One year... already?

It's hard to believe, but it was just over one year ago that I moved to Los Angeles.  One year in, and here are a bunch of random observations that I wanted to share with y'all:

• Sunshine and warm 80% of the time isn't so bad after all.
• There are a lot of people here.  A lot.
• I like being in a racially/ethnically/demographically mixed neighborhood - it feels more like an authentic American experience.
• Not sure why I feared driving, because now I love it.
• The Hollywood Bowl is hands down my favorite place to see a show.
• LA is a lot more densely populated than anyone gives it credit for - and yet it is still spread out just as much as everyone complains that it is.
• The majority of people are either working in "the entertainment business" or something connected to it.
• Any time of day, in any coffee shop anywhere in the city there will always be people buying coffee - where are they coming from?  Don't they have jobs?
• There's tons of great places to hike all within a short distance.
• I can afford living here, and I don't feel perpetually stressed out about my finances or rent or any of that.
• Hosting trivia two nights a week is a bit tiring but a hell of a lot of fun.
• I've made some great friends in the first year.
• Moving here is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
• It's both unsettling and kinda revealing to be surrounded by so many pretty people.
• I don't speak Spanish.
• I love showing my new home to friends - especially friends who have bad experiences of this city before coming to visit (this is true of many people, go figure).
• I've seen a few celebrities out and about, but far fewer than one would expect given that I live in Hollywood.
• The Hollywood sign is fun to look at - a great way to orient myself to where I am.
• I love my boyfriend.
• It's great having my own kitchen, especially since I love baking cookies.
• Putt putt golfing on an 85 degree day for my mid-January birthday is quite fun.
• I hate helicopters.
• I really hate smog - something I see far more often than I'd like and far less often than I expected.
• There are a lot of trees.
• Palm trees are like living fireworks, but their detritus is far more dangerous.
• People are very upbeat - perhaps it's the sunshine?

Yeah, that's just a short list.  :-)   In the past month, I started a new job and added a trivia night to my regimen to make it two nights a week.  Life is good.  I am happy, and I owe no small part of that happiness to my decision to take a risk and move to this crazy city to be near my boyfriend and try my hand at new things.  So far, it has paid off in ways I never could expect.