10 Things I Have Remembered Since Being Home

1. Los Angeles area air pollution, although bad for every other reason, makes for some beautiful sunsets
2. My brother, my cousin (Stefanie) and I always carry an egg shaker, a guitar pick and a capo with us at all times
3. Cooked rice keeps a lot longer in this dry, arid climate- it got way too mushy and moldy way too fast in that moist beach weather (perhaps this is a pitiful attempt of mine to try to forget how wonderfully temperate that beach weather was...)
4. You can waste an entire day sitting on the couch in front of your parent's television when they've got 2,000+ channels, without even realizing it
5. I was truly lucky to have been exposed to and immersed in so many different cultures during my childhood
6. There's nothing like a box of carne asada fries from Alberto's
7. The acoustics in my Aunt's living room make nice for some sweet harmonies to fill it
8. You really do need a car to get anywhere around here (I miss my bike... and consequently, my thighs of steel...)
9. Some of the best treasure hunts take place in your childhood bedroom.  For example, I avidly collected obsolete text books so that I could read them and save them from their reject destiny
10. Always calculate time for traffic

It's the little things that make a place a home, eh?