I know most of you will find this post boring, but I have some family who read the blog so I figured this can help keep them updated on what’s going on.

The latest, Tuesday afternoon: My parents are allowed to go back home. Woohoo!

Please think good thoughts for everyone affected by the fires, especially the firefighters out there battling the blazes.

News updates here and cool map here.
- - -
(Updates up top)

Thanks to everyone who emailed me asking about the fires. My sister and I are far from any of the flames. However, my parents are without power and are in the process of packing up photos and important paperwork because they are in the possible evacuation area of one have been ordered to evacuate because of the San Diego fires. My dad waited in a huge line to get gas this morning in case they get the order to evacuate. Julie and her family evacuated from San Marcos to a beach house, the OC attorney I used to date is all packed and ready to leave his house in Irvine as well, and some high school friends have also evacuated. Locally, a bunch of co-workers up in Santa Clarita have been evacuated and others in Topanga Canyon/Malibu area are ready to go.

Monday afternoon: I have no clue what’s going on now. Looks like they may be back home. I’ll keep you posted.

7:30 p.m. Monday: Earlier this evening, my parents received the Reverse 911 call telling them to be ready to evacuate at any time. It’s now officially time to leave, and they are heading out to a motel. All of our friends have also been evacuated. It’s crazy to think that everyone we know in San Diego County (all of our friends live in North County) was forced out of their homes. Scary, scary stuff.

Tuesday morning: My parents are still out of their house, and are looking for a hotel to stay at tonight as the motel they stayed at last night was kind of seedy (but yes, safe and out of harm’s way which is what is important here). Unfortunately, every hotel in San Diego is booked, so if you have an in with a hotel chain, please let me know. (They can’t stay with friends because all of their friends have also evacuated.)

Earlier in the week, a family friend in Michigan called my parents to brag about the warm temperatures in Detroit. It should be noted that while the weather was in the 60s both in Southern California and Detroit, we were bundled up in sweaters and jackets and they were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Not anymore! Anyway, this is our five day forecast. Jealous much?

*Updated–see bottom of post!*

Surfas and I broke up today. It was a wonderful love affair while it lasted, but sadly, it’s over.

You see, Thursday after work I spent $15 on three bottles of sprinkles. I arrived home twenty minutes later and opened the bottles, eager to see their out-of-bottle colors, only to find one of the bottles was missing its foil seal. I immediately called the store and was told that food purchases are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. I explained the seal was missing and was then told the store was closing in ten minutes, and to call back the following day and speak to either Tina or Colleen.

This morning I called once again, explained the story, and was transferred to Tina’s voicemail. I left her a message around 9:15 a.m.

By 2:00, I still hadn’t heard back from anyone. Since I plan on using the sprinkles tomorrow afternoon, I wanted to get the okay to exchange them on the phone so I wouldn’t have to worry about driving out there and being told yet again that food products are non-exchangeable. So, I called again and spoke to Colleen, the other manager. Colleen suggested that perhaps when I twisted open the bottle, the foil seal came off. I told her that was not the case–there was no seal there, period. She took my phone number and said she would call me back. I haven’t heard back from her as of yet.

My question is–why won’t they let me exchange the open bottle with the missing seal for a bottle with a seal? I’m not asking to return them; I’m asking to exchange them–I’m not going to use an open bottle. And in case you were wondering, it’s not about the money, it’s a matter of principle. It’s a $5 bottle of sprinkles for god’s sake. Whatever happened to customer service? Are they just greedy? And would they really like to lose a customer over a $5 bottle of sprinkles?

As of right now, they have. I’ll be going to Gloria’s or Sur La Table from now on.

Update: Saturday afternoon, I still had not heard back from Colleen so I left a message for Frank, the store manager. Frank called me back Saturday evening, apologized profusely, and refunded my money over the phone. He then asked if I was a caterer–I told him no, but I did recently start a baking business. He told me the next time I come in, I should ask for him, and that I will receive a discount from now on.

I know summer is almost over, but in case you’re still planning a visit to Los Angeles, here are some hints on how to be a less obvious tourist.

Jaywalking
No one jaywalks in LA. I’m serious. Even if there is not a car to be seen for a mile, Angelenos will still stand on the curb and wait for the walk sign. This is mainly due to the hefty $80 jaywalking ticket.

Celebrities
Don’t stare. They live here, which means they eat, shop, and walk around here too. If the paparazzi are standing outside a store/restaurant/club, feel free to ask who they are waiting for, but don’t gawk. And please don’t ask me where the best place to see a celebrity is, because I am horrible at recognizing them. Unless they are Richard Simmons in the parking garage of the former Galaxy Theater on Hollywood, because I totally recognized him.

Chrysler Sebring Convertible
Obvious rental car, although apparently popular in West Hollywood. Not sure why.

