leftovers

I got up fairly early and started my big project - painting the living room wall. We've painted several walls in our apartment, but this is the biggest wall. It's right to your right when you walk in the front door and extends from there all the way to the far wall, so it's basically the entry way/dining room/living room wall, and there is a huge mirror hanging from it, a huge painting, all the records and the record player are on a shelf against it, as well as the TV and the easy chair. So getting ready to paint it was no small task. I had to move everything to the other side of the living room, remove everything hanging from the wall (which besides the aforementioned mirror and painting also included at least 5 more framed items). Once I got everything out of the way and removed all the switch plates, I was about to tape the corners when I realized we had no tape! I walked down the street to Tashman's Hardware, which I was excited about because I've never be...

Emmy day arrives! I set my alarm to wake up early with Adrienne to help her do some errands, but when I first got up, she said she was going to go have her nails done and get some coffee, so I went back to sleep until she returned. Then I drove her to the Grove because she wanted to get Dylan a gift for taking her, so we went to Nordstrom's and got him a real bow-tie - as in, not a clip on. The saleslady was super nice and helped us pick out a really cool purple and pink striped one. Then Adrienne got some makeup at the Mac counter and we went to Coffee Bean to get Dylan a Latte. Back home, Adrienne gave Dylan his gift, which he was thrilled with. We spent the next half hour or so watching You Tube videos trying to figure out how to tie the damned thing! As Adrienne and Dylan were getting ready, they realized they didn't need to leave as soon as they thought they did, which was great for them since it meant they had more time to get ready, but bad because I knew if I wait...

I had a Visit Hollywood meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel at 11 am, which was nice. It was funny because I hadn't been in that room at the Roosevelt since Mary Lou took me to some event there back in the days. It's funny how, after Mary Lou left, I became somewhat disconnected from the Hollywood people up on Hollywood Blvd., because it had been her that had been so involved and always taking me places and getting me to be part of the community. It's nice to feel like I'm back in the swing. After we had our lunch, which was really good, I said goodbye to the new people I met and the girls from the Chamber that I was sitting with, and I headed towards Atwater to pick Adrienne up. Brandon and Angie both had to work, so she was at their apartment by herself. I picked her up and brought her to my new office, and then we walked to Space 15 Twenty so she could have lunch at Umami Burger. I had already eaten so I just got onion rings to snack on. So much for only having sal...

It's always so hard to go back to work after a great weekend. I had a lunch meeting with Sarah in my office, Jim who took my old job at the Media District, and Lydia, who is a community activist and formerly the Beautification chair of the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council. We met at Tender Greens and ate out on the back patio, which I was previously unaware of. The purpose of the get-together was just to discuss ideas of how the BIDs could collaborate with the Neighborhood Council on projects such as beautification and quality of life issue. We discussed the possibility of funding dog-waste stations throughout Hollywood. After work I got home and Kevin was there so we hung out. Later, we went out to Fubar; Dylan was too tired to go so it was just Kev and I. It was really dead - there were only like 2 other people in there when we first got there. The bartender really wanted us to stay as he must have realized the looks on our faces when we walked in and saw how empty it...

Dylan and I got up and had brunch; Kevin was already out and about. We wanted to go swimming, so we called Jennn who had just gotten home from work and was tired, but said we could come use the pool in her building, so we did. Kevin is not the "swimming type of guy" (according to him) so he was out shopping while we swam. Later, we met back up with him and we walked down to WeHo to have dinner at Bite. He treated us, which was very nice of him. I felt bad having ordered two glasses of wine with dinner in light of that. So then we walked down to St. Felix and I bought a round of drinks for everyone, we love the drink they have their called "Stockholm Syndrome." I love any drink that involves fresh rosemary. Hello 2010, goodbye junk! NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 225 Well, this is a sad day for my new year's resolution. After some technical difficulties (my iPad ate a whole list of things I had gotten rid of, I misplaced c...

