Sondre Lerche, After the El Rey

I remember when I first heard about him, or read about him rather in Blackbook Magazine. Then I saw an ad for his new album on Grooveshark. Then I heard his name on KCRW on my way to work in the morning. Kind of frightening how well targeted marketing works.

I downloaded the album and liked a few singles, Domino, Living Dangerously, When the River, and when I found out he was playing a small gig at the El Rey I thought, why the hell not?

Naively, I went into the show thinking it would be a small affair, but he has an incredibly passionate following. A gaggle of 18-year-old girls and soft, overly-sensitive guys all lined up to hear Sondre and sing along to tracks old and new. After two unique, enthusiastic, and at times painful opening acts Sondre came on stage. It didn't take long to realize his appeal. When you listen to his music you hear the harmony, the honest and haunting voice. But in person it's a totally different story. He has a way on stage, a self-assured sexiness that is both obnoxious and intoxicating. He smiled seductively into the dark theater after playing his opening number, Private Caller, and said, "That's what I'm talking about," or something equally brash. The way he shook his hair, as if he'd studied old reels of John and Paul, makes you think he's been trained. The smarmy back and forth between his band mates made him seem arrogant, but his keen sense of humor made it almost forgivable. I don't want you to think he's all swagger and no substance. He's a talented lyricist, and an even better musician. He has incredible timing, and composition that extends my previous Beatles comparison.

Walking away from the show I was equal parts of annoyed and excited. His music is brilliant, but his sex appeal is infuriating. I think that sums it up.





And from his new album:

Borders, Westwood: A bookstore in decay

Many of you know one of my favorite places to be in all the world is a bookstore. I love being surrounded by books, names and titles of things I have read or look forward to exploring. I love it so much I used to work in one and enjoyed every painful second of it. So when Boyan asked me if I wanted to go to Borders with him it was more a matter of letting me know we were going rather than asking.

The parking lot of Borders in Westwood has always been a bit daunting. The ribs of the structure, covered by curdled asbestos, creek and shake as if by driving down into the lot you are entering the lungs of a cancer patient who has been smoking for eighty years. It's hot, muggy, uninviting. But you make the journey because at the end of it you are rewarded with the golden fleece, a plethora of books with a wide selection of publishers, topics, and languages.

We took the small barren elevator to the first floor and stepped out into our wonderland. But like Alice in the rabbit hole were transported into something strange and unfamiliar. The tables that held book suggestions, new releases were filled with young adult vampire books. I surpassed this area and went to the fiction section, only to notice that several stacks of books were missing, replaced with benches where people, I can only guess, were expected to sit and peruse. But peruse what? The book shelves themselves weren't fully stocked -- stacked cover forward rather than binding out -- most of them best sellers. In fact, row upon row was filled Michael Chabon, Jodi Picoult, and Meg Cabot as far as the eye could see.

I left the area and went to the Young Adult section, or should I say, the vampire section. An entire wall filled with nothing but black covers dripping with blood, flowers, moons and wide-eyed pale faces.

Upstairs the situation was worse. The music and movie section of the store had been reduced to a third of it's size. A black curtain separated the back of the store which once had a vast music selection.

The book store itself was pretty empty, uncharacteristically so for a Saturday night. Where were the young couples that came to impress their dates? Where were the mother's dragging along their children to look at picture books? Even the bum population was minimal, all took up camp in the lower north corner of the store, the only place on the first floor where there were chairs.

The staff that was there that night was tiny, maybe ten people where on a Saturday night they used to employ almost double that amount.

The most daunting thing was the quiet. A book store should be filled with light background music, punctuated by browsers questioning book sellers, squeals of children, a muffled laugh between lovers. Instead there was silence and silence breeds silence. Where in a library silence can be comforting, in a book store it's paralyzing.

I told Boyan we had to leave. It was too depressing to stay.

I predict that the borders on Westwood will fall to the same fate as did the one on third street by January 20th of 2010. And when it goes, I will remember the place I used to work, filled with young smiling people who loved books, music. Not the borders I saw this weekend. A desecrated carpus of something that used to be beautiful. A place that was alive.


Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.

I am too much with the world

Every wednesday some people from my office try to get away from the big city and explore the mountains that surround Los Angeles. Yesterday we went to Santa Ynez Canyon in the Topanga Canyon State Park.

The trail was extremely overgrown and looked as if it had been pretty much abandoned in recent years. The only markings of other humans on the trail was the occasional footprint and unfortunately some graffiti.

Overall it was gorgeous--like something out of a movie. The canyons were lush and green, it was like we were in a remote jungle. The silence was beautiful. Here are a few pictures.

The mountain held the town as in a shadow.
I saw so much before I slept there once:
I noticed that I missed stars in the west,
Where its black body cut into the sky.
Near me it seemed: I felt it like a wall
Behind which I was sheltered from a wind.
And yet between the town and it I found,
When I walked forth at dawn to see new things,
Were fields, a river, and beyond, more fields.
The river at the time was fallen away,
And made a widespread brawl on cobble-stones;
But the signs showed what it had done in spring;
Good grass-land gullied out, and in the grass
Ridges of sand, and driftwood stripped of bark.
I crossed the river and swung round the mountain.

--The Mountain, Robert Frost

It's official! We signed the lease today

Starting 4/25/2009 Boyan and I will officially be residents of 90025!



Click for the HUGE version.

We're moving on up!

One month from today we'll be leaving West Covina for West L.A.! We found a fab apartment on Bundy and Santa Monica Blvd., walking distance to blockbuster, doggy parks, a video store named desire and more!

We're both super excited! Look forward to a house warming party coming soon!

Big News!

I've been waiting to announce this for a while now (okay, like 3 days but it seemed like a while) but...I got a new job!

Starting June 30th I'll be joining Demand Media as the new Content Editor for livestrong.com!
The site is run by Demand Media, working with Lance Armstrong and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I'm super duper excited! More updates TK.

Start Valentines Day depression early this year!

Speaking of not living on the westside...Whitney Matheson over at Pop Candy announced the list of the most romantic cities in the nation. Who was near the top of the list? You'd be surprised, Irvine came in at number four!

But what's depressing is that El Monte and Pomona, the two towns which border West Covina were at the very bottom of the list, along with Salt Lake City, Utah.

Thank God I'm married, or this news would be severely depressing.

Updates on Subway to the Sea

I might not live on the westside these days, but I'm still passionate about the idea of a subway to the sea. Last year at around this time the idea of a Subway to the Sea exploded on the web, and now the L.A. Times reported that the subway to the sea issue is going to be opened to the public. We now have two, that's right TWO different routes to choose from. After looking at them, I find myself agreeing with the general public:

"We thought a lot of people would choose" one route or the other, said Jody Litvak, the MTA spokeswoman for the Westside transit study. "But a lot of people said they're both good and do them both."

DO THEM BOTH! DO THEM BOTH!

Take a look at the map and decide for yourself.



I know some people are weary about the idea, or worry about where the money is going to come from for the project, the L.A. Times itself made sure to state, "The subway project, estimated to cost $5 billion to $7 billion, has no funding and has not undergone a required environmental review. Nor has a new subway been approved by the MTA board, which consists mostly of elected officials and their appointees."

So what does that mean? It means we have to elect those officials who believe in the subway as much as we do. Something needs to be done to alleviate traffic, and soon.

Hello, 2008!

Please excuse the blogging hiatus. My mother-in-law Mariana has been staying with Boyan and I for the past month, and we have been spending every waking hour with her--playing cards, visiting various locations in Southern California, and overall having a swell time. The good news is I have tons to write about.

Mariana flew in from Bulgaria through London on Virgin Air. We picked her up at LAX December 14th.

We spent our first weekend in Pasadena at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, one of our favorite places to visit in Los Angeles. I'll spare you pictures from the trip seeing as we have to many as it is.

The weekend after that we went to San Diego to the San Diego Zoo. We got to see all kinds of animals. I particularly enjoyed the Puma's and the MeerKats.

