Saturday Lobsta

Today I hiked to Rocky Peak in Simi Valley, just into Ventura County from Los Angeles County. It's hard to believe the month is January with such beautiful sun and temperatures. The hike itself was 8 miles with 1800 feet of elevation gain in the Santa Susanna Mountains. The sandstone boulders, outcroppings, and green-ness make this hike stand out as a great urban hike. Also notable, the internet told me that Bob Hope once owned the land that is now the park where Rocky Peak sits.

Then I skyped with my nephew and niece. What an excellent technology.


Tonight we're headed to Eagle Rock Brewery for some the neighborhood's local brew and to try the Lobsta food truck. Yes, lobster from a truck. Los Angeles is gourmet all the way.

Finally, you may be interested to learn that my dear boyfriend is moving to Los Angeles. Yes, job and all.

Mister Heavenly II

Tickets did not run as expensive as expected for the Passion Pit - Mister Heavenly - We Barbarian - Peter Rabbit 4-band line-up at the Palladium in Hollywood. How could I pass it up? My main draw had been Mister Heavenly, a project band made up of some good names: Nick Diamonds of Islands, drummer Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse, Honus Honus of Man Man, and on bass Michael Cera!! Cera is young but loveable, from his Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist movie to his u-tube sketch with the kids from Jersey Shores. The band can use some time to figure out which direction they're headed, but seeing all four made the night worthwhile.







Back up to my entrance. I arrived one hour early because the Palladium has all general admission tickets. With the new addition of Michael Cera to Mister Heavenly, I expected quite a gathering one hour before the show. However, I erred, and hit the jackpot when I stood about 20 people from the beginning of the line. After a serious security check, including being pat down, I stood in the second row of music hungry fans. I differed from those around me in what appeared to me to be two obvious ways. I had about 10 years on those around me. I also knew about the opening bands and not the headliner. The college students loved the headliner Passion Pit. We swapped music knowledge and it worked out quite well. Some college lady asked me where I went to school. The suspicious side of me thought she was up to something. I dropped my guard and talked to them for some time, later to realize one of her gal pals had wiggled into my space. Her furry vest violated my space bubble. The furry vest plus jumping plus pushing led to my exit to the old people gallery where I enjoyed the headliner with my peers. All in all, I great adventure.

Mister Heavenly

I just read that Michael Cera joined a band for this tour season called Mister Heavenly. This band is opening for Passion Pit next Tuesday in Hollywood. Tickets cost around $45 with fees or $30 at the door. Tempting.

A Hike to Weigh the Pumpkin

A special thanks goes out to my neighbors who let me use their scale to weigh my pumpkin. The result of the great pumpkin contest of 2010 is that the pumpkin weighs 21.1 lbs. The winner may email to claim the prize...the pumpkin. The hike to my neighbor's house was the shortest one I've set out on lately.

I have kept an active hiking calendar lately which brings me all sorts of happiness. My dad and I hiked in the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area a few weeks back. We nearly made it to the peak of San Jacinto (second highest peak in Southern California) but turned back when we feared a blizzard. A blizzard did not hit but the fog rolled in. We tired ourselves out enough from the climb up the "Devil's Slide" trail. The name says it all: steep. The next day we hiked to Tahquitz Peak where some volunteers for the National Park Service had opened up the fire look-out. I highly recommend this jaunt if you're in the San Jacinto area.

The next weekend, we participated in a compass and topographic map navigation weekend at Joshua Tree National Park, in the Indian Cove Campground. The week prior, we had to complete homework. In the homework we mapped a 9 mile trail through extremely difficult areas with rocky terrain where people have actually been lost. We thought we would take this hike on Saturday. No. And definitely no. We had much to learn before we embarked on a hike that would take at least 12 hours with advanced nav skills. Thus, the first day we practiced our skills, and on the second day we were set off with our new knowledge to find 4 locations using the compass and map, around 2 miles of hiking. Someone I knew, not naming names, took off without referencing the compass and found himself lost for nearly 2 hours. I, on the other hand, found my true calling and made it to the final destination in second place (I know it's not a race). Navigation is a unique skill which could save you from being lost, and the act of navigating is just plain old fun.

One thing almost threw me off my navigation trail. I spotted my first tarantula and nearly turned back running.

Hence, the next weekend, I participated in an off-trail hike in Joshua Tree National Park where we sought several out historic mines in the middle of the desert, around Queen mine. Again, using the compass and map is very fun!! We succeeded in finding the three mines we hunted for. Near one stood a cozy house made in the rocks. The miners had made shelves, installed a window, and fashioned a kitchen area. Impressive.

