A Storage & Two Bits

Ladies and Gentleman, the vision is complete. well sort of.


Storage Shed compliments of Alex the Builder

Last weekend I am proud to announce Alex finished the storage shed for Recycled Resources. When I opened the box to this project I cried, not figuratively but literally. I had no idea what the directions were asking, couldn't visualize what needed to be done, and lost it. I suggested that we put an ad on craigslist offering someone 100 bucks to come and put it together. 'No' alex said, 'that's pussy'. So I said, ok can you do it. And did it he did. Four days later it was completed. What an awesome guy I have to do this on his vacation.


Outreach

So yesterday we set out to complete our February Outreach and Engagement event. It was small group, however people counted on us and I feel it was a success. Same people, same faces, same stories, however this time they addressed me by name- they remembered us. That felt good. Eventually I want to move forward however for now it's bus token, maps, and linkages. We did meet two new folks- two men in their 30's- one from OK and one from Ireland. It was odd, one spoke in such a thick Irish accent he was difficult to understand and the other in a thick southern accent- they however understood each other perfectly. They were on a walking trip to the pacific ocean from OK and had gotten side tracked and lost in the Highland Park area. They told us of adventures and what is was like walking across almost all of AZ. After giving them some socks tennis shoes and linking them with shower resources they set off. I was sort of jealous- that freedom without thought- plan-or direction. Good luck men- walk hard!


Downtown LA

So after all was said and done Alex and I took off to meet up with a friend who just opened up a new organic market/wine bar. Two Bits Market. Actually this came in handy due our neighbors having yet another moon bounce party- which began at 9:30AM, music blaring, trash being thrown on our lawn, and kids yelling ALL day. I think they must rent out their rented home for parties, or they keep having kids weekly, or the women that live there are renting out their uterus's. They have no respect for anyone on the street. Either way they annoy the shit out of me. I miss our old neighbors!


Two Bits Market - Spring & 5th Street
I had the pleasure of meeting the owners- a newly wed couple - through work and I can honestly say they are amazing. The gentleman works as a social service worker in the hotel where my clients stay and he came to LA after working FSP program in the tenderloin in San Fran so he is really familiar with the skid row pop. I wanted to introduce Alex to them. The hope was to link Alex and get him some type of part part time gig in order to have some work in the business when he finishes culinary school and I think it went well. I tried new cheese! However I did avoid the olives!


I like to think I can try new foods outside of the camping/comfort foods I usually eat- you know canned soup, sandwiches, and the like however I can't do new things that smell funky and the cheeses were funky! They carry all organic and unusual- well to me- selection of fruits and veggies plus a good selection of wine and meats. They invited us to try a bottle of sparkling wine which had hops added to it, so it was sort of like a sparkling wine beer. At first it was not good- however after the second taste it settled and was good. Odd. Have you heard of this?


Eats
Anyhow from there we went to a couple of other places and ended up in Little Tokyo for dinner- yay japanese beer and tempura! We then made a mad dash for the gold line and came back to nolden. One thing that is frustrating is our subways stop running at 11:45pm, everyday of the week, so it sucks when you are trying to get around without your vehicle and save on cab fare. Eh. Los Angeles, really? The city that never sleeps my ass.

I am going to lounge now and read the Sunday paper. Things I want today..
1. Talk to my brother
2. Work on shadow boxes
3. Make a healthy lunch
4. Nap

I'm an expert at number 4.

Las Vegas off the Strip

Monkey and I set off last weekend to go and finally visit Monique and Fernando in Las Vegas. I told myself I wasn't going to end up drunk on the strip and sitting my ass like a zombie in front of a slot machine and for the most part I did not. I have never gone to Las Vegas where I didn't visit the strip- this time- success!

We arrived to Mo's and Fernando- they live in a nice house outside all the noise of Vegas. Pictured below is her front room- it had quite the feel of an Ikea catalog so I prepared my order- Swedish Meatballs! You could tell from her home that she is a graphic designer and both Monkey and I were afraid to touch anything.



We went out to dinner and ended up The Orleans, a local casino by her place. Shit got kinda crazy and everythin a little blurry but we had a good time. Las Vegas now sells these big pitchers of beer- well like pitchers- but they hold a ton of beer and the thing is built with ice in the middle so your beer stays nice and cold- 15 bucks too! It made the phillipino 80's cover band that was playing actually sound good! Yeah I danced, what of it!

This night was only made more exciting when we entered a small Irish Pub called Brendons and Floggin Molly was playing, grand just grand. Sorry for the late night phone calls and singing Poochie and Matt!



On Sunday we went out to Bonnie Springs. Bonnie Springs Ranch was originally built in 1843 as a stopover for the wagon trains going to California down the Old Spanish Trail. In 1846, General Fremont, on his way to California, stopped at what is now Bonnie Springs Ranch to gear up for his trip through Death Valley. Since 1952, it is pretty much used as it is today- a petty zoo, a saloon, and a view of what is left in the middle of Red Rock Canyon. Reminded me very much of 2008 and my desert obsession. There is something to be said- or unsaid- about how I feel in the middle of dirt tumble weeds and red rocks, Bliss.







After we toured the ghost town we took a spot in front of the fire and enjoyed a 'gunslinger'- a hot coffee sort of drink with Baileys and Kahula topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon-or gun powder if you will. Delicious. There was snow on the floor and on the mountains that surrounded us and as the sun set the stars came out. Gorgeous.



Later that night Fernando introduced us to Ellis Island where we had dinner then sang karaoke- good crowd. It was hard to beat the 80 year old 5 foot Elvis that dominated the stage. I sang Rocky Top and when I was done he shook my hand and said thanks for singing a song about Tennessee. My pleasure- and I told him about my visit to his home and thanked him for his hospitality. The bar tender then informed us that he actually purchased Elvis's pink cadillac for $50,000 and he drives it around Vegas. Rad!



All in all it was good weekend. It was hard to wake up on Tuesday and as we drove through the desert to come home Monday night I struggled to look forward to coming back to LA. Which is not to say I don't love Nolden, my job, and LA- it's just if you give this girl a taste of freedom she has trouble settling back down. If I worked every day and never took time off it wouldn't bother me so much- but three days out of LA and I want out!!!!!!

:)

Surprise Sunday Night

Woke up on Sunday after having a pretty quiet weekend with monkey and sort of laid in bed wondering what to do on a three day weekend. Neither of us had plans and wanted to really do anything. I was on the porch enjoying a nice hot cup of cocoa, complete with mini marshmellows when my cell phone rang. "what, you've been in town all week and are just calling me now, F you!" sums up my response. Monique Chebat is my best friend, I love her honestly however about two years ago she moved to Las Vegas to live with her charming as hell, handsome too!, boyfriend Fernando. I adore them both.



After chatting for awhile and catching up Monique informed me that she and her mother wanted to go to Pechanga- a fine Indian gaming establishment. She asked if I would like to come and also ask my grandma to come since my grandma lives close by and is also the same age as Moniques mom. I thought about it.....tic toc tic toc. I thought my grandma would turn down the idea, as she usually stays home and doesn't do much of anything other then sit quietly in her home. I called her, no answer.

I drove down to Anaheim and thought, I am just going to drive by GG's to make sure she is ok, as she is usually home and with my mom in Hawaii just wanted to check on her. I pulled up and my grandmother was literally sitting in a parked car in her garage. I walked up next to the door and stuck my head through the window- she didn't even look surprised she just looked at me. I said Grandma what are you doing and casually she replied 'trying to come up with enough energy to get out of the car'. That's it I said, you're coming with me!

Three hours later behold Pechanga!



Now by this time you're probably asking yourself what is the point of this post- so what she went to gamble with her grandma. I pretend people read this so I am going to tell you why. My grandma doesn't do anything, she really only has a couple of friends left- none of which live by her, and she doesn't really talk to anyone. She has been urged to attend events and also linked with older adult community centers however she doesn't even want to go thinking she won't enjoy herself- so she stays home. Well it just so happens that Monique's mom, who is 80- yup she had Mo when she was 46, and my grandma hit it off big time! big time! Before we even got to the casino they had swapped phone numbers in order to hook up at hometown buffet for stuffed cabbage night- don't ask- and they only live about a mile apart!

So the four of us enjoyed ourselves and had somewhat of a competition playing in teams!


Team Chebat


Team Ansel

The winner....

My Grandma!!!!!! woot woot!

