ives

Well kids,

IT'S FRIDAY! I love Fridays because they make me feel so happy. Its one of the few spurts of excitement that I get regulalry so Im really stoked right now.

Anyway, so I recently started reading Harry Potter and what else can I say, other than Im hooked? I seriously avoided reading the books because I thought they were going to be just another fad; not the awesome creative books they are. Another reason is the fact that Im 21 and Im slightly embarassed to say that I really really love the Harry Potter series...ha ha.

SO, I like to think of myself as pretty much self sufficient and all that jazz. This is true, for most things expect when it comes to me being street smart; Im essentially retarded in that department. Ive been swindled by bums who've kept my change after Ive asked them to buy me liquor.. the list goes on.

In LA's fantastic metro system consisting of four trains, yes four, I have the lovely journey through Watts, Compton, and several other quaint towns along my route. All four lines run through their respective shitty parts but my train (The Blue Line) reigns supreme in scaring the shit out of me and putting me in precarious situations EVERY GODDAMN DAY. Now, normally when I see a crazy person flailing their arms about, i will cross the street and maybe walk a little faster. Unfortunately, for me, this cannot be done when a train is montion and said crazy person is sitting five seats away from you. I usually look out the window and pretend to be looking at something really exciting; I think at some point I will see, I dont know, a building in the distance and I will make myself focus on it so much that i will actually tune said crazy people out. It's really sad actually as Im usually scared theyre going to come and scream at me at which point my heart would probably stop beating.

Mind you, I never rode the train prior to this so I have no expeirence with this. Yesterday, on my way home, the train was rather empty which is good, as I hate sitting nex to strangers. gross. Of course, leave it to chance that three bums walk in and manage to sit right in front of me. Empty seats to the left or three open seats in front of the guy reading Harry Potter? Ta-da.

As they sit down there's an overwhelming musk of alcohol and B.O. Absolutely horrible...just like revolting. I try to supress the smell by breathing through my mouth and I try to pretend that Im blithly unaware at the fact that theyre upset an screaming. The girl begins to double over in her seat as she slowly loses her seat because she's apparently fallen asleep mid conversation, unbeknownst to the other two guys. One then takes out a bottle of alcohol and takes a swig on the train. It's almost too funny at this point because they're in no way tryin to be discreet...nope fuck that, I have to drink.

Sometimes, when I walk onto the train I truly feel that I'm being Punk'd. There is a man with thick ass dreads down to his ass, wrapped in sheets, and carrying a bag containing his life on my left, and a crazy homeless broad that smells like a sewer on my right. Where to go? It's standing room only? I go towards the bohemian looking guy and stand there as a woman with a Bulgarian accent -a thick Bulgarian accent- begins to question said bohemian man

"Arrent you colde"?
-"No"
"We Bullgarriens arre alwayz colde. Ther is a story of de Bullgarian man that wus put into the pot by the devil. De Devil took a Bullgarian and he put him in pot and then put lid on pot. He let de man cook for three dayz. When he went to check on de man, he open top to look and man goes 'hey close da top, you let draft in'. We Bullgarians are alwayz colde."

HAHA I seriously never have dull moment on the train. Im always running into funny people like the inmates i took for Med students. There was a group of young kids dressed all in white and I thought "wow, med students, what a rowdy bunch". Yeah, not so much. More like county inmates JUST released. Lovette nearly died from laughing at me but hey I dont know any of that shit, haha...

So, let's see...what's new with me?

- Toby the cat has turned out to be a lot better than I initially expected. He does like a lot of attention and his incessant meowing makes me want to hit him, but he is well behaved and doesnt cause much trouble. This morning, however, he did piss on the carpet which had me chasing him around the apt so I could reprimand him for it. I really dont know why he did it. He has a litter box and he always uses it but today, apparently, he didn't care.

- We're currently bringing our online fufillment in house, which means we will be personally sending out your shop goodies from here. The other company that we were using was highly inefficient and the sole reason why things weren't on shedule. I'm very happy to know that we will oversee everything that goes on and not rely on someone else. This will bring my stress levels DOWN a lot. No stress make Ivan happy ::grunt::

- This weekend should be fun. My friend Diana just passed the California Bar so she will be throwing some champagne masquerade thing at the Wilshire Royale, so Im totally there. Also, this Sunday, I will have the lovely Lovette & Kerosin come over for some beach side lounging and drinking-mostly drinking. If any of you want to come let me know! I really can't wait for the summer to come back. Im going to love it this year! I haven't had a chance to really bask in beachside living because the weather here has been gay.

P.S. Bee made the office pancakes today. Jealous?