I Love Everybody

and I see God in everyone.

Today I am going to start being a really nice person. I am not going to swear, I will not complain about how hot it is, I shan't let sarcasm tickle my funny bone, I am good and kind.

I am an optimist. I know it is already done. I have more than I will ever need in the way of comfort, financial prosperity, and the rest of paradise's lot. I bathe myself in life's champagne.

For me, everyday is a perfect hair day. Further, my clothes iron themselves. And as I journey through my Southern California metropolis, every traffic light is as green as apples on a sweet spring day.

I am the master of my domain.

********************************************
Funny co-ink-ky-dink;

I saved this posting as a draft and went to lunch. Stopped by Target, (hello, it's Friday), and then went on to Trader Joe's which is located in a Shopping Center 'round these parts. My car turned off by itself midway through the shopping center parking lot. oh no! I waved the woman behind me to go ahead as I was having issues ... no starty car-y. She pulled up alongside of me and asked if I needed help. In the meantime, here comes some guy driving past, honking his horn in annoyance and yelled out the window, "Bitch!".

Short cut to the happy ending, the woman helped me and my car started. She even offered to drive me back to work if it didn't restart. I thanked her for her kindness and noted to her how lucky I am that she was the person driving behind me. I commented on the two opposite behaviors I witnessed in response to my quandry. One person so nice and one person so pin-head.

So back to my original mantra, I am safe. My troubles are handled effortlessly. And for our misdirected friend in need of an anger management class or two, Bless his heart as I close my eyes and quietly sigh, See God in Everyone.

And We Don't Stop ...

Heat wave killing people, crops and cattle
Lindsay Lohan overcome by heat on movie set
Thursday, July 27, 2006; Posted: 2:28 p.m. EDT (18:28 GMT)
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP)

So read the recent headlines on CNN.com. California is hot! Cattle are falling over! And so is Lindsay Lohan! Oh! It's really getting hot in herre! In just a matter of days, our tastemaker ensembles have gone from nearly-there bikinis to hospital gowns. Not. A. Good. Look.





Not to be trite, but I would be one of those dead people if not for what's left of my youth and a full-time day gig. I am fortunate enough to work in an air conditioned office all day and have a reprieve from that global oven out there. I am focused on long-term comfort and not becoming the 91 year old "rose lady" on the block that expires on her chair for the damn heat. May she rest. (see the Fresno Bee for that one.)


Next.

I am doing much better because I have one 10,000 BTU Air Conditioner on the way. Me happy. I ordered it online with the assistance of a kind hearted helper doing me a favor ... like an Angel on Earth. It should be delivered next week and I will be on my way to a civil home environment. One down, two more to go. What? You say ... three a/c's??? I say ... It's hot y'all.

Yesterday morning Prima fell out of the window when the screen gave way ala the flying kittilini's ... What a scare for mommy. At first I thought I could pull her back up because she was in the tree branches directly outside my living room window ... but no ... further she sank. I ran down the stairs with my gym pants on backwards (quickest thing I could grab) and I was able to retrieve her from the screen of my neighbor below. There she was yowling away and hanging on for dear life ... like a scaredy cat.

Here's a recent picture of the little one. And I'm out.

p.s. get well soon Lindsay ... love you!

Greetings From The Surface of The Sun

Ahh, good times. It's about 215 degrees here in Los Angeles and climbing. I have four "turbo" fans placed around the apartment that just blow hot air my way. You know why? Because ALL the air is fucking hot air. There isn't one molecule of cold matter in this atmosphere that a fan can take for a spin. A fan blows, an a/c cools. It should be against the law that apartments do not come standard with some sort of air conditioning. It is said that basic living dwellings must come supplied with a heater. What is the difference between extreme cold or extreme heat??? It's all inhumane in my opinion. Our State has turned into a sauna. I am weak and much to my chagrin, there is no wit. no personality. no repartee. There is only Heat - as I move in slow motion.

Yesterday, Saturday, I had big plans. It was Maria's B-Day and a fab party was planned for her at Carbon. I started picking out records around 6pm ... finished around 9pm .... so slooow because it is soooo hot. I struggled to get ready and when I finally did, I couldn't do it. I was too faint, weak, affected by my sauna house to even leave it. I fell asleep on the floor.

Yesterday's celebrity sighting goes to Trader Joe's Silver Lake. I ran in quickly in a heat-induced daze for some of that Double Rainbow Soy Cherry Chip and saw Adrian Grenier of HBO's Entourage fame paying for his groceries at the last check-out lane. He was so wide open. I could have gotten a cute picture, if I felt so inclined. The kind of picture you see in US Weekly with a caption that says, "They're just like us!" or you would see on Pink Is The New Blog. But you know what, I have too much dignity. I like to see the pictures, but I would feel like a fool taking one.

So there's that.

Gee, thanks

You Are Basic Panties

You are a laid back chick with a real natural beauty. You can make unwashed hair and minimal make-up super sexy. Men tend to notice you show the "real you" - and they appreciate it. And while basic makes boring for some, it looks classic on you.

What Kind of Panties Are You?

I am basic panties. yawn, i mean, Hawt.

I am downtowngrrrl.

You Are Midtown

You love so many things, you don't fit into any one label. Your city girl persona goes to a fancy restaurant one night and a dive bar the next.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

Oh NO!

TGIF

Hi Y'all ... (all three of you):

Yippee ... it's Friday. I have a strong affection for Fridays and the two days that follow after that. I pray the sun doesn't beat down on my second floor apartment too intensely. I really would hate to spend another weekend on the living room floor. no joke.

Oy. It's been hot.

I haven't decided how I want to focus this blog. As you know, I am a downtown aficionado. But I don't care about downtown anymore. At least not the downtown in Los Angeles. (ugh). I love other downtowns ... San Francisco, New York, Monrovia ... oh wait, that's Old Town. Anyway, this blog could be a lot of things, but for now it will be a reflection of my activities and musings.

In that vein, today I went to Target on my lunch hour. ooh-wee, I love me some Target. Picked up some staples, a pretty and mod looking sweater tank, (black metallic, rivets) and a couple of luster looking martini glasses to go with those new martini shakers I bought last week. Life is swell.

Last weekend I was invited to spin a set at a beautiful house party in South Pasadena. They called it "Bikinis & Martinis II". Fun stuff. I had three Apple Martini's with some reggae-funk-rock on the side. Thanks to two of my most favorite people in the whole world, Maria & Mike. You illuminate my life with joy.

And so do you, dear reader. (all three of you *wink*)

Paris Hilton is a nasty skank

okay ... enough about a stupid celebrity, i know ... but i have just been blinded by the most wretched picture of Paris Hilton available on the internet. really, i have. i am blogging on my new braille keyboard.

it's my fault. i was warned. but i clicked my mouse and looked anyway. ick. ick. ick.

i am warning you too. i will go ahead and repost here the sight-disabling photo i viewed on www.pinkisthenewblog.com. it's offensive, it's very ill mannered and the link has the word "cooch" in it. there's your warning.

while we're at it, here is a picture of a caucasion woman driving somewhere. maybe she is on her way to the nearest 7-11 for a beat-the-heat, gi-mondo slurpee. go 'head mama.

oh snap, it's eva longoria without makeup! ouch girl, ouch. even i have eyelash extensions.

it's not that you're hard on the eyes, it's that you're so plain on the eyes. so opposite of the glamazon image. what would lana, betty or your almost namesake ava say?

***major props to fabulous Trent and www.pinkisthenewblog.com love you or dare i say, luurrve you.

Random thoughts from in front of the fan ...

You know myspace has reached critical mass when Colgate Max Fresh Breath Strips has it's own profile page. I mean, what does one say when added as a "friend" to a tube of toothpaste and/or breath enhancer? Apparently, there is lots to say, with 8357 friends and counting and 200+ comments to date, it goes a little something like "Wow, I'm friends with a tube of toothpaste. Now my life is complete" and "can i have some colgate toothpast" (sic) to the actually correct undertanding of the product with "finally! breath strips on myspace". Thanks Brandon. All of 14, he knows his product placement, it's purpose, and he is not afraid to hide his glee.

Next.

I am about to watch a new DVD I bought about a week ago, "Will & Grace Series Finale". I haven't had a TV in almost two years, but I did love this show back in the day. It kind of went off center when they started bringing in celebrity guest appearances. The show became more silly than comical. Great cast though. I was reading recently that Sean Hayes, the actor that plays Jack, got the part early, early in his career. That basically this was his first gig. He never suffered. And now he has a terrific career because he was on a critically acclaimed hit TV show. The big everything for him from the very beginning.

The other day I read a short article about some actress, forget who, who said that she was always a working actress, never had to wait tables, etc., that she never suffered. I think she worked in film.

hmmm ... Is saying you never suffered the new vocab for the old starving artist? That's cool that people are thankful for their good fortune and not blah-blahing on about their minimum wage + tips days.

Like I said ... just some observations on this freaking hot day. No epiphanies. Just hot talk.

And not the good kind.

I Heart NOLA

One year ago this evening ... My first outing in my new beloved city.

I was sitting at the bar at the Funky Butt having their namesake cocktail and experiencing the most sweltering heat of my life. It was funny to me. The bar half full, seemed like locals only, I was thinking these people are crazy! while trying to fan myself. The bartender was so nice, the place so New Orleans with it's no-sense-of-urgency type vibe. Hurricane Dennis was possibly bearing through so half the town was gone and some restaurants boarded up.

When they announced the band after the set, it turns out one of the Marsalis' was on drums ... of course it's like that. This is New Orleans.

During the set break I met smarmy Dave who inquired if my cocktail tasted like a**. I am perceptive and his charms did not allude me, so of course I said yes when he invited me to join him at the bar of the Hotel St. Marie just around the corner to meet his friends hanging there. They were all great, loved them all like play cousins ... Courtney, Jen, Rick and Barkeep Kevin. "Have we met before?" he asked "I know you from somewhere." mmm, flirty bird ...

Jackson Square, the St. Charles trolley, hanging on the balcony overlooking Decatur to the m.i.s.s.-i.s.s.-i.s.s.-i.p.p.i. one block away, life in Vieux Carre ... I fell in love with you NOLA.
My Apartment on Decatur

See me up there sipping my coffee on the balcony ...



My view down the street toward the Quarter


Across the street
The Cafe Du Monde Experience


Another beautiful balcony on Royal. If I lived in NOLA, I would celebrate my balcony in the same way.

Independence Day LA 2006

Wow, Happy 4th of July ... I was reading the paper this morning and was struck by the insignificant placement of a scary 3 line news item in the LA Times, very bottom right, page A10, quoting the leader of North Korea to the U.S., " ... answer a preemptive attack with a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war with almighty nuclear deterrent ..."

And then later when I turned on my computer, I see this ...
N. Korea Reportedly Launches 2 Missiles
Tuesday, July 4, 2006 4:39 PM EDT
The Associated Press
The story went on to read that these two missiles crashed in the Sea of Japan.

WTF??? In the meantime, the poor Iraqis suffer through another murderous day in the name of America's "Freedom isn't Free" tour. Maybe the focus should be on the lunatic that wants to bring about WWIII - the one where nobody wins.

mmmm. a recipe for some Louisiana Firecracker Barbeque Chicken:

3 Plump Fryers, each about 3 lbs., cut in half
2 sticks of margarine
2 tbls. Creole seasoning mix
1 bottle (6 oz.) hot sauce

Rub the chicken well with the seasoning mix. Melt the margarine in a small saucepan and add the hot sauce. Put the chicken on the grill and baste frequently with the sauce. Be sure to turn the chicken about every 20 minutes, but keep the lid closed in between. The chicken will take about 2 1/2 hours to cook.
* recipe courtesy of Grant L. Robertson, Inc., Metairie, LA.

Wishing you a lovely holiday.