Sunny Times in January

Well, it was another normal week at work. I'm starting to get into a routine of things - get through the work week like normal....come Thursday, game on. Moving here has given me almost a rewind at life. It's like I just graduated college and am 23 all over again. And it's pretty great. (We'll see how long this old maid can hang, though :)

So, another Thursday rolls around and some of the guys at work are going out. Of course, I obliged. We headed to the Edison. Another one of their favorite spots that I had not been to, yet. The entrance is hidden in an alley and it's a speakeasy style bar. Not in that you need a secret password to enter and they have house-made moonshine like others I've been to, but this one was still very great. 

The building is an old factory of some sort. They kept the interior true to its original purpose and just spruced it up a bit. There is also a stage with flappers, performers singing to a live band and everyone is dressed to the era...even some of the patrons. 

We didn't dress up but kept to the dress code. I grabbed a dirty martini as the guys showed me around the joint. There were different rooms and areas all around. It is a pretty fantastic place. We finally settled at a small table in the back to get some drinks in. 

Just as we were finishing our first round, an absinthe fairy came to our table. A girl dressed as a fairy was pushing around a cart with a treasure chest full of different sized bottles of absinthe for sale. Something I wasn't totally expecting, but then, I've learned to try not to expect anything in LA. 

The guys were all for it - I was unsure, but down. We bought a bottle and passed it around. I only took one small drink so the others could have their fair share. Not too bad, but I don't think I really had the full experience. 

I'm lucky they agreed on a small bottle. 

It ended up being a pretty great night. For some reason, there were many groups of ladies in threes. I was with three guys, so I was odd man out for many of the convos, but I just did what I do best: find some rando to talk to and see if I can get a drink out of it. I had several long conversations with guys...one was some kind of photographer, one was in town for a construction convention (they have those?)....I'm proud to say I got two drinks out of all of my efforts. A win. 

The guys were deep in a conversation with some semi-attractive ladies when closing time came around. I didn't want to be a wet blanket, so I sat politely nearby checking shit on my phone until one of them was ready to walk me home. I wasn't really in the mood to be seventh wheel at La Cita for the rest of the evening. I happily snuggled with my pooch before work the next day.

Friday rolled around, and I was a bit hungover. BUT how could anyone be feeling bad when it was 80 degrees in January? Now I was really getting a feel for why people want to live here.

Not only was it a gorgeous day, but we had a fantastic day planned at work that day. We were having our first ever all staff meeting including our sales reps and etc all around the country and over seas. Pretty great but a little stressful. So, what better way to celebrate that than a BBQ at the pool in the afternoon? I don't think anything beats that. 

Right when I got to work in the morning, it was time to head to Ralph's to get all the BBQ necessities. We loaded up and headed to the Watermarke to store everything in the patio fridge so it would be waiting for us at 3:00pm. The all staff meeting went swimmingly. After it ended, our day was pretty much over. No work was going to get done with the thoughts of beers and burgers on our minds. 

My boss has a pretty sweet apartment in the building next to ours, but the best park is the patio on the seventh floor with a great view, bbqs, cabanas, a hot tub and pool. This was where we worked from prior to our office now, and although I was only working there for a week before the big move, I'm definitely missing it. Luckily, we still get to take advantage of the amenities from time to time. 

We headed over and got to grilling right away as we cracked open some beers and changed into our swimsuits. Definitely the most perfect way to end a week. 

After the pool party, I had a chill night with some of the girls. We took our dogs to one of the bars on my block to sit outside and enjoy a drink. Then, we got mexican from the best place downtown (well, in my opinion. may also be biased because it's a block from my door...) and went to one of their apartments to play some board games and chill. So relaxing. 

I woke up early the next day and was ready to hike. It's become routine for John and me to wake up early on Saturdays (hungover or not) and get to Runyon before it's too busy. It's my favorite form of exercise and it really kicks my ass and John gets to be in actual nature and sniff other dogs. 

This morning was especially beautiful. I even let John pick which way he wanted to go and ended up finding a really pretty spot. 

After the hike, I went home to clean the apartment....my Saturdays have really become routine! Today was another gorgeous day, and I was having friends over to my pool. I started drinking beers while I got ready and then had a couple while we enjoyed the sunshine from my rooftop.

While the sun was beaming on us and we were starting to sweat, we were temped to jump in the water. However, unlike the fancy shmancy Watermarke apartments, my pool was not heated. One toe in and you were pretty frozen for a bit. We still had a good time and even hopped in the hot tub as the sun went down. Plans were made for that evening as we all headed to our apartments to get ready.

I had a few hours to kill, so I was going to chill with John and watch some old episodes of Entourage. Bad idea. Somewhere in there, I fell asleep. I awoke a few hours later to texts upon texts and my phone ringing. One of the guys calling "Are you ready? We're outside your apartment."

