The Local Tourist Emerges

I can't believe it's already September. Summer is over. Fall is approaching. Football has started. Kids are back to school. The stores are already selling Halloween costumes and decorations (which I think is way too early!). And, I'm still looking for a job.

So, what does this unemployed girl do besides continue her job search and obsess about the passage of time? Well, she would love to travel abroad; but, like so many people these days, she's a little short on funds now. Instead, she'll keep herself busy by becoming "The Local Tourist".

I'll explain. A few weeks ago at dinner with friends, we started to list off some familiar L.A tourist sites that we all had never been to, even though 3 out of 4 of us were born and raised here. Places like the LA Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, Catalina Island and the Getty Museum...even Grauman's Chinese Theater (where those footprints are) and the Hollywood Wax Museum. It's not so strange - I'm sure there are some Texans who have never seen the Alamo or some native New Yorkers who have yet to climb the Empire State Building.

Anyway, you can see where this is going. I decided to become a tourist in my own city and check out these places for myself. I also thought I would revisit some places I haven't seen in years; I mean, it's not like I don't have the time...

So far, I've hit Paradise Cove, Farmer's Market and the Japanese Gardens...and it's been fun! Of course, as predicted, I've started another blog chronicling my journeys... here are a few pics of my trips:

Every city has places to see. If you'd like to come along for the ride, just click on The Local Tourist.

All It Takes Is A Dollar and A Dream...

I know the odds of winning are 1 in 18,000,000. That's eighteen million. And, I know that I'm more likely to get struck by lightning (1 in 30,000) than win. And the odds are better if someone gives birth to quadruplets ( 1 in 729,000) than if someone were to win. Oh, and it's probably more likely that a bag of money will drop down from the skies and fall on the ground right in front of me.

Yes, logic tells me that I might as well just throw my money away. And, sometimes, I feel like I do. Yet, I still play the lotto every once in a while. We all do. Why??? Because, you just never know.

There is that possibility (however small it is) that if you play, you can win. It's fun to imagine standing on that podium holding the over sized check that says your name. And, it's fun to think about what your life would be like if you won all those millions, and how you would spend it. What would you do with all that money? I'm sure you've thought about it once or twice...

The Lottery Act was passed here in California to provide extra money to schools without imposing additional taxes. Apparently, the CA State Lottery is mandated to provide at least 34% of its revenues to public education, supplementing and not replacing funds provided by the state. Yet, considering how poor our educational system is, it's hard to believe that our schools are really benefiting from these funds. And, I know I can be a bit skeptical, but I doubt that helping out our school system is the main reason why people buy their lotto tickets here in California.

But, I digress.

This is a picture of my lotto ticket I bought for tonight's Super Lotto. I lost, but that's okay. I'll most likely spend another dollar and buy a ticket again some other time.

Playing the lotto can give us a sense of hope, even if it's followed by disappointment when we check our numbers and see that we didn't win. Is it false hope? Maybe. Please know that I'm not endorsing gambling your life savings away on a set of 6 numbers. But, keeping things in perspective, isn't the dream itself worth a couple of dollars here and there?

If Loving Them Is Wrong... I Don't Want To Be Right!

This week, my 2 favorite reality shows are back and, I must confess, I'm pretty excited about it!

I know what you're thinking...poor girl, she needs to get out more. You might say you don't watch them. And, some of you honestly might not. But, at the end of the day, no matter how bad some of these shows are (and some of them are really bad), some are quite addicting! When you combine one person's fascination with being famous and another person's tendencies towards voyeurism, you've got a recipe for success! You can't walk down the street here without tripping over someone who has either been in a reality show or is trying to get on one.

Everyone's got their favorites. It comes down to personal taste. Personally, I don't care about the "Bachelorette" and those "housewives of wherever". "Survivor" doesn't interest me and I never cared about "Big Brother". "The Amazing Race" stresses me out to much. There seems to be thousands of reality shows...and someone must be watching because they have an entire channel dedicated just to reality TV. My guilty pleasures are "Top Chef" and Project Runway".

"Top Chef", taking place in Las Vegas this season, shows chefs from all over the country compete against each other in various culinary challenges. They're judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more chef-testants eliminated in each episode. A key element to all realty shows is casting; big personalities coupled with culinary talent make for a great show! It's so interesting to see what these chefs prepare each week, but I must admit, I get a little hungry after each episode!

