2010 -- the year that was

It's New Year's Eve, my most hated of holidays. People put way too much emphasis on going out, drinking, and cheering when the clock strikes 12. Any time I've tried to "celebrate" this "holiday," I usually regret it... I get in a fight with someone, or the evening doesn't live up to the artificially manufactured expectations that it be awesome, and I feel like I've failed the Party Gods. So this year, I'm sitting on my couch watching movies, with a vodka cranberry in hand. This has been a not-awesome year, and I prefer to just let it slip quietly into the past.

The year 2010 actually started off really well. I was the happiest I'd been in a long time... for about six days. Then things went awry. Sadness, worry and stress took over my personal and professional lives. I'd like to say those feelings lessened as the year went on, but alas, they did not. My mom was diagnosed with MS in June. Work got all re-org-ish over the summer, some people I loved working with are no longer there, and it now seems more in flux than it's ever been. And since July, four colleagues, all under the age of 50, have passed away, three from health issues that took them from this earth way before their time; and the fourth was killed the day after Christmas at the hands of a drunk driver in Vermont. (RIP Johannes, Leslie, Wayne and Kaye.) So sad.

The year was not all bad though. I traveled a lot, (although most of it was for work) and went three places I'd never been before. I also saw a lot of great shows and concerts, participated in three great volunteer events, and made a great home improvement. This year also saw me convert from PC to Mac at home, and I must say I love the freedom of my light, easy to use, virus-free MacBook now, even though converting all my files (or not, as the case may be) was a pain. I got my awesome Droid Incredible phone. And I went to Pilates almost every week of the year. (But went on only one hike due to my knee problems, finally diagnosed in May as runner's knee... although I do not run). Here are some of the highlights of the year:

January:

• My mom and dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary

February:

• Bon Jovi Concert #1 in Anaheim
• Saw Cast and Producers of LOST at PaleyFest

March:

• Bon Jovi Concert #2 in Los Angeles @ Staples Center

April:

• I started blogging (here) again!
• Michael Buble Concert @ Staples Center
• Trip #1: Seattle, WA, for the first time
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2002!

May:

• Trip #2: San Francisco for Web 2.0 Expo
• The 2010 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Renoir in the 20th Century @ LACMA, with Mom, on Mother's Day
• Trip #3: Boulder, CO
• Upgraded to the Droid Incredible
• Trip #4: New Orleans (my one non-work, just for fun trip, for Jason & Nora's wedding!)

June:

• Sting's "Symphonicity" @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Jonny Lang @ House of Blues, Hollywood
• Grease Sing-Along @ the Hollywood Bowl
• I got my new, gorgeous back patio installed!

July:

• Hosted my first 4th of July BBQ
• Went to the Grammy Museum

August:

• RENT @ the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris
• Trip #5: St. Louis, MO, for the first (and hopefully last) time ever
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Goo Goo Dolls @ the Greek Theatre

September:

• Trip #6: Raleigh, NC, for the first time... at the same time as Hurricane Earl
• Trip #7: Palo Alto, CA
• Southern California Coastal Cleanup Day
• Trip #8: San Francisco, again

October:

• Trip #9: Phoenix
• Trip #10: New York City & Hackensack, NJ
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Yucaipa, CA
• The Kings season begins... awesomely. 

November:

• Volunteering for Operation Gratitude
• Disneyland with The Z's 

December:

• My first year with outdoor Christmas lights!
• Volunteering @ LA Regional Foodbank
• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates:

As 2011 nears, I'm thinking about what I can do to make it better than 2010 was. I think my overall goals are to take care of myself, and strive for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me.

To that end, I want to:

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.  
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;) 
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall. 

That's six things, some more complicated than others. But I was quite amazed with everything I got done in December simply by planning my month, day by day, and checking things off a list. Tomorrow is the start of a new calendar and I can start filling it in right away :)

merry christmas to all!

My Christmas Tree

Wishing you the happiest of holidays!

Christmas cookies...

and  cupcakes...

...and cake. Oh my!

  

My first Christmas with the outside of the house decorated :)

my dad knows betty white!

So I learned last night that my dad has not only met, but is working with the awesome Betty White!! (And I'm not the least bit bitter that I was that last of my siblings to learn this.... 2-4 months after-the-fact. Thanks Dad :p)

His company is making t-shirts and Hoodie Buddies (hoodiebuddie.com) for Betty. AND he appears in this hi-larious video about it all (at the 34 second mark.... look for the bald head and purple shirt ;)

I hope I get an autographed Betty Hoodie Buddie for Christmas tomorrow...hint, hint :)

filmography 2010 - enjoy!

Love this!



Here's a list of all the films featured. Enjoy!

i'm gonna train my squirrels to do this!

.... I just need someone to build me a squirrel obstacle course. Any volunteers? ;)

life is precious... enjoy it!