Groggily, I came to, "Wait. What? You're outside? I'm sleeping....what?"

"Well get up and come downstairs! We're ready to head to dinner!"

"You don't get it. I definitely need to shower. I still have pool hair from yesterday happening."

So, needless to say, I was not feeling 100%. Every 28 year old part of me was screaming "What are you doing? Go back to bed you old lady! You can't do this kind of shit anymore!"

I should have listened, but much to John's disappointment, I got up and powered through. My roommate was joining us, so we both got ready pretty quickly, picked up some sugar free red bulls and were on our way. 

We walked to Wurstküche, a German food and bar place that people loved and that I still am unsure of the pronunciation. We got there after dinner, but luckily, they saved us some fries. It was packed in the dark, German-style dining hall. All of the picnic tables were filled and people were standing. Definitely a hipster-loving joint, but also definitely a good time. 

We finished our round and headed nearby to Villain's Tavern. This bar was pretty small, and also very packed. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it was also definitely a good time. There was a live band playing not-so-awesome selections, but at that point, we didn't care. I was feeling my whiskey waters, and I'm pretty sure my friends were, too. 

We had a great time singing along, dancing in our seats and just being ridiculous. However, we were getting antsy and the lines at the bar were just a little too long. Onto our next location. 

The Redwood is closer to my part of downtown and also happens to be a pirate bar. If someone ever asks you "You want to go to this place? It's a pirate bar." You automatically have to say yes. Why would you ever say no?

It was pretty great. More my style in the world of dive bars. Especially because they sold domestic beers. Domestic beers in cans. Domestic beers in tall boy cans. Oh lordy, I was in heaven. 

There was some kind of cover band blasting as my roommate, my friend and I plowed through the bar to the bathrooms. Of course, even in a dirty, hole-in-the-wall place, the ladies room still had a three person line. That wasn't going to work. So, the ladies that we are, we took over the disgusting men's room and went for it. 

After that, we were down to party. i got myself a PBR tall boy and we ended the night playing drinking games and dancing and laughing. 

I was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry hungover that Sunday. Three days in a row of drinking. I don't know if my body is meant for that anymore. But eh - my roommate, John and I headed up to Big Wangs to get some greasy food to cure me. Some kind of football game was on, so it was pretty packed. We found some nice gentlemen who let us post up at their table. They soon realized what kind of situation I was in and were quick to rub it in. Everyone else had the next day off for MLK day. I was not as fortunate. 

After I scarfed down my meal, we strolled home. Out of nowhere, I got a little piece of home right in the middle of DTLA.  :)

Now I Can Die Happy

This weekend was supposed to be a chill, clean the house, workout/hike, relaxing one. It was sort of that and sort of not. But it all ended up being fantastic.

Thursday was the Artwalk downtown - every second Thursday, the galleries stay open until 10 and people roam around checking out the art, etc. First, we all met up at a coworkers place just around the block from mine to pregame. We ended up staying at her house a little too long and missed the actual Artwalk, but we were ok with that.

Around 10:15 or so, we were ready to walk around. We headed to a bar called Seven Grand…on 7^th and Grand. On the way, we caught the tail end of a gallery showing and decided to pop in. The art was overpriced and something that I could have done on accident, but at least we can say we went to Artwalk.

Seven Grand was a good time. It’s a whiskey bar with pool tables, so right up my alley. We had a couple drinks there, couldn’t get a pool table for the life of us, so we decided to move on.

In my effort to become more familiar and versed in the downtown night scene, I wanted to try another new place. The first suggestion was La Cita. I didn’t know what is was, but I was down.

It was a about a 15 min trek and it’s chilly out here in Southern California when the sun goes down, so I was beginning to regret not bringing at least one coat back with me from home. As soon as we stepped into the bar, things got warmer.

La Cita is a dark, Mexican dive bar with a great patio and decently priced drinks. When we first walked in, things were pretty slow. No one was outside because of the weather, so we stuck to the inside bar and started ordering drinks.

After a few cold Budweisers, the dance floor started to fill up. I was certainly in the minority there (I’m pretty sure I was the only blonde in the joint), and I wasn’t about to make a fool of myself out there – Read: I hadn’t had enough to drink to bust a move. We watched for a while, talked and relaxed until it was time to crawl into bed.

Friday was an extremely chill day at work. My boss was out of town, and when that happens, I generally have a lot less to do, so I caught up on random projects that were on the back burner. I left work pretty early to go home and hang with the dogman.

It was too cold to take him to the dog park. It was too cold to leave the house, in my opinion. I was still recovering a bit from the night before, so I was all for staying in. My roommate left for Joshua Tree that morning, and would be gone for the whole weekend. I took advantage of that and deep cleaned the apartment. Quite the productive little Friday night.

