Crazy Cat, Body Fat and More

So, there are a couple of cats who like hanging around my apartment (the little yellow guest house). One is a grey cat with a bell around its neck, that likes walking right into my place (I keep the door open and don't have a screen), and gets belligerent whenever I shoo her out. The other is a weird black cat that likes skulking around. Sometimes I open my door and find she's been sitting out there in front of it. Other times she trips my light sensor and casts shadows through my curtains, walking back and forth along my ledges. Yet other times, she just makes this terrible sound that cats in heat generally do, as if she believes I'm hiding a he-cat inside.

Anyhoo, Saturday morning, I left to run an errand and came back home before I had to head out again. There, in the middle of my doormat was a songbird. A very dead one. UGH. Now, to understand the gravity of the situation, you have to know that I have a very bad birdphobia. I used to think about buying a house on my own, but one of the deterrents was thinking that I'd have to take care of any dead rodents or birds that come along, and that's just not my thing. So, I was a little freaked out by the rigor-mortised birdie right in front of my door. Yes, I sucked it up, found a little box, and somehow got the bird inside before putting it into a plastic bag and throwing it away. The whole time I'm wondering if that crazy cat is going to leave me anymore nasty presents.

So far, so good. My mom tells me that I should mentally thank the cat then gently insist that she not leave me anything else. I hope it works.

On another note, yesterday I had an appointment with a company called Fitness Wave to get dunked. You see, they have a mobile unit where you can get immersed in a little warm pool and find out your body fat percentage. The truck was parked right outside the Gold's Gym in Redondo Beach when I headed in. Interesting procedure. And, suffice it to say that I was pleased with the results. Check it out for yourself at getdunked.com. And, if you decide to do it, be sure to use the coupon on their appointment page to get $10 off. If that payment page is not secure (it wasn't when I signed up), just call them to pay over the phone and use the coupon code.

Finally, last night, I went to the TV Academy panel for the show "Heroes." I'd never watched before, and sadly, I don't have the time to add an hour-long drama to my repertoire. But, I must say it's very well-written and acted, and it has some hotties in the cast. I hope they can keep it going...these types of shows sometimes have a hard time maintaining momentum (see: "Lost," "Alias," "Desperate Housewives.")

Just two more days till my birthday...

Spinning Virgin No More

Today I took my first ever spinning class, at YAS - Yoga and Spinning, which is right on Abbot Kinney, just walking distance away from where I live. It was challenging and I sure did sweat a lot. But, I haven't been good about packing up my bike and riding in Griffith Park, so spinning was just what I needed. Especially with a triathlon coming up. I'm thinking of investing in more classes...we'll see. I've been taking private swimming lessons (working on technique), and my usual pilates semi-privates, and these things add up -- moreso when you're income-challenged like I am at the moment.

Two nights ago, I went out to the Barnes and Noble at the Grove for Victoria Rowell's book signing. The book is titled "The Women Who Raised Me," and so far it's a great read. Anyway, back to the reading....packed house! And VR's friends -- Kimberly Elise, Debbie Morgan, Kasi Lemmons, the ex-Mrs. Babyface and Shaun Robinson of Access Hollywood -- just to name a few, came out in full force to support. And, as you can imagine, they all looked mahvelous!

An Evening with "Entourage"

On Wednesday night, I went to the TV Academy in NoHo for "An Evening with Entourage." The entire cast, creators and producer were all there to talk about the show -- after a screening of the latest episode (36: Dog Day Afternoon).

I dig everything about this show (although, if I had to pick the weakest link, it would be the Vince character. He's kinda boring, but Adrian Grenier is so pretty it's kind of easy to forgive that), and now I appreciate it even more. Random observations:
- I had to wonder if Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara are good actors or just good at playing themselves. Sadly, I'm leaning towards the latter
- I love the whole idea of "Mrs. Ari." She rocks.
- How cool is it that Rex Lee worked as a casting assistant before landing the gig as Lloyd? How even cooler is it that he didn't quit that day job until 2006??!! Talk about being unaffected...
- I don't care how much of a douchebag Jerry Piven is; I love me some Ari. Plus, Pivs earned some serious cool points with me after his pilgrimage to India with The Travel Channel.

