Tag Archives: Los Angeles

A Random LA Evening (or Taking Time To Enjoy The Sunset)

Posted on August 29, 2019 | Comments Off on A Random LA Evening (or Taking Time To Enjoy The Sunset)

There is no question that I have been a bit too stressed out lately. Some of it I have put on myself and I’ve been trying to work through that. Some of it is unexpected stress and I’m just trying to get to the other side. But it doesn’t matter what type of stress it is, stress sucks and I have been feeling the effects of it a lot. The mental effects of stress are obvious, but I’ve been noticing the physical effects too. I ignored them for a while thinking they were related to other things, but it’s clear that my stress got to my body.

By the time you are reading this post, the results from the election should have been announced. As I am writing it, the ballots are being counted and the results should be done in a few hours. This has been a huge part of my stress lately. It’s good stress since I have been working hard toward something I care about so much. But at the same time if things don’t go well for my slate I know I will take it hard. I hope that by the time you are all reading this that I have been celebrating on social media that we have won many of the seats we were running for.

Most evenings during the past few weeks have been filled with doing election related tasks. I had different events to go to, work I had to finish, campaigning to do, and other little tasks that needed to be done that I couldn’t do for one reason or another during work. But on Tuesday night (the night before we found out the results), there was no more election work to do. The ballots had to all be at the post office by that point so nothing else was necessary. We had done all we could do and hope that it was enough. I knew that being home that night was going to be weird, so I decided I wanted to go out and just do anything. I didn’t have a plan in mind, I just knew I didn’t want to sit at home and stress out.

My friend Dani was able to be free after work and we tried to think of a few options of what we could do. We thought about seeing a movie or something, but there wasn’t much we wanted to see. And I don’t know if I could have sat still through a movie. We ended up deciding to get some dinner and going to the beach since neither of us goes to the beach that often. There’s a new restaurant near me called Buratta House that she had been wanting to try, so we got some sandwiches from there and drove to the beach.

We found a free meter only 2 blocks from the beach and walked over to where there were a few tables. It wasn’t the fanciest area to be in, but at least we were at the water and could sit down and eat. After our sandwiches, we walked over to Coldstone for some ice cream before heading over to the pier to watch the sun go down. I wasn’t sure if the sunset would be an epic one, but even with the colors being a bit muted it was still gorgeous.

We just hung out on the pier for a while and watched the sun go down. It was a peaceful evening and the beach wasn’t too crowded since it was a weeknight and most schools are back in session. I live so close to the beach and I rarely do this. It felt like such a treat but this was really a simple thing for us to do. The drive over was maybe 15 minutes and if you didn’t count the food we bought it was totally free. But I think if I did this more often I wouldn’t be as grateful for it as I am when I do make it to the beach to watch the sun go down.

After the sunset, we headed back to the car and were trying to figure out if there was anything else we wanted to do. Somehow, we ended up at Target which kind of was a random and fun adventure. We were wandering through the beauty and skincare aisles looking at all the new products and just having fun seeing what Target was selling. I don’t go to Target that often and this one recently was remodeled so they sell a lot of nicer things now. It almost reminded me of being younger and going to the mall and looking at everything in every store. I also figured wandering through Target would help me get in a bunch of steps for the day.

Eventually, we had to leave our adventure at Target because I had to get home and get to bed. But between getting food, watching the sunset, and randomness at Target; it ended up being such a fun evening. I was looking for an evening to distract me and help me have a less stressful night and it was so much more. I love when something that you don’t really plan ends up being one of those great and fun nights out.

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Default ThumbnailPlaying Beach Chicken (or How To Fully Enjoy Only Having To Work A Half Day On Saturdays) Default ThumbnailDisneyland At Christmastime (or An Evening Of Rides) Default ThumbnailThe Convention Gala (or An Evening Under and With The Stars) Default ThumbnailAnother After Work Disney Adventure (or Holiday Time And Random Fun) Default ThumbnailLA Adventure (or How To Enjoy A Day Without Your Own Car) Default ThumbnailDoing Some Marathon Watching (or Helping Random Runners Power Up)

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Another LA Anniversary (or I Kind Of Already Celebrated This Once)

Posted on August 23, 2019 | Comments Off on Another LA Anniversary (or I Kind Of Already Celebrated This Once)

This week marked 18 years since I moved to LA. As I’ve mentioned in my other LA anniversary posts, I moved out here to go to college and I’ve never left. It’s always felt like home to me and I’ve been happy here. I never thought about leaving and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. It feels like I was always meant to live here.

