Starstruck

For someone like me, who grew up in a small town and had never been exposed to the "high life," I was pretty excited when I made my first celebrity sighting during lunch today. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me, a mistake that I will never make again! I didn't even have my phone on me! Gah! But I digress.
The whole office went out to a nice little place called 3 Square Cafe on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Five minutes later, in walks Jamie Lee Curtis. I was geeking out; I won't lie. I think I stared at her during the entire time I was eating.

I think I'll make a game of it... my goal is to spot 20 celebrities by the time I leave here.

Material Girl

If you want to simplify your life, LA is a difficult place to live... Everywhere you go, someone's trying to sell you something. Yesterday, I walked down the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Think Newbury Street of Los Angeles times 10. There are the usual stores like H&M, American Eagle, and Forever 21... but then there's the high end stuff that I can't even remember. The fascinating aspect, however, is the fact that the mall at the end is completely open. Only in a place like California, where the weather is almost consistent, can this happen.

After Santa Monica, I headed over to Chinatown (not by choice--my parents are here for the week). There's also a ton of merchandise (lots of useless crap in my opinion) for the millions of tourists who troll through. It's almost impossible to leave without a shopping bag in your hand.
On the plus side, parking and food are incredibly cheap in Chinatown. Dinner for three people cost $20 including tip, whereas dinner anywhere else would cost $50.

Today I started my first day at Behnisch Architekten, Los Angeles (also referred to as bala). Definitely a different feel than the Boston office. Two steps from the office is Venice Beach. Palm trees, the beach, grass, the boardwalk, all sorts of characters that walk along the boardwalk, skateboarders, hipsters, muscle builders... it's all here. I spent my lunch hour exploring nearby. I watched some amateur skateboarders at the skate park for a bit, but then I strolled the boardwalk where people shouted out products and services. If that's too colorful for you, just walk ten feet towards the beach and it's a different feel. People are sleeping in the shade, tanning on the beach, a few bums here and there. How much more diverse could a place get?

For dinner, I ate at an Italian restaurant called Centanni, which I just found out is actually featured as a Best of LA. If you watch the video, the co-owner was actually our waitress. Food was delicious and price was cheap and portions were large. Yelp did good.

That's it for now.

Begin Again

As I embark on my "Eat Pray Love"-like journey, I have decided to start a blog to document my adventures and discoveries. For five months, I will be interning at Behnisch Architekten in Venice, California. The following three months, I will be studying abroad in Europe, residing mainly in Berlin, with a few trips here and there. Lastly, I will end up back in Boston, wrapping up my senior year of college. My hope is to become a blank slate and just learn from the world around me (hence the title of my blog).

This past week of constant moving, packing, and repacking has been an adventure in and of itself. After two van-fulls of just stuff, I made the conclusion that I need to simplify my life and get rid of things. I filled up three garbage bags worth of old clothing for donation. I managed to move to Cali with two large suitcases... still too much in my opinion, but baby steps.

For the past few months, I have been looking forward to moving out west to start over again. I will be completely independent--no friends, no family. While this fact may terrify some, I'm thrilled for the opportunity to meet new people. There will be no expectations that I must live up to (except maybe at work). I can redefine who I want to be... a new beginning.

With that, some pictures.
Farewell, Boston. See you in eight months.

My new home in Venice, just 1.6 miles from the beach.

My modest bedroom.