Queenkv’s Brainpickings

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Andre likes the beach. He’s a Cali bear after all. Apparently, everyone had the same idea to go to the beach on Memorial Day…grrr…so parking was a bitch. We found a spot - closer to the Balboa penisula. Then I did a ten-minute walk to a liquor store for quarters. I passed a laundry mat where parking went for $20. At the liqour store - an asshole who could have walked off the set of the ‘OC’ cut in line and asked the manager: “Are you the manager here?” when the dude nodded, the asshole asked: “Can I pay you $50 to park here?” The manager told him he needed the spots of his customers….I almos blurted out about the parking spots at the laundry mat. By the time I walked back to the car - I passed the laundry mat - all the spots were taken by other ‘OC’ wanna be’s.

After paying for parking - I had to pee. We walked by the beach for about 1/2 an hour until we could find some public restrooms. Then I figured I could hold it until we could get out to the pier - for food and drinks. We found a lobster bar and grill. They served all you can eat caesar salads and salsa - with their meals. Yum. I got the lobster tacos. the lobster pieces were fried up and they had a great light and juicy flavor.

After lunch - we walked another 30 minutes back to where the car was parked. We walked towards the water and found a spot to roll out the towels and read by the Pacific Ocean. We brought the sun block to protect Mark’s fair skin…it worked for the most part. Andre had problems putting on sun block because of his stubby paws. After reading a few chapters of Anne Lamott’s “Blue Show”, I ended up falling asleep in Mark’s lap.

At the beginning of the Memorial Weekend - we met-up with Bijan on Sunset Blvd. I took them to the House of Blues for drinks - eeck! It was $18 for a glass of Pinot Noir and a beer. Rip off! Still, they enjoyed the swank, goth interior of the bar area.

We had a bitch of a time with parking. I didn’t want us paying $15 for a spot on the strip. We also saw a sign warning that “cruisers” will be ticketed. If you passed by the hoity-toity part of the Strip, more than 2 in an hour - a cop will pull you over. And there were plenty of cops covering the strip. They were also giving out jaywalking tix.

We found a lot by Tower Records - charging $6.

Bijan took us to Miyagi’s Restaurant.

[from coolstreets.redhare.com]

By day’s it’s a restaurant and by night - it’s a dance club. According to coolstreets.redhare.com - Humphrey Bogart, Howard Hughes, Orson Wells and other Hollywood hot shots used to visit the restaurant.

We grabbed a table on the dance floor - as the bouncers cleared out the other tables. Bijan loved being next to the action. And action tends to find Bijan - lucky bastard. One red-head dressed like a gypsy dragged him to the bar and forced him to buy her a drink. Earlier - she was dancing on top of the bar. Another girl…asked for his name and later…I told her to ask him to dance. We ordered yummy sushi - I got some tuna rolls. Bijan ordered a mess of sushi - including this buttery-tasting salmon sashimi. To finish up eating - we did sake bombs. We balanced the sake shots over the Saporro beer with chopsticks. Then we slammed down on the table and the shots bombed into the beer. Yum.

Miyagi’s has three floors of fun - the top level being the crazy one. We met a nice Korean-Irish bartender on the first floor…her name’s Erin. She made us shots of a fruity drink she invented.

Mark and I ended up on the second floor to chill out. Then we got into a tiff. I went off to the bathroom and then decided to go for a walk.

I ended up at the Comedy Store.

[from http://www.magazineusa.com]

I saw the ends of the worst comedy acts - ever. One guy ended up calling up another comic who liked to sing to crappy pop tunes. Both decided to rag on me for being alone. I flipped them off. The singing comic brought up some chicks from Norway to tell jokes - since he was bombing…he figured he could get some laughs and his jollies off the blonds. I sat, waiting for a drink…and left…with my throat dry. I figured I could come up with better material then these losers….When an audience member yelled: “Get a real job” - the comic yelled back: “I only work an hour a day!”

Yeah, I can tell the comedy thing is working out for this guy doing the 1 AM shift at the Comedy Store. Talk about illusions of gradneur.

Mark and Bijan met up with me at Mel’s. I tried ordering a Corona to go with my Chicken Pot Pie. The waiter told me they didn’t serve alcohol after ! AM. Grrr. Then he told me they were out of chicken pot pies - I ended up with a shepherd’s pie instead.

The next day - Mark and I made up.

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I got Mark the Dark Crystal DVD and the Garden State movie soundtrack….The DVD was on his Amazon wish list. I’ll have to think up something wild and crazy for his 30th b-day - next year.

Then it was my turn…I turned 27 last week. Mark picked up season 6 of Sex and the City for me….JOY! He got both parts. I’m still a bit miffed at HBO for being money-hungry and releasing the season in two parts. What the heck! So phooy on them….I finished watching the first part last night. I still have some audio commentaries to get through. Charlotte becomes a Jew! Sammantha get’s a grey hair - down there! Miranda falls in love with the father of her baby! Carrie kisses Mikhail Baryshnikov! I love when he chases after a cab because Carrie left her purse inside. I expected him to execute a jete or something. He didn’t and that’s OK. Despite being groovy and sexy…I’m still a bit disappointed with the Russian dancer. A fellow barista at Starbucks was peeing from excitement because she snagged tickets to one of his Zellerbach performances in 2002. She told me she waited outside of the backstage door, clutching her old Swan Lake program. She wanted to get his autograph and tell him that his Swan Lake performance inspired her to become a ballet dancer. Sadly, he breezed by her without a word. Crushing….but I suppose to be expected from a diva.

Mark surprised me with a family dinner at Acapulco in Diamond Bar. My parents and my Ninang and Ninong joined us. We had margaritas and I recomended my mom try them “on the rocks”. I think she liked it. I was a bit annoyed with Mark because I got dolled up for a place that didn’t need dressing up. He apologized and said he didn’t know about the restaurant. Then I pointed out if he didn’t know about the restaurant - he should have asked me. It’s a major pet peeve of mine to get dressed up when everybody else is in jeans. Then we decided to go to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel for drinks. I changed out of the black dress into a chic outfit with jeans. Much more comfortable. We had a bottle of Domain Chandon with strawberries. The waiter treated us to a slice of tirimsu…since it was my birthday. I thought it was neat to be drinking Domain Chandon - since we visited that winery a few birthdays ago on the Napa wine train.

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Level 2 - Slightly Less Ordinary

you’re dangerously ordinary. predictable and blasé. a person who rarely if ever ventures beyond routine and familiarity. you’re often seen in khakis and powder blue button-down shirts at the video store, renting movies. sex probably means missionary position with tube socks on. and the minute it’s over, grabbing the tv remote and channel surfing.

you need to jazz your life up considerably, before your parents start calling you ’square.’ a trip to beverly center would do miracles for you.