Pork Rollin' Recap

What a crazy few weeks this has been! So the whole blogging while moving plan didn't work out very well. We put in some long days driving and then some technical difficulties got in the way. Once I got back to Jersey, I expected to have time to get settled and used to life on the East Coast. Then I went in to work on Friday to get fingerprinted and finish my paperwork and by the time I got home Friday I got a call telling me I'm starting on Monday. Here's a recap of Team Pork Roll's first few days on the road. More to come...

Monday, April 18th 

Team Pork Roll headed out of L.A. - first stop Vegas!

The hungry (and thirsty) team members hit up Margaritaville where Amy and I were hit by the Perfect Margarita. Damn, those drinks were good...and strong!

Fueled by the Perfect Margarita, I was determined to go see the pirate show at Treasure Island and the fountains at the Bellagio. Tony and Amy joined me on my drunken trek. Meanwhile, Pat went to the casino and was the only one to actually win something. 

Tuesday, April 19th

We headed out of Vegas and soon left civilization. Driving through Utah was just amazing. There were miles and miles of giant red rock formations and barely another soul around. At times we were the only 2 cars on the road. Unbelievable!

The original plan was to get to Denver on Tuesday - but good sense prevailed and we stopped in Grand Junction, Colorado for the night. It was my first full day of driving and I was beat. We all quietly sat around at dinner, barely able to put sentences together.

Wednesday, April 20th
On through the Rockies Wednesday morning.Another day of amazing mountain views, complete with snow and skiers.

My dear friends Heather and Charlie were Team Pork Roll's Denver tour guides. We didn't make it to Denver in time to go to a Rockies game but we did get a chance to go by the stadium.Then on to a local brewery where they have Silver Back ale, which explains the gorilla statue!

Dodger Dogs

Sunday - Part 2
After brunch, we headed out to Dodger's Stadium where we had awesome VIP seats thanks to Garry Marshall.

Dodger Dogs- grilled, not boiled!

The Dodgers and Cardinals were tied at 0 for most of the game. The Cardinals scored 1 in the 9th inning, then the Dodgers scored 2 in the end of the ninth for the win!

We had plenty to do after the game - more furniture moving and packing up the cars. Just 12 hours left in LA!

The Pork-Rollin' Has Begun

Team Pork-Roll has been rollin' for a few days now - here's what we've been up to.
Sunday - Part 1

Team Pork-Roll: Me, brother Tony, cousin Amy & Pat

Team Pork-Roll joined my LA family for one last champagne brunch. We enjoyed good food and time with friends. I cried, but just a little.  

Champagne bruuuunnnncccchh! 

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's my last day in L.A. and I still can't believe I'm leaving! The last week has felt like a fun vacation with family members and friends visiting. The only thing that's different is that most of my belongings are in boxes and my apartment is practically empty. I think it may hit me a few weeks from now that I've actually left L.A. Probably when I'm working at my new job, looking for an apartment in New York and complaining about how cold it is in NJ in May.

Team Pork Roll is Complete
Tony and Pat arrived on Thursday after driving for 5 days from NJ. Or, I guess it would be more accurate to say Pat drove for 5 days while Tony got to sight-see from the passenger side.

We headed right over to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles for dinner - a perfect "welcome to L.A." meal. A waffle covered in butter and syrup paired with a crispy piece of fried chicken - sounds disgusting, tastes delicious! They also had some of the best mac & cheese I've ever had! (Mental note: look in to why I talk more about food than anything else in this blog, after I finish breakfast.)

Friday we stopped by the San Antonio Winery in downtown L.A. to stock up on wine - because you can't have too much wine when you're driving cross country. Then to lunch at the House of Pies (yes mom, we went to the House of Pies without you) where our waiter was overly enthusiastic about everything Pat ordered - "the fried pickles, they're my favorite!" "key lime pie, oh you tease me!". We ended the night celebrating Deirdre's birthday with drinks and red velvet cake at the Blue Room.

Team Pork Roll's final member, cousin Amy, arrived yesterday afternoon. To help her get on West Coast time, we decided to keep Amy up past her bedtime by going to see the L.A. Derby Dolls last night. We told her if she couldn't stay awake she was going to have to put on some skates and join a roller derby team! We watched the Sirens with team members Amber Alert and Mourning Wood defeat the Broadzilla, Tara Armov and the rest of the Fight Team.

This morning we'll go to Mo's for one last champagne brunch with my friends. Then, to a Dodger's game where we have VIP seats 10 rows off the field. And we'll end the day moving out the rest of the furniture and packing the cars. Busy, busy, busy!

Parties, Pork Roll, Princesses and Ponies

The last few days have been pretty busy - full of parties, pork roll, princesses and ponies. My cousin Chris and her 5 year old daughter Emily arrived on Saturday afternoon. We had just enough time to have a bite to eat before I left for my going away party.
Here's a little re-cap of what we've been up to.

