My neighbour had offered to provide tips and insights on the area, so I took him up on the offer and invited him to coffee.
I explained my pickiness over coffee and how I’d been fairly disappointed with what I’d found so far, and that I was keen to find a great coffee in LA. As he is a former barista, he was a good person to ask. However, I’d already been to top two he was suggesting, LA Mill and Intelligentsia.
Instead, we rolled on down to Silverlake Coffee which I had passed a number of times on my way to the supermarket. I had wondered what it would be like as from the outside it has a little front yard surrounded by greenery and little metal tables for two with umbrellas. Inside was a completely different vibe. As soon as I stepped in, I saw leather couches and then it looked like I’d walked into an office. All the tables were occupied with people typing at a computer. Apparently they have free wi-fi, and it seems that a lot of people take advantage of it.
My coffee was lovely. I’d say about a 9 out of 10, although the interesting conversation probably boosted it another half a point or so. I’ll be going back there again, maybe when my new MacBook arrives, so I can sit down there with my shiny new toy, sip coffee and hang out with the artsy kids.
Two care packages arrived from my mum today, both full of tampons.
You see I hadn’t realised that feminine hygiene products in Australia were so advanced in the world, so I hadn’t brought any with me, thinking I’d be able to buy the same here in the US. I was quite wrong. Uncomfortably wrong.
When I spent a year travelling, I carried with me a years supply of tampons because I had read that they were hard to find in some countries. So it really isn’t an issue for me to stock up and BYO, I just hadn’t expected the US to be one of those countries.
Confronted with the task of buying tampons, I was horrified to find that there were no other options than applicator ones. At home, there is only one brand of applicator tampons, and at least five major brands of normal cotton and string tampons. There are also various styles as you can get multiple grooves, silk covered tips, spiraling grooves or all of the above. We really are spoilt for choice.
I had never used an applicator before, so it kind of took me back to my teenage years when the whole menstrual cycle was new to me and I was hesitant and unsure. It felt really awkward and I had horrid flashbacks of being at the doctor and getting a pap smear. It was also really difficult to tell if I’d done the whole process properly. All up, I hated the whole thing and longed for my compact and quality made Carefree tampons.
With a population of more than 300 million, I had expected there to be a much better range on offer for American women, but it is clearly dominated by just a couple of large companies that must make and absolute fortune. Although my favourite feminine hygiene brand, Carefree, is here, they only sell pads and don’t touch the tampon market. After looking in a couple of different places, I did manage to find one brand of tampons, OB, that resembles those at home. However locating OB tampons can be very hit and miss (dare I say irregular) and they aren’t as well made as those from home.
There’s so many levels of why I don’t understand the whole applicator tampon thing:
It creates significantly more waste that goes back into the environment.
They are big and bulky and don’t fit discreetly in your handbag, purse or pocket.
They just don’t feel right.
I’m so driven by the challenge of finding some normal, non-applicator-Tampax-style tampons that I am prowling all supermarket, pharmacy and department store aisles hoping for a miracle discovery.
If you have any suggestions of where to find quality tampons in the US or information on why the tampon situation is so dire, I’d love to hear them in the comments section.
After being in LA for a month, I have finally bought a car.
Me and Esmeralda: the beginning of a great friendship
I won’t lie and say it’s been easy because being in LA without a car is tough. I was feeling hamstrung and completely dependent on my friends who had to go out of their way to take me places. But when I woke up today, I had a feeling that it would be all okay because I had come to a resolution in my head. If I didn’t get a car, I was going to hire one for a week.
Initially I was quite hesitant about driving on the opposite side of the road, however as the days and weeks passed I became a lot more confident and just wanted to get back behind the wheel again. It’s helpful that there is always traffic in LA and also the yellow lines painted down the road are a godsend for staying on the right side of the road.