Driving Any Convertible With The Top Down When It’s less Than 68 Degrees Outside
Angelenos (save for recent transplants) don’t do that. It’s. Too. Cold.

Yielding At An Intersection
Many intersections in LA do not have left turn arrows. This means you have to inch up into the middle of the intersection and wait for pedestrians and traffic to clear before you can turn left. It is important to note that two cars generally turn left when the light sequence turns from yellow to red. I do not know why. That’s just how it is.

The Beach
Contrary to popular belief (and Beverly Hills 90210), there is no Beverly Hills Beach Club. In fact, Beverly Hills is approximately 8.3 miles from the beach. You can’t believe everything you see on TV.

Miles vs. Minutes
It doesn’t matter how many miles away somewhere is, it will take you at least 20 minutes (without traffic) to get there. And remember, estimated driving time is always followed by “without traffic.”

Restaurants
Your server is most likely an unemployed actor/writer/comic/director/producer with a degree from a very expensive university.

Shorts (the clothing not the film)
Wearing shorts when it’s less than 70 degrees means you are either a tourist or a recent transplant to LA. But don’t worry, after a few weeks in LA, you too will be wearing scarves when it hits 65 degrees. Brrr.

For more information, please address all questions to the people selling Star Maps at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and some side street. And if you’re a local, feel free to add to this list.

Some of my favorite things about living in Hollywood:

• Seeing Dennis Woodruff’s car on Sunset, Angelyne dressed in all pink shopping at the market, and Larry David at the Arclight. Regularly.
• Delivery. Of everything. Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, sushi, a pack of gum, laundry, whatever.
• The fact that old Russian people, gay people, straight people, Hipsters, industry people, 9-5ers and people with green hair and 50 piercings can all be sitting next to each other at a restaurant.
• A laundromat with PacMan.
• Cheebo, The Well, the patio at Cat & Fiddle, and the Hollywood Farmer’s Market.
• Three Trader Joe’s within two miles of each other.
• Close proximity to the Eastside, Westside, and the Valley.
• UCB, Largo (I know, technically not Hollywood), and all the other little theaters/venues for comedy and live music.

That’s it for now. Feel free to add some of your own.

If you willingly move to Los Angeles, you are not allowed to talk smack about the City. Or its pizza. The Valley however–totally different story. Kidding! Well, sort of.

If you decide at the very last minute you want to get over two lanes of traffic into a left turn lane on Santa Monica Blvd. in Century, then at the last minute realize that lane is a U-turn only lane, too bad. You must make the U-turn.

If you have an SUV or large car and park in a compact spot, you will have to pay the non-validated parking ticket price times 20 on your way out of the parking garage.

If you use the word irregardless, you must carry around an unabridged dictionary for the next three months.

If you say, I’ll call you, but don’t, you will be forced to use Jdate as your only source of dates for the next six months. It’s up to if you want to pay the subscription fee.

If you wait in line for 30 minutes for a $3.25 cupcake in Beverly Hills, you may never take Fountain again. Sunset or Santa Monica only.

If you are in a pre-paid exit lane at the West Hollywood Target parking garage but do not have your parking ticket validated, you are no longer allowed to use the Formosa entrance and exit. From now on, La Brea only.

Rules will be strictly enforced.

Maria over at Franklin Avenue tagged with a meme. You may notice it’s quite similar to the other Four Things meme going around, but this new one is a little different–it’s about LA and food. Here we go:

Four Jobs I’ve Had In My Life in LA:
Intern at an advertising agency (somewhere near what is now the Sunset and Vine shopping complex)
Intern at a PR firm (Century City)
Staff writer for a sales training company (Culver City)
Writer at my current job (Century City)

Four Movies About LA I Could Watch Over And Over:
Swingers
Clueless
Pulp Fiction
The Graduate (it was LA, right?)

Four Places I’ve Lived All Over L.A. (With Food Memories From Each):
Northridge (during college) — Ameci’s chicken parmesan sandwiches
West Hollywood — a little thai place on Santa Monica Blvd. near Crescent Heights that The Ex and I used to walk to
Hollywood - late dinners/early breakfasts at Swingers
(I’ve only lived in three different areas in LA)

Four LA-Themed Shows I Love(d) To Watch:
Entourage
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Arrested Development (well, sorta LA)
Beverly Hills, 90210

Four Places I Would Vacation At In LA:
Anywhere that is not my apartment

Four LA-Based Websites I Visit Daily:
Franklin Avenue
LAist
losanjealous
Defamer

Four Of My Favorite Foods Found In LA:
Mac & cheese with broccoli from Luna Park
Wings from Hot Wings Cafe on Melrose
Ice cream sandwich from Diddy Riese
Gnocchi from Pomodoro on Westwood

Four Places In LA I Would Rather Be Right Now:
I’m at work right now, so anywhere.

