If you don't want attention don't ask for it

[Saturday, mid-afternoon, pan to a fabulously cute couple in a very stylish '98 civic....]

M: "Wow, that's the most obnoxious Lotus I've ever seen."
T: "Every time I'm in L.A., I see one."
M: "Yeah, but that's a really obnoxious one."
T: "Yeah."

[Pulls up to the red light next to the obnoxious Lotus.]

T: "Ya know, that looks like the guy in 'My Name is Earl.'"
M: "What's the rule in L.A.?"
T: "That if it looks like the celebrity, it probably is."

[M looks over; the driver has his left hand covering his face and his right hand holding a cel phone. A few seconds pass and he puts down his hand and reveals that he is indeed that guy.]

M: "Yeah, that's him."

Ok, public service announcement to celebrities...if you don't want attention don't drive tricked out cars with fins and stuff, don't hang out at the Grove, don't eat at the Ivy, and don't shop on Robertson. That's all you have to do. You can go to Fred Segal, shop at Marc Jacobs, whatever you want. But, you just have to avoid a few key places. But, that's just it. They want the attention. There are plenty of good cars, food and shopping without falling into those paparazzi traps. Seriously. I don't feel sorry for you.

No self-respecting Beverly Hills mom takes her kids to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. And its not because they're snobs or its not good enough...not that at all. Its just that if you're a mom with two small kids, you're not going to go to a restaurant where you have to wait in que for a table. And, if you're Posh, with more money than doG, you're really not going to Cheesecake at the Grove unless you want your picture taken. Seriously. I have no sympathy for that woman on any level. She hits EVERY spot in L.A. where the photogs just sit and wait and then complains that she has no privacy with her kids. Hell, she could have gone to the Brentwood Cheesecake and been left alone. But she didn't.

Same thing Jason. Your car SCREAMS for attention. The Grove is crawling with tourists and such what not. If that's what you're after, that's cool. I don't know you so I can't say either way. But yeah, the fins just cry out. Just so you know.

Prettier in person

Every now and then you see celebrities that are actually really amazing in "real life." She seems to have put her own clothes & make-up on, no stylist, no make-up artist, and looked really good.

She was in the lobby of my office building, sitting on the bench, talking with someone. The lobby of my goofy building seems to have that effect on people. That bench is oddly inviting and you see all sorts of pretty people talking on cel phones or waiting for people to come down and meet them.

So yeah, there she was, chatting on her cel phone and then talking to someone; the two of them chatting while sitting on that bench.

Seriously guys, you can't say that wouldn't some secret fantasy. You come out of your little office to grab a soda or coffee and there she is, waiting for you.

Obligatory Oscar Post

Like I said last year, drive anywhere this weekend in L.A. except Hollywood. So, we didn't drive, we took the Metro Redline. Wow, that was a good idea. We found free parking around Vermont/Beverly, and paid $3 for our happy Metro day pass...up to Hollywood & Highland to see the preparations for the Oscars and then off to Universal CityWalk just 'cause it was the next stop on the Redline and we could...so yeah.

Hollywood has chanced so much in the last few years. It used to be such a pit with nowhere to eat other than an icky McDonalds. Now there are all these new shops and cafes (nothing fancy but still better than the icky McDonalds) and ever a Gelato place and yes, the McDonalds, but now an all spiffed up McDonalds. Its a weird combination of old and new with Jimmy Kimmel shooting his show there and the Kodak and then the old Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum and the tshirt shops and tattoo parlors. Finally, I can actually recommend out-of-towners go to the the Graumans Chinese Theater to see it and the hand/footprints out front instead of fearing for their lives if they dared wonder into that area.

Don't read this and think you can show up and watch the red carpet arrivals by jumping the Metro. Nope, not at all. They shut down that station for Oscar Sunday.

But, I will say, even as a jaded native Angeleno, the entire red carpet thang, in person, really is larger than life. And those Oscar statues are ginormous....just in case you were curious.

Oh yeah, blurry much?

They sell this picture

but you can have it for free. Cut, copy, enjoy; make it a postcard or print and frame the picture. If you feel the need you can send me all the money you've saved by not buying it at one of the places on Hollywood Blvd. But, that's up to you. Really. No pressure. Seriously. Its not like I'm saving for a trip to Europe or a house or anything. No, just take. All you all the time.

A Cold Winter Day in L.A.

Yeah, I'm a wee crazy but I really do find this city pretty.

Maybe I'm feeling better

'cause everything was interesting today. Of course, I also planned a trip to Vegas & the Grand Canyon so that might have something to do with my mood.

Today I saw something that I also saw yesterday.


Yeah, that's right. Recognise the mad photoshop skillz...no, I didn't see the same truck both days; they had different license plates.

Do you remember the Blackwood? Its a cool looking but utterly useless pickup. I remember seeing this at the L.A. auto show years ago. (s.ly has the pics to prove it.) The truck didn't sell too well which is why I'm surprised to see two of them in two days. If I remember correctly, the bed liner doesn't allow for actual use since it scratches so easily. And why have a truck this pinstriped-pretty if you're just going to scratch it up.

I have Phoenix shopping tips, ramblings about L.A. traffic and the announcement of a new drug (to me), but I'll save those nuggets for another day.

Instead, I bring you the gratuitous puppy shot. Seriously, she is just the cutest thing ever.

