May 9, 2008
(accomplished Apr. 20, 2008)
# 35 of 101 in 1001…I organized a picnic for two on the roof! The picnic was courtesy of a gift basket A got.
May 7, 2008
MC and I went to Coachella last weekend without R, who at the last minute jumped ship! She missed out. So much fun, even though I felt like an old lady with all the foot, knee, and back pain I had after 3 days in the desert. The weather was slightly cooler and more bearable than most years, around 95-99 the whole weekend.
Biggest regret: I completely missed Cold War Kids! I was in the Sahara tent for Boys Noize and totally lost track of time!
Second and Third biggest regrets: Missing the Shout Out Louds and The Cool Kids. We were supposed to meet up with this guy who was hooking us up with VIP passes and didn’t meet up with him until 3:10pm…Shout Out Louds started at 3:00pm and there was no way we were getting in before the end of their set. The Cool Kids were already done. Oh well.
Biggest surprise: Prince still has so much energy and puts on a great show for whatever age he is!
Celebrity sighting: Scarlett Johansson with unnamed gentleman in the Sahara tent (I think it was Boys Noize)
Highlights:
Friday: Cut Copy, Goldfrapp, The Verve (the crowd was a little lame)
Saturday: Hot Chip, Boys Noize, Portishead, and Prince
Sunday: late start…Gogol Bordello (still like them much more in a smaller venue), Simian Mobile Disco, Justice
Parking: Nightmare as always. When will they figure this out? It’s been 9 years and it still takes hours to get in and out…luckily, we got some good tips to put into play for next year - Washington to 50th saves about an hour.
Loo: Nightmare as always. When will they figure this out? It’s been 9 years and…okay only used it once the whole weekend…the desert dehydrates you. And with the VIP wristband, I get a special loo with running water!
I had a good time despite my misgivings about the lineups. And it seemed like there were just as many people as any other year.
Photos will be posted shortly! I took a ton over the weekend to make up for Filter party.
Update: Photos posted
May 7, 2008
This post is a bit late but oh lordy!
I had such an amazing time at the Filter party! I wish I took photos! Free booze and to be announced djs. MC was so right about going to this. We parked at the Augustine Casino and got wristbands and a shuttle to take us to an undisclosed location. After what seemed like an eternity, we were dropped off at the Corona Yacht Club. I know you’re thinking, “Yacht Club in the desert”? Yes! Anyway, the place was actually really cool looking and had a fake lake in the middle of it.
MC and I walked around for a bit and checked out the scene. The djs were Blake Miller of the Moving Units, Cut Copy, and Does It Offend You, Yeah? So exciting! There was no one dancing yet. We got 5 drinks each and in a quick row and got out to the dance floor. We saw this boy in a turquoise shirt and white hat that we were sure wanted to dance!
Had a great time! Dance nonstop until the last dj we wanted to dance to, Does It Offend You, Yeah? Met Brits…who, as I have told numerous people, are automatically cute (but I love A)…and turquoise shirt was Canadian. Having one too many, I was like “No, you’re not”. To which he said, “Yes, I am Canadian”. To which I said…wait for it…”Say something Canadian”. Seriously. I realized it as soon as I said it (what was I thinking?) and when he smartly replied, “Yes, I am Canadian…eh?” I sweetly smiled and said, “Okay”, as if it were all some joke…and normally it would be but that night I was THAT boozed. I’m sure I was looking for an “aBOOT”.
So excited for him when we saw him later hooking up with some random girl. Decided that he was our friend but never saw him again.
I also had a conversation with someone…I don’t know who…about the glorious 99 cent 1/2 lb. Bean and Cheese burrito from Del Taco. Don’t ask me how that happened. I think I forgot to mention that it had to be a green burrito and you needed tons of Del Scorcho.
Didn’t find out until after the weekend about the messed up shuttle situation on the way home. Some fight broke out and they were no longer going to shuttle people and some ended up walking home. So this is why I was trying to memorize how we got to this place…well I realized I was trying to remember and then thought, this is stupid, a shuttle will take us back…see my subconscious knows better! We must have gotten out just in time.
April 22, 2008
Jalepeno Martini in a mason jar from Palace Grill, Santa Barbara
A and I went to Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley for a weekend.
Some favorite photos:
April 22, 2008
Empty box once filled with clothes
I hosted a clothing swap this past Sunday. I have to say, these are just so much fun! You invite a bunch of ladies to bring clothing that they no longer wear but is still fashionable and free of rips and stains. We tried on clothes and everyone leaves with something new…for free. It’s fun just to have some drinks and clothes with friends. I think every one was happy with their new clothes. I ended up wearing one of mine to work the very next day! We decided it would be great to do this every 4 months or so to clear out stuff that we don’t wear and as a reward, get great new stuff. If you host a swap party of your own, make sure to invite friends who wear similar sizes. Or better yet, invite more women so there are more sizes. It’s no fun if someone is left out.
I forgot to take photos…these will have to do.
Some new loot
April 19, 2008
Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize winning writer of the LA Weekly food section, does an annual list of 99 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles. #81 of my 101 in 1001 list is to eat all all of them. I have a long way to go…
Abode
Alcazar
Angeli Caffe
Angelini Osteria
A.O.C.
Apple Pan
Attari
A-Won
Babita
Bar Marmont
Beacon: An Asian Cafe
Bin 8945
Blue Velvet
Border Grill
Bulgarini Gelato
Caioti Pizza Café
Campanile
Canele
Casa Bianca
Chamea
Chichén Itzá
Chung King
Ciudad
Cora’s Coffee Shoppe
Cut
Daikokuya
Dino’s Burgers
Drago
El Huarache Azteca
El Parian
Elite
Euro Pane Bakery
Father’s Office
Fogo de Chao
Foundry
Fraîche
Golden Deli
Golden Triangle
Grace
Green Village
The Grill on the Alley
Guelaguetza
Hatfield’s
The Hungry Cat
Il Moro
Jar
JiRaffe
Kagaya
Kiriko
Koi
Krua Thai
Langer’s
La Casita Mexicana
La Terza
Literati II
The Lodge
Los Balcones del PeruLou
Lucques
M Café de Chaya
Macau Street
Marouch
Max
Meals by Genet
Mélisse
Metro Café
Michael’s
Mimosa
Musso & Frank Grill
Noodle House
Nook
101 Noodle Express
Oinkster
Opus
Orris
Ortolan
Patina
Philippe the Original
Phillips’ Barbecue
Pizzeria Mozza
Pollo a la Brasa
Providence
Rajdhani
Royale
Sapp Coffee Shop
750ml
Simon L.A.
Sona
Spago
Square One
Tacos Baja Ensenada
Tama
Urasawa
Uzbekistan
Valentino
Village Idiot
Vincenti
Water Grill
Woodlands
21 of 99. Looks like I am flunking this one so far.
April 18, 2008
I really like The Green Book. It actually gives some useful tips that are different from your typical lists on being green. Oh and while it’s printed 100% post consumer paper, you can also go to your library to see if they have any available to borrow.
My short list of easy things you can do TODAY to be easier on the earth:
And here is how to recycle just about anything.
I’ve been trying to doing this for a long time. When you really start to follow what you can recycle, you’ll notice that the vast majority of items can be recycled. For myself, I realized that probably 75% of my items go in the recycle bin. But I was up again last night and caught a late night rerun of Oprah, which I never watch. They followed a family around and looked at their waste and it was so, so incredibly disgusting and excessive. They were embarrassed and I have to say I was embarassed for them. You can see it here. As the site says, “Americans make up just 5 percent of the world’s population but use 25 percent of the world’s energy resources.” Imagine if everyone lived like this family…what would happen to the earth? Luckily we don’t all live like this but we can all do better. Even little things help. Start today!
April 17, 2008
I don’t live in Silver Lake but here’s a pretty good rundown on the area from laist.com.
April 15, 2008
A and I went to see the poppies at the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve this past weekend. It. Was. Amazing. If you are in Southern California, try to make time to see them this weekend! They are at their peak right now and it’s supposed to decline pretty quickly. A few years ago and they were okay but were told if we had come 2 weeks prior, we would have seen them at their peak.
Here are some of my photos:
If you are looking for a place to eat around Lancaster, I highly recommend Tacos Si Senor! We come here every couple years when we go to see the poppies at the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve. We ate here twice in the same day 2 years ago. It’s off the same exit from the 5 if you are coming from Los Angeles, but on the east side of the freeway (you turn west for the Poppy Preserve) about 1-2 miles down the road. It’s on your left hand side.
It’s a colorful Mexican restaurant in a strip-mall (the grocery store that was there a couple years ago is now gone), serving tacos and more. The menu is overwhelming. There are photos of about 58 items and there are plenty more items that aren’t photographed. Everything we have tried there is great as as we remembered! They are known for their seafood (they even have fresh oysters). This weekend we had the fried tilapia, shrimp ceviche, and the 3 taco plate (we had chicken, carnitas, and carne asada). All were basically perfectly prepared comfort food (the tilapia was a tiny bit salty but I like salty). Nothing fancy just really good. Portions are generous. We were stuffed and had to take a full box home. There is a salsa bar and some marinated vegetables that we could eat all day. No free refills on drinks so I was limited to one Mr. Pibb but that was okay. They kept the water coming. It’s a local place, the service is friendly and fast. They have futbol games on. Some of the drinks come in traditional bottles. We came on a whim, looking for some unpretentious Mexican food, and Tacos Si Senor delivers. Plus, I love the name.
Based on memory, I think the prices were around: Fried Tilapia $7, Shrimp Ceviche $3.50, and the 3 Taco plate $5.50. They serve alcohol and take credit cards.
Tacos Si Senor, 1137 W Avenue I, Lancaster, CA 93534
April 14, 2008
In a while, I plan to start writing about my travels, past, present, and future.
In the meantime, I have been thinking about it quite a bit recently and I really feel the need to make sure as many people as possible know what is happening in Zimbabwe. A and I spent a few days in Zimbabwe in September 2007 and for a brief time witnessed what Zimbabweans deal with every day. Zimbabwe is unlike any other place I have been to so far in my travels. Food shortages, 80% unemployment, crazy, crazy inflation (I’m talking 4 zeros every year and it changes literally every day), people leaving in thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, really low life expectancy in the 30s, Mugabe in general.
The money exchange people actually told us not to exchange our money…and their business is to make money off your money. People are desperate for dollars. It’s one of those kind of situations where if you go, you have to deal with giving the government money but at the same time you can kind of help out individuals. We paid $20 for a taxi once and knew we probably over paid. However, realized that that $20 could last our driver and his young son (who he brought with him in the taxi/borrowed-car-missing-the-inside-lining-headlights-etc.) probably a month. I often wonder what will happen to that boy. Will he be able to go to school? How long will he have to live in that kind of environment? How old will he grow to be? Will he make it past 35? Will he make it to the age I am now?
People sell things on the side of the road because there are few jobs. Although some of the sellers can be intense (they will follow you for a while, which at times made me uncomfortable), this is something they have to deal with daily for survival. If you don’t want to buy what they are offering, sellers may even offer trades for your clothing and or shoes. They want goods. I would have given them my shoes but unfortunately, I had more places to go and I still needed them. Next time, I will bring extras.
Like so many people around the world, Zimbabweans want to live, love, and raise their families. The people are wonderful and the country has many parts that are or once were beautiful. They really can’t speak out much about their government and it seems that this current election process is a prime example. It’s a sad state of affairs.
Zimbabwe needs to have fair elections. I’m not saying I know which way the elections will go but so many people are suffering and they want change. They deserve to have their votes counted fairly. I strongly urge each of you to contact your President, Senator, Congressmember, and the UN to help ensure fair and democratic elections.
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