day 276: apart once before

I spent the night at Tim and Mark’s and had my first night of seven hours of sleep. It is so relaxing at their house. I’m able to mentally escape my situation when I’m there. It’s so nice. I was up before the sun rose and was able to cross paths with Mark before he left for work. I made breakfast and one-by-one all of the Jordan-Cohens came crawling up the steps. Tim took Steven to school, so Kristy and I had one-on-one time. We danced to the Wiggles, played with Playdoh and started the laundry. We enjoyed the beginning of lunch and just like that it was time to pick up Steven from school. After lunch and “because Auntie Prue was visiting” they didn’t have their nap and we finished Toy Story 2. After TS2, they took a nap and this was by far my most difficult good-bye. Filled with the non-stop questions of “Why? Why? Why?” I was bawling. I will miss these two little darlings, and I hope that they remember me. It’s always gets me in the heart when I hear them say, “Auntie Prue!”

 

After kissing them goodnight and saying good-bye to Tim, I took off for downtown. I met with Henry. My outings with friends have turned into a theme of trying new places. I figure that I know the places I’ll go to when I return for a visit, but the option I won’t have at home is trying new restaurants. We went to the Broadway bar, which amazingly I’ve never been to. It’s an historic staple in LA and nope, never been. Well that’s checked off the list. It’s a nice loung-y bar and would be great for a group. Henry remembered a recommendation of a Brazilian restaurant not too far from the bar called The Wooden Spoon. Wow! I hope this little restaurant survives these crazy economic times. The food was super fresh. We ordered a appetizer sampler and sangria. As our waiter described the sangria, we both said, “you had us at Sangria” It was a fusion of clover, cinnamon, raspberries, strawberries and red wine: very delicious. We picked two entrees: a chicken pot pie with the flakiest crust I’ve ever had and bacon wrapped chicken. Of course it was accompanied with morro, collared greens and plantains. It was a delicious comfort meal.

Henry and I have endured a few years of living in different cities before and I know that we will continue to be friends through this time. I’m so happy I was brave enough to send out the email searching for a roommate, oh so many years ago, and that he responded. I love these! I was wondering when I would be able to post them, and now seems appropriate.

day 251: This Is It

This picture is the line at LA live. The tickets for "This Is It" were handed out. The news started reporting on that people had been camping out since Thursday.

This is actually from yesterday, but I've been proofing photos all day. I haven't really had a chance to get out today.

day 250: downtown

Chadonna and I went down to LA Live, watched some football and caught up with our lives.

day 227: downtown

I went downtown for dinner and captured this picture. It's nice to catch up with old friends

day 225: Universal

I went to Universal today. The station fire is so big, it's crazy I was coming up the 110 freeway could see it from south of downtown. The photo below is courtesy of LA Times. I couldn't find my camera during my commute, but probably not a good idea to take a picture while driving.

day 214: golden gopher

We celebrated Ceci's birthday, but this picture of the patio is the only one I took. Fish and I showed up early and enjoyed the happy hour specials and crowd. In the spirit of the comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy, the two gentlemen to the left kept us entertained until our party arrived.

day 213: downtown

I went downtown for a screening of a movie, and I found this to be the perfect alley.

day 134: E3 @ LA Live

Fish and I went to the Digital LA party at the Conga Room in LA Live for the E3 conference. LA Live fits McLuhan's media is the message or media as a distraction. Wholey, flashing screens, colored lights, and digital stimulation at every turn, Batman.

We sipped on "Mario" margaritas and enjoyed the nice view of the courtyard at LA Live. After leaving the Conga Room, we strolled over to the Yard House where Henry joined us to discover that they have an a-mazing late night Happy Hour from 10-midnight. I definitely recommend the Yard House. The Conga Room was interesting: great views and a cool ceiling, but unless someone throws a party, I don't think I would go back. It was a fun night topped off with dancing on these sensored lights. It was, oh SO very reminiscent of Tom Hanks' Big and Michael Jackson's Billy Jean. Although we couldn't play chopsticks or heart and soul on it, next time we'll try Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I'm a nerd.

day 106: cazadores blanco

Provecho, Cazadores Blanco, Sangria, Bottega Louie, and Casa Enrique all make up my Cinco de Mayo. It was a discovery of downtown LA hotspots. I hope you enjoyed your Cinco de Mayo.

day 098: adoption

Tim & Mark officially adopted Kristy and Steven today, and I was so honored to be invited to the courtroom proceedings.

It was a chilly morning, but the overcasting clouds provided the right light to photograph. We arrived early to the Children's Court House in Monterey Park, CA, at 8:15am. In a large waiting room, we chatted with Tim & Mark's friends and family. Grandma and Grandpa were on hand, as well as, various aunties and uncles for the ceremony.

Steven pointed out two roof drains to a room full of architects and asked, "what are those two things?" We laughed and said, "you may want to rethink that question? Do you want the long version or the short version?" Kristy was fighting a cough while dealing with getting her molars, but she handled it well.

As soon as we caught up with our lives, we were called into the courtroom. We listened to the judge as he awarded all rights to these two beautiful children to Tim and Mark. There was not a dry eye in the room. We posed for pictures and then had a wonderful lunch at Luminaria's Restuarant.

Congratulations Tim, Mark, Kristy & Steven!! this also means Auntie Prue is available for babysitting. :) (no fingerprints required)

day 049: working

I was so busy today...almost forgot to post a picture. Ok, I took these the other day, but I wanted to post them, because they ended up being nice pictures. I promise, tomorrow I will shoot some pictures. These are light fixtures at Provecho Restaurant. I think that's the name of the place (?)

day 045:emptiness is form

I've been getting some flack for not posting...sorry, sorry...don't worry, you'll get a three updates today.

Golf and Donuts
Henry and I went to MOCA Grand Ave for this ... installation.

The popular game of miniature golf is recast as a community social event as Knifeandfork installs a custom course that appropriates the museum's unique architecture, utilizing both interior and exterior spaces and following multiple paths through MOCA's Grand Avenue campus. Visitors are encouraged to team up and utilize balls outfitted with RFID tags to show off their skills. Other interactive surprises are also planned for the evening

The line to play golf was too long and the wind was blowing, so we opted to take advantage of donuts that were produced by the people playing "putt-putt" (as I like to call it). We walked the golf course. The point of the installation was to experience the bowels of MOCA Grand Ave with a new perspective, which was successful. Above is picture of the donuts before they met their fate in the vat of oil, mmmmmm. Below is a picture of Steven, a co-worker of Henry's, soon after he made the hole. He shared the interactive recording connected to his iPhone after making a hole.

day 044: same-sex marriage vigil

Wednesday nights are usually reserved for my run with Nike at the Grove followed by LOST. It was cold and sprinkling tonight, and instead of running in the rain, I was marching downtown in support of overturning Proposition 8. Tomorrow the California Supreme Court prepares to hear legal arguments against the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, and a ruling will be decided in 90 days.

Why do I march? Other than the fact that it's a basic fundamental right and is protected by the Declaration of Independence...yeah other than those two minor details... let's see, I try to speak out against discrimination. In my twenty-five random things, I told the story of a lady telling me, “You f-ing Navajo. Go back to the reservation.” because I tripped over her little kid. She did not give me a chance to say anything. She judged me by the color of my skin. She probably has no recollection of that incident, but it stayed with me. It's a strange thing when people judge you for being yourself.

November 5 was supposed to be a glorious day, but I could see in my friends' eyes that they were hurt by the voters of California. They expressed that they had not been subjected to blatant discrimination, and I thought how wonderful that must have been: To live most of your life without the thought that people are not judging you or think that you should be a second class citizen. Wow. If you haven't been the subject of discrimination, you are very fortunate.

I hope in 90 days we will "hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

day 026: <3

Today, should be like any other day.

We went to the Edison. I love the Edison, it's in the basement of a building downtown near the Morphosis Building. I believe the best time to see this building IS at night, so that's an added bonus. (which means I probably should have tried to photograph it)

It actually turned out to be a pleasant evening. This is a picture of my cocktail: The Flame of Love.