I can’t even begin to imagine how much time I spent on Autotraders and Cars.com websites, trawling through car after car, trying to find a good car in my price range of $5000. Disappointed by the lack of vehicles, I even moved my budget up a thousand dollars, but still it was tricky to find something that I felt comfortable with. In the beginning I was looking for an SUV and had my heart set on a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Then when Gin and J got Brandon, I thought I could probably get away with having a smaller sedan that would a) fit into the second space for a compact car at our apartment b) be easier to park in general and c) would be more fuel efficient. Brandon’s big Jeep interior and roofracks could handle anything big and bulky that we would be transporting, so something smaller in the family would be fine.
I moved on to looking at Volkswagens. Mainly Passats and Jettas. I test drove a dodgy, smokey Jetta that a dealer wanted $6500 for. Then I test drove a private sale Passat which I made an offer on subject to it passing a mechanics inspection to my liking. That car didn’t even make it to the mechanic I had selected before it had an engine problem. So I dodged a bullet there. I also found out during my research that there are a number of engine problems with the Passat, for which a class action had been taken against Volkswagen for an oil sludge problem.
Disheartened, I finally did a search on Autotrader for any kind of car. I was that desperate. It threw up a few Volvos and on closer look and internet research, they looked to be a good car. So I called Good Vibes car dealer in North Hollywood this morning to see if the green 2000 Volvo s40 was still on their lot, as I’ve gone to a car yard before only to find the car I wanted to look at had been sold already, so it’s always good to call ahead.
J drove me in Brandon to the dealer and we had a good look at the green Volvo before going to see Steve the salesman. Steve was lovely and let us have a play in the car, checking how things worked, opening and shutting the sunroof, pulling down the split fold rear seats to see how flat they lay, getting in the front and then the back to check comfort levels, and wowing over the seatbelt for groceries in the boot. We then asked to go for a drive and after a Castle moment, the cars being detailed in the yard were moved to get the little green Volvo on the road.
The car was very comfortable to sit in. It felt really solid and safe on the road and it just felt good in general. Feeling rather excited, I decided that I wanted to buy it. We checked all the electrics again and found that the right brake and indicator bulbs had gone, so they were replaced for me without any hassle. I then let J go home while I spent a couple of hours filling in paperwork and organising insurance, chatting to Steve about how he loves the film Muriel’s Wedding, getting the skinny on all the paperwork and learning some new road rules.
Finally, after handing over a big wad of cash (predominantly $20 notes) and swiping my debit card for the remainder of the cost (which came in right on original budget), I got the keys to my new little Volvo. I sat in the driver’s seat and inhaled deeply a few times, holding the steering wheel and wearing a big smile. I adjusted the seat and mirrors, opened the sunroof a little and moved out onto the road. I was underway in my very own car, which is one that I would never have bought in Australia.
Getting home after a good run on the Hollywood Freeway, I even managed to ace a reverse park on the hill out in front of our place to cap off an exciting day.
My new Volvo has been named Esmeralda. It means emerald in Spanish and my little green gem and I are going to be inseparable in LA.
Now that I’m in the land of the greenback, I am discovering that whilst it may be the currency that dominates the world, it lags far behind in terms of user-friendliness and technology.
Here are some reasons to support my argument that American money is stupid.
All very same same but different with the greenback denominations.
1. It is all the same colour
Every single note is a greeny, yellowy beige. When you open your purse up, you have to inspect each note carefully before handing it over.
2. The notes are all the same size
Or virtually and they don’t recognise mere millimetres here, so we’ll just say that they are the same size. Again, it means that you need to inspect each note when deciding what to pull out of your purse.
3. Pennies still exist
In America at least, the one cent coin is essentially redundant. If you are going to have a useful coin, it is the quarter. That’s what parking meters and laundromats all desire. On some rare occasions you may receive a $1 coin, which parking meters also like, but that hardly ever occurs.
4. Checks!
If the movie Catch Me If You Can didn’t highlight how fraudulent the world of cheques is, then I don’t know what would. They love those bits of paper with amounts written in full and displaying your autograph. Currently Chase Bank are advertising a phone app that takes photos of your checks and then deposits them automatically in your account. I find this ridiculous. If you’re going to embrace mobile technology, just get with the sometime-ago technology of online banking and bpay! In Australia, no landlord accepts cheques, hell, hardly anyone accepts cheques nowadays. Here, you have to furnish your landlord with a cheque. There’s no alternatives for cash or electronic banking. Totally weird.