Party Time! 

Margarita machine, Eduardo the burro pinata, and me - hard to tell who was most popular at the party!

Saturday night my amazing friends Erin and Matt hosted the Hasta la Vista Fiesta. Erin was in Margaritaville all night long - keeping us supplied with tasty drinks. Eduardo, the burro pinata, was hiding some adult goodies - lottery tickets, candy cigarettes, condoms, water pistols and, of course, Jesus themed games. There was a full house all night with friends eating, drinking and being merry. What a great way to say "see you later" to all my wonderful L.A. peeps!

Somehow I was sober at the end of the party and decided to go back home rather than spending the night at the Matthews'. I get home around 2 a.m., open the door slowly, trying my best to be quiet and  not wake Chris and Emily. The door opens a few inches and then stops - the chain lock is on the door! Now what?! I call Chris's name a few times, there's no response. I head over to my neighbor Emilie's place, thinking maybe I can crash on her couch, but there are no signs of life. I open the door again, squeeze my arm in and start working on breaking into my own apartment,  the whole time praying that Chris and Emily don't wake up and see my hand reaching in through the open door. I got it open in just a few minutes - a feat both miraculous and frightening! As I make my way to my room Emily opens her eyes, "Hi, Jessie!". "Hi honey. Go back to sleep, it's late". What a night!

Pork Roll

Chris, Emily and I headed to the Farmers' Market on Sunday for some lunch and the best crepes Chris has ever had. There, in the middle of the Farmers' Market, is a butcher that sells pork roll! If I had learned of this earlier, I wouldn't have had to travel all the way back to Jersey for it! Tacos for lunch and damn good crepes for dessert.

We went over to Santa Monica beach where Emily entertained herself picking up driftwood and seaweed while Chris and I chilled (literally, it was cool and breezy) on the sand. We came across a guy on the pier with his pet parrots. Emily got to take some pictures with them - highlight of her day!

Princesses

Disneylaaaaannnnddddd!! Yesterday was a blast! We weren't in the park more than 5 minutes when Emily got to meet Cinderella, the princess she was dressed as. I think the grown ups were more excited about Emily going on the "big girl rides" like Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain for the first time than she was. She earned herself some cotton candy after Big Thunder and after Space Mountain, she made a request for a "soft" ride. Erin and Matt voted Emily "coolest kid ever" - she was so awesome! Her favorite ride of the day - It's a Small World - I guess you can't go wrong with the classics.

Ponies

After a very long day at Disneyland, Chris and I needed a nice "soft" day today. We went to Griffith Park where there is lots of open space for kids to run free. Emily rode the ponies and then spent hours at a playground while Chris & I sunned ourselves. Being with a child is exhausting!

I'll take Chris and Emily to the airport early tomorrow morning, then spend the day to getting things ready for Tony and Pat's arrival. They're in Amarillo, Texas tonight and should be in L.A. in a few days. I still can't believe I have less than a week left in L.A.!

 

Full Circle

I'm enjoying the calm before the storm, my last day of solitude before the moving extravaganza begins. It's funny to be on the cusp of a major life change. It makes you think about where you started, where you've been, what's changed. When I arrived in L.A. I was so done with New York. After living in the New York/New Jersey area for most of my life, I was exhausted by the rat race. I needed space. I wanted to explore new ground, have some adventures.

Living in L.A. was definitely new ground and I have had plenty of adventures. I built a great network of friends, my surrogate family, who has made my life here so wonderful. We created our routines - girls' nights, happy hours, champagne brunches - all of which usually included plenty of alcohol to make life a little better. I explored my adopted home state - driving up and down the coast, stopping in places from San Francisco to San Diego,  Needles to the Salton Sea. I started working at UCLA, went to grad school, got a Master's degree in Public Health. I went to Brazil, Costa Rica, and Argentina and returned to Venezuela after a 10 year hiatus.  Looking back on the past seven years I have to say, "not too shabby!"

Tomorrow my family arrives, the family that's waited seven years for my return. All of these adventures have prepared me to go back home, ready for the next chapter, new adventures.  A week from now I'll be packing my last few boxes and heading back east. The plan is to be back in New Jersey by Easter Sunday - interesting because I first visited L.A. on Easter Sunday 2004. East to West and back East - Full Circle.

Moving is Exhausting!

I'm tired! Every time I get a few minutes to write, I sit down to "rest my eyes". Next thing I know, I have couch marks on my face, a drool stain on my shirt and two hours have disappeared!

Planning a move is exhausting enough, but I'm not just planning a move - I'm coordinating a cross country pork-rolling team, plus a going-away extravaganza complete with visiting guest stars, my cousin Chris and her 5 year old, Emily.  No wonder I'm tired!

