One week after a huge rainstorm that battered Southern California, which included 14 inches in the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys as well as 475 mudslides, the weather is beautiful and the mountains are dusted with snow.
If you want to go to the mountains and head for Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear, you will need chains this week. But most of us will just enjoy the sun and seeing the snow from a distance!
Scott Worden (The L.A. Seoul/Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
I have been an Uber driver for over a year and most of my riders are pretty cool. But there are times when I thought to myself, "Wow, I really should've _____ " or "I really shouldn't have _______." One of those times happened recently when a rider wanted me to take them back to their home because he was too lazy to call another Uber. This required him to pay me upfront via cash or via Zelle or Venmo. Listen to my story on YouTube as to what mistake I made even though I was very careful:
Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
Yes, Laguna Beach can get very congested on weekends and yes, trying to find parking can be quite the chore if you happen to arrive there at one in the afternoon on Saturday. But if you get there early enough, you will find a few good reasons to stay. There are some great art galleries that will inspire your creative side, good places to eat at in the heart of Laguna Beach, and some walking trails that are near the coastline just north of the center of Laguna.
But the best part of Laguna Beach is the sunsets!
My wife and I arrived at 4:30pm on Sunday when most people were going home. We parked on a side street and walked two blocks down to the beach and we weren’t disappointed! God is an amazing artist!
Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
I first enrolled at Gateway Seminary as an online student while teaching English in South Korea in August 2019. I remember my first week and studying so hard for my Old Testament Introduction 1 class and I got 6/10 on my first quiz. I was so upset about it and kept telling my wife that if I couldn't handle it, I might have to drop out of seminary. I talked about it for two days resulting in an argument with my wife. Week 2 turned out much better and from then on I have gotten the hang of studying at seminary and enjoying it. Up until now, I have had a 3.61 GPA. Thank you, Lord, for your mercies and for helping me persevere!
When my wife and I arrived in California on December 20, 2020, I kept studying online and it was fine for the time being until I took Hebrew 1 in Fall 2021. During the first week, it was so overwhelming and I had no idea how to handle that class online since the homework was about learning all of the vowels and consonants during the first week! My wife thought that I had better take Hebrew in person, so then we decided to look into student housing. I dropped the online Hebrew class and did well in my other two classes for that semester.
We moved into student housing from my dad's home on December 19, 2021 (almost exactly a year later), I enrolled in Spring 2022 classes in person. Wow! What a difference it makes to take classes in person compared to online. It's just a much more enjoyable experience. I can interact with the professor and hear other students engage with the professor, ask questions during the lectures, go to the library, and even get coffee or snacks on campus. It's 10 times better being at school in person rather than learning online.
Side note: Just imagine all of those poor kids having to go to school on Zoom rather than in-person and imagine the horrors that the teacher had to engage with 25 students on Zoom. I applaud those teachers that endured through it and pray that we never have to ask kids to take classes on Zoom again.
To make a long story short, I have loved being on campus at Gateway Seminary. My wife and I have a nice apartment (Just $920/month for now until it goes up a bit in August) just big enough for us and the apartment is only 3 miles away from school. We're in an area with many choices of restaurants and I'm a caregiver of a patient that is only 4.7 miles away. I'm very thankful that the Lord has put us together in a good spot. The only negative is that our church is still in Santa Paula (2 hours away). I really don't know how that's going to work out once I start doing more church-related work next year for my practicum course. But Jesus is looking out for us and I'm certain that it will all come together somehow.
Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
The city of Ojai, California is 12 miles north of Ventura and 63 miles northwest of Los Angeles and has a population of 7,613 people. It was named after a Native American term meaning "moon" when the Chumash tribe originally inhabited it. It was originally named Nordoff, but was changed to Ojai in 1917 and became incorporated as a city in 1921.
When my wife and I lived in Santa Paula, which is 16 miles northwest of Ojai, my wife and I would take a drive through Highway 150 and enjoy the peaceful drive through Ojai. There aren't a lot of things to do in the city of Ojai itself, but it does have some small clothing stores, a book store, a few restaurants, an ice cream shop, and a small park in the center of the city. One time we took a drive at sunset and we took a few shots of the rural area of Ojai before eating dinner.
Then we stopped off at Boccalli's Pizza, which is a family-run place. The people that work there are really friendly, so we stayed and ordered a pizza there. We were in the mood for a Hawaiian pizza, so we got one of those. Although they used canned pineapple on the pizza, it was still good and the service was excellent. I'd go back and try the pasta or another kind of pizza next time.
After that, we took a drive back to Santa Paula and we arrived at the most famous area of Ojai that looks over Ojai Valley. It was night time already, but the views were really nice and had to check out the stars that illuminated.
The drive from Santa Paula to Ojai has some curves as you go through the mountains, but on Friday or Saturday evenings, there is very little traffic. From Fillmore, you take the 126 West to Santa Paula and get off at 10th Street (Highway 150). Then you head east for 16 miles until you get to Ojai. If you drive from Ventura to Ojai, you can take the 101 north to the 33 before you hit Highway 150. You will then drive through a couple of small towns Casitas Springs (hometown of Johnny Cash) and Oak View before getting to Ojai.
Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
