Back in the big smoke

So I moved back to LA last week. I have rented a room in a house through AirBNB in Mar Vista, just above Santa Monica and Venice, and I think it is fair to say it is not what I was expecting at all. I won't bore you with the details, but I will ensure that I ask a lot more questions the next time I do something like this and also visit the property if I possibly can.

So me not liking my digs has meant a lot of time out of the house!

This week I have seen 4 movies: Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 (worth seeing if you have seen the others) Silver Linings Playbook (enjoyable exploration about mental health and some solid performances from De Niro and Cooper) Killing Them Softly (Not sure whether to laugh or not at this - very dark in the vein of 7 psychopaths...) and Flight (Denzel Washington superb as ever as an alcoholic Flight Captain).

I went to the Annenberg Space for Photography where this is a great exhibition on about indigenous populations, taken by a number of international photographers. A lot of the photos they had taken over the past 30 years showed ways of life that have died out since they took the photos which was a pretty sobering thought. The people from Mongolia were the most fascinating for me, hunting with eagles, riding reindeer and playing with bears.

We went to a lovely little college town on Saturday, Claremont, to celebrate my friend's birthday. It was all cutesy shops like something out of St Elmo's Fire. Jazz and fondue were the options for the evening, both of which I enjoyed. I bought the singer's CD to accompany my Neil Sedaka CD for the car (I can't wait for my parents to bring some new CDs over).

I have been to the gym almost every day this week, and I can confirm that Santa Monica Super Sport gym has the hottest men I have seen to date in a 24 hour Fitness. I, of course, look an utter state, sweating, breathing heavily and no make up on with scraped back hair. How people pull at the gym, I will never know!!!

I also went to the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood with a couple I met in Palm Springs, and we caught 'It's a Wonderful Life'. 

Like a scene out of the Muppets/Gremlins

Enormous Screen

I had only been outside the cinema to admire the hand prints of stars, so it was wonderful to go inside!

The auditorium was pretty dramatic, and the audience joined in the movie with gusto! Waaaaay more vocal than us Brits at the cinema. It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit, and if you haven't seen this movie already, you MUST see it this Christmas...

Sings tunefully "And dance by the light of the moon..."