Home, Sweet Home

Dorothy said it best:
"There's no place like home."

After not leaving LA yesterday until 6:30 p.m., then having to slog over dreaded Hwy 152 to pick up our car, housed in our friends' Menlo Park garage (thanks, Alexander and Sheryn!), we arrived on the Jackson St. scene at about 2:00 a.m.

In addition to the comfort of our bed last night, I enjoyed waking up to the quiet of a street that lacks doormen, a synogague, and a Hebrew School that doubles as a Fallout Shelter. I walked without fearing for my life as drivers waved me through the crosswalk. And upon first sighting, our neighbors engaged us in a 10-minute conversation about our trip, the economy, and the beautiful weather. Admittedly, I was initially confused by the sound of the word "Hello," but thankfully managed to contain my surpise. To cap it all off, we even ate Mexican food for lunch that exhibited actual flavor.

Now before you go thinking I'm a New York hater who must have been miserable for the past 9 weeks...not even close. I shed a single tear every day I'm not at Exhale Spa. And the phrase "back to work" still sounds like something other people do after the weekend...not me. Don't get me wrong - I like my job - and all of you there even more. But given the choice (and I can say this with certainty now), I'd opt out of the whole work thing in a heartbeat. Believe me, in case you're not sure: It is entirely possible to fill each and every one of your days with plenty aside from meetings and "30,000 foot views."

So what's next for this blog, now that I don't have the bad fashion of Salt Lake City and the questionable meat of South Dakota to feed me (no pun intended) the world's easiest material? Well...if you know me at all, you know I have an opinion about anything and everything, and I'll continue to express that here, likely on a weekly basis. As I sit now watching CNN, I can already see that Hillary Clinton's post-campaign bouffant she calls a hairstyle may be a key topic. Or perhaps I'll delve into the new porno, "Nailin' Paylin," whose lead star described herself as a "mattress actress." Come on now, that's just clever.

Until then, thanks for reading - and stick with me!