USC

Went to see Joel in LA last weekend and blogged in my journal--will copy it here:
This is such a unique place. The busy-ness reminds me of New York--constant traffic, tons of people always moving but more bikes and pedestrians and skateboards. The grocery store reminded me of Mexico City--about as many hispanic folks and spanish being spoken and limited selection and dirty floors. The prices were low, too, expecially the produce which makes sense. The people here are unique--all fashion forward--not dressy, just edgy, cooler. The weather is amazing--right about skin temp--a little warmer in the afternoon and a little cooler in the evening. No more that a light breeze ever and often its perfectly still. There are palm trees and stucco buildings and flowers and food trucks and lots of sunshine (and smog this morning).
Visit so far: Getting to the airport, parking and flight were perfect--I even had a great nap on the plane with no one sitting next to me. Joel met me on the corner where the shuttle dropped me off and we walked to his apartment. It's above the pool and is very quiet, simple, serene. His rommates are calm and quiet and nice. Right when I arrived, the USC housing people came around with an adorable beagle dog who was sniffing for bed bugs. Interesting. We relaxed then walked about half an hour and had a nice breakfast at Jacks and Jo. We stopped by one of Joel's class buildings on the way back then rested at the apartment. He went to class and I napped then we walked to the grocery store. The lady in front of my had two credit cards decline so I paid for her groceries--about $50. Ours turned out to be about half as much as I'd estimated so that was cool. We got back to Joel's apartment and went to Joel's friend Alicia's apartment so they could inteview each other for a frat assignment. I tagged along. He's very busy. He's at class now so I'm people watching.