Anyway- it was so good, so good and fun in fact that when Monkey called me worried at 1:30AM cause I wasn't home yet we were all surprised at how late it was. I also had the great fortune of buying my grandma a foot long ruben hot dog- don't ask.

However- for your pleasure- HERE ARE SOME FACTS I learned from my grandma
1. My Kansas uncle was circumcised as an adult - ouch!
2. My grandma lost most of her placenta with her son and was forced to stay in bed for 5 months of the pregnancy
3. My grandma smoked for over twenty years

Weird... and I am so happy I had this time with her- it's the little things!

October has Arrived

good evening rain.

as the rain falls outside and monkey sits beside me on the couch studying i thought i would log in and write. i have spent the last two days sleeping and sleeping, with lapses to sip tea and watch the tellie. i am one of those people who doesn't like using sick time for sick time but i felt it necessary and tonight i feel much better. i feel slightly more nauseated due to the governor ads on tv and if i have to hear or see meg's voice one more time i am going to cancel my ebay account. how can someone dump $140 million on a political race then tell me that california belongs to everyone. eh.


scary pirate?

over the past weekend i had the honor of spending time with my little family, grandma bozo and pax. in preparation for halloween grandma and i took them to a pumpkin patch and a costume store. hilarious. pax couldn't stop staring at jason from friday the XIII who greeted us by the door yielding a machete; ironically bodhi tried to calm him down however it was bodhi who had trouble falling asleep as the man haunted his dreams;pax snored below him.




Scary?

i'm trying to figure out what else to type. the past couple of months have been busy with nonprofit planning, outreach and engagement events, and the usual work ups and downs. my sister announced she is getting married to long time best friend of the family berto, swell swell young lad, and she will be moving back down south, not pigeon forge south, but los angeles south. well its more like the oc but i dont like to call it that. i am happy, both for the marriage and for them moving! now if only my one true love, poochie, would come back down. happily i learned he got his dmv id back and is now able to rent a vehicle so i hope to see him more often. my sister is in the process of looking for homes to rent and hopefully they will chose someplace in a downtown area, with quaint old fashioned charm. i know it will be an adjustment for her after living in such as diverse and beautifully eclectic place as san francisco for so long, however i am hoping that having a crazy family around will make up for the move!

other then that all is all and that is that. stay tuned for events or the like. life is interesting, even when it's not.

Well hello there August

My life continues to pass me by, just like July, and as I sit here typing I wonder where it went. The most highlighted event recently was the Prine Annual Reunion event and vacation last month. I found my sandwich and all of us headed to Mammoth where we hiked, fish, played tripoli, ate lots of good food, panned for gold, and I am proud to also add horse back riding, which I can now cross off my bucket list!

I took nine days off work- using six vacation days- and left the city behind me. This was my first vacation in two years since Amy and I took our month long road trip two years ago. Sometimes I forget what it is like to get away and even what America looks like. You know that seemingly untouched and beautiful place that makes me happy I live here, ah the frontier- Tally ho! I feel the month long road trip may have spoiled me into ever enjoying a vacation again, or at least being able to fully relax and breath, however I was I feel I was able to do that last month. I love my family, even with all the yelling of the crazy bozopax. There is something wonderful and yes all be it odd about being around all of my family at once. It was like that Wisconsin trip all over again- no matter how old I get I will never outgrow family vacations and am thankful we all had the time to come together.



Mi Familia


This weekend the nonprofit group I formed, Recycled Resources for the Homeless, had it's first neighborhood outreach and engagement event. Together we set out in pairs to meet and greet homeless folks living in Highland Park, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, and S Pasadena. I was so touched that people gave up their Saturday morning and afternoon to make a difference in the lives of people around them. We had a solid 28 people we outreached to, many asking for us to come back and check in with them. Most were mentally ill and many reported living in the same place for years- it's those people you see in the morning on the way to work and you wonder about. Well I am happy to say I now know their names, their stories, and they know there are people who are here to assist them. I can't describe the feeling of making contact with people and listening to them. Amazing!

You can read more about it here... www.recycledresources.org/news.

So thats where August and I have been so far. I also took some time to relax this weekend and hang with my monkey at the wineries in Temecula. Good times!



It's 9:00pm now and I am going to bed, yup I am old, however I feel pretty damn good about it.

Good night!