This was not the most awesome week. On Tuesday, I learned that another colleague -- a great, creative, amazingly positive guy named Wayne, who worked at my company when I first started there, and then left to start his own company that continues to do a lot of great work for us -- passed away on Sunday from liver failure at the age of 46. Such a shock. We had mutual friends, and I remember being at parties and talking with him about our newfound shared love of gardening... except he would garden in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep. :) He was so passionate about it as he spoke, which to anyone who didn't know him and just looked at him (spiky hair and tattoos) would seem really odd. But if you knew him, not so much. He was, as one of our friends said this week, "the nicest scary guy" you'd ever meet. And he will be missed. He was married to a super sweet woman, Patricia, that is good friends with one of my good friends... we, along with another friend, co-threw our mutual friend's baby shower two-and-a-half-years ago. I feel so sad for her.

Anyway, I was thinking about Wayne on Tuesday night when my attention drifted to this card I have framed in my house. 

Wayne really loved life, and his passing was a real reminder to experience and relish the lives we've been given. I originally bought this card years ago because I felt I needed to be reminded of that. Sadly, I haven't necessarily heeded its message much in recent years. I am going to attempt to change that. Life is too short to spend all your time worrying about things that mean nothing in the long run.

yay dustin!

Kings' Dustin Brown and Make-A-Wish foundation will help a dream come true

happy belated turkey day!

I was too busy cooking (and watching The Social Network) to blog on Thanksgiving, but wanted to offer further proof that I am getting more adept in my awesome kitchen -- my mom even said so!

The turkey going into the oven (ooh..it's kind of a hidden Mickey ;):

The juicy, delicious turkey after four-and-a-half hours in the oven:

And my Thanksgiving table, with a twist: What on the table is slightly awry? (Meaning Dad messed it up before I took a photo :P Add a comment below with your guess.)

new stuff at disneyland... at least for me & ruthie z

I took this past Monday off of work to go to Disneyland with one of my longest-known (note I did not say oldest, cuz technically I'm four months older than her ;) friends Jenny Z, her hubby Ken and their "five-going-on-14-year-old" daughter Ruthie. It was a beautiful day to be in the park and was a lot of fun with a five-year-old, albeit exhausting ;)

Ruthie and I did two things I'd never done before: climbed to the top of Tarzan's Treehouse and raced the new Autopia... well, we tried to -- Jen and Ken kept stalling in front of us and since there is a strict "Do not bump the car in front of you" policy, we had to slow down. But it was still fun. Ruthie took her first trip through the holiday version of It's A Small World, and then right after the fireworks, all the Z's got their first trip through Storybook Land, one of my all time favorite rides dating back to when I was a little kid riding it for the first time. We also got the extra bonus of seeing a lot of sleeping ducks up close on the island in the middle ;)

look -- i cook!

It was all rainy yesterday, and I actually went to the grocery store (to stock up for Turkey Day at my house), so I also picked up all the ingredients to make my mom's awesome Italian tortellini soup. Yum! And I made so much, I think I will be eating it every night until Turkey Day :)

the reign of the boy wizard continues

'Harry Potter' leaps to $125.1M opening weekend, matches franchise's best ticket count - latimes.com

I contributed $13.50 to that $125.1 million, and will be contributing another $18 next Sunday when we go re-see it in IMAX ;)

I loved the film, but really don't want to wait till next July for Part 2. Part 1, which is essentially the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7), (also known as Harry, Ron and Hermione go camping in really dark and spooky woods for a reeeeeeally loooong time), is dark and kinda slow, as it's leading up to the multiple battles and ultimate climax at the end of the series. And the place they chose to end Part 1 -- while it made sense as a cliffhanger -- was really depressing. The end of Part 2 is much better :) Plus Part 2 has (at least in the book.... it better be in the film!) my favorite line of the whole book, when sweet, calm, motherly Mrs. Weasley goes all psycho protective mama-bear on Bellatrix, after Bellatrix barely misses killing Ginny with a spell, and then fights her to the death. Goooooo Mrs. Weasley! :)

vote!

It's NHL All-Star voting time. If you need suggestions on who to vote for, might I suggest:

Forwards: Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth, Dustin Brown (write-in choice)
Defensemen: Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson (write-in choice)
Goalie: Jonathan Quick

Oh look, they're all members of the LA Kings. What a coincidence :)

starting to feel like the good old days :)

The LA Times hasn't given the Kings valuable sports section space for fun, profile-esque puff pieces like this -- Come along for a Kings joy ride -- since circa 1993. These are the kinds of articles that made me fall in love with hockey and the early '90s Kings back in the day. Hope they keep it up :)

i almost forgot to mention...

The Kings are kicking butt so far this season!! They are in first place in the whole NHL right this second and this article points out some very hopeful factoids about that fact. (Knocking on wood and crossing fingers!)

fun ideas

A friend posted this on FB and I wanted to share here: 50 All-Time Favorite New Uses for Old Things

I might need to subscribe to Real Simple once my In Style sub finally runs out. Does this mean I'm getting old?

this is halloween! this is halloween!

