Sunday, March 30, 2008

Little Things

Another week, another blog post. Some interesting things happened this week.

Here is the first decent picture I've been able to get of Steve's two cats. They belong to him, but I am treated like staff as well, because I am present and available to serve. For Christmas I got Steve (well, and the cats, too) one of those automated cat boxes that cleans the litter after every...usage. Now the cats spend all their time in the box trying to strategically plant their deposits so as to defeat the raking mechanism and stall it out (which can be done). Then the humans have to scurry down the garage stairs and rectify the situation. They succeed at their goal several times a week. It's all great fun.

On Friday I actually had face time with my mostly absent cousin Robin Riker. We got together for lunch at The Bowery, a Hollywood spot neither of us had been to before (I think it used to be called the Baked Potato or something ridiculous like that; it's just east of the corner of Sunset and Vine, a few doors down from Nickelodeon on Sunset, which used to be the old Aquarius Theater which was refurbished and reopened for the musical "Hair" back in the 1970s. Also, the ill-fated Chevy Chase talk show originated from the same location. Now you can see the water tower where they store all the slime for the Nickelodeon shows. (Actually, that's not true, but it doesn't really matter: We're in Hollywood).

Saturday Steve and I went out and shopped for new pots for the patio, since there are several plants in dire need of repotting. We found some lovely pots and picked up a couple bags of potting soil, got it all home and promptly turned our attentions to several Netflix DVDs we had received over the past week. "Spaceballs" (which Steve had never seen) and "Beowulf" (which neither of us has ever seen) were our two choices. It was much nicer than getting all dirty on the patio, albeit with sterilized soil in a bag.

Next week we're planning on seeing the L.A. Gay Men's Chorus at the Alex Theater in Glendale with a another couple. That's Friday night. Saturday, I have promised the plants, we shall do the repotting.

TTFN (tata for now).

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Two Planks, Three Nails and a Jew

It's that time of year again, when we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by eating large quantities of pork products and worshipping the giant bunny who brings colorful eggs and cheap chocolate wrapped in cheaper foil. We buy graven marshmallow images doused in rainbow sugars, consume jellied beans and malted milk candy bird eggs; little children torture small chicks and rabbits and everyone's on a sugar high, trying not to think about trichinosis. All is pastel and sunshine, but it sure ain't Christmas, is it?

Hold on! Wait a minute. I know who the big furry guy here is, but who's the transvestite in the gaudy chapeau sitting in grandma's good TV chair? Looks German to me. And boring; not what I'd call a party guy. I know; he must be the Easter Bunny's helper. Doesn't the Easter Bunny tell us to help those who can't help themselves? This guy doesn't seem to have much to do though, does he, except look fabulous in his brocade.

Nothing much happening on this Easter except I'm at work and Steve's at home. Nothing big happening in the entertainment world this week, except cousin Robin is supposed to be back from New York this weekend. Coming in to work was a bit of fun, since I had to drive by the Hollywood Bowl, and the Easter Sunrise Service was just breaking up. Man, those Christians sure do move slow on the sabbath.

Things are good. The weather is warm...almost hot...but it should be cooling off tomorrow and through the weekend from the 80s back into the mid-70s.

So drop a line or leave a comment. That's it for now. If something interesting happens, I'll let you know.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

iPhonies

Just a quick note. My foot is better. Everyone's back at work. And the big news is Steve, after much thought and contemplation, got an iPhone this weekend. Thanks to Apple Corp. for the lovely image above showing that, if one iPhone is great, five is FABULOUS!

It was touching to watch his frustration as he mounted the Apple learning curve that comes with any new device, especially one that does so much. That's about it. The weather's been really nice. I actually put weight on my ouchy toe today and it wasn't too painful. Life is good. Keep a lookout for a more extensive blog entry in the near future.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Cerro Vista Circle to Olvera Street

It's been a while since I added a blog entry. But, in my own defense, I was coming off of awards season. And if that weren't enough, I also broke my right big toe this week, so I've been hobbling around, covering for two of my coworkers, one of which was on vacation and the other of which had a ruptured eardrum.

As for awards season, it can do unsightly things to a person. Luckily, I had planned well, and had taken off the week after the Oscars.

I went up to the Moms' on Tuesday on the train. I got into Union Station over an hour early and zipped through the ticket line (which was actually no line at all), so I decided to have lunch at elegant Traxx Restaurant, since the offerings on the Surfliner are unpleasant microwaved items of dubious quality. The Traxx Reuben sandwich was messy and exotic on marbled rye, with gruyere cheese instead of regular swiss and some mystery greens with a bitter undertaste, all with a glass of Chardonnay. How classy.

If you've never taken the train up the coast from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo, it is a great ride. You get to see some beautiful coastline cut off from the traveling public, and if you keep your eye peeled, you'll even see a few gantries on Vandenberg Air Force Base where they fire off spy satellites and cool stuff like that.

I got into the Grover Beach train station around 8 p.m. Sister Kittie picked me up and we went by the Motel 6 so I could register and drop my stuff off. (Evan had tipped me off to the place and it wasn't bad for $50 a night). Then we went over to the Moms' and visited for a bit, then I borrowed mom's car and went back to the motel.

Wednesday was kind of kicked back, and I ended up going back to the motel to nap until Rick and Candy showed up in the late afternoon. Hugs and kisses all around, lots of visiting, a fun time.

It turned out to be a conjoining of sorts, since Candy's sister Linda and her husband Andy from Seattle were coming through town on Thursday, so we would get together with them. Then my brother Jim, also down from Seattle, was in town for business meetings, so we would get to see him, as well.

It kind of turns into a blur after that, but it was all great fun. I know we went to Farmer's Market Thursday night in downtown San Luis Obispo. The highlight of the evening, shown here with Candy and Linda, was visiting Gum Alley and adding a piece for posterity, although some might think it was the great Moroccan food at one of downtown's many restaurants that was the real highlight.

I was slated to return on Friday afternoon, but it seems the train hit either a truck or farm equipment either north of Atascadero or south of San Luis Obispo. The upshot of it was the train showed up almost five hours late, which would have put me into L.A. in time to miss the last Gold Line train out of Union Station to Pasadena. So I decided to stay another evening and join Rick and Candy and Mom and Aunt Kit and David for dinner at Gina's in the village in Arroyo Grande. I got onto the morning train (7 a.m.) on Saturday and was home by 1 o'clock. I had taken a week off for vacation, so I still had Sunday and Monday off before I had to return to The Reporter. A very nice time.

The work week was not bad, considering I only worked three days. Yesterday (Saturday the 8th), Steve suggested we head out to Olvera Street (the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles), since it was just across the street from Union Station (easy to get to on the Gold Line) and he had never been there. The hook for the trip was the goal of finding stone cones to replace the ones that were ripped off at border security in Mexico (see 9-20-07 entry titled Ense-Nada).

There were enough tchotchkes for everyone, but after looking through all the shops, not a marble cone was found. We did pick up a couple tin Christmas ornaments (that are already losing their coloring) and a soft-serve cone each. Afterwards, we went out onto the plaza and watched some folks in feathers dancing to the beating drums. Then back to Union Station, the Gold Line and home.

A block from the house I tripped on the abnormally high curbs possessed by Pasadena streets and fell flat on my face on the sidewalk. I was pretty much okay, except for a busted right big toe. So I've been hobbling around … oh yeah, I started with that part.

That's all for now. I wrote most of this early in the week, but didn't get around to editing it and adding the pictures until Thursday (and you know how I feel about blogs with no pictures).