Saturday, I woke up early and was ready to take on the day. My dog, however, was not. I swear I have the laziest animal. He’s 2 ½ years old, so you’d think he’d be ready to play all day. Most days, I’m grateful that the big guy wants to snooze, but I was ready to get up and go! Finally, around 10, he rolled out of bed like a teenager and mosied over to the couch to let me know he was ready.

I had already decided this was going to be a productive weekend, so hike time it was! (Did I just turn into Yoda?) The sun was out and it was in the upper 50s by 10:30am – perfect weather for hiking. I loaded up on dog treats and poop bags and headed to Runyon.

It started out as a normal hike. John was doing pretty good on leash, and I was getting confident, so I let him wander around off leash. Bad idea. Apparently, whenever there is another dog around and they are both without leashes, he thinks it’s the dog park. He ran around like a moron riling up the other dogs and trying to get them to chase him. Fucking embarrassing. I finally got him back on leash – probably the last time that will ever happen until I take him to some doggie training classes.

We finally got to the top where there is a dog watering hole. I was leading John over to one of the bowls to make him take a drink when I was cut off by a man with a large camera with a two-foot lens trying to get a shot of two little blonde boys with their Pomeranian.

All I could think was “Who the fuck is so obnoxious and full of themselves that they need to bring a giant camera to take pictures of their family while they are hiking at Runyon? This is a place to exercise, not for photo shoots.”

Then, I saw another guy with a big camera…and another….and another, and it all started making sense. Paparazzi, duh Jessie! So, I looked back at the boys, and they were with a blonde with an English accent, but I didn’t recognize her at all.

Then, I noticed she was talking to someone behind me. I turned around (in my mind, this is all happening in slow motion), and there she was. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale were right behind me looking awesome and perfect and wonderful and….my dog was sniffing their dog’s butt. Oh. Great.

[Celebrity Sighting #s 4-7]

I pulled John away and stepped over to the parking lot just a few feet away to gather myself. My all-time favorite artist, idol, person, being in the world was within feet!! Wtf was happening. I was freaking out just a little bit.

I took a deep breath and headed back to let John get a drink. I have never been so happy to have a dog (ok that’s a lie. I love my dog and am happy to have him every day). I couldn’t help that he needed to get a drink right by where the boys and their nanny were! I couldn’t help that he wanted to sniff around where they were no matter how hard I “tried” to get him to jog back down the path with me. Little Zuma even talked to John and gave him a pat on the head. I was ready to die.

I didn’t take any pictures because I didn’t want to be that person. We finally started to make our way back down. Gwen et al had a large entourage with them, so they were moving significantly slower. I didn’t want to bother them, and eventually, John and I were quite a ways ahead of them.

This will probably go down as one of my most favorite moments. I still can’t believe it!

Here are pics of them the day that I saw them – None of me or John, but I promise, it happened:

http://gossipcenter.com/gwen-stefani/gwen-stefani-and-family-head-runyon-canyon-790135

After we finished our hike, I was still in productive weekend mode. When I got home, I tackled the bathroom, which is always a feat in itself. I’m kind of crazy when it comes to cleaning, but it just makes me feel so good when it’s finished. Like completeness.

I showered and then took John for a walk before his dinner. On our way, I stopped at the market just around the block and picked up a bottle of wine. It was just that kind of night for me. I was ready to decompress and chill.

I turned on Netflix to rewatch the Hills for the zillionth time. Now that I live here, I like to pick out places that I’ve been on the show and see if I can figure out where the other places are. I am not embarrassed to say that I was having a great time at home watching the Hills, drinking wine and doing crunches.

Then, around 8:00pm, I get that text from someone “What are you doing? Come meet up with us!” This night, there was a group at Big Wangs watching football all day. I was easily persuaded. I jumped in the shower, got ready in a flash and walked John once more before headed up there.

As we moved from Big Wangs to our next destination, our group kept growing. A new friend of mine is from the area and knows too many people, probably. She just kept finding friends along the way and invited them along.

We headed to her place so she could let her dog out before heading to La Cita. Yes, it was going to be my second time there in a week, but she had a friend who was DJing and he could get us in – and get the minors we had with us in, as well. (I know, minors. Such a throwback.)

The bar at La Cita.

It was another great time at La Cita. The only difference this time is that I did dance. We all did. Sometimes, it’s just good to get out there and not give two shits about what anyone thinks. J

Sunday, I had plans to hike at a new spot with some girls from work and our dogs. I was not feeling awesome, but I wanted to go. I peeled myself out of bed and got ready. John, on the other hand, was super pumped and ready to go. Of course, dog. Ugh.

We were headed to Eaton Canyon in Pasadena – about a 30 min drive. Runyon is crowded sometimes, but it’s just so close and convenient. This one was not. However, it was definitely worth it.