All this love for the show, but I don't have any plans to subscribe to HBO. I actually like getting the DVDs and watching the series like one long movie.

The next Academy panel coming up is for the show "Heroes." I don't watch it, but maybe if I'm wowed by the screening episode I might be tempted to check it out.

A Curse on Michael Holt of Heaven Films

So, on the night of the full moon in February, I decided to brighten my spirits by going for a mani-pedi in Santa Monica. The street traffic was really heavy that night, due to a backup on the 405...yes, it was a Friday night, but I hadn't seen the traffic that bad before.

Anyhoo, I'm headed down 5th street, and am almost at Wilshire, when a white compact car appears out of nowhere and smashes right into me. A guy was trying to turn left out of a parking lot and decided to get aggressive and gun it across traffic. Too bad he wasn't looking where he was going. Anyway, it happened at low speed, so we were both ok. He apologized profusely and owned up to his own stupidity. Then, he said he was driving a rental, so there was no insurance info to exchange. I got his driver license number and cell phone -- he told me he was a commercial director who was constantly between London and L.A., and that he was eager to pay for the damage to my car out of pocket.

The next day, I went to my mechanic and got an estimate for $1400(!). I let Michael know, and he told me that sounded about right. He was off on location but promised he'd wire the money to me.

Until, that is, he realized he was having some sort of financial crisis. Seems he was waiting on a client to pay him, blah, blah. This continued "I want to pay you and will as soon as I can." And, the fucker had the nerve to keep text messaging me instead of just sending email or calling. Note to everyone: please do not assume that everyone pays for the monthly "unlimited text message" feature with their cell phone. I don't.

Just before I hit the two month mark, I let Mr. Holt know that I was giving him a deadline to pay me before I notify my insurance. This is what he emails me back:
"I definately understand your concern.
Truthfully, I want to take care of this on my own
because I was not carrying liability insurance for the
U.S. at the time and had stupidly only purchased
insurance to cover the rental car.

I'm still struggling but expecting some income any
day. I'll keep you posted and will contact you in the
next few days again regardless.

Do what is best for you but I promise, I won't not pay
you for the damage. I just need a little more time. I
haven't been in this kind of money crunch for 10 years
and it really bites but I will be back in the black
soon with some new lessons learned. I'm so sorry.

Michael"

Just my luck that some broke-ass guy would hit my car. And no, he didn't get back to me.

So, on April 2nd, I notified my insurance company. Who notified me that I would be responsible for paying my deductible until they can successfully get the money from the rental company's insurance.

Of course, when I email Mr. Holt asking for the name of the rental company I get nothing. So, now, I'm calling each rental company with the info I have on him to try to narrow them down. What a fucking nightmare.

Anyway, lesson learned. No matter how reputable or cognizant of karma anyone seems, get every bit of information you need at the accident site. Call the cops if needed. And, if someone driving a rental car hits you, for goodness sake, get the tag number of the car in question.

Michael Holt, wherever you are, I hope you get what you deserve.

Sunrise on Easter Morning

For as long as I can remember, I've spent my Easter mornings welcoming the dawn at the annual Sunrise Service at the Hollywood Bowl, and yesterday was no different. I'd planned to get to bed early, so that I'd have no problem getting out of the house by 4 a.m., but, I got all caught up watching "The Ten Commandments" on ABC on Saturday night as I dozed on the couch, and the next thing I knew it was 1 a.m.

I did get up and get to Hollywood by 5, and sat in a box. It was actually pretty mild out, and by the time the service started, the birds were tweeting pretty loudly. The service usually isn't the most polished, but I enjoy it and being in one of my fave outdoor spots. The weather has been overcast, so there wasn't that beautiful and dramatic breaking of the first rays that makes the service so much more ethereal, but it was still very nice.

And the best thing of all, I'm back in my car by 7ish. My friend and I went for a nice, meandering breakfast (it was too early for brunch!) at The Coffee Table in Silver Lake. I was home by about 11.

I spent the rest of day on the couch with Turner Classic Movies and the Ion Network -- "Easter Parade," "King of Kings," and some classic eps of "Battlestar Gallactica." BG was such a ripoff of "Star Wars" in every way, down to the opening credits of the pilot episode. Fun fact: Rick Springfield played the doomed brother of Apollo who the Cylons shoot down in the first episode.

But, back to Easter. The older I get, the more emotional the whole story becomes for me. And, call me naive or uninformed, but I just don't get the whole argument that the Jews were responsible for Jesus's death. Any way you slice it, the Romans and their horribly destructive "holy" empire are the ones who carried out the deed. My goodness, those people were E-VIL. Anyway, I've come to the point in my life where I'd like to learn more of the Bible, so I'm going to attempt to read it. As far as I'm concerned, it would be the equivalent of reading Bulfinch's Mythology or The Iliad/Odyssey; isn't that what all those holy books are anyway -- fables, parables and myths that offer a blueprint for living? However, it would be nice to be able to participate in informed debate anytime someone trots out bible passages or hopes to use them to back up their ignorance and hatred. But, I digress.

Time to get back to writing.

Oh, Henry!

This past weekend, DirecTV ran a free preview of "The Tudors," the new series on Showtime starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. As I was doing what I usually do on Saturday nights (lounging on the couch in front of the tele; I'm not keen on going out Fri-Sat evenings), I partook of said preview. Compelling stuff, and I must say that JRM is so pretty to look at, even with that stone-cold masochistic gaze. He's perfected a "smug royal" snare that is without equal.

Anyhoo, the preview was just a morsel to whet the appetite: "edited" down. I got hooked, and hopeful that I'd found a new show to replace my beloved "Footballers Wives" -- nudity, cussing and trashy sex included. But alas, I don't see myself signing up for premium channels anytime in the near future.

Coincidentally, I received my first "For Your Consideration" package for TV Academy members last week...it just so happened to be from Showtime. And guess what it included? SIX whole eps of "The Tudors" -- woo to the hoo!!!

I watched episode three last night, and I have to say I love everything about this series. I have developed a fascination for the horrible little details of Henry VIII's reign that has me spending good time on the Wikipedia.

If anyone out there needs fuel against the whole "defense of marriage" campaign, learn your history of the monarchy. You'll realize that marriage was nothing more than a way to transfer land, form alliances and perpetuate business dealings. Imagine "bethrothing" your little girl to her first cousin at age 12 just to keep peace in the family and maintain a hold on a good part of the continent? Knowing that her old hubby would most likely be getting his kicks from her ladies in waiting and she would most likely be exerting p-control over a jester, duke or lower lord? Sick much? And, let's not even talk about the hypocritical money-grubbing fucks who were making names for themselves in the church. This was "civilized" society?

Sounds like Henry was a sort of renaissance man/rock star in his youth -- you know, before he turned into the bloated, crazy-ass fat man shoving turkey legs down his gullet. But, the guy never had a conscience. How can you go from being in love in someone to cutting off her head, just for spite? Henry was granted annulments for a few of his marriages (he broke with the Vatican so that this wouldn't be a problem), so in the end he didn't have to have all those women beheaded. But, Henry had bloodlust. I read somewhere that during his reign, more than 72,000 people were executed (not only decapitated but also, *gulp* "drawn and quartered")...YIKES!

He may have been a first-class wanker, but if he looked anything like Jonathan Rhys Meyers during his youth, I'd almost be tempted to cut Ol' Henry some slack. Almost.

http://www.sho.com/site/tudors

Lazy Sunday

It was another beautiful, but very lazy Sunday. I didn't make it to the Farmer's Market, didn't even make it to the pool for an afternoon swim; I did, however, eventually make it into the shower -- at about 4 p.m., tho.

A friend of mine was having an informal get-together in the late afternoon/early evening. I headed over there after first stopping to get a pedi.