Every year, the Stunt Performer's Group has a big party at the TV Academy to honor their nominees for the Emmy's, and it's always a theme party and one of the most fun of the year. This year the theme was '50's and they had Bowzer from Sha Na Na there as the host. The decorated the courtyard in front of the theatre to look like a diner, and it was really cool! I didn't have time to really go find an outfit, but Dylan said I'd be fine if I just wore a white t-shirt, jeans, and did my hair up in a pompadour. I was worried because I thought I didn't look very good to be going to a cool party, but when I got there, all Dylan's co-workers were complimenting me on my hair and asking me how long it took me to do it. So, I was fine after all! Since Dylan's head is shaved now, he borrowed my Elvis wig. The party was really fun. They had some dancers that did a sort of "west side story" routine to kick things off and then they had a video o...

I met up with my predecessor at the Media District today for lunch at one of my favorite spots, Cafe Muse. He had some questions for me so I tried to help him out the best we could, but we also just talked about a lot of stuff too. It's definitely a little surreal, after having worked there for 8 years, to really ponder the fact that someone else is now doing that job. After we were finished, I got a red velvet cupcake to go, as usual, and talked to Jen about Kevin and I performing there so she asked me to send her an e-mail. After work, I went to Prime Time, a dive bar on Santa Monica Blvd., near Western Ave. I had driven by the bar many times but never ventured in, but tonight I was to meet Angie and Brandon there to hang out with our friend Scott who runs the website www.findadeath.com and the Dearly Departed Tours, which is an amazing tour of Hollywood and the surrounding area focusing on celebrity deaths, scandals, and lots of other bits of history. Scott is a history buf...

Dylan and I were going to the Opening Gala for the Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition. This is an annual event held downtown at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) that we usually go to, because Dylan usually has to work there since it's also a TV Academy event. They do the nomination receptions at this event for the costume design Emmy nominees. It's always a really fun party with great food and an open bar. I got up and dyed my eyebrows, and then had Dylan do my eyelashes. I meant to do my hair too, but I got too lazy. Then got my outfit ironed for the event. Dylan and I went to Jack in the Box on the way downtown since we hadn't eaten anything and we had to get there early since Dylan was helping set up (although just the reception table, not the whole event). Dylan wanted to get a new shirt so we went to Macy's on 7th street. He ended up getting a neat grey button down shirt with a damask sort of pattern. We parked at F...

It was a big day! I was the first one into work, since Brian is gone and we had the meeting yesterday so everyone was kind of drained from getting ready for that. The movers came to pick up the carts from when we moved up to the 4th floor, but Sarah was still using hers so I had to call her to figure out what to do. I went to lunch at Umami Burger, this fairly new place at Space 15 Twenty that I had been wanting to try When I walked in the guy seemed to be kind of rude when I told him it was just one, and he told me I could "sit on that couch," pointing to a couch right by the entrance that looked like a waiting area. Whatever, I thought, as I started to sit down, when I looked at the table right next to me and saw most of the staff from the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) which I had just had a meeting with a couple days before, and have known some of them for awhile. So I asked if I could sit with them and they said sure. There I was having lunch with nearly the e...

Brandon and Angie really wanted us to go to Trannyshack tonight at the Echo and Dylan wasn't that excited about it so I wasn't sure if we were going to end up going or not. Luckily, Jason was driving and offered to pick us up so that made up our minds to go ahead and go. We went over to Brandon and Angie's place because Luther and Andy were supposed to be meeting us there to have a drink before the club, but they were not there when we arrived and didn't show up for quite awhile. By the time they got there, it was pretty much time to go to the club. I had already probably drank too much because then I made a series of bad decisions which resulted in me being stuck outside for awhile (my wallet was left in Jason's car) and then Dylan and I had to walk really far to go back to the car so we missed some of the performers, and then I did something stupid and I wasn't in a very good mood for the rest of the night. Oh well, some nights out are great and others are...

