It's been a while but I was recently self-diagnosed with the plague, so now that I'm back in business I'll have some solid "what it's like to get used to Los Angeles" news.
As far as UPS. I feel like I have to voice my mounting rage.
My DEAR friend Melissa, my only contact in Champaign, IL, went to the UPS Store to check out the damages to my shipment. Good news and bad news.
Good news: Not everything was damaged - my canvas paintings are in fine shape. And the large gold frame was completely in tact, no glass shattered.
The Bad News: As Melissa put it, "if you remember in the beginning of Ace Ventura where he was kicking around the box, down the hall, smashing it, glass coming out, etc....yeah that's what your box looked like." AWESOME! Such care! Such graceful handling. Such regard for the "FRAGILE" warning written all over the place. Really sad that I can't count on a shipping company to handle a package with any kind of grace.
My Problem: It's not like I can't replace what's gone. I can, and I will. It's just that as it stands, I have officially paid UPS to break a bunch of stuff without delivering it to me. Imagine. I PAID a company to break my shit. That. Is. Unreal.
How this Problem could be solved: UPS could do one of two things. (1) COMP ME for my original shipment as they technically never delivered it to me. (2) just let me re-ship my damaged package for free. After all, the outrageous thing is that THEY DIDN'T DELIVER THE DAMAGED PACKAGE TO MY DOOR! What is WRONG with them? I could have at LEAST salvaged one of the frames (now I have to leave it behind because I can't afford to ship it) and I wouldn't have had to get my poor friend Melissa to do all my dirty work for me - I mean what if I had no one in Champaign to retrieve the damaged box?! I'd be royally screwed over. The whole "we're shipping it back to the sender/UPS Store because we broke it" is the most ABSURD notion I have ever heard. Put my box on the front lines of Iraq if you want to but DO YOUR JOB AND GET IT TO MY DOORSTEP. Unbelievable.
I am forever turned off to this company, though I'd be willing to reconsider if I was able to speak to someone at UPS with the decency to understand its own absurdity. I doubt there's anyone as heroic in this day and age. It's sad - how far will this kind of consumer abuse go, and is this kind of behavior leading us into an even thicker fog of distrust in our society today? It certainly doesn't help.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Kiwi Circus Brigade
I've been here for what, 4 days? now and there's already so much to discuss!
The first is that I will never use UPS again. The regular old Post Office treated my boxes with more care than that ugly brown company could manage to do.
I had a box of large frames and sentimental paintings on canvas that apparently made it all the way to Los Angeles before someone in a big brown van PUNCTURED the box, breaking the glass, and then blamed me for poor packaging. Wow, I'm really sorry that I didn't package it well enough to withstand the force of a sledge hammer to cardboard. But beyond that, UPS decided it would be smarter to ship the box ALL THE WAY BACK to Champaign, IL (where I shipped it from just before picking up Melissa for our ride) instead of holding it in Los Angeles for pick up. TWO THINGS wrong with this: (a) shipping it all the way back will only risk it for more damage. (b) I don't have any way of getting to Champaign to retrieve the package, and therefore it must be re-shipped to me... and UPS is going to charge me for that (and this was the most expensive package I shipped, hands down). What's even creepier is that the UPS agent in Champaign seemed to be totally numb to my hysterical sobbing. Yikes. (also kind of yikes that I was as hysterical as I was but let's totally ignore that please).
On the brighter side, my apartment is perfect and in the most beautiful little neighborhood. I'll have pictures of it soon but my camera is broken at the moment. Contrary to my expectations, I actually have a lot of things around me that I can walk to. A grocery store, a few little restaurants, and a sports bar. -a sports bar that, might I just say, actually plays the Boston Beanpot games on their TVs! Yay for Boston love! Yay for it being so close to my house! And if I'm feeling really frisky, I can walk three miles to the beach - though I'm considering buying a bike for that. Regardless, it's so nice to be able to go outside -in shorts- in February. I went for a jog around my neighborhood yesterday and the only thing running through my head was "I can't believe how not cold I am right now."
Roommates Greg and Justin are fantastic. Justin and I are both looking for work so we enjoy filling our days with trips to thrift stores to look for furniture for our apartment. It's a little bit bare at the moment - though I've dressed up a couple of folding chairs with oversized cushions. I knew those things would come in handy! Justin and I also have to figure out a way to transport said furniture, once we find anything good. Tricky.
Justin also has a Wii! And he programmed his Wii to be able to play any NES or Super Nintendo game that was ever created! And while watching him play some very archaic NES game I had this incredibly vivid flashback to a game I used to play when I was like 4 years old with my older brother.
(honestly it was like having a psychic vision - i couldnt quite make out what the game was about but i knew the main character was very short and there were flaming hoops involved and animals... so, a circus. also included in my flashback was the exact scent of our house we lived in at the time) So, naturally, I called Michael and demanded that he remember what game it was. He, too, had forgotten all about this glorious game until I brought it up. 
Thank god for older brothers - Michael figured out that the game is called "Circus Charlie." What's amazing about this particular game is that we played it when we were living in Tokyo... and this game was never released in the States (for shame, as it is the best game ever). SO! Justin, being the glorious roommate that he is, downloaded the game to his Wii in a matter of minutes. NOSTALGIA! I have never been so happy as I am when I jump that little lion-riding-clown through those flaming hoops of fire. It's kind of sad, but it's actually like re-living a little piece of my Tokyo childhood.
In other news, Greg is part of couchsurfing.com so he occassionally hosts far off travelers who need a free place to crash. For the last two nights we have hosted a pair of New Zealand ladies, Jane and Leslie, and it has been great fun. They're great people and it's going to be fun hosting travelers and learning about all of their great adventures. (assuming we don't suddenly host a bad egg, but it sounds like the site is pretty well regulated and keeps the crazies away)
On the Kiwis' first night here we all went to the Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Club in Hollywood. We picked up our other BU Alum friend Ben on the way.
Two guys from the comedy group Human Giant were hosting it, and Ed Helms (of The Office) was one of the stand-up performers. It was pretty cool - and even better because it only cost $5. I was called up on stage for one bit (I had to prove that the cookies Whoopi Goldberg sent Paul Scheer for his birthday tasted gross) and one of the only reasons I was pulled on stage (aside from Ben literally pushing me forward) was that Rob Huebel noticed I was crossing my arms, which made it LOOK like I wasn't having fun (despite the laughing?) when in reality I was just FREEZING because I was sitting right underneath the air conditioning unit. So there you have it. When you need a little attention in LA, just act cold. (PUN!)
Beach time! If you're reading this, please pray for my UPS package.
The first is that I will never use UPS again. The regular old Post Office treated my boxes with more care than that ugly brown company could manage to do.
I had a box of large frames and sentimental paintings on canvas that apparently made it all the way to Los Angeles before someone in a big brown van PUNCTURED the box, breaking the glass, and then blamed me for poor packaging. Wow, I'm really sorry that I didn't package it well enough to withstand the force of a sledge hammer to cardboard. But beyond that, UPS decided it would be smarter to ship the box ALL THE WAY BACK to Champaign, IL (where I shipped it from just before picking up Melissa for our ride) instead of holding it in Los Angeles for pick up. TWO THINGS wrong with this: (a) shipping it all the way back will only risk it for more damage. (b) I don't have any way of getting to Champaign to retrieve the package, and therefore it must be re-shipped to me... and UPS is going to charge me for that (and this was the most expensive package I shipped, hands down). What's even creepier is that the UPS agent in Champaign seemed to be totally numb to my hysterical sobbing. Yikes. (also kind of yikes that I was as hysterical as I was but let's totally ignore that please). On the brighter side, my apartment is perfect and in the most beautiful little neighborhood. I'll have pictures of it soon but my camera is broken at the moment. Contrary to my expectations, I actually have a lot of things around me that I can walk to. A grocery store, a few little restaurants, and a sports bar. -a sports bar that, might I just say, actually plays the Boston Beanpot games on their TVs! Yay for Boston love! Yay for it being so close to my house! And if I'm feeling really frisky, I can walk three miles to the beach - though I'm considering buying a bike for that. Regardless, it's so nice to be able to go outside -in shorts- in February. I went for a jog around my neighborhood yesterday and the only thing running through my head was "I can't believe how not cold I am right now."