It was a fun, mellow time with some nice convo sitting around the living room. Two of his guests (a married couple) talked about being actors. I thought the guy looked familiar and thought that perhaps we'd met before, but then I realized I probably just noticed him from TV.

After I got home it finally hit me where I knew him from -- the show 24. He played the character of Tony Almeida. Of course I sighed with relief that I didn't make a disparaging remark about the show, because we were having a convo about good/bad TV programs...

Looks like I've finally learned how to conduct myself in mixed company ... a necessary skill when you live where I do!

I've Gotta Tri

Last night, I went to a training seminar at the REI store in Santa Monica. It was put on by the folks at Danskin about the Womens' Triathlon Series they do across the country each year. I've decided to put that USAT membership I bought last year to good use and sign up!

It's a sprint tri (1/2 mile swim; 12 mile bike; 5K run) which takes place at Bonelli Park in San Dimas on the weekend of June 2nd. That gives me a little more than 8 weeks to train, so I'll start getting serious with my swims this week.

Danskin's coach- an impressive 60-year-old athlete with many books, triathlons, ultramarathons and Ironman tris under her belt- said that we should decide why we're doing the race before committing to it. I'm doing this race because I love the thrill of being considered an actual athlete at this point in my life. I'm also doing it because I'm eager to step up my swimming and prove that I can work around my challenges (lower back pain; degenerating disks). But, my inspiration to get to that finish line is the memory of my Aunt Rosemary, who recently lost her fight with cancer, and the support and admiration for my old J-School classmate, Kelley Tuthill, who's hunkering down and determined to beat breast cancer; the thought of them will keep me going.

This is a great race for first-timers. If you're at all jonesin' to find your inner athlete (and if you can see yourself joining a committed community of super-fit people with great-looking bods), tri it .. you might like it! http://danskin.com/raceinfo.html

Reflections on Venice

I've been living in the little yellow guest cottage in Venice for about 15 months now. I go through periods of ambivalence about it -- I love the proximity to the beach; the proximity to the great restaurants, shops and scene of Abbot Kinney Blvd.; the fact that I'm living around "my people," as opposed to the very vanilla, very homogeneous Santa Monica (which I do still love); the arty, eclectic vibe of the place (this is, after all, the birthplace of the Doors), and the community spirit.

I can do without the gang activity, the drug deals that go down in broad daylight on my street, the ghetto mentality of some residents (I can never be sure what large piece of furniture or trash will be dumped in the alley), and the equally abhorrent fortress mentality of people who want to live in this area yet not have to deal with any of its regular, day-to-day residents.

I was down on Venice and ready to pack up and leave right before the holidays, when I was positive the universe had an East Coast gig and move in store for me. But now that I've been given the chance to really take a breath and live like a "woman of leisure" here (albeit a cash-poor one), I'm loving my neighborhood. I dig my neighbors, the old-timers who keep an eye on things on my block, and the great architectural diversity -- walks in my 'hood are never dull. Yes, I have witnessed a girlfight; warm nights and large tents erected in the parking lots of the apartment buildings in the area mean Spanish-language music will be played at high levels into the wee hours; graffiti tags show up on fences and other defiled bits of personal property from time to time, and the police presence is palpable (especially every once in a blue moon when a chopper is searching the area). But, in the end, I consider Venice my home; I'm a part of this community.

I've had friends visit and I can't help noticing their discomfort sometimes; they're quick to lock their car doors and make comments about the questionable safety of the area. More and more, I'm realizing that the fear is not of scary-looking drug dealers or derelicts; it's just plain ol' black people that make them nervous. Where I see a neighbor just going about his business, they see a fearsome, suspicious black man. Where they see a potential drug dealer sporting dreadlocks, I see my soft-spoken, quite intellectual neighbor. Where they see a "ghetto dweller," I see an old-time Venice resident not quite ready or able to afford upgrades on the 50-year-old family home in a way to keep up with the luxury car-driving newbies and their Wallpaper-worthy architectural remodels.