This hike started out as a normal dirt path but then lead up to a creek that we had to cross back and forth a few times. Now, the other dogs we were with gently jumped from rock to rock with ease. My dog, being the lover of life that he is, just romped through the water like a big dummy and nearly pulled me in with him each time.

Trying to avoid death by dog pulling into jagged rocks. 

The hike ends at a really beautiful waterfall. We sat there for a bit to let our dogs roam while we rested and took some pics. It was a really fun, great lady time.

I went home to actually rest, but then remembered a friend from home was coming in town for work. We had planned on getting dinner. I gave John a bath, showered myself and tried to rest for a bit before dinner. We had sushi and reminisced and caught up with each other. A great end to my weekend!

Revamped

Again, it's been a while. eh. 

Many things have changed in 2 months-ish. At first, I thought it wasn't good, but being forced into this position has actually been just what I needed. In a really good way.

Right before Christmas, I moved into a loft in downtown LA. As they say, now I live, work and play, dtla (maybe I'm the only one that says that...idk). And it's pretty fantastic. I'm happy to have a place to call my own and discover and live and learn and enjoy...all within walking distance to work and home. 

At first, it was scary. Duh. But I'm 28 and an intelligent person. I can figure this out, right?

Well, I did....am. 

One thing that has been my saving grace is my work. I can't express how lucky I am to work in such a great social environment that easily lends itself to friendships. We may all be from different generations, but we all have the same mindset: fun.

My first solo success was hosting a party for NYE at my loft. My roommate mentioned before I left for the holiday that she planned on having people over, like 10 friends or so. Not too many. 

At this point, I should pause and give a shout out to my main dog, my dog, John. After Christmas, I once again made the fateful two-day road trip from Belleville to LA to bring him out with me. And we made it! Yay!

Back to NYE - I knew that I was going to need to stay in with my roommate and her friends because my dog was going to be in a new environment, and that with the added surplus of people meant I would need to be there for moral support. 

I texted a few coworkers with an open invite to celebrate at my place. I didn't expect any of them to come; I assumed they all had other plans for the night. 

Much to my surprise, a whole group of them ended up coming over. They had pregamed and gone out to dinner....I had gotten the invite, but I'm perpetually slow at getting ready.....and they were here to party. Just what I needed to ring in the new year. 

Me and some of my work boyzzz.

They all brought dates and/or friends with, so it was a good group. We got flip cup and drunk jenga going....rang in the new year popping bottles and confetti....a good time was had by all, including my dogman.

The roommate and I awoke the next day to a floor covered in sticky spots from champagne sprays and flip cup faults. Confetti and streamers were everywhere, including a guilty trail leading directly from a clump outside our door all the way to the elevator. 

Two weeks later, I am still finding streamers hiding in places. But I smile every time I clean them up, because it was the perfect way to ring in the new year in a new place and my new-ish city with a new outlook on life. :)

Catching Up. Almost. Kind Of.

Whew! It has been over a month since I last wrote....thank you for hanging in there, if you did. This past month has been buuuuusy. I should probably just coordinate this post with the Cardinals post-season schedule, since watching the games pretty much took over my life. Here goes my catch-up in a nutshell post. 

Work has been getting better and better as each week flies by - and they do fly by. Each day, I'm doing a million different things and before I know it, 5:00pm is here and it's time to send my boss his schedule breakdown for the next day. 

I'm pretty sure that the weekend of October 5, Gabe and I spent Saturday in Pasadena. One of his friends was having a taco birthday party and we needed to run some errands that could not be accomplished in the city.......duhn, duhn, duhnnnnnn to the Valley we go! sort of. 

Every time I think of the Valley, Clueless pops into my mind. You know, when they go to that party, and Elton tries to make out with Cher, and then she gets out of the car and gets mugged and ruins her Alaia dress and she has to call her ex-step-brother for a ride back home? That scene. I rewatched that movie recently, and it just makes me so happy to be here. :)

Well, we left for Pasadena mid-day to hit up the Glendale Mall on the way. I really need to figure out my malls and which one has what. In St. Louis, I always had a soft spot for the Galleria. Here, I'm not sure what I'm getting into - designer stores are pretty to look at, but don't get the job done. Glendale was more familiar stores, but still takes some getting used to. 

So, we got our shopping finished - an unsuccessfully successful trip - and headed to the taco party. Sometimes, I forget about the great Mexican influence and culture all around me, and I especially forget about the food. This taco party was fantastic. The food was catered from some local place, and it was so so so so good. I could've eaten those tacos all night. 

But we didn't. It was a family birthday party, so after a couple hours, people started parting ways, and we did as well. 

