Going to Las Vegas tonight, for a long weekend of all kinds of badness. Will return on Monday. I'll post pictures, etc, when I get back.

Yesterday I went to my first ever baseball game. For the benefit of my family (who as far as I know have never been to a baseball game either - it's a virtually non-existent sport in the uk), the rules are similar to the game "rounders" that we used to play in school. How ironic... The most popular sport in England (football/soccer) is played mostly by girls over here, and one of the most popular sports over here is played by small children in the UK.

Anyway, we watched the game which was between the Angels and a team from Seattle called the Mariners. I enjoyed the game very much and there was a really good atmosphere. A few observations I made.

• It seems like more of an excuse for a family day out than a sporting event. People had newborn babies and small children there. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. It is just that I can only compare it to going to a football match in the UK. There is no way you would dream of taking a baby to a match. The reason for this being that, if it cried and disturbed the yob sitting in front of you, he would probably take a break from yelling obscenities at the players, to eat the aforementioned baby and wash it down with a couple of pints of beer before belching loudy and returning his regularly scheduled programming.
• There doesn't seem to be any real animosity between the opposing fans. There were Angels and Mariner's fans milling around the parking lot together after the game. Steve's friend who came with us, even poked fun at a Mariner's fan who took it all in good humour. Had he been at a Manchester United game, he probably would have started a riot.
• There is some serious gluttony going on at the games. Case in point... Steve managed to wash down; 3 nasty ballpark hotdogs, a large bag of crackerjack (caramel covered popcorn with peanuts) and half a large bag of shell-on peanuts, with 5 beers.


To see Angels pics, click here

I have only met a few so far and this seems to be a developing trend. I hope this doesn't say something about me, and I hope that the locals don't think we are all like Colin (who has his birthday party tomorrow - so who knows what offensive crap he'll come out with. I am filled with enthusiasm. Can't you tell?) and the lady I met at the gym last night. I started talking to her and she was such a snob. She asked where I lived and I said San Pedro. She then immediately asked me if I was from the part of San Pedro that was near the Trump Golf Course, which markets itself as being very "exclusive". Donald Trump, the egotistical bastard, even tried to get the street it's on renamed from Ocean Trails Drive to Trump National Drive. However, the locals kicked up a fuss. Good for them. :-) These people have to learn that you can't have it 100% your way, just because you have money. Anyway, I replied,

"Well it is a couple of miles away, but yes it is fairly close."

The part of San Pedro I was living was was of great significance to her as half of San Pedro is extremely beautiful yet still has a friendly vibe about it. The other half is, well how can I put it... A dump. :-) I have a feeling that, had I given her the wrong answer, she wouldn't have given me the time of day. She was from South Yorkshire originally though - so if you happen to be an English person reading this - you will know that she has zero reason to feel superior. She then bragged about her daughter moving to Rancho Palos Verdes, which is a pricy area along the coast, but she didn't just say,

"My daughter has just moved to Palos Verdes".

No, she said,

"My daughter has just moved to a large home in Palos Verdes."

Same thing when describing her husband's job. He didn't work for an engineering company. He worked for a large, international engineering company with offices all around the world. Think Hyacinth Bouquet/Bucket from "Keeping up Appearances", with a South Yorkshire accent, badly masked by an affected version of the Queen's English. I stood there and listened, at first trying not to look amused, and later in the (one way) dialogue, trying not to yawn whilst thinking, "piss off you stuck up bitch".

As you can probably tell, I'm feeling rather catty today. Miaow!

On a less bitchy note, Steve and I went to the Ports O'Call restaurant, which is right beside the Harbour, and shared Cioppino whilst sitting outside and watching the boats. In was a full moon last night and since I have been in the US, we have made a point of going to dinner on the evening of every full moon, to a restaurant where we can sit outside and watch the moon come up (before I get on my broomstick and start flying around). It's one of life's simple pleasures.

It was Steve's birthday on Monday, July 24. I won't broadcast his age on here, because he probably wouldn't appreciate it - and because he tells everybody who doesn't know better that he's 35. ;-). Because his birthday fell on a weekday, we decided to celebrate on Sunday and went out to brunch at the Ports O'Call restaurant in San Pedro. If you live nearby and have never been there, I would highly recommend it.