Happy Halloween!

finding fall

Took the annual trip to the edge of the San Bernardino Mountains today to go find Fall... and we did! It was super-cold (like in the 50s ;) at the Oak Glen Orchards in Yucaipa, CA. We visited Parrish Pioneer Ranch, where I stocked up on hot pickled okra (yum!), and found a cute Christmas gift for my Granny at Granny's Attic. Then stopped off at Law's Cider Mill to get clear, delish apple cider in the cool glass jugs, had lunch at Law's Coffee Shop, then went to Snow-Line Orchards for the world famous apple cider donuts (that are your reward after waiting in a 20+ minute line). I also bought a big bag of Braeburn and Pink Lady (the yummy tart ones!) apples there. Once we were appled out, we headed back down the hill (where it was comfortably in the 70s) and hit the Live Oak Canyon pumpkin patch extraordinaire! Found two big, pretty pumpkins in the patch, got all my gourds and colored corn husks for the Thanksgiving table, and got attacked by goats in the petting zoo. It was a super-fun day.. and now I'm going to sleep :)




It's some great pumpkins Charlie Brown!

 Mr. Turkey in the petting zoo, dreading the holiday after Halloween...

wear your music

Saw a tweet about this organization -- Wear Your Music -- earlier this week and wanted to share... some pretty well-known musicians (Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Jonny Lang, Keith Richards) are donating used guitar strings to be turned into eco-friendly jewelry (bracelets, necklaces) that then get sold for charity. I'm just waiting on Richie Sambora to donate, then I will make my purchase :)

poignance, direct from my tivo

Catching up on Tivo last night and this line from a sibling-centric Sunday night soap really hit home:
"Do you ever feel that sometimes you missed out on being who you were supposed to be because you're so busy being who everybody expected you to be?" 

Yes, yes I do. And I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I think it's time to get serious about a plan to find the me I'm supposed to be.

something to think about

Officials see Prop. 21 as key to future of California's state parks - latimes.com

$18 a year/car to keep beaches and parks open... and then California licensed drivers don't have to pay $8/visit to park.... Why is passing Prop 21 even a question?

Proponents (mainly a group called "Californians Against Car Taxes") say it's not fair to charge every person in California with a car -- many of whom may never use the state parks -- to keep the parks open and maintained. But doesn't every person in California who may not drive end up paying for roads via state taxes on employment or property? Doesn't every homeowner, whether they have children or not, pay taxes to keep our public schools (those that remain, and however crappy they are) running?

Others say it's not fair just to charge tourists to park when they visit. Hate to burst a bubble here, but $8 for a day on a hiking trail or at a beautiful beach is way cheaper than what tourists get charged for parking + admission at Disneyland, Sea World, Universal Studios or to park in Hollywood to look at stars and handprints on the sidewalk. So I really don't think there's going to be a major uproar or tourist exodus from the state.

If this passes, the $130 million the state currently spends on parks would go back into the state general fund to be spent on other things. (May I suggest hiring good teachers and filling in potholes as two possible expenditures?)

However, if this passes, proponents feel this would also set a really bad precedent. Don't like the way the legislature is spending the budget? Create a proposition to tax people and funnel funds to your initiative of choice. It's called "ballot box budgeting" and it's the one thing that's making me really think about how I'll vote on Prop 21. Although, right now I'm leaning towards the opinion that if voters vote to pay more money out of their pocket for an initiative, then the government should be more than happy to let them...

my boss' boss' new boss + 1

This is certainly a change. As a peer just posted on Facebook, "Here we go..." Then someone asked if it was a good, bad or uncertain "here we go"? Wish I knew the answer to that, but I have a much more worried feeling than I'd have if we just had one new President instead of two.

you really CAN make a living doing what you love

Check out this article on my ex-roommate, Julie. She used to be a retail merchandiser for a major department store and really did not like it. What she did like were her dogs. So she took that passion for pets and has turned that into a booming pet-sitting/kennel business in Prescott, AZ.  Yay Jules A-K!

the only good thing that happened this week..

Considering that -- other than Alice Cooper -- they are the only "rock" artists on the list, this whole nomination process better just be a formality...

Bon Jovi † The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Announces Nominees for 2011 Induction

hot, hot, hot!

L.A.'s hottest day ever - latimes.com

So it was 113 Downtown today. Big whoop. It was hotter than that in my driveway yesterday....

... which means it was probably even HOTTER than that in my driveway today. Glad I was in North Hollywood where it was only 110 degrees. (Holy heatwave Batman!) And I'm REALLY glad I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow, where it will be a measly 81, followed by lowly mid-70s on Wednesday and Thursday.

