The Perfect Day

Well, since today is my $#@!&-th birthday, I thought I'd put together my best day. A day where everything went perfectly, and I got to do whatever I wanted.

First of all, I'd wake up next to Dyno. (Or maybe a young James Garner, if we're really wishing here.) He'd bring me a Starbucks café mocha, nice and hot, and we'd watch television in bed. Perhaps "Snapped" on Oxygen, or "Dog Whisperer" on NatGeo.

Then after a couple hours Dyno and I would finally get up and take my dog on a nice walk along the beach. (The dog wouldn't poop the entire time -- it'd be a miracle.) And it'd be a beautiful, sunny, and clear day, too. Oh yeah, and I'd be tan and weigh about 20 pounds less.

I come home and all the laundry is done, the house is clean, the dishes are out of the dishwasher, and a nice lunch of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and pickles have been made. And a nice Manhattan to go with it all. I turn on the television to relax and eat, and the newest episode of "Survivor" is starting -- yes, even though it's Monday, and not Thursday.

Dean Martin, Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, and Esther Williams call during the day to wish me a happy birthday and to ask what my plans are. I speak briefly with them, but really I just want to spend the day on the couch with Dyno. I fall asleep and end up napping until it's time for dinner, preempted by a few cocktails.

For dinner, Dyno takes me to the Playboy Club circa 1965, and I'm like Doris Day, wearing a beautiful gown with a matching coat, hat, and gloves. We sit and watch Bob Newhart do a stand-up routine, and then Mel Tormé comes out and croons to us. Dinner is a thick prime rib steak, lobster mashed potatoes, and a bold red wine.

I'm not going to go in to what happens after dinner. But let's just say (as they do in the old movies), the curtains flap in the wind and the camera pans left and then we fade out.

...And that's my perfect day!

A Girl Around the House

"It's nice to have a girl around the house.""Though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn't have to fire a shot to floor her. After one look at his Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her."

Sometimes I think we haven't come that far as equality of the sexes is concerned. But ads like this make me happy it's 2009. And that Dyno doesn't wear Mr. Leggs slacks.

[Source]

Thursday's This & That

We're ready for Halloween! This is one of our favorite days, and it's approaching fast!! What are you gonna be for Halloween?

Pixie was kind enough to adorn us with a wonderful Kreativ Blogger Award! Thanks, dearie! Now we just have to list 6 Things We Enjoy:

1. Halloween!
2. Drinking a Vodka Collins
3. Confusing Dyno
4. Procrastinating
5. Old movies with happy endings
6. Flirting

So do you think you deserve the Kreativ Blogger Award? How about our very own You're the Shit Award? (See both of these on the bottom right.) Leave a comment directing me to your blog, and I'll check it out! I love exploring new places!

Now stop staring at my gams and comment, dammit!

Must-See Movie: Teacher's Pet

Teacher's Pet (1958)
I got the chance to watch this movie over the weekend (as Dyno watched football). It's yet another Doris Day comedy where a man pretends to be someone else after he finds out she hates him, although she's never met him.

James Gannon (played by Clark Gable), the gruff city editor of a newspaper, believes that the only way to learn the business is by doing, and so thinks college education is superfluous. Thus he's not pleased when he's invited to lecture at a college journalism class. He turns down the invitation and writes a nasty letter to the instructor. Yet his editor-in-chief orders him to go. When Gannon shows up to confront Professor Erica Stone (played by Doris Day), he finds her attractive. Before he is able to introduce himself and apologize for the letter, Erica reads it aloud and mocks Gannon before the entire class.

Humiliated, he decides to join the class to show her up, posing as a wallpaper salesman named Jim Gallagher. As they circle around their mutual attraction, they both begin to gain respect for each other's approaches to reporting news.

I found myself laughing out loud many times during the movie. Especially whenever the character of Dr. Pine was on-screen. Played by Gig Young, the character is the successful doctor that Gannon sees as his competition for Erica's affections. Young has played these types of characters before (especially in Doris Day movies), and he's always hilarious. His role in this film, however is different in that we don't know what kind of relationship he has with Erica.

Gable is great in this comedic role (much like his gruff It Happened One Night character), and his reactions are priceless. The only thing distracting is the obvious age difference between Gable and Day. Apparently the movie was deliberately filmed in black & white in an attempt to disguise Clark Gable's age and weight. And other actors turned down the role, seeing that there was such a huge age difference (Cary Grant and James Stewart, allegedly -- although it didn't seem to bother Grant in That Touch of Mink). But all in all it was a fun movie to watch and laugh along with.

Lounge-O-Rama

Almost as if they were named after us, the jazz combo Lounge-O-Rama rocks the SoCal area with rockabilly, big band, and classic standards. The band consists of a trumpet, baritone sax, bass, keyboard, and both female and male singers.

Tomorrow they perform at Pinocchio's Pizza in Pasadena, starting at 8 PM. They promise "Great music from the Great American Songbook; great food (especially the pizza!); family-friendly environment, full bar and beautiful decor at their new location on North Lake. Oh, and...NO COVER!"

The address is:
1449 N Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91104

Dyno and I are going to try and go. I've seen them perform and they're SO good! Below is a video of their performance of Louis Prima's "Just a Gigolo." Hope to see you all at Pinnocchio's!

Sweepea-TV©: Psychedelic Furs!

Dyno and I went to The Justice Ball on Saturday. We were in the VIP Lounge where they had hosted bars and food. There was also a silent auction. Best part was The Psychedelic Furs performed!
I snuck some videos of the Furs performance. About 10 seconds in you can make out the song, and about 20 seconds in you can hear Dyno whistling along...

And here's the rest of the song. This song finished the set for the night.


I am still recovering from the hosted Vodka bar. Vodka/cranberries, good...hangover, bad....

Added 12:15 p.m. I just found this other video I took on my phone. You can hear just how drunk I was, as the transcript goes a bit like this:

My friend: "What are you taking a picture of?"
Me: "I'm taking a video."
My friend: "Oh..."
Me: "Psychedelic Furs!!"
(People around going 'Whoo!' then laughter, at me prolly)
Me: "Now I'm on video all like 'Psychedelic Furs!!!'"

Weekend Re-cap

Well it was quite a weekend. First of all on Friday I got my Wii Fit that I had pre-ordered on Amazon.com. It's so fun -- I did yoga, hula hooping, ski jumping, jogging, stretching, and all sorts of stuff for about an hour a day on Friday, Saturday, and Monday. And let me tell ya -- you really feel it working! This thing is fantastic, and so much fun!

And I went to go see Indiana Jones #4 on Saturday with Dyno. I had bought tickets for the Arclight in Sherman Oaks, and we were supposed to meet Guitar Joe and his girl there. But when the time got closer and closer and they still hadn't shown, I started to get worried. We had to all walk in together because I had one ticket for all four of us. Well finally Joe calls and says, "Where are you guys??" and I said, "We're at the bar waiting for you!" And he says, "So are we and we don't see you!" And finally I said, "Are you at the Arclight in Hollywood?" and he goes, "Yeah, where are you?" "Sherman Oaks!!" Well by now it's too late for them to make it to S.O. in time, so I tell him to just drive over and we'll figure something out. Then I look at the tickets and they're for the Hollywood theater. So I'm the bonehead, not Joe. We finally got it all straightened out with Customer Service -- Dyno and I went to a later show in S.O., and they just went without us to the showing in Hollywood. But what a mess!

After the movie -- which was awesome!! -- we went to Ben & Jerry's. There we spotted a famous person, and Dyno and I were nudging each other like "Is that? Is that...?" Finally Dyno goes up to the star and says something, and the guy just nods inexpressively. So I ask Dyno what he said to him. He says, "I said, 'Hey, Carlos, I love your show." As in Carlos Mencia.

I started laughing. "Dyno, that wasn't Carlos Mencia -- that was George Lopez!" Dyno was embarrassed for about a second, until we both thought about it. So George Lopez was identified incorrectly -- and mistaken as his biggest rival. The stand-up comedian still makes a bajillion more money than we'll ever make.

Anyway, before Dyno approached him I snuck a picture.
It was definitely a great weekend.

Weekend Recap

It's been quite a week...I've spent the last couple days recovering from my birthday festivities of Saturday, work has been a bind, and on top of that, I've had all these trophies to hang up!

Saturday...
A bunch of us got together for a night out on the town. My friend Carson wanted to celebrate my birthday in style. So he got a super-stretch limo to come pick me up. Dyno had bought 3 or 4 bottles of champagne, and so we headed out to the car where Guitar Joe and his gal were already inside, drinking more champagne! Then we had our chauffeur Robert pick up Carson and his chick, and we were on our way! We went first to dinner at Citywalk in Universal City. We went to Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurant where I gorged on a pint of Hefeweizen and an entire plate of Garlic Parm fries. (I've given up potatoes for Lent, but hey -- it's a celebration, right??)

After dinner we got back in the car where we drank more champagne and headed to Koreatown where there is a legendary karaoke bar called The Orchid Bar. This is a must-go-to place for any karaoke aficionado. You and your party get your own private room with nice squashy seats around a big ol table and a nifty sound system with two mikes to sing in to. Well, six "Summer Breezes" later I had sang the entire Abba Gold album and had had a great time. Couldn't tell you anything more than that, because things are a bit foggy. I think I tried to recreate the Chicago 'L' scene from "Risky Business" with Dyno in the back of the limo, but was unsuccessful. I'm no Rebecca De Mornay, and he ain't no Tom Cruise (thank Xenu).

Sunday...
I woke up really late feeling really bad. Dyno tried to make me breakfast but that didn't work out so well. I found my clothes from the night before on the floor, and when I picked them up I noticed that my brand new silk blouse I had worn yesterday had a big stain on it. I asked Dyno if I had spilled on myself or something. He said, "Yeah -- on yourself, on me, on the table, on the floor, on the waiter..."

Wow, what a birthday.

Tuesday's This & That

Once again, I'm sick. Why do germs always seem to find me? It's like every month I have a cold. Every time the weather changes, or there's a lot of wind, or someone sneezes, I seem to catch a virus.

So are you gonna vote today? I guess I should. Women sacrificed a lot to allow us to vote. Not to get too political (because I hate the subject), but I don't like any of the candidates. I just can't agree on anything that one guy is saying over another. It's like one guy will stand for something I like, but another guy will stand for something else I like. Especially living in a state as large as California, I barely feel like my one vote counts. But I guess it's my duty as an American. Maybe if I was feeling better I'd be more pumped about it.

I've been watching a lot of old movies again. I cracked open my Esther Williams collection and showed Dyno the magic of "Bathing Beauty" -- my favorite of Esther's. Dyno liked the comedic parts of Red Skelton. I had to tell him the importance of the swimming scenes; how Esther revolutionized synchronized swimming and was a huge success every time she dove in to a pool.

Oh yeah, and I'm probably moving this summer. I've decided to find some new digs...I'm sick of my manager, the apartment's too small, and they raised my rent. The place never had the right amount of drama as the last place. No character.

Well, off to make some more tea with honey and then pretending to work...

Weekend Re-cap

"Say hello to mah little friend..."

Well it was quite a long weekend. Dyno and I drove up north to visit with some of Dyno's family, and they had Christmas presents for me! Seeing as how I love Christmas presents, I couldn't turn them down. (Gift cards mostly, which is even better.)

Anyway, funniest part of the weekend was when Dyno got a rip in the back of his shorts. He happened to be going commando in them that day, so you could see some skin. Well, by the time we got through Central CA and he got out to get gas, the hole in his shorts was bigger, but Mr. Stubborn insisted on pressing on.

Well, we reached L.A. and stopped at the grocery store. I decided to stay in the car and relax, so Dyno went inside alone. When he came out and got in to the car his entire left cheek was exposed. I burst out laughing, imagining him walking up and down the aisles of Vons with his ass hanging out. Dyno finally conceded that it was time to throw the shorts away.

Scenes from a Balcony: Scene 5

So last night Dyno and I were taking a drive to the grocery store when we spotted three street-walkin' ladies milling around only a block away from my apartment. What's scary is that since the last time we saw a hooker in my neighborhood, we've been seeing more and more of them around.

It got me really fired up, too. Before I moved to this hot and sticky town in the valley, I used to live in such a nice neighborhood right by the beach. A town where I could walk around at night without running in to a single whore. What has this world come to, that in a semi-decent neighborhood such as mine there are prostitutes??

Well, Dyno saw how fired up I was so he decided to call the police and have those sluts rounded up and taken outta my hood. After searching through the yellow pages and calling 411, we discovered that the only phone number for the local police is the LAPD. Apparently my large city in the valley doesn't have a local police or sheriff's station.

And worse yet, the receptionist taking the call said that due to some heavy gang activity in other parts of L.A., all of the available police were on watch, and that our street-walker problem would be put on a low-priority list.

So what's another way to get rid of neighborhood hookers?

Sweepea-TV: Weekend Re-cap

For Labor Day weekend, Dyno and I took the train from the sweltering heat of Los Angeles to the cool breezes of Santa Barbara. We did a lot of walking around town, and a lot of dining. For breakfast we went to Sambo's, a great breakfast joint that -- if I remember correctly -- promised the World's Largest Mimosa. Well, Dyno and I ordered 'em up, but were a bit disappointed by the size of the mimosa. Using the pepper shaker for perspective, you can see why our expectations fell a bit short.
We also did some wine tasting at some of the local wineries, the best being Kalyra.
Needless to say when it was time to head back to the train I was already tipsy. And because we sat in business class, we then got complimentary cocktails!

What's the train equivalent of "booze cruise"?

Vacation, all I ever wanted!

The Lounge will be closed for a week; I'll be out of town on vacation. We'll be open again August 20th.

In the meantime, check out some of our previous posts, and visit all our friends at the other sites we're linked to!

As Dyno says, "Miss me!"

-- Sweepea

Please to Enjoy...

From Me...to You, the reader:
Apparently someone was "amused" by my writings of my experience on Hell's Kitchen (a post I did way back in January). I usually don't respond to comments I get, but when it came to being called a flat-out liar, I felt the need.

Simply because I got the address wrong, she believes I made the whole thing up; all three posts, detailing my experiences down to the last detail of being a diner on "Hell's Kitchen". I was even able to magically predict when my episode would be on. Wow...I have to say, if I had made all this up, I'd be one helluva liar!

First of all, I appreciate her readership. I have to say that ruffling feathers has always been a talent of mine, and I think I exceeded my gift enormously by having her take the effort out of her no doubt excruciatingly busy schedule to vent about little old me. I'm so flattered that I could stir such emotion in someone, someone I don't even know and who doesn't even know me! How exhilarating.

Second of all, I didn't drive to the show (Dyno did, and he got the directions), so I apologize if I got the address wrong as well as the name of JP. She's probably correct -- it's on Sawtelle or wherever she thinks it is, and his name is whatever else she thinks it is. I have to commend her extensive knowledge of this one modest reality show.

Third, I feel sorry for her that she's so jaded about society. "Some of the lies people tell just to get attention are beyond amazing." I can only believe that she has been hurt countless times by people throughout her life who are pleased and seek praise from her. Apparently when seeking appreciation from this woman, it shall never be found.

Lastly, I can conclude that when living in L.A. -- which I have done my whole life -- you get the rare opportunity to see many celebrities (as shown in my Star Sightings) and often get the chance to be extras or subjects of television shows. I have never purported to saying that I myself am a star or a celebrity. On the contrary, I still get starstruck when I see Richard Grieco at Starbucks every morning.

But I've always thought of the Lounge as a place where I can vent my feelings, post interesting tidbits, and express what's going on in my life. Just as this woman has done, I've used my rights of free speech to blog my life, just as I will continue to do.

Thanks for your readership.

Scenes from a Balcony: Scene 4

Today's drama should be called "Out on the Street" because it didn't take place on my balcony, but it's still indicative of my wonderful neighborhood I'm slumming in.

Dyno and I decided to take a nice evening walk down the street on Saturday after dinner. We circled around the block and were making our way down Sepulveda when we got to the crosswalk at the intersection. A woman wearing a party dress was standing next to us, and we waited for the light to change.

It was taking forever. Dyno and I looked at each other, both thinking, "Did she press the button to cross?" But neither of us could answer. Finally, Dyno pressed the button.

Just as the light changed allowing us to cross, I heard a honking noise and a man pulled up next to the curb. The woman leaned in to the passenger window and then got in the car.

As Dyno and I crossed the street I -- for a split-second -- still believed she was just waiting for her ride. But then it hit me what had happened. I looked up at Dyno to see him laughing. At the same time we started talking: "I can't believe I just saw that in my neighborhood!" "That was hilarious!" "I've never seen that in real life before!" "That was awesome!"

But there's more. I was still staring at them across the street because the john hadn't driven off yet. Just then we were passing a second woman, and this time I could recognize what she was doing there. Sure enough, the man across the street whistled, and the second woman ran across the street towards him.

Ahh...the lovely sights and sounds of my community.

4th of July Holiday Recap

Well it feels like it's been a whole weekend, but nope, I'm back here at work for two more blissful days. But at least I had fun on my day off.

It started Tuesday night. Dyno and I triple-dated at Firefly in Studio City. Right when Dyno and I walked in I spotted Tiffani Thiessen (not with her husband), at the bar. She was talking to two younger guys, and I heard her say, "I should take you guys there. Totally my treat; we have to go." She finally got a table and left the bar with them.

Dyno and I sat down and I heard a familiar voice behind me. It sounded like Jerry Seinfeld's mother. Sure enough, when I turned around there was Liz Sheridan, having drinks with a woman friend.

If you've never been there, the atmosphere at Firefly is awesome. It's got a lounge feel at the bar and sitting area, and then the dining room is like an open patio. The drinks and appetizers were good, but my dinner was a little dry (the roasted hen). But overall it was a good time and with the weather being so warm, it was nice to enjoy the outdoors for dinner.

Wednesday, Dyno and I hung around my apartment. We barbecued and watched some movies, basically trying to avoid the heat. He also taught me how to play gin rummy and I whooped his @ss 4 out of 5 games.

Hopefully you all had a happy and safe holiday!

Blog On, Ladies. Blog On!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly wants to know... and so I answer:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
1. working a temp job as a secretary
2. sponging off the parents
3. trolling the bars
4. driving a pickup truck with nothing automatic about it
5. generally hating life

Five Snacks You Enjoy:
1. Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal
2. Potato chips and onion dip
3. Baked tortilla chips and guacamole
4. Baked tortilla chips and salsa
5. Hummus and pita chips

Five Songs That You Know All The Lyrics To:
1. "Under Pressure" by Queen & David Bowie
2. "I'm So Excited" by the Pointer Sisters
3. "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor
4. "'Taint What You Do" by Julie London
5. "Pop! Goes my Heart" by Hugh Grant from Music & Lyrics (couldn't resist the additional mention)

Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Millionaire:
1. Have a house in Oregon, one in Banff, and one in Hawaii
2. Move to a condo in San Francisco
3. Create a business out of my home with Pixie.
4. Pay off all my damn bills!
5. Donate to St. Jude Children Research Hospital (sorry, Pixie, I had to steal that idea. You know I love them there!)

Five bad habits:
1. Procrastinating
2. Not going to the gym
3. Losing my keys or sunglasses
4. Not doing the dishes
5. Paying bills late

Five Things You Like To Do:
1. Work on Photoshop
2. Blog
3. Surf the internet
4. Hang out with Dyno
5. Happy Hour!

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:
1. Netted clothing
2. Mall bangs
3. Dock Martin boots
4. Stretch pants with high top sneakers
5. Two-tone socks

Five Favorite Toys
1. iPod nano
2. Cellphone (LG ENV -- best phone ever!)
3. My car
4. Playstation 2
5. My work computer (when I should be working)

Five people to tag:
1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
2. SorryIGotDrunk
3. A Job in Hell
4. The Sneeze
5. Lilek's Bleat

Instructions: Remove the blog from the top, move all blogs up one, add yourself to the bottom.
Families Are Like Fudge
A Beautiful Life
Absolutely Bananas
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Sweepea's Lounge

Pop! Goes My Heart!

The movie "Music and Lyrics" is adorable, but the best part is seeing Hugh Grant as a member of the fictional 80's band PoP!. This song has been stuck in my head since Saturday when Dyno and I rented the flick.
I could watch Hugh Grant shaking his bon-bon allllllll day.

Sweepea-TV: I Just Wanted Some Sushi...

Since I moved to the Valley a couple days ago, Dyno and I had to find a new sushi spot. We immediately went to a place that's caught my eye for a while now. It's not too far from where I live, and it's got a catchy name: Fukyo.

The menu was even more enlightening, and I couldn't help but snap some pictures.
Nestled amongst the normal Spider, Caterpillar, and Vegetarian rolls are the Fukyo Roll and the Fukyo Too Roll. Both very good!

The Hell's Kitchen Experience - Part Deux

To continue with what happened at the Hell's Kitchen filming on Sunday...

So we finally made it in to the restaurant, and we're seated at the table, looking at our menus. And this is where it gets sticky. It's hard for me to say what happened next without giving too much away (and revealing my identity), but what I can tell you is this:

~ There is a 95% possibility that I will be on TV.
~ There is a 100% possibility that if I am on TV I'll be shown complaining.
~ I know who lost that episode's challenge and who's probably going home.
~ Jean Phillipe came by to talk to our table a couple times. He's hilarious.
~ The food, for the most part, was fantastic -- except for what happened that made me complain.
~ It will be an interesting dinner service -- for the diners and the competitors.

Most interesting was that my wine glass was being filled continually. Dyno kept getting beer after beer...and at the end of the night, we weren't presented with any bill, just comment cards to fill out. So despite what the producer told us, it was not a cash bar, and I believe they encouraged drinking to make the show better. I'll admit I talk more when I drink, and I ended up forgetting about the cameras after a couple glasses of good Chardonnay.

The best part of the experience was watching Gordon bark out orders and yell at Jean Pierre. Ramsay was leaning over the way that he does just screaming at people. I was in the front of the house far from the kitchen and I could still hear him. It was exciting to watch.

The worst part of the evening was that if you needed to use the restroom you had to exit the restaurant and walk across the parking lot to some bathroom trailers. Also bad was the long wait just to be seated. my hair went from fab to flat by the time we walked in, and I'm sure it won't look good on TV.

Once the show airs, I'll be able to do a really detailed recap! Look for the Hell's Kitchen season 3 to start in March -- and I was at the second episode!