I mentioned in my birthday post that this pretty much splits my life into half. With half my life being in the Bay Area and half my life in LA. I think technically it will be a few more weeks before it’s really half and half, but that’s just a technicality at this point. I do see my life as half in one place and a half in another. But at the same time, I still can’t believe that I have been in LA for half my life. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long and at the same time, it’s hard to remember when I didn’t live here.

It feels like I’ve lived a million different lives since I moved here. I started out as a pretty typical college student. I think that only lasted my first year of college because by my sophomore year I was taking a lot of acting classes outside of college. By doing that, I earned college credits and was able to graduate early. Then I had a few different day jobs before taking a “real job” for a while. I was miserable at that job and was going to quit when I found out I would be getting laid off in a few months (my boss was awesome and let me know when I told him I was thinking of leaving). After that, I lived off unemployment for a while and tried to focus completely on acting. Then I had to try to find a balance with day jobs and acting. Doing that took several years and more day jobs than I would like to remember. Finally, for the past few years, I’ve had a sense of stability and have been able to try to find a few other things in life to focus on because I need to have more of a life than just work.

In the 18 years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen a lot of friends move here and leave. Some left because they got an amazing job offer somewhere else. Some of them left because they hated LA. Some moved here to pursue acting and gave themselves a very strict timeline and refused to budge if they didn’t reach the level of success they felt they needed by their deadline and left. I’m proud of myself for sticking it out because it’s not easy. I’m not judging the people who have left because they all had valid reasons for leaving. They wouldn’t be a reason I would leave, but the reasons I stay wouldn’t be reasons they would stay either. I am sure I could have a much easier life living somewhere else and doing something else, but I don’t think it would be a happier life. And I have realized that my happiness, at least for now, it more important than having an easy life.

Just like I’ve said in other timeline or milestone posts, this is not where I thought my life would be at this point. I had no clue where I would be after 18 years in LA. I don’t even think I thought about it. But to think about the friends, adventures, and memories that I have gained in those 18 years is pretty amazing and I am proud of what I have accomplished. It hasn’t all been positive, but the positive definitely outweighs the negative.

Just like I didn’t think 18 years ago where I would be now, I’m not going to try to predict where I will be in 18 years. The only thing I will hope is that I will still be happy (and hopefully still happy in LA). Life has taken so many interesting twists that I can’t even try to guess where things will be in 18 months (or at this rate, 18 days). But I know that as long as I keep moving forward and making sure that I am staying true to myself and focusing on what makes me happy, things will turn out the way they should and hopefully I will have dozens of more LA anniversaries.

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A Perfect Night At The Bowl (or Checking Some Things Off My List)

Posted on July 31, 2019 | Comments Off on A Perfect Night At The Bowl (or Checking Some Things Off My List)

As I mentioned in my post about the end of my Pantages season, I wasn’t completely done with musicals for the summer. I still had one more show left (at least one more that I knew about). And that was the musical that was being done at the Hollywood Bowl. I’ve gone to the musicals at the Bowl several times and they are usually very fun experiences. This year, they did “Into The Woods” which I have seen a few times and really like. And since we went to the show on Sunday, we were still able to get good seats even though we didn’t do them right when they went on sale.

Besides being excited to be going to the Bowl (which I already love) and seeing a musical (which is one of my favorite things), I had some extra things to be excited about. Some of the stars of the show are actors that I have dreamed of seeing live. I have a list of shows that I’ve always wanted to see and actors I’ve always wanted to see. And I’ve been so lucky to be able to check shows and actors off my lists over the years. And this show had a lot of the actors I’ve been wanting to see in it so I was beyond thrilled. The top 2 actors I have wanted to see live are Sutton Foster and Laura Osnes and Sutton Foster was starring as the Baker’s Wife in the show. I was so excited and couldn’t wait.

When we got to the Bowl, we were all already excited. We were at a show we were excited to see, the weather was nice, and we had a lot of great food with us for dinner. We decided to see if there was any chance we could find a table to sit down at to eat, and by some miracle, we found one! There were some guys upset that another table wouldn’t give them their chairs (they needed the chairs for their family so they didn’t want to give them to the other group), so they left and we were able to take their table. It worked out really well and I was thinking about how we were having the best luck ever.

But things got even better.

We were eating and I was looking at a group sitting on the ground next to our table when I saw someone who looked familiar. When they got up, I realized that it was Laura Osnes, the other actor at the top of my dream list of actors to see! She was there to see the show and she had been sitting right next to us! I didn’t want to bother her as she was there with her husband and friends, but it was so random and cool that an actor that I’ve dreamed of seeing perform was at a show that had another actor on my dream list. Hopefully one day I’ll get to see her perform too.

