Friday, December 24, 2010

California Livin'


The morning started with a coffee and a blueberry muffin on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Total bill, $4.20; that’s California living.

Life experiences — mostly career and women — have carried me from my native Marlyand to the great state of Ohio, a drive across the country and brief stop in southern California. A few years in Indiana, several more in Washington state and then back in Ohio for a quarter of a year and then once again I land in SoCal. Through my travels and intimate observations of regional cultures, I conclude; there is nothing quite like California living.

Especially, southern California Living. Cold is redefined. As is fine.

In SoCal, the ability to adapt to the bilingual and bicultural lifestyle is key. Lemon and chili powder or Tap on everything. You make chips/ papitas instead of just snacking on them. Knowing that there is a right side to the tortilla is not essential, but a keen since to the obscure idiosyncrasies of a people can go a long way. (One side of the tortilla has a slightly different texture to better hold the meat, cilantro and onions).

Seemingly, only in California can a mediocre east coast hustle, mixed with an element of midwest swag be part of the formula to thrive in a “down economy.” It’s here that I’ve been able to network my way into a state job as a field representative for a smart, savvy, progressive and cool ass Assemblymember.

California living is about learning to trust the roots of the towering palm trees as they sway in the wind. “Tay ina win.”

This one has been on my mind for a while, but taken me a while to push out. Why you ask … California Living.

— James Joyce III

Two quotes that feel good to me:

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
--Ben Franklin

Experience is an author's most valuable asset; experience is the thing that puts the muscle and the breath and the warm blood into the book he writes.
-Mark Twain

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