Before that though -- and speaking of hot -- my fave reality show, Dancing with the Stars, is back! And while Maks is the hottest dancer on the show, tonight the HOT, HOT, HOT award goes to cutie Derek and his star protege' Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey, who kicked butt on their jive. They got three 8's. They should have gotten three 10's. Wow!

cleaning up the coastline

Thousands clear debris from the shore - latimes.com

A group of us went to El Matador State Beach in Malibu to clean up the coast for an hour and a half on a very hot Saturday morning. What did we clean up, you might ask? About a babillion cigarette butts (smokers are disgusting litterers), a bazillion small pieces of styrofoam (they aren't kidding when they say that stuff is forever/doesn't degrade), candy wrappers, a dry cleaners claim ticket, a giant empty liquor bottle, a syringe (empty, with cap on it) and a track suit (yes, I said a track suit... as in Sue Sylvester).

LIZARD! (It's been a year since I took a Lizard pic! There were a bunch of them on the hill leading down to the beach)





















MINE! MINE! MINE! Sadly all the fish were farther out to sea being eaten by seals, so this perfectly perched seagull was outta luck. :(

can't wait! can't wait! can't wait!!

okay, i'll admit it... here's how i spent my summer

Julie Chen blogs 'Big Brother' week 11.

And way to go Fan Favorite $25k winner Britney! Eye-rollers RULE!

countdown to awards season begins... now

It feels like I haven't been to the movies in ages, and lets face it, with the exception of Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3 and Inception, the 2010 summer movie season kinda sucked. So I'm happy that the fall movie season (aka the beginning of my favorite season -- Awards Season, the fabulous time of year when I get screener dvds delivered to my doorstep!) is finally here.

I kicked it off last night with Ben Affleck's The Town. Ben wrote, directed and stars in this Boston bank robbery drama, that also stars Jeremy Renner (as a long-time "townie" bud and fellow-bank robber of Ben's character) and Jon Hamm (as the FBI agent trying to take them down). Thoroughly enjoyed this... good script, great cast, good action and suspense. I'm now hopeful for the rest of the fall releases. And while I doubt many of these will be award nominees, for pure entertainment value, here's what I'm most looking forward to seeing:

• The Social Network (October 1)
• Life as We Know It (October 8)
• Red (October 15)
• Hereafter (October 22)
• Due Date (November 5)
• Morning Glory (November 12)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 1 (November 19)
• Burlesque (November 24)
• The Fighter (December 10)
• How Do You Know (December 17)
• TRON Legacy (December 17)

time is flying... and so am i

I can't believe September is half over already. It just started. I've been traveling so much for work I actually finally earned a free flight on Southwest. I'll be on my way to another one in a week... I just booked four more work trips: two to San Fran, one to Phoenix and one to New York/New Jersey... so Southwest and United miles are going to be piling up. I need to find somewhere fun to go on a VACATION with my free trip. And then I need to book my real vacation (to Italy) for next year. I just need to do it, or else I'm never going to do it.

I'm also sitting in my home office today getting organized. Cleaning out my inbox, tackling my to-do list, getting everything I have to do between now and Christmas on the calendar. It's crazy. It will be 2011 in the blink of an eye!

back to goo

So the Goo Goo Dolls are one of only four bands I will pretty much go anywhere to see in concert. I've had some pretty up-close-and-personal concert moments with them in the past at House of Blues (where John Rzeznik squirted his water bottle on my leather jacket laying over the barricade in front of the stage. I forgave him cuz he looked really good that night ;) and Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (where, after an awful experience waiting for fan club tickets to arrive at the box office for like two hours, my Goo-buddy Miriam and I discovered we were once again in the front row, but at a much bigger venue and with a seat number on a ticket!). So when the Goos announced a show at the awesome Greek Theatre on August 29th, I signed up, even though their new CD -- Something for the Rest of Us -- wasn't out yet and I had no idea what to expect.

The show started with a new song ("Sweetest Lie") I didn't know... by the end of the song, I loved it!. Then they moved into hitsville for a while... the sound was so good, both instrumentally and vocally -- John's voice sounded amazing! They sang a few other new songs: the first single, "Home," "Not Broken." By the end of the show, I couldn't wait till Tuesday to get the new album.

I stopped at Best Buy last night to purchase the actual physical CD on the way home from work (I do that for bands I'd go anywhere to see in concert ;), and ripped it to my Droid so I could listen to it today on the plane to Raleigh. I've often felt that the band has never quite topped the overall goodness of 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl (which brought us "Slide," "Black Balloon," "Iris" and "Acoustic #3" some of my fave GGD songs, along with "Here is Gone" and "Sympathy" from 2002's Gutterflower) that could be listened to end-to-end without feeling the need to skip a song or two. That's a rare feat for an album, especially these days when very few people actually buy and listen to full albums.

But after listening to Something for the Rest of Us approximately 10 times in a row today, and actually reading the lyrics (many of which read like love letters), I think they might have done it. This album is beautful... full of extremely emotional, personal stories of love, yearning, happiness, acceptance. It's not loud, it's lyrical and I love that. My favorite songs thus far, in no particular order: "As I Am," "Home," "Notbroken" (which is already the second most downloaded Goo song on iTunes ever, 2nd to Iris), "One Night," "Nothing is Real," and "Still Your Song." After the emotional roller coaster I've been on this year, those songs really spoke to me in different ways. I really love this album -- it was definitely worth waiting four years for.

