Disappointment on a rainy, cold day in LA

I was very excited earlier this morning when a co-worker emailed me a very funny picture. I thought, "Wow, great post for a fun Friday blog." But now, all of you get to be disappointed just like me because I've been advised by standards and practices (a friend) not to post the picture.

So I'll tease you - it's a fictional mugshot of the guy I emphatically voted against in the last two elections and a couple of his cohorts in crime. Let me know if you want to see it and I'll email it to you.

Wow

Notice: LFL is a fan of my blog - so be nice.

I have a friend, let's call her or him LFL (Looking For Love). To give you some background, LFL does not live in Los Angeles - LFL might choose to fly when coming to visit us. LFL has been out to visit us in the past and was thinking about another visit in '08. That trip got pushed up a little bit after an innocent IM conversation that went something like this:

*Disclaimer: This is not the actual IM conversation. To protect their identity, the names have been changed. This script was written by a scriptwriting degree holder - amateurs should not attempt unsupervised.

Fade In.

LFL: Do you have someone you could set me up with?
MB: Sure, I know some people.
LFL: Really?
MB: Yeah, but they're here in LA.
LFL: That doesn't matter. I'd go on a blind date in LA.
MB: You would seriously come to LA just to go on a blind date?
LFL: I was planning to come visit you guys next year anyway, so why not come in January and go on a blind date while I'm out there?
MB: Seriously?
LFL: Yeah.
MB: I don't believe you.
LFL: I'm serious. Now who is this person?
MB: Um, ok. The person's name is Five (Hasn't had a significant other in over 5 years).

Fade out.

LFL is coming - dates have been set. Transportation has been arranged. This blind date is gonna happen, folks.

Teaser:
An earthquake hits LA leaving LFL and Five trapped alone in a confined space. Oh, and there's a murderer on the loose.

Stay tuned in January for the next installment of this soap opera.

Realization: I really should be writing for General Hospital.

The Strike can't stop Shrek

The Charlie Brown Christmas special was on last night and tonight is The Grinch, Shrek the Halls (yea!) and the Rockefeller Center special. I don't know about you, but I would appreciate these shows much more if they aired a little closer to the actual holiday. Why not at least air them in the same month as the holiday we're celebrating?

Despite how early it is in the Christmas season, we, of course, watched Charlie Brown last night. And I've had the Shrek special on my calendar for weeks now. I just can't get enough of that Donkey. Oh, that gives me another idea for my Amazon wishlist...

My morning drive to work

* Disclaimer: No children were harmed (that I could see).

Let me paint a little picture of my morning drive: It was 8:45 on the 405. Traffic was actually going okay on my 16 mile, estimated 1 hour 15 minute commute. I was going about 10-15 mph, quite the upgrade from my usual 3-4mph. A Jewish holiday perhaps? Suddenly, I see it. Smoke. Cars come to a halt. Then I go over the hill and there it is: A school bus on fire. For those of you worried about the children - the bus was empty.

Thinking of my fire loving friends, I tried to find a picture of it on our local news websites, but it's clearly not as important as pictures of the Dancing w/the Stars finale.

Now unless you've ever been out here and taken note of the school buses, you might not know that they are the oldest school buses I've seen in my life. The cars last so long out here because there's no rust. These buses have to be from the 70s. They probably have a carburetor (that's that old thing cars don't have any more, right? My knowledge of cars is, shall we say, intentionally limited). Maybe if they didn't have such old buses then they wouldn't be catching on fire as they go over the mountains.

And now, for the most amazing part of the story: there was a good samaritan stopped trying to put out the fire (with a mini fire extinguisher). There are good samaritans in LA? I know. Crazy, right?

Road Trip Recap

Our trip was awesome. The Old St. Angela Inn is our new favorite place to stay. The breakfast and (as we called it) the goodies in the afternoon were amazing. We barely needed dinner each night because the afternoon food was so good. We even just ate dinner at Ghirardelli one night. The drive in our awesome Chevy Impala was pretty fun in spite of the old, cigarette smelling car (mental note: don't rent from Avis again). Ryan had fun driving all along the cliffs. My growing fear of heights was in full effect when we stopped at the pull offs for pictures. The Monterey aquarium is a requirement - just don't go the day after Thanksgiving because it's apparently one of their busiest days. Reaffirms my desire to go through life kidless, maybe, maybe not (maybe, maybe not)...