Team pork-roll's travel plans are nearing completion. Team members Anthony and Pat are scheduled to leave Jersey next Sunday, the 11th. They'll take 4 or 5 days to roll on out to L.A. In the meantime, Chris and Emily get here on the 9th and will keep me company for my final week in L.A. We'll hit the beach, Disneyland and be all touristy for a few days.  Chris leaves on Wednesday, Tony and Pat arrive on Thursday, but the family parade doesn't end there. Team pork-roll's final member, cousin Amy, flies in to L.A. on Saturday - just in time to start rolling.

The plan is to leave on Monday the 18th, first stop Vegas! We'll hit up a buffet, maybe play some slots, win a little extra gas money. We'll have to be sure not to enjoy ourselves too much because we've gotta hit the road early Tuesday morning.

Tuesday will take us through southern Utah, where we will appreciate the natural beauty of Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park from the car while burning rubber on the way to Colorado. Denver is the next stop where original High Street Gang member Heather and her fiance Charlie have generously offered to put Team Pork Roll up for the night.

We'll then be rolling through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania before reaching the pork roll promise land. 

What are some things we should see and do while on the road? Any favorite road trip games?

Moving is exhausting, so please support team pork-roll any way you can!

Lasts and Firsts

Lately I've been thinking a lot about lasts - my last days with friends in LA, my last meal at a certain restaurant, my last visit to favorite places - and it's a little depressing! Here's the story about my first trip to LA - to perk things up a bit.

I had never been to LA when I was applied for a job with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in 2004. I knew very little about the city but I needed a change and I was up for a new adventure. I knew only one person here, Deirdre, a friend from college who I hadn't seen in five years. I flew to LA for a final interview and was spending just three days here. Three days to go to the interview, find a place to live and decide if I wanted to move to LA.

I arrived at LAX around lunch time on Easter Sunday, rented a car and braved the infamous LA freeways. I liked what I saw, beaches, mountains, palm trees - it kind of reminded me of Merida, Venezuela, a city that I lived in a few years earlier.  It was nothing like the "Newark with palm trees" my father remembered from his only visit in the 1980's. I made it to Marina del Rey, had lunch at a trendy cafe on the beach, feeling very sure that this was the place for me.

I headed to the apartment that I found online - a beautiful place near the beach, with a pool, gym, and, based on the pictures in their ad,  blond-haired, blue-eyed surfer dudes hanging out in their board shorts. I was assured that the staff would be working on Easter Sunday and were happy to show me around the complex. I pulled in to parking lot, made my way to the manager's office, only to find a handwritten sign taped to the door "Closed for Easter". Really?!

I called Deirdre, stressed and teary, to tell her that I was standing in the parking lot of my dream home and it was closed. Where was I going to live? What was I going to do? "Come to my place," she says, "I have leftovers from Easter brunch. And you should check out the apartment next door to me, the girl just moved out. Oh, and I'm heading to Neve Campbell's house in the Hollywood Hills later. You should come along!" Really?! Easter brunch leftovers, an apartment next door to my only LA friend, and a chance to hang out at a real actor's house in Hollywood - things were definitely looking up!

A few years later I happened to be in Marina del Rey, right by the apartment I thought was my dream home. Sure, it was beautiful and close to the beach but, what a different LA experience I would have had if that manager's office had been open. I don't think I would have had such a wonderful time in LA, especially in my first couple of years, if it wasn't for Deirdre taking me under her wing and introducing me to so many fabulous people and places. It's funny how things work out.

Falcon, Farewell

Years ago, I was looking for a part time job to make some extra cash. My friend Deirdre was working at the Falcon Theatre and they were looking for a house manager. I was soon hired and spent many evenings and weekends in the Falcon lobby, selling $1 candies, chatting with the box office crew, Gordon, Amanda and Scott, and getting to know the ushers and patrons. Last night I worked my final opening night party and brought my 5 year stint as a Falcon employee to a close. 

Every few months, a new show opens at the Falcon and I would join Sherry and Brigitta, and, more recently Chelsea and Joe, to work the opening night party. We are the caterers, bartenders, photographers and clean-up crew for the night. Mix a little wine and cheese with Falcon patrons and you have a fun (and exhausting) experience. I start my evening defrosting shrimp and skillfully arranging them in dazzling displays. Sherry's secret recipe bbq meatballs are always a big hit. (I now know the secret recipe, but I'm not telling!) Pair those meatballs with brie cheese, put them on some mini Hawaiian sweet rolls - amazing!