Pumpkin Contest

Some of you have been following me through two pumpkin contests. The first is a huge pumpkin at my lunch cafeteria. It weighed so much I couldn't lift it, thus I guessed it weighed 97 pounds. The person closest to the actual weight won a free lunch from the cafeteria people. After a few weeks, the bum of the pumpkin grew moldy. The winner was announced today... the pumpkin weighed 60 pounds. I am not as strong as I thought.

The second pumpkin contest is for the weight of the pumpkin on my kitchen table, also pictured is the previous post. The result of that contest has not been released yet. Stay tuned. Submit your vote.

Heels Signify a Top-Notch Weekend

After an outstanding Los Angeles weekend, I could not resist buying the heels pictured here at a Malibu garage sale... cowboy boots for climbing a mountain in heels.

Sufjan Stevens

Saturday eve Sufjan Stevens played at the Wiltern - a music venue in Koreatown in Los Angeles. Some fancy photos are posted here.

Sufjan in my mind is remembered as the man who wanted to make an album based on every state - "the states project." After making Illinois and Michigan, he disappeared somewhat for 3 years, only to reappear with "The Age of Adz" album. Instead of the classic folk banjo tune he typically boasts, this album plays with the fundamentals of sound, or so he said during the concert. Believe him. One of the songs is 25 minutes long, and well worth every minute of the listen. He explores music ideas and leaps into the techno-dance vibe. After the 25 minutes, he rewarded us with Chicago - a crowd pleaser.

I appreciated the extent of effort Sufjan put into making an unforgetable concert. There were two dancing singers in the back who coordinated with Sufjan in aerobic dance moves. The singers dressed in space-like suits which matched the images displayed on the screen behind the 10 piece band. The images honed the art of the late Royal Robertson, a schizophrenic art? type with apoctaliptic visions from which Sufjan drew his inspiration of this latest album. The music soared. And the night was unforgetable; one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Tour de Fat

This weekend I participated with neighborhood friends in our friendly neighborhood wonderous whimsy - the Tour de Fat. This event is sponsored by New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado which makes Fat Tire beer. New Belgium hosts a carnival aimed at bicycle awareness, fun, and to "roust a city's inner-cyclist". The #1 rule is:
1. Put no means of transport before thy bike: Come by bike because not only are bikes fun, but they help stave off some of our most wicked ills: Traffic, laziness, and pollution. Tour de Fat has a solution: ride this day, every day, and definitely when Tour de Fat heads your way.


Here are some photos of the hipsters who joined the bike parade:

Wisconsin fans:



Tall bike with full body outfit:


Big bird:



A garden in tow.



Banana Suit





Among the activities was a 5 mile bike parade through town with several hundred bikes - including my friends and I. We followed traffic signs. When we returned to the park, we ate at food trucks and sampled fat tire, for a small price. At "the pit" we tried out various bicycles, such as one with no tires but a circle of shoes instead. Other bikes had an off centered tire center so you moved up and down as the bike moved forward. Outside of the pit was a stage with entertainment - comedians, bands, carnival people on stilts. Toward the end, one person even traded in their car for a bicycle (very very nice bicycle).

CicLAvia Los Angeles -- 10.10.10

On Sunday I took to (7.5 miles of) the streets of LA during a "CicLAvia" event. The city closed 7.5 miles of streets and opened the streets to bikers, skateboarders, runners, walkers, or strollers. I felt a rush as I zoomed through intersections downtown. I threw caution to the wind with no car to run me off the road. Strangely I was one of the only nerds with a bike helmet, but I considered it a fashion statement. Enjoy these photos taken by others that I found online at laist.com.








Some history from the CicLAvia webpage:
Ciclovías started in Bogotá, Colombia, over thirty years ago as a response to the congestion and pollution of city streets. Now they happen throughout Latin America and the United States, connecting communities and giving people a break from the stress of car traffic. The health benefits are immense. Ciclovías bring families outside of their homes to enjoy the streets, our largest public space.


And a video, too!

Movies with Movie Stars

This past week I watched not one but two movies in the theater.

First, I viewed "I'm Still Here," the Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary... or is it? For those who have not seen this movie, it's a documentary of a year following J.P. Remember when he showed up on David Letterman with a huge beard, was stoned out of his mind, and left his gum under Dave's desk? That was the year of filming. Anyway, the meaning of that movie will continue to develop for years to come. While somewhat painful to watch, it made me think long and hard about the life of actors, America's obsession with stars, and I pondered why we like people who have egos and problems. Somehow, I think this movie touched on a lot of ideas, while also confusing the viewer as to whether it was real or pretend. Again, a metaphor for life?

