Disneyland and Updates!

On the 11th, I went to D-land with Richie, his friend, our cousin Ashley, and a few of her friends.  It was a lot of fun, we went to both D-land and California Adventure.  We kept running back and forth between them trying to get fast passes at a later time for World of Color.  We watched the parade as the Disney princesses waved and blew kisses to Richie.  We didn't go on all the rides that we usually go on, but that's because we got there late afternoon and we have annual passes.  We don't have to worry about getting the most for our money, we already are!  We got home late and I was exhausted the next day at work.  It was worth it, though.

The next evening was study group.  Three of us meet each week to do homework together for our operations class that's on Tuesday.  It took us 4 1/2 hours to do it!  It shouldn't have taken so long!  I went to bed late that night too and was tired on Wednesday.  I eventually caught up on sleep by the weekend.
I've been doing great at making dinners for myself.  I even plan and go shopping once each weekend, except when I ran out of bread for lunch.  Trader Joe's has bottles of red and yellow curry.  It's quite easy to make and is very delicious!  I cook the rice first (plenty for other dishes too) then the chicken.  Once that's ready, I mix in the curry, chicken, bell peppers, and red potatoes.  I can't believe that I'm motivated to make myself dinners like this after work.  I guess it comes with all of the changes.  I've also had pasta (angel hair and spaghetti), tortillas, and several leftovers.  I find that it's easy cook more than enough for one meal so I can warm it up for the next, especially something that takes long like rice.

My room is put together, I even cleaned it today.  I have my shoe rack and everything organized.  Everything has a place.  I still feel like I need something to put over my bed, it's empty.

Downtown LA and Updates!

On Monday, Labor Day, I went to LA with Richie.  It was a fantastic day and I got so much walking in.  I was exhausted near the end of the day.  We started out at The Last Bookstore, which was really awesome!  I got one of CS Lewis' books that contains Surprised by Joy, Reflections on the Psalms, The Four Loves, and The Business of Heaven.  It was only $5, not too bad for a large hardcover book.  Richie also got some books at a great price.  We then dropped off our new books and started walking around LA.  We saw the library (which was closed), the US Bank tower (which was circular), the old location of Biola, an awesome hotel with Star Wars like senate seats, Chinatown, and tons of beautiful fountains.  The streets were pretty quiet, so we weren't bothered by any crowds.  It was such a great day to spend with Richie!

Work has been going very well for me.  I was officially accepted after working through a temp agency for a few weeks.  I've gotten to know the women here and they are awesome people.  They love to go out to lunch together and have fun!  Several times I've brought my lunch only to take it back home because I went out.  It's costs a bit more to go out often, but it's the fellowship that I think about.

My room is slowly getting organized.  I bought a shoe rack online so my shoes aren't in a big pile by my closet.  I still have to store my suitcase and empty, flat boxes in the garage.  I put up several pictures on the walls, without puncturing the walls (picture hanging strips).  It's a good sized room and I love it!  Oh, and I got my own PO Box so I can have my own address.  Yah!

I cook my own meals and thus have to do some planning when I go to the store.  It's been good, though.  I've made pasta and have some stuff to make curry, yum!  I got a special pan to cook my chicken in for my pasta.

It's been hard to make friends.  Most of the people at school are married and I've had trouble meeting people at church.  There are some people who go out to lunch after service, but since I've been here no one has.  It's confusing.  One Sunday people slowly left the table to go sit with someone else.  I thought it was kinda rude, I come over to sit with them and they leave.  I miss my friends in Washington.  We always went out to lunch and did all sorts of stuff.  Come visit me!