Thanksgiving and stuff

Last few weeks I've been busy studying as always, and right now I have my finals coming up. It's also getting a bit cold, at least for LA standards, the temperature in the night is sometimes below 10C. (Which is very cold when you're used to 25C all the time.) It however feels nothing like christmas yet, and at least in the daytime it's nice and warm. The trees are also still green.

Anna (my sister) came and visited me last weekend for thanksgiving. We were invited to a thanksgiving family dinner at a distantly related relative of ours. It was actually somewhat of a cultural shock but very interesting nonetheless. The family was very "american" but also nice, the food was also very good. Anyways here's a picture of me and my sister with our distant relative Sjana.

That weekend I showed my sister around LA, the old burned out hippies in Venice beach, and the insanely rich people in Beverly Hills shopping on Rodeo Drive. We also saw Santa Monica, Hollywood and a little bit of the crazy nightlife there. We went to club where of course there were huge lines outside to make it seem hip, and where everybody had to be on the guestlist, except for VIP's, bottleservices, and so on. Once inside if you wanted to sit down you had to pay at least $500 or more.. depending on where you wanted to sit.. The best and most expensive seats were on a stage ovelooking the club. Anna was shocked by this hollywood caste society, where everybody is obsessed with looking good, being somebody, having money, and most importantly showing it! We quickly fled this place filled with "fake" people for a more normal bar. (The picture is taken from the MCB (molecular and computation biology) building, where I have my office.)

On saturday it was game day again and we took part in the big tailgating party before the game, drinking beer in the sun. Anna left that night, and USC won Notre Dame, which probably means that they will play in the national final. Now USC only has to beat the archrivals UCLA tomorrow to get to the final. (Pranks inflicted by UCLA (and USC) are quite common just before these LA rivals play. A few years ago a couple of UCLA students rented a helichopter and came down from the sky to paint Tommy Trojan (the USC icon) blue. Hence the Trojan Knights now ducktape and guard the statue it day and night just before a UCLA game.)

Finally I went and played beach volleyball a couple of weeks ago, in the middle of november! Actually for people in Iceland, I probably only have to emphasize that we actually played beach volleyball! (I doubt it has ever been played in Iceland. It's probably always too cold.) Here are some pics.

(A couple of friends of mine, MCB students and their girlfriends.)

(Me demonstrating my icelandic beach volleyball talents.)

(Santa Monica pier and mountains. People are still surfing in November.)

(One more sunset in the pacific.)