LA Weekend - July 19th-23rd
Thursday, July 19th
Washington, DC
Alarm goes off at 5:30 AM East Coast Time, I hit snooze and sleep another half hour
I wake up at 6 AM, pack and eat breakfast, leave house at 6:40 AM
Note: Conventional wisdom (and FAA regulations) suggest arriving at airport at least an hour before your flight - my flight is at 8:20 AM from Dulles, I leave house 1 hr 40 mins before my scheduled departure - this would on all accounts be considered cutting it close, considering parking car, checking in, going through security and getting to gate...this is how I choose to do it, arriving typically a half-hour or forty minutes before flight leaves, thereby minimizing the amount of time I spend loafing around in the airport.
Stop by ATM on M and 21st at 6:55 AM
Head over Key Bridge to 66 for Dulles and arrive at 7:25 AM, park in Economy lot Gold
7:35 arrive at terminal and go through security, check in
7:55 arrive at gate for 8:20 AM dep, delayed until 9:30
12:30 PM Pacific Time Arrive in Long Beach, CA - pick up rental car
Thursday Afternoon
Stop in for Jamba Juice on Fairfax and Beverly
Meet up with Lindsay, newlywed sister, just returned from honeymoon. We head home to the condo that she and her husband Pete had just purchased and moved into 1 month before - she seems great, place is nice, but not a lot of space c/p to what you would get in DC - CA real estate is insane.
Hang out with Lindsay in the afternoon, talk about her wedding and honeymoon, I see photos of the latter.
Thursday Evening
My friend Fred Engelfried (Peace Corps), who is also in for the wedding, picks me up with his new girlfriend, Meghan, a cheery and upbeat lass, and we head to a Mexican restaurant to have dinner with my other friend Brennen (Brown U) and his longtime girlfriend Audra.
Dinner is full of laughs at each other's expense, Brennen keeps bringing conversation around to his newfound faith, it borders on proselytizing, I joke that he and Audra will be hitting us up for a $50 donation at the end of dinner - in all seriousness, it is a good and substantive conversation, we appreciate enthusiasm, but it borders on zealotry.
We leave the Mexican restaurant and continue the conversation at a Coffee Bean down the street where there is an outside fire...
Go home, sleep like a log
Friday Morning
8:30 AM - I go out for breakfast with my friend Justin, another filmmaker who has just moved from DC to LA, happily - he tells me how many people in the "industry" he has already met and how excited he is about the possibilities - it makes me wonder, hmm...maybe LA is the place to be, but then again, maybe you lose your creative identify in the mix - we go to Urth Cafe in Santa Monica.
10 AM - I get dressed in a grey suit for weddding, I rather like it - drive to pick up Fred and Meghan en route, we arrive in time at 11 AM
Ceremony is Russian Orthodox, liturgy is in language of Old Church Slavonic, which I actually studied in Undergrad. Outdoors, sunny, contrast between solemnity of bearded Orthodox Priest muttering phrases in Russian and sunny Southern California patio - the attendees number about 30
Ceremony is followed by reception indoors, lunch - I sit next to the ever witty Sabine, whom I haven't seen since her wedding - we catch up on life and share some laughs,Justin and Fred are also seated at table, Justin has brought his girlfriend, Patria - Sabine and I tell him "she's a keeper" - they make an almost perfect match, much like Kevin and Liuba, the bride and groom.
I go back to Pete and Lindsay's where I am staying, and begin reading a book on the "Beatles" - fascinating read, they hit a tipping point not so much for their performances but rather for their fans' fanatical behaviour, they hit on hype and style, it is only later (after 2 years of touring and Beatlemania) that they begin innovating on substance and start distinguishing themselves as artists
Friday Evening
Dinner at Buddha's Belly with Lindsay,Pete, his sister Katie, and her husband Devin - Liam, my buddy from Monterey, joins us - we talk about Lindsay and Pete's wedding from 3 weeks before, I order peanut noodles, not too good, unfortunately
We then go to bar in Santa Monica where I beat Pete in 2 straight games of Ms. Pac-Man - go home and sleep like log
Saturday Morning
I drive to Burbank to pick up Brennen on way to 11 AM flag football game in Pasadena - he is not ready, so I go get some breakfast and ask him to meet me there, which he does - I don't want to hang out in his house twiddling my thumbs an hour before gametime, nor do I want him to see my impatience, so I remove myself from environment.
