Ellie’s Neighborhood

I live in Boston now.  Just a quick update to let you know.
Goodbye Los Angeles :(

This is something I've needed to get off my chest for a long time.  It just eats me up inside to think of it, and now is finally the time to confess and let the world know.

I don't always do my dishes directly after using them.

There it is.  You can't believe how incredibly free I feel now that the world knows.  I can no longer hide from the shame of being a dirty and disgusting.

You see it all started when I moved into my own apartment.  In some twisted form of logic I came up with in my crazy self-centered mind, I figured that if I was paying for my studio, all the bills, etc., supporting myself and calling this place my new home, I could act as I wished within its confines, without fear of judgment or ridicule. 

Of course this logic is completely false.

There's no hiding from being a dirty person.  The world is meant to be clean!  I cannot believe it took me nearly 26 years to come to the realization of this philosophy, that now I find out the entire world has been living by since the dawn of humanity.  Cleanliness should take task over all other priorities.  I shall live in fear of what those terrible germs and bacteria from the cereal bowl will do to me while I sleep.  Of the disgusting bugs and creatures that will try to inhabit my space.  (MY space, do you hear?  I don't pay $1000/month for some bugs to be bunking with me!  I OWN this piece of earth I pay rent on and anything else can split the rent with me if they want to share my air!)

I am more relieved than you could know to be adopting to the religion of cleanliness.  Now I can call myself a real woman.

Other things that are dirty (take note if you don't already know this):
-female body hair
-bodily odors  (they're just UNNATURAL people!)
-poor people

have an impromptu mojito gathering.

List of items:
1 (one) person to buy mojito ingredients
1 (one) person to prepare mojitos
Some friends to drink mojitos

Optional:
Some friends to clean up mojito making kitchen afterwards
1 (one) bag Chile Limon Lays

Instructions:
Send designated person to Ralphs or Jons to buy ingredients.  (Remember, 10pm on a Saturday night isn't always the best time to shop for fresh mint, especially if Ralphs didn't get their shipment in this weekend!  Know of a backup store nearby.)

Assign one or two of the friends who have arrived to drink mojitos to help the mojito preparer person.  Choose one who has never made them before, or who is having trouble entering into a good conversation.  A fun task always helps lighten up an uptight guest!

Gather in the kitchen around the table or somewhere where everyone is comfortable.  Turn up the tunes.  Don't let one person talk too much about themselves!  Drink your mojitos!

Drive safe!

Mojito

I waited in line for 3 hours to get into a party on Thursday night at LACMA.  Unheard of!  Contributors to this incident:  Max, Jose, a beautiful evening, a six pack of Newcastle.  The party was pretty cool, and I saw the new Dan Flavin exhibit.  Took some funny pictures.

Friday I met up with Daniel to see The Beautiful Ordinary at the LA Film Festival.  It was okay, but good to see Danny and eat some Pinkberry (with blueberries!) after.  Ran into another Daniel too (both are of the triple-D's of 2 summers ago).  Went home to collapse, but Max kept me up all night with his squirming :( 

Tonight:
http://www.theroommovie.com/
!!!!!!

Sometimes living in the US is like working for a really large organization with tons of bureaucracy and tons of money.  (If you know me, you know I might be referring to one supposedly "do-gooding" organization in particular).  Everyone ignores the actual problems and works around them to avoid any conflict.  This creates ridiculous amounts of bureaucracy (previously mentioned) as well as "sides".  But everyone is extremely PC and doesn't want anyone to not like them, so nobody says what's really on their mind.  What made me think this somewhat unclear and unprocessed thought?  This really insightful and spot-on piece in Harper's:
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/06/0081525

"Climate, class, and claptrap" by Garret Keizer.