Although Horace Greeley's famous travel instructions were addressed to young men only, Cleveland-born Christine Koren corrected the editor's oversight several years ago, when she swapped secretarial chores in her home town for the mind-enlarging excitement of California's art and couture cultures. Soon after her arrival in Los Angeles, the 22-year-old brunette found jobs that satisfied her aesthetic predilections and has worked at them ever since. On weekends and some evenings, she part-times at Pasadena's Palace Boutique--where, she says, "the customers are even more fun than the clothes." And from nine to five, Chris manages artist Tony Amiry's well-known Hollywood art gallery, where she's as likely to sell a painting to a famous motion-picture star as to a tourist from Toledo. But Chris sees to it that her fast-paced work week doesn't confine her to a life without leisure. At home in her kitchen, Chris is something of an artist herself. Her specialty is preparing health-food dishes: "Things like wheat germ, avocado honey and papaya juice beat TV dinners any time. But I admit I'm a nut on the subject." Chris also takes maximum advantage of the salubrious West Coast climate by going sailing, water-skiing or bicycling at every available opportunity. Though bachelor-girl Chris cites procrastination as her worst fault, she admits she isn't in too big a hurry to meet the man in her life. "I'm still trying to find out all the things I am," she says. "When I do, I'll know the type of mate I'm suited for--and vice versa." Chris feels that, for similar reasons, many young people are waiting a little longer to get married these days, but she doesn't completely agree with all the things they're doing. "Many kids are trying to find themselves through the drug scene," she says. "But I think there are better ways, and lots of people--I'm one of them--have begun to explore these alternatives over the past few years. This fall at UCLA, I intend to study yoga and metaphysics; they have it all over artificial stimulants as a means of self-discovery: They discipline the mind." Chris has many male admirers who are eager to assist her with her homework, but she insists that she's just in love with Luv--a mostly Maltese pooch who gladly goes almost everywhere she does. So would we.