"Project Runway", hosted by Heidi Klum, focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to see who can create the best clothes. They're usually restricted in time, materials and in theme, and it's great to see what they can come up with each week! I particularly like the challenge of designing an outfit solely out of products you would buy at the supermarket. Their designs are judged and one or more designers are eliminated each week.

This show is a great forum for designers to showcase their talent and creativity and expose themselves and their designs to a wider audience. And, who doesn't love to hear co-host Tim Gunn's catch phrase "make it work" and Heidi's German-accented kiss-off phrase: "your out", followed by a curt "aufedersein"!

I know I should probably be discussing something more important and timely like why the Republicans are purposely trying to sabotage Obama's Healthcare plan. Maybe, I should be giving some interviewing tips for the job seeker. Or, perhaps chat about the unemployment rates and the economy. But, not this week.

Sometimes, we all must embrace and give in to our guilty pleasures...whatever they are!

What's yours?

A Dash of Inspiration Saute'ed in Butter and Garlic

Okay, I'm officially jumping on the bandwagon. Yesterday, I saw "Julie and Julia" and I really liked it! (I also can't stop thinking about that heirloom tomato grilled bruschetta...but I'll talk about that in a minute.)

Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and Julie Powell (Amy Adams) star in Nora Ephron's charming adaptation of two memoirs: Powell's "Julia and Julia" and "My Life In France", by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. The movie intertwines the lives of Julia Child during her years in France with her husband Paul, and Julie Powell, a frustrated office worker who became an amateur blogger by deciding to turn her passion for food into a year long blog project and cook her way through every recipe in Julia Child's famous cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

The entire cast did a great job, especially Meryl Streep who is just incredible as Julia Child. It's scary how good she is! But, to me, the food was the star of the movie. Grilled heirloom tomato bruschetta..boeuf bourgignon..duck en croute...dover sole dripping in butter...chocolate almond cake. Everything that was prepared in the movie looked awesome! I get hungry just thinking about it! Kudos goes out to the food stylist in this movie who actually made those dishes. For several hours after the movie was over, I think I had chocolate almond cake on the brain!

This morning, I found out that Julie Powell and her blog have been criticized by gourmet chefs and professional "foodies" who claim the blog was too gimmicky and that it was so terribly wrong that she used Julia Child and her masterpiece of a cookbook to further her own personal success.

Well, to those critics, I say lighten up and relax! It's a good story.

Whether it truly was sincere on Julie Powell's part or not, I connected with her story and went along for the ride. I know what it's like to be frustrated in your life and not know what to do next. Cooking has never been my particular passion, but I was certainly inspired by the fearlessness of Julia Child to pursue her passions. What an amazing woman she was!

And, I must admit, after seeing the movie, I would love to be able to cook like that...it looks so fun! (I know my mother is laughing right now).

Well, at the very least, I must learn how to make that bruschetta.

When Life Gives You Tomatoes...Try To Make a Good Sauce.

Last week was tough.

I was deep in the frustration of being unemployed. A big dose of rejection coupled with constant worry can really get on your nerves. In the past few weeks, I haven't found any new job listings for me to apply to and it seems like I ran out of people to call - so, I should probably work harder on my networking skills, right? Well, this whole process just gets so exhausting after a while. Then, I started reading more stories about the growing unemployment rates and the admitted loss of hope from people unable to find work these days. And, as I'm reading all this, I'm noticing my growing stack of bills on the desk...and you can guess where I'm going with this train of thought.

It didn't help that I received two emails on the same day from two different companies coincidentally saying the exact same thing: "although impressed with your credentials, we are unable to bring you in at this time." Unemployment is a very humbling experience, that's for sure. (And, couldn't they have come up with something more original to write?)

Every once in a while, we all have a bad week. We're all entitled to have them. Usually, I try to stay as positive as I can and keep things in perspective. But, when I'm having one of those weeks, it's hard to shake off the blues and climb out from under the muck.

However, right now, I'm staring at some beautiful, homegrown tomatoes that a friend gave me the other day. I realize this is about to sound sooo cliche', but once again, I remind myself of how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, a loving and supportive husband and family, and good friends who think to give me tomatoes grown from their gardens.

