Objects are further than they appear

So the weekend has come. What to do? After looking at some potential apartments to move into (because I'm living in a hotel) I needed to just take in my new surroundings a little better. Luckily, the McLallen network never fails. We know someone in every major town, I'm sure of it. Through email introductions I was able to meet up with a fellow mid-westerner/Detroiter who was kind enough to spend the day giving me a guided tour to a small section of the sprawling metropolis called Los Angeles.

First leg of the trip was to Griffith Park, to search for the lost and forgotten old LA zoo. However, due to an error in memory and mapping, this leg turned into a hike up into the hills and back down with no zoo in sight. Only lush views of the L.A. metropolis were procured. The old LA zoo忍者任務  to re-commence at a later date.

The next leg of the journey lead to this Frank Lloyd Wright building called the Barnsdall.

 What do you think that fruit is?

 The hill/mountain on the left in the far distance has the "hollywood" sign.

This is supposedly the daughter's room. Very ornate doors.

After that, a quick stop join the scientologists was needed.

Weird building, right? Even weirder in person! I guess it's their HQ. Where's Cobra Commander? Scientology security was on me as soon as I stepped out of the car and snapped this picture! Only in L.A.!

The next journey was to little tokyo, where a much needed pink berry break was needed.

Coincidentally, there was a summer festival celebration going on for the Japanese holiday of O-Bon. There were taiko drums and food stalls and dancing. This caused a hunger to grow and it was off to Korean Town for some food. Of course, My eyes are bigger than my stomache and I ordered way too much food. But I still left very satisfied.

Finally, a drive through the fancy areas of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills ended the evening.

This leaves me with one more day in the weekend to continue looking for apartments. You think people want tenants when the advertise...maybe they just like collecting voicemails from people eager to move (-_-#)

So we begin again. Although it never really ended. (1st week in L.A.)

I have arrived in a new land, Los Angeles. More precisely, Torrance. After a lengthy and tiring 3 day drive from Detroit I arrived in the evening. The first noticeable thing was the tempurate. Cool, breezy, and, unlike the mid-west, not humid. I guess all 3 of those things are unlike the mid-west due to the heat wave there.

As the week progressed and I started my job with Toyofuji Shipping. However, I still notice the temperate weather every day, 72 and sunny. This made my stay in the office a little less bearable. As I learned more and more about the inner working of a freight company that ships Toyota vehicles to various ports in the U.S. and Canada (Long beach, Benicia, Portland, Vancouver, Newark, etc.), I hoped to get a better view of my surroundings outside of the 2 desk office with no windows.

My wish was granted on Friday when I was given a guided tour of important shipping landmarks near the port of L.A./port of Long Beach. Such as Point Fermin, Angels' Gate park, and, of course the ports and berths themselves. After seeing these things I had a better understanding of how things worked.

All and all my first week of work flew by. I learned a lot and I learned there is still a lot to learn. At least my boss/co-worker is very patient and understands that the road and long but not difficult.