Road Rage

Road rage is a very common thing in the City of Angels and there is nothing angelic about it. I'm not one to talk, on my five mile drive to work, I often find myself yelling "Really Dude" at the various obstacles in my way.. old men in BMWs reading the newspaper while driving two miles an hour, douche bag agents on their headsets running through stop signs.. and even though I hate to admit it, the ocational crossing guard who helps school children cross the road but keeps me at a stand still for a good five minutes.

I understand the antsy-ness we all get in our cars, we all feel invisible through our thick steel doors and plated glass windows. But something happened today on my drive that I don't understand. As I was driving down Olympic ( a wide three lane road) the car behind me for some reason felt that my going 50 in a 40 zone wasn't fast enough and proceeded to ride my ass for several blocks. He then tried to swerve to the right lane and pass me there. Now, I can't see the driver in question but I'm imaging that they fit one of two scenarios:

A) A middle aged a-hole in a Maserati who feels the need to show off the power of his car to feel comfortable with his bald head and beer belly, or
B) A tiny blonde LC wannabe in a Mercedes on her cell phone who's recapping last nights episode of American Idol and just isn't paying attention to the road at hand.

But it's neither, the answer is C) a very flamboyant man with a tall head of hair and blonde highlights to high heaven, driving a Saab Convertible with a tiny Terrier in his lap.. that's right a Terrier! This man as he drives past me to cut me off is yelling and his Terrier is barking and scolding me too. It was the host hilarious sight I think I have seen. This is the first time I have experienced road rage from a queeny owner and a queeny dog simultaneously. God.. I love LA

My Weekday Boyfriend

So lately Tony has been working A LOT. It's not unusual for him to get home from work around 9 or sometimes even 10. At first I tried waiting for him to come home so we could eat together but then I started to binge on goldfish crackers and apples and peanut butter for 3 hours, and realized this was probably not healthy. It's taken a while but I finally got into a groove and have this funny little weekday routine down. I wouldn't say it's ideal, because it's not at all, it's hard not spend any quality time with your significant other during the weekdays which is why I've started to to refer to Mo as my "weekday boyfriend." So my weekday usually consists of this:

I get home to find Mo happily waiting for me by the door ( I swear this animal is a dog trapped inside a cats body), I feed him, fumble through the mail which usually consists of bills and weird home craft magazines from the tenant before us. After this, I make dinner and make a plate for myself then a plate for Tony and cover it with foil and stick in the fridge. From there I eat dinner and catch up on all my girlie netflix Tony would never want to watch with my weekday boyfriend. After Mo and I get some good quality snuggle time in, I take a bubble bath to the tune of Ella Fitzgerald and then clime into bed and read my book. About this time.. Tony comes home and just starts to decompress from his 12 hour day right as I've fully forgotten the woes of my workday.

I know all this cat talk sounds a little bonkers .. trust me.. many times I imagine myself in 50 years, wandering around an old house filled with nick knacks and cats in every nook and cranny and when people come over I introduce the cats as my "boyfriends" and I get a little scared for my future. And if that ever happens to me I hope someone is kind enough to check me into cat rehab, but for now I have to say my weekday boyfriend is a great companion, chick flick buddy and dinner date and he'll have to hold me over until my hubby can find a job that doesn't require slave labor hours.

Grandpa Jack

To all 5 readers who have probably stopped tuning in due to my lack of blog posts, I apologize. The past month has been a bit hectic and busy. In February I flew up to the Bay Area to be with my family for the last week of my grandfather's life, which was an honor to be present at. The following weeks were spent taking care of family members and flying back for funeral and memorials. Going through my grandfather's death was definitely a learning experience as I have never been witnessed someone go through the process of dying before. It was really hard to watch my grandfather be in tremendous pain and suffering, but although it was hard, there were little bits of wonderful that shined through. For example the last few days of his life, he became completely despondent and stopped talking. One of the days I was in the hospital, he didn't talk all day but at one point grabbed my hand pulled me to him and whispered "I love you" followed by a long pause and then said "so much." It was heartbreaking and wonderful. Just by hearing him say that, it made the pain of being there even more bearable.

Anyway, not that I want to go on and on telling sad stories, but long story short...It was an incredibly humbling experience, that made me want to savor every minute of time I have on this planet. It also (once again) put into perspective what's really important which is family and friends and health.

Much more happy/funny stories to come in the coming months I promise. :)

Clifton's Cafeteria

Last night I experienced the wonder that is Clifton's Cafeteria. Clifton's is an old school cafeteria style dining establishment that has been a part of downtown LA since the 1930s. The wild west style dining room is full of green fake foliage, stone boulders, lagoon pools, waterfalls and mounted deer heads. There is speculation that Clifton's was the inspiration behind Adventure Land at Disneyland and after visiting, it seems totally possible. Clifton's is a spitting image of Adventure Land if it were to crammed into a restaurant, the only thing missing are the Country Bears and the Tiki Room.

So in the pouring rain, Tony and I drove to downtown LA and walked through the jewelry district until we hit 6th and Broadway. One we walked through the front door, we felt as though we entered a time warp. Guests are greeted by a host stand next to a mini waterfall and a brief photo history of Clifton's, it's founders and their promises to their customers. After taking in a brief history of the establishment, we walked back to what seems like a huge cafeteria line straight out of the 50's. Full of steel counters and a white tile floor, we selected our trays and wandered through a sea of retro comfort food favorites. They had a huge assortment of salads, soups, hot entrees, dessert and gelatin products. I chose a meal of lentil soup, bean salad, hard boiled egg, mac and cheese, ambrosia salad and chocolate pudding. Tony selected green salad, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing and for dessert tapioca pudding and strawberry pie. Our fully packed trays only cost of $29 and of course we selected way more than we could eat.