5 years later

I woke up this morning to see the red light on my Tivo recording something.... had no idea what, so I flipped on the TV to see Meet The Press, specially hosted by Brian Williams in New Orleans. Today is the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the beginning of the man-made disaster that followed when the levees broke.

I've been glued to the TV most of the morning watching and remembering... the devastation, the sadness and the anger.

This is what I wrote in my blog on August 30, 2005:
I'm watching Nightline, showing all the devastation in New Orleans. It's just awful. I don't know how the city will ever recover. I went there like six or seven years ago with Christina... we had so much fun, even though we were working. The best meal I've ever had was at Emeril Lagasse's NOLA restaurant in the French Quarter, and now there is like three feet of water in the streets because the levees broke and aren't pumping the water back out to the river. The people who didn't evacuate the city are looting. The looooooong bridge over the lake that I can't remember the name of, but that I know we drove over, is washed away in parts. It's so sad.

And then on September 7, 2005:
I couldn't sleep last night. I made the mistake of watching the Oprah repeat at 1 a.m. last night/this morning where she was on location in New Orleans. Watching the news over the last week has been horrifying, heartbreaking and infuriating. But Oprah sent me over the edge. She and her cameras got closer than any news coverage I've seen... or maybe it was just that she let herself feel all their pain, instead of trying to remain objective like some journalists have tried to. People should NEVER have to experience what those hurricane survivors have lived through... the filth, the hunger and thirst, the emotional and physical pain, and the fear for their lives. This is America and there's no excuse for the inhumane conditions those people were forced to stay in because our stupid government couldn't get their act together. Heads should roll, starting with the head guy who had to cut his vacation short to deal with the devastation... poor baby.

I remember five years ago sitting transfixed on the television and thinking "This is America. How is this happening?" The only other time I'd ever felt that was 9/11. But New Orleans was different because we weren't attacked by terrorists. WE hurt New Orleans. OUR government failed miserably both in terms of the civil engineering that caused the levees to break, but more so in response to the disaster and how human beings, the citizens of New Orleans, were neglected and left to suffer in horrible, inhumane ways for days while politicians pontificated and made false promises.

Brian Williams made a point to remind everyone of that this morning, via these two poignant and heartbreaking clips from five years ago:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

After Meet The Press, there was an hour-long special about volunteers, mostly church groups, that have been going to New Orleans to help people rebuild their homes. It was inspiring. (Yes I, the one who is against organized religion, just said that.) Things are getting better, but are in no way right. There is a lot that still needs to be done.

• Help Brad Pitt Make It Right
• Help Wendell Pierce's Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation

Then enjoy what makes New Orleans great...if you haven't been to NOLA, GO. I guarantee it will be one of the most fun, entertaining, delicious trips you ever take! Just a few reasons to love it....

• New Orleans Dining and Restaurants
• New Orleans Entertainment, Music and Festivals Guide 
• Mardi Gras 2011
• Five Albums that Celebrate New Orleans and its Indomitable Music
• My personal list of restaurant stops on my last trip to NOLA in May

the arch

Went to St. Louis last week for work. It was humid as hell there, but I managed to sweat it outside long enough to visit the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial... otherwise known as "The Arch." I took this shot from the foot of The Arch, which I must say, I find rather awesome, even if I do say so myself! The most amazing thing... I took it on my Droid Incredible camera phone. I <3 my phone :)

rent... there's nothing like the first time

So I originally saw the amazing Broadway musical RENT on Broadway, circa 1996, with the original Broadway cast. It was an AMAZING experience.

Then I saw the touring version in LA at the Ahmanson (I think), starring Neil Patrick Harris as Mark. I was pleasantly surprised by his talent and the production, even though nothing could compare to the original.

Last night, 14 years after the original's Broadway premiere, Neil Patrick Harris directed a new production of the show at the Hollywood Bowl. My friend Diana and I decided to go at the last minute out of sure curiosity... How would they stage an intimate Broadway show in an amphitheater that seats 70,000 people? Would the cast of Broadway vets mixed with Hollywood names (to sell the tickets) mesh? And most importantly, how much would my ears hurt as Vanessa Hudgens (Disney starlet of High School Musical fame) sang the songs that Daphne Rubin Vega originally made famous as the character of drug addict "Mimi"?

The answers in order:
The sets were pre-set all over the Bowl's giant stage, and lighting focused you in on where to look... well, that and the jumbotrons, since anyone not in a box seat really couldn't see much of what was actually happening on the stage.

