<p>I'm blogging once again from my temporary assignment out here in El Segundo. I couldn't help myself, because what happened here today has blown my mind. I sit in a cubicle with two occupied cubicles behind me. To my left are a couple of regular offices that house sales people. One of these people, we'll call her 'Georgia', is a smoker. That alone is enough to make her bad, but there's more. Even before I knew that Georgia was a smoker, I got a sense that the rest of the people in the office were not big fans of Georgia. People didn't necessarily pay attention when she talked. If they did pay attention, it was often followed by a roll of the eyes. On Monday, I overheard her ask three different people how their weekend was only to be ignored because the people she was asking were all on the phone. Until today, I thought they were all a bit harsh, but now I'm starting the think that the reason this woman is so unpopular is because she is oblivious not only to what other people are doing around her, but that there ARE other people around her.</p> <p> Now, as I mentioned, she's a smoker, and we're used to catching a whiff of her reek whenever she comes in from a cigarette break. As a result, we didn't pay much attention at first to the odor lingering in the air this morning. However, as time passed, and we hadn't noticed Georgia walk in or out for a while, we got a little curious. Indeed, the odor was not dissipating; it was growing stronger. Georgia's door was closed, but on approach, we knew we were getting warmer. Georgia was smoking in her office! As much as the evidence pointed to this conclusion, I just couldn't quite bring myself to believe that this was actually happening, especially in a state where smoking is illegal in all restaurants and bars. I glanced into the office next to hers to see if there were windows in these offices. There were, so I thought she must be hanging out the window smoking and thinking she can get away with it without anybody noticing. But then I noticed that the windows were sealed. There was no way to open them. So, this woman is sitting in her office smoking, knowing that the only place for the smoke to go is into the rest of the office. I'm amazed that the fire alarm didn't go off, which would have been awesome, by the way. After several people reported this offense to the higher ups, the COO came by to let her know that smoking in the office is inappropriate behavior. Can you imagine having to even make that statement? Her excuse was that she was stuck on a phone call, and she just took one good drag and put it out. As much as this excuse may sound like it, Georgia is not a pre-teen. Sorry, but that blew my mind!</p>

<p>Today was mine and Jamie's second anniversary. (fanfare). We celebrated with brunch at the Four Seasons. This had sentimental significance for us, as this is where we stayed on our wedding night before leaving for Jamaica on our honeymoon. During our original stay there, we arrived at 8 pm and left the next morning at 5 am, so we didn't get to enjoy the gardens and fine dining. We knew we were in for a good meal when we realized that the person that arrived ahead of us was none other than Queen Latifah, recent star of Chicago and Bringing Down the House (that's what they call 'range' in the acting world). She didn't have a reservation, but that, of course, was no trouble. The hostess took us through the brunch buffet on the way to our table. I don't really remember everything that was available, but it was quite an extravaganza. I had waffles, lamb shank, watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, salad, some kind of egg on an english muffin, lemon chiffon, chocolate covered strawberries, and an apple tart, all topped off with a mimosa. Needless to say, it was a good meal, and no, I don't plan on eating dinner. Unless, of course, Jamie makes something. </p> After brunch, we headed to the ArcLight Cinema, where they still show movies in Cinerama. Jamie and I agreed that it was probably the nicest theater we had ever visited. It was spacious, clean, and new. Each theater had a digital read out letting you know how many minutes until the show started. We had reserved seats, because we bought our tickets online. They don't have advertising before the movie, just previews. But here's the kicker. I went to buy some candy for Jamie, and the attendant(?) told me that it was 'free popcorn day' and would I like some.

Yes.

So, she got me some popcorn, and it was a regular sized popcorn, not a dinky sized promotional 'free' popcorn. She also asked if I'd like butter on that.

Yes.

And would I like it layered in?

Absolutely.

The end result was probably the best popcorn I've ever had ever [sic]. So, my theater-going experience was one of my better ones, in spite of the fact that the movie was Johnny English. Mr. Bean, you are no Clouseau.

Forgot to mention that I am now a driving with a California license. I am happy to report that I passed my written test on my first try.

<p>I'm with Jeff on the community factor as a motivator for continuing to blog. Two days ago, I felt like I had nothing left to write and was losing interest. But then, I had some free time yesterday, in which I had to stay awake, so I came up with something to write about. The comments received by all have spurred me on to blog forever! Or at least another week!</p> That said, I'd like to announce our intentions to make a trip to Texas in September! We don't know exact dates just yet, as we are waiting for Jamie to secure which days she can get off. However, it will likely by the week of the 13th-20th or so. On the agenda is family, friends, food, and the CD release at UBC. Heads Up!

