broadcasting from the san gabriel valley

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Transportation Adventures


Over the three day weekend last week, I decided to take a trip to Phoenix. I had some business to take care of related to going thrift shopping. Yes. Thrift shopping. Once every few months I head home to purchase bags of arts and craft supplies at my favorite Sun City location. The trips provide much needed (and affordable) stock for my Art Therapy office and the kids I work with are jazzed to rifle through the bags of goodies. I get to see my family, the kids at work are excited so it is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The complications in this blog come not from the trip, but rather the transportation.....the bus.

Due to my irrational fear of airplanes coupled with not wanting to physically drive of out Los Angeles on a Friday afternoon (rush hour is the worst), I did some research about the Greyhound. Price was fair...equivalent to two tanks of gas, time table was ok (one more hour than driving myself) and the thought of reading a book and listening to my iPod while in transit had me yearning for the days when I had more money and was traveling on trains through Europe. So I did it...I booked my ticket and arrived at the Los Angeles bus station via taxi on Friday afternoon.

Immediately I could sense some complications. A mile long line of luggage was behind door number fourteen....the door en route to Memphis. Memphis along with about two dozen other cities....one of which happened to be Phoenix. I placed my bag in the queue and did not budge. We boarded and amazingly had one or two seats to spare. I had an open seat next to me possibly because my row was one of the undesirable rows a bit too close to the restroom. We were on our way and things seemed to be ok. My sense of something wrong subsided and I enjoyed the first 30 minutes of my trip.

After 30 minutes or so, we made our first stop in Riverside. There were people waiting to board. Remember I had one of two seats next to me. When the doors of the bus opened, that feeling of 'something not so right' came creeping back. A man stepped up, hair unkempt, clothes unwashed, voice not quite came walking down the aisle. My DSM-IV radar kicked in and I knew we were dealing with a certifiably mentally ill man. It was like he scanned the vacant seats and made a conscious choice to sit next to the therapist. Despite several announcements from the driver regarding the-no-alcohol-on-the-bus policy, my new seat mate loudly and very boldly opened his 40. Hiding in the privacy in my headphones, I pretended that his voice did not actually overpower the loudest setting on my iPod. With Kanye West as background music, I heard stories of hell and damnation, the availability of drugs on Venice beach and the woman who he was trying to find in Vegas. I learned that he was a self proclaimed 'mamma's boy' and after a comment about people on the bus 'not knowing what was in store for them from the lord' I felt it was safe to say I was sitting next to a paranoid schizophrenic. My headphones did not shield me for long as I began to hear a very loud 'excuse me'. To make a long story short, I was involved in a conversation with him for quite some time about nice things he could do for his mother. My art therapy bias kicked in and we both agreed upon sending hie mother a drawing. All of a sudden, the bus stopped in San Bernardino and all passengers headed to Vegas were re-routed. My seat mate left and another one came on.

This new seat mate remained next to me despite three more stops and 7 more hours of travel. 5 of those 7 hours he was not adhering to proper seat etiquette and was observed not just using his seat space but half of mine as well. I kind of wanted my previous seat mate to return.

Our bus traveled on through the dark of the night and eventually, two hours behind schedule reached Phoenix at 1:30 AM. I grabbed my bags and hopped into my parent's car and stretched out. Something that was not possible in my back row window seat. And this was just my first round of travel.....I was looking forward to see who I would encounter on the return trip home.....

Reader, I will fill you in later on....

Monday, February 14, 2011

Currently Reading (both courtesy of LAPL)

Yes. Both books were ordered offline through the LAPL book request site. I am super pleased with the system. I put requests in for both books about 6 weeks ago and Madonnas was ready for pick up within 2 weeks and Freedom was ready for pick up this past Saturday. The books, from Studio City and Canoga Park respectively, were delivered to the Edendale branch (right on Sunset) for pick up. Great service! I was both called and emailed when the books were ready. If you are a reader and have not yet utilized the LAPL request system, i would definitely suggest trying it out.

The Madonnas of Echo Park. My current read. The fact that the novel is set around my neighborhood definitely speeds up the reading process! I know the novel has received somewhat mixed reviews but I am finding the book enjoyable as well as thought provoking in regards to relationships between different cultural and ethnic groups in the L.A. area.



Freedom. On deck. As soon as Madonnas is finished, I am going to start my second Franzen novel. I read The Corrections back when it came out and am eager to see what is in store for us with Freedom.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Paru's


On Friday, a crew of us (Me, David, Nicki, Sonia, Kathy, Nicki, Leslie and Monica) hit the streets of East Hollywood to go back to mutual favorite, Paru's. Paru's is an Indian Restaurant specializing in Southern Indian cuisine...and yes, EVERYTHING is vegetarian and delicious. Funny thing about the place is that one has to get buzzed in similar to how one may get buzzed into a locked prison ward. Yes. There is a big yellow gate with a buzzer and explicit directions to buzz and open. Once passed the somewhat fierce looking exterior, once enters a beautiful courtyard which due to the chilly LA evening, was out of commission. A door at the end of the courtyard leads you into the tiny jewel box of a restaurant with photographs and hanging plants and Indian style decor.

When we stepped inside, we quickly saw that getting a table to 7 might not be the easiest feat on a Friday. We spoke among ourselves and almost left to go to Carousel when the savvy owner made an agreement that we would be seated in five minutes. None of us believed such a task could be arranged, but he was a man of his word. Some musical tables and an addition of chairs had us all seated in yes, about five minutes. Amazing! The service continued to be on point for the entire dinner. King Fisher beers and Queen Paru Platters were some of the delicious items that were served to us. And the Chickpea Curry! Possibly one of my favorite items of the evening. And to add perfection on to the evening meal, when the check was brought out, along with it came two complimentary bowls of rice pudding for the group. Great food, exceptional service and the best of company. Paru's did not disappoint...but I never once thought that it would! Paru's Restaurant 5140 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90027