The Native Iowan

Ok, back on-line after the London to LAX run.

Funny how a 10 hour flight – aint that bad – any more. I did though get home pretty weary.

I had been running in a sleep-deprivation state for a few days: Thursday I had rode 5 hours, traveled by train an hour and taxi’d through peak-hour London traffic for at least an hour and a half.

Friday I was up by 5am, in Munich by 2pm. Bruce, Melitta and I gabbed and gossip’d until 4am.

Saturday was a comfortable and slow morning: Up around 10, brunch around noon, then off playing and watching kids play and having fun. I think we got to bed by 2am that night.

Sunday was more travel, a taxi, a hotel; and a late night, because I got wired watching the World Cup final, and didn’t sleep until 2am.

Yesterday was a nother early one and a 1 hour taxi ride then a 10 hour flight then another hour taxi… I think I fell asleep/ passed out between 6 am 7pm.

I was up and organising at 4am.

I have sorted ll my clothes and gear. Laundry is done.

I’ve got the bike on the road… really, really like this Thruxton. What a faithful pony.

I have been shopping, and have my well deserved, much-needed pot of veggie soup on the stove.

I went to the bank, then checked at the City Hall about getting a drivers licence…Cant do it here. I’ll go to a DMV office about 5 miles away in the morn and see what I can do.

This is a nice place to walk around. Polite n friendly folks, nice scenery and a good vibe. Pasadena is the City of Roses. The scent of roses abounds. Public and private yards display various varieties year round.

I must say though, I don’t spend a lot of time here. There is a convenience but this is USA-base-camp-01. It is nice to have the convenience of this pad. Proximity, comfort, safety, fun-ability… all score high. But I am not a City-Person.

London is a great CITY! I can spend time there. I want to spend time enough to become comfortable in many of the World’s Major Cities. New York, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, there are many… Alas, I do not consider LA and its surrounds to be in the same class as London. I do not mean to demean or negate LA but, for all its history, LA and its surrounds are no great city but rather a collection of interesting a diverse “Burbs” that have grown into one terribly complex and over-large urban sprawl.

And Pasadena is one of those very cool “burbs” that make LA a very interesting non-city.

Did I do that without pissing anyone off?

I hope so… More later