After we finished our dinner, we headed to our seats. We had bought 4 tickets but there were only 3 of us at the show. But because the bench seats are so packed, it actually was really nice to have the extra seat so we didn’t feel squished on the bench. We were closer to the stage that I feel like I normally am, which was a nice treat. I guess since it was a Sunday show we were able to do a better section for the same price as our cheaper seats on a Saturday.

The other thing about the show being on a Sunday was that it started a bit earlier. This was a good thing since it is a long show and we still were there late, but it was still light out when the show started. That was different, but not bad.

The show was just as good as I thought it would be. I love the story already and I knew I loved the actors. The combination was just perfect. The sets were minimal as they usually are with the Bowl shows, but they didn’t need much. And they used projections around the stage to add things that couldn’t really be done with set pieces. There were lots of funny little moments that were a bit of breaking the 4th wall or making fun of the stage or situation. All of those things make a show special and unique and they make me so happy.

One of the things that is so funny about “Into The Woods” is how it seems like the story is wrapping up when it’s really coming to the intermission. Some of the people seated near us were packing up their things and getting ready to leave thinking the show was done. I’m glad I told them that it was only intermission so they didn’t miss the second half.

Even though the show did end a bit later than I would have liked, I was so glad that we got tickets. It was such a perfect night out and I don’t think we could have planned a better night at the Bowl. It was a great show, had a cast that I had been wanting to see, we had a great picnic dinner at a table we lucked into getting, and we had a bunch of different celebrity spottings. It really was the best night and I just continue to feel so lucky and grateful that I get to have nights like that one.

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Les Miserables (or Another Classic 19 Years Later)

Posted on May 23, 2019 | Comments Off on Les Miserables (or Another Classic 19 Years Later)

My group is coming to an end to our season at the Pantages. We only have 2 more shows left and they are both in July. After that, one friend and I will be continuing for the next season which will be starting in October. But I will miss the group we have this year because it’s been so great (I miss my group from last year too). It has been a great season this season and I’ve said it many times that I’m loving seeing classic shows again or shows that I’ve seen before. And this week the show was another show I was familiar with.

Before this week, I think I had only had seen “Les Miserables” one other time on stage. I saw it when I went to NYC with a high school group 19 year ago. It was an amazing trip and I got to see some incredible shows. One of the other shows I have left for this season is a show that I saw on that same trip (although that show is one I’m not as familiar with). But even though I’ve only seen the show on stage one other time, I have seen other adaptations of it since then. There was the movie a few years ago which did a great job of keeping the adaptation close to the stage show. And I’ve heard the songs in other shows I’ve gone to. Since the show is almost all singing, knowing the songs pretty much means knowing the show.

We were seated up in the mezzanine this time since we were not attending on our usual night. But we were almost in the center which is a nice treat. I do think I still prefer being close to the stage and to the side because I like being able to see the actors’ faces, but being in the center and not having any part of the stage blocked is good too. And even being almost in the back is still close to the stage compared to other theaters. I know that next season won’t be the same because some of the shows are at the Dolby and that’s a much bigger theater. But hopefully our seats there won’t be in the far back.

“Les Miserables” requires some incredible singers. Not only does the show pretty much only have singing and no dialogue, but there are so many songs that I know are technically difficult. I’m not a singer at all, but I still know when a song is tough to sing. So having strong singers is a requirement for the show to succeed. And this touring cast really did have some talented performers! I was getting chills at times during some of the more dramatic songs. I was prepared to cry while watching it since I know I have cried before with this show. Somehow I was able to hold it together, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t emotional or didn’t enjoy it. I just think I was so focused on watching it that I didn’t have the time to have the emotions hit me or make me react.

Something I’ve been enjoying with all these shows I’ve been able to see is how the sets work. I know with touring shows the sets can’t be as elaborate as they are on Broadway or if a show is staying in a theater for a long run. I think most of the shows I’ve seen the past few seasons have had very interesting sets and I’m always fascinated to see what they do and how they use what they put on stage. This show was no different. They used the depth of the stage in a unique way and used the buildings in the town almost like curtains to block the stage to change the sets. Since they didn’t use the regular curtains and had a set acting as them, the show didn’t have to stop when the sets changed and they were still able to use lots of different set options. And they had a screen on the back of the stage that they used for a few moments to convey motion. The first few times they used the screen it surprised me. And toward the end of the show when they used it to show movement in the sewer it was so perfect and I loved what they were able to do without making it look like a movie or theme park ride.

This show was one that my entire group was familiar with and I think we all went into it knowing we’d enjoy it. Obviously with it being a sad show we didn’t leave gushing about how much we liked it or talked about things too much. We all kind of took time to let it sit with us. But even though we weren’t saying it, I think everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

I’ve got a bit of time now before my last 2 shows this season. But with how quickly time is flying by, I’m sure it will be here before I know it!

