It's Monday again, so you should know who hung out with me today. I had an errand to run in Downtown LA. Actually, not in the heart of the business district but eastward near Little Tokyo. In this area is a place called "Toy District". They have a ton of wholesalers nearby and it's also very close to the LA Mission that caters to the homeless. Most people would rather pay retail than to bear with the sights, sounds and smells here. I personally think it's all a part of our"meltingpotingness" here in LA. However, I can see how people would be skeptical to park their Mercedes or BMWs, wear any type of jewelry, dress nicer than usual here. Afterall, most of the people in this area are minorities and most of them sleep on the streets. Many of them will watch over your car while you're in the shops and help watch over the parking meter by putting in coins for you -- just be sure to give them a bit of tip for doing so.

We parked our car near Little Tokyo side since it's in the middle and a bit cheaper. We then made our way walking into Wall Street. Funny how this street name makes you think of money and all that financial hoopla when over here, the Wall Street is small, crowded, dirty and filled with transients. But this IS the place to come to if you want wholesale stuff. Sure, it's not the best quality of stuff but they had alot of cute Sanrio-type knockoffs, baby supplies, hair clips, toiletries, dolls, clothing (almost everything under the sun). The stores aren't air conditioned, nor are the displays neatly placed but there's definitely variety to choose from, if you're willing to look that is.

There are plenty of Asians, Latin Americans and African Americans around here. I know some people tell me that they have an apprehension towards this place because of the "crowds" around here. And these people talking are just driving through from the Business District on their way to the freeways! There's such a stigma towards the homeless at times. Sure, some of them are crackheads/crackhos/alcaholics and such but not all. And just because they don't have the basic necessities in life doesn't mean they are sub-human. Granted, there are plenty who just don't want to get off their ass and make something of themselves and would rather live in the streets.

Here's what I was looking for today and I found them at my friend's store in the heart of that lovely wholesale district:

Didn't I mention that I'm planning something in my last entry? Well these are the party favors that I'm looking into getting. It may be this and it may be other stuff....we haven't decided yet.

Sorry no pictures of the actual Wall Street today.

The weather was in the upper 80's today with humidity in Downtown LA and that's a bit too hot for my liking, so we trudged back to Little Tokyo for some respite aka lunch. We went to Umemura hoping to get some yakisoba (pan fried soba noodles) and some kanitama rice (crab meat with egg and sweet glaze on top of rice) but found out that Umemura closed down in Weller Court!! Damn. We then hauled our ass over to my other fave dive, Usui and found the place packed for lunch.

But we got ourselves a small table and ordered 2 makunouchi bentos. I've shown something similar to this in the past before but it's not the same one. After catching up on some stuff over lunch, we went to Kinokuniya to read some Japanese magazines, look at some Asian American books and fondle a Kogepan doll. Just another usual afternoon in Little Tokyo.

I need to catch up on some much needed sleep. Been having bad insomnia for the past 4 weeks or so. I'm stressing over some paperwork and applications. As usual, these types of bureaucratic red tape makes me very angsty. I just can't get it through my thick head that it's out of my hands once it lands on some paper pusher's desk. No use fretting. Just need more sleep because I'm breaking out like a mother!

I'm out.

10:17am 08.15.01