Tagged:
annabel lee at In a kingdom by the sea
Nanette at Say It, Don’t Spray It
Ryan at losanjealous (do you do memes Ryan?)
Meg at Sickcandy

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Thursday Night
Drinks at The Well with Esther et al. Read about it here.

Friday Night
Date number four with CL guy.

Saturday
Was at the salon entirely too early for a Saturday morning and got another inch cut and the color darker (love it!), then came home and slept.

That night, I met up with the girls to see the ASSSSCAT show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. So. Much. Fun. I love long form improv when it’s done well. Following the show we had a late dinner and drinks at Cheebo. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it–it’s consistently good.

Sunday
Had an outing with my Little–we went for lunch then walked around the flea market at Fairfax and Melrose. We had a lot of fun looking at all the jewelry (and junk) and I told her she could spend $5 on whatever she wanted. Of course, she bought a pair of hugely oversized sunglasses. Blech.

Now it’s laundry and clean the apartment time. I so need a maid.

So I’m driving to work this morning and can’t turn right onto Santa Monica from Fairfax because of this huge accident. Then, I’m sitting at my desk before lunch and hear sirens and helicopters because of this crane rescue. I went outside (with the rest of Century City) and saw them rescue the guy–everyone was clapping and cheering. Here’s the video of the rescue.

I think that’s enough excitement for today. Can I go home now?

Girls’ Night–Friday
Friday night I rushed home from work, fixed my makeup, and headed over to meet Eve at Annabel Lee’s apartment. The three of us went to Friday Night Live, where I learned a) whomever leads Ma’ariv services wears a talit and b) always pull your chair down with your dominant hand. While there, we also saw half of the LA men on Jdate. But anyway, after services we went back to AL’s place and enjoyed wine, a home cooked meal (have I mentioned AL is an awesome cook?!), and a delicious dessert as well. Close to midnight I began to fade (as I had only gotten four hours of sleep the night before) so I headed home and left the girls to do the dishes. I know, I’m a horrible guest.

What Will I Wear–Saturday Afternoon
Saturday morning I woke up around 11:00 when my cell phone rang. It was CL Guy calling to confirm our plans for that night, and suggested Yamashiro’s (!) for dinner. I went straight to the mall, because of course, I have nothing Yamashiro’s-worthy. After trying on half of the Beverly Center and ready to admit defeat, my phone rang again. Change of plans, scratch Yamashiro’s, now we’re going to Moonshadows on the beach in Malibu. Yay! Much easier to choose what to wear. I ended up heading back home, emptying my closet onto my bed, and ended up with dark jeans, black strappy sandals, and a cute top.

The Date–Saturday Night
I quickly cleaned up my apartment, hopped in the shower, and was picked up by CL Guy at 7:00. Our reservation was for much much later in the evening, so we had a drink at the Argyle, or whatever it’s called now, then drove out to Malibu. We got to the restaurant a little early and had a drink on the patio literally right above the beach. It was a beautiful night and we saw the waves crashing onto the rocks and the seagulls glowing from the full moon. We had a lovely dinner, decided not to get dessert because we were both stuffed from the appetizer (calamari) and our entrees (I got the tiger prawns–yum; he got a huge caesar salad with lobster and crab). We got back to my apartment, hung out chatting and stuff again, and I finally got to sleep around 2:30-ish.

Now, here’s the thing. He’s nice. He’s kind. He opens doors. He tells me I’m beautiful. He does all that good stuff. But…actually, there are two buts (you knew there was going to be at least one, right?). First, he won’t go to synagogue. Ever. Not even for the high holidays. He doesn’t see the point in going if he doesn’t get something [spiritual] out of it. And raising kids Jewish isn’t a priority to him. Second, I can’t figure out what makes him tick and I don’t think we have anything in common. He hasn’t owned a television for 15 years so he’s really lacking in pop culture knowlege, not to mention the wonders of TiVo. He works in the film industry but doesn’t really go to movies. He’s not into comedy, theater, or anything that like. We end up talking about a lot of surface stuff. And when I ask him what he does for fun, I don’t really get much of an answer.

So that’s my conundrum.

Work, Sleep, Clean, TiVo, and Cupcakes–Sunday
Once I get enough caffeine into my system, I’m going to help a client with a project, clean my apartment (I have a houseguest arriving on Tuesday), take a nap, watch some TiVo’d stuff, then bake my red velvets for Valentine’s Day (for my coworkers and my two valentines). Cupcake pictures to follow.

This is why people move to southern California.

What a fun weekend!