And, now I feel a little less frustrated. I think I'll stop my momentary whining, continue my job search, lighten up a bit...and make some sauce.

This week will be better.

A Tourist in My Own City - part 2

I'm originally from LA, and I've never been to the historical Ford Theatre, even though I live less than 10 minutes from the venue. Until last Saturday night...

The Ford Theatre is a small outdoor hillside theatre in Hollywood located across the way from it's much larger counterpart, the Hollywood Bowl. It used to be called the Pilgrimage Theater many years ago, but has since been renovated and renamed the John Anson Ford, and then the Ford Theater. It's a relaxing, intimate place to enjoy some great music, dance or film out under the stars. And, it's now one of my favorite concert venues!

On Saturday, we went there to listen to some talented, independent "up-and-coming" musicians. 6 different singers and bands each performed a few of their original songs in front of about 1200 "guests". Sitting outside at the Ford Theater drinking some wine, snacking on some cheese and crackers and listening to some great acoustic music...priceless!

Cross off another "first" for this local tourist!

A Tourist in My Own City - part 1

Last week, temperatures topped 100 degrees in LA! I hate hot. And, I don't like to go outside when it's this hot. However, when Friday arrived, I had cabin fever and was going stir crazy - I had to get out of here! So, where could I go? I couldn't spend a lot of money because I didn't have it (not working, remember?). But, I wanted to stretch my legs and get some exercise...preferably someplace cool. So, I decided to head to the beach and walk around Venice and Santa Monica with my friend Laura.

What a difference 40 minutes and a few zip codes made! It was about 20 degrees cooler by the beach...really, it was!

Fortunately for us, the beach wasn't as "crazy" crowded on a Friday as it usually is on the weekend. There were small flocks of tourists walking where we were walking, snapping photos, pointing and chatting in their native languages...just like we were doing, I guess. There were times where we were actually semi-consciously following the flock. I was then reminded that there are a lot of really great places to see right in my own backyard. So this is what all those "staycation" vacationers are talking about! Who knew? (she said smiling...)

These are some of my "snaps":

Namaste' Your Way to a Good Night's Sleep

I'm still not sleeping well. It usually goes like this: I sleep for a couple of hours, then I'm wide awake for what seems like forever, then I finally drift back to sleep for an hour or two. I'm sure I'm just stressed because I'm not working. Maybe it's my growing financial concerns and the declining economy. Or, maybe it's my fears that Lamar Odom won't return to the Lakers.

I've had no luck so far doing what the "experts" suggest. Even my Tylenol PM isn't working so well. So, when I received my yoga studio's monthly newsletter offering an upcoming 2 1/2 hour workshop with this headline: "Sleep Like A Baby With Yoga Nidra", I had to give it a shot!

The workshop was taught by a licensed hypnotherapist and included a discussion of Yoga Nidra, some gentle yoga stretches to do before going to bed and a guided Yoga Nidra meditation. I couldn't take pictures, but this one I found online shows what it looked like.


Yoga Nidra translates from the Sanskrit as "yogic sleep", or a "glorious state of complete physical relaxation that when achieved allows the consciousness to release mental stress and promote rejuvenation of the mind, body and spirit". (at least, that's what the pamphlet said.)

Supposedly, anyone can do it and everyone can benefit from it. After some simple yoga stretches, we were taken through a guided meditation done by lying down in the savasana pose (or, corpse pose). We were to relax each part of our bodies systematically while breathing deeply and slowly from our abdomen. As you enter deep relaxation, you're supposed to feel your mind become clear and detached.

My review? Well, I guess I naively thought she would show us some magical "sleep-inducing" yoga poses. Instead, we did some of the same yoga stretches that we do in my regular yoga classes. Judging by the snores I heard next to me, the guided meditation she did worked for almost everyone. I was very relaxed and even drifted off for a moment or two. But, after going through the process, she announced that her CD's were on sale in the corner for $20.00!

I didn't think that was right. We all paid for this seminar already - did we have to spend an additional $20 more for the "key's to the city"? I get that she has to earn a living, but I thought the price was a little steep! I think I can find cheaper CD's out there taking me on the same relaxation journey.