Withdrawing $500 from the ATM gives you 25 notes. I’d say that is akin to losing the game of Uno.
5. The ATMs only dispense $20 notes
If you withdraw the usual ATM maximum of $500, it spits out twenty five $20 notes. TWENTY FIVE! Some ATMs allow you to a) withdraw more and b) give you $50 notes, but that is not the norm.
So I guess you could say that I’m finding these monetary issues frustrating. I just don’t get it. But on the bright side, the cash and cheque deposit facility on the ATMs here is great. You just feed them in like a carpark pay station and it automatically deposits.
I never thought I’d miss our colourful Aussie money or banking processes, but we really have a great system.
Ah, the colourful (and different sized) monetary notes of Australia.
I got to pretend I was an actress! At least in voice.
Yesterday we had our first read through of our feature extract/short film in the park down the road. I read the lines of the female protagonist which, strangely enough, threw me back to a Year 8 audition for a school play. I played an older woman so I sat and rocked in a chair stroking an imaginary cat while delivering the lines. Where that performance landed me a key role, this read through didn’t quite hit the same high notes. However, it’s Rachael Taylor’s job to deliver the performance in the film, so it doesn’t really matter that my read through tone was a bit off.
The read through allowed us to analyse the characters’ motives, flag bits that didn’t feel right and familiarise ourselves with the script and sequencing. Not only was it interesting and appealing to that 13 version of myself, but it was really helpful for us all to share our thoughts and gain a better understanding of how we can bring it to life in the creative process.
I’m looking forward to more read throughs, and bringing my A game to the next character…or the scene descriptions.
I got to watch the Oscar’s live for the first time tonight, and just a few miles from the epicentre of action at Kodak Theatre.
Without an invitation to an Oscar’s party, my housemates and I made our own fun with nibbles, steak and salad and pavlova for dessert while watching the coverage on our brand new TV.
I was extremely happy that Natalie Portman took out the Best Actress award, and gave a lovely speech befitting such an elegant and graceful woman. Black Swan was the first film I saw after I arrived in LA, and it was quite amazing.
I also liked that Inception and The Social Network were recognised for various awards (the full list is here) as I thought they were neatly put together. However, there were so many major contenders that I hadn’t seen, like The Fighter, The King’s Speech, Winter’s Bone, Toy Story 3, True Grit or 127 Hours. In fact, I have only seen three of the ten films nominated for Best Picture.
So now that I’m in Tinseltown, my resolution is to see more Oscar-worthy films so that next year I can be really informed in my picks for the awards. Here comes the popcorn.
Today I used Shanks’ pony for transportation in LA.
I haven’t really gotten out much in LA on my own yet. except for a couple of kilometres radius of our place. It really is a city built for driving. Suburbs are far more massive than they appear on the map and the grid layout can be quite deceptive.
I had hitched a ride with Gin, J and friend to the Trails cafe at the bottom of Griffith Park for lunch and then decided to leave them to continue on to the Griffith Observatory while I made my way towards where I had a test drive of a car. The Google Maps app on my phone made it look really close. I should have done the directions thingy to get a proper idea.
I ended up walking for about 45 minutes to where my friends who were helping me with the test drive were having lunch. I walked through Los Feliz and then the little enclaves Thai Town and Little Armenia that are peppered along Hollywood Boulevard. The diversity in between each block was quite remarkable. One block you would have fancy shops and neat footpaths, the next it would be more derelict and dirty and so on.
I didn’t meet many other pedestrians. I wasn’t the only one using Shanks’ pony (walking on my own two legs and yes, it a very grandfatherly kind of thing to say) but there certainly weren’t crowds waiting at the lights, except out front of the metro station.
