gorgeous! and Venice is getting pretty crazy in terms of rent, and quite a handful of celebrities around. But it retains a lot of it's nutterly charm and, like any city, there's upscale parts and sketchersville ones. people LOOK at you here. in SF, i feel like it's all about pretending you don't see the person walking toward you, but here, i feel utterly and openly dissected. yet not in a bad way, it's just different. capito?

today we hung out in Culver City for a bit (also quite close, a town of film studios, fancy restaurants, and the closest Trader Joe's), than walked a mile on the beach, meditated in the sand as the afternoon waned, and hit up the Santa Monica pier. Rode the ferris wheel as the sun went down. Nautical sunsets occur later than on the mainland. We have a longer day! we walked home being really silly and laughing, then found a cheap, good indian restaurant that is absolutely haunted (trust me). than some guy gave us free frozen yogurt.

This doesn't feel completely real to me yet. It's been less than 2 wks. it wasn't a huge move, like when I came to Oakland from DC over 7 years ago. But of course I miss my wonderful peoples in the Bay, and the hills, and my routine.
Also, I don't have a car and not yet sure if I'll get one. our friends are in Hollywood, Silverlake, or Los Feliz. It takes AWHILE to arrive there by bus. I mean, I love meeting new folks, and making friends comes easily to me, but strong forever-friendships don't happen overnight and they are to be appreciated. meaning, i miss you.

some final things to share before i stop for tonight: people blatantly go thru your garbage here so never throw out anything remotely personal, in 11 days i've seen more plastic surgery on people than i have in this entire life, and there are tons of really rich buddhists down here. AND I saw the mom from "Wonder Years" at Whole Foods, and she had a bible and she looked fabulous. true.