Today was Marc's birthday, but instead of having a party, he wanted everyone to go to Akbar for Bears in Space. It was the 1 year anniversary of that club so they were having a parking lot party, which sounded like fun. I hadn't had any time to get a present and I had no idea what to get him, so instead I made a chocolate orange pound cake with orange slices and glaze on top. It looked and smelled delicious but I never got to try any of it other than the batter. Ben came over and Dylan was going to drive us all, but we stopped at Viktor's to give Marc the pound cake so he didn't have to take it to the club and share it with everyone. Marc was driving to the club by himself so I volunteered to ride with him. When we got there, it was fairly sparse but it filled up rather quickly. It was really sunny outside so I had to either hide under and umbrella or stay inside, but it was really fun. It felt like a small pride festival out in the parking lot. Amy and AJ were the...

Brandon and I had planned a trip out to Hoagie's for a BBQ since we hadn't seen him in a long time, and haven't been out there since we finished recording Open For Business . Brandon and Angie picked us up on their way, which was nice. We all stopped at the Pavilions on PCH, and Hoagie was there at the same time! We were all getting food for the BBQ. Ben and Roxy were already there waiting for us when we got there. They had never been out so Brandon thought it would be fun to invite them along but unfortunately they were on time and the rest of us were all late. Tiger came out and joined us later. Hoagie's birthday was coming up soon so it was sort of an early birthday celebration for him. It was nice being back out at his place, especially since it was just for fun and there was no work to be done. We never even entered the studio which was silly since we really should have shown Ben around. Hoagie made turkey burgers with bing cherries and walnuts, and goudy ch...

Dylan had a hair appointment with his Aunt Renee in the morning so he got up and left and then I got around and took the bus to the red line, up to North Hollywood where Brandon, Angie, mom and dad picked me up. We drove up to Granada Hills to meet Dylan at his sister's house. Tracy was having a BBQ for her daughter Cody's birthday (Dylan's niece) so we wanted to stop by for a little bit. Dylan's mom and dad were both there which was cool, and lots of other family members. My parents had met many of them before when they were out and Dylan and I had our housewarming party, but it was nice to get them reacquainted. We had hot dogs, cake and ice cream, but we had to run right after singing the birthday song. Dylan and I drove to Susan's and got there first since the other vehicle had to stop and get booze. Susan had rented tables and chairs, and decorated with purple balloons and stuff, since purple is my favorite color. Jonathan cooked a bunch of food and it was ...

My phone alarm started going off at 10 so that we'd have time to get around and pack up to be out of the room by noon, which was check out time, but I kept hitting snooze and didn't get up until 11. I got showered and dressed but everyone else was still sleeping so I had to start opening the curtains and rousing them. I didn't think there would be any way I could get them out of there on time, but noon came and went with no calls from the front desk or visits from housekeeping, so we seemed to be OK. We finally got everything gathered and moved out about a half hour late. We decided to finally go downtown since we hadn't made it last night. Jason had told us about a place called Mermaids that he said we should check out, and Dylan and I always like to go to Fitzgerald's since it has the rainbow. We found Mermaids right away and had a brunch of deep-fried oreos and twinkies, and hot dogs. We didn't have much luck there on the slot machines though, so after ...

Today was Cinco De Mayo, a holiday that I'm pretty sure I knew little or nothing about when I lived in Kansas but it's usually a pretty big deal here in LA. After work, I went home and did a little tweaking on some music before I got ready to head over for Robin and Michele's for a dinner party. I got almost all the way there, which is clear across town on Vermont and 6th, when Robin called to say the party was moved back to Park LaBrea where it had originally been scheduled (he had just told me a few hours earlier about the change to his place). So, I turned around and headed back west. The apartment was Aaron and Mark's, and I got there first (Robin and Michele were the only other guests). I met Aaron a few years ago through a mutual friend but I didn't know him that well, and I don't know if I ever met Mark before, so it was nice to hang out with them and get to know them better. Aaron made a really awesome Mexican meal - fresh salsa, guacamole, tacos, ri...

