NaNoWriMoNotSoMuch

Since I already had a novel in the works come Nov 1st (which explains the mysterious WC lines at the end of each post here), I decided that I would do NaNoWriMo by aiming to write 50k words in November.

As it turns out, I wrote 9,646 words.

Well that's not so bad, right? Actually, I did better in August (12,677 words) and October (11,990 words). Of course in September I realized that I needed to start a new draft so my total is what I've written since October 1st. So now, the new goal is to hit the end of the book (estimated at 80k words) by year's end. Now that I'm working full time, it will only get harder to find time to write.

NP: "Blank Page," Kevin Gilbert.
WC: 21,636, ECD: 12 Jun 2007.

This week at the Beverly Hills Farmer's Market

My Sunday routine has me going to the Beveryl Hills Farmer's Market, where I pick up the week's produce, bread and eggs as well as sit down and listen to whoever is doing live music this week while eating a crepe or some other savory item from the prepared food vendors at the western end of the market.

The egg lady sets up at the far eastern end of the market and is my last stop (after all, eggs are as fragile as, well, eggs). When I got to her today, there were no eggs. There were, however, a number of chickens cleaned and dressed in plastic bags sitting in trays of ice.

But they didn't want to be pies.

(There are still eggs, but the egg lady had sold out before I got there. This was, however, the first time that I'd seen chickens on sale.)

NP: "Domino," Van Morrison, His Band and the Street Choir
WC: 17,837, ECD: 8 Apr 2007.

The Container Store has ruined everything

My very first encounter with Century City was ten years ago. We were going to see a movie which was playing only there but the parking lot was so backed up onto Santa Monica Blvd that we ended up passing on the movie entirely.

Fast forward to 2006. We live in Hosekwood, a short distance from Century City (close enough that when I go to weekday matinees, I usually ride my bike), and the Century City AMC has become our default movie theatre. I can almost always find a parking space near the stairs on the bottom level and life is good.

Until last month. Suddenly parking is really tough, seven days a week. What's changed? It's the bloody Container Store. The residents of west L.A., having had to drive to Pasadena or the O.C. to satisfy their containment needs suddenly have a local destination in which to buy acrylic air-tight containers in which to store their organic stone-ground whole wheat. And they flock to Century City like twenty-something women flock to the newest H&M, filling up all the parking spaces in the process. Suddenly parking has become a nightmare comparable to trying to park at the Beverly Center.

Westfield, do something about this. I suggest shutting down the Macy's. That should clear up some parking spaces.

And as an added bonus, as of yesterday, ticket prices at the AMC theatre are up $.50. It's now $11 to see a movie during prime time. The Arclight suddenly seems like a reasonable deal at $12.

NP: "Pesada (Con Maigaz)," Control Machete, Amores Perros
WC: 17,283, ECD: 20 May 2007.