Poverty and a Little Red Dog

Wednesday, the 27th-Well, it finally cooled down...a little. We actually went to bed last night feeling like normal human beings for a change. And the cat is back to her frisky, evil self. She knocked down a shelf in the bedroom and then slowly walked out as if we hadn't all heard the loud CRASH! BANG! just a second before. Heehee. Apparently, July is the slow month here. Everyone is on vacation. In fact, Christian will be gone for around 10 days. It's actually gotten to the point where Daryl and I were looking around the apartment to see what we could pawn. That's what I get for paying for my own health insurance. My mother insists that I should just go without. We'll see what happens in the next month because if this continues, then I probably won't be able to afford it anyway. On the other hand, my mother has offered to buy us an air conditioner, so we all know what her priorities are. We still have to see if we can find one to fit in our silly windows. I haven't been working, but Christian has set me up with a bunch of books and free use of his computer so I've been learning a little bit about After Effects. I'm hoping to get through that book and another book on Final Cut Pro before the end of next week. It took me all day to make a little red dog walk across the screen, back up, and sniff a ball, all the while wagging its tail. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it? But I was literally clapping my hands and hopping for joy. I suppose it means I was meant to do this sort of thing for a living.

Costco is great

Friday, the 22nd-Once again Christian cancels our appointment because he's working on Hetch Hetchy. (Ok, so now I've only worked three days this month. Hmm. Those bill collectors will have to wait just a bit longer.) But he did drive us to Best Buy and Costco to look at air conditioners. Best Buy had one that would have worked for Christian's place that cost $300. Costco didn't have any there but I extolled the virtues of Costco over, say , Wal-Mart. Costco actually takes care of their employees and gives them decent salaries and health and dental care, along with a 401k. And the CEO doesn't believe in having a million dollar salary because he finds it ridiculous. So I urge you all now to become Costco members because that is something I'd like to encourage in business in America today. And then we had dinner at a raw restaurant, LEAF, where nothing is cooked and we had some really good smoothies and guacamole with flaxseed crackers. And no wheat flour either so I was happy. The food was very good, all organic, etc., but the service was awful. Prepare yourself for waiting a long time for food. And then we went to the beach and took a nice long walk and watched the sunset. It was cooler than our apartment, but I was still sweating. The weather report says that we may have a thunderstorm this weekend and I hope so, even if it's only hot rain. I'd just like the change of pace. We tried to get the cat interested in playing with an ice cube, but she would have none of it. Tomorrow we're going to try some frozen cream.

Hot Hot HOT...and movies

OK, OK, I give up. LA is hot. And we have no air conditioning. Oy.

Basically, work has been scarce and so we have just been getting DVDs and watching them. Because instead of wallowing in our coming poverty, we're just trying to ignore it as much as we can. ( Just a warning to the bill collectors, here's our excuse:
"Sorry we didn't pay the bill because it was much too hot. Check in on us again next month. Cheers!")

We've seen, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, KINSEY, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE MINISERIES, and BLADE:TRINITY. MUCH ADO was fun and very well done. Keanu Reeves does the best he can given his limited voice, but the rest of the cast does a good job, even the Americans. It helps to watch it with the subtitles, at least for me, since our apartment is so loud it's hard to hear anything. And Italy is much too idyllic, people are way too clean to be living in the country. But there are some great comic moments in the movie and I'd definitely watch it again. KINSEY was really good and I think all of the actors did a terrific job although I have to say that I wonder why someone wanted to make a movie about this man. The material just didn't seem compelling enough to me. I guess reducing sex to statistics just doesn't seem to be that groundbreaking. Maybe that's just because I lived in SF for a while. But some of the acting in this movie is so good, I'd recommend it to anyone. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE MINISERIES, was compelling for me anyway, because I was a fan of the old series. I'd heard a lot about the new reworking of the mythos and was curious. It was pretty good and I think it helped dramatically to have the Cylons look like humans. And so far my favorite character is Baltar, as played by James Callis because I think he does a terrifically funny job. And just looking at Mary McConnell, who's character has cancer, sometimes makes you want to cry. Yes, she's that good. As for BLADE:TRINITY, I'm a little disappointed. The second movie had some movement in it that made you think, oh, now that was cool, but this just seemed like everyone was sleepwalking. And how many times can you kill off Whistler? Isn't he killed in every movie? I'm not sure why, but even wisecracks from Hannibal King didn't give it that much more humor, except when it came to the Pomeranian, which I won't explain because you'd have to see it to know what I'm talking about. The funniest scene was on the bloopers when you see the bad guy, Drake, holding a baby hostage. The poor actor, Dominic Purcell, (who is a very good actor, by the way) is trying to hold a screaming baby, while trying to seem menacing and it just is so funny because the baby keeps fussing so much the actor can't deal with it. The one thing I can say is that all of the main characters in this movie look seriously terrific, so if you want to look at six-pack abs, this is the movie for you. (Speaking of which, Ryan Reynolds actually has to act in one scene instead of quip and doesn't do half bad.)

