No Time

I know I haven't updated in a long while. I have a long post I need to make about the 2nd salvage effort, but it's so daunting and there are so many pictures that I need to go through that it's prevented me from posting the small things. I've been on the road for the past week, and I leave on Wednesday for Japan (this is the vacation that I planned and bought tickets for about 2 weeks prior to the fire). Life is hectic, but it's a good hectic when I'm traveling. I'll be off the grid until I return.

Hollywood

My old apartment complex is famous.

You can see it in 0:07-0:09 of this trailer. With Christopher Walken! Thanks Miguel :)

Salvage Day Part Deux

We're getting another "salvage" attempt soon. I use quotation marks because I don't think there's too much else worth salvaging in my unit, but I'm using the opportunity to a) take a lot more pictures, b) have a chance to do some directed searching for a few specific items, now that I've had a chance to think about it, and c) say goodbye.

Exhausted

I got less than two hours of sleep last night. I just couldn't sleep. I must have spent a good 5 hours in bed, with my eyes closed, trying (and failing) to relax. It made work today extremely painful.

So, in an effort to treat myself a little better, I:

1. Took a 2 hour nap immediately after work
2. Watched two episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia with Lani
   
3. Took a long bath and a long shower
4. Used some of the lavender oil my mother sent me
5. Swore off alcohol and caffeine (well, maybe 1 cup of tea a day...) for the immediate future
   
6. Am going to 6am hot yoga tomorrow morning, will continue as-needed to detox
   

I'm hoping this will do the trick. And with that, I'm out.

Things I Am Incredibly Grateful For (Part 1 of ...?)

• My wonderful family.
• My fabulous friends who are scattered across the globe.
• My mother, who clearly spent a lot of time and effort putting together the most awesome care packages.
• Lani, who has given me ROCK SOLID strength, support, humor, and dance parties in a town where I have no family and few friends.
• Everyone at work for their overwhelming generosity and understanding.
• The tenants of 1410 Central SW, all of whom I have come to know or know better. Even though they might not realize it, they are all helping me understand and cope in different ways.
• All of the awesome people who have come into my life since the fire.
• Barbara and Dolores and the rest of the neighborhood folks who have volunteered through the blood sweat and tears (literally!) to help all of the tenants out.
• The kindness of strangers.
• Knowing how it feels to be homeless.
• Knowing how it feels to be dependent on the generosity of others.

It's a start...

Cause of Origin

Everyone wants to know what started the fire. I really can't say too much about this right now. The official report from the city did come out, but the conclusion was that the cause of origin was indeterminate (due to the fact that the city investigators weren't able to safely access the evidence they needed).

Unofficially, I think everyone involved recognizes that it was an electrical fire. And I will reserve any further comment on this subject for a later time.

First Books

My first books are in my bedroom. I ordered them from Amazon before the fire, and fortunately it took long enough for the packages to get through the postal system to miss the fire. I recently picked them up at the post office where they are keeping our mail for us.

They are:

• Time Out Tokyo
• Lonely Planet Japan
• Langenscheidt's Japanese Pocket Dictionary

I'm going to Tokyo on October 7. There is something about touching and smelling my first new books that is incredibly satisfying.