The cast -- overall -- was awesome. Telly Lueng (the Broadway production's last "Angel"), Tracie Thoms (who was Joanne in the film and also at the end of the Broadway run) and Aaron Tveit (as Roger) anchored the Broadway vet side, along with original cast member/"Seasons of Love" soloist Gwen Stewart. The "Hollywood names" were led by a very impressive Wayne Brady as Tom Collins (the role originated by Jesse Martin), and Nicole Scherzinger (last season's Dancing with the Stars champ, and lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls), who surprisingly took the role of Maureen, originated by the amazing Idina Menzel, and made it her own in a humorous, strong and powerful way. (She and Tracie Thoms killed it on "Take Me or Leave Me.")

Then there was Miss Hudgens as Mimi... you know, the sultry drug addict who steals Roger's heart. I will give her credit. After a very shaky start with the Mimi/Roger "Light My Candle" duet (Look! You can hear it for yourself here ... YouTube is awesome.), she came back out for "Out Tonight" and attacked the role, slinking and strutting across the stage in those shiny blue hotpants. Her vocals were definitely the weakest link in the production -- and kind of took you out of the moment at some key plot moments -- but she didn't make my ears bleed as I originally feared she might, so good for her.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable, if not FREEZING (Why did I consciously decide to leave my Bowl blanket in the car again?!?!), evening. It was in no way, shape or form as moving as when I first saw it on Broadway, but it was worth the price of admission. The crowd (and Entertainment Weekly) seemed to agree. The only bummer was no curtain call by NPH. I know he knows the words to Seasons of Love... he could've come out and joined the chorus line. Oh well.

more inception... with a pixar twist :)

This is why the internet is awesome sometimes...

Trailer for "UPception"




Trailer for "Toy Story 3: Inception"



And that's just two of the recuts. Hang out on You Tube for a while and you'll find Inception "trailers" starring the casts of "The Matrix," "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," "Monsters Inc.," "The Simpsons Movie," "The Dark Knight," "Lord of the Rings," "Lost" and "Titanic"!

what a concept!

Imagine starting a new job where your new employer actually invests six weeks of time training you in the company culture and differences between departments, and then you -- the newb -- actually get to choose where you think your skills and talents will best benefit the company overall. That's just crazy talk!

Oh wait, you mean that's what the most trafficked website on the internet actually DOES?!?!

At Facebook Bootcamp, the grunts are geeks - latimes.com

If I didn't love my house so much, I'd be working in Palo Alto right now.

i need to see this movie again...

...I can't stop thinking about the ending, and articles like this don't help :p

Inception Explained: Unraveling The Dream Within The Dream

awww....

Two Facebook friends posted a link to this blog - Mila's Daydreams - this week and it's just too cute not to share. That baby must be the soundest sleeper ever!

what a weekend!

This weekend could be described in three words: AC, Movies, Friends.

Considering I came home from the movies on Friday night to a house that was 88 degrees inside due to the AC going out, it was a pretty good weekend overall.

Thanks to my long-lost awesome AC guy Mark (who installed the new system in my condo back in the day), I got cool air back mid-day Saturday. I highly recommend him for all your air conditioning needs... seriously.. I do. Read the recommendation here on Yelp. 

Movies consisted of the better-than-I-expected Sorcerer's Apprentice, which sadly did not do great at the box office. But I would recommend it. It was suspenseful and fun in that National Treasure way (which is a shocker considering it has the same director and star as NT ;). But the movie of the weekend, and possibly year thus far, was Inception. OMG! SO GOOD! It's about going into people's dreams to retrieve information...or plant it as the case may be. Did I mention it is SO GOOD! SEE THIS MOVIE! I LOVED IT! Amazing script (by Christopher Nolan)! Amazing cast (Leo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Wantanabe, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine)! Amazing director (again..Christopher Nolan)! Amazing "how'd they do THAT?!" effects! I will be seeing this again!

And Sunday was spent with my friends... first at Dane's 3rd Birthday party (that's the first of TWO cupcakes he ate! :) .....

... then a little Lowe's shopping and BBQing on the new patio. Very fun, but also tiring... time to snooze. I anticipate a crazy week ahead.

hockey, music and margaritas

Had a fun day wandering around downtown today on almost no schedule, taking the metro from Hollywood & Western down to 7th & Figueroa. (Cuz we're green like that!)

First stop was the Grammy Museum at LA Live. I've been wanting to check it out for over a year, and was running out of time since the Michael Jackson exhibit will be closing soon and I wanted to see that. So, we handed over our $10 (thanks to the AAA discount ;) and spent a good 90 minutes wandering the three floors of the museum.

One of the coolest things is the "Crossroads" table, which is like being on Star Trek or in Minority Report, swiping images on a giant table to activate graphics and audio that tell you about just about ANY genre of music you could EVER imagine (seriously!).

From there, we went to the MJ exhibit, which had a lot of video of his Grammy moments, a light up floor like in the Billie Jean video, numerous sparkly jackets, gloves (but not THE glove), handwritten lyric sheets, and the suit he wore on the cover of Thriller -- he was even super-skinny then, which is really frightening considering how much tinier he seemed before he died. Anyhoo, it was cool to see, but I kinda expected there to be more to it.