Many of my friends are not used to seeing more than one or two black people at a time (and then, they're the non-threatening kind that act, speak and dress just like them), so the thought of a whole area populated by black folks like Oakwood, my section of Venice, is almost unfathomable. Depressing -- especially in a city that's supposed to be so mixed -- but true.

Despite that, and in spite of the fact that I do miss and love Los Feliz/Holllywood/Silverlake, Venice is now a part of me. The other day I was daydreaming about the house I'd want to buy in the area on the other side of Abbot Kinney when I hit it big. That was a turning point -- up until now my dream house was in the Hollywood Hills.

I think Venice and I have a long, meaningful relationship ahead.

Seed of the Sea

I met a friend for a relaxing tonic and some convo at Elixir Tonics and Teas on Melrose yesterday. For some reason, I decided to forgo the "Virtual Buddha" and even the very effective "Blues Buster" and get a "Chi-Devil" - the flavorful womens' sensuality tonic.

Anyhoo, before heading back to the Westside, we ducked into the newish shop next door- a high-end erotica emporium named Coco de Mer. It's the American outpost of a British shop owned by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and the Roddicks of The Body Shop, named for the rare and erotic palm seed found on the Seychelles.

It's a beautiful and well-done space, and with sex toys and accoutrements artfully arranged, like a museum exhibit. The place smelled amazing and is a fantastic space to host an event.

I made one little purchase -- nope, not a harness, glass dildo or a guide to flogging - I bought a beautiful little edition of Neruda's Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, with illustrations by Picasso. I adore Neruda's poetry.

Coco de Mer has a website at: www.cocodemerusa.com, and a members-only online area with naughty (but very tastefully done) features.

The Thea-tuh

I went to see "Speed the Plow" at the Geffen Playhouse on Sunday. The tickets were free -- comped to the CMU West Coast Drama Alumni Clan -- so I claimed a couple for the 7 p.m. show. Wouldn't you know...the seats were in the front row. Yep, Alicia Silverstone, Greg Germann and Jon Tenney were practically in my lap -- within spitting distance!

The show was quite good. Very entertaining. I was very impressed by the sets (??!) as well.

I've been seeing Mr. Germann (of Aly McBeal fame) at the pool, also doing laps in the afternoons. I'm not going anywhere with this thought, just figured I'd mention it.

And speaking of pools/swimming, I'm planning on seeing "Pride" this weekend. Might also go to a TV Academy screening of "Wild Hogs," but not sure yet.

Woo to the Hoo!

Got my Police ticket today. Staples center, June 20, section 108, row 19, seat 10. Giddyap!

Buy the Book

I'm a featured "Go-to Girl" for travel advice in "A Virgin's Guide to Everything: From Sushi to Sample Sales - A Novice's Handbook to Doing it Right" (Lauren McCutcheon, 5SPOT, 2006), so I got tapped to co-host a recent "Virgin's Guide" event. The theme was Spring Break beauty and the location was the L'Oreal Paris flagship store at the Beverly Center. The event happened right on the Ides of March (15th), and it was a smashing success. A wonderful group of women turned out, enjoyed the food, drink and makeovers. Everyone looked amazing when the L'Oreal team was done with them.

If you haven't visited the L'Oreal Paris store, it's worth a visit. The products are great and the prices are unbelievably low. The "Light Pod" is not to be missed either. It's a small, enclosed space that can emulate the light of a variety of situations (indoor, fluorescent, bathroom), as well as hot spots around town (Dolce, Geisha House) and Hollywood-specific scenarios (red carpet!). It's an amazing innovation.

Anyhoo, this partnership -- and perhaps my burgeoning part-time career as a Go-to Gal -- is all due to the book. If you haven't seen it yet, click on the book cover or the Amazon link on the right.

Now, back to my novel! Forty days and counting till I hope to have it done...

That's My Shmoop!

I recently went to visit with my parents in NY for a week. The highlight was getting to spend quality time with my 12-month old niece. Here, she's eating (a fave pasttime) and dancing (a hobby?). She even does a bit of vocalizing. She's a hoot.