The Movers

So the big weekend just happened, and it honestly couldn’t have gone better. The moving company I used, Mentor’s Movers, did a fantastic job. They handled everything like it was my grandmother’s valuables, and they made quick work of the StudioBricks. I’m always worried that something is going to happen to the booth in transit, but thankfully, it survived yet another move. I honestly can’t speak highly enough of them.

The Apartment

Unfortunately, because of the packing time and transit time, they informed me that they couldn’t help me put the booth back together upon arrival. Yikes! It’s definitely a two-person job (at least) despite what SB tells you to the contrary. I got lucky and found a last-minute moving company on Craigslist, and a few extra guys came out to help me assemble the booth. They even put together my new bed frame. So overall, a pretty painless moving experience.

It’s wild, though, that I’m at the age where even WITH movers, my body is still wrecked after a big move. Hooray for getting older.

The apartment itself is actually pretty cool. It’s a complex in Silver Lake. And it’s almost as if the complex itself is the liminal space of gentrification. If you go down the street one way, you hit an area that would still be considered socioeconomically disadvantaged, but it has so much life and character. If you go the other way, there are lot of living spaces (i.e. apartments, etc.) that you can tell require the renters to be flush with cash.

The Neighbors

Right away, I met some neighbors who have been super cool. I met Brian who is super relaxed and works entertainment events, and I met him because he was on his back patio brushing his cat, Bruno. Already, this is a step up from the place I was at in Oregon. Secondly, I met Ricardo who is re-opening a restaurant in Echo Park. He helped me get a dresser up the stairs, and then later that evening, invited my partner and I over for some food.

And hooboy, what a night.

The Chef

He invites people in the complex over to try his new creations for the restaurant, and these meals are a Peruvian-Japanese fusion. Apparently, that isn’t a new thing, but it seems to be new here. He explained that there is a pretty extensive history behind it. However, some of those words were drowned out by the flavor combos hitting my mouth. Goodness, the food was excellent.

After most of the guests left, it was just me, my partner, Ricardo, and his friend Pam. We all stayed a bit, had a lot of great chit-chat, and ended the night somehow at a reasonable hour. I was able to get back DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR in time to finish setting up my home office for work Monday morning.

I’m really stoked to have met Ricardo, and I plan on attending his soft opening at his newly renovated restaurant, The Hummingbird.

What a great first weekend. Let’s keep this ball rolling!