So NOT cool

Ok, first of all, for the record, you haven't fed me. So, taking pictures of me from outside of the house is just not cool. I don't care how cute I look up here. Second of all, taking me to the vet and then leaving me there for HOURS is so not acceptable.

Now that we've done the crazy lady who types for her dog routine...

On Friday I was told that a specific vet was working at my beloved BHSAH on Monday. Apparently there was a miscommunication (i.e. someone didn't read the schedule when talking to me) and that doctor wasn't taking patients Monday morning. But, because BHSAH rocks, they offered to sit on Dick for a few hours so the doctor could look at him when he was available. We took them up on their offer. And, when I say we, I mean me with no agreement from a very annoyed greyhound.

After a few hours and a couple of in depth exams, it was decided that Dick's 5th toe and 3rd eye need to go. And when I say 5th toe and 3rd eye I mean two growths that need to be removed before they get dangerous. We've been watching the 5th toe (located on his leg) for about a year now. Its behaving badly these days so after 2 rounds of antibiotics, its time to say goodbye. As for the 3rd eye...it appeared last week and has been growing pretty rapidly. So, that's going to run away as well.

Think happy thoughts for baddog #2 on Monday 'cause he'll be back at BHSAH for his procedures.

A Picture is Worth 11 Words

Ok, so that covers work.

Fast forward to dinner time...its about 6:30pm and Dick & Jane and I are out for our nightly walk. Its quiet out. Eerie quiet. Weird quiet. Dick is on high alert, I'm a little freaked out and Jane is just fine, limping along sticking her nose everywhere it shouldn't be. It was like a scene out of a Stephen King novel. Here we are in the middle of this HUGE city and its just silent out, no movement, no noise. Either the world is ending or everyone is out to dinner. Jane, as taught by the zen-master Hanna, knows everyone is out to dinner. Dick & I still aren't so sure.

Happy Valentine's Day - - - hope yours was filled with pretty flowers, yummy treats and lots of people and/or dogs and/or cats to love and torment.

All sorts of Suss

In my quest to create items for people older than my dogs, I hit my favorite brick & mortar yarn shop today. Suss has beautiful yarns and killer sales twice a year. Everytime the announcement goes out, I heed the call and head over. (Of course, that doesn' t mean that I don't head over when there is no sale, but I feel less guilty when the yarn is discounted.) Its a great store with beautiful yarns and knit items. Of course, I could be a bit biased since I learned how to knit there and I just adore Suss's patterns and designs.

This time around I couldn't get over there until this afternoon, the tail end of the sale. It worked out for me; I was able to score on the supplies I needed for what I hope to be Gramma's Christmas gift. (When it comes to me knitting something more complicated than a scarf, the gift often rests on a hope and prayer.) So yeah, finding beautiful yarn I needed on sale is very exciting in my happy little world.

Something I realised when I was babbling to T about my good fortune...for all the non-knitters out there in blog land, I'm guessing you don't know the full life of a knitted item. Of course you get the reading books for a pattern and then heading over to the yarn shop to fetch yarn and then spending the time actually knitting the item. But, what you might not know is that if you buy the purtier yarns, you need to wind them. No, you can't knit with the yarn the way it comes; it gets tangled. Trust me, I've tried to skip this step. I don't advise it.

Most stores, when offering yarns at deep discounts, don't offer their winders for your use. That space is taken up by the sale tables. So, you either sit and wind them by hand, which to say takes a bit o' time is a bit of an understatement. Or, you buy a winder. And, you can't just buy the winder, you have to buy this thingy that the yarn sits on while you wind it.

Here's the thingy on which the yarn spins in its quest to be wound.


And here's the winder itself....


You can see the already wound balls o' yarn next to the winder. I know, pretty damn exciting.

Hey, I'm recovering, I'm still trying to get back into the swing into this whole writing and taking pictures thing. This will get more interesting...hopefully....

Slowly Entering the 20th Century

Yeah, you read that right, the 20th Century. So I have wireless accessories to the 'pooter, blue tooth, digital camera and now, the ultimate 20th Century accessory, Direct TV. Yup, the broken antenna on top of my tv has finally been retired. (No, I'm not kidding. One of the rabbit ears broke off. Yes, I spent far more than that on shoes. No, it didn't occur to me to buy a new antenna. Can't we just focus on the good? Ok, thank you...) Now I can watch CBS and NBC without having to adjust the set. Hell, I got to watch "Pimp My Ride" in my own bedroom! Its overwhelming, I tell ya.

Of course, even with 155 channels (not including my 3 month promo of free Showtime), there still wasn't anything on tonight.

A Quick Hello

I know, I know. I've been absent lately. Fighting off a pretty nasty respiratory infection for a week morphing into fighting with a respiratory infection for a week hasn't left me much time or inclination to post. I've had all sorts of interesting blog posts planned like, "Tamiflu, friend or foe?", "Fun with Antibiotics and Dick and Jane", and lets not forget "Hey Baby, buy me a Cranberry Juice?" Yeah, its basicly sucked to be me. And, before you think how much it sucks to have the flu, just remember I don't get sick like most people get sick. Its an amazing blessing and a curse. All ya'll go through boxes of Kleenex, I have aliens land in my chest. Its weird and its tough to describe. But, that's ok. Its annual, it passes and then I'm even more grateful for the small chunck of oxygen I'm allotted.

So, I'm here. We'll begin again tomorrow with silly pictures and opinions on issues that matter to the universe (i.e. me).

Try to keep warm and I'll see you tomorrow!