So it is doable, but just don’t underestimate the distances and time it will take you.
Last night’s screening of Summer Coda at the Australians in Film event was the first time I’d seen it (in 6 sittings) without having locals around me exclaiming over idiosyncracies in the film’s locations and pointing out extras they knew.
It was nice to not have the cinema erupt in laughter when Heidi waits for a train at the Mildura train station (where a passenger train has not been since 1993) or give an ongoing commentary as though they want to give a performance for the special features on the DVD.
The audience was appreciative and impressed with the result from a team of people on their first feature film and asked really good questions during the Q&A.
Afterwards over drinks and nibbles, I introduced myself to some people using the line “That was filmed in my hometown” as my hook. And a really good hook it was. One fellow asked me about Mildura’s population and another liked my story about the train. Another guy, an Australian actor from near Echuca who has been here for a year, said it felt good to see a little piece of home (being the Murray River) onscreen in LA.
I also met a lovely ballroom dancer, Willem, who has been a past participant on So You Think You Can Dance and has some really cool achievements to his name.
There are so many opportunities to meet people and learn new things, which is really what this move is all about for me.
A few little cultural cues I’ve picked up lately relate to references between females and attitudes towards tracksuits.
“Hey Girl”
This can be used to catch someone’s attention, like my neighbour calling out “Hey girl, is this your car here?” It is also used as a term of affection for a friend. Like when I overheard one female say to another “Hey girl, it’s been such a long time.” There’s something a bit contrived and condescending about it that I don’t like, so I won’t be saying “Hey girl” anytime soon, unless it’s in a mocking accent of course.
My trackies
I have to admit that I’ve been wearing my trackies quite a bit lately. After going out for a walk I just tend to hang out in them for the rest of the day, which seems to be a big no-no.
I had lunch with my friend He Who Puts The A In LA last week. On the phone I said I’d tidy up a bit, to which he replied “We’ll I’ve just come out of a yoga class, so don’t get too dressed up.” So I reconsidered my outfit, left my tracksuit pants on and put on a nicer t-shirt. When he arrived his first comment to me was “Oh wow, it’s Sporty Spice.”
Yesterday I was doing the washing mid-afternoon and ran into my landlord while wearing my capoeira pants, a red polar fleece and my red Merrell’s. He then asked if we were jogging around the lake and said “You look like you’re all got up in your training gear.”
Clearly the wearing of tracksuits is permissible ONLY when exercising and not as general daywear, which is a little disappointing. I think it’s a good thing Americans don’t know what bogans are, because they’d have branded me one by now without seeing all the fabulous frocks in my wardrobe.
One of the most inconvenient things about our new apartment is that we don’t have washing machine hookups.
It’s not uncommon in America, and I guess adds further credibility to all those tv and film storylines in laundromats. It also adds a big pain in the arse to people like me, who are used to the luxury of having their own washing machine with multiple settings for water level, temperature, length of wash and spin cycle.
Doing the washing is usually one of my favourite chores. I like sorting my clothes and then spending a day doing wash after wash and getting a nice clean wardrobe at the end of it. However without a washing machine in our apartment, it is a little more complicated. We are lucky to have a washer and dryer downstairs in the communal laundry that is shared between the five apartments rather than have to make a trip to a laundromat and wait their for our washing to finish. But still, at a $1.50 per wash and $1.50 per dryer cycle, it is going to add up. Already, in the space of a week we have gone through more than $20 worth of quarters.
Having to use quarters (25 cent coins) only makes it more of a nuisance. Tired of hoarding and saving quarters like a scrooge (when parking meters request them too) I made a trip to the Bank of America to get some quarters which then lived on the windowsill until I used the last of them today.
To add to my little whinge about laundries, I don’t like that there isn’t anywhere to line-dry our clothes and that they really have to go in the dryer. We’ve looked into clothes horses, but here they just aren’t the same size and are few and far between in the stores.
I’m going to keep track of how much we spend on quarters in the laundry this year, because I think it could very well add up to the price of a washing machine.
a little cameo 