CAR LINE LA LA LANDING

Okay.  Well this morning was fun!  I, along with my husband, have been so somber since Trumple became President.  It has also been very depressing since the whole Muslim Ban fiasco began.  I thought I would eventually stop immigration law and pursue my dreams of being a screenwriter.  After this BS Muslim Ban, I jumped write back into immigration law.  I must say, it has been rewarding trying to help.  I was so proud of everyone showing up at the airports and from all walks of life.

Sorry.  I digress.  So, here's the summary: Trumple in office, everyone depressed, blah blah.  This morning, just like all weekday mornings, I went to drop off my kids at school.  Same old routine.  However, this morning I decided to play my La La Land soundtrack which recently I've been doing a lot of to try and cheer up.  

As soon as I put on LA LA LAND, the first soundtrack came up: "Another Day of Sun", even though it was a cloudy day here in LA LA LAND.  I blasted the music, my kids in their car seats used to my belting it out, and then I get a text from one of the moms: "Hey, I'm right behind you."  What do I do?  I blast the music even more and instead of texting back which I normally would do (not while driving of course, but when I'm parked), I jump out of the car and start dancing along the cars!  My friend found it quite amusing.  I'm not sure what the other parents thought.  I almost jumped on her car, but refrained, thinking that she just might not appreciate that much enthusiasm.

Thus, I implore all of you, every once in a while, do a little LA LA LAND:)

NO WHERE TO RUN, NO WHERE TO HIDE!

Well, the madness has begun.  He's only been in power for less than a week and I'm afraid there will no longer be a UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:(

One third of California already wants to secede from the union. See?  Another BRIGHT side of moving to California!

On a serious note, what is happening to us?  I'm so sad.  Do we move to Australia?  Canada?  Hmmm . . . Canada too close. Germany? Well, I don't speak German, but maybe France? Thank God I took French class in HS and College.  Mon Dieu!

WE ARE IN TRUMPLE!

As my 9 year old says, "Mom, we are in Trumple!"  Yes, we sure are.  Only 3 days left until the insanity begins.  I still cannot believe this is happening.  It just seems like a bad dream that I cannot wake up from.  How did we get here?  I will tell you.  We got here from the irresponsible media, from the huge inequality of wealth, race and gender in this country, and from people in this country who just do not seem to care or give a sh=t as to what is going on in their own backyard because they are too busy following the Kardashians or they are just plain oblivious! They are more worried about where they can purchase Kylie Jenner's lip kits than whether or not Roe v. Wade will be overturned or if they will have the medical expenses covered. God that makes me MAD!

Well folks, the ones who didn't think putting the number one narcissist known to mankind in our beloved WH, you will soon be in BIG TRUMPLE!  Perhaps then you will pay more attention to what is going on around you instead of living in a reality show fog.

WAKE UP!  Oh, and don't get me started on the Russian Cabbage Patch Kid Ruler.

TWO YEARS IN LALA LAND

Well, I can't believe it but I've been here 2 years now.  For some reason, it seems like it has been longer.  I would have never thought it, but I adjusted to the west coast lifestyle quite quickly.  I of course now and again think of New Jersey/New York, but not like I used to.  It is kind of sad.  I'm not sure if I don't allow my mind to think of it or it has become part of my past.  However, I do miss my friends, especially my BFF.  We try and keep in touch, but the ones I really do keep in touch with are my BFF, my writing partner and other close friends.  I even started a "virtual happy hour."  Yup!  You heard right.  A "virtual happy hour."  Man that is so 21st century.  My BFF and I try and do a cocktail hour on Fridays via FaceTime.  Unfortunately, with work, kids, home, and family, it's been hard to have too many virtual happy hours:( 

I have been lucky in making some very nice friends here.  I think I can now officially call them friends.  No.  They are not my close friends or BFFs.  Mainly because I have only known them for a short while and it takes me a very long time to trust someone and have them come into my life.  However, I am quite content with the situation as is.  It is kind of refreshing not being too close to others.  I know that sounds odd, but it leaves less room for drama.  And boy, I have had my fair share of drama!  Let's just keep it at that.  At the same time, I'm still lucky to have lifelong friends from back east.