We decided to hit up downtown Pasadena while we were all the way up there. After driving around for a while and fiddling with our google maps, we parked and wandered around to a few bars. Our first was a sushi bar with a crowd that gave me a sudden reminder of where I was. So many fugly dresses in this place with sick shoes....ugh. Pasadena is a nice place but not somewhere I want to live anytime soon. 

Onto the next bar - a basement sports bar with pool tables and gigantic mugs a beer. My kind of place. We watched the end of a few games and chugged our mugs before heading out to our third location.

This bar wasn't as memorable, not that it wasn't fun. It was busy and poppin but not a lot to remember it by. Our last bar had a live band playing some great cover music. It was a great finale to the night. 
----sorry, no pictures to post from this one (susan)----

The next week was crazy at work. My boss decided he was going to make a trip to London that weekend, so it was up to me to get everything organized. I love, love, love planning things, but I will never understand the last minute plan. Why wait? I want to ask him that all the time, but again, it's my job, so last minute plan, I shall. 

It was also a great week because the cardinals were killing it. One great thing about this job is the common theme of 'as long as you get your work done and you do it well, do what you want.' (to an extent) To illustrate this mantra to a t, there is a game cube in the lounge room and every day around 3:00pm, the guys take a break and play Super Smash Brothers. We work, but we also have a lot of fun.

So, while I was working, I also would take my fun breaks...to live stream the cards games from my laptop to the tv and enjoy a couple cold ones. It's pretty convenient because most of the games are not PST friendly or even televised. 

That Friday night, Gabe and I stayed in to watch the game, which ended up being an amazing, crazy-awesome, super exciting comeback game. MEANING we were moving on, AKA going to San Francisco that weekend WHICH HAPPENED to be the weekend that Gabe and I were going to San Francisco for a wedding and to see my sister and mom who were also going to San Francisco. Crazy awesome timing.

We woke up at 6:00am to shower, pack and leave for SF. We loaded my car and were ready to hit the 5 north. As soon as we hit the freeway, my front passenger wheel started making a strange thumping noise. Awesome. We pulled into a gas station and Gabe checked it out - a piece of my tire was coming off. Wahoo. So, we turned around, parked my car in his garage and loaded his car. About an hour later than we planned, but still optimistic. 

The drive was pretty great. Scenic and not too much traffic. I think it took almost 6 hours to get there with a potty break in the last third of the trip. We got to my Uncle's house in San Mateo around 2:00pm or so to meet up with my fam. 

We chatted for a little while and hung out until Gabe had to leave to make the 30 min drive to downtown SF to our hotel room to get ready for the wedding. At the last minute, we decided that he would go to his friend's wedding while I spend some quality time with mi familia. Part of me wishes that I would have gone to the reception, but I had a great time with my mom, sister and uncle. 

Right after Gabe left, I freshened up and we left for the Golden Gate Bridge. It was pretty awesome and the bay looked spectacular with all the sailboats. After some pictures, we headed to our next stop to see the Giant Redwoods. 

The drive to the park was an adventure in itself - a winding road down the edge of a cliff. eek! When we finally arrived and parked, we started our walk within the trees. It was really impressive and awesome for a while. After we got over the trees, it also turned out to be an excellent people-watching destination. 

After the trees, we headed to a spot on the ocean grab some drinks while watching the sun set over the water. No real explanation needed here - it was fantasticly beautiful

yummy gin fiz.

sunset over the sutro bath ruins

We had dinner at an Italian spot near my Uncle's house and headed home pretty early. We were all kind of tired, and my sister had to get to sleep to rest up for the half marathon she was running the next morning. 

Then it was Sunday Funday! 

My sister ran the marathon eaaaaaaaaaaaaarly. I slept a little bit after seeing her off and then Gabe and I got dressed in our cards gear and headed out. Our hotel was downtown, so we decided to walk around and see some things. 

Our first stop was the Full House house...duh. Gabe looked up the address and we enjoyed the beautiful weather on our stroll there. 

Everywhere you look....

Then, we went to the park where they shot the intro scenes of the Tanner extended family picnic-ing and playing. Side note: San Francisco has to be the dog-friendliest place I've ever been. Dogs were chilling and playing together everywhere. I could've watched them for hours....

I think Gabe said the houses behind us are called postcard row or something. idk. But it was pretty. :)

We hit up a local bar for lunch and some drinks. People were fairly friendly to us despite our cards gear, and we even ran into a some groups of people who gave us some "Go Cards!" shout outs. 

About an hour before game time, we started making our way back near our hotel where the stadium is. My sister had been resting all day and was finally ready to meet up with us. So, she, my mom and my uncle were headed downtown, as well, to meet us at a bar for the game. 

We found a restaurant with a huge booth for us with access to multiple TVs. It was pretty perfect. We all ordered a round and some food, and watched the Cards win. A perfect ending to the weekend....