As we finished checking out the main exhibit on the 4th floor, we found this bit of awesomeness -- the Songwriters Hall of Fame listing -- near the stairs leading down to the 3rd floor:

...What makes this more awesome (or odd) is that they felt the need to tell people that David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills were in Crosby, Stills and Nash (duh!), but didn't feel the need to ID Jon or Richie? (Or whoever Galt Mac Dermont is? Okay...) 

Other cool things in the museum: "The Dress" J-Lo wore to the Grammys in 2000; a guitar smashed by Kurt Cobain; the carbon-fiber, temperature-resistant cello Yo Yo Ma played at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics; a thank you note from Elvis' real estate agent; and handwritten letters and lyrics from Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin ... Oh, and a telegram from Mick Jagger explaining to NARAS why he couldn't be a presenter on one of the mid-'70s awards shows because of the Stones' Australian tour and the possibility of airline delays. LOL!

Our one appointment of the day was at 5pm at Staples Center. I had to go "select-a-seat" to get myself out of the evil section 205 that only has ONE aisle entrance (which equals a super-PITA during hockey intermissions if you are on the aisle, like I was last season). I luckily found two seats two rows lower across the aisle in section 206, which has TWO aisle entrances. Hopefully that will be less annoying. We also got to tour the Kings locker room...sadly there were no Kings in it at the time ;) It's super-deluxe with a main room (left pic) for putting on gear, a hang-out room with a kitchen and TV where they probably have team meetings, and then a back locker room where they lock up their normal clothes and valuables during games. Fans were writing all over the white boards and I found the message below on the right to be especially poignant :) 

From Staples, we headed back to LA Live to Rosa Mexicano, the one place Diana will drink alcohol at, which is odd considering it's REALLY STRONG alcohol (in the form of a really good pomegranate margarita). They have good guacamole too if you ever stop in. 

By then it was after 7 and starting to look like it might rain, so we went back to 7th & Fig and hopped a train home. But I will be back to wander again... there are so many good places to eat and discover down there... like there was NO line at The Pantry when we walked by, but we weren't hungry anymore. I need to eat there someday.. it's an LA Landmark! 

trust your gut

A former co-worker posted a link to this interesting blog post on twitter this week. It's so true... the draining just ain't worth it anymore. You must trust your gut/internal compass to be truly happy.

another reason to love nola!

This is pretty awesome... I walked by that very spot in New Orleans every day for four days in a row and I never saw Lenny Kravitz ;) How cool was that moment for the kids in that choir!


Lenny Kravitz crashes the VOP Choir in New Orleans for "Fly Away" CNN:

this gave me chills...

I cannot WAIT till November.. and July 2011... although then this will be over too. 2010 and 2011 suck for being the end of awesome things like Lost, 24 and now Harry Potter, one of the most amazingly spellbinding (yes, I meant that) pieces of literature ever, with awesome (but not as awesome as the books) movies to complement it and bring it to the dumbed-down masses. My greatest wish is that I could ever come up with a story as creative, detailed and emotional as the world JK Rowling created.

Enjoy... Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, the Official HD Trailer

home improvement - day 3... they're done! they're done!

They finished just before 4pm .. so it took them three days, just like they said it would and it looks AWESOME! I will now say, this work was done by Genesis Stoneworks. My sales guy was Steve Sage, who is super nice and educational/informative, and the crew that did my work was led by Luis. YAY!!!!

The "after" shot:

Here's the path (it's a real path now, not something in between a path and a garden border) around my big garden:

Here are my new, really big steps out of the kitchen. The brick looks really brown here because they're wet, but they are really a more stone/sandy color:

home improvement - day 2 ... paving with pavers

So I came home expecting to see maybe half of the patio done, or just the steps. Wow. The whole patio and most of the border around the flower bed is done. They just need to finish the border around the whole patio and the steps tomorrow.. and pound it all in. Looks like (knock on wood) they may actually be done in three days like they said they would be. Good thing too since they are paving our street on Friday and we can't have anything (like piles of pavers or big construction trucks... or cars leaving for work) on it as of 6am. Ugh.

Here's today's progress...it's very gray....

home improvement - day 1...demo

So the patio pavers people arrived a half hour earlier than expected (at 7am) and got a lot done today.

Here are all the bricks that used to be my patio (now free to friends who need brick until the day I get around to laying them out on the side and back of my house where no one goes... aka circa 2013 ;)

And here's what my patio area looks like after being demo'd (including my steps), dug out and with gravel poured and pounded down. There is also a big pile of interlocking pavers in front of my house, and a pile of sand, ready and waiting to lay the new patio tomorrow and Wednesday :)

home improvement

When I bought my house a year and a half ago, the house itself had already undergone a major addition and renovation, and basically looked like something out of the Pottery Barn catalog, which is why I loved it and bought it. The backyard, on the other hand, needed work. Over the last year, I've gotten all but the very back corner of the yard and garden under control.  Tomorrow, the back patio -- a collection of bricks sitting un-level on a bed of sand, that when it rains, turns into a collection of puddles followed by slippery moss -- will be getting replaced by professionals who shall remain nameless until I decide they've done a good job. I have high hopes for the gray, moss, charcoal and stone-colored interlocking pavers that will soon be set on a 7.5 inch foundation and with drainage in mind. Keep your fingers crossed this week please :)

Here's the "before" photo for reference:

Once the patio is done, the only major backyard task that will remain will be calling a junk hauling company to come haul away the rusted shed the previous owners left... and calling my friend Mike and his chainsaw to come knock down "the pony shed". I WILL do that by the end of this summer!

something to aspire to..

