Yikes!

As I was putting the finishing touches on my previous blog this young man sat next to me on Sunday morning around 10am. He then began to tell me that he has just been released from a mental institution and has been up all night doing drugs. Yup, it's time to move.

To slum or not to slum

Zach and I moved into a great flat on the East side of London last month. Our area is called Shoreditch and is full of muscians, artists, and a sprinkling of young professionals. It offers great pubs, clubs, and some descent restaurants. Our flat itself is AMAZING. I'm in love with it. It's a spacious two bedroom, two bathroom, ultra modern, brand new place. The down side of our hood is when all of these clubs close at 6 am and all the vampires come crawling out of their holes flying high on drugs and booze. You are then challenge to not step on broken glass or fresh vomit. Or even worse, chased by a drugged out lunatic as my neighbor experienced one morning. We are not the "clubbing" kind in fact we have talking about starting our family later on this year and buying a home. So we have come to the conclusion that it's time to move before we invest in furniture. That's another thing! Buying furniture in London is an absolute nightmare. First off, it's so expensive, then if your lucky enough to find something that you like and is descently priced it's not available. And when I say unavailable I mean just that. I was informed that the couch I wanted will not be available until mid Nov. then at that time I can actually order it. Once you order the couch it takes another 3 to 4 weeks for delivery. I forget that I'm living on an island and things are imported here. You see, as Americans we don't know the meaning of wait. If you want something, it's available right then and there. You can buy a sofa and take a nap on it later on the same day. My Canadian neighbor and I had a chat about this whole furniture ordeal yesterday. She just bought a "new" bed and it finally arrived after 3 weeks. You can imagine her horror when she discovered that it smelled as if someone had died in it. Her exact words. So she is back to using her air mattress until her repalcement bed is sent out in approx., you guessed it, 3 weeks. I guess it's a blessing that we haven't been able to buy furniture since we will be moving. Now we know why so many flats come furnished! So the area we want to live in now is actually an area that we checked out initially but deemed it yuppyish. We welcome Angel / Islington (our targeted neighborhood) with open arms. Till then we will cherish our beautiful, empty, spacious flat. We've had many nice meals on the floor.

Back to the UK

My parents dropping me off at LAX.

My home town

Before coming home for my friend's wedding I went to a design party with our friend Mark in London. Zach was in Amsterdam for business and Mark was kind enough to invite me a long. We had an interesting conversation about the States that night. I was telling him how I felt that this opportunity to live abroad came at the right time for me. Over the last few years I have felt a sense of shame and embarrassment for our country and the direction in which it's headed. I felt an enormous sense of disappointment in our government and with our society and it's mass consumption mentality. When Zach asked me if I wanted to move to Europe I jumped at the chance. Mark was quick to point out all the great qualities that the US has to offer. I informed him of all the great things that the UK had in return. In the end he really helped me to appreciate where I came from and to look at my home country in a new light. So when I came home, I had new perspective on home. First off, I felt inspired to take pictures of my home town La Puente which I have never felt before. Let me explain. I had an incredible childhood with two parents that did an amazing job of raising the three of us. I always felt safe, loved, and cared for. Our neighborhood was family oriented, we had nice neighbors, and we played baseball in the street until the sun went down. It's changed a lot since I was a kid. I don't feel entirely safe there as an adult and it's not as family oriented as it use to be. The neighborhood is predominantly Mexican American and many households have both parents working very hard or single family situations. Like many families in the US, the children are left alone and don't get that attention and guidance that is so important. They turn to gangs or a life of crime to fill the void and pass the time. Because of all these changes mentioned I never felt inspired or interested in photographing my home town. Maybe it was the fact that it was my home and I've always been eager to travel and leave California and the US in general. Whatever the reason, I felt inspired to document it and in fact have a great idea for a photography/biographical book (more info to follow).

The Getty Museum

I went to the Getty this weekend with my mom and nephew Christopher. It was family day and they had all of these wonderful activity stations set up. We decorated postcards and they even provided the postage, how cool is that? We also got to decorate our own picture frames. I had so much fun "creating art" with the two of them. I had to check out the photography building and was happy to see some amazing photos from Mary Ellen Mark. I also discovered a photographer that I had never heard of, Donald Blumberg. His work was brilliant, as the English would say.

Birthday, booze, and baked lasagna

My cousin Angie had a great birthday party this Saturday in Glendale. A rip, roaring time was had by all. It was a great chance for me to see some family members while having some great lasagna, a full bar at my disposal, and a dj to play some fun dance music. I had a blast dancing with my family to everything from Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Gwen Stefani, & Fergie, to Armenian music. I have to say that most of the fun came from taking pictures of party guests. This trip to California has really sparked my creativity for picture taking. I find myself going through dry spells sometimes with photography and when the creative juices flow it's important to take advantage of them. We were all having so much fun that we were shut down by the police dept. I haven't been to a party that required some police action in quite some time.

That's amore!

Weddings have always made me emotional and Brandie and Richard's wedding was no exception. They had a relatively small one, about 50 guests and it felt intimate, cozy, and special. It was elegant but not pretentious. The best part of attending their wedding was knowing that they care deeply for one another and knowing your friend married a great guy. That's not always the case. I remember attending a family members wedding about two years ago and the groom (who shall remain nameless) came over to our table and was actually expressing regret and doubt about marrying his bride! I couldn't believe it. It made me a bit sad and I felt like he must have felt some extreme pressure to marry her. Anyways, that wasn't the case this weekend in beautiful Sonoma, Ca. I was especially emotional at Brandie's wedding for a few reasons. One, she's a very good friend of mine, we go way back to waiting tables in Los Angeles. Two, the last wedding I attended was my own back in March and it reminded me of the amazing person that was lucky enough to marry (I'm getting weepy just writing that!). And finally three, my husband and I are on different sides of the world right now and I miss him terribly. So how have I been coping with missing him? Eating a lot of chocolate and watching sappy romantic comedies. Well that's not all, I've been running, and spending some quality time with my dog Toby and my nephew Christopher. I'm also working on a website for my mom who makes jewelry. I am so glad that I flew back to California for this wedding. And I really hope to meet up with the newlyweds in Europe where they will honeymoon.



Ps. Brandie, you looked amazing! Congratulations, I am so happy for the two of you.

Welcome to the East Bay

Ahhhhh, the East Bay, my old home and the place I hope to someday call home again. Zach and I lived in Oakland for two years when he transfered to UC Berkeley and fell in love with everything it has to offer. Great weather, amazing food, San Francisco, wine connoisseurs, and friendly people. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and will always consider it home but you can't help but notice the HUGE differences between So. Cal. and Nor. Cal. Everyone is L.A. is in such a hurry, over caffeinated, and self absorbed. No one stops to smell the roses. Living in Oakland taught me to slow down, enjoy the "now", and appreciate good friends. I've met some of the most incredible people while working at Baywolf Restaurant in Oakland. People that you don't meet everyday and people I hope to know for the rest of my life. I recently flew back to California for my friend Brandie's wedding. She got married in Sonoma so I decided to stop in Oakland to have lunch with some old friends. It's only been two months since I've seen these lovely friends but even that was too long for me. With my Mom in tow, we had what felt like the last supper. Four bottles of yummy wine (courtesy of David and Katie), fried sardines and duck liver flan (courtesy of chef Jesus), Caesar salad, grilled shrimp, crispy sole, and tons of desserts. But by far the best part of the meal was the company. I have great memories and roots in the East Bay and thankfully Zach and I agree that the place to live when we move back to the US is the Bay Area. Number one choice, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So cheers to my friends and cheers to the East Bay!

Mi familia en Londres

O.k, I've only been in London for a month but it sure feels good to have some family around. It's sort of like being a kid and having your favorite stuffed animal with you when you went to spend the night at your friends house. A taste of home in a foreign land. I'm thrilled to have my cousin Rita staying in London while she persues her career in art. I'm looking foward to really getting to know her and spending some quality time together. Recently my cosuin Carmen and her husband Norm stopped in London for a few days on their way to Paris. We shared some good wine, conversation, and a few pints. Not too long ago my sister in law Maureen and her friend Emmy came through as well. More good food, more good wine, and some good art at the Tate Modern.
Aside from family I was lucky enough to spend some time with some friends from Oakland too. Mr. Byron and Ms. Natalie. Sept. has been very good to us. Having all these familar faces around has really helped us to assimilate to life in our new home. So thank you for that and keep those familiar faces coming!

Welcome to London!

My husband I recently moved to London and it's been a mixed bag of excitement, stress, anxiety, and joy. Sounds a bit like what people describe when their first child is born. But seriously, we do feel lucky and the time is right in our life for this incredible opportunity. I am ready to fill my passport up with as many stamps and my camera with as many images as possible. I have always wanted to live abroad and my chance has finally arrive. This blog will be a great way to keep my family and friends posted and serve as an excellent way to vent and let my thoughts flow. So welcome to my blog spot and I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!