I'm not usually a fan of buffets, as I find that they have large amounts of average quality food aimed at feeding the masses. This is fine, if you see value for money as being able to stuff your face until you can't move with bland crap, but not so much if you are looking for a reasonable quantity of nice, tasty, food. This is where Ports O'Call restaurant is different. The food is excellent. There is an amazing selection too. As well as the traditional breakfast type foods, you can also get sushi, other fresh seafood and custom made fajitas and stir-fries. It is a little pricey at $29.95 a head, but you get unlimited champagne with your meal too. Oh, and I forgot, there are no laws against gluttony at Ports O'Call either. Right, Steve? :-) We asked our neighbours Bill and Jacque (no it is not a gay couple... Jacque is a woman, pronounced Jackie) to join us. This was originally going to be my birthday treat for Steve, but Bill and Jacque insisted on paying, which was very nice of them. They have known Steve for a long time and they had no idea what to get him as a gift.

When we got back I made Steve a birthday cake, which I must confess was more for my benefit than his. :-) I have an allergy to both milk and wheat, so I bought a gluten free mix and used rice milk and a non-dairy butter substitute (this is delicious, by the way and you cannot tell that it is non-dairy) in the recipe. This was so I didn't have to miss out on the treats completely.

The next day, on his actual birthday, I went to the mall to see if I could find anything for his birthday present. I couldn't find anything remotely exciting for him (I got quite a few things for myself, but that's another story…). I ended up buying him clothes, which he couldn't really care less about, so I decided to spoil him with food instead, which gave him great pleasure. :-) I made gluten and dairy free pizza for dinner which, although Steve has no allergies, he requested anyway because it really does taste as good as the regular stuff. If anyone is interested, I can post the ingredients and recipe... I also bought apple pie and ice cream, which Steve prefers anyway, but are out of bounds to me. This brings to mind a conversation we had yesterday;

Me: Would you like a piece of birthday cake with your cup of tea?
Him: No, I've had enough cake. I'm really not a cake person... (he pauses and doesn't sound convinced of this)
Me: You had to eat half the cake to realise this? (trying not to laugh)
Him: Stop making fun of me! I can't help being greedy. (trying not to laugh as well)

Funny thing is, there's not an ounce of extra fat on him. He works out, but not enough to get away with the amount he eats. Must be good genes, I guess.

Steve and I were supposed to go out to The Blue Cafe in Long Beach tonight. A couple of women we know, I hesitate to say friends because I barely know them, called and invited us out for dinner last night. I'll call them A and B. They were supposed to be meeting us on their way back from San Diego tonight.

Anyway at 4.45pm (bearing in mind that we were supposed to meet them at 6.30pm) I got a call from A to tell me that they were at a party at a friend's house last night and her car was impounded, therefore she wouldn't be able to get back from San Diego until her mother was able to pick up the car. I thought, ok, so you're telling me you had to wait until about an hour and a half before we were supposed to meet to tell me this. I have a class I usually go to tonight that I have missed... Even if your car had been impounded - which I seriously doubt - you would have known first thing this morning that you couldn't make it. There was no reason for you to wait this long to let us know. I suspect you have had a better offer. I'm not stupid and you have pulled this kind of crap before.

However the point is; had you called me soon after you found out your car had been impounded, then I wouldn't have rearranged my plans for you. Also my husband who is actually very busy at work right now, is coming home early, just so we can meet you.

Obviously our time is less important that yours

I know Steve will tell me that this post is mean, and I should be more tolerant. But he's nicer than me.

Today I went to have my hair cut and coloured for the first time since I moved to the Los Angeles area. It was a disaster. I walked in there and the owner introduced my to my "hair stylist". In hindsight she must have been the trainee. I was not informed of this and they were going to charge me full price for it. :-(

I felt uneasy from the moment I started talking to her about what I'd like done. The haircut was no big deal since my hair is reasonably long and I just wanted any split ends trimmed off. Then I told her what I usually had done with my colour and asked her if she had any recommendations. In my experience, any good hairdresser will be able to make suggestions as to what will look good with your skin colouring etc. This girl didn't have a clue. I could see this so I just picked from the colour swatches and picked as close to what I usually had as I could.

She then started trying to persuade me to run bleach though it. I said, no way, bleach damages your hair. Looking back, I should have figured that she was useless and walked out then, but I just insisted she used the colours I asked for. I assumed she actually knew how to colour hair. Apparently not. The foil process seemed like it was being done by a clumsy 4 year old, but it was too late to stop it. However, about halfway through, I decided there was no way I was letting her loose on my hair with a pair of scissors. I was kind of chicken though. I told her I was going out that night and it was getting kind of late, so I would save the cut for another time. She said fine and after banging my hair with the dryer and burning my scalp, she washed my hair. Afterwards, she started scrubbing at my neck and face with some color remover and seemed kind of concerned. She then called over a colleague and he and the manager of the shop started suggesting crazy things like trying bleach and nail varnish remover! I have sensitive skin at the best of times so I said no to this.