We had a long drive back to LA, but it was well worth it for a great weekend with some of my family!

I Live Here? For Realz.

So, this job has been keeping me really busy...in a good way, but not so good for the blog kind of way.

Saturday morning I had to go back downtown to help move into the new office. I was not 100% thrilled to work on a weekend in the first week on the job, but I was happy to have a job, so I was ready to get this move under my belt. 

Everything went smoothly. The move took under 3 hours (probably because of my manly lifting and carrying of heavy things), so my boss was pretty stoked. I stayed for a little while after everything was moved in to organize and set up the office for Monday. Definitely a success, and I'm pretty sure a job well done for my first big duty.

After the move was finished, I changed clothes and headed to the Beverly Center. I was certain I knew where it was and could have sworn it was on La Brea, but I was definitely wrong. I was lost and wasn't going to be able to figure it out on my own without emptying my gas tank, so GPS lady to the rescue once again. 

Look what I found along the way! I love seeing places I recognize! Lame, I know. 

I finally found the mall, but then remembered that Nordstrom Rack was right across the way. Oh yes, I hit that up. 

I went to Ralph's to do some grocery shopping and then headed back home. Josh and Gabe were settling down to watch a couple of episodes of Breaking Bad, and I started making a pasta dish I found on Pinterest....which was a success. pat on the back. 

Gabe left for work, and I gave the apartment a good clean as part of my squatter agreement. And made some blueberry muffin batter (that I also found on Pinterest) for tomorrow morning. 

Sunday was a funday! Really! Gabe got home at 6am and went to bed. I slept for a little while longer, got up at 9ish to start getting ready. As soon as Gabe got up to shower, I started making our pregame breakfast. 

Perfect cadinals game day breakfast thanks to Gabe's StL toaster. 

The game was at 1:15. On our way out, I grabbed a card that my parents had sent me and opened it in the car. It was the best card congratulating me on my new job with some money and a note to have fun at the game! COMPLETE with some bite marks from my puppyboy. :) It was perfect timing!

We got to Dodger Stadium, grabbed a Bud Light and found our seats. It was hot. Like really sweaty hot. Luckily, Gabe got us the end seats, so we didn't have to deal with being stuck in between to smelly people and have to worry about crawling over everyone to get out. 

Our section was completely filled with Dodger fans except for us and one terribly stereotypical midwest couple wearing red (I'm talking cardinals visor with pony tail through it and mom shorts - way to represent). I wanted to get a pic with Gabe, so in between the top and bottom of the third, we went down to the front of our section and asked the usher to do the honors.

The whole time we were taking the pic, we were booed by every single Dodger fan in the area (note the douchey smile on my face as I was laughing at them). Gabe waved his world series ring at them on the way back up. I'm not sure they got the point - probably because they haven't won one since '88. 

When we got back to our seats, we looked at Gabe's beer and were pretty sure someone messed with it. Of course, this would never be an issue at Busch Stadium - Dodger's fans just aren't as classy. So, we decided to dump those ones and get a fresh round.

While we were there, we also had to grab a Dodger Dog. My first game at Dodger Stadium, it was a necessity. While we were standing by the concessions, wolfing down our dogs, I found the culprit of the onion-y, sick smell that kept wafting into my nose the whole game....

wtf is this?

Pickett was at the game with his dad, so after we finished eating, we headed up there to say hi for a bit. Then, we decided to try our luck at finding a spot behind home plate. Luckily, we were in extra innings and Dodgers fans leave by the 7th, so there were plenty of seats to choose from. 

We found a great spot behind home plate and settled in for the 10th inning. During the Cardinals at bat, Descalso hit a foul right into our section! Gabe was on it, along with about ten other people. Somehow, he came up with the ball! I was so excited - my first Cardinals game here and a ball! Wahoo! No one else around us liked it. I jumped up with excitement and while everyone else was booing us, Gabe and I bowed and curtsied for them with big smiles on our faces. 

 After the Cardinals WON, we headed to Happy Ending to continue our Sunday Funday with some drinks and dinner. This place is pretty much like the Creek in Springfield (RIP). Well, at night, at least. Sunday evening was a pretty chill night up there. We had some food and some beers. Then, at some point, they started spinning this wheel of drink specials. We definitely participated and ended our night with a few shots, including these...

Monday was not a funday. Work at 9 wasn't the greatest, but this job is nice because I can get some things accomplished right when I get in and then give my brain a break. I got through it. I'm pretty proud of that. 

Tuesday was normal. I'm starting to get a hang of things at work. When I first started, it seemed like a never-ending to do list that was never getting finished, just getting longer. I've started learning what to get out of the way first and what projects to put on the back burner. 