"Is Jodi with you?"

After the Zoo we met up with Britta and Peter in Old Town, San Diego
for what was supposed to be scrumptious Mexican food. That was hardly
the case. You can read my review of the restaurant on Yelp.

So after Old Town was Christmas and New Years. We had tons of fun with friends and family. We had a few people over for New Years Eve and enjoyed drinks, Karaoke Revolution and Banista.

Most of the group stayed until around 4 a.m. I was completely zonked and passed out. The next day we had planned to head to Newport Beach to visit the parents when walking out to my car, I noticed this.

Sometime very early in the morning someone broke my window and stole my ancient pink iPod. They also took my FM transmitter/charger. It wasn't the greatest way to start the new year, but there wasn't much I could do besides calling the police and filing a report.

It was quite a shock. I was more pissed that they had broken into my car and ONLY stole my old broken iPod that doesn't even work unless it's connected to a power source. I hope they enjoyed listening to the 1:00 min of Broadway it would be able to play. Fuckers.

The year got better from there. I mean, how can it be bad when you visit the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!

It was Boyan's first time at Disneyland and he really, really loved it!

Mariana had a great time as well. She went on every ride with us and had a blast.

Mariana left on January 14th, Boyan and I were very sad to see her go. Although the last month was hectic and crazy we had so much fun. We'd stay up playing cards, watching Michael Palin and made several trips to Friscos for $2 beers and fries with feta. I can't wait for her to come back again.

So sorry for the long awaited update and to all friends and family I haven't seen in the past month. We've been busy! I hope you all had a Happy Happy Christmas and a fun New Y ears Eve!

I'm excited for 2008, so many things are going to happen this year I just know its going to be loads better than 2007. Look for more updates to come!

Remember that Jezebel Happy Hour?

The one that I went to last Friday? Where I endorsed the trannie porn? Well I was trying to figure out what was so weird about Molly, the organizer of the event when Boyan blurted out, "Are you kidding me, she was stoned!" And when I thought about it, it made so much sense. THEN I read this on her blog to confirm it:

hostage

As I'm writing this, I'm in the Long Beach airport. I love this airport, and while the cab from Koreatown costs about 20 dollars more than the ride to LAX, I choose it time after time as long as I have the option. There are a few reasons: First, it's small. There are four airlines that fly out of here and one of them is JetBlue, the best airline that I have ever had the privilege of riding. Secondly, the staff is very courteous. There's no hustle in the security line, you can crack jokes with the guards. Third and probably most important to a girl like myself is that you can quite easily smuggle a bag of weed in your underwear.

Sneaking it in the underwear is key if you don't want to check your bag. You can wrap it up in a bunch of ziplocks and sink it to the bottom of your shampoo bottle in a checked bag, but then you run the risk of hyperventilating up until you get on the plane. I have had some of the most fearful moments of my life between bag check-in and boarding, just waiting there for the cops to walk up to me and tell me that they need to discuss the contents of my suitcase.

Some would say that it's a true testament to my lack of street cred that I don't have a stash waiting for me on the other coast, but I dismiss this for two reasons: 1) I has the dank Cali buds at my disposal and 2) I want to start ripping immediately after I get of the plane. This is best executed if I bring my own weed, roll a J in the plane bathroom and find an alleyway to stand in while I get my head right.

See you in New York, Fags...

It explains so much.

Saturday my Flatterday.

Saturday was the day that Boyan and I waited in lines.

It's true.

Boyan, My Dad, Diane and I drove from West Covina to downtown L.A. to take in the sites and grab some nummy beef dip sandwiches.

We went to Phillipes the self proclaimed creators of the french dip sandwich to get, what else but french dips! I had a beef dip with bleu cheese, cole slaw, macaroni salad and pumpkin pie. Besides being extremely tasty it was also extremely cheap! It almost made waiting in line for 45 minutes worth it all.