I had quite a bit of work to do today, including a meeting at the Taft Building for Hollywood 4WRD and our upcoming Homeless Registry, which you will be reading about in the coming days. After that, I drove up to Susan's office to cut checks and stopped by the Dollar Tree on my way home, although they didn't have any new outfits for Spike. Angie came over and we got ready to go to Hollywood Park to see Joan Jett, picking Marc up on the way. It was very cool because Hollywood Park is where Dylan and I first met Marc many years ago when we had gone to see Bow Wow Wow. Every summer, Hollywood Park has Fantastic Fridays, where they have night racing (it's a horse racing track and casino) and a concert series which usually features 80's bands. I remember when Dylan and I went to see Bow Wow Wow, I really didn't know too much about them but I had always heard about them and their legacy and thought of them as a really cool band with a neat story. I was blown away by ...

Today I had sort of planned to hang out with my friend Ryan and through Facebook we had discussed going on a hike. Luckily we both sort of pretended we had never discussed that and instead just hung out at my apartment for a little while (I played him some clips from SNL with Tina Fey hosting, including the Sarah Palin Network spoof and the Justin Beiber sketch) and then we went and met some of his friends at Hamburger Mary's. He dropped me off at home later (after playing some songs by a singer, Gabriella Cilmi, who is really good) and I watched TV for awhile before walking down the blvd. to meet Marc. Marc and I went to Mickey's to meet up with Brad, Alf, Ryan and Tommy. We got a table on the patio and hung out there for most of the night; it was fun. Eventually, Marc and I left and we thought we might stop by Fubar or Los Tacos but we just ended up each going home. I drunkenly watched "Romy & Michele's High School Reunion" which is one of my favorite mov...

Tiger had a new show opening at Grey Tone photo, which is right down the street from my office, so Dylan and Brandon both came over after they got off work since they haven't seen my "new" office since it's been recarpeted and refurnished. I was happy to show off my new digs to them. Then we walked down the street to Grey Tone. We were the first people there besides Tiger, Don (the owner, who used to be one of my Board Members at the Media District) and the bartender. People started trickling in soon, though. He was showing his Action Figure series, which are photos of little plastic toy dolls shot really close up and then blown up really big. He started a decade ago or so, with these army guy action figures, zooming in on their faces to show what image we are giving to children as what "masculine" means, and then he began collecting all different types of little action figure toys and taking portraits of them all. There was a wide variety, from female...

I got up a little before noon and was less hungover than I thought I'd be, but still felt pretty crappy. I felt bad since Carrie was here and I had slept in so late, I know she's an early riser so she must have just been hanging out waiting for us to get up. Anyway, I made some breakfast burritos for brunch so that made things better. I had some turkey spam, so I combined it with some green onions, garlic, blue cheese, cheddar cheese and red bell pepper, then put the eggs in and put them in tortillas which I then grilled in a pan. They were good. Dylan's mom called and I guess she was bored and wanted to come over. Dylan told her we were already going to a party, for Robin & Michelle's housewarming, but she just sort of invited herself to come with us. So, after she came over we all got ready and headed over there, stopping at Target so I could run up and buy a couple nice towels as a housewarming gift (Robin and I had talked about this night before at Brandon...

Happy 31st Birthday to my brother, Brandon! Welcome to the 30+ club! The workday went pretty well, and I went to work at Susan's house to pay bills and got to see her poor ol' dog, Forrest, who had been attacked by a wild animal the other day. He was laying on a blanket in the living room when I got there, so I was really worried about him. But later, he was up and around, and came and stood next to me in the office so I could pet him. Forrest is one of those dogs that I bonded with right away and he seems to know how much I love him. He always comes over to me and expects me to pet him, since I usually do, but when I stop he uses his paw to try to move my hand back onto his head! It's so cute. I stupidly left my phone at Susan's house and didn't realize until after I got home. Carrie was supposed to be meeting me so I could let her in since she is staying with us now for a few days, but I had no way to contact her. I tried e-mailing and IM'ing Dylan on ...