Weekend Recap

Well Fall is over, and now it's time to prepare for Winter...brrrr!!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! I actually didn't gorge myself like I usually do. I kept myself pretty restrained. That goes for the family squabbles, as well.

Attention, Shoppers! Well Black Friday has come and gone, thank the Lord... I was going to go shopping Friday. But when I woke up early in the morning to 'beat the rush' I rolled over and decided to stay in my nice warm bed instead. After all, isn't that what online shopping is for??

I went to my storage unit to get my fake Christmas tree. But with all the junk in there, I couldn't find it. So I had to buy another one...$9.99 at Target, can't beat that. But then all my Christmas ornaments from past years were buried in the storage unit, so I had to buy all those, too. The total ended up being almost $100, just to decorate my tiny little shoebox apartment. Ah, all for the spirit of Christmas, I guess.

Then I spent the rest of the weekend watching Christmas movies, at least the ones in my DVD collection: "Christmas Vacation," "Love Actually" (which always makes me cry, I don't know why!), "White Christmas," and "It's a Wonderful Life." I think I'm ready for the holidays!!

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.

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.

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"?

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!

Sweepea-TV: Weekend Recap

Finally here it is. Saturday I looked for apartments (seeing as how my time is limited at the Lounge). Then I went to Hollywood to see "Lion King" at the Pantages Theater. It was my second time going, but I still enjoyed it. On the way I spotted Audrey Hepburn's star and I had to stop to snap a pic.There it is! The big marquee. And hardly any traffic. Huh.
My New Year's was spent with Dyno, Guitar Joe, and his gal in a cabin at Big Bear. Relaxed, easy-going New Year's. Hope you have a great 2007! Cheers.

Weekend Recap

I did a little house Lounge cleaning this weekend...
...I'm not sure who that guy outside was (Dyno was in Vegas all weekend), but at least my car got washed! Thanks, random stalker dude!

Anyway, I also went to play golf with Guitar Joe and his dame this weekend. These two guys were in the group behind us, and they kept laughing at me whiffing the ball. One of them was cute; he looked like Josh Lucas. After Guitar Joe made some wry comments about me and the Josh Look-a-Like laughed, I turned to him and said, "Look, I know I suck at golf." The Josh Look-a-Like said, "No, I think you're actually better than I am." Laughing, I said, "I know suckiness, and you sir, are not sucky!" He watched me hit the ball and then again I turned to him and said, "Yeah, I really suck. I could outsuck you any day!" Then I realized what I said as everyone laughed.

After my humiliation on the golf course, we went to see the Borat movie. I really didn't think I'd like the movie as much as I did. I figured it'd be funny, but not laugh-out-loud or cover-your-eyes screaming funny. If you're not overly-sensitive and realize that this guy is doing satire, you should go see it.

I also have to find a new Lounge. The building I'm currently in is being converted to condos and I have until February to find a new residence. So I did a little driving around over the weekend in various 'hoods. I'm really gonna miss my old place. Random stalker and all.

Weekend Recap

If you couldn't tell by the lack of posts lately, I've been sick. I still am sick, actually. A nasty cold and cough. I don't understand... with all the stupid inventions and cures out there, there still is no cure for a dumb cold. I think there's something going around my work because half the office is out sick. They should just shut down the office, tent the building, and fumigate.

I did get to catch up on all my T.V. watching, and I found how really lame daytime television is. I caught Greg Behrendt's show one day, which I thought could be promising: he's the guy who wrote the book He's Just Not That Into You. However, the episode I saw he had a panel of "stars" talking about cheating. It was not only obvious but tedious.

T.V.'s Halloween offerings have brought me into a better mood. [Although the pumpkin I carved on Thursday is already rotten and moldy. Something is wrong with the pumpkin crop this year, apparently.] I watched a bunch of cooking shows for Halloween treats, as well as the Girls Next Door Halloween party, with their cute (yet slutty) costumes. I also watched a bunch of Most Haunted -- one of my favorite shows, and a biography of James Van Praagh, the psychic.

Dyno came over during the weekend. As he watched football, he didn't notice me giving him a full manicure. He finally realized what had happened when he smelled the nail polish. Seeing as how he doesn't own polish remover, he'll be stuck with nice shiny nails for a while. And maybe we won't fight over the remote anymore...

Weekend Recap

The weekend was rather uneventful. I had plans to get together my Halloween costume, buy my plane ticket for Thanksgiving, do laundry, play golf with Guitar Joe and his gal, and maybe watch a little football. The only thing I did on that list was watch football. Not like I sat around like a loaf all weekend, but still -- my To Do List is still as long as ever.

I did get to watch Plan 9 the other night, though, which is fantastic. My buddy Rocky is obsessed with Ed Wood, so he lent me the soundtrack (which is the entire movie in audio). He also is lending me a copy of a Ed Wood documentary, which I can't wait to see. I also Moxied Bride of the Monster which I'll watch this week sometime.

Rocky also suggested I go to Find A Death.com to read all the sordid details about Ed Wood's death. I also like the site because it shows pictures of some Hollywood hot spots with historical value. Very cool!

You know you're not in L.A. when...

1. The menu says your sandwich is $4.50, and you only have to pay $4.50. (No sales tax!)
2. People think you're skinny.
3. You can drink the tap water without gagging.
   
4. "Traffic" is going 25 mph on a two-lane highway.
5. You breathe in the air and your lungs don't hurt.
6. There are more trees than there are people.
   
7. The waitress asks the two questions "with gravy?" and "you want that deep-fried?"

I love L.A. ...but Pixie, I miss you already!!

Weekend Recap

I went to the Verizon wireless store Friday to see about getting a phone upgrade. My name was put on a list to wait for a customer service rep, and I was third on the list. I was already waiting about 10 minutes when this harried guy walks in and starts shouting at a Verizon worker.

"I need to talk to someone now," he insisted.

"I can put you on our list, and you'll be called when it's your turn," Verizon guy said.

"No, you don't understand," Rude Man said. "I'm here for a coporate account. I need 5 Blackberries by Monday."

"Okay, please tell me your name and we'll call you when it's your turn," Verizon man said.

"No, I want to talk to a representative now or I'm going to Nextel."

"Sir," Verizon guy said. "We can't bump all these people for you. They are here to get served just like you, and they'll be upset if you go before them."

"But I'm here for a coporate account," Rude Man repeated. "Let me talk to your manager or I'm going to Nextel."

The Manager came out. "How can I help you, sir?"

"I'm here for a coporate account. I need 5 Blackberries by Monday," Rude Man said. "Now if you can't help me now, I'm going to Nextel."

"Sir, we treat all of our Verizon customers the same. You will have to wait until your name is called."

"I'm going to Nextel," Rude Man threatened again. (This is when I waved at him and mouthed 'Byeeee.' Although I don't think he saw me.)

The Manager shrugged his shoulders and let the man walk out. Moments later when I was being helped, I thanked my customer service representative for treating us all equally. Even though I wish I was not being equated with that man.

Weekend Recap

I played nine holes of golf on Saturday - first time ever playing golf. We played at the Los Feliz course off of the 5 freeway, where Jon Favreau plays Ron Livingston in the movie "Swingers." It's a great course - nice and small - and the guy is very accepting of you drinking beer on the course. As long as you give him one.

Dyno and I played against Guitar Joe and his chick, and we only lost by four strokes. So either we're all brilliant at golf or we all suck. The last hole was the worst for me. I must've whiffed it about 10 times before chipping in to the bushes. I threw the club, then took of my shoe and threw it, and then proceeded to shout out the name of every deity.

That is when I officially fell in love with the game.

Weekend Re-cap

I'm back from the north! The weather was beautiful and I had a great great GREAT time! Here's the long and the short of it:

Friday I landed in (A) Oakland ("O-town! Whoot whoot!") and was met by some of Dyno's family who drove us to the Russian River (B). There I stayed in this strange, Bates-Motel-ish place that had a crackwhore as a housekeeper. When I showed up my room door was wide open and the bolt on the door didn't work. Needless to say, it freaked me out.

Saturday I woke up at dawn to hear the couple in the room next to me fighting. My room was on the corner, and they took their argument into the hall and then around to the deck which was under my window. They argued for about an hour and a half and then proceeded to throw each other's clothes out the window. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer - I had to see what they looked like. Yep, just as I thought - boyfriend had a mullet and girlfriend was about 9 months pregnant.

Later that day I was driven by shuttle (or was to be later called "The Party Bus") to a wedding in Sonoma (C). The wedding was beautiful, and I don't know if it was the 6 vodka-cranberries or the romance surrounding me, but I was bawling by the day's end. I sneakily went to the restroom when the bridal bouquet was tossed - didn't want Dyno to get any ideas if I had caught the damn thing.

That night we went back to the Bates Motel at the River (B). I slept in way too late (yes, hungover). And that afternoon I was driven to San Francisco (D) where I met up with more family and friends, especially my dear sweet college roommate from days gone by. I missed my little Budgie!

