Out and About

Well, I have been on my own "in LA" for a full week now. And I'll admit, it's been a lot of sitting behind the computer (job searching) and mac'n'cheese. After the first few days of SoCal glamor had passed, I started to go a bit out of my mind. I'm really not an all-alone kind of girl. Granted, I am incredibly independent, and more comfortable on my own than most, but I'm realizing there's a difference between on-my-own and all-alone. I need company, at least from time to time. You know, a little personality interaction.

Anyway, after a bit of stir-crazy restlessness, I decided I just had to get out and it didn't really matter where. Well, as long as it didn't cost me any money (though I've been dying to go hang out at a sports bar or something and get a drink among random people). So, I've been finding an excuse to drive somewhere every day lately.

One day I looked up all the Aaron Brothers stores within 15 miles of here, and just went to get applications. It was actually a pretty good way to get somewhat acquainted with a few neighborhoods. There is a store in Irvine, where Ant's job is based, and another in Tustin, which is an area I'd considered for housing. Both seem like pretty nice areas. Irvine is actually a lot larger than I expected, especially compared to all the tiny towns around Aliso.

Another store was located in Costa Mesa, just north of Newport Beach. Now, Newport Beach is an area that was highly recommended for Anthony to live by some younger coworkers. It seems to be considered a more 20-somethings social center than anything farther down here. Again, Costa Mesa was an interesting neighborhood to explore. Certainly kind of a hip-ish, young, almost eclectic-feeling area. The traffic and streets were... interesting to navigate, but it looks like another great beach town to explore (with Ant of course).

I managed to stop in at the Anaheim Ice arena while I was out, too. Honestly, I was a bit under impressed. I'd had the menatl image of some huge 4-sheet facility like the Edge in Littleton, ESL in Rochester, or the Amherst center in Buffalo. But it wasn't. It was a nice facility, but felt a bit older, and only had 2 sheets (I know, ONLY 2 sheets, right?). They had a figure skating competition going on, so it felt like it was more figure skating centered than hockey, but we shall see where it goes. The shop in the facility seemed about half and half, but the figure skating portion was larger than I've ever really experienced. There was also another skate shop across the street that was exclusively figure skating (a bit of a shock when I walked in, honestly), so I don't think it was just the competition that affected my perspective.

Another day I didn't get out until about 9:30 pm, so my adventure was fairly limited. But I decided to drive around the neighborhood and try to get my bearings. I did find A LOT of shopping centers with plenty of variety, both big chains and small local shops. I even stumbled on the Aliso Viejo community center, which has a pretty sweet outdoor roller rink. Once I get my gear up here, I'll definitely be hitting that up.

I also stumbled on a surprising amount of wildlife along my drive. The first was a HUGE coyote in the parking lot by our nearest Michaels. He was so big I'm not entirely convinced it wasn't a wolf, but I find coyote more believable. My second surprise was a big white owl that flew over an intersection and perched on a nearby store while I was stopped at the light. Again, not real used to seeing owls. I suppose the bird wasn't that big as far as owls come, maybe medium-sized, but the wing span took me by surprise.

Now, I'm no stranger to wildlife in the backyard (I mean, how much more wild does it get than black bears climbing the neighbors' trees, and mountain lions picking off neighborhood dogs?), but I was honestly very surprised to find much around here. Although, with all the canyons here around Aliso, I supposed I shouldn't have been so shocked.

My most recent adventure was today. I've found a studio to send a promo book to (my Design Language book, developed last Spring quarter at RIT), and I needed some materials to put it together. We have a Michaels close, as well as an Aaron Brothers, but neither really sell the book supplies I needed. So, it was a trip down to Laguna Art Supply. It was exactly what I expected it to be, and I will certainly be going back again. The only trick is to avoid going when it's prime beach time. The visit reminded me, though, that I do need to make a networking trip through Laguna in the not-so-distant future. You know, just handing out resumes at any somewhat art-oriented shop.

I suppose that's about as complete of an update as I've got. I can't even describe how trilled I am that I only have 4 more full days alone before Ant comes back. It will be so nice to have someone around in the evenings; honestly, I think it will be motivating, too. So, that's where I am right now. Still working on the job search and applications send-out, and absolutely thrilled Anthony is coming home.