Friday night I hit the grocery store then went home to relax and install the Wordpress upgrade. The installation was pretty uneventful, save for the weird email notification thing that is driving me mad. (Any Wordpress gurus willing to help me?) I haven’t really noticed many differences with 2.0, although the post preview is way cool. Other than that, it looks pretty. I know, I’m a dork.

Saturday afternoon I did the eyebrow/mani/pedi thing then got back to the City in time to meet up with Annabel Lee, Eve (who needs to start a damn blog already), and Tamara for wine and a delicious dinner at Pomodoro (not the new chain of the same name), my all-time favorite tiny Italian place on the Westside.

Following dinner we caravanned over to Boardwalk 11 for Paul’s Karaoke-A-Go-Go night and had an absolute blast. Some of us, ahem, who shall rename nameless, had a lot of alcohol and performed a few songs that had the crowd really going. By the way Paul, I didn’t hear any Greatest American Hero songs. What gives?

While at the party, I also got a chance to catch up with David and Jamie, and I think David has given me the motivation I needed to really get cracking on my book proposal. As always, it was wonderful to see them and we really do need to hang out again sometime soon!

The entire set of pictures can be found here.

Today is a much needed lazy day. I’m going to sleep, clean, do laundry, read, write, and bake. Yep, a new recipe. Details to come.

Today is my half-birthday.

- - -It appears I have made it to the finals in the JIB awards. How cool is that? Thanks to everyone who voted in the preliminary round, and feel free to go ahead and vote in the finals!- - -Last night Marissa and I caught up over drinks and dinner at Magnolia. Everything was delicious and I can’t wait to go back. I love having foodie friends.- - -Speaking of foodie friends, this weekend a bunch of us will be hitting either Nook or Violet prior to a big karaoke shindig. I’ve been to Nook before and absolutely loved it; haven’t tried Violet yet.- - -For my fellow aspiring author friends, Pauly wrote a great piece about the process of writing his new book, The Lost Blogs, over at Media Bistro. - - -If you haven’t already seen it, definitely watch lazy monday, “the West Coast response to SNL’s ‘Chronic of Narnia’ rap.” (via Annabel Lee)- - -And finally, I have a dentist appointment today for a filling type thing and I’m really freaked out over the shots of novocaine. Waah.

Let me preface this by saying I hate the Rite-Aid in my neighborhood, and only went to it because a) I was hoping to avoid the parking structure and super slow elevator at the West Hollywood Sav-on and b) it’s right by my apartment. I went in for three items: night-light bulbs, cough suppressant so I can sleep tonight (I have a horrible cough), and Hanukkah wrapping paper. Should have been easy, right?

Me: Hi. I’ve walked around the entire store but seem to have missed the Hanukkah wrapping paper. Would you please show me where it is?
Sales Clerk: It might be in the back still. Which is kind of weird, because isn’t Hanukkah way before Christmas?
Me: Sometimes. Not this year though.
Sales Clerk: Oh. Let me ask someone. (Talks to another clerk.) Yeah, we don’t have any. All of our holiday stuff is out.
Me: You don’t have any Hanukkah stuff?
Sales Clerk: No. Sorry.
Me: Okay, thanks. May I speak to your manager?
Sales Clerk: Sure.

(Manager comes over and I explain to him I couldn’t find any Hanukkah stuff.)

Manager: Yeah, it was probably discontinued.
Me: What was discontinued?
Manager: Hanukkah.
Me: Hanukkah wasn’t discontinued.
Manager: Well, Hanukkah wrapping paper.
Me: Um, yeah, I don’t think Hanukkah wrapping paper was discontinued. I mean, it’s a holiday. [ed. note: What the hell?]
Manager: We didn’t get any then. All of our holiday stuff is out. Some of our stores get different merchandise though, so maybe it’s not a popular enough item at this store.
Me: You guys are on Fairfax.
Manager: (Blank stare.)
Me: There’s a ton of Jews around here. They need Hanukkah wrapping paper.
Manager: Yeah, sorry.

As funny as this conversation is, it’s also really sad. And frustrating. Come on, it’s 2005. It shouldn’t be so difficult to find Hanukkah wrapping paper at a huge drug store in Los Angeles. Give me a break.

Guess who should be expecting a letter from yours truly?

Movie screenings. Awesome friends with hookups. The Producers.

Great adaptation of the play. Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick , and Uma Thurman (who knew she could sing?!) were all great, but Will Ferrell stole the show. He was absolutely hysterical–everytime he spoke or sang, we were busting up. The film also included small parts by Jon Lovitz and Jai Rodriguez. More info to come later, when I’m not about to fall asleep at my computer.

On a side note, I almost wasn’t allowed in the theater because like the honest idiot I am, I said, yes, I do have a cell phone in my purse. I completely forgot my new phone has a camera and had to get out of line and put it in my car. When my car = Annabel Lee’s inside jacket pocket. Shhh. And no, I didn’t take any pictures. In fact, I miss my old-camera-and-speakerphone-less phone.