Mark alluded to a story in his blog earlier this week that only I would get. I thought I would tell the story for the rest of you, so that I'm not alone in my gettingness of that story. (Jeff, did I use gettingness in the right context?) Our freshman year at Baylor University in the city of good press, Mark and I actually shared a class, Calculus II with Dr. Oxford. Mark and I enjoyed the class and tended to have a good time in it, while most of our classmates remained in a constant state of freaked-out. Dr. Oxford's sense of humor was incredibly dry, and his delivery didn't change that much between telling us a formula and telling us a joke. As a result, the rest of the class seemed to miss his jokes while they were feverishly taking notes. Mark and I are sure that if you were to look through their notes, you would find his jokes written in there as theorems. Anyway, because of his dry sense of humor, and because we are a bit mischeivous, and because we sat in the middle row in the back of the classroom, we thought we would try a little dry humor ourselves. Dr. Oxford would pass around a piece of notebook paper each class period for us to sign as an attendance sheet. When it came to Mark and I, we would add two headings to the top of the page. Above the list of names that were already there, we would write "Name." The second heading would be at the top of a blank column next to "Name". This second heading would change every day. Some of the ones that I remember were "Favorite flavor of Kool-Aid" and "What You Think Waco Creek Smells Like". We didn't want it to be obvious that it was us adding this second heading, so we would put in silly answers for the people that had already signed their names. We would try to match their pen color and handwriting as well. We still don't know if the people ahead of us in the class would fill something in the second column, but one day the girl who always got the paper first went up to the teacher after class. She saw the sheet sitting there on his desk, and noticed the second column that had not been there when she got the roll. She read the heading out loud, "Favorite Episode of Cheers" and looked at Dr. Oxford inquisitively. He chuckled and said that somebody always adds those in. As we left the classroom, we heard her read aloud one of the fake answers we had put in for somebody else, "The One Where Norm Drinks Beer." After a brief pause as if trying to remember that episode, then, as if correcting the person who had written this, "Norm always drinks beer!" This might be a good time to note that this was the same girl that had made the front page of the Lariat after falling into the garden in the library while studying one floor up on the ledge. I'm guessing she got a D in Calculus II.

Jamie and I were watching a little TV today to wind down from a hard day's work. All of a sudden the screen goes black and I hear a strange beeping sound. After a few seconds, I realized that a warning message was running across the top of the screen about a severe thunderstorm warning. Apparently, the weather service had decided to extend this warning for another 35 minutes. You'd think that the situation was incredibly dire, we're talking tornado here, if the cable company decides to black out the screen during a commercial break to issue this warning. You'd be wrong, though, it's just rain. Rain is so rare in Southern California, that everybody freaks out if it starts to sprinkle. Granted, I did see lightning here last night for the first time in California, which must seem like magic to these people, but the hardest rain I've ever seen here has still not required the use of windshield wipers (which, by the way, do not come standard on cars in California). You might remember a couple of weeks ago my relating the story of seeing the flames of a huge wild fire from the highway. That, of course, is no big deal to these people. But rain, oh no! Stay indoors! Lock up the children! Cover the swimming pools! The sky is falling! I guess, it just goes to show you that the fear of the unknown is alive and well in the 21st century.

So, I bet some of you are saying, "Man, that Pete used to deluge us with information. It was like a firehose of words aimed right at my eyeballs. But now, it's more like a regular hose, that was used last week, and only the lukewarm water that has been sitting in it since then trickles out when you pick it up and runs down your leg." Well, that's true and beautifully put, but there's a reason apart from laziness and sickness. I'm still working on site at that temp job in El Segundo. My guess is that I'll be out there for at least another couple weeks. So, I work there for eight hours (7:30-3:30) with no lunch break, I spend at least an hour and a half in the car commuting, then when I get home, I get straight to work on my freelance project. I should be finishing that up pretty soon, and I've got a couple more lined up. Anyway, by the time I quit working around 10:30 or 11:00, I'm too tired to communicate with you ingrat--, er fine people. Hopefully, after I finish out in El Segundo, I'll have enough work to do at home, that I won't have to go out on site any where, but who knows?

By the way, for those of you who are itching to have one these here for yourself but don't have the option to host it yourself, you can get a free one at <a href="http://www.blogspot.com/">http://www.blogspot.com/</a>.

So, we went down to Murrietta to the dealership where we bought our car for them to reattach my mirror that had been knocked off a couple weeks ago (See July 2nd). Three guys came out to check out the problem with the mirror, and then finally one of them just popped it back in right in front of us. I promise that I tried that at home, but I'm somewhat consoled by the fact that it took three of them. Plus, my pride is a lot cheaper than a brand new mirror. A lot cheaper.

Hey everybody, here are some pictures of the new place. Let me know if you have any questions, as I suspect that they are mostly self-explanatory.

I am declaring my head cold nonsense officially over. I think I've gone all day without coughing, sneezing or blowing my nose. To answer Jason's question, Jamie and I have a 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI. Jeff tells me that he prefers me to say 'not comfortable with myself' rather than 'fat', because he apparently has a MONOPOLY ON FAT!!! Anyway, I'm going to try and get those pictures going now...

Here's that business card I was talking about...<p><img src="images/Thumbbusinesscard.jpg" border=1>

Good evenings. I thought that now that I have lived here in LA for a grand total of two and a half weeks, I should go over what I've learned so far. Here goes: <ol> <li>Parallel parking. I'll probably continue to get better, but I am pretty impressed with myself and some of the spots I've squeezed into, and even more impressed with the spots I've squeezed the car into. <li>I'm fat. <li>20 miles = 90 minutes <li>Los Angeles is no San Diego <li>1920's Spanish style buildings lose their charm when crammed together and layered with (2003 - 1920) 83 years of dirt and grime. <li>Los Angeles in the summer without air conditioning can get pretty darn warm. <li>Not to feel bad about the cliché that is listing what you've learned in your first two and a half weeks in LA. </ol>