Thanksgiving market

Here's a sample of what we found at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market on the day before Thanksgiving.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Job search news

La Chouette, the lucky owl, Dijon, France

Well, the week before Thanksgiving is probably NOT the right time to reinvigorate your job search, but it is a good time to reflect, regroup, and plan to get started come Monday morning.

In November, I interviewed for a transfer position within my own organization, and despite an earlier set-back, I thought I did pretty well with this interview. I was calm, I felt comfortable. I emphasized the key strengths I could bring to the group.

The opportunity was only for internal candidates, and the short list was three people. They said they planned to make a decision within a week, but as of Monday, it had been two weeks since my interview. I understand - things happen; references take a while to gather, issues need to be discussed. But the longer things went on, the more clear it was to me that it would be another candidate that got the job.

Yesterday, I received the polite email telling me so.

I recently attended a day-long training session offered by Human Resources. We learned a lot about resume writing and interview skills, and resources for networking and searching for opportunities. Some of what the leader told us was directly contrary to things I'd heard from other facilitators.

Seven more months before my job disappears. There may be additional opportunities within my organization, but I can't rely on these. I need to look elsewhere. I started my efforts in September with a good to-do list of contacts to make, but as the autumn went on, I slacked off and spent most of my energy on this internal transfer. Time to get moving again.

La Chouette, the little stone owl on the side of Notre Dame church in Dijon, France, is supposed to bring good luck if you stroke it with your left hand. People have been relying on the little owl for luck since the 13th Century.

Is anybody listening?

Recent email correspondence:

Wednesday -

• From: A 
• To: B, C, D.
• Subject: XYZ Meeting
• Please find attached the agenda for the upcoming XYZ meeting. FYI, all historical records of the XYZ meeting are saved in our shared directory at [File path]

Thursday morning -

• From: B
• To:  A, C, D
• Subject: Agenda for XYZ meeting
• Where can I find the agenda for the XYZ meetings? Can you send me a copy?

Thursday afternoon -

• From: A
• To: B, C, D
• Subject: RE: Agenda for XYZ meeting
• All the notes for the XYZ meetings are saved at [File Path].

Friday:

• From:A
• To: B, C, D
• Subject: XYZ meeting handoff
• Monday is my last day staffing the XYZ meeting, since I have tranfered to another department. Person B will be taking over my duties. Please find attached a document that describes all the duties for staffing the XYZ meeting. It explains where the records can be found in the network directory, and explains everything that needs to be done to set up the meeting. 

Monday morning -

• From: B
• To: C
• Subject: Tonight's XYZ meeting
• Do you know whether A will be coming to the XYZ meeting this evening? What does she do to prepare for the meeting? What do I have to bring? How many prints do I make? Do you have a copy of the agenda? Can I review it? Where is it saved?

Someone isn't listening.

Victory on the field, with streamer violation

Yes, to Albug who guessed the USC vs. UCLA game! And from where we sat, it turned out the right way.

We were in attendance for both fun and business, and at the wet and cold beginning of the day, with rain pounding down on the 101 and 134 freeways, it felt like all work and no play.

Where I am

Any guesses?

Posted live with the Blogger phone ap

I thought this was supposed to be fun

We're going to a big sporting event today. We have to leave the house at 8:30 am, parking will be a mess. It's been pouring all night, and in this particular sport, there's no such thing as a rain out.

More later.

Checking in at Chez Jay

Chez Jay's entrance

This weekend we checked in at Chez Jay, the venerable dive bar and steak house on Santa Monica's Ocean Avenue.

The last vestige of the casual, beach-bum vibe that was Santa Monica before the glossy hotels went up, Chez Jay has been under threat of change since the city began building a large park and subsidized housing on the land next door and behind the old dive.

The City's plan called for the restaurant to be redesigned to provide outdoor dining and more "family compatible" space opening onto the park. That's a pretty tough call for a joint whose claim to fame includes being Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's favorite place to get his load on.

So it was a small victory this October, when the City's Landmarks Commission voted to designate Chez Jay as a local landmark.

We stopped by for a cocktail, and to soak in the frowsty, sleazy - and, yes, historical - atmosphere. I had a gimlet.

Chez Jay's future is still in jeopardy, however, so the story's not over. The ownership of the land it occupies is entangled in the demise of the state Redevelopment Agency.  If it's sold on the open market, developers could raze the funky joint and erect yet another multi-story hotel in its place.

Painted fan vent from the parking lot

 If you're in Santa Monica, take the time to have a cocktail here before it's gone.

Strange weather, strange clouds

We're having some strange weather here. Yesterday was cold, quite cold. Today it's supposed to get up into the 80s and be very dry.

Saturday afternoon, a sheet of cloud hung over the West side of Los Angeles, and the setting sun turned it a murky yellow. Here's a shot I took while riding in a car on Pacific Coast Highway.

Thematic Photographic - What's for Dinner?

Carmi at the blog Written, Inc. posts a weekly photo challenge. This week, the theme is "What's for dinner?"

Carmi says, For the next week, look more deeply into our kitchens, restaurants and other venues where we gather to break bread and discuss the day just completed. It could be a picture of food, a peek inside your fridge or pantry, or something remotely related to the place where dinner is shared.

Sometimes the answer is - Noodles!

Sawtelle Avenue, in West Los Angeles, is a place where you can get almost any kind of noodle you can think of. This is a bowl of Tsukemen noodles, served at room temperature alongside a bowl of broth called tonkatsu. You dip the noodles in the rich, thick, porky broth, add a squeeze of lime. Maybe a bit of something from the array of pickled condiments that cluster at the table.  At Tsujita LA's tiny corner cafe, they are proudly called "artisan noodles" - something special indeed.

They are so special there are usually lines at lunchtime, so if you're short on time but still want noodles, you can just sit down next door at Nong La Cafe and have a bowl of Vietnamese rice noodle soup, or Pho. This is chicken pho, or pho ga, served with herbs and bean sprouts to garnish, and a bowl of sweet-sour-hot chile sauce to dribble in for extra taste.

Others may prefer the classic beef pho, here served with rare steak and beef balls - pho tai bo.

Still can't decide? You can wander up the street and choose a noodle of your choice - ramen, or udon or soba. There are Korean noodles, Japanese cold noodle salad, and even a kind of fusion ramen, sprinkled with cheese.

Noodles! They're what's for dinner on Sawtelle Avenue.

Vietnamese Cha Gio, at Nong La Cafe.

And, yes, you can get egg roll with that!