After we gobbled up our sandwiches we headed down the way to Olivera Street. It was my first time there and I have to say I was a little disappointed. The historical architecture was weighed down by the fact that the shops in the old houses sold cheap Mexican wears. Culture for sale and not an authentic thing in site. We finally found ourselves standing in front of California's oldest house.



It was built in 1818 by some guy named Avila (it was called Avila Adobe). So we rushed in to see the free exhibit. The house itself was very nice. Large patios, large courtyard in the middle. As we toured the house we questioned the women who worked there about the furniture and flooring. Turns out, the house that stands today has been restored. The flooring, walls, furniture, rugs everything was new. Nothing was original. The house doesn't even stand in it's original spot...

It was so L.A.



Anyways we got out of there, hopped in the car and headed for the Griffith Observatory.

It was the second weekend it had been opened since the renovations and the fire, so I was really excited to be amongst the first groups who got to see the new observatory. They spent 93 million dollars to upgrade the place, I couldn't wait to see exactly how they spent their money.

Well, apparently they spent it on really elementary displays so people with half a brain could learn about the changing seasons, or what an eclipse looks like.

Ok, I'll stop. I will say I was pretty disappointed in what they actually had inside the observatory. I'm also bummed that I didn't get to see the show in the Planet Erium.

Some kid pulled the fire alarm and the entire observatory had to be evacuated. We waited 45 minutes outside before we could get back into the observatory, and 45 more minutes to get a refund for our Planet Erium tickets, because the guys working the computer couldn't figure out how to do it.



I will say that the trip was worth all the waiting just for the view. I don't think I've ever seen a more magnificent skyline. On the way back we drove through Silverlake, which was awesome because I'd never seen the neighborhood. All in all, I think I saw more of Los Angeles on Saturday than I had in 5 years of living there.

Sunday Nofunday.

Mreh mreh mreh. It's Sunday, which means tomorrow is Monday, which means I have to go to work and start the countdown to Friday once again.

Friday.

Boyan and I were on our way to meet some of my co-workers at our neighborhood Chili's. I don't know why there was so much traffic on the road at 6pm on Friday night but it seemed as if it took us forever. We were turning onto Fullerton from Valley and making our way to Gale when we sped through the intersection crossing the railroad tracks and heard a very loud train whistle. At first we were confused. 'Why does that train sound so close? The lights haven't gone up, the crossing arms haven't gone down.' As we crossed over the train tracks we realized why. Looking to the right we were blinded by a very bright light and a train that looked to be less than 100 yards away from our car. I put my foot on the gas and raced across the tracks onto the other side. Boyan and I both reeling. How could the train crossing arms malfunction like that? Cars on the other side of the road realizing their danger also raced across the tracks and out of the way. Finally the train went by as the arms went down, but it was definitely a close call for all.

When we finally made it to Chili's we noticed that the parking lot was full. The entire parking lot at 6pm and people were crowding the doorways to get inside the restaurant. Evidence to my previous points that, there is in fact, nothing to do in West Covina...besides go to Chili's of course! We had a nice dinner and drinks with our co-workers and made it back home in time to prepare ourselves for a trip downtown for the Jezebel happy hour.

We made it to the bar the Prince by 10:30, just in time to meet up with our friend Catherine, who had braved the Los Angeles metro system to join us. Besides the fact that Boyan SWORE we were on 7th street gang turf (well, the bar IS on 7th street, but the gang hangs out a block away so I don't think we were in any real danger) the surrounding neighborhood seemed quiet, poster boards with korean writing littered the skyline amongst old hollywood hotels.

The Prince was like a bar I'd only dreamt about but never fully experienced. We entered a small red door and were greeted by a deep red glow in the old world, british/beef eater inspired bar. This is definitely a local hangout, despite being used in Thank you for Smoking, the bar hasn't caught on with the hipster crowd and remains to be a spot for koreans to get a nice meal and a beer. Most probably a Hite in fact which is what I had. A light korean beer that had "fresh beer taste" and was made with "natural water" was quite pleasant and refreshing.


It was only after I sat down the strange B.O. smell reached by nose, but by then I was too excited about being there and around new people to notice. The event was organized by Gawker's media girl Molly who in fact works for another gawker media branch fleshbot (nsfw). There were rumors that those who showed up would get free porn, and Molly delivered way more than expected. Although Boyan and I didn't take her up on the offer of "Trannie Sistas Pt. II" it was still very interesting to see what kinds of crazy stuff people actually get off on in this world. She did end up interviewing me on video about the evening, and asked me what types of porn I was looking at to which I responded "Oh well there is so much here to choose from, Trannie Sisters PT. II and Pantyhose hoes, what more can you ask for?"

I panicked, I freaked out (I'm not good on camera) and hopefully that won't follow me around for the rest of my life. Anyways, after that all kinds of political and religious debate ensued till we left at around midnight to head home back to the SG Valley.


That will have to be it for now. I will write about Saturday tomorrow, my internet connection at home keeps going out. Stayed tuned for tails of french dipped sandwiches, the man without a nose, the fake oldest house in California and the fire drill at the observatory.

It's Saturday, Like Whoa.

It's only Saturday and so much has already happened this weekend. So much has happened in fact, that I'm too exhausted to write about it until tomorrow. But here is what you have to look forward to:

1. Newegg happy hour with employees. Newegg employees get together, hilarity ensues.

2. Jezebel happy hour and free porn. Krisserin endorses trannie porn. Embarrassment ensues.

3. Visit to Philips in downtown, Olivera street and the Griffith Observatory. Hunger overcomes boredom which overcomes originality and confusion ensues.

Ponder that until tomorrow.

God I Miss Westwood

I miss L.A.

Really, I never thought I would find myself saying this but I do.

The feeling of walking down the street with the throngs of other people, adding to the pulse of the city. Having a place to go, a thing to do and people to see.

It's different in West Covina. It's suburban. You drive everywhere. It's less diverse.

Then little things like sitting at a cafe and having a latte, no knowing where to go to get a nice manicure, or being able to meet up with friends because you live 30 miles away.

It's a lot quieter here, If I didn't know who I was, I would probably get lost.

Alright enough of that. Things I miss from Los Angeles:

1. People: People on the streets, people speaking english, spanish, farsi (yes, farsi) people asking for money, directions, recommendations. Just people.

2. Food: I'd really like to find a place where I could have a nice sandwich and fresh salad. I'm sick of boba and ramen.

3. Shopping: I'm not trying to be materialistic, but I miss shopping. Not that I shopped a lot when I was in L.A. but I miss the opportunity of shopping. I miss Flax, in Westwood. I miss third street promenade, the Century city mall. I miss NICE stores (the mall here has a mervyns, yes I know I'm a snob). I miss Zara and Mango and H&M. I miss Borders! The closest borders is 12 miles away! I miss Traders Joes and Whole Foods (closest are 15 miles away).

4. I miss walking.

5. Friends, or running into friends, or being that friend that people visit when they come to L.A. or meeting up friends for happy hour.

6. My old apartment, its bright green walls.

But I am determined to like my new home. Now, if I just had time to get out and find something to like. Something besides being 5 miles away from an IKEA.

OMG OMG OMG

I've failed NaBloPoMo. I already missed one day 3 days into the month. GOSH what a dorkus I am.

I was extremely busy yesterday, which I know isn't an excuse but what can I do. I'll continue to sojourn on and finish what I started, blogging everyday for the entire month of November. So, here we go.

Yesterday I woke up at the ripe hour of 6:30 a.m. to take Boyan to West Covina High School for his SAT II subject exam. We got there at 7:45 just in time to wade through the 16-year-olds also there to take the SAT, and find the room where Boyan would be taking his test. The subject tests are only an hour long, so I sat in my car waiting for him while reading the fourth Harry Potter.

After he took the test we raced back to the apt. to get a quick nap in before I drove to L.A. At about 12pm I hopped into my car and sped off to Santa Monica to pick up Jurgen and Carolina to pick them up for the House warming party we were having at 2 p.m. We had to stop off at the grocery story to pick up supplies, and I returned home, food and liquor in hand at 3 p.m. to my friends who were already all there and waiting for me.