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Doing Some Marathon Watching (or Helping Random Runners Power Up)

Posted on March 26, 2019 | Comments Off on Doing Some Marathon Watching (or Helping Random Runners Power Up)

For the past several years, I have gone out to cheer on the runners of the LA Marathon. It’s become a tradition for me to do it, and while it doesn’t always work out the way I hope it will I try my best. I usually cheer runners on from the same place, which I think has a few benefits. First, it’s one of the closest places for me to drive to that is on the marathon route. Also, my friends who run the marathon year after year usually know where I am so I can cheer them on directly.

I haven’t always had signs with me when I cheer on the runners, but that has become something I look forward to doing. I love having fun signs because I know it makes the runners smile. While I’ve never done a marathon, I know that there are points in my 5K races that I need to be cheered on and having fun signs to read is a good distraction. So I want to do the same for others. And I have been told by many marathon running friends that the place I usually cheer on from (between miles 19 and 20) tends to be a place many runners hit a wall so all encouragement is appreciated.

I didn’t start working on what I wanted on my cheering signs until the last minute. I asked my friend who was going to be joining me to cheer if there was any particular sign she wanted me to make (I’m happy to make the signs for my friends to hold too). She thought about it, and decided this is what she wanted.

I also wanted a sign that was specific to Orangetheory since I knew several people from there would be running too. I had a few ideas of what I could put on a sign, and this was the final decision.

And even though it was only going to be me and 1 friend out there, I wanted to make a 3rd sign since one was specific to Orangetheory people. I looked at a few different lists online of funny signs and I saw one that a kid had at a marathon a few years ago. But I figured it would be a really good one to have.

Making the signs is a pretty easy process since I get paper letters from the store (my handwriting is way too sloppy) and I was proud of what I made and how they looked when I was done.

Marathon day ended up being a really gorgeous day. It was sunny but not too hot. And we lucked out with very little traffic on the way there and we found a parking space pretty quickly. We had been tracking the pace of the friends we wanted to cheer on, and we were standing on the sideline before any of them already went by.

Even with the tracking the marathon provided, we kind of failed at cheering on our friends. Some of them we didn’t see even though we knew approximately when they would be going by. And several people we did see but they were on the other side of the street and didn’t see us (and they had headphones in so they couldn’t hear us cheer). It was a little disappointing that we didn’t get to directly cheer on the people we wanted to see, but that didn’t mean we weren’t going to cheer on for all the people we didn’t know.

It took a little bit of time, but my sign ended up being a pretty big hit. People were running by and tapping the sign to power up. There were even some people who were on the other side of the street that noticed the sign and came over just to tap it. Everyone who saw any of our signs had a big smile and I know that they enjoyed them. The only mistake I made with my power up sign was that I didn’t reinforce in somehow. After a bunch of people were tapping it, the sign was starting to bend and it was harder to hold it steady as more people came over to tap it. But I just tried to hold the sign tight and I think it worked out well.

We were out there cheering on the runners for about 2 hours before we had to head out. There was a family standing near us that was also cheering on runners but didn’t have a sign, so we offered them the power up sign. The kids were super excited to have it and I was glad that more runners were going to get joy out of it.

I know that some people are a bit annoyed with the marathon because of all the street closures and sometimes traffic can be really horrible. But I do enjoy it. Any time I can see a group of strangers come together for something positive is something I like to see. I love getting to cheer on the runners because I know that they appreciate it. And hopefully next year when I cheer for the marathon some of my friends will see me so I can cheer them up directly!

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A Tasting And Theater Night (or Enjoying A Fun Night Out)

Posted on November 14, 2018 | Comments Off on A Tasting And Theater Night (or Enjoying A Fun Night Out)

The current season for the Pantages has officially begun! Our first show of this current season was actually an add-on show, so this past weekend was the first show of the main season. And since this season is so close to the end of the last season, it does just feel like one long season. And that’s perfectly fine with me.

And just last the past few seasons, we are going to try to have dinner before the show to make it a full night out. And even before we started to plan what we would do for dinner before this show, I got an email from the manager at Wood & Vine. They have a new chef there and they wanted to see if we wanted to come in for a tasting! We all love Wood & Vine so there was no question that we would be coming in!

I had taken a look at the menu before we went in, and everything looked delicious! I knew it would be tough for us to decide what we wanted to get, but I had a feeling that anything we picked would be amazing.

When we got there, my friends ordered cocktails and we knew we wanted the French onion dip with chips so we got that ordered right away. Then we checked out the menu and I think we got a pretty good variety and selection of things to try.

For starters/side dishes we had the dip with chips, wedge salad, and asparagus.

For entrees we had the shrimp and grits, the 50/50 burger (we got it without a bun as one of my friends has a gluten allergy, scotch eggs, and pork shanks.

We also tried the pasta dishes. We got the mac and cheese and the vegan spaghetti and meatballs.

And we got 3 of the 4 desserts they had (one of them was already sold out so we couldn’t try the cobbler).

It really was a ton of food, but the portions aren’t ridiculously huge and almost everything was split among the 4 of us. So while we were all full, it wasn’t that bad. And everything was so good so it was so worth it!

There was nothing we tried that I wouldn’t get again. But there were a few standouts to me. We all loved the French onion dip and even asked for more chips so we could keep on eating it. Then when we got our burger we discovered that dipping the fries in the dip was even better! The pork shank was a favorite among the entire group and I know that I will be getting that every time I’m there and it’s on the menu! The shrimp and grits was a hit with my friends, but since I’m very sensitive to spicy foods I had to only have a little taste. But what I tried was delicious! And I think the mac and cheese was the best variation of it that we’ve had from all of the times we’ve ordered it at Wood & Vine (yes, even better than the lobster mac!).

All the desserts were delicious and we were happy to see they kept the butterscotch on the menu. This version was a bit lighter and had more air whipped into it, but I liked that. And the ice cream was the perfect thing to have with the butterscotch. But I think if we had to pick a favorite dessert, the donut holes were the winner! It came with a chocolate bacon sauce and a raspberry sauce, and they were both great dipping options.

We also got a chance to meet the new chef, Rick Sipovic. He has been the chef at restaurants all over the country, but he grew up in the south so a lot of his dishes are inspired by that. He was so friendly and fun to talk to! We enjoyed hearing about how he decided on certain things on the menu and how the crowds that come in for dinner before the show can be very different from show to show. We were enjoying talking with him so much that we were there until about 5 minutes before showtime! We quickly said goodbye and thank you to Rick and everyone else at Wood & Vine to go across the street to the Pantages.

The show we saw this time was “A Bronx Tale” and none of us knew really anything about the show. A few of us knew it was based on a movie which was based on real life, but we hadn’t seen the movie. But I’ve heard that sometimes when seeing a show based on another thing, it’s best to go in with limited knowledge. We didn’t have the movie to compare the musical to and that’s usually a good thing.

We enjoyed the show. It was an interesting journey about the life of the main character when he was a kid and as a teenager and the story was easy to follow (a worry I have when I don’t know anything about the story). There were several very catchy songs and a bunch of them reminded us of other musicals which was a fun surprise. I think it was a nice musical to have to officially start off the season and it’s one of the only shows this season I had no familiarity with before going in. I’ve said it before but it will be interesting this season when I know a majority of the shows we are seeing, since usually I only know one or two of them.

This really was the perfect night out! The show was fun and we had a truly incredible dinner! There was never a question before that we would keep going to Wood & Vine before several of our shows, but now I’m looking forward to it even more to try the other things on the menu and see how it changes as the menu is based on what is available that season. I’m sure the winter, spring, and summer menus will be just as good as this fall one is. And I am so excited to keep having the best dinners before seeing some of the best musicals!

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Such An LA Night (or Just Having Some Fun With A Friend)

Posted on October 9, 2018 | Comments Off on Such An LA Night (or Just Having Some Fun With A Friend)

I usually write about the SAG-AFTRA Film Society at the beginning of the summer because that’s when the season usually starts each year. But this year, there were some delays with the theater and the season had to start late. But since we are going to have a shortened season, we also had reduced pricing so I’m not too mad about it! And finally this past weekend we had the first screening season!

The first weekend had 2 screenings but I was only able to make it to the first screening. And the first screening was “A Star Is Born” and I was so excited to see it! I had heard so many great things about it and the screening was going to be on opening weekend which is a rare treat!

More often than not, I go to screenings alone and that’s fine with me. But I always ask around to see if anyone wants to go with me because it’s always fun to see a movie with a friend. Plus, since I pay for the season, I like to invite friends so they can get a free movie! It’s one of the fun things I get to do and share with others and it always makes me happy when someone can come with me.

This time, my friend Dani wanted to come along. She has never been to one of these screenings before (although she has been to screenings through other ones) so I think she was excited to see what the Film Society is all about. We got there pretty early since the first screening weekend is usually crowded. The way they had us line up was different from the other years I’ve done it so it looked like there were so many people in line, but I reassured Dani that it always looks like that but then when you get inside the theater I can almost always find seats in the center.

While I still have moments of realizing that I’m talking to someone I recognize from tv or movies, it’s seeming more normal to me. But when Dani and I lined up for the movie, she had a look on her face like she was trying to place someone she thought she knew. She told me a bit later that a woman behind us in line was in one episode of “Friends” and she remembered her from that one episode. I love when friends get excited about stuff like that because it’s one of those “only in LA moments”.

When we got inside the theater, I was right and we were able to be seated almost exactly in the center of the theater. We had some time to kill before the movie started, but we used that time to catch up and discuss lots of random things.

My quick review of “A Star Is Born” is that is was amazing! The story is pretty similar to the past versions of it so nothing was super shocking or surprising. But it still seemed to feel new and fresh. And when it was one of the dramatic scenes toward the end (if you know the story you know what I’m talking about), I felt like I couldn’t breathe. And Bradley Cooper did a wonderful job directing it and making the film look beautiful. For his first time directing, he did an incredible job and I have a feeling there will be a lot of award nominations for the movie.

After the movie, Dani and I decided to get some dinner. We were looking at different restaurants near the theater and nothing seemed to be what we wanted. But then Dani asked if we could go to Pink’s Hot Dogs since it wasn’t too far away. She had never been there before and wanted to check it out. I really enjoy Pink’s and don’t go that often so that sounded perfect to me! I prepared her that there may be a huge line, but when we got there the line only had about 10 people in it! It was fate that we went there!

We both enjoyed our hot dogs and just hanging out and chatting. It was also such a nice night outside so it felt good to be sitting outside and not feeling too hot or like the humidity was stifling. Even though we just had hot dogs, Dani and I decided to continue our night out and get some dessert. We were trying to think of a very LA type of dessert and decided to go Milk which is an ice cream shop and a bakery. I had never been there before but had heard amazing things about it so we got in the car and headed over there.

So many of the things on the menu sounded great and neither Dani nor I could decide on what we wanted. So we decided to get 2 different ice cream sundaes so we could try a few types of ice cream plus the brownie and blondie.

Those desserts were so good, but they were so giant! We each tried both sundaes and I think we both agreed that the blondie was the better of the two. But even with us both eating that sundae it seemed like we didn’t even make a dent in it! But we were both so stuffed and the store was closing so we only finished a portion of each before heading back to my car to head back.

We joked that this night was such an LA/Hollywood night. We went to a screening, we went to Pink’s, and we went to an ice cream shop that is known for Instagramable foods. It was so silly but so awesome at the same time! Whenever I have these low-key hangouts with friends I always say how much fun they are, and this one was no different. And hopefully I’ll be able to have more nights out like this with some more of the screenings this season!

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Another Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical)

Posted on September 18, 2018 | Comments Off on Another Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical)

Even though the last season of our shows at the Pantages just ended about a month ago, the new season just started for us! Technically the new season officially starts in November with the season ticket package we bought, but our group also decided to get a couple of add-on shows so we got to start our season early! That also means that we have 11 shows this season instead of the 7 that came with our package! It’s going to be a full season, but I’m really excited for it.

One thing that is different for this season is that I have more repeat musicals than any other season. Out of the 11 shows, I’ve seen 7 before. That’s a lot considering that in the past seasons I usually only had seen 1 or 2 before. But since I’ve been enjoying seeing musicals more than once lately, I’m actually really excited about it.

And this first show was a repeat one for me. We saw “Beautiful“, which I previously saw about 2 years ago when Dani and I did our Black Friday deal for a mini-season of tickets.

Dani and I had seen the show before, but the 2 other people in our group hadn’t seen it. Michelle, who has been a part of our past 2 seasons and is doing this season too, was new to the show. And my friend Grace is the 4th person in our group this season, but she was unable to make this show. So my birthday twin Joanna took the 4th ticket and she was new to the show too! Joanna actually didn’t know really anything about the show, but when I asked her if she wanted the ticket she was free and the price was right so she said yes!

I remember the first time I saw “Beautiful” that I was almost a bit overwhelmed. There was so much to pay attention to in the show and I knew I missed things. There were some on stage quick changes that I wished I could see again and sometimes I got distracted by the music because I didn’t realize the song was done by Carole King. So it was nice to get to see the show again so I could focus on it in a different way than I could the first time seeing it.

And being able to focus on it in a different way gave me a different appreciation and I got a different enjoyment out of the show. I was so glad that it was just as good (if not better) the second time around because not every musical is one that I think I would enjoy seeing a second time. Some of the shock I felt the last time seeing the show from not realizing things would be happening was gone and I could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the performances. It was funny because I did tell Joanna that there were some amazing on stage quick changes and when they happened she had the same reaction I had the first time. And after the show was done she was telling me how much she loved it.

Dani and I both agreed that this touring cast was amazing. We had some favorites from the last touring cast and this one, but overall it was still a really wonderful show and we enjoyed it. And Michelle really liked it too and I think we all agreed it was a great way to kick off a new season of shows.

The last time I saw “Beautiful”, I said it was my favorite musical I had seen. It’s still one of my favorites, but now that I’ve seen so many musicals I don’t know if I can pick a favorite anymore. I see musicals a different way now that they don’t feel like a rare treat. When you don’t see them that often, I think it’s easier to pick favorites. Now that I see them about every month or every other month, I can notice more specific differences between shows. One show might have the most impressive songs while another has the best overall script. One show might be incredible with costumes and dancing while another can have the best actors. I don’t know how to pick which show is my favorite because for almost every single show I’ve seen in the past few years I can name one thing that was the best in that show.

I really wasn’t concerned that this coming season of shows would be a lot of shows that I’ve seen before. There is only 1 show that I have seen more than once that I really didn’t care for it after the first time. It’s still a bit of a novelty for me to see shows more than once since I went so long without seeing musicals. And fortunately almost all the experiences I’ve had before with repeat shows have been good and usually make me appreciate the musical more. The next show will be a new one for me, but with all the repeat shows coming up I am getting more and more excited to see what it will be like seeing those shows again. I’m just really glad the first show in this season of repeat shows was such a wonderful night out to start things off on a really great note.

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Another LA Anniversary (or Almost Half My Life Here)

Posted on August 21, 2018 | Comments Off on Another LA Anniversary (or Almost Half My Life Here)

17 years ago, I moved to LA. It’s so crazy to think that I’ve been in LA that long! It doesn’t feel like I just moved here, but it also doesn’t feel like 17 years have passed since I started college. Then again, I also don’t feel like I’m really 35 yet. When I’m trying to remember how long ago something was, my default thing is to think something was 10 years ago when it was really 20 years ago.

I was lucky with my move to LA. I have a bunch of friends who moved here after college and they seemed to have a bit of a shock when they got here. Between the traffic, high rent costs, and the energy of the city they were overwhelmed. But I moved here at 18 and spent my first 3.5 years here in college so I had a nice transition between growing up in the Bay Area and living in LA.

Even though it’s been 17 years, I do remember a lot about my move down here. My parents drove in their car and my best friend Kate joined me and was the passenger in my car.

Yes I had leopard print seatbelt covers. I also had a leopard print steering wheel cover at one point but I don’t think I used that for longer than a week or so before it felt weird. But leopard print car accessories were all the rage when I was in high school so of course I had to have some too.

We really needed 2 cars because I might have had a bit too much stuff when I moved here. My mom’s car was packed full with clothes, books for school, bedding, and a dorm refrigerator that we bought before moving down to LA!

The drive is about 6 hours long and I remember it going pretty easy. We had a stop for gas and I don’t remember any crazy traffic moments. The only weird thing I remember is that we had walkie-talkies to talk between the 2 cars. But we also had cell phones so I really don’t know why we thought the walkie-talkies were thought to be a better idea. I do remember that Kate and I were having fun with them, but it’s still a weird things that we did. I also remember the exact exit and roads we took off the freeway to go to the hotel we stayed in the night before I moved into the dorm, and I now know that we actually took the longer way to get there from the freeway. That still makes me laugh a bit when I drive around that area again and realize that we didn’t know better since it was our first time in that area.

Moving into my dorm room was quick and easy because I moved in about a week before most people did because I was doing a program for new students to have fun in LA before school started. I remember moving in the dorms for my sophomore year and it was so much more hectic because everyone was trying to move in at the same time. I’m glad my first dorm move-in was when it was calm and we didn’t have to feel like there were so many people around also trying to get all their things into their room. And when my parents and Kate left, they called me to make sure I wasn’t too sad to be left in LA. Even though it was weird to think I was living away from my family, I was so excited to be in college and in LA!

In my 17 years in LA, I haven’t lived that many places. I had 2 dorm rooms (and I sublet an apartment my first summer in LA), I had an apartment on my own for a year, I had a 2 bedroom apartment with a rotating cast of roommates for just under 6 years, and I’ve lived in my house for about 8 1/2 years. I’m not big on moving and I’m happy staying where I am right now.

It’s been fun thinking for the past few weeks about how my LA anniversary was coming up again, but then I also realized something very crazy to me. Next year when I celebrate 18 years in LA, I will have lived half my life in the Bay Area and then half my life in LA. And right after that anniversary, I will be able to say that I’ve lived a majority of my life in LA!

That idea seems so odd to me. It still seems like I lived in the Bay Area significantly longer than I have lived in LA. But as of right now, it’s only a year difference. I’m sure that this happens for other people as well, but the only other people I have heard say things like this have lived in multiple cities as an adult. Then it makes a bit more sense to me since you are comparing living in one place to adding up the time you lived in multiple places. But right now I lived 18 years in one place and 17 years in another.

Maybe I need to do some more reflection about what I did in those 17 years in LA so far. I am sure that I am skipping over important things in my head that help to make my time in LA seem more significant and longer. But even if it never feels that way, it’s not a big deal. I don’t care if it feels like so much more of my life was in the Bay Area even if it’s not really accurate. I guess it’s just a weird way of how time goes by so quickly as you get older.

I guess for now I should enjoy the last year I have where I can say a majority of my life was in the Bay Area before that changing to a majority of my life has been in LA in a year!

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The Last Show Of The Season (or Ending On A High Note)

Posted on August 7, 2018 | 1 comment

This past weekend was the last show of the current season at the Pantages for my group. It’s been a pretty amazing season and I’ve loved having these Sunday adventures with my friends. The next season for us will be starting in 5 weeks, so it’s not that much of a gap between this season and next. But one of the members of our group won’t be joining us next season. She is going back to school to get her doctorate so she won’t have the time to commit to the season. We do have another friend who will be joining us, but it was still a bit sad to know that this was going to be the last show for this group that has been together for 2 seasons.

We started our evening out at Wood & Vine like we have for so many shows. We love going there for dinner because it is always great and the staff spoils us there. But they also just got a new menu (they change the menu seasonally) and we really wanted to see what the new offerings were and checking out what some of our new favorites would be.

I had looked at the menu before going and had picked out a few things I knew I wanted us to get, but I still took a look to see if my mind had changed. And our group quickly decided that we wanted all 4 main dishes that were on the top row of the menu plus the street corn. We thought all 4 of those main dishes were new ones, but it turns out the lamb burger has always been on the menu and we just never got it!

Our veggies came out first. We ordered the corn but the manager also wanted us to try the salad.

The salad was nice and fresh, but the corn tasted so luxurious! It was perfectly seasoned and the creme on it was delicious! We quickly ate it all and were excited to get the main dishes we ordered.

The 4 things we got were the pork belly tacos, the lamb burger, the pasta with prawns, and the tequila chicken.

Without a doubt, our absolute favorite was the tacos. The pork belly melted but was also nice and crispy. It was so good that I wish I was having it again right now because my mouth is watering! The lamb burger was a bit spicy so I only had a small taste of it, but my friends said that it is a must-order for the next time we have dinner. And the pasta with prawns and the chicken were amazing too! We all were tasting everything and most of the time we were eating we were much more focused on the food than talking.

And the dessert menu at Wood & Vine was expanded recently and the manager wanted us to try 2 of the new desserts.

I don’t like pineapple (it hurts my mouth), but I loved the ice cream in the pineapple sundae. And my friends said the pineapple was beautifully grilled and tasted amazing. And I loved the chocolate truffles! They were really rich, but the perfect size to enjoy them and not feel stuffed.

As always, the food at Wood & Vine really amazed us and we were having the best time having dinner there. I have a feeling that we will continue going there for dinner before our shows multiple times in our next season. The manager also told us some ideas they were thinking for the fall menu and we cannot wait to see what they go with and try out all the new things!

After dinner we walked across the street to the theater to go to our show. This time, we were seeing “Waitress” which was one of the shows I was most excited to see this season.

I love the movie “Waitress” and it’s one that I watch over and over. The story behind the writer, director, and one of the actors is a sad one and that makes the movie even more special for me to watch. She created this amazing movie and was waiting to find out if it got accepted to Sundance but was murdered before she could find out it got in. The movie was critically acclaimed and she never got to experience that. And I love that her legacy is continuing with the musical being loved by so many people.

Since I was familiar with the story and characters, I was excited to see what changed they made from the movie to the musical. Sometimes adaptations skip some of my favorite parts or I feel like there is something missing. But this time I was so happy with how the musical took elements from the movie and expanded upon them. I felt like so many characters were built upon and they were even more lovable. And the main story and plot was very true to the movie and that made me happy too.

I’m so glad that this musical didn’t disappoint me since it was something I had been looking forward to since this season was announced. It’s not that often that I am disappointed by a show, but it can happen and I’m always a little worried that something I’m really excited about will do that. But this wasn’t that situation and it really helped to end our season on such a wonderful high note!

I’m already so excited for the next season and the season after that will be announced in a few months. Hopefully that season will be another one that many of us want to go to and the tradition will continue with getting season tickets. I’ve said this pretty much every time I go to a show, but going makes me so happy and I’m just grateful that I have friends who do this with me and make these evenings feel so special.

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