Totally off the subject, but do you guys watch Family Guy?  It's genius.  It's hysterical.  Seth MacFarlane I bow to you.  I know it has been around for a while and my writing partner kept telling me to watch it.  Well, once I moved to LA, I started watching it.  Again, I did live in Providence, RI, for a year, and that year was one of the best years of my life.  If you watch Family Guy you know it takes place in Rhode Island.  I guess that made me sentimental, but honestly, I got addicted to the show.  Okay.  I'm not sure how everything turned to Family Guy, but what a nice note to end on.  We need a good laugh these days, considering Trump is an actual Presidential nominee.  That's my therapy advice for you during these tough times.  Have a good laugh like Peter on Family Guy.

Soaked In By The Sun?

I've been pondering to myself what it is that makes the West so different than the East?  It's very hard to put into words.  It's a feeling.  I've noticed while I have been here that whenever I run into an East Coaster, they know right away I am from the East Coast and they immediately gravitate towards me and I to them.  It is a magnetic pull.  It cannot be helped.  

I will give you some examples.  Every morning when I drop my daughter off at her elementary school, I am eagerly greeted by a fellow New Jerseyian.  My New Jersey neighbor back from home with the baseball cap who I never knew.  I am so happy that I still have my Jersey license plates on my car because of this friendliest greeting I am so privileged to get from the man in the baseball cap on the days he sees my car and greets me:  "hey, Jersey!"  It's as if we are in a foreign country and don't speak the language and we have found another American who speaks English!  And to top it off, he's really from my region.  He's from Bergen County, NJ.  Northern NJ.  The Gold Coast of NJ.  You can't get closer than that!  It's like kind of being from the same village.

Next example also comes from my daughter's elementary school.  This one is from the loveliest woman who runs the Homework Club at her school.  Yes.  They actually have a "Homework Club" at the elementary school here.  You have to love it.  Of course, "it costs money because it saves money."  Sorry.  I had to give an Ode to one of my favorite movies, Moonstruck, to which many people out here have not seen!  Either because it takes place in Brooklyn and NYC or because I'm getting old:(  It's getting sad when these movies are getting to be called "classics."  Classics to me are Casablanca and Rebecca.  Anyway, going off topic.  So back on the Homework Club ("HC").  I sign up my daughter for one session a week of HC to leave that one day during the week which we don't scream at each other.  As I am signing her up, HC woman (we will call her), notices my accent, (which I don't really think I have that much of a Jersey accent, but whatevah!) and she asks where I am from and she bursts out telling me she's from Brooklyn and next thing you know we are hugging it out!  I'm serious!  I ask her when she left Brooklyn and she tells me when she was 12!  Again, I'm serious!  Yet, she still considers herself from the East Coast.  She tells me that it's just in her and she would go visit her father back home whenever she could and Brooklyn always felt like home to her, even though she's been living in LA for over four decades at least.  We kept trying to discuss what it is about the people back home and it was so hard to put into words and that was exactly what it was.  One could not put it into words.  It was just a feeling.  A feeling.  That's what it is:  a feeling.

TMZ is Watching You!

Hello.  I'm back.  I'm a bit disappointed to see I only have one follower still.  I guess one is better than none, even if it's only me.  I like to keep track of my own work.  One should be on top of their own work.  

Well my weekend came and went in lala land with not too much drama.  That's a lie.  I just say that to myself now a days to make myself feel better.  On a positive note: my very good friend came to visit me from, well, that's a hard one.  I'd usually write "came to visit me from NYC" since that is where she and her husband lived for many years until they recently moved outside and away from my beautiful big apple since they had a little girl who just turned 3 and the big apple became too much.

Oops!  Did I tell you where our adventure began?  It did not just begin in lala land, but in lalala land!  In what I like to call, (well I actually literally just made it up, inspiration have you) cala land!  Cala what you say?  Cala land or better known as the Black Beverly Hills or Calabasas.  Yes, we really did it.  We moved to Calabasas, California.  To Kardashianville.  I can't believe I just wrote that.  To TMZ land.  I might as well start working for Harvey Levin, the God of celebrity gossip, the creator of TMZ, the eyes and ears of this state.  Nothing slips past TMZ.  I mean, I too, "am a lahwyah" as he not so casually slips in as his post production byline at the end of every TMZ episode.  Yes.  I watch.  It's brain candy okay.  I'm horrible.  I know.  But living in Calabasas, which by the way means pumpkin in Spanish:), watching TMZ is like watching the local news.  I need to know what's going on in my neighborhood.  No more NY1 and no more NJ12 news.  It's all about who is hanging out at "The Commons".  Let's see, for my east coasters out there who may actually one day read my blog, The Commons is Calabasas's version of our strip malls.  But not just any strip mall.  Strip malls with oh so many celebrities, palm trees, music playing on sound systems, Persians galore, Jaguars, Mercedes, Ferraries, and oh thank goodness the Toyota Prius is acceptable because being green is very in on this side of the country.  I mean very in.  Man, they have taken recycling to another level.  We will leave that for another blog day.  I've already seen Jermaine Jackson at The Commons twice and haven't been here but a couple of months.  That reminds me, I must write my next blog about my encounter with Mr. Jackson and going to happy hour with my 6 year old.  Oh yes.  That is normal here in Cala land!  Back in Jersey, we'd go for a slice of pizza (man, do I miss good Pizza!) and maybe ice cream afterwards.   I'm talking ice cream.  Not frozen yogurt lala landers, but ICE CREAM.  You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Cream!!!

Now, I have really gotten off course.  Well, my friend, my buddy, my pal, whom I missed very much, came to visit me for a few days from guess where?  DALLAS!  Yipee!  And if any of you read the paper or watch the news or speak to other human beings every once in a while, you know what's going on in Dallas.  The Ebola pandemonium!  My husband being a physician assures everyone that we are fine.  The CDC would not allow travelers from Dallas to LAX were it a real threat and you know how reliable the CDC is and our government.  FYI:  I'm clearing my throat right now.  But honestly, I wasn't really worried.  I just found the whole thing amusing especially since we are currently living with my in-laws and my mom is visiting us from NJ as well.  We ended up having a lovely couple of days together aside from my daily migraines and on the last day my friend's poor little girl ended up getting sick with a fever.  No!  It's not EBOLA!

But how long can one survive with a 6 yr old, 4 yr old and 3 yr old running wild.  It was turning into "Lord of the Flies." All that said, we had an amazing time lala land style.  It was tough to be in the Halloween/Fall spirit when the temperature was in the 90s and we were sweating to death.  There were no leaves changing color here.  There were barely leaves.  The leaves were dying.  Have I mentioned it has not rained once since I've been here?  Okay, we also haven't had a Hurricane Sandy.  See.  I'm looking at the glass not half empty, but a bit more full than that.

California Here We Came

Well, it is most appropriate that my first blog begins the way my move to this sun soaked state has taken place.  I have attempted to write a blog years ago discussing my bouts with postpartum depression.  I did it mainly to help other women dealing with this crazy PPD thing but also for my own therapy.  Needless to say, I only had one follower to my blog: me!  So I thought I give it another shot in hopes of gaining at least one more follower.  Perhaps my previous subject was too depressing?

I think of myself a fairly intelligent mother of two young children.  My daughter will be turning 7 this month and my son is 4.  I love them to death.  I just hope they don't push me too quickly to that point, but I'll take it.  They are worth it.  Right?  I'm kidding!  Kidding!  Relax!  I love my bobos, as I lovingly call them.

I am also an attorney so I can't be that dumb, right?  I attended a good law school and have a J.D., and even though we are not formally referred to as "doctors", I do have a Juris DOCTORATE degree.  Oh, I also married a doctor if that counts.  I don't think I'm technologically challenged since I'm the techie in my household, to which my favorite husband will attest to, well my only husband and still my favorite. So why is it that it took me two friggin days (Jersey in me comin out!) to set up this blog?  I did everything right.  I followed all protocols.  Only one thing wrong.  One thing!  I linked my blogger site to another email account and I tried to delete it and restart but did you know that blogs on google are not completely deleted for 90 days?  Anyway, thanks to a Mr. Aneesh V. on YouTube, I finally figured out today how to transfer it over.  Bless you Aneesh.  Bless you!  I feel like I accomplished the unthinkable.  As my dear husband says, my OCD can sometimes work to my advantage.  

So my husband and I decide to pick up and move from our lovely lives in Northern New Jersey, I mean literally Northern.  Like right across the Hudson River Northern with a view of my beautiful NYC, my big apple, New York, New York.  No place like you baby!  And where do we decide to move?  No, not to the Jersey Shore, not to Long Island, not back to NYC.  We decide to move back to my husband's part of the country:  yes, LaLa Land!  Los Angeles, California.  All the way on the other side of the US for those of you who are geographically challenged (That's not a dig by the way.  I too am horrible with directions.)Yup.  California here we came!