Chapter 7: Chris and Sue happen upon a goldmine

A quite uneventful weekend that ended with a bang. I am in process of preparing for my move to the beach and had planned to go to Long Beach on Sunday but Susanne wasn't feeling well so that trip came to naught.

Plan B was to hang out with Chris for the afternoon in LA. The weather was crappy on Sunday so we thought a movie would be the best way to spend the afternoon. We got to the theater early, bought tickets and decided to have lunch and a drink before the show across the way.


If we had been in front of a slot machine and pulled the handle, it would have been all 7s.


The restaurant must have been short staffed so they threw a busboy behind the bar.
.... A busboy who apparently has never heard of the three count rule or a pour cost.
We ordered drinks and the afternoon was on. I took a sip and he looked at me and asked if the drink was OK." Fine", I managed to choke out.
Chris ordered a scotch and he filled it to THE RIM! This is it after a few sips. The busboy cum bartender then topped off the drink. It was awesome!

After the movie, Tami and Dante met us for dinner and conversation and a wee bit o' shopping. Dante picked out his dinner ensemble. This is the rugged boy miner look. Tres chic.

Wednesday morning commute

Spending the day in Santa Cruz with a franchise operator. This was the commute this morning. Drove down Highway One from San Francisco to Santa Cruz

Chinese New Year

It was Chinese New Year in Las Vegas this past weekend. All of the casinos have set up areas that messaged the new year. This was the Bellagios's set up.

It's the year of the rabbit- my year apparently. I AM articulate, talented and ambitious and I do have good taste.

This was in the check in area at the Bellagio as well.

"Look at us....we're ACTING!!"

Full day yesterday. I had meetings with a franchise owner in Downtown LA and then had to visit the USC location. My friend Scott has season tickets to the 2011Broadway/LA season at the Pantages Theater.He asked me if I wanted to join him on Wednesday to see the play Hair. Against my better judgement, I agreed.
Please note: I do not like live theater as a general rule. Some plays I like, most by Rogers and Hammerstein. Shows my friends Tami and Chris might be in. Not much else.
I chaff at watching people "act". This use to irritate my Uncle quite a bit. He referred to me as a Philistine.
Any way, luckily Scott and I hit happy hour at the W Hotel prior to the play so I spent the first acts in a pleasant haze. The drinks wore off by the end but not a bad night. Don't necessarily want to sit through Hair again but a fun night with Scott. FYI, Hair has not aged well. The music is great the story is a train wreck.

Driving home through downtown LA , I saw this at Vermont and 23rd street. Really cool.
Stopped and started taking photos. Two men were handing out fliers on the street for a gathering at Griffith Park this weekend to get signatures for Michael Jackson for the Nobel Prize.
I know, really? They were very nice so I kept all my snarky comments to myself on their endeavor. Their information can be found at www.facebook.com/cosmicview7
They have a band and were very interesting to talk to once we got off the subject of Michael Jackson and the Nobel Prize

Close up of Jimi. The work done on him and the whole wall was very cool. Che was not quite as sharp but still quite striking.

The artist that is around Hollywood is doing murals of young Chicana women. The one above is on the old MGM central casting building at Hollywood and Western. The one below is on Wilton and Hollywood Blvd. I love the colors and detail in both.
This was off of Wilshire just past MacArthur Park. Either a lot of people have been killed in that area or there is a cornucopia of illegal drugs to be bought. Looked cool all hanging up against the blue building.

In Vegas now for a meeting tomorrow. staying at the Vdara. This was the view from my room at sunset. Having dinner with Al in a few minutes. He sounded pretty cheerful on the phone. Perhaps Al has turned over a new leaf. We'll see.

Things I wouldn't advise doing.....

Busy day yesterday. Cal Lutheran finally opened for business. The team is great and I think the site will do well. Students don't start back until today(Tuesday) so they weren't expecting a lot of business yesterday. The word got around though on campus that the store was open and they were busy. 85 degree weather helps as well. The only issue was the building's lack of air conditioning. The University planned to install air in a few weeks. The building was 90 degrees inside at 9 am. Not good. If this weather holds through the weekend, it is going to be a challenge. The facilities department came out and now plan to install this weekend.
Drove over to Pepperdine at noon to check-in with that group and then headed down to Santa Monica for an early dinner with my friend John.

