Home Scene

Just a little about the home scene.
I am staying in a Victorian house 10 blocks north of USC. I have my own room and bathroom, an internet connection, and a view into the back garden where the sun shines in all day. The garden has a furnished glassed-in room for parties and doing laundry. I can practice the violin there too and not bother anyone. The garden's fountains are always bubbling. The foliage is so thick I can scarcely see the Victorian B&B that sits across the garden. It is called the Pink Lady, for obvious reasons.

The entire garden is surrounded by a fence, lending a feeling of peace and security. There is also an off-street parking area, which inspired my decision to drive to Los Angeles. The owner of the B&B does not even lock her car! She also owns Cafe 29 on Hoover Street, which I have yet to visit.

There are six rooms in my house, each rented on a short or long-term basis by people generally related to USC, as are the alumni owners. Currently they range from the young Italian woman getting a doctorate in Slavic Literature to the Indian computer science research associate downstairs. For a few days, the parents of a student are visiting - the father from my hometown of Minneapolis but now a diplomat in Croatia. A Chinese couple just moved in while they seek a permanent apartment. We all share a living room with TV, and a huge kitchen with the biggest range I have seen - 8 gas burners, a griddle in the middle and 3 ovens! We each have spaces in cupboards and in the frig for our food supply. It seems a comfortable arrangement.