Once the party gets started, we hang out behind the bar, pouring drinks and people watching. There are always some interesting characters - like the reviewer who hoards shrimp in his jacket pockets. Soon the meatball pan is empty, the champagne has run dry and the crowd thins out. But, the night's not over for us yet. Like zombies we start the clean up. Half-eaten shrimp and broken crackers get dumped in the trash. As the clock ticks past midnight, we're doing dishes in the slop sink. Inevitably,  stories about the Falcon ghost come up while we're working backstage in the empty theatre. Unexplained sounds of tap dancers and sightings of ghostly figures late at night make us wash those dishes a little faster.

Last night I was looking at posters of all the shows I worked through the years, remembering the actors I got to meet. Everyone from Tony Danza to Joe McIntyre (I got him soup from Bob's Big Boy), Sally Struthers, Joe Mantegna, Yeardly Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson), Hector Elizando, Zac Ephron and, of course, the Troubies. One of my favorite star encounters was when Slash from Guns and Roses came to see a show with his family. He asked me to watch his son for a minute while he ran out to the car to get the diaper bag!

When I think of the Falcon, the theatre's owner, Garry Marshall, creator of classic t.v. series like "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley", director of some of my favorite movies including "Pretty Woman", comes to mind.  I picture Garry coming in on Sunday afternoons after a softball game, still in his uniform, looking like a fun-loving grandpa. He would ask for Hershey bar, pay full price for his candy ( $1 as opposed to the employee price of 50 cents), and head in the theatre to watch the show. It makes me smile just remembering those moments. What a great opportunity it has been to be part of the Falcon family but now it's time to bid the Falcon farewell.

A girl cannot survive on pork roll alone

My friend Emilie and I went to the Smokehouse for dinner the other night. The Smokehouse has been around for more than 50 years and is right across the street from Warner Brothers studios. It's an L.A. institution - Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and many more, enjoyed the house special garlic cheese bread and prime rib. The bread has this other-worldly orange glow to it which I'm sure is what makes it so tasty!

Emilie grew up in L.A. and has fond memories of entering the dark wood-paneled dining room, sinking in to the red leather booth, anxiously awaiting dinner with her family. I had never been there and thoroughly enjoyed my first, and possibly only, trip to the Smokehouse.

My visit to the Smokehouse got me thinking about other classic L.A. eateries. I've been to some - Pink's, the Pantry, Musso & Frank's, Canter's deli. And I plan to visit others, like Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles and Clifton's cafeteria, before I leave L.A. I only have 26 days left - that's 78 meals, plus snacks and desserts. Where else should I eat? What are some of your classic L.A. restaurants? A girl cannot survive on pork roll alone!

30 Day Notice

I gave Sargiss, my landlord, my 30 day notice today. I've been living in this same apartment for 7 years, the entire time I have lived in L.A., and now I have just 30 days left. This is the longest I have lived in one place since my childhood. I absolutely love this place - great space, location, neighbors. I can't believe my days here are numbered!

It's a weird feeling. Knowing that life is changing but still being in your routine. Waking up in the morning and looking out my bedroom window seeing palm trees, the Griffith Park observatory and the lemon tree. Coming home every day, pulling in the driveway, trying to not hit the side of the house with the car. Hearing Sasquatch, the homeless dude across the street, go on his senseless screaming rants. Seeing grandma, the world's best security guard, peek through the blinds, watching everyone coming and going. Smelling the bbq being fired up in the back, lamb sizzling, neighbors downing vodka and signing in Armenian. Spending hours in Emilie's place, late-night discussions fueled by 2 buck chuck.

I feel like I should be out and about in LA, doing all sorts of fabulous LA-type things, living up my final days here. Instead, I'm on the couch, wrapped in my snuggie, clearing out the DVR and enjoying day number 30 doing nothing in particular. It seems fitting to spend as much time as I can enjoying my little corner of the world on Avocado St. 

Pork Roll Hits the Road

In my 7 years in LA, pork roll was the one east coast food that I missed more than anything. Its tasty, juicy, porkiness was unmatched by any other meat product. It's indescribable - kind of like Canadian bacon, with a hint of salami and a whole lot of yum! Put it on a hard roll with a fried egg, cheese, salt, pepper and ketchup - heaven for breakfast!

Every trip back to Jersey, I would pack pounds of pork roll in my carry-on bag making for very interesting conversations with airport security guards. As my bag goes through the X-ray machine there would be a slight hesitation, the conveyor belt would back-up, bringing the bag back through the scanner, then the puzzled looks and a "miss, we need to go through your bag." They would open the bag to find a frozen log of pork product. "It's pork roll," I say "they don't sell it in L.A." Knowingly nodding, the guard places the pork roll back in my bag. "You don't know how many people come through here with that in their bags everyday." "I can only imagine!", I say while repacking my bag and heading to catch my flight.

Soon, I will be leaving the pork-roll-less land of Los Angeles and returning to the motherland of New Jersey. My brother Anthony and his friend Pat will also proudly represent the Traveling Team Pork Roll. Join us on a memorable journey  pork-rolling from coast to coast!