Everyone trickled out around 7 p.m. leaving Jurgen and Britta who were staying the night. We grabbed a pizza, walked the dog and headed back to watch some movies.

First we watched The Year of the Dog. It seemed so promising but it was the biggest mistake of my life. I love Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard but honestly it was the most dry and mind numbing experience of my life. There were a few scenes in the movie that were funny, most involving Peter Sarsgaard and Laura Dern playing an overly obsessed and protective mom, but other than that just plan ridiculous.

After that we watched Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns (First dogs then cats, I don't know what we were thinking) which was also strange (read: take hallucinogens before watching film) but had a surprisingly good cast doing the voice overs (anne hathaway, cary elwes and tim curry!).

Woke up this morning, drove Jurgen back to Santa Monica, then drove to Long Beach to meet my parents at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Gardens at CSULB. Part of the reason to meet there was to see the gardens, the other part was so my Mom could try to push it on me for a wedding venue for next year. But all in all it was nice. Nothing compared to Kew or Huntington but beautiful none-the-less.

After that we made it to The Auld Dubliner pub in Long Beach and had some yummy food and beers. At the end of the dinner a live Irish band started playing, bag pipes, flute and all. It was wonderful.

So, you see I have been busy! Now that Boyan is done with his first SAT and Halloween is over, life should get back to semi-normal. I'm hoping to make it to the gym a few times this week and even drive around our new neighborhood a bit.

Alright, I hope this long post semi made up for my not posting yesterday. Until tomorrow...

When the lights go down, in the city

The power was out in Westwood last night from 6pm to around midnight. I didn't notice until Boyan came home at about 12:30am because, well, I was sleeping the whole time.

I've been scouring the net trying to find someone else affected by the blackout or if there was any information about why it occurred.

Kinda strange but also nice seeing the apartment lit by candlelight.

Updates

I know, I know I've been absent--but I'm very excited to be back and excited that people responded to my Lurkers post! Here is what has been happening since last I wrote:

The Decemberists and LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl
Overall I think they did a really good job. The LA Phil was a little overpowering--it was hard to hear the rest of the band with such a loud accompaniment but they played "The Tain," and "Los Angeles, I'm Yours," so I was happy. I got video of the latter but the quality is really poor (because our seats were so far away)











Dress Fitting
Yay! I finally had my first fitting for my wedding dress--which turned out magnificently. I am so excited and I have my second fitting next Saturday. I took a few pictures but obviously I can't share them here because A. That would ruin the element of surprise and B. Boyan might stumble upon it and we all know that's bad luck! I will tell you that it turned out exactly how I wanted and even better. Now I just have to buy the gloves and shoes and other fun stuffs. Oh! and I'm thinking of renting some jewelry, any suggestions of where to start?

Biggest Loser Almost Over

Our final weigh-in is on Friday and although I could have done a better job during the past eight weeks of going to the gym and eating healthy I don't think i'll fare that bad. I already have plans of going to Meltdown on friday to celebrate with a big grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm....cheese.




Mom's horseback riding adventure
I took my Mom horseback riding for her birthday at the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center and had a grand old time. Apparently the Equestrian center is open to the public--so if you are a horse lover you can walk around and visit the different horses in the stable whenever you want. Afterwards we went to Alice's Breakfast in the Park--a very small very quaint little restaurant on the lake in Huntington. I didn't even know they HAD a central park but they do and it's very large. They have tons of land for people to walk their dogs, go fishing etc. The restaurant itself was cluttered with fun ornaments, dolls, and unique wall hangings--just my kind of eccentric atmosphere. To top it all off the pancakes were absolutely delicious (this coming from someone who doesn't like pancakes).

























Bulgaria or Bust!
It's almost about time for me to hop across the pond for my big fat Bulgarian wedding and I am so excited! It looks as if I'm going to have a few friends there as well as Joan, Britta, Ruth and Louis are all planning on heading over to celebrate with me. My goals before I go to Bulgaria are as follows: 1. Save money for shopping 2. Buy presents for Boyan's family 3. Learn more Bulgarian or Oshte Bulgarski!

