Snapshot! Around Here

The last two weekends M and I have been rather house-bound, so I thought I would do a small around-here post of some shots I've taken of things that please or intrigue me.

M muddled the strawberries himself for this delicious lemonade:

We accidentally stumbled across this house on a romp once, it's tiled all over, quite a little work of art:

Here are some shots of the Floss Silk Tree, used in landscaping all over down here, it absolutely fascinates me with its thorny trunk and beautiful flowers:



I have way too many pictures of my various commutes on my computer, but you can see how beautiful they can be in the morning:

This is a collection of stuffed animals, some mine, and some belonging to my co-workers at the spcaLA, which sat at my desk there. I called them my "staff":

Our neighborhood is a really strange mix of large apartment complexes, and small houses that never sold out:

Finally, here's a baby oak tree growing out of a palm tree. Wild!

Three Months as a Blogger!

oday is my three month anniversary as a blog-writer, so I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions? Do I write about things you like to read? How could I induce more comments, so we engage in more of a dialogue?

More importantly, who reads? No pressure, I'm just wondering who I'm writing to. So, if you read and/or if you have any thoughts about it, could you let me know?

Most importantly, love to you guys!

The Toll of Temporary Employment

ince I finished my assignment at the spcaLA last week, I've been shuffled through three different assignments at vastly different companies. Turns out, the ability to answer a phone is a transferable skill (sarcasm).

On Monday I worked 8 hours at a small movie studio which I forgot to take a picture of.

Tuesday-Thursday I worked at an outdoor furniture company that sells "to the trade", which means to professional decorators and designers only.


Apparently, designer-only furniture and decor stores operate out of design centers like this: the Pacific Design Center, known affectionately as the "blue whale" by Angelenos.




The building is super-ritzy, hosting Oscar after-parties, and including two restaurants by Wolfgang Puck (who is apparently very famous).

Finally, on Friday I worked for the "Latino Business Association's 2002 Business of the Year", a commercial realty group.


And I already know that on Monday, I can look forward to working, from 11-6, at a team building "Beach Olympics" on the Santa Monica Beach. ?!?

Obviously, there are some perks regarding temp work. Working at three different companies in a week is interesting, and allows me to observe a lot of different fields. Also, I'm still getting a kick out of the Los Angeles nature of the problems I get to field. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it exciting to go from transferring calls from the offices of Paramount execs on Monday, to finding out the "status of the other 37 pieces for Dr. Phil" on Wednesday, to overhearing leasing arguments with WalMart brokers on Friday. And did I mention that I am going to be helping out with an executive team-building "Beach Olympics" on Monday? What is this life I'm living?

Of course, I am also aware that considering the economy, it's saying a lot that I have a job that lets me work at least close to the hours of 8-5 on weekdays only. And the companies I have worked for so far have been really professional and friendly towards me, which is saying a lot.

But on the other hand, as you probably know, I am a ROUTINE and a SCHEDULE person. I have been known to hyperventilate when my daily planner went missing for 15 minutes. I made Sarah and Figgy sit through epic 5 hour musical-schedule-planning-sessions EVERY SUNDAY of HH! and WSS. So you can only imagine how much it upsets me to not know how, where, or when I'll be making money on a day-to-day basis.

I almost glared at one of my agency's staffing managers this week when she mentioned off-hand, how great a way to make money temping is. (It's not a great idea to glare at the people finding you jobs.) M and my mom will both tell you that I have NOT been happy this week. And I am entirely aware that that is all in my head, not in the situation itself.

I am just really, REALLY realizing from this experience that I need a routine to settle in to, and a project that is both ongoing, and exciting and worthwhile for me. Just working a job every day is not enough for my happiness. I need to find a vocation for my life to seem bright and full of color. Do you think that's unrealistic?

Four Years

celebrated our four-year anniversary last week. Because of my dad's visit, we didn't do anything terribly romantic the day of, but rather spread the festivities out over the course of the week. We exchanged presents on Saturday: Malcolm got me Christmas lights for the flower room, and I got him a fancy, adjustable piano stool.



On Sunday we went to the Getty Villa. A truly magnificent approach to the art of museums, which I will probably discuss more in length later:

But mostly, we were just normal and relaxed the whole way through. No stressful romantic gestures, nothing big and fussy. It was just what I think defines the best of us as a couple, the two of us just holding hands through life and occasionally exchanging looks of joy/incredulity/surprise/love/peace/silliness. It doesn't seem like four years, and I'm totally excited to see what happens each day of the next one.

Mr. Miller Came to Town

usiness trips are my new best friend! Because my dad's company happens to have a plant in Camarillo, CA, which my dad happened to have to visit last week, he was able to come visit me on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was initially very nervous/excited about having him come, hoping to impress him with the home M & I have put together to share.

We spent the weekend before making the apartment look nice (which finally resulted in one of the bathrooms looking like we had some sort of design goal in mind.) It's the first time I have actually had an inspiration for a room based on one piece that I own. In this case it was the two painted tin animals M and I picked up at The Turqoise Door in Austin, TX.


But I digress: my dad braved the scary, mountanous California highways to come see me on both nights, and it was great! Before I got home from work, Malcolm chatted with my dad without stressing out about it- which is a great place to find your dad and your boyfriend's relationship in.

It was also a surprise to me how easy it was to show my dad around. On the second night, I kept saying to myself: "what is going on, what is that feeling that you are missing?" Finally it occurred to me: "that feeling is stress; you are relaxed. I know this is new for you Caitlin dear, but go with it!" It's true, somewhere between my dad being a really nice and chill guy, and the fact that being around Malcolm makes me calmer than I am on my own, the whole visit was largely low stress. (Caitlin- 1, Caitlin's stress issues- 0)

And as for itinerary: since it was two weeknights that he drove down to see us, we didn't have time to show him anywhere too cool, but on Tuesday we took him to sushi at one of our favorite places in Westwood: Tomodachi Sushi:

Featuring a hole-in-the-wall taste in decor, and exceptional creations like this lobster roll, it is one of our favorite places. My dad was game to try lots of things, though I'm not sure the sashimi went over very well. :-P


(photo courtesy of yelp.com)
The second night, I made my dad a spinach and bacon quiche, and after witnessing the first little rain-shower of Los Angeles since I've been here, we took my dad for the California favorite: Frozen Yogurt. Yummy!



It was a total success. Of course, it would have been better if my mom had been able to come visit as well, but all in all, it was really nice to watch my dad's eyes sparkle as he saw for himself that so far I'm doing this grown-up-life thing fairly well. Just keep your fingers crossed for the future!

It's A Brunch Kind of Sunday

his weekend, amid a rare Los Angeles heat wave (90's might not seem like much to you Texans, but when your apartment complex has no air conditioning, it can be unpleasant!) M and I spent most of Saturday cleaning and decorating so that we could have our first little party. This flurry of activity finally jumped the apartment into feeling at least a little put-together, and we both enjoyed the joint activity.

On Sunday, we hosted a brunch for the math department of M's school + the physics teacher and his wife. It was a tidy little group, and though I didn't know anybody very well, I felt like it was a jovial group and everyone had a good time. I'm glad to finally get to meet some of the people M has said so much about, and hopefully nudge a cranny out for myself.

Additionally, I felt glad to know that people seemed to like our apartment and my rudimentary cooking skills. We hauled out my grandfather's waffle iron and put strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate chips nearby so people could make waffles to their specifications. I made pan-fried potatoes, sausage, bacon, and two kinds of scrambled eggs- one batch with tomatoes and one with cream cheese and chives. One of the Algebra teachers brought homemade monkey bread, and two others brought fruit. MMMmmmm! Once the physics teacher's champagne contribution was in the mix, not bad at all!

The monkey bread required a little touching up in the oven, which was an adventure. While it was baking, the topping started dripping over, causing it to smoke and burn. We had the fire alarm go off twice, and the living room filled with smoke for the first half of the meal, but for some strange reason I think I actually liked it better that way. I have a tradition of smokey kitchens, after all:And... at least now we've tested our smoke alarms!

Our guest list was limited by the fact that we only have 6 full size plates, but maybe I will look for some more soon and then be able to have a few of the people from my work over as well. It's a good start, plus, now the apartment is ready for my dad's visit on Tuesday!

Teacher's Girlfriend

is 5 weeks into his third year as a teacher; something that I am extremely proud of, and often find very frustrating to live with.

Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful that he's doing something so important, and I'm very impressed with the amount of resilience with which he approaches a very difficult student body and a very difficult teaching environment. He really puts his all into this job; and I couldn't be happier to see him really feel like he's doing something important. It's a feeling we need to feel good about ourselves, and I'm very happy for him.

I also enjoy the ways I get to participate. First, M often asks for advice with lessons or with his Teachers' Union duties, and I like the Abigail Adams feeling it gives me to know that my advice is helpful and valued by M when he is doing something I also view as important.

Secondly, I get to help M decorate his classroom, which has always been a not-so-secret fantasy of mine. This year he went with a tropical theme in honor of Joe the Rasta Banana- won by his friend from math camp at Six Flags:
which resulted in the highest-test-score-awards:
and a super-sweet paper palm tree:
and I just really like my "post ironic shapes":


But, as cool as decorating is, it's just a little bit frustrating, when I come home after a- let's face it- fairly boring day at work, to find that he will be grading tests or lesson planning all night. It's not that I don't have lots of projects I could see myself doing, it's just that I usually find myself in a limbo- lacking the energy to go buy supplies and get to work, but with too much energy to just happily read a book after sitting still in one place all day.

I'm not sure how to combat this difference yet. Any suggestions?