I am sore as hell after 4 hours of football, head to Manhattan Beach to catch up with wedding party - don't arrive until 3:30 PM, they are packing up to leave, so I go for a quick swim with Fred, go back to towel and nap while he and Meghan go for walk
We then catch up with Justin and Patria at taco place, then head to Cold Stone and I buy an $8 ice cream cone! Good? Yes, worth it? Maybe...
I drive back to Santa Monica, shower, change, chat with Linds and Pete and then head back to Manhattan Beach, catch up with crew at tail end of dinner - 8:30ish - Liuba and I have a good talk about her career aspirations, she wants to work in consulting, she is thinking of going to B-school for MBA - I try to think of contacts in consulting - resolve to introduce her to my friend JC, who lives in SF and recently adopted a Russian boy - he has a good network and can maybe set her up with some informational interviews...she is young and smart, pretty ambitious, but I can infer that her confidence is low, understandably, she is a foreigner (Russian), only been in states for several months, is a bit of an introvert - just needs a start.
Go home at 11:30 PM and am in bed and asleep before midnight
Sunday
Brennen and Audra come over at 9:30 AM and we head for San Diego - on the way down the conversation again comes round to Faith and their spiritual and relationship journey - I dig it, but am a bit suppressed by what I feel is a one-sided outpouring in the conversation, reminds me a bit of cousin Sean's long-windedness and insensitivity to the back-and-forth of a conversation - some people do love to hear themselves talk...I am a listener by nature, destined to endure the soliloquies of enlightened companions...though an enlightened soliloquy is better than meaningless drivel, I suppose - is silence an option?
We listen to Beatles songs - I finally understand "Yesterday" it speaks to the common predicament of a guy breaking up with a girl and then realizing how much he really liked her only after she is gone, a very common predicament.
We arrive at my friend Meghan's place in SD, beautiful home - she lightens the mood with her warm welcome, we get the $.50 tour and then depart for Jimbo's, a local market, and then head to the beach, where we meet with Cousin Kate and hike for 30 minutes along a coastal trail that is on a par with Big Sur in terms of its panoramic vistas of the Pacific Ocean and its vast tranquility...
We arrive at bottom of trail and have a picnic on beach, then go for a swim in water that is cold enough to be invigorating, but warm enough that you can adjust to it after a few minutes of immersion, waves roll gently in, Kate, Meghan and I take the waves one by one, either under or over - submerge into or jump with - depending on the size
Kate tells Brennen and me about her experiences in professional sailing and all the different types of boats and races there are - intense and fascinating! She is a well-rounded individual who has built a great life around her two passions - sailing and graphic design
We lose the game, Tommy is not in the zone that he was in the day before, misses some open receivers in final minutes of game - Tommy takes the blame, there is nothing else to say...the game rides on the QB, the game is over, I suggest we have dinner with Tommy before heading back to LA - we do.
On way back, Brennen, Audra and I listen to Beatles, I ask Brennen to drive and doze off - they are marvelling at musical brilliance of what we are listening to - and I agree, but am not a musician like them, and thus am a bit behind in some of the technical speak...
I get home, am sore and dead-tired, hit the sack like a load of bricks, sleep soundly.
Monday
Go out to breakfast with Lindsay, at Urth Cafe, once again - we run into Meaghan Townsend and one of her fellow yoga instructors - we all sit together and enjoy a breakfast
The muscles around my spine are as tight as violin strings, I am am incredibly sore from the football, so I set up an appt for a a massage, $44 for the hour, not a bad deal, $60 with tip in the end - I feel better, but am still sore...
2 PM - meet up with Richard Propper of Solid Entertainment, a documentary distribution company - Liam Lynch joins us - we talk about potential on-line video production and distribution ventures, whether to build the "Day in the Life" brand or to revive 'Walkumentary.com" - comedy seems to have a bigger upside if you can get it right - I share with him some of my "comedy" ideas, he loves them, is surprised that I have a comic mind - as my last productions have been so serious (Swing State Ohio, Recyclers) I describe the walkumentary brand as "high brow Jackass"
4 PM I go to Michelle Paster's home studio, watch some of her footage from documentary - some footage (hidden camera) is unwatchable, other interviews are polished and interesting - it's about people establishing their careers in their twenties...I encourage her to produce stand-alone short episodes to build some confidence and buzz about her project - propose some "walkumentary" concepts, like going to a studio uninvited and asking for a job...
6 PM I pack my stuff drive to Chin Chin to mee with Pete and Lindsay for final dinner before I head back East - I pick up the check on credit card - spend now and pay later
9:30 PM Depart on redeye from Long Beach for Dulles
5:30 AM Arrive IAD,
7 AM arrive home, take a bath and shave. Back to reality.
End of Post
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