Reading, So much Reading

This has been a summer full of books! Since my last posting on what I was reading I've read the entire Philip Pullman's Dark Materials series, the newest Jane Green book (which I am planning on writing a review of, not a very good review) The Great Gatsby and now I am reading Jane Eyre. I didn't have to read it for school--and after watching the PBS Masterpiece theatre version of the story I decided I wanted to read it. The movie is very well done and has been nominated for several emmys, I definitely suggest you watch it if you can. The book has been very enjoyable, not at all as hard to read or boring as I had imagined it would be when I was in high school. After that I am planning on re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy, finish the Ender's game series, and reading King Lear in preparation for the arrival of the RSC and Sir Ian McKellan in October!

That is all for now, I have some reviews I want to write up--I'll try my best to get those up as soon as possible!

A blog about writing

I've decided to revive an old blog that ended before it started. Check it out here and let me know if you are interested in writing for it.

07.07.07

It looks as if today may be the luckiest day in the history of the world. Well, maybe not but I have something extraordinary to be excited about. Tonight, is the night, of all nights. Tonight I get to see the Decemberists with the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood bowl.

Yes my friends it is a monumental occasion, one that I have been preparing for since....last month.

I'll fill you in tomorrow on all the deets of how amazing it was. Until then, bridle your jealousy.

Me = Slacker

It's a beautiful Saturday, I don't have much to do but sit and read whilst guilty myself slowly towards the gym. I haven't updated in a while so I thought I would now since I'd rather sit on my butt in front of my computer than walk my butt to the gym. There aren't many things going on but here is what is on my plate right now.

RealTALKLA
WTF is going on over there? I submitted an article in April which was supposed to run in June. I visit the site and I often get an error and the page won't load (and I'm not the only one to have noticed this).


When trying to pitch for future articles I was told the site was changing the way they receive content and they wouldn't be paying writers anymore. From what I hear there's only one editor working on the site right now, and it seems that they are allowing their contributors to upload content freely by signing into the site. I wonder what exactly is going on over there.

The Bulgarian Wedding
I keep having awful dreams that my dress is going to turn out awful. One dream it was a puke pink color and the next it was made of black lace. I go to my first fitting on the 15th of July and I'm hoping I won't be disappointed. With lace as beautiful as this however, I think it may be hard to be disappointed.

Birthdays Galore!
All of these Cancers! It's just a tad bit ridiculous that my entire family was born in the month of July....well, not my entire family but a whole mess of them. I'm going to be going to Tanya's birthday tonight, then George's birthday tomorrow. My mom's birthday is on the 10th, my grandmother's is on the 13th. All my other aunts were born in July as well, I just don't know the days. Either way, I'm going to be spending a lot of monies on gifts this month.

The Biggest Loser
I might be the biggest loser but it's not because I'm losing weight (In fact, I'm pretty sure Nanette is kicking my butt). For some reason I haven't been able to get to the gym as much as I would like to. I like to blame it on Janea, my gym buddy who decided to live in England for the past few months (bitch). The only reason I'm not really mad at her is she sends me gifts from abroad, including Cadbury chocolate (see , I told you it's her fault). BUT thanks to Fox (this is the only time I will ever thank fox for anything promise) and So you think you can dance, I've decided I want to start taking Dance classes again. I'm hoping to find an adult class where I won't feel like a total amateur. I miss leaping, doing pirouettes, tour jetes and attempting multiple fouettes. I just hope I don't hurt myself. Anyone want to join me?

Heidi
Heidi has decided she wants to start her own blog. So with the help of Boyan and I she has begun her first literary adventure at Views From My Window. She said that by starting a blog, she hopes to bring better understanding of the life of a puppy living in Los Angeles. Obviously she takes after her mom.

I have a lot of postings that I want to write, so stay tuned--I think they'll be pretty interesting.