Yesterday morning, I was driven back to Oakland (A) to catch an afternoon flight back to La-la Land. It felt like I was in a car most of the time, but I had a great time nonetheless. And I have yet to unpack.

Star Sightings of the Weekend

(and brief Weekend Recap)

I went to go see Cars with Dyno on Saturday at 3rd Street Promenade. I loved the movie, but Dyno fell asleep during the middle! Anyway, because we went to a matinee, it was hard watching the flick with a bunch of yelling, talking, screaming kids...but I have to say the best behaved kids in the theater were Tim Meadows', who sat next to their dad the entire time, and didn't breathe a word. Thanks, Tim, for keeping your kids in line in the theater!

Sunday, Dyno and I spotted Martin Sheen in Santa Monica. The people behind us spotted him, too, but they called him "Charlie Sheen's dad."

Weekend Recap

How was everyone's Singles Day? Mine was fantastic. I made tons of food and drinks, including the Killer Colada - a fine-tuned version of the Pina Colada. I also redecorated the Lounge a bit, spruced it up and cleaned it to a fine, sparkly, polished den for the party.

I got the two-disc special edition DVD of "Bullitt" on Saturday. That movie is a Steve McQueen fan's dream. Lots of nice blue-eyed close-ups, and of course the awesome car chase scene. The DVD includes the TCM's doc "The Essence of Cool" all about McQueen's career and life in general. Lots of interviews, pictures, and juicy details.

This week, I hope, will be a little bit more merciful on me than last week. If there's time, I might throw together a couple things, like a Dumpster Drama. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Weekend Re-cap

Friday night I went to go see "Hairspray" at the Pantages Theatre with Pokey and his friends. We had dinner at Joseph's first and then trekked to the theatre. Unfortunately I was wearing my stupid heels - the pair where one shoe is tighter than the other. This wouldn't be a problem except I was walking about 7 blocks to the theater from the restaurant. Things were fine once I got to the show - I was completely distracted by the production. If you've ever seen the movie (like I have) and didn't like it (like me) still give the stage show a shot. It's awesome. Especially surrounded by 10 gay men. We stood up at the last song and were singing and dancing...

After the show we went to The Abbey which is the best gay bar in West Hollywood, in my opinion. There we were supposed to meet Mon's friends. Mon is a ASL translator, so most of his friends are deaf. I thought, "How am I supposed to talk to these guys?" But I found out quickly that talking with my hands is what I'm good at.

On a side note, I think every straight man should go to gay bars. There are so many straight girls that hang out at these places, and all they see are hot, well-groomed gay men canoodling. It's enough to turn the temperature up in the most frigid of women. But they're not getting anything from this stimulus, not even a look. So when a straight guy comes near, straight girls pounce on them like a tiger. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" You could have your pick of the litter at these places.

Anyway, Pokey got us these super-huge, really good berry martinis and then we found Mon's friends. They were adorable and hilarious and just plain fun. I learned a lot of sign language from these guys, especially Patrick, who was very patient with me. He taught me how to say every word a single girl needs to know, especially at the Abbey: gay, straight, penis, cute, slut, shuttup...Surely to come in handy in the future.

After learning a lot and drinking a lot and standing a lot, I had finally had enough with my uncomfortable shoes, so Pokey and I left. I walked back to his apartment in West Hollywood (another 10 blocks) barefoot.

I love gay men.

Cha-CHING!!

I'll be out of town playing the slots this weekend...

And I won't be back until Wednesday!!

See you then!
Love,
Sweepea

Weekend Re-cap

Friday I played hooky from work (sorry about missing the Romance Cheese Friday). I went with Dyno to Gina's house to run around like kids without ritalin at Chuck E. Cheese. We drank beers and rode the carousel, as well as won a fake plastic tiara, a miniature car, and a stale pack of bubblegum. Gina wouldn't let me wear the tiara, so I pouted the rest of the day.

Saturday I gave Dyno a tour of my hometown, and it only took half an hour. *Sigh* small towns. But it was kind of cool to show him our local make-out point, where we used to go ice-blocking, and where we build our parade floats. Random stuff that makes my hometown what it is.

That night we went to dinner at Trader Vic's in 90210. We ordered super-obnoxiously huge and highly decorated drinks, with weird tropical names. Dyno's came with a half-naked plastic brown man hanging on the glass. We had to cab it the whole night since we drank so much.

This week is looking good... I'm going to a Clippers play-off game tonight (sitting ultra-close to the floor), and this Friday, May 5th is No Pants Day. Awesome.