Ocean Avenue Seafood
This is John's dinner. Oysters Rockfeller. Looked good but I am still on my march towards fitness so I went with the ceviche and a half dozen raw oysters. Good but with the warmer weather,I don't think it was the smartest food choice. I wouldn't advise it again.

The sunset was beautiful. The drive home...not so much. Took two hours to get home. Ocean to Main to Pico to La Cienega to Foutain to Gower to home.
Too much driving.

Hollywood

The weekend has been unbelievable. Warm and clear as a bell. The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular. Took a few shots this weekend around the neighborhood.
Capital records at dusk on Friday night.

Looking up Vine as the sun sets.

Franklin avenue towards the 101.
The Palladium on Sunset as the sun sets.

Whittling away at the deficit

This day did not start out well. Came trip trapping down the stairs this morning and found a present from the parking authority on my car. $58 ticket for illegally parked vehicle. My car which was parked in front of my garage. ??? #@$*&)!
I know. I have lived there for 8 years and parked my car there and NEVER gotten a ticket. According to the ticket, it is illegal to park there.
Apparently, the parking authority is now going after all violations with a vengeance
to help cut our states deficit. Damn that new Governor and his mandate to make money.
Met Chris for lunch to bitch about this. Buried my anger with a garlic, basil and mozzarella pizetta.

Stopped at the Vespa store on Ventura to look at the bikes. I am seriously considering buying one for my move to the beach. I was about to commit and Chris hustled me out to think about it.

action packed weekend

Not a bad weekend, movies, movies and more movies would be the headline. I had a chance to settle back in after a few weeks on the road. Had a great dinner and movie night with Chris, Tami and Dante on Friday night.

Started Saturday with a brisk walk down Beachwood and back up to the cafe for breakfast. Sherry and the "bitches" were all working. She had a quiet Christmas and New Years.Sherry spent New Years Day at the track. Apparently the track at Santa Anita is open on New Years and races run. I did not know that and have filed that tidbit of info away for future options.

Hadn't seen Dana in a while so we met up for dinner at Off Vine and then went to the Arclight to see True Grit. we had a great dinner and it was nice spending time catching up with her. Hadn't seen each other since mid December.

Good meal.Off vine has hit their groove again after the long closure this past year. New menu but still great atmosphere and service. We finished with the chocolate souffle.

Listen, I know what you're thinking.
" Sue, how does a chocolate souffle jive with your trudge towards fitness?"
Good Question.
Chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and a souffle is made with egg whites. Really not that fattening. At least that's what Dana and I figured.

Saw True Grit in the Dome. The current art exhibit is a painter that does portraits of movie characters. This was the best one. The others were kind of cheesey.

New Years 2011

New Years weekend in San Francisco. Karen flew up and we spent the weekend at the Hotel Nikkon, eating and walking our way through the city. Caught the shot above early on New Years day in Chinatown.

Picked Karen up in Berkley on Friday afternoon and we shared a pie at the Cheeseboard on Shattuck. Been there since '67 and a favorite of mine when I went to school in the '80s. Only accepts cash, the pies are $10. You take what ever they make for the day. Friday was wild mushrooms, mozzarella and goat cheese, garlic oil and fresh herbs. Very nice. Take the hot box and sit out front on the benches and chow down. The collective lists the week's menu here: http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/pizza

Scored a 7:15 reservation at Ad Hoc for dinner on New Years. So good. Pork loin with caramelized apples, cheese grits, coconut cake. we waddled out of the restaurant. The meal was terrific and it was cool to see Thomas Keller have a late night nosh. Very cute and in a white turtleneck at the bar having his dinner and checking out business.

Finished today with a latte at Blue Bottle and checked out the Cartier-Bresson show at SFMoMA.

The shop has a $20,000 Hairo siphon to make what could possible be the best cup of coffee in SF.

Back to the salt mines on Tuesday.