I knew that one class wasn't going to unleash the secret of uninterrupted sleep - it's a process that takes practice. That night, I tried Yoga Nidra with my husband, who's also having trouble sleeping lately but couldn't attend the class with me that day. After going through the yoga stretches and some guided relaxation, he slept like a baby...and I was awake for hours.

I think I need a little more practice.

Take A Hike! (I know...predictable title, but I had to use it)

I've never been much of a hiker. In fact, I haven't embraced nature in quite some time - mainly because I never had the desire to do so. However, the other day I thought I would practice what I've been preaching and try something new. So, after spending the morning searching wheresmynextjob.com for any new job postings and then checking my voice mail to discover no messages, I decided to take a hike!

Turns out, I really didn't have to travel far from my front door to become "one with nature". Fifteen minutes away from here up off Mulholland Drive is Coldwater Canyon Park, made up of a bunch of fire road trails and the home of TreePeople, an environmental non-profit that maintains and operates the park.


Founded in 1973 by teenagers, TreePeople is dedicated to helping nature heal our cities. So far, they've planted more than two million trees, and each year the organization educates thousands of kids about environmental responsibility. I really like that.

The trails up there are wide enough and not too steep at all - perfect for a novice hiker like myself. You know, it's easy to temporarily forget your troubles when you're huffin' and puffin' up one of those trails. Ah, nature...who knew?

Check out these pictures. This is what it actually looks like up there!

Creative Ways to Get Some "Money-Mojo" Back!

Before you resort to selling lemonade on the corner (which might not be a bad idea BTW), here's a few more "creative" ways to make some extra bucks while you're looking for regular employment. I know it's easier said than done, but don't let it get you down too much! You'll get some "money-mojo" back before you know it!

1- Participate in Focus Groups: Are you a 35-55 year old female who colors her hair? Or, a 20-30 year old male who plays video games? Companies are willing to pay you cash for your opinions about certain consumer products or services. These firms advertise on sites like Craigslist to attract a specific demographic. I've seen ads for focus groups paying between $25 - $250 dollars depending on the group and subject matter. But, act quickly! These groups usually book up fast!

2- Wrap Your Car: It's possible to get paid to have your car turned into a moving advertisement! If you drive 800 miles or more per month and you live in a highly populated area, you may want to check out companies like Autowraps that offer car wraps. You can get paid up to $400 per month for a full car wrap and lesser amounts for a partial car wrap or a window wrap. Hmm...what's the catch? Well, the main glitch is that there are far more drivers wanting to do it than advertising campaigns available, so your chances are pretty slim that you'll be chosen. Still, it couldn't hurt to fill out an application...

3- Get Paid To Recycle: Don't know what to do with those old cell phones, laptops or PDA's? Recycle them for cash! Companies like Gazelle and Cell For Cash will pay you for your old electronics. First, find your item on their website. They'll send you a box so you can ship off your item to them. Once they verify the item, they'll send you the cash or they can pay you through Paypal. Gazelle says their process takes about a week once they receive your item. If you can't find your item on their list, they can send you a price quote. Gazelle refurbishes and then sells the electronics or recycles them if they're un-fixable.

4- Crafting for Cash: Are you a knitter or a quilter? Do you make your own jewelry? If you have a talent for creating, you can put it to good use by making and selling your wares online! Etsy.com makes it easy to sell your crafts. Be sure to take really clear pictures of your items so people can see what they're buying. Also, do some research beforehand and figure out the actual costs of producing your craft so you can make a profit!


5- Pet/Child Caretakers: If you're an animal lover, offer to walk your neighbor's dog a few times a week for a reasonable price, or agree to care for their cats while they go away on their summer vacation. If you really love children, offer to watch the kids in your neighborhood. When I was a teenager, I was paid $5.00/hour to babysit...I've heard the rates have doubled (and sometimes tripled) since!

6- Freelance, or become a "Consultant": Believe it or not, people may pay you for your knowledge and expertise! Sologig.com, Guru.com and Elance.com are just a few websites that specialize in connecting contractors, freelancers and consultants with employers looking for seasoned professionals. You can sign up for free on most of these sites and you can choose the projects that you're interested in and negotiate pricing directly with the employer.