It’s been nine months since I relocated to Los Angeles. After acclimating to my new position at Cal State LA, I am able to take some time to explore the richness of my new “home town”. One of the best parts of living here is that if I drive 45 minutes in one direction I’m at a beach, and 45 minutes in the other and I’m in the mountains. I’ve felt the push-pull of beach and ocean since I was kid exploring the beaches of Long Island; now I don’t have to choose!

Of course, what is truly outstanding is the cultural richness and diversity of the LA area. With no events on my own campus during spring break, I took some time to branch out this week. I visited: the Kim Abeles studio in Keystone Art Space; sister campus Cal State Fullerton’s Santa Ana outpost, the Grand Central Arts Center; saw Lars Jan’s adaptation of Joan Didion’s The White Album at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance; and today enjoy the culinary arts at the “Masters of Taste” benefit for Union Station Homeless Services, courtesy of a KPCC ticket promotion at the historic Rose Bowl Stadium, which I have never visited. Artistic production, community-arts exhibitions, experimental theatre, and a tony culinary arts festival – I’m in culture explorer heaven.

A waterfall in Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains