leftovers

It was a really fun day! It was raining, but Dylan and I love the rain - and we are both always so thankful that neither one of us is the type to complain about rain or gloomy weather - so we went to the Grove to do some holiday shopping, thinking that the rain would keep the crowds away, which it did for the most part. We ate at the Farmer's Market there, at the Gumbo Pot, which is one of my favorite places to eat in all of LA! I had gumbo and fried oysters, with cornbread and collard greens - delish! We did quite a bit of shopping, got presents for nephew Connor and then went to Cost Plus World Market where I got some presents for Brandon and Angie. It was so much fun being at the Grove in the rain! Then after we got home, Marc and Dan came and met us so we could ride together to El Capitan Theatre for Tron: Legacy. I've been pretty excited to see the movie, since I first heard about it quite some time ago. I've always love the idea of Tron, and I know I had one o...

I slept in so late I couldn’t believe it! I meant to get up early, go shopping for fabric for my alien costume for tomorrow’s video shoot, and make brunch, all before Dylan woke up... but seeing as Dylan woke me up at 1pm, obviously none of that happened. I went out and my first stop was the Goodwill on Beverly, since I’ve always had pretty good luck there. I had a few different ideas when I spotted this dark green body suit, maybe it’s for snowboarding or something - it’s not really particularly heavy, though. It’s got lots of cool pockets and zippers and I thought I could make it into some sort of alien-looking costume. I tried it on and it was really tight - I couldn’t zip it up all the way - bought I thought it could work. Then I went to the 99 cents store on Wilshire and got a metallic windshield sun visor thing, and a few other items. My last stop was the shopping center on 3rd and Fairfax. I went into the K-Mart hoping they would have the alien antenna ball ...

We woke up and then went out to brunch with Johnny and Bea to the French Market Place, which is sort of our de facto place to take visitors out to eat. It's a fun atmosphere, we like the food, and it's just a block from our apartment. After that, we walked home and then got in the car to go to Amoeba. Dylan didn't want to go to Amoeba, so he just went to the Andrew Christian store with us, bought some shorts, and then he walked home while we went on to Hollywood. Johnny and Bea both had a good time shopping for records and CD's, and I found a Marlene Dietrich record that I pointed out to Johnny and said Dylan would like it, so he bought it for him. After we got back, it was time for our guests to head back to Bakersfield so we bid them adieu and wished them a safe trip home. I worked a little on recording, trying to make progress on my album but ended up working on my cover of Re-Flex's "Hurt" which is what I had been working on back when my computer cra...

Payday!!! It was very much needed as I've been trying to balance everything out in the transition between my jobs and the pay periods were not in my favor, but everything will be fine now. I walked to Amoeba on my lunch break and bought the Goldfrapp record, Headfirst, since I've been wanting it for awhile. It comes on heavy vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, but it also includes the album on CD too in a cardboard sleeve, and a poster! The artwork is beautiful. After work, Dylan and I walked down to meet Amy and AJ at Bite because they wanted to take me out for my birthday since they hadn't gotten a chance to yet. I stopped at the ATM and got Dylan some cash to repay him since he had been loaning me money. The dinner was really nice. I had Thai Red Curry chicken with rice, it was delicious. Afterward, we went next door to Yogurt Stop for desert. That place is always so busy. It was getting pretty late by then, so we said goodbye, and Dylan and I walked home. Hello 2010, ...

Today we had the board meeting for Sunset/Vine and we had the research group that we had hired to do the Demographic Research Study on Hollywood there to report their findings, so we had the meeting in the theatre at AMPAS. It was interesting to hear the results and see the presentation. Afterward, I went to Target to exchange the camera I had gotten for my birthday because of the little glitches that it had. I traded it for the same model of camera, but got a little worried when I saw there was a lady there at the counter trading in the same camera. I asked if hers had problems and she said, "no, why did yours" like she was not telling the whole story. She said she just realized she wanted a Canon instead. Well, as soon as I got home and charged the new camera, it turned out that it was even worse than the camera I had before, because several of the buttons on it just don't work. We had Invisible Material rehearsal at Amp in North Hollywood from 9-11. Those late nig...