And in related news, since I was out earlier, I missed the season finale of The Biggest Loser so please don’t tell me who won.

And in unrelated news, does anyone have a hosting company that they like? Because mine (Total Choice Hosting) sucks. When I asked them for their mailing address, I was told they didn’t have one. Seriously. So I had to find it myself while filing a complaint on the Better Business Bureau website. Where I also found out their BBB membership was revoked last year due to “failure to respond to one or more consumer complaints filed with the BBB.” I’m just sayin’.

The day after a fire, the sunrises are always amazing.

Friday after work, I hit Off Broadway and got a pair of really cute Nine West shoes–black, pointy toe, low heel. I love them. That night I read some of my homework then caught up a bit on my TiVo’d shows.

Saturday I spent the entire day in the Valley. I started off by shedding my security blanket and had five inches cut from my hair. This was a very difficult thing for me to do, and I am still completely surprised that I didn’t cry. I love the cut, and am trying to get used to the length–I’m sure when I wash it tomorrow morning it will feel even stranger.

Following the chop, I met up with a friend and we hit the mall (I got a purse) then we had dinner. Nice and mellow night, just like I needed. Except for the part where, around 12:30 a.m., I went to sleep to the sounds of my apparently-not-gay-neighbor’s lady friend screaming OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod, OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod, OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod. Ugh.

Sunday I woke up an hour before my alarm, thanks to OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod lady whom I would later see doing the walk of shame in her club outfit, carrying her heels. After that, I picked my Little up from Sunday School and we headed over to Dodger Stadium. Our seats rocked–free infield boxes and preferred parking. [Ed. note: See the blond woman with the kid in her lap in the picture? The guy sitting next to her caught a pop-up. Bare handed.]

The next four hours were spent watching the game responding to questions and statements such as, How many outfits does each player have? Do they throw them away? How much does it cost to wash them? How old is Dodger Stadium? How much could someone buy it for? How much does each player make? What is a contract? What is a free agent? Does he get a raise if he gets a lot of points? Why is it called a run instead of a point? What is that yellow pole? If we caught a ball, how much would it be worth? How many days do the players spend together? Why aren’t there any women? Can I have ice cream? I don’t think it’s fair the Dodgers don’t get to hit again. Yeah, I’ve got four hours worth of those. Right now, I am dying for an adult conversation.

I was originally invited by JAB and her dad to join them for dinner while they were in town for business. Then, JAB and her dad were invited by some business acquaintances from a studio to join them for dinner. So, in the end, I was taken out, with JAB and her dad, by some very nice studio peeps. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, here are the details.

JAB mentioned we were going to dinner at a place called Firefly in (gasp) The Valley. [Ed. note: Meg, I think it's in your 'hood. Have you been? Delish!] I looked it up on Citysearch and informed JAB that a) They have fried olives; and b) The restrooms are unisex. Should be fun.

We arrived at the restaurant, sans visible sign (oh so LA) and there were about 30 (okay, 7) valets all dressed in grey waiting to take our ride. For some reason, they looked kinda funny standing there and that made us laugh, but whatever, sometimes when we’re together we revert back to being kids. Anyway, the inside of the bar area is super cool–the walls are lined with books (yes they’re real–JAB checked) and there are super comfy sofas and ottomans to relax on. As JAB’s dad pointed out, the decor looks a bit like the Magic Castle (where by the way, if you’ve never been, you must visit). We had drinks as we waited for the rest of our party (stuck in traffic), then when they joined us, we went into the dining area which is a bit trippy. It’s super dark, and sorta indoors but not really. I think there is one (?) wall that is open, and the ceiling has slats in it so air comes in (they let people smoke in the dining room, which was annoying). One of the walls had dozens of candles on it, and each table has a huge candle, which is much needed in order to read the menu.

On to the food–JAB and I started off with the fried olives (don’t knock it till you try it) and they were superb. They came with a garlic aioli dipping sauce, which was okay, but then again, I’m not a mayonnaise fan. For our main courses, I had the free range chicken–marinated in something delicious–with white corn. JAB had the filet mignon which she also thoroughly enjoyed. (I can’t remember what everyone else got, but I do know that all of five of us liked our meals.) We also had some fries that were floating around the table. Totally stuffed but still wanting dessert (Weight Watchers? Points? What’s that?), we ordered not one, but two desserts to share between the um, two of us–chocolate cake with chocolate gelato and vanilla gelato with a warm caramel sauce and espresso poured over it. Oh. My. God. JAB and I got creative and ate the rich chocolate cake with the vanilla gelato and just about died.

