Ithaca can also be quite pictureqsue too (only for those 3 months out of the year though…)

Today I was going to write a post about being unemployed during the middle of this deep recession, in a state that holds a $28 billion deficit, and in a country that’s down 2 million jobs compared to four years ago. Instead, I drove through the hills of The Valley and made it down to Malibu, seeing the California coast for the first time ever. I think I made the right decision today.

These photos get less and less flavor text every day!

“People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish. But that’s only if it’s done properly.” – Bansky

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” – Albert Einstein

“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it” – Confucius

Check the Portfolio soon for some writing samples. I’ve narrowed down the choices and figured out the best way to present the material (it’s taken me long enough) so those should appear with in a few days. Today, however, was spent creating Resume 2.0 (note to self: never lose InDesign files). Now to enjoy my Friday night…

I’ve forgotten about a few of these.

The last few days have been spent touring around the city with a friend of mine, seeing some of the finer places this town has to offer. I believe Travel Town was the highlight of the week.

Alright, enough procrastination! For continuity’s sake I’ve been meaning to get this post up before I elaborate too much on life in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, however, has consumed a lot of time recently so that should explain (or at least be an excuse to get me out of) the lack of posting here the past two weeks. But without any further ado: The Roadtrip post!

First, some fun facts:

• Total distance traveled from Philadelphia to LA: 2722mi
• Total drive time: 42 hours, non-consecutive
• Average speed w/ traffic: 65 MPH
• Estimated average speed: 85 MPH
• Gallons of gas purchased: 113.21
• Average price of gas: $1.90/gal
• Miles per gallon: 24 MPG
• Total cost on the road: $729.92
  • Gas: $216.21
  • Food: $40.93
  • Motel: $455.78
  • Tolls/Parking: $17
• Total time on the road: 5 days

In retrospect of my decision to drive out or fly out, driving was definitely worth the extra time investment (and also saved me on the money investment). When I started to ask people how I should play the trip most suggested I take my time with it and really use an extra day or two to see all the cool things this country has to offer. Because I was traveling for work and, after a point, would really rather just get off the road, I decided to blast through the uninteresting parts of the trip and take my time traveling through the more metropolitan areas. As it turned out, there were a lot of uninteresting parts, and while Columbus, OH or Tulsa, OK might sound like fun places to spend some time off the road in, there were most definitely better things going on in California, and I was missing them.

The coolest state to drive through was Arizona, the most boring was probably Oklahoma (sorry Oklahoma your large McDonalds/Welcome Center did not impress me), and you can drive the fastest through Texas and New Mexico and Arizona. Also in California, but driving in California is another story…

My time so far here has been spent mostly unpacking in a slow orderly fashion or seeing friends I haven’t talked to in years. The first day I got here I went in on a house I liked from Craigslist and the second day I secured myself a promising job interview. Of course it’s the holidays though and everyone has been busy or winding down production since the 2nd week of December, so there has been a good amount of down time. I don’t even begin my job until the 3rd week of January, but there are many plans post-New Years so there will be a lot more to get out to and keep busy with very soon here. As for the job, I’m working for a post-production company and design house called The Refinery as a Production Assistant, working with an Assistant Editor whose most recent cuts include a 90-minute Jonas Brothers TV special for Disney. Pretty thrilling I know. I’m excited.

My first Christmas without snow on the ground was kind of earth-shattering though, but having constant sun and warm temperatures all the time helped me cope a bit.

Some more summer time stuff. Been mostly packing and playing with my new Blackberry the past few days (very exciting right?). Four days until I start the drive westward. I can’t be more excited.

Happy Thanksgivings! Be sure to keep your family close this holiday.