As I write this post I'm sitting in the United Lounge at LAX (which I'm sure will occur several times over the next two years). Unlike a few of my fellow bloggers like Kate Edwards, Gregory Paige, and Chris Varin, I did not have extensive international travel plans prior to school starting, so I'm headed off to squeeze in a few days in Costa Rica before my pre-orientation trip next weekend.
This morning I realized I've officially made it through my first week in Los Angeles...time flies out here! Especially when everyday you wake up to weather like this:
(You may notice that the weather in this picture is from today's date... yes, I did not plan this week's blog in advance, but I showed up at the airport waaaayyyy to much in advance of my flight and have time to kill.)
Once that was out of the way, I began to fill my time with one of two types of activities - getting ready for school, and enjoying LA. I'll save the school activities for another post, but at a high level, our pre-orientation tasks consist of configuring your laptop, completing Parker Career Management Center items (Anderson format resume, LinkedIn profile, etc.), and a series of other items.
Most importantly what I've been doing is getting to know the area and my other classmates who have begun trickling into LA.
(Tough to see, but there are fourteen people in this group shot - twelve incoming 2014ers and two Sig-O's.)
The first group get together for people occurred at Palomino's (pre-dinner drinks), the Glendon Bar and Kitchen (dinner), and the Westwood Brew Co. (post-dinner drinks). If possible, I highly recommend that people arrive in LA at least a week before orientation starts so that you have the opportunity to meet people in informal settings (once the unpacking is done of course).
To combat the fact that I'm going to do some serious food indulging while exploring the LA restaurant scene over the next couple of years, I've also been getting in some morning workouts with a fellow classmate, Brady.
(Picture is from a past CrossFit competition at Drake Stadium at UCLA. Source for photo.)
Brady received his level 1 CrossFit certification prior to moving to LA (for those of you who don't know what CrossFit is, click here), and has graciously been coaching me on the various exercises prior to us working out.
Some of you may remember from my first post that I've run a few marathons, and have a tentative goal of doing the IronMan in my second year. From all I've learned from Brady and heard about CrossFit in general, it's going to be a great way to increase my fitness level and marathon time.
It will also greatly help me as a prepare for my first triathlon ever. A few classmates and I are participating in the Herbalife Triathlon event on Sept 30, just after school gets started. I'll be doing the Sprint Tri, the shortest of all triathlon distances.
Not only will the race be a great way to get my feet wet (literally) in the triathlon world, it's also a great way to explore LA! From the maps above, I'll get to swim at Venice Beach, bike through a few neighborhoods, and finish the run at LA Live, which is a huge entertainment area and includes the Staples Center.
Writing all of this down makes me realize how easy it is to pack a lot into just one week!
With that, I'm off to board my flight to Costa Rica - I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll see you back here next week!
~Kyle Forrest, follow on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA
