Initial Thoughts

I figured out the parking situation yesterday, it required 3 phone calls with two parking attendants who do not speak english all that well and one $25 key card deposit. I now have my very own leased parking space a block and a half from my building. It also so happens that this parking structure is one block away from skid row and abuts the most gritty street corner this side of the midnight mission. At least the parking structure is secure, the damn thing has heavy security access doors and a roll down steel gate blocking the ramp exit and entrance. If there was a downside to owning down town, this parking situation is it. Luckily, there has been street parking in front of my building the last two nights so I've managed to park in my quiet neighborhood the last couple of nights.

Speaking of quiet, last night around 10 pm, some building in downtown decided to have a free punk rock concert. It was LOUD and completely audible from my bedroom a mile away.

Night is the best time of the day here. The buildings across the way from my windows are all lit up, the interior lights make the buildings seem larger and older than they do in the day. I've heard it said that Los Angeles at night is a completely different place than it is the day, the heat of the day gives way to the cool ocean breeze of the night. No where is that more true than in downtown, the tired buildings on Broadway seem to take on more life in the cool dark, they appear young again. The last two nights, at about around midnight, the full moon has come into view from my window. It's an impressive sight.

I've taken some measurements for roll up blinds for my windows. At the moment, I  have no blinds. But, that does not mean I have no privacy. To date, I have not seen any one inside the high rise 150 feet from my building and it is impossible for some one from the street to see in without binoculars. It makes me wonder if anyone actually works in that building across the way. The lights are on at night (at least on two of the floors and the stairwells) but still I've seen no one.