For those wanting salt licorice, try IKEA or nordichouse.com Looks like Amazon's got some too. [link]

Spidra, are they not part of LAPL? That sucks. LAPL ILL is free. For $2 per, there had better be a great selection of books so you never have to use it. Which libraries do they loan from?

Nah. South Pasadena is its own city (although it's located in LA County). Most of the time that's a good thing, though. I figured ILL was available from any library in the US that participates in ILL program. I'm probably being naïve, though.

I used So Pas library quite a lot when I was in grammar school. I think by the time I was in junior high and high school I was using Pasadena Central a lot because I couldn't stand to take the chance that So Pas wouldn't have what I needed.

To be fair, the library had a major renovation a decade or more ago and I haven't really put its collection to the test. So far I've only gone there to get a replacement card and to see if they had a copy of "American on Purpose". They did, but someone stole it so they're ordering another one.

What I'm getting from Humboldt State has to do with a Luther Burbank-ish guy called Albert Etter. As far as I know, no one has yet written a substantive biography. He contributed greatly to the development of strawberries as we know them today as well as contributing a lot to apple breeding. He was an auto-didact and HIGHLY opinionated.

I'm not trained in serious research (I wrote papers for school, sure, but I've never taken a course on historiography) but I may spend part of my upcoming NorCal trip at the Cal and Davis libraries trying to see some of Etter's correspondence as well as whatever I can find of vintage nursery catalogs. I may try synthesizing the existing info on Etter (3 articles in esoteric magazines) plus whatever I find myself and write it up just for the hell of it.

The Pasadena main branch is the most beautiful library I've ever been in.

My favorite library is Powell Library at UCLA. [link] LA Central Public Library I remember as being pretty spectacular. I haven't been in 25 years or more so I hope it still is. [link] I remember the Pasadena main branch is being pretty nice, but not having as much cool artwork integral to the architecture as the others.

I can't believe no one has mentioned TJ's dark chocolate and sea salt caramels. Weirdly addictive!

Spidra - if you haven't been in the central branch since the fires and rehab, then you really should. It's amazing. Have you been utilizing the gold line at all? If memory serves, gold takes you to grand central where you change to the red line and take that to Pershing Square or 5th/Flower/Fig. The gardens surrounding it are awesome for afternoon reading and such. When I worked across the street, I would go there on my lunch breaks. I miss it lots and lots.

I can't believe no one has mentioned TJ's dark chocolate and sea salt caramels.

I can only find these at Christmas! Do other stores have them all year long. TCG buys a bunch of boxes and gives them to me for several months (Christmas, anniversary, and Valentine's Day).

I asked one of my (former) co-workers if she would write me reference letter. This is what I got:

To whom it may concern,

It is my pleasure to write a personal reference for Aimeé McVay Conat. Aimeé and I were colleagues at Avalon Housing for close to two years, during which time we worked closely together on several projects.

Aimeé has a natural talent for working with people of all backgrounds and ages, easily switching between one-on-one interactions and leading group situations. She is engaging and personable, and can passionately present the work of a non-profit agency.

Aimeé's position at Avalon meant that she was involved in a variety of activities, ranging from developing and organizing staff events to maintaining Federal compliance databases. She is equally comfortable with the details of a complex project to temporarily relocate tenants during construction, and the creative big picture of conceptualizing an event.

As a Daisy Scout Leader for the last year, Aimeé has also developed this same broad range of skills in her personal life. As Troop Leader, Aimeé has successfully recruited daisy scout members and parental participation, planned and executed programs and activities, created promotional and educational materials and organized participation in events such as parades.

I believe that work within the areas of development, fundraising, communications or volunteer coordination is a terrific fit for Aimeé’s many talents and strengths.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or would like to discuss this further,

Sincerely,
Person Who Rocks

I immediately started crying. She's so amazingly awesome.

I don't mean to quibble but I think you miscounted the number of amazingly awesome people referenced in that post.