Roommates Greg and Justin are fantastic. Justin and I are both looking for work so we enjoy filling our days with trips to thrift stores to look for furniture for our apartment. It's a little bit bare at the moment - though I've dressed up a couple of folding chairs with oversized cushions. I knew those things would come in handy! Justin and I also have to figure out a way to transport said furniture, once we find anything good. Tricky.
Justin also has a Wii! And he programmed his Wii to be able to play any NES or Super Nintendo game that was ever created! And while watching him play some very archaic NES game I had this incredibly vivid flashback to a game I used to play when I was like 4 years old with my older brother.
(honestly it was like having a psychic vision - i couldnt quite make out what the game was about but i knew the main character was very short and there were flaming hoops involved and animals... so, a circus. also included in my flashback was the exact scent of our house we lived in at the time) So, naturally, I called Michael and demanded that he remember what game it was. He, too, had forgotten all about this glorious game until I brought it up. 
Thank god for older brothers - Michael figured out that the game is called "Circus Charlie." What's amazing about this particular game is that we played it when we were living in Tokyo... and this game was never released in the States (for shame, as it is the best game ever). SO! Justin, being the glorious roommate that he is, downloaded the game to his Wii in a matter of minutes. NOSTALGIA! I have never been so happy as I am when I jump that little lion-riding-clown through those flaming hoops of fire. It's kind of sad, but it's actually like re-living a little piece of my Tokyo childhood.In other news, Greg is part of couchsurfing.com so he occassionally hosts far off travelers who need a free place to crash. For the last two nights we have hosted a pair of New Zealand ladies, Jane and Leslie, and it has been great fun. They're great people and it's going to be fun hosting travelers and learning about all of their great adventures. (assuming we don't suddenly host a bad egg, but it sounds like the site is pretty well regulated and keeps the crazies away)
On the Kiwis' first night here we all went to the Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Club in Hollywood. We picked up our other BU Alum friend Ben on the way.
Two guys from the comedy group Human Giant were hosting it, and Ed Helms (of The Office) was one of the stand-up performers. It was pretty cool - and even better because it only cost $5. I was called up on stage for one bit (I had to prove that the cookies Whoopi Goldberg sent Paul Scheer for his birthday tasted gross) and one of the only reasons I was pulled on stage (aside from Ben literally pushing me forward) was that Rob Huebel noticed I was crossing my arms, which made it LOOK like I wasn't having fun (despite the laughing?) when in reality I was just FREEZING because I was sitting right underneath the air conditioning unit. So there you have it. When you need a little attention in LA, just act cold. (PUN!) Beach time! If you're reading this, please pray for my UPS package.
Monday, February 2, 2009
"Los Angeles, I'm Yours"
It's been a couple of days due to move-in distraction (aka blowing my budget at Bed Bath and Beyond and getting horrifying calls from UPS about a damaged box). But the last leg of the trip went a little bit like this:
We left Arizona asap and jumped back on I-10. As it turns out, I-10 west runs all the way to Santa Monica, which is exactly where we intended to go. My new place is just 3 miles east of the ocean and because I started from Gloucester, which sits quite literally on the Atlantic, just ten days earlier, I made it a point to touch the Pacific Ocean. Make it count.
The road from Arizona into
California is as beautiful as the rest has been. No shortage of things to look at from any angle. We passed a huge plot of wind turbines. I've seen them before, but not in this quantity, I don't think. They're actually quite graceful. It's funny to try to juxtapose them from the oil pumping jacks we saw in Texas. As I've said about the jacks- they are isolated from each other in no particular pattern, and they slowly and repetitively bow to the ground like they're shackled. The wind turbines stand tall. They're not depressing to look at, in fact they're kind of inspiring. Could this be foreshadowing the future of energy? I hope so.
Also, I kissed a Cactus and we've labeled the photo "Forbidden Love."
Those things are seriously tall.
Full Circle: you will NEVER believe it. But as we were just over the city limits into Los Angeles we caught a glimpse of the WEINERMOBILE!! It was headed East, the opposite direction, and at high speeds so we couldn't get a shot of it. But we all kind of sat in silent shock after noting it. It was strange to see it entering Los Angeles, since we first saw it as we were leaving Chicago - our first leg as a collective group. Anyway. Weinermobile TWICE in one road trip? That's got to be some kind of record.
We hit Santa Monica just as the sun was setting. After the inevitable traffic, we found a parking spot and headed to the ocean. Talk about the perfect welcome.
Touching the Pacific was like crossing the finish line at a marathon. I had been traveling for 10 days, 7 with Jeff and Melissa. Our coast to coast mission was complete. And none of us really knew what to think about it. So we just kind of enjoyed the sunset. And Jeff, who had silently been dreading Los Angeles, actually seemed to like it.
I'll be writing more posts, but as far as the road trip is concerned, it was probably the most fun any of the three of us has had in a very, very long time. 
This country is huge, and nothing can depict that as clearly as driving through it. I was so lucky to have the people on board that I had. We really enjoyed the ride, and how many times in our lives do we actually enjoy the ride?
The end is just the beginning. Not just for me, but
for Jeff and Melissa, too. They dropped everything to jump into a car and help me move cross-country. And it seems like the trip was exactly what they needed to re-evaluate their own day-to-day pursuits. And how could they not start thinking about the big picture when they're staring at the sunset over the white sands national monument, or Mt. Picacho, or the Santa Monica pier? I think this trip could spark new beginnings for all of us. And that's freaking amazing.
We left Arizona asap and jumped back on I-10. As it turns out, I-10 west runs all the way to Santa Monica, which is exactly where we intended to go. My new place is just 3 miles east of the ocean and because I started from Gloucester, which sits quite literally on the Atlantic, just ten days earlier, I made it a point to touch the Pacific Ocean. Make it count. The road from Arizona into
California is as beautiful as the rest has been. No shortage of things to look at from any angle. We passed a huge plot of wind turbines. I've seen them before, but not in this quantity, I don't think. They're actually quite graceful. It's funny to try to juxtapose them from the oil pumping jacks we saw in Texas. As I've said about the jacks- they are isolated from each other in no particular pattern, and they slowly and repetitively bow to the ground like they're shackled. The wind turbines stand tall. They're not depressing to look at, in fact they're kind of inspiring. Could this be foreshadowing the future of energy? I hope so. 
Also, I kissed a Cactus and we've labeled the photo "Forbidden Love."Those things are seriously tall.
Full Circle: you will NEVER believe it. But as we were just over the city limits into Los Angeles we caught a glimpse of the WEINERMOBILE!! It was headed East, the opposite direction, and at high speeds so we couldn't get a shot of it. But we all kind of sat in silent shock after noting it. It was strange to see it entering Los Angeles, since we first saw it as we were leaving Chicago - our first leg as a collective group. Anyway. Weinermobile TWICE in one road trip? That's got to be some kind of record.
We hit Santa Monica just as the sun was setting. After the inevitable traffic, we found a parking spot and headed to the ocean. Talk about the perfect welcome.
Touching the Pacific was like crossing the finish line at a marathon. I had been traveling for 10 days, 7 with Jeff and Melissa. Our coast to coast mission was complete. And none of us really knew what to think about it. So we just kind of enjoyed the sunset. And Jeff, who had silently been dreading Los Angeles, actually seemed to like it.
I'll be writing more posts, but as far as the road trip is concerned, it was probably the most fun any of the three of us has had in a very, very long time. 
This country is huge, and nothing can depict that as clearly as driving through it. I was so lucky to have the people on board that I had. We really enjoyed the ride, and how many times in our lives do we actually enjoy the ride? The end is just the beginning. Not just for me, but
for Jeff and Melissa, too. They dropped everything to jump into a car and help me move cross-country. And it seems like the trip was exactly what they needed to re-evaluate their own day-to-day pursuits. And how could they not start thinking about the big picture when they're staring at the sunset over the white sands national monument, or Mt. Picacho, or the Santa Monica pier? I think this trip could spark new beginnings for all of us. And that's freaking amazing.
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