I interviewed a tech manager candidate today who referenced this deck as helping him to verbalize his management style (context, not control) so I looked it up. There is a LOT of good stuff in here. Now I like Netflix even more :)

Culture

View more presentations from Reed Hastings.

bye-bye blakey :(

Tomorrow will be a sad day... now both of the players I love will be retired. This also made me realize I've been a Kings fan for 20 years.... I'd like to say it doesn't feel like it's been that long, but sadly it does. :p

AP source: Sharks defenseman Rob Blake to announce retirement after 20 years in NHL - latimes.com

symphonicity

I just got home from the Hollywood Bowl, where I experienced another musical spectacular from Sting, who, like fine wine, just gets better and better with age. I don't know how many times I've seen the man in concert (let's just say "a lot"), but tonight was unlike anything he's done before. He was backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra + a tiny band, fronted by his long-time guitarist and songwriting partner Dominic Miller. It was, in a word, AWESOME. The evening was a beautiful celebration of music, lyrics and the stories behind them, as Sting introduced almost every song with some sort of anecdote about how he was inspired to write it, or why he wrote it. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the show as much as the audience was, playing guitar, tambourine, and collaborating on stage with Dominic and guest trumpeter Chris Botti. And experiencing this concert at the Bowl, which is one of my favorite places to listen to music -- outside, under the stars, with a slight chill in the air tonight -- only added to the beauty of the evening. It was an amazing show. 

quick summer movie update

Other than the awesome Iron Man 2, the Summer Movie Blockbuster Club (SMBC) has seen three movies thus far this summer that I haven't logged an opinion of yet. So here's the quick lowdown:

Sex and the City 2:  This was a super-fun girly movie! Not as depressing as much of the first one was... just the girls back together and back to their old selves from the show. Hilarious music number at a wedding. Hilarious Samantha back to her raunchy self. And loads of cool clothes to covet. (Worth a full price ticket.)

Prince of Persia: I could have lived without paying Arclight prices for this. (Shouldn't I have been able to see it for free.. hello!) It was shorter than SATC2, yet felt longer.. mostly because it had two "almost endings" (where you think it's going to end, then keeps going), which was annoying. It wasn't bad, just wasn't super-awesome. I'd compare it to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which was no Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. (Wait for cable.)  

The A-Team: The SMBC was a bit split on this. Everyone liked it, but those that did not watch the TV show in the '80s liked it more than those of us that loved the TV show in the '80s. It was action-packed and funny too, but about an hour after I got home, I realized why I didn't love it as much as I could have: On the show, each mission was to help some underdog-type who'd hired them. In the movie, they were still on a government mission (it's a bit of a prequel to the outlaws on the TV series), so there was no Robin Hood-esque stealing from the rich/screwing "the man" to give to the poor element that was the essence of the TV series. Also, sorry, but Liam Neeson is no George Peppard. He just didn't have the coy humor that the late, great Peppard brought to Col. Hannibal Smith. Bradley Cooper, on the other hand, was awesome as Face... he's the only actor I may have liked better than the original. (Worth a matinee-priced ticket)

david bryan, three-time tony award winner

The collective known as Bon Jovi now has more Tony Awards than Grammy Awards... what's up with that?!?!  Oh well, congrats to David Bryan on Memphis' big wins tonight.

let's hope the outcome ends up similar too...

... and in LESS than 49 years. Like, 42 would be AWESOME!

Los Angeles Kings are following Chicago Blackhawks' blueprint - latimes.com

the toys are back in town

Got an early screening of the super-amazing Toy Story 3 yesterday at our all-hands meeting. LOVED IT! The Toy Story films are works of art filled with so much heart and humor, people of all ages can't help but love them (and I'm not just saying that because of who I work for). And the story in 3, about what happens when toys are outgrown, and the strength of friendship... well, let's just say I have to go to my parents' garage and find new, loving homes for all of my old toys that have been in boxes for 20 years now. Toys deserve to be played with... gently :)

round and round

Had a super-fun day today at Griffith Park near the merry-go-round to celebrate month 6 of my friend Shawn's "40 Years of Fun & Adventure" year-long celebration leading up to his 40th birthday this December. We had a great picnic in the shade and then went for a ride on the carousel, which goes surprisingly fast for being 73 years old. :)