Mom and dad let us sleep in while they went out for coffee and donuts. When they got home we decided to get up and around so we could go shopping with them. Mom and dad wanted to buy my birthday present for me, which was going to be a digital camera (my first), so they wanted me to pick it out. We had lunch at the Veggie Grill which they both seemed to like although we weren't sure if dad would be into the fake meat thing. Then we drove up to the Target on Sepulveda in the valley and picked out a nice Fujifilm camera. Mom and dad were both so concerned about getting the right one and I had to keep telling them any of them would be fine with me - anything is better than nothing which is what I have now. Then we picked out a case for it and got a memory card, and then looked for a gift for Ben G's birthday since we were going there next. We looked all over and then I had the idea to get something for his bar, so we got these retro Miller Lite bar glasses. Ben's wife, Rox...

Dylan and I had to get up and around - before 2pm! - because we were going to a time-share presentation, which is how we had gotten the three night free in the Riviera. We drove down to where the presentation was, which was very near a condo we had stayed at for our 5 year anniversary (in 2007) and also had gone to a time share deal, although that time we were lucky and the guy told us to go have fun because he knew "we weren't going to buy anything." I guess looking back maybe that was sort of an insult but we didn't care, we were just glad that we didn't have to sit through it. This time we were both a little irritated with having to do the time share thing... we've done many of them before and I guess we are just to that point where it's just really annoying. We got there and the place was so busy that they stuck us in this room with a video projector showing this reel about the resorts they have and these families talking about how great there lives...

I woke up to the gentle Winnipeg morning light shining in through the front windows of Chad's house. Dylan and I had slept on a mattress in the living room that was SO comfortable I completely drifted away and forgot all about last night's troubles. Dorothy came to pick up AJ and Laura (Red had stayed at her place overnight) so they could go to Mother's Music to rent guitars, bass, and to buy drum sticks. She also had Canadian cash for us so we could exchange our money. I gave Laura some cash to get me a tambourine if they had one for rent. Dylan and I watched Canadian TV and were surprised to see their version of 'Cash Cab' which we often watch when we get home from work on the rare days we have nothing else to do. Soon, Dorothy and the girls came back and we decided to walk over to Perkins for brunch. Most everyone ordered breakfast stuff, but as usual I was feeling more like lunch so I got a french dip sandwich. After that, Dorothy drove Dylan, Red and I to ...

I felt pretty rushed considering everything that was happening today at my work, as we were interviewing 5 candidates for my job, and we were leaving for Canada the next day and I hadn't even started to pack or figure out what I was going to wear. The interviews didn't start til 3pm so that gave me time to get caught up and tidy my office. We decided to do the interviews in my office so we could at least use the conference table once - the fate of the office here is up in the air as they kind of want us out here so they can rent it to someone. So the office is probably going to move to another studio but that will be for the next person to deal with. I moved the office from CFI right before they demolished it, into Ren-Mar Studios, 5 years ago. Out of the candidates, one of them was a friend of mine who I know well from working in the Hollywood Community who is looking for a career change (she's been a makeup artist for years and years on many different movies). The oth...

Today we went up to the Valley to take Dylan's mom out for Mother's Day. She had just moved into a new place, a sprawling ranch up in Granada Hills just a couple of blocks away from Dylan's sister's house, and very near to his Aunt Renee and his dad. It's a really nice place and the lady whose house it is seems very nice. The house is a sprawling ranch with a pool and jacuzzi in the backyard and four little doggies (shitzu/poodle mixes). I think Robin will enjoy living there. We took her out to Soup Plantation in Porter Ranch which was really yummy. I tried to not pig out too much but it's hard since they have so many different foods there - soups, salads, breads, deserts, etc. Afterwards, I convinced Dylan to take us to Wal-Mart since we were right there, and we needed serveral household supplies. Normally we don't go to Wal-Mart for the obvious reasons, but it does remind me of home when I go there. We just needed some things like paper towels, body...

