As you may have gathered from the last few posts, and I can't figure out how to make my laptop like Chris's Batman DVD. Oh well.

LA is... warm. And when you look out the (numerous, large) windows in Nikki's house in the early morning (because you're Mel, and can't sleep) you see these rolling yellow hills, dotted with wiry green trees and thin stalks that explode into palm trees at the top. There are houses piercing the hills, and at night the sunsets are blood-red, and then trillions of lights turn on as far as you can see so that it looks like someone ripped a bag of pixie dust across the city.

There are hummingbirds. They hover. Standing outside watching the sunset as these little zippy things dart to the feeder a couple of feet from your head is... I'm not sure how to describe this, so I'm just going to jump up and down and wave my arms happily and hope that gets the point across.

(Update: Several hours have passed since I started, and there is no longer a Nikki on the couch, but I have library books on system administration, plus face wash. Also, the dishes have been done.)

I learned how to play Magic from Nikki's brother Pat, and lost gloriously (curse that regeneration card!) I also lost card games, board games, and stuff on the Wii. I'm cognizant that partaking in recreational gaming more often would make me lose not quite so badly, but I don't actually mind. We got ice cream, Nikki got a haircut, I did not buy a hat, and we walked around in Old Pasadena with Wayne and it rained. There were fish tacos; I got an ASL dictionary.

Also, tortas in Los Angeles are vastly improved over the wimpy overpriced things passed out under the same name at Taste of Chicago this summer. I learned when to stop eating an artichoke, and that cats vibrate when they purr. (Also that having a cat purring on your lap as the sun rises on the sci-fi book you're reading is very, very nice.) It was a good week; I also read some woodworking books, and there were pears. This week was awesome. I need to send a thank-you book.

I suppose I'll get a haircut, go to the party, hang out for a while, be confused, come back home, maybe clean a little bit, and sleep. There are a number of things I could do tomorrow, but I will, among them, attempt to get myself into a state wherein I can learn some PHP (side project; you'll see it here if it works out). Maybe I'll go look at some houses. Maybe I'll get some groceries, because I don't think I'll be very happy surviving on a jar of chopped garlic for a week. I'll probably play piano; I'll probably (finally) organize my bookshelves and find out why my stereo doesn't work. I should go through my bank statement, but I don't want to. But I will anyway.

It will be nice someday to live in a house with a garbage disposal, dishwasher, in-unit laundry, more warmth, and people. Maybe some animals. A big kitchen. A lot of books. An X10 system. Mostly the people, though. And workshops I can build things in.

I can't think coherently in English anymore, so I'll just go and get that haircut now.