I then insisted on looking for myself. I looked in the mirror and was incensed! There was chocolate brown dye all over the side of my face, the back of my neck and my ears. I asked her to get the owner and told them both that I could have done a better job myself at home for free, and that I would not be paying for it. Luckily then accepted this, or I may have totally blown my top. I still had some sort of control at this point. When I got home, in our desperation, Steve and I tried all kinds of stuff. In spite of the sensitive skin we used Hydrogen Peroxide, toothpaste, milk and even WD40! Any suggestions? It will not come off!

Also, the color is liveable, but they clearly did not use the red I requested for the lights. Therefore I need some repair work done. Hence the need to find a good salon in the area... I certainly won't be going back to that place again. Anyway, if you are thinking of visiting this establishment;

http://www.edenspaandsalon.com

Don't say you weren't warned!

We got married on Saturday, in Vegas, in a chapel on the strip. It was not our first choice, and was more humorous than special. The lady who married us had to have been about 100 years old and looked like they had let her out of the nursing home for the evening! :-)

Neither of us would have chosen Vegas for our wedding, preferring a more romantic, tranquil setting, but as ours is a complex situation, involving a US and a non-US citizen (myself), we just had to do it quickly so we could tie up legal issues, concerning my visa and work permits. I really need to be working sooner rather than later, so we can buy a much needed bigger house... Plus the fact that having to amuse myself all day while Steve is at work, is driving me nuts! I need some mental stimulation damnit!

We had always planned to have another ceremony, with all our family there, later in the year. With this in mind we didn't spend a lot of money, or time planning the Vegas ceremony. The total cost was $250 (including the tip for the 100 year old reverend)! We would never waste a huge amount of money on a wedding (the average in the UK is the equivalent of $25,000 - which is my opinion would be far better off contributing to your down payment on a house, or paying a big chunk off the house you already have) but we will make the one later in the year much more special for us.

The conditions of my visa state that we have to get married withing 3 months of my arrival. The waiting time for the work permit is 3 months AFTER we get married. For example, if we left it right until August (the visa deadline), I could be out of work for 6 months +. This way, I should only be out of work for a little over 3 months, if all goes well with the job hunt. To cut a long story short, the sooner we get married the sooner I can get to work. :-) Plus, we can take our time and plan something more personal and memorable for later in the year, at a a time when my family in Singapore and the UK will be able to make it. It's not an ideal situation, but this is what we have to work with - so you just have to make the best of it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. USCIS (formerly known as the INS) couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. Case in point, whenever I call their helplines, I find myself correcting their representatives about the most basic of procedures. They have consistently given me info that I KNOW is wrong. Stuff that is at odds with the instructions on the website. They are an apathetic bunch of bastards who just want to get you off the phone, so they can continue picking their noses. They don't know the answer to your questions and would rather feed you a bunch of crap, than spend 10 minutes finding out the information you require. Thank God for;

VisaJourney.com

All the information in there is written by people who have been through the process and is really detailed.

Speaking of immigration fueled mayhem, I just found out that no insurance companies will cover me until I have been in the US for 3 months. This means I'll have to be very careful in that time, as something like a broken bone would have me flying the 11 hours back to the UK (in agony) to have it treated on the free "National Health Service" there, just to avoid the high costs of treating it here without insurance. Wouldn't that be fun?

On a lighter note... I just passed my traffic laws test yesterday and I have a driving lesson on Sunday. Sadly my UK license won't cut it if I am a resident in California. Hopefully I won't need many lessons as I can already drive. I just need to feel comfortable driving on the other side of the street. This is fine for the most part, but it is just not natural for me to do things like turn right on a red (in the UK if there is a red light, you don't go anywhere). Also when you make a left turn in the UK, you would turn into the lane nearest to you. Turning into the lane furthest away just feels wrong to me right now. My Dad drives on the right a lot and says I'll soon get used to it though. :-)

Oh, and I'm still working on the Singapore post. It is going to be quite long and, due to the fact that I have a lot of legal paperwork to do, I need to write it in stages...