Cailfornia=Florida on steriods

So, I know i grew up in Florida (which is very similar to Cali), but it really is amazing how accostumed you can get to a place (Chicago) after living there for only 3 months. I shall explain. Yesterday I arrived in Los Angeles to visit my best friend Jodi. The following things were strikingly different from Chicago, but quite similar to Florida.
1. The weather. As soon as I stepped out of LAX i felt the 80 degree sun beating down on my back...something i haven't felt in a while in Chicago. The coat i had wrapped in my arms to keep me warm earlier that morning would obvously not be needed this weekend. And i immediately wanted to be in a pair of shorts, if my legs weren't so pale.
2. The sun. Sunglasses are mandatory here! My eyes had become used to the soft sunlight of Chicago and the protection of tall dark buildings.
3. Wide open spaces. Los Angeles is huge and sprawling. A car is absolutely mandatory! You can see for miles down a road here. However, unlike FLorida, the terrain is much more interesting. In the distance you can see houses on mountains and it looks amazing at night. Buildings aren't very high here, so you can see plenty of bright blue sky.
4. Clothing. After Jodi picked me up, we went out for lunch. While we were eating i looked around and noticed how laid back everyone was. Sitting very relaxed in thier seats and wearing t-shirts, cargo shorts and flip flops. Girls were wearing mini skirts and were very tan and had blonde highlights. No one was smoking. I'd gotten used to the drabbness (which i like) of people in Chicago; sitting indoors with coats slung to the back of chairs; wearing long sleeves, scarves,jeans, shoes and socks.
5. Traffic. Unlike Florida, the traffic in Los Angeles is a bit of a hidderance. I was thinking about taking a cab to Hollywood Blvd, which after doing some online research i discovered was only 6 miles away. Jodi later told me that it would have taken me an hour to get there and would have cost me around $60 dollars! wow.

Last night Jodi had to work, so Tim (her boyfriend) and I went up to her resturant for dinner. The food was amazing!!! I was pleasently surprised by the chill in the air after we left the resturant. I was happy i brought a hoodie.

Today, i took JOdi's bike and rode a few blocks west to Santa Monica. There's a street called Promande on 3rd Street; it reminded me a lot of south beach. It was so nice to ride a bike again and in the breezy sun.

More to come. And pictures.

the time has come!

i have a job! What a relief! Not only for me, but for my family who has been keeping me a float through all of this. And probably for my friends and boyfriend as well, who have been hearing about my trials for 3 months-haha. Now, comes the fun part. I'm excited about finding a place to live and having the comfort of finding a nice place feels soooooo good. I'm looking for an apartment close to the blue line since i can transfer to the Metra train from the Blue Line. Ideally I'd like to use public transportation to get to work, but just in case I have to drive, i'd also like to be close to I-90. I'm happy i won't have to live with a stanger and I can afford a 1 bedroom (as opposed to a studio), which will come in handy when i have guests, or if my brother decides to move to Chicago next August. I'm so happy that all of this as finally come together. IKEA here i come ;)

let it snow!

it snowed today! it was almost surreal to be driving in my car and notice the tiny bits of ice hit my wind shield. Today was the second time I've ever seen snow, EVER! So of course for me it was a special occasion. early this morning I had to stop by Kinkos and while i was there i was like a little kid talking about the snow with the sales person. She happened to be from California, so she understood my excitment. I kept looking around today at everything and how it looked with snow on it. this is how people who have never seen the ocean must feel. it looks like the world is covered in powdered sugar. And when i bent down to bunch some up in my hand I was surprised at how fluffy is was. I was also surprised at the combination of red, brown and gold leaves acting as little shelves for the white snow. I guess I assumed in my head that these too don't exist at the same time. I thought the leaves fell off before the snow came. Today was cool because all these things i'm describing are so common for so many people, but for me it was a totally new and fresh experience. I wish i could hold on to that feeling with everything in my life.

Gator Football

I'm proud of myself. I've watched two Gator football games in 2 weeks. That may sound weak to a lot of Gator alum but I'm not a football watcher. When i was living in Orlando, I pretty much never watched the Gators play, and could probably win an award for worst alum ever. However, now that I'm far far away, I love going to Joe's on Weed Street to watch the games with all my fellow windy city gators! It's so nice to see all that Orange and Blue and other people from Florida in Chicago. They even play the fight song and all the gator chants. I'm so excited for when my brother comes up for Thanksgiving and we go to Joes to watch the Gators beat the 'Noles :)

crazy photos!

My mom sent me an email today with some beautiful photography. These two images were the most powerful, i thought. Can you image being the guy taking the photo of that bull?! Or being those surfers about to be pelted by dolphins??

been a while!

It's been too long since i've updated my blog. I knew I wouldn't be any good at this! The reason I haven't written in a while is because i've been going on interviews and i was hoping to hold out on blogging until I found a job. That way I could write in all caps something like HIRED. well that won't be happening just yet. I just got word from a job i really thought i would get that i wasn't selected. Bummer!! I'm starting to notice a trend. i believe my work is strong, and I'm finding that my portfolio gets me past the initial "cut." My work gets me in the door for the interview. After that I'm not sure what happens but i think it has a lot to do with my lack of professional experience in a field (and city) where good designers come a dime a dozen. With only 2 years of experience with a non-agency, non-solely design firm job it's easy to see how the art directors out there interviewing for the same job can one up me. The good thing is that I'm keeping busy with work to tie me over and to keep my brain from turning to goo. I have an exciting job with FlyDesign to creat a completely new look for their leave-behinds (a book to leave with companies that showcases your work. the goal is to obtain new clients). i think this will be a fun opportunity to really 'work it' creatively. :) I also recently designed a poster for the band The Regels. It gave me the chance to use an idea i've had since i moved to CHicago. The first time i saw the chicago skyline, i thought that the Sears Tower and the Hancock Center made the whole skyline look like a huge mouth with fangs. I figured a poster for a band that was playing on Halloween would be the perfect place to use this idea. I haven't gotten the final word yet from the band, but their manager, my friend Olivia, loved it!


Also, I have an interview today with the Arlington Heights parks district. From the job desciption, the position sounds all encomposing. I would be doing it all, from photography and design to park signage. Sounds like a great opportunity to learn it all. Can i finally land a job?! :)