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The Indefinite Article.

Monday, July 17, 2006

trip to the US

At this time in just 7 more days, Karin, Ari, and I will be sitting in a plane somewhere over the Atlantic, heading towards San Antonio. It will be the first time in 5 years (!) that Karin and I have been back to the States, and the very first time (!!!) that Ari's ever been there. We're all looking forward to the trip. We're going to spend about a week in Texas, where we'll stay at my Mom's in San Antonio and travel around some from there. If anybody's interested in meeting up, let me know! After that we're heading out to LA, where we'll spend some time vacationing and, to some extent, working: I have to do some research for my dissertation, so I'll be heading to film archives, libraries, and meeting with professors some of the time that Karin and Ari can spend siteseeing and going to the beach. After about two weeks or so (including the time on the road, which we don't want to rush too much), we'll get back to Texas for another week or so, before Karin and Ari fly back to Germany. Then I'm going up to New York for a few days before flying out of there.
Apart from just informing you of our plans and seeing if anyone wants to meet up, I also have a more specific purpose in writing. We're not sure yet where we're going to stay in LA, and I'm not sure yet about NYC. I've been in touch with Ryan, who has a friend in LA who might be able to put us up, but this isn't sure yet. We've been looking at hostels and motels on the Internet, and found one in Torrance, but we're not sure about the area, etc. Ryan said he thought Paul was originally from Torrance. Is that right, Paul, and can you tell us anything about it? Or does anyone else have any ideas, connections, friends, etc. in the Los Angeles area? (We're not looking for a free place to stay, wewould definitely pay a reasonable amount to anyone willing to put us up for about 8 days between, roughly, August 5th and 14th.) And any ideas for New York? Any help would be appreciated in these last, hurried days of preparation. And hopefully we'll be able to see some of you while we're there.

posted by shane at 8:09 AM

8 Comments:

  • Hijoles Ryan emailed me about the Torrance connection but I failed to respond...

    Torrance would be an *barely acceptable* place to stay _if_ you just want to go to the beach and such. But if you plan on travelling into L.A. (to UCLA, or SC,etc) or beyond (north of) L.A. then Torrance is not so good of an option because traffic through L.A. at any hour is dense. You will spend 2 hours getting in and 2 hours getting out of L.A.

    My recommendation is that y'all try to find a place smack dab in the city. Public transit is better (metro, bus) so you could make it out to UCLA or to the museums or to the beach without an auto.

    By Blogger pablo, at 9:38 AM  

  • Hey Paul, thanks for the info. We're planning to rent a car, but we'll be sharing it and not always going to the same place. I suspect that Karin and Ari will want to spend the time at the beach, etc. when I'm working (UCLA, AMPAS archives, etc.). But we'll also definitely spend some time in LA proper together. So any recommendations (ZIP code or Google Maps link, for example) that might help me narrow down the search? Again, thanks a lot for your help.

    By the way, how are things going for you out in DC? Happen to feel like/have time to hook up in New York at the beginning of September?

    By Blogger shane, at 9:47 AM  

  • Shane, I've been planning a weekend trip to austin with my son (to give carol and bit of a break). Let me know the weekend you'll guys be in the area so i can solidify my plans. Maybe we can even gather up the gang and have a big breakfast bash (complete with breakfast burritos dripping with salsa) over at 'dolph's place.

    There's a kids museum downtown that we can take the boys to as well. So they can get a chance to run around.

    p.s. - i've recently been in touch with shani and lisa. i'll try and coordinate something with them as well.

    By Blogger Killy, at 11:26 AM  

  • Hi Killy,
    Breakfast burritos (I really, really miss Tex-Mex, however cliche it might be to say) and the kid's museum both sound like great ideas. It would either have to be the weekend of July 29-30 or August 19-20, but I don't think I'll be able to decide that until I get to Texas and find out what's going on (lots of family to meet, of course). Do you still have my email address (I can't seem to find yours)? Maybe you could drop me a line and we could try to make arrangements. Again, sounds like a great idea. I'm really looking forward to seeing you and your son.

    By Blogger shane, at 12:37 AM  

  • sorry shane, don't have your address; although, i could have sworn i had it. In any case you can send an email to one of these:

    killy72@earthlink.net
    adolfo.chavez@di.mdacc.tmc.edu

    The end of this month sounds great for me. Hopefully, you guys won't be too swamped with family to spend some time with friends. Shani has already expressed interest in meetin g up as well, but i haven't heard back from Lisa yet.

    By Blogger Killy, at 7:57 AM  

  • Paul, what would you say about Santa Monica? It's geographically closer to UCLA, etc., and there's beaches and pedestrian-friendly areas, but I'm not sure about getting into town from there. Like I said, we'll have a rental car, but should I avoid driving if possible? Do you know if there are bus/metro connections from Santa Monica, and would they be faster? (PS: In fact, I won't be in New York at the beginning of September like I said before, but only the last week of August. I know it's not THAT close to DC, but closer than anyone else. Anyway, if you have any time, let me know.)

    Killy, I'll drop you a line soon, and we'll talk more about getting together.

    By Blogger shane, at 1:06 PM  

  • Santa Monica would work out great, I think.

    There are bus connections downtown, plus beaches and plenty to do.

    I wish I could give you more info, but L.A. is vast and my experience is mostly with the east side...

    By Blogger pablo, at 1:30 PM  

  • Pablo
    I knew there was something Gangstah about you...

    By Blogger CarolinaDivina, at 8:22 AM  

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