Robot Journal : Happy Birthday Jerks

7/18/2007

First & Foremost
If I ever need a publicist, I am hiring whoever is currently promoting Posh Spice. This past week she has been everywhere (media wise).
On that same note, it begs the question: Do Americans really care? Does the average Wal-Mart shopper know who David Beckham is?
I bet not.

Second
The year is 2007. People still can't seem how to fly on planes.
On both flights this weekend, someone jumped up to run around and get something out of the overhead while we were taking off or landing.

Also, liquids. You can't bring those on. Still. As all the signs said.
Arguing about it doesn't help.

Third
I sat next to a very large man on the way back. Actually, not next, under.
Awesome!

Hola LA
Last Friday we zoomed out to LA on one of those "jet" planes that are all the rage. The flight left at 7am, which meant we had to be at JFK at 6am which meant we had to leave the apartment at 5:15 which meant that we had to wake up at 4:50am. Ouch. That hurt.
I think I am still catching up on that lost sleep.

Because of the time zones and the air travel and the early time, we arrived in LA at 10am. Viva time zones!

We arrive at the uber-lovely home of our pals Kristy & Matt in fun Silverlake. Kristy had wisely gone and picked up a bag of sandwiches from our all time favorite breakfast/lunch spot, Caf� Tropical, featuring their amazing cubano sandwiches on their equally amazing flaky bread.
Sitting under a shady tree. Eating cubanos. Perfect start to the weekend.

After we all played with their new fountain (holy crap they have a fountain!) we picked up a keg of beer for the party the next day and birthday cake decorated with the classic birthday message:

"Happy Birthday Jerks!"

Before dinner, I open a bottle of champagne and we all sit around and fawn over it and eat snacks and watch the birds zooming around.

OK. Cubano sandwiches. Keg of beer. "Jerk" cake. Dom Perignon. Lovely LA weather.
So far so good.

Dinner was at a Korean BBQ place that was reputedly the best in LA - and by "best" they meant "smokiest" and "least ventilated".
Still, it was awesome.

We had drinks at a bar that required a password to get in. The password was "Cobra Kai".
The bar is "R Bar" if you want to run there now.
I was remarking to Mrs. Robot afterwards that if I was producing a movie and needed a bar for a scene set in LA, I'd consider that bar. It had that very hard to pinpoint "LA" quality about it.
On the way home, with the top down, everyone was tapping their feet and whistling along with that Peter Bjorn and John song.

LA Driving
If you drive in NYC, you are used to kind of inching into the crosswalk as you wait for people to cross the street.
In LA, I find that people will yell at you when you do that.

Party

Right. The reason we were out there is that some of our friends are old and have turned an age that to some is a "milestone" - hence we fly out for a birthday party.

Our pal Jungle and his wife were in town (who I haven't seen since like... 1978). His birthday had been a few weeks earlier. Our pal Mark's birthday was the next day. Kristy's birthday is the end of the month.

Jungle's nametag said: Jungle. No Liquor Please.

The party was a big ol' time and Kristy & Matt did their backyard up all pretty with candles everywhere and a keg of beer and a bar full of wine.
Sunshine Jen and her boy-pal popped by. That was cool.
She was excited because Mark was premiering his super-8 copy of the Empire Strikes Back (hilarious).

I tried to discuss that odd "LA-ist" quality about so many of the bands that come from that town and slipped up and used the phrase "low brow" and may have insulted a few people.
I also mentioned a few times that I think movies are stupid.

So east-coast cranky I was!

Tortilla smasher!

Sunday morning we all awoke and were surprisingly not hung-over and/or physically injured and/or scarred. We made eggs and bacon and wrapped them up in homemade tortillas. You know, with the flour mixture and the making of the balls and the squashing them with the heavy thing (tortilla press).
(Lisa: Go buy one now!)
(We went shopping and bought one to take home with us)
Delightful.

That night we had the birthday people back over for a tremendously fine dinner that we prepared in the back yard.
I made scallops. There were hamburgers. Grilled vegetables. Corn. Skirt steak.
Kristy and I raided her very large collection of wine and poured some great stuff.
Once again, it was a lovely (really, the only word to describe it) evening.
Friends. Food. Drink. Music. Cooking. Evening breezes and no humidity. No mosquitoes.

Taco
Slow roasted pork tacos. That is my current favorite thing.
Yow.
Cochinita: A traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from Yucat�n.

Dear Hertz,
The convertible Toyota Solara can hold a keg of beer in it's trunk without any issues.
Although it will bottom out sometimes.

comments[7] | 7/18/2007 | perma-link

›bio: rich
›archives

«« (back)				(forward) »»
love/hate (the food meme thing)				questions i am asked most about martial arts

Robot Journal

Previous Posts

›		Three Technological Advances I'd love to share with my teenage self

›		Seeing all these e scooters got me thinking

›		Mexico City

›		The time Chris and Stu drove to Milwaukee

›		What would be in a happyrobot cocktail?

›		What the world needs now is a think piece about the pandemic

›comments[7]
›all comments

›post #624
›bio: rich
›perma-link
›7/18/2007
›23:18

›archives
›first post
›that week

Holiday!

Category List

›		Apartment Buying in NYC
›		Bob Swanson
›		Cameras!
›		Cocktails
›		Cougars!
›		Election 2004
›		February Smackdown
›		Food and Drink!
›		Group Topics
›		Holiday!
›		I heart Brooklyn
›		Lists of things
›		Out of Context SMS
›		Rejected Love Stinks stories
›		Site News
›		Snap Wrap
›		Things I've Owned
›		This I believe
›		Wolves!