Second, I viewed "The Social Network." This is the movie about the origins of facebook. Justin Timberlake played the founder of Napster. Nice touch. I saw this movie at a one screen theater in my neighborhood. Sitting next to my friend were Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis. They are main characters on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The friends who were sitting by the actors are major fans of the show - serendipitous. Well we all played it cool to be watching a movie next to movie stars. However, the over eager newbie Angelinos behind us asked to take a picture with them. The actors asked to wait until after the movie. Sure enough, as we waited in the lobby after the movie, the fans took a picture with Charlie Day. An innocent bistander then asked Charlie Day, "Is that your friend?" To which he responded, awkwardly, "Oh... just a fan." And she so smoothly replied, "Are you an actor or something?" He mumbled and escaped outside. Ah to be a movie star at a movie!

Just another day in LA folks!!

Nordoff

Hiked to the top of the mountain Nordoff this Sunday. It looms above the city of Ojai, about an hour outside Los Angeles. Seven hours, 10+ miles, and great friends makes for a perfect Sunday.

The mountain hike itself was a bit of a reunion hike for several of my friend who met each other at summer camp in Ojai and attended/served as camp counselors for years of their youth. They recalled beasty summer days on the trail to Nordoff. We recreated that experience mainly by consuming chocolate muffins given to us from staff at camp.

Another factoid: People hike Nordoff to train for Mt. Whitney (the tallest peak in the 48 states which sits in Sequoia Nat'l Park, California, about 4 hours from Los Angeles). While I am not training for Mt. Whitney (yet), I do hope to climb many summits near Los Angeles. There are "7 summits of Southern California" to mirror the idea of the 7 summits of the world, the tallest from each continent. Yes, I'm obsessing over mountain hiking. And loving it!

Today's weather hit a record 87 degrees. Ahh, heaven.

Raw Food

Tonight I ate at my first raw food restaurant. The main dish was a pumpkinseed pesto linguini...which consists of raw rutabaga noodles, tossed with cashew riccota and pesto, pine nuts and sundried tomatoes. My friend swore that Joaquin Phoenix sat nex to us, but the waiter assured us the scruffy man did not identify as Joaquin. Close enough for us to call it a near star spoting. Sorry I forgot my camera because I would have loved to post some pics.

My Neighborhood

The neighborhood where I live in Los Angeles sits at the foot of Griffith Park, one of the largest parks in a city. There are miles of hiking trails there, including one close to the Hollywood sign. But it's a well kept secret that one can go on an urban hike right down my street through the streets of the neighborhood. The hill at the end of my streets has a series of around a dozen public stairs going between houses and up the hill. Following a trail made by the Sierra Club takes 1 to 2 hours. It's tough work but offers the reward of beautiful views of the city. I will post pictures from my walk one day soon. For now, enjoy this picture of a mural and stairs in the neighborhood where I like to end my jogs.

Art Walk

I have been finding more and more things to love about Los Angeles.

Thursday evening I walked downtown Los Angeles with crowds of art revelers. Around 25 art galleries stayed open until 10 pm for people to look at the art, talk to the artists, drink wine, and eat cheese. The buildings themselves in downtown Los Angeles offer something historically fantastic to look at. The people also add to the night with their eclectic Los Angeles clothes. I even ran into a friend from my neighborhood which made me feel quite at home in my new city. The art walk takes place once a month. I will definitely be in attendance again.

Fires

For those of you wondering, the Los Angeles fires are creating a lot of smoke but mainly not reaching me. I can see the smoke from my office downtown. It's a big billowing cloud in the sky. But unlike my friends in Pasadena, I cannot smell the smoke from my house. I am closer to downtown than the outlying hills. So no worries about my safety. Please do keep the other Californians in your prayers, though.

First Class is Free

Tonight I attended my first 30 minutes yoga/ 30 minutes spinning class in the neighborhood. Hey, first class is free. Let me tell you, it was a butt-kicking experience.

The studio is called "YAS," which stands for Yoga for Athletes. The founder is a lawyer turned yoga/fashion lady. Through her YAS studio, she is making Yoga more pertinent to athletes.

I consider myself an athlete, a runner. But tonight I found out the reality: I can barely spin a bicycle and it's tough to put my legs behind my ears in yoga. But because the studio sells those cool skull outfits I talked about yesterday, I cannot give up quite so easily.