Making nice

So one of the girls I work with, her boyfriend lives in Simi Valley. Another girl I worked with in the days of Milberg lived in Simi and worked in downtown. Ok, no one told me that its in Ventura County. Wow. People commute that far...and farther...daily...wow.

I'm such a city girl. I already know that once I leave my castle I'm living in the hood 'cause I don't do valley. And really, for those of you who live in the valley, you don't want me. I should start a donation fund: Help Keep Jenna in the 3-1-0!

Ok, these two do tie together; we loaded up WHTVR and headed over hill and dale and hill and dale and hill and dale and went off to a bridal shower.

We played games, we ate finger sandwiches, we open gifts, and yours truly was asked to make the bow bouquet.

Relocated

Well, since I brought it up, I'll talk about my routine.

Weho S'n'B: That's short for West Hollywood Stitch'n'Bitch. I learned about these kids after I started knitting. In Yahoo Groups I typed in "los angeles knitting" and this was my first hit. I joined and read for months. I learned about knitting workshops, sales and the different group gatherings.

At the time, the West Hollywood was the closest group to me. (Since then a Westwood group has sprung up but they meet on Wednesdays and my Wednesday night is already booked.) After reading about these ladies on that board and in several blogs of the members, I finally found the courage to not only walk into what seamed (HA!) like a tight knit (I slay me!!) group of women but also brave Thursday rush hour. And, let me tell you, there is nothing more frightening than Los Angeles Thursday rush hour. Seriously. You don't believe me? You go Eastbound mid-city for a 7pm start time. I dare you.

These ladies are more than worth the traffic challenges. Not only have a learned quite a bit but holy crap do I laugh. I can't say I ever remember being surrounded by so many sincere, interesting, intelligent women all in one place at one time.

Now for the relocation title of the post...normally we meet above Kip's Toyland in the Original Farmer's Market. Someone gave them permission to have an event in our usual spot. So, we were down on the ground floor with the masses. You would have thought we were all sporting 3rd eyes with some of the looks we got. Ellen took a few pictures of us in our temporary home. (No, not the cactus, keep scrolling down.) It was nice down there but boy was it loud. We all joked about how we need rugs and afghans to put on the floor and the walls to deal with the sound issues.

I haven't a clue

Seriously.

I'm in a bit of a routine. I mean, not that I do, but if I had a stalker, I'm sure he left because my life is just that predictable right now. There's no challenge for him. Its a fun routine and its not something I could do living anywhere else in the world, but its a routine nonetheless.

And it doesn't help that the top news for like the last month has been freakin' Paris Hilton. I watched 15 seconds of the Larry King Live show thingy and just ran away. Of course I tuned into the 15 seconds where she once again does not take full responsibility.

"I only had one drink..."

"My lawyers said I could drive after 30 days..."

One word honey, responsibility. Maybe the first time you got pulled over and were told your license was suspended may have been a HINT. Maybe. Just a small one.

And she went on to say that she works very hard and has "earned" all of her money. Yeah, 'cause the rest of us have parents that fly us around the world at 15 to party and go to fashion shows. Honey, I remember that article about you and your sister clubbing when you didn't even have a driver's license. Yeah, you "worked" for that. Every teenager I know can afford a management team to handle their "brand" and help them craft an image. Right. Ok.

X marks the spot

I actually went out on a Friday night, seriously shocking, especially considering the options available in Century City.

Houstons - Personally, I'd rather stab myself with a pencil than brave the happy hour crowd here. Its beyond crowded. Its Christmas mall crowded. Its not fun crowded. Its I'd rather hand with Dick & Jane crowded.

French 75 - Been there, done that, don't want to go back. My main complaint with this place both for lunch and happy hour is the service. No matter how empty or crowded they are, the servers are always overwhelmed and inattentive.

The Cellar - The constant stand-by - There are people who work in Century City who don't know about this place which is surprising all on its own. Despite being under new ownership, the Cellar is still the same as its always been. If you feel that drinks in L.A. are obscenely expensive, hit the happy hour at the Cellar. It'll restore you faith in the existence of reasonably priced alcohol.

But wait, there's more! We have a new kid on the block! X bar just opened. Its inside the Century Plaza and quite pretty really. The drinks tasty, the food quite addictive and we're already planning another outing. I don't think they've attracted the full crowd that they're after. I didn't see much of the CAA-ICM peeps but they are getting the office kids and really, our money is just as green, even if the CAA-ICM contingent dresses better.