I slept in and then at some point (1:15pm!) I finally got up and said "why did you let me sleep so late?" Dylan said "you better be talking to your alarm clock." I warmed up some leftover from brunch yesterday and then Dylan and I got ready and picked Marc up to go to Amoeba's first "garage sale." We didn't know what to expect but our friend Adrienne who works there did text us to let us know it would indeed be in the garage, after having told us the other night at El Coyote that she didn't think it was. Dylan had some records in a crate that he wanted to trade in so I helped him carry them in but then I went right down to the sale. I ran into Adrienne and her boyfriend Quinn while I was entering the garage. There were so many people down there and there were boxes everywhere, many of them on the floor, and the lighting wasn't the greatest so it was kind of difficult to really go through everything. I went through quite a few boxes of 4...

Today I slept in pretty late and then talked to Dylan on the phone; he decided to stay one more night, which I was sad about, but glad he is having a better time out there. He was going to go pick Von up and they were headed to some party at a mansion, called Indioasis. He said he didn't think they were going to go back to the actually Coachella festival today, though. I went grocery shopping at Ralph's and left my phone at home, and when I got back I had several texts including one from Angie that her and Brandon had made it to Rosarita, Mexico, so I called to talk to them. It's funny how their phones ring differently when you call them because they are in Mexico. Instead of the regular ring, it's like a long, low tone. I decided to bake some bread (I had gotten the ingredients while I was out shopping) but it wasn't the best bread ever. I used a recipe in my 4 Ingredient Cookbook, but I think for good bread you need more than 4 things. Hello 2010, goodbye jun...

I had a lot of stuff going on today. First, I got up and around so that Dylan and I could go get his bike from my office since he had left it there when we went to Tiger's show on Thursday. Rick and Melodie were working on some cut-away shots for the Invisible Material video and they needed my bass drum so we went there first, as Brandon was already there with his guitar and amp. They were up on the roof filming the shots. When they finished, they invited us down to their apartment to see a rough cut of the video. It was amazing! I can't wait until it's finished and we can show everyone. Then we went to my office and I got his bike, riding it down the sidewalk to where Dylan was waiting with my car. I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever ridden it. It was pretty fun, actually. From there, he biked home and I went to Guitar Center on Sunset. They were supposed to be having a big grand re-opening of their drum shop, and I desperately need a ride cy...

I was surprised by how late I slept in today, but I guess I needed the rest. When we finally did all get up and around, we piled into my car and we headed downtown for the fashion district because Carrie wanted to check it out. She hadn't been there for a long time, she said. It's funny because one of Carrie's many nicknames is "Downtown" which stemmed from a story that she told us once about riding a bus and hanging out downtown. I don't even remember much of the story but the nickname somehow stuck. So, we went to where I usually park and walked around the area near Michael Levine's which is the store I usually always end up visiting. It had just been featured on RuPaul's Drag Race so we all went in and went crazy looking at all the amazing fabrics they have. Dylan found some red and white striped swimwear fabric that he bought because he's been looking for the right fabric for a long time now to have a custom-made retro one piece swimsuit....

My work day was filled with putting my office back together. It is looking so nice! Even though my desk is tiny, I think it will be better now so that I won't get into the habit of letting papers pile up all over it. My old desk could hold a lot of piles, which is really not a good thing. I put the ingredients for the Corned Beef and Cabbage in the slow cooker over my lunch break and when I got back near work I took a detour over to the Irish Import Store at Vine and Waring. I had never been there, but Mary Lou (my old boss), had told me about it and I always see it when I go to Subway for lunch. I decided since it was St. Patrick's Day, I should go check it out. Obviously, it was a busy day for them and looked like it had been busy for awhile. I was surprised by all the different items they carried, from t-shirts and cd's/dvd's to frozen food, snacks, drinks, gifts, decorations, etc... I had fun browsing but finally decided to buy some Malted Milk shortbread ty...

