California days 1 and 2

So It's technically day three here but i'll update everyone on days one and 2 since i have a little time.

So tuesday night i went to my uncle's house to sleep since he was driving me to the airport. I didn't stay up too long since i had to be up at 4:30 the next morning.

So after a weird and awkward sleep I was up and getting ready to leave. They offered me something to eat. They had stuff to make sandwiches. I look in the drawer where the supposed sandwich meat is and see stacks of these individual packets of meat. The kind you buy for like 99 cents at the grocer. I had two choices, Ham and Beef. The ham was scary looking but sounded better than this supposed mystery beef. So i took half a packet and some cheese and some white bread that could probably be used for glue and made a sandwich and then i was off. I get to the airport and am early enough where security is pretty quick. I get through and find where my terminal is and then set off to find a soda due to it being 5 in the morning and me requiring caffeine. I find a news store that has dr pepper and buy one for $2 and go back to sit down. I sit down and start digging in my bag for my ipod only to not find it. What a very horrible start for a trip. So i begin to read hoping to get caught up in my book and drown out the noise of the airport which is getting progressively busier. I watch the news to see that Clinton won Indiana but only by 2 percent. Finally it was 7:10 and time to board the plane. Southwest has a new system where they have boarding groups and you get to pick your own seat. I grab a window seat in about the middle of the plane (right in front of the emergency exit on the wing). The plane was far from full but i shared my row with a girl who had braces and a hurt foot resulting in one of those giant black boots. But she still had it better than me because she had an ipod. Not having music to occupy myself i took my jacket and used it as a pillow and passed out. Finally i wake up and look around to see everyone else with drinks, meaning i missed the complimentary soda they hand out. Luckily i still had my dr pepper from the airport. I don't drink all of it because i save it for the chicago airport. I spend the rest of the flight trying to read and looking out of the window. We finally get into a rainy dark chicago.
We arrive at Chicago Midway. It was a lot nicer than i remember O'Hare being. I am starving so i start my search for some food. It was about 8am chicago time. I had been up for about 5 hours now and breakfast didn't sound appetizing. So i finally found the one place not serving breakfast which was a pizza place. I pay $6 for a burnt slice and go back to where my terminal is and where they have stools and a table to sit at. I pull out my laptop and proceed to check for internet. You have to pay for it. This was the problem at RDU too. So i have an hour and a half and decide to start watching The Great Dictator with charlie chaplin while waiting. Then i remember that i can use my laptop on the plane to watch a movie to pass the time. Sadly the battery is almost dead and i only have the time at the airport to charge it. Finally around 9:45 i board my plane to LAX with an ETA of 12:20 Western time. I get on the plane and try and finish up my movie but it doesn't last too long. I get through a majority of it though before my computer dies. I then finished my book i was reading. And then i hear the announcement of still having about 3 hours left on the flight. I pull out another book but all i have left is books involving music, which reading about music when you can't listen to it is like reading about food when you can't eat anything. So i sit there uncomfortably in my seat, try and go to sleep but it never really works. Luckily they provided me with plenty of free sodas and snacks to keep me slightly occupied. Finally after an excruciating flight i end up in LA. I get my luggage with no problem and then am off with my sister to Simi Valley. Having eaten nothing too great yet she decided to take me for my first trip to an In and Out burger. It was awesome. I really liked it. The rest of the day involved running to a couple of stores to get stuff to make wedding invitations and dinner. Her fiance Josh came over with his brother and we ate and made wedding invites till late. I had to retire earlier than everyone else due to not being used to the time change yet.


The next morning i was up at around 6 or 7 again due to not being used to the time change. I tried going back to sleep but mostly just laid there. Finally around 9 my sister was up and made breakfast. We worked on getting ready to go out and then proceeded to do more errands and then some exploring. We ended up at Santa Monica and found a neat art store there. We then went to Baja Fresh for street tacos. They were good but mine had a lot of onions. Then we made the big stop of the day at the Ghetty Center. It was awesome. Lots of really great art. They then had a special exhibit on California Video. Mostly weird movies that were supposed to be "art". Then I saw this one screen that had tons of fliers behind it and it was an exhibit on Target Video. For those who don't know what it is go look up target video on youtube. So i sat there and watched sets by the circle jerks, dead kennedys, the screamers, the weirdos, and a million other good bands. I got yelled at for trying to take pictures of the flyers with my phone. Then it was back here for chili night and more invitation making.

Today's ultimate goal is record shopping. I found four stores that seem like they might be good stops. I'm sure the people there can lead me to other spots too.