As a side note, the bathrooms are unisex (think Ally McBeal) and it was a bit annoying having to put the toilet seat down before I could pee. Other than that, the place rocked and I would love to go on a date there (um, any takers?). The only thing is, I think it would be kinda strange to be in the bathroom at the same time as my date, so timing is of the essence. And please don’t ask me why I’m concerned about the whole bathroom thing. I just am.

Major thanks to JAB and her dad, as well as the kind guys at WB, for dinner. I had a lovely time.

And in totally unrelated to delicious food news, no, I did not feel the earthquake. I did however, hear the window rattling and guessed it was an earthquake. My senses are totally working overtime.

In case you haven’t heard, we lost power today. At first we thought it was just our office building, then all of Century City, then finally we were informed (via building emergency loudspeaker system) that the power outage affected most of the City and Valley.

Good: We didn’t have to work for about 45 minutes because the only computers that were up were in the server room.

Bad: The panel (whatever that means) affecting our floor blew, so we didn’t have any air conditioning again until 4:30. By then it was about 85 degrees in our office.

Cause: “Workers connected the wrong wires, causing a surge of power that led to shutdowns at three power generating stations…”

Uh, yeah.

This fire started about 20 minutes ago. The picture is from the roof of my apartment building.

I’m going to pack my photo albums and stuff now. Think good thoughts.

Update: We don’t need to leave, but thanks for your good thoughts! More picture here. (You can see the water(?) dropping helicopters too.) The street in front of my building is closed and totally backed up, so I’ll be home for the rest of the night.

Side note: Because the street in front of my apartment is closed off, it is eerily quiet tonight. No cars, buses, or horns. Only a helicopter every so often. It’s never been like this before, and it’s quite strange!

I just got back from a screening of Just Like Heaven courtesy of my awesome friend Julie. Not only did she take me to the screening, she gave me the Wedding Crashers soundtrack (complete with a track by Guster). How cool is she?! Anyway, I thought the movie was cute with a high cheese factor; Julie and her assistant both liked it a lot more. Doesn’t matter how good it was/wasn’t, because I can’t complain about looking at Mark Ruffalo for two hours.

Interesting Note #1: During the opening credits there is a cover of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven performed by a female artist. (Yes, the lyrics were changed around to accommodate the gender difference.) Anyone know who sings it? I couldn’t find the info anywhere. The closing credits had the original The Cure version of the song.

Interesting Note #2: I ran into my sister’s ex-boyfriend about three times before the movie started. And yes Bethany, he gained weight.

Thanks for the movie and the soundtrack Julie. You rock!

Friday night my headache and I stayed home and napped. We’ve been together longer than any of my recent relationships. Lovely, isn’t it?

Saturday, I took my Little to my company picnic at Knott’s Berry Farm. It was a gorgeous sunny day–we couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather. We enjoyed meeting Snoopy (three times), getting our faces arms painted, eating lunch with my co-workers and their families, and played some games including a water balloon toss. I do believe my Little enjoyed throwing the huge water balloon at me and watching it explode on my jeans and shoes more than anything else. Following the picnic festivities, we were given tickets to the park and off we were.

Walking around the park reminded me why I haven’t been back to an amusement park since I went with The Ex to his fraternity formal/weekend at Disneyland back in college. I hate crowds. And pushy people. And hot, sweaty, pushy people walking around in crowds. Oh, and roller coasters. Yeah, it was a fun day. Not. I finally got home around nine-ish and collapsed. I’m so not a teenager anymore. Sigh.

Sunday morning I weighed-in and was super happy to learn I had lost 3.6 pounds. Pretty amazing considering a) I’ve been on a steroidal drug (for my headache) for the past five days and b) I ate both lunch and dinner yesterday at Knott’s Berry Farm where the food choices kinda suck–do you want grease, or more grease with that? Anyway, I’m quite content with my total weight loss thus far (5.4 pounds).

Following Weight Watchers, I met up with Marissa and we headed over to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market for lunch and shopping. From there it was on to the Melrose and Fairfax flea market where we both got some super cute/super cheap jewelry and did some great people watching. After the markets, we walked down Melrose and browsed in Urban Outfitters where we saw Kirsten Dunst shopping, sans Jake. I of course, walked right past her–Marissa had to point her out to me. I’m such a bad celeb spotter. Anyway, after shopping, we treated ourselves to a refreshing dessert at a Gelato Italiano, a place I remembered I had seen on the Food Network. I had a most delish lemon sorbet.

After getting home, I ran some errands, finished up a piece I was writing for a deadline (link coming soon, for a cool new site called Slay Your Demons) and now I shall relax. Ahh, the lazy days of summer.

FYI…yes, I felt the earthquake, and yes I freaked out. (I don’t do well with earthquakes since living in Northridge during the Northridge one.)