Wednesday started as another normal day. Running errands, trying to get the new office set up and workable, working on scheduling appointments and building Ikea furniture. Well, there was some beer and champagne and ice cream cake at work for one of the manager's birthdays....and we may have played a few rounds of flip cup in the kitchen, BUT I was still tired from Monday because I had so much on my plate at work. I was ready to head home and pass out. 

I didn't get home til late. I was supposed to Skype my family, but it was pretty much 10:00 cst by the time we would be able to. I was just settling in to the couch when I got a message from a new friend! She was insisting that I go out with her to Beacher's Madhouse. Apparently, I hadn't been properly introduced to LA yet. 

I hopped into the shower and chugged a Sugar Free Red Bull. I'm still not great at dressing in LA style, so it took me several outfits before I felt comfortable and ready. Just in time for my ride to pick me up. 

Beacher's is a crazy place with anything and everything. Of course, my new friend has the hook-up, so we walked right in while others were waiting to pay big bucks for a table and even more for bottle service. As soon as we rounded the corner into the theater, we were greeted by a bearded lady and Spiderman dancing in a dark burlesque-esque room. There was a stage with Hello Kitty and a panda getting their groove on and rows of plush seats and tables with dancing platforms in between each row. On those platforms were girls in skimpy outfits and Sesame Street characters all having a great time. 

We made a drink from someone's bottle of Grey Goose and enjoyed the show. Every 20 minutes, a little person dressed like an Oompa Loompa flies across the ceiling to deliver a bottle to another table. This definitely wasn't a boring place. They played fun music and we mingled and laughed and drank. 

After a while, my friend saw the promoter that she's been telling me about and who got us into the club. We went up to the next row to say hi, pour another drink and get up on the platform to stand next to Cookie Monster to get a better view of it all. 

We saw a couple of random shows of little people dressed as chipmunks and a guy jumping rope with people on his back. Then, the real show happened. Celebrity sighting #2! Chris Brown came and sat in the section right behind us! I didn't take any pictures of him because it would have been seriously obvious. They played one of his songs, and he was pretty nice about it. 

THEN, after dancing for a little bit more and getting to drink a couple glasses of $600 champagne from the table, another celeb Celebrity sighting #3 Paris Hilton sat at the table next to ours! Crazy, I know. 

FYI Paris Hilton still uses a Blackberry.

We left the party early because of work the next day, but it was all in all a great night. :)

Thursday was a little rough because of the fun I had the night before. I grabbed a vente PSL and fought through the morning. 

Friday is a fun day at this office. No one plans on working past 3pm, and the work for the day is pretty light. Unfortunately, I had to reschedule the manager's meeting from Thursday morning to Friday at 4. No one was really happy about it, but it was the only time available. 

The only way they wanted to do the meeting was if they had beers. Feeling responsible for the late work time, I headed to Ralph's to pick up some refreshments. Now, I wasn't about to start out being a push over and at their beck and call (but to a point, that is my job), so I purchased my own personal favorite for the meeting.

Dominating the calendar and this cold one. 

I'm not sure they fully appreciated the midwest nod, but they still drank what they called "piss in a can." So unappreciative! :)

This weekend, I'm chilling. I got my oil changed and returned some clothes. I spent too much money at the grocery store but it was for a special occasion. Gabe is finally off the night shift on Tuesday! I got a recipe for Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and we have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. It will be yet another celebration. 

Now, back to my Budweisers and 30 Rock on Netflix. 

Learning the Little Things

This morning, my first duty was to purchase some boxes for the big move happening this weekend. Trying to be independently resourceful, I researched a box supplier (with a little help from Gabe). I found one that said the branch was located downtown. Perfect! I work downtown! Man, I am so LA.

Not. So, I ended up somewhere south of downtown that was not exactly a place I would care to spend a lot of time. Not dangerous, but not anywhere I would ever consider living. But the box place was in the one nice building I would definitely go in. It looked clean and well-kept. And let's face it, I probably wasn't going to be able to figure out where to find a box place anywhere near wherever I was. GPS is both saving my butt and putting me in awkward positions. 

Highlight of this trip: Having to wait for two chihuahuas to independently walk across the street in a crosswalk. So smart! 

I got the boxes and some box tape. Now to figure out how to get to work from where I was. GPS Lady to the rescue! Sort of. I'm not bothered so much by the time I have to spend in the car, but more about the intensity of other drivers. It is a whole different breed here, and if you don't know you're stuff, you're chop liver. 

Because of the aggressiveness of LA drivers, I hate making left turns without a turn lane. I don't want to keep the people behind me waiting and feel the pressure of them watching me mess up. "Oh, look at this stupid broad from Illinois. What an idiot!" I just hate looking dumb. So, even though GPS Lady was telling me to turn left and get back on the 10, I ignored her. I was a rebel....until she rerouted and told me the next left turn I could take. She's just too smart for me.