Winter is definitely the best time to go. It was chilly at night, but not freezing by any east coaster's standard. Lack of crowds at the parks and along the PCH was great. I can't imagine the summer - it would make the trip not nearly as peaceful.

Point Lobos State Park was probably the best. During our hike, we saw lots of sea lions and even some whales on their way up north. The Winchester Mystery House was actually pretty neat - better than we thought it would be. San Luis Obispo was a fun town. Reminded us of a larger, upscale Ithaca with a gigantic and much nicer Cayuga Lake. Lots of young families or late 20's to 30's outdoorsy people jogging or in kayaks.

Upside: CA is actually really nice in parts.
Downside: Shout out to homeless people: don't ride a bike on the swerving, one lane PCH.

Road Trip!

We're getting out of LA for the long Thanksgiving weekend. I've been waiting to take this trip since, hmmm, June 10, 2006, so I can't wait.

We've traveled around much of the state of CA. Every trip I come back home thinking: This state is so beautiful - why do we live in the ugliest part? Oh right, employment.

I digress. We're going on a trip along the PCH. We're flying to San Jose on Thursday morning, renting a car and driving to Monterey. Two nights at this super cute B&B - the Old St. Angela Inn and one night in San Luis Obispo. We'll spend four days driving down the coast, doing some lite hiking, checking out the cute towns and enjoying the beautiful scenery. I hope we have enough memory cards for the camera.

Trip report and my own awesome picture to come next week.

Happy Thanksgiving (early)

My parents come into LA tonight for a week (they're staying with my sister). LAX, ugh. The good news is that we're celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday (long story). I'll pick them up anywhere if my Mom will make her homemade stuffing...yummmm.

Depressing Strike Update

Tonight is the last new episode of the Office. No more until the strike ends. Enjoy it, folks.

I'm getting a dog (maybe)!

I'll preface my story by telling you that some people in LA call motorcycles Donorcycles. Riding one in LA is absolute insanity. The way they weave in between cars on the freeway- death wish.

The story I'm about to tell you is true and I've witnessed it on more than one occasion. There is a guy (let's call him Suicidal) I've seen on the 101 who drives with a giant golden retriever behind him (of course YouTube has similar footage). How can you drive on the 101, at night, in rush hour traffic with a giant dog hanging off the back of your bike? If you want to risk your own life, then go for it, but to subject a dog is just cruel. Now Suicidal was wearing leather and a helmet, but the dog had no protection whatsoever. He could have fallen off the side in an instant.

Sadly, I do not own a dog yet, but last I checked at Target they didn't make doggy helmets or chaps. Upon doing a little research, I do find a couple random companies that sell dog helmets on the internet, but come on. Should we really make dogs do activities that require them to wear helmets? Where's PETA when you need them?

I, of course, think the proper thing to do is for me to take the dog and give him a safe and loving home far away from Suicidal.

Is the US running out of flour?

Why are bread bowls impossible to get at Panera? They are a bakery, right? They always seem to have numerous breads, bagels and pastries every time I visit. They even have said products at 6pm or later. So why are the bread bowls so hard to find? Now I must admit, I'm a mostly dinner Panera visitor. There are some special mornings when I have a craving for the hazelnut bagel spread or a Cobblestone muffin, but I don't really visit at lunch. This is clearly when the bread bowls are served in overwhelming quantity. If you want a bread bowl anytime after 3pm forget it. Just don't even go. I called ahead a couple times to make sure they were in stock, but of course they never were. I won't even do that anymore. Just get over the broccoli cheese bread bowl craving and get In & Out instead.

So in short, if you want a bread bowl you better go in the morning and buy it. Then go back in the evening and buy the soup. Combine the two and you're good to go. That's a little too much hassle for me. It's a little crazy too. And I don't have that kind of time. It's only Panera we're talking about.

Is it bad to want to strike?

As many of you know, there's a writer's strike happening now. People are saying it could last for months. How does this affect us you might ask? Well, it doesn't, but is it bad to wish that it did?

Basically, I am totally fine at my job. My better half is not in any real danger either. Don't worry folks, nothing's gonna stop the good Doctor.

Is it bad to wish that he was out of work for a couple weeks or a month? He'd get his job back and all would be fine. He'd just be able to sit home and collect unemployment. There is nothing like my husband without a job. He's a totally different person. The word Zen almost comes to mind. Is it bad to want that for a little while?