Once in the dining room we chose a table on the 2nd floor so we could do some people watching. Clifton's is filled with an assortment of characters. I'm sure back in the 30s, 40s and 50s, the cafeteria was filled with business men, families and police officers. The current patrons at Clifton's ranged from young church groups, and large families to the homeless and crackheads who had just wondered off skid row. One of my favorite guests was a woman sitting below us in her late 60s wearing a hair net. She had a tray of dessert and a cup of coffee and repeatedly dosed off to sleep, nearly burying her face in her banana cream pie.

Overall, I LOVED Clifton's. The environment is fun, uniquely themed and a one of a kind experience. On top of that, the food was delicious and the price unbeatable. Plus, the people watching is phenomenal. I also saw on our way out that if you host your birthday party there, they will give you a whole cake for for free. I'm thinking 27 will be celebrated with the help of
Clifton's.

A Film To See....

After hearing weeks of hype, I finally went to go see Juno. I was trying to pretend I didn't hear all all the great reviews so I wouldn't build the film up too much and then be disappointed. I wasn't disappointed at all, it was a deliciously witty and wonderful film. The characters were all wonderful and quirky and I really got attached to all of them. If you are toying with the idea of going to see Juno, do yourself a favor and see it. You will walk away feeling happy, nostalgic and grounded.

Take that Ebert and Roeper!

PS. She has a hamburger phone in the movie that is rad. If anyone has a hamburger phone lying around, I will happily buy it off you.

"New Year's Day is every man's birthday." ~Charles Lamb

Ah yes it's that time of year again. The time of year where everyone returns from their various holidays, recovers from week long hangovers and stews over the big question in life of "what is really important?" Or at least, that is what I do.

Over the holidays we packed up the car and headed north to see my family. We spent several days in Napa and a few in San Francisco. It's always great to leave LA and get back to normalcy a bit. Everyone in San Francisco is so friendly and normal and it always takes a few days for me to get use to LA again. For example, when we returned to LA, I went to the grocery store to replenish our fridge and I was instantly shocked at how put together everyone was there. All the woman had a full face of make up, leggings and obnoxious and unnecessary sunglasses in doors. All I could think of was..people are so weird here. But I'm sure after another week it will all seem totally normal.

Basically, the nice long break made me stop to think about what's really important in life. My answers are family, friends and balance. It's so easy to get caught up in the ever going stresses of work and life which I definitely do. And all that BS doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Realizing this made me think, we should just pack up all our crap and move to San Francisco or Portland or some city where there is life and culture without ridiculous unessary things like seven series BMWs, Louis Vuitton purses and low carb bread. I was day dreaming of working for a small environmental firm in San Francisco, or working for Nike in Portland. These are all far fetched day dreams (for now anyway)but it was fun to dream. Don't get me wrong, I do like my job and co-workers and I love my friends. I even like Los Angeles a whole lot, but sometimes it's easy to forget that outside of this bubble there are real people who when bring up the subject of music or movies, they just want to talk about the really awesome base line of their favorite song, or their favorite quote from a film, not about the how the actor in the film they love is sleeping with a friends assistant, or how that bands manager is a huge coke head.

Anyway, long blog short....having realized all this.. these are my "Goals for 2008."

- Re-introduce myself to skills I once mastered (i.e. playing the violin, tennis, cooking, knitting etc.)
- Remain active and healthy and use any any extra time I have on weekdays to pick up one of the for mentioned former skills of my younger years
-Live as eco-friendly as I can
-Remember that above all, these are the things that bring me happiness..... my husband, friends, family, health, humor, the outdoors, cooking, music, a great cup of coffee, a good book, great film and great conversation

Now That's a Knish!

So I've been a bit busy and am way over due for a blog post. My apologies to all 5 of you that read this blog for the delay. So back to New York. New York was awesome but cold! I completely forgot how cold other places of the country get. I forgot what it's like to have a physical need for a hat, scarf and gloves and that people use them for function and not just fashion.

So on Saturday, my friend Beth took me out and about to show me a little glimpse of NYC life. We did some shopping in Soho and went to an amazing designers market in an old church on the lower east side that had all sorts of original pieces of jewelry, clothes and bags. I scored these awesome bracelets made out of vintage vinyl that I plan on using as holiday gifts. But really the highlight of my day had to be Yonna Schimmels Knishery. As we walked through the cold and damp streets of the Lower East Side, I grew tired , hungry and chilled to the bone. I think I must have shown my pain while walking as Beth kept asking me if I was okay and through my cold and icy mouth I would respond "oh yeah, totally fine..walking is sooo good for me." Beth promised the walk would be worth it and when we approached the small and paint chipped door of Yonna Schimmel's Knishery, I knew everything was going to be okay. We sat down in the tiny warm cafe and ordered two "Knish Platters" and shared them. This delightful lunch of $8.40 consisted of two GIANT knishes, a bowl of coleslaw and unlimited home made pickles. The Knishes were amazing and warmed every part of my frozen body. This place was truly a gem only something you would find in New York City. I texted my friend Jen who is a true New Yorker to the core (Queens to be exact.... and she would be mentally adding that if she were reading this) and told her I was eating a delicious Knish and thinking of her. She texted be back and asked where I was consuming this delightful Knish and when I told her where I was she replied with such enthusiasm "Now That's a Knish!"

View from my room


Yonna Schimmel's


Knishes... mmmm