Traffic sucked tonight. After finally getting home, I opened my doorwall* to let the beautiful 70 degree air into my stuffy apartment and all I could hear were helicopters, people screaming, and a band playing. What the hell? When did Hollywood Blvd. become a concert venue? And why?

On a side note, I guess the people waiting in line to not see Star Wars at Grauman’s had really good seats for the Audioslave concert.

*Also known as a sliding glass door.

1. Change the polling place from the location it’s been for several years.
2. Have an incomplete address display on the map from the lavote.net website.
3. Figure out exactly where new polling place is, only to discover it is a retirement home with no parking lot.
4. And on a one way street.
5. With parking only allowed on one side of the street.
6. Which is all parked up by the residents of said street.
7. Finally find a parking spot.
8. Find correct table.
9. Get handed a marker (swear to God) and fill in a circle on ballot. Question whether or not this system of voting seems slightly backwards compared to our modern Ink-A-Vote system.
10. Am informed I am the second person to vote. And with the parking situation as it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the last.

Way to go City of LA!

Friday night, my sister, aunt, and I caught up with my cousin before his show at the Knitting Factory. We had a quick bite to eat at Baja Fresh then went over to the venue and caught part of the opening band. I’d only been to the Alterknit Theatre at the Knitting Factory, but the main stage is really cool. Crooked Fingers was awesome and you could tell the crowd was enjoying every minute of it. At one point, one of the amps was giving the band trouble, so they moved down to the floor for a few songs. The crowd loved it!

When the show ended, we hung out as my cousin signed autographs and chatted with fans. It was quite strange yet very exciting to watch people ask Jason for his autograph. We have a rock star in the family now!

We then left the venue, and headed over to Swingers (sans my sister) for some late night early morning food. After dinner/breakfast, my aunt headed back to her hotel and my cousin and I back to my place. We finally got to sleep around 4:00 a.m. then woke up a few hours later to meet my aunt for breakfast. This lack of sleep thing made me realize I am in no way cut out to be a rock star, nevermind the fact that I have no musical talent whatsoever.

Saturday morning after breakfast, I took my cousin to meet up with the rest of the band and said goodbye. I got a manicure then came home for a very short nap before heading over to my sister’s place to meet up with my parents who were in town for my mom’s birthday. My aunt then joined us and we stuffed ourselves beyond silly at C & O in Marina Del Rey. Dinner was a ton of fun and delicious and I even made $100 when my mom dared me to eat a tomato (I hate tomatoes). After dinner, my parents and I went back to my place and fell asleep. We were all beat.

Sunday morning we woke up again to do what our family does best–eat. We had birthday brunch at The Ivy (nope, no celeb spotting) then saw Bark, a musical about dogs from a dog’s point of view. It was cute. After the show we went shoe shopping (now you know where I get it) and had dinner at Toast where we even thought to call ahead to have some cupcakes saved.

My parents are on their way back down to San Diego and I am going to enjoy my cupcake, do some laundry, then settle in for a good night’s sleep.

Tonight my sister and I enjoyed dinner with our aunt at Cheebo. We’d never been there before but had heard great things about it and it was delish! [Ed. Note: I was really surprised, given the not-so-good user reviews on Citysearch.] The homemade potato chips were yummy, our entrees were great, and the warm molten chocolate cake thing was soooo good.

Of course, the best part of the night was getting a chance to catch up with my aunt–she and my uncle live in Houston so we don’t see each other very often. Fortunately, it looks like she’ll be staying in town for a couple more days so I’ll probably see her again at my cousin’s show Friday night. Yay!

I was reading the news on the local NBC station’s website and saw this:

Is it just me, or is this a strange image to choose? It’s a crotch shot! They couldn’t find a file photo complete with a guy’s head?

This morning I paid $2.59 a gallon for 87 at the Mobil station by my apartment. It cost me $25 to fill up my little Civic.

That’s. Just. Wrong.

In case you see this blimp in the skies over the U.S., please note that my Little and I helped paint it as part of the Ameriquest Soaring Dreams program. We were invited, along with all of the kids in LA who helped paint the panels a few months ago, to Dodger Stadium for today’s game (Dodger’s lost) and the Soaring Dreams Launch Ceremony. Isn’t the blimp beautiful?

Oh yeah, for those of you in other states, it was about 80 degrees and sunny. Couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather.

My sister came over and we headed to the nearly empty Beverly Connection. Went to Sport Chalet where I got a cool little thingy to hold my keys that hooks onto my shoe lace for when I go walking/jogging. [On a side note, it was super easy to get in and out of the parking structure--either due to it being Easter or perhaps because practically everything in that complex has now closed.] We then went to Old Navy where I got some inexpensive yoga pants so I can jog in style.

