Week 60: HQs, Tacos, and Breakfast

Week 60: February 18-24th, 2024

This week, I went into ICANN's headquarters for the first time.

Unfortunately, because I had to verify I-9 stuff and finish up HR paperwork in person soon after my official start date, I had to make the trip up to LA during a severe weather warning and flood watch. As I'm sure you've seen, heard, or experienced yourselves, Southern California has been hit with a bunch of intense rain, and flooding has been really bad in some areas.

The drive up to LA itself wasn't too horrible, though it did take over three hours (as opposed to the normal 2-hour trip). I wouldn't want to do that regularly, though. On the bright side, I guess I got a free car wash from the hurricane-like rain on the freeway.

ICANN has many locations globally, but because the organization was started in Los Angeles, the ICANN headquarters is located in "Silicon Beach," in Marina Del Rey/Playa Vista. The area hosts many big companies like Yahoo, Pet Space, Facebook and Jessica Alba's Honest brand. Apparently, Apple is moving in next door to ICANN HQ soon as well.

The office was kind of a ghost town, but the few local LA folks who did brave the rainy commute were all incredibly friendly and welcoming. The organization's policy is for a hybrid work environment for those local to LA, and remote for everyone else. It is nice that they offer that flexibility, and though the office is very nice, I'm glad I am not required to go in twice a week.

After getting all of my paperwork finished, I got an awesome tour from one of the administrative office leads and was blown away by the area, and all of the amenities of the building. They even had a brand new gym (and locker rooms with full showers!) that still had that new car (gym?) smell. It seemed pretty underutilized, and made me wish ICANN had an office in San Diego. I'd be there every day! Because there wasn't much for me to do after meeting a couple people and finishing paperwork, and with the office being so empty, everyone encouraged me to head home to avoid rush hour traffic and potentially worsening weather. I was really appreciative of this, because my drive home went smoothly. It just took the normal two hours, not three. I finished out my work day working remotely from home after the drive back.

A simple Business Casual look - rain-friendly shoes!

It was fun to wear business casual attire again and have a change from my normal "sleeping pajamas to work pajamas" routine. In April, there is an all-hands department retreat that lasts for a whole work week, so more of my blazers will get to be dusted off then. I hope I get to use the gym facility then as well, because someone's gotta use it!

While adjusting to an employed lifestyle again, I treated myself for a couple meals. Cooking felt like the end of the world after long days of information overload and onboarding, so I also got to try two new food spots in San Diego this week once the rain let up - Salud! and Lemon Grove Cafe.

Salud! is in Barrio Logan and has been on my "To Try" list for a while. They have a big patio space, and inside, the walls are filled with art, memorabilia and more. It was a really cool space. My half-assed photos (hey, I was more focused on my food!) don't do it justice, but I'm sure there's better ones out there if you want to investigate more.

Some of the cool art at Salud

Above the window into the kitchen, there was tons of art

I got a carne asada burro (yes "burro," not burrito - don't worry, they are essentially the same thing) and it was pretty good. I will say that I was a little disappointed with how small it was.

My very small meal at Salud

Despite its size, it was still very delicious and I plan to return and try some of their famous tacos. Here is their Yelp Page and here is their Instagram, if you'd like to check either out.

Lemon Grove Cafe is one of those feel-good family diners that are a little hard to find in California's bustling, trendy restaurant scene. The clientele was mainly an older crowd, and the menu even offered a special for Seniors 55 and up. It felt like one of those diners in older movies where the staff have known you for years and you run into someone you know every time you're there.

Here is their Yelp Page if you want to see it.

I got a breakfast plate with a Greek omelette and a side of pita. They had many options, but I prefer savory breakfasts to sweet ones, and this one was so good! The gyro meat inside was super flavorful and the pita was warm and fresh. The photo I took was not good enough to share here, but just know that they made my food with flavor and love!

See you next week.