So I hope I've updated everyone on our doings, which are mainly watching DVDs and trying to find ways to cool down and get more work. Wish us luck!

Taiko Drums

Sunday, the 17th-We went to see the Taiko Drum concert at the Japan American Center. We got there early so we decided to duck into an Anime shop to see what they had. Well, apparently they have little Japanese schoolgirl outfits in the back along with the porn...and some anime up in front. OK, moving on. We met up with Christian and his friend from Japan, Kimiko, who just likes to travel to various places on her own. With limited English and just off the plane, we subjected her to a few hours of intense drumming. Welcome to America! The drumming was really good and I have to say that the SF Taiko group was the best one, technically up to snuff. The kids were just fun and how can you not love a 7 year old pounding away a rhythm just as loud as a 17 year old? And let me tell you that 7 year old was adorable and just a little bit bigger than the drum she was pounding. We got to eat Vietnamese afterwards and we were lucky that the waiter happened to know how to speak Japanese. Score one for the Vietnamese place!

Saw the movie NATIONAL TREASURE, which was ok and fun but I couldn't figure out why it was such a big hit. Maybe it was because all of the other movies at the time were lousy, or sequels. After a while, sequels just become tiring, I guess.

More Hotness and then Catwoman

Well, I think I can offically say that LA has finally met my expectations for being incredibly hot. Our current heat wave has brought us temperatures in the mid-nineties and in our sun-beaten apartment, it's probably hotter. All I can think of is, how can we cool down the cat?

Saturday, the 16th-We went to the Santa Monica Promenade and I bought a wraparound dress and a halter top and some linen pants because I have no shorts and after a while jean are just too hot. Daryl wanted me to show off my midriff (chunky) and after some initial modesty, I consented only because it was too hot to not do it. I also liked the idea of the cupping bruises on my back showing with the backless halter that I had on. We got some more movies and we watched CATWOMAN and SERENDIPITY. Both were not that great, but the actors in SERENDIPITY were appealing. It just sort of makes you wonder that people spend millions of dollars on these movies and this is what they end up with. CATWOMAN wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but it should have been loads better given the money they poured into it. And the outfit was seriously ridiculous. Not as "gay" as the SPIDERMAN outfit, but definitely sillier.

Hetch Hetchy and Hot Hot

Monday, the 11th, to Wednesday, the 13th-I worked on Hetch Hetchy again. This time it's finally gotten hot in LA and I remember editing in a tank top and a sarong and wondering why I was so hot. I keep waiting for all of Christian's computers to blow up on us. And his place is cooler than ours. So Daryl couldn't take it anymore and got a fan.

I have also started yet another diet program. This one extolls the virtues of raw, unpasteurized milk. Seriously. Anyway, I haven't gotten that far yet, but I'm trying to cut down on sweets and grains, something people should do regardless. And I still work out twice a week, even when the weather is excruciatingly hot. I just wait until night when, hopefully a cool breeze will come after the sun has been down for a while. I am most worried about the cat because she has a fur coat and does not like water on her paws, or sprinkled on her. I almost want to get an air conditioner (If we can find one that will fit in our weird slatted windows.) just so the cat will be ok. Because Daryl and I can leave in the car and go somewhere that has AC, like a movie theater, but poor kitty is all on her own in a stifling oven of an apartment. Anyone got any suggestions?

The Incredibles

Wednesday, the 6th to Saturday, the 9th-I was sick. I was actually sick the week before I just took medicine to hide it. So this week I let it all out and just stayed at home and vegged. We actually watched a ton of DVDs, including the movie, THE INCREDIBLES. It was, for all you out there who are familiar with it, very, very good and I saw more nuanced character movement up close and personal than I did in the movie theater, when it first came out. For fans of animation, I highly recommend it for, seriously now, how people look when they back out of a garage and how their arms move when they open a car door. Somehow the movement in this movie looked "realer" than in other movies which actually tracked people moving. And some other would say that the acting in this movie was "realer" than many other movies, which I would have to agree with. But first and foremost the story and characters are fully developed and for people who don't care about animation, I bet you'd still like this movie. Plus, it's nice to watch when you're sick.