View from the Top

I had the pleasure of eating at the Roof Garden Restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel. It was just gorgeous and I'm not just talking about the hotel itself or the view. Let me put it to you this way, you're sitting in the path to the pool. And, people who stay at the Peninsula don't tend to be ugly. Cowboy up, grab a seat and enjoy the scenery. But as I've said before, the food is not perfect. It was fine, but really, you're paying for the atmosphere...not that its a bad thing mind you. I just wanted to warn you in advance.

Happy Birthday Dick

Seven never looked so cute.

Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Before I start the actual post I feel the need to explain my crap titles. One of you has registered a formal complaint and I'll take this time to respond.

I really don't believe in titles. I mean, they're good for books, but for my own essays and such, I have never found them necessary. However, Homer always gave me crap about that and insisted that I title my essays. So, I used cheesy titles just to appease him. If he had insisted on good titles, I would have worked harder at it. But just having a title seemed to work for him and really it was all about Homer. The joke is on me since I'm incapable of liking anything but horrid titles.

Today is gramma's birthday. (Gramma styled this photo in case you were wondering; she LOVES it.)

Since she wouldn't let us plan a party, we went out to dinner. Wow, the Sultan of Brunei is a hellova hotel owner. The Bel Air Hotel is stunning to the point where the grounds even smell good. Seriously. When was the last time you were in a parking lot and it smelled good? The food was spectacular AND the staff was genuinely nice. I was overwhelmed.

As expected, I had a celebrity sighting. There was also some musician guy who pulled up in a yellow Porche while we were waiting for our car. But, I'm musically challenged so I haven't a clue who he was. But I recognised him. Sort of.

If I win the lottery, I'm spending a large amount of time there. This place seriously kicks the Penisula and Beverly Hills Hotels' asses.

I know, I'm Klassy. Its a gift.

Holy Crap

So, I like to keep up with what's going on with my old firm. Its a wacky bunch and if you're familiar with the Milberg/Lerach kids, I really don't have to explain further. But for everyone else who thinks that class action litigation is only comprised of greedy horrid lawyers, I guess that could be true; but if you worked with my crew, you'd see it differently. My standard for law came from my California attorneys and my standards for staff management came from my San Diego bosses. They ran a tight ship and it freakin' sailed.

But yeah, the firm split in two and you may have heard about the wee indictment thing going on. Its not everyday a whole firm is indicted. So far only one side is named; when I saw this, my only response was "Holy Crap."*

Its at times like that I really do wish I were more articulate.




*mental note, stop abusing semi-colons.

We don't talk about Fight Club

I feel like I spend WAY too much time talking about my not talking about work. But yeah, I'm blaming my silence on that. And its my blog so I can do that. Feel the power.

But, I will tell all y'all that I'm starting a new job on Monday and I'm just so damn excited I could just dance around the house. But enough about me and how fabulous I am, here are a few fabulous things I've done today with my unexpected mini-vacation.

Meltdown That was the one decent link I found that didn't link to a blog. For the four of you who haven't heard of it, its a grilled cheese joint in Culver City for the Sony crowd. We hit it right at closing and let me tell you a thing or three.

1. The staff couldn't have been nicer. Seriously. It was freakin' me out. It was 2:45pm, they close at 3 and they were totally happy to have us there ordering.

2. They have bottled Coke AND Diet Coke. Not too often you find the Coca-Cola Light...mmm, good stuff.

3. The food was cheap and yummy. And no, I didn't get a grilled cheese. That's the edge on which I live. I got the special meatball sub and Yum! Brigitta had this desserty-sandwich thingy and rated it a 4.5 out of 5. If I ate berries I would have tried it, but even from a non-berry point of view, it looked good. If it makes you feel any better, their last customer of the day had a grilled cheese and he was telling the nice guy cleaning the tables and generally making you feel welcome and happy and it really the best grilled cheese ever. So there's the mandatory grilled cheese review.

The ONLY negative I can come up with...they're only open for lunch Monday - Friday so I'm guessing that'll be my only visit since I typically have this whole work thing that gets in the way of going to businesses only open daylight hours Monday - Friday. Wrong, I know, sort of like that last run-on sentence. You know the Brentwood English Department is crying right now.

Willow Spa: Seriously, 90 minutes will Pool will change your outlook on life. Brigitta asked me what kind of massage I had and I couldn't tell her. And really, I don't care. I've never done the 90 minute massage thing before...seemed excessive. Holy crap was I wrong. Its excessive like good yarn is excessive, or designer shoes are excessive...you think that until you experience it and then there is no going back.