Today I woke up at 7am and called Salvation Army to see what time they were coming to pick up my old desk. The recording told me they would be there between 9am and noon, so I just went back to sleep and got up at the regular time to go to work. I parked and started walking to my office when I saw that the Salvation Army truck was already there so I started running. I got there and told them to follow me upstairs to my office. When we got up there, the driver looked at the other guy and they said it was a really big desk and that I'd have to have it moved down to the curb before they would take it. I said I could do that, thinking they meant right then, but then they turned to leave, and told me to call them to come back tomorrow. So, I said I would. My Business Watch meeting was at noon and we had guests from Project Archangel, LAPD's counter terrorism unit. They had a lot of information about counter terrorism and some good questions from our stakeholders. After that I ...

Slept in nice and late; Dylan and I were both feeling better when we finally got up. Dylan had bought cereal but not milk which was irritating. So after we got up and around we decided to walk down the street and get some brunch. There is a new place below the Trader Joe's in West Hollywood on Santa Monica Blvd. that we wanted to try called Plaisir. I think that's French or Italian for "pleasure" maybe? Anyway, they specialize in sweets - baked goods, custards, ice cream etc... but they have some savory items too. We each ordered Quiche - we got a slice of ham & cheese, and a slice of spinach, and shared them. We were still hungry after that so we ordered a Belgian Waffle to share. A little bit of trivia about Belgian Waffles, via Wikipedia: "Belgian waffles were popularized in the United States during the 1964 New York World's Fair [ 1 ] at Flushing Meadows Park , USA . The waffle was introduced by Maurice Vermersch of Brussels, Belgium . Origi...

Although often times I like to get stuff done on Sundays, sometimes I like to just do nothing, like today. I had told Dylan I wasn't going to cook a big brunch like yesterday, but I was pretty hungry when I finally rolled out of bed so I did end up making egg and salsa quesadillas which were yummy. We watched the movie "Rock N Rolla" which we had saved on DVR from forever ago when we had free movie channels through some promotion our cable service was running. We still have "Clockwork Orange" on there which I need to watch sometime. Like a lot of crime/mob type movies, and British movies, it was hard to follow at times but I just had to have faith that it would all come together at some point, and that it did. Plus, it had a gay gangster character and plenty of hot guys in it. I went grocery shopping later in the day as there were a few things I wanted to pick up, and I also had wanted to stop by Rick and Melodie's to pick up my new drum set! I think I m...

It felt like it had been forever since I had been to a boot camp at the park. I used to hate the Runyon Canyon days but now the Plummer Park days are the ones I dread. I did make it this morning, but it felt like just barely. Afterwards I went home and laid down with Dylan, who was still in bed but about to get up, and after assuring him I wasn't going to fall asleep, I promptly did so. I had a meeting at 9:30 at the Braille Center for the East Hollywood BID which I was slightly late to as a result of my accidental napping, but it turned out to be fine. I had stopped by my office on the way to pick up some brochures the Media District had made when we were going through our renewal, which I thought would be helpful for them as they plan their own renewal. Dylan and I met at Fresh and Easy after work for grocery shopping. We got quite a bit of stuff and tried to keep it all healthy. At one point I jokingly tossed a box of Oreo Cakesters in the cart and Dylan just looked at me ...

We slept in and headed back over to the Whore House after we finally got around. We didn't even shower or anything cause I wanted to get over there in time for brunch, since we were using money from the show to pay for the food and drinks. Our original plan had been to lounge by the pool with mimosa's all day, but it ended up being too cold for the pool, which also wasn't full of water at the moment. But, AJ did cook an amazing brunch with eggs, sausage, potatoes and pancakes and we had I think 9 bottles of champagne! I had to lay down and then went into the living room and caught the end of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," which was a van movie. A "van movie" is one of the small number of movies from the 80's that my family had on VHS and kept in our blue van when I was in junior high. We watched these movies again and again on long car trips. Anyway, after that a bunch of us went downtown together to go antiquing. There are a couple big antique s...