"well? one man's dream is another man's lunch.."

** thank you to dunn, genesis, and claire for letting me steal your pictures :) **

in reflecting on my time in la..i thought it be best, of course, to compile a list.

lessons learned from la

1) there is no need to stand in lines or pay cover if you are a woman. a new concept really. a new concept to club not wearing my chucks, long sleeve flannel, and cords. haha. thank you claire for all the clubbing wisdom you have imparted on me.

2) when working a 9-5, there can be life on the weekdays. laptops...dextor.. random photo shoots .. "urkel" .. abbreviating freakin everything .. la ceets .. family dinners .. story time .. downtown art walk .. apples to apples ... who knew we could murk the weekdays just as hard as the weekend!?!

3) having girlfriends is possible .. and more beautiful than i could have ever imagined. one of the most, if not THE most important lesson learned in la. i was blessed to be surrounded by beautiful, strong, empowered, inspirational woman every day. from work to after work to bed time stories with fatti. it was -it is refreshing to know that sisterhood is more than what stereotypes continually feeds us. to all my ladies - the divas, the hard workers, the queens, the miss independents - i love you and thank you for the lessons and the journey to come.


4) i am at my most peaceful when i am living independently. when i finally stepped into la, i breathed a sigh of relief.
no one to answer to but me and my God.
it was hard no doubt, and i was broke no doubt (ha) but i'd rather be broke and snipping coupons than relinquish the simple power of deciding when and where imma do my laudry!!



5) i should start yelping home cooked meals. when jill and jojo came to visit they asked us where to eat - and i was really at a loss. haha.
i realized that in my stay in la i hardly ate out - besides the occasional dirty dog, versailles, roscoe's (you get my unhealthy musts of la vibe) - bc we always cooked. 5 stars for marks salads, gen's champorads, dunn's fried rice, jon's tomato concoction, fatti's cutting skills & support, patty's cornbeef, claire's bacon something & kristine's everything. ha. "a family that eats together stays together"

6) flasks are my new best friend. its green and cheap. nuff said.

7) traffic is expected & honking your horn is best used as a vent rather than precautionary measures. everyone is a crazy, but good, driver in la. so getting cut off, not being let in when you signal - it's expected. but although you expected it, and you're having a bad day and you just want to scream after the 3rd hour in traffic - the only thing you CAN do is honk. go ahead. its okay. but just know, no one cares. ha

8) dirty dogs are a better after club food than silog. not gonna lie. 2 for $5 - ready in 5 minutes?? don't tell me thats worst than waiting for an hour at lucky chances! just try it - with guac please!

9) if you are paying more than $10 on your shoes, you are being hustled. the secret and love of la. that's all i have to - and can - say!






10) winter can mean tsinelas, ice cream, the beach and Christmas lights all at the same time. winter is relative.
winter in la is my favorite. there are no layers or sipon or sleeping in fetal position with 5 blankets over my head. there is only possibilities of swimming, eating ice cream outside, and ice skating with just a sweatshirt. like dunn said .. my body was made for la!



11) watching tv shows should be left to a couch at home. i was once enamored by watching tv show tapings. until i went to one. 3 hours of the osbournes is one hour too much. watch out for us tho on tv!!


12) beverly hills kids are exactly what you think they are. i taught in beverly hills for a couple of months.. their lack of respect for authority, fancy cars, and louis vitton wallets made me glad their education wasnt free. haha

13) its only pronounced "row-day-oh" (Rodeo Dr.) north of the 10. the most legit and known line between rich, poor, and ridiculous.

14) when people say they are from la ... they usually aren't. i've learned that there is a certain swag that comes from foreal living in la la .. so sorry o.c. & the valley ... that swag doesnt apply to you .. p.s. i think this might be the cause of the "la dont love you" shirt. ha.

15) although i do love me some pea coats, fitted hats, and dope sneaks .. la is the fashion capital of the west coast (and la hipsters like to wear scarves and flannels to simulate coldness). a tribute to my cousin patty and aimee for their impeccable draw to fashion and fashion finds in la. and yet another tribute to la swag (and my friends who do it right).

16) education is my passion & math is pretty dope. most of my post college jobs have been in education and i am grateful for that .. working on curriculum and getting to brainstorm ways in which i can help students learn efficiently, effectively, and funninly (ha) really is something i know i can and will do for the rest of my life. and i gotta say - the math lessons peggy and i came up with are pretty cool :)

17) non prof education kicks corporate education's ass. it's the same passion, the same drama - but a different mentality on execution in schools and in employment. i was blessed by co workers who actually cared about each other and really wanted what was best for the students.

18) edward cullen will reconnect you to your giggles. oh edward cullen. i know, i know it's written by a mormon house wife .. but damn. homegirl knows her romance. for cereal tho? the twilight saga changed my life. hahah if you want to giggle, reminisce about teenage love, or just start to imagine that you're worth that same dream you dreamt in high school - read the damn book. *sigh ... edward cullen, i love thee.

19) movie moments do and will continue to exist in my life. thank you to those who believed in it too :)

20) i can do it. and i will do it again. i up'd and left. i created a life of my own by myself, for myself. i did it. i proved to myself that i could do without my parents, with my own will and hard work, with my own prayers and surrender... and although it was cut short, that pure knowledge sits at the back of my throat like a new flame. a fire that is being born within me to keep doing it .. to keep dreaming and to really make those dreams happen.

thank you L dot A dot for sharing with me your secrets, beauty, fakeness, and g status class...

"Where you never have to wear your triple goose on Christmas
You can miss us with the blizzards and the winters
The hurricanes unless it's in some glasses with some actresses
Perfect frame, silicone or real it don't matter if she paid for it
Every single trend you can probably thank L.A. for it
Bandanas, facelifts, quick trips to Vegas
White t-shirt, Chuck Taylors or them K-Swiss
Poplockin, Crip walkin, chronic blunts, G-Funk
A place that everybody hate, but you gotta see once" -murs







**special thank you to chris for recovering my movie moment video .. you win!! :)