I drove through the Fashion District and made it to the parking garage by 9:45. I think that's pretty good for leaving at 9am and stopping for boxes, don't ya think? 

Today was focused on getting prepped for the big move tomorrow morning. I've never felt so unprepared for a move. I'm a planner. I love a good plan. Gabe keeps telling me you can't always plan things out when you're here. Why is he always so right? 

Nothing was really ready for this move, including the movers, who came at 1 to give us a iquote. To us, it seemed like a pretty easy, short move. He wasn't as optimistic. idk. I'm sending positive thoughts out there that tomorrow will go smoothly and quickly. We did make a couple trips with small stuff at the end of work tonight, so maybe we shaved off a good amount of work for tomorrow. 

I forgot to mention that I will be helping with the move at 8am. That's right. I'm so dedicated on week one that I'll be in at 8am on a Saturday! I'm actually really excited about it. I like being involved in things and this is very important for the business, so I want to be able to make sure everything happens that needs to happen. After all, that is my basic job description. 

This move has been a really great crash course in learning how to deal with things that go wrong at the last minute. With this job, I have to accept that things aren't always going to go the way I want them to or think they will. There have been a few bumps in the road, but with the help of the girl who is training me, we have been pretty successful at smoothing them out.

Tomorrow, my personal reward for helping with the move will be a pumpkin spice latte. It's here! Finally! 

Regardless of having to work tomorrow morning, I'm still super excited it's the weekend! AND CARDS GAME ON SUNDAY!! 

*I promise to take more pics as time goes on. I'm just so focused on actually making it to work without ending up in the valley that I lose track of appreciating where I am. I'll get better! :)

Squatter Woes and Squatter Pros

As the end of my first work week in LA will soon be drawing to a close, I can honestly say I made the right choice. 

This job is exactly what I was looking for, and it's definitely a challenge. Every day is different, and I never just sit behind a desk. Being a teacher for four years, I was never just sitting around, the kids always made it interesting and although there was a schedule, I like having some control over what I was doing.

A little bit about what I do: I am the executive assistant for the ceo of a media/advertising company. My day-to-day mainly consists of managing his schedule but there's errands, other company stuff and odds and ends to take care of. It's just a really good fit for me. I love being organized and organizing. I love being on my toes and trying to prepare for what's around the corner. I love, love, love that everyday is different.

This first week has gone by pretty fast. I've had my ups and downs with each day. At first, this job was overwhelming, to say the least. Walking into a new teaching job is like trying to ride someone else's bike; I know how to do it, and it feels different at first, but eventually, you get used to it. This one is going to take a little longer to get the hang of. 

Almost everyone that I work with is younger than me. At first, this was really strange for me. I mean, I'm coming in at pretty much the lowest position, well, above intern, and here they are talking about internet stuff that I don't even understand. But I quickly came to terms with it. I came here for a fresh, new start on my life, and here it is. It's almost like I'm fresh out of college again, starting at the bottom of the totem pole.

While it is hard to get used to the young average age of the group, it is a lot of fun. Everyone is extremely friendly and inviting. I'm excited to become part of this group. Although, I did throw out a Melrose Place and "mom butt" reference, and both flopped. I guess I need to work on my LA conversations. :)

I've always heard about how terrible LA traffic is. Well my verdict is: it ain't that bad so quit your whinin'. It may be because I had the commute from Illinois into St. Louis across the Poplar every morning to prep me. I also think it may be because of the weather. Who can be grumpy when it's perfect outside? It may also be because I still haven't quite figured out the right time to leave so I'm always running super early. I'm just not in a hurry and enjoying the drive. 25 minutes to go 7.2 miles? Why, sure! 

So it sounds like life is all ponies and rainbows for me so far. Well, not exactly, but it's going pretty well for the most part. Gabe is still working nights, so we see each other when he gets home around 6am until I leave for work a little before 9am. We were joking the other night because I moved across the country so we can Skype every night. Luckily, this is only through September. It's giving us a good segue into actually being in the same city together. 

In the middle of transitioning into this new position, the company is also moving into a new office space this weekend, so it's been a little crazy. Tomorrow, we start moving and setting things up, so hopefully, it all goes smooth. I'm looking forward to getting some relaxation in (fingers crossed). Sunday, Gabe and I are having an ultimate Sunday Funday. He is off work Sunday night, so we are taking full advantage. First, with all of this Mexican music on the radio, I've been craving some margaritas and a chimichanga, so we'll be definitely getting that for lunch. At 1:15, the CARDINALS game is happening at Dodger stadium. We will be all decked out and hopefully get on the jumbotron or something. And after that, we will be meeting up with some peeps to watch the football game that is happening....maybe the Packers? idk. football. It should be a great finale to a successful week!!