After doing minimal damage at Old Navy, we went to Sunset and Vine where we hit Bed Bath & Beyond. My sister got the cutest duck bathtub mat–I wish I had gotten one too. Having shopped up an appetite, we then tried Kabuki Sushi for lunch. Super super super cheap sushi that was pretty good, although I still like Mika better. [Another interesting side note: Michael Jackson's star is right in front of Bed Bath & Beyond. Who knew?]

Finally, as we were driving up La Brea (after attempting to go to a closed Target) we passed Mashti Malone. I’ve lived right by it for the past ten years but have never been and am so glad we decided to give it a go. Yum! They have some interesting flavors, but being the unadventurous person I am, I stuck with the vanilla with little peanut butter cups. It was delish.

Now I’m going to relax; I love Sundays. And don’t forget–tonight is Suzanne’s Diary For Nicholas (I cried throughout the entire book) and the TLC show about the 7-year-old body builder. TiVo’s gonna be working hard tonight.

The other day, my Little and I received an invitation to a Dodgers spring training game. I looked the date up on the Dodgers’ website to see who we were playing and it read LAA. Who the hell is LAA? The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of course. Now, please correct me if I’m mistaken, but isn’t Anaheim in Orange County, not Los Angeles?

—And in other news, I forgot to put on earrings today and consequently feel totally naked and just off. I hate this feeling.—And in more unrelated news, I’m just not that into The Amazing Race this season. None of the teams are terribly interesting to me. Anyone else with me on this?

Lameness: I was plagiarized.

Question: Any accountants out there? Am I allowed to deduct expenses for taking my Little on outings? I’m wondering if I should start saving receipts for next year’s taxes.

Favorite site of the week: TrueDater

Traffic: The LA Marathon is this Sunday which means traffic in my neighborhood will suck yet again.

Chocolate: Easter’s coming up which means Cadbury mini eggs (not the cream eggs; those are gross) are available at the stores yet again. Have I mentioned how much I love Cadbury chocolate?

The Amazing Race: Which is your favorite team? I’m leaning toward the brothers (Brian and Greg) and the boyfriends (Lynn and Alex). I already dislike Romber* and I didn’t even watch Survivor.

*Romber courtesy of Reality Blurred.

This is why I have to turn the volume way up to hear the Oscar pre-show–helicopters, blimps, airplanes, you name it.

Woman on cell phone sitting at table while waiting for friend:
“Hi. I need a reservation for two at 7:30. For Drew. Drew Barrymore. It’s a dinner meeting. Not just dinner, but a meeting also.”

Man talking on cell phone while sitting at a table with a woman:
“You know Bradley Bayou? I’m sitting here with the daughter of the woman who made a dress he designed.”

Who knew Kung Pao Bistro was such a fun place to eavesdrop?

Last night I attended the annual Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters dinner and auction gala at the Beverly Hilton emceed by Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond. There were two honorees–a very generous volunteer/mentor in the community as well as a Big Brother (he and his Little have been matched for eight years).

The party was beautiful and so much fun! There were amazing items (art work, jewelry, cruises, a Segwey, etc.) auctioned off and a ton of money was raised for the organization. And of course, there was lots of wine, dinner, a band, and dancing.

I was (surprisingly) seated at a table filled with generous donors and board members and their families rather than at a table with other Bigs. The board members were so excited to finally meet an actual Big Sister and asked tons of questions about my Little and our outings. I was thrilled to give them all the details! They even got to see a picture of the two of us when our photo displayed on the huge screen in the room. Nothing like seeing a picture of yourself that just about spans a wall.

I’m so glad I went to the party and am looking forward to becoming more involved with such an incredible organization. It really was a wonderful evening.

A notice from your apartment building manager posted in the common areas of the building is printed on the back of a script.

Yum! La Fondue Bourguignonne was delicious! The place was packed, but we had a reservation so we were seated right away. We quickly ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir* and chose which main course (chicken, scallops, shrimp, or beef) we each wanted. The prix fix menu, which is the only menu available on Saturdays, consists of four courses. First course was bread dipped in cheese. Next a salad. For the main course, you get a plate of dipping sauces and raw meat and veggies which you cook in either a wine broth or oil. (We chose the wine broth.) Lastly, dessert was a big plate of fresh fruit, marshmallows, and cookies that we dipped in chocolate. It is a bit pricey, but well worth the money. I can’t wait to go back.

On a side note: I drove through Laurel Canyon last night on my way to the restaurant. The road is still wet and part of it is closed. I passed the house that collapsed, and it looked eerily like a home affected by the Northridge earthquake in ‘94. By the way, tomorrow’s the anniversary of the quake.

*No, I have not seen Sideways.

A friend just sent me a link to an article (reg. req’d) and this incredible picture of the mudslide in La Conchita. So scary. And so sad.