Museum of the Weird and Less than Firey Fireworks

I have been told to update my blog. I've been reluctant to because I feel that in this heat wave (with no air conditioning!), I don't want to blow up the computer. So I hope it'll hold up while I write.

Sunday, the 3rd-We went to the Museum of Jurassic Technology which really has nothing to do with dinosaurs. You get over the initial disappointment because you are then sent to an exhibit that explains the histories of museums, which not only disappoints you more, but also bores you. You leave this exhibit before the pre-recorded narration ends. There are plenty of other weird and interesting exhibits, notably one on microscopic paintings done with colors from moth's wings. And it does have a terrarium with an ant with a spike sticking out of its head. And creepy stuffed animals. And odd exhibits devoted to arcane theories of music, magnetism, and yes, space travel. And free tea on the roof. (Daryl has some pictures of some of the exhibits on his blog.) But I do say, you should avoid the movie theater, unless you'd like a nice nap, unless you're really interested in the theories of resurrection from a 19th century futurist, who then developed theories on space travel, which then leads the movie to the history of a major astronomical telescope during Communism. So you see what I mean. But it's not all that bad and some of the holographic x-ray pictures of flowers are really quite lovely.

Monday, the 4th-We had SF people in town over the 4th of July weekend and so, of course, we went to see fireworks, which I dislike. It was a strangely foggy affair (Our SF friends must have brought the fog with them.) and not that exciting, after walking a goodly distance from a terrible hamburger place which we went to only because the Italian place was closed. It was crowded, too, which didn't help, although I did spot a seal in the water while we were waiting. But since my birthday is reasonably close to the 4th of July I like to think people are celebrating for me.

Tuesday, the 5th-I have to say I was sorry to see our friends leave town. We hadn't had games in a long time and Daryl was quite lonely from it all, I think. So it was a good thing to have people over for him to entertain. And we did play games. I don't know what the count was, but we played at least 3 games of Catan and 2 games of Scrabble. Yeah! And Diane and I got to discuss toxins and OCD (after watching THE AVIATOR extras). Now I'm afraid of my shampoo. Thanks Diane! I have since gotten a less toxic brand from the local Whole Foods here. Daryl is bemoaning my expensive tastes.

Party, party, party!

Friday-I cajoled Christian into going to get flowers today. So Daryl and I were out the door at 8a to pick up Christian, who needed coffee and food to get started. After coffee and the breakfast burrito, we hopped down to the flower market and got some beautiful roses to decorate our apartment. I bought four dozen this time and another vase. Christian is thinking of getting a membership there so he can get there even earlier. And then we got 3 cases of young coconuts. Yum. We shopped for party food and the bagger at the store guessed I was 25. Now that's what you want to hear on your 35th birthday, right? When we got back, Diane was still asleep, poor thing, she was on two diffferent drugs to sleep and had earplugs. I made Daryl take out some of the crazy amount of sodapops he had in the fridge so I could actually put my groceries in. Diane was up and running by the time the flowers were place and Daryl left to get the cakes from Urth Cafe. (They were very expensive, but they are the best cakes ever. Really. And I'm not normally a fan of chocolate cake, but these cakes, as Daryl says, "kick ass.") The same crowd from last night went to Canter's. I was so mad when I found a noodle in my soup. What if I had been allergic and had an allergic reaction? Would they be willing to pay my medical bills? Or could they just get some direction right and give me soup that's not contaminated. I mean, I went over it with the waiter. I was dead tired when I got up but I didn't really feel it until the afternoon and then I seriously wanted a nap, but I couldn't because I wanted to bake some bread (I had a craving for a grilled cheese sandwich.) and prep food for dinner for the party. Daryl tells me not to worry about cooking, but I'm insane. So once I get it into my head that I'm going to cook, I cook a large vegetarian dinner. The whole crowd came back to play games and chat and it was nice to have people around to talk to just like in SF. The cat was none too happy, but she just has to learn how to get along and this is part of the process. Christian, Cari, (a client), Cari's husband, Michael, and Maurissa and her friend Josh came by. It was really fun and I got a box grater, an aim-n-flame, ayurvedic lotion, and lillies for presents. So cool! They were exactly what I wanted! People here played games and chatted and Daryl was practically hopping with delight to finally have people over. I made pakora, masoor dal, ghisoda and rice for people and then we all ate the fantastic chocolate cakes (including a flourless chocolate cake). The fridge is full of food now. We even gave people young coconuts to drink from. I have to say it was a nice party and the cat did better than expected although she did hiss and meow at people. And the roses were beautiful. Christian brought by two of his very fragrant lillies and the fragrances mixed very nicely. He also got tickets for us to go to see the Taiko Drums concert coming up. Such a great present!