Monday, March 16, 2009

Where I live

Here are a few pictures of my room. I'm on the 5th floor of the apartment building, and there is nothing to impede my view looking out to the west. I love having a big window with lots of sunlight, and a little balcony area to do some rooftop gardening! :)

 
 
 
 
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Mom and I in the courtyard of Chang Apartments


The view from my window

I'm really liking Pasadena. Everything necessary for survival (and amusement) is within walking distance. There's a $2 movie theatre, 2 Trader Joe's nearby, a Target 3 blocks away, and nearly every ethnicity of people (and food, except Ethiopian :(
I got a job last week working at a new Mediterranean restaurant, so it's good to have a little income generating activity. Despite the $2 theatre, it is quite pricey to live in this area...especially considering the cost of living where I've been the last few years. But I've been so blessed with free furnishings, great roommates, having family nearby, and good friends out here, too! I'm eager to get started with classes, which is the real purpose for the move. Remind me that I said that in a few weeks. For the time being, I'm just enjoying my new digs!

Friday, March 6, 2009

The Getty

I tend to do things in non-sequential order...both on my blog and in life. I am now in Pasadena and should write a bit about what life is like here and post pictures of my apartment and surroundings, but I'll get to that after bit.
Right now I'm posting some photos from my outing to the J Paul Getty Museum in downtown LA. It was a big venture for the country girl, requiring 3 different public buses to maneuver through the metropolis of Los Angeles. Yes, I've lived in Africa and have "traveled the world"...but I've been primarily in rural settings or with other people to guide me in larger metropolitan areas. But after spending several hours pouring over maps to figure out my route within the LA public transit system, I tried my best to look like a confident local. And I successfully got to where I wanted to go...
If any of you come to visit, the Getty will most likely be on my list of places to take you. What an impressive work of art to house works of art. To be honest the pieces inside the buildings did not impress me nearly as much as the outstanding architecture of the buildings, as well as the gardens and amazing views of Los Angeles. Here are some pictures of the landscapes:
 
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In this photo, our garden tour docent told us that generally a child's perspective sees a maze, but adults will visualize the intertwining circles. I saw a maze. What do you see?