tag:,2008:/4 2008-11-21T05:27:02Z Movable Type 3.35 tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1975 2008-11-21T05:06:40Z 2008-11-21T05:27:02Z

In these tough economic times I often get up in the middle of the night to fret a little about how this whole country in going down the toilette and so many unfortunate people with it. It's during these nighttime...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ In these tough economic times I often get up in the middle of the night to fret a little about how this whole country in going down the toilette and so many unfortunate people with it. It's during these nighttime romps around my glamorous 500 square foot apartment that I see all the creatures living off of me (a testament to just how glamorous my place really is). Tonight while staring at a cockroach stuck in the dog bowl I remembered a show I saw on the Discovery channel about a year back. In the show they talked about the world without people and they touched on the issue that most would think that roaches (along with rats and mice) would be set to inherit the earth should our species pass on. In the segment they pointed out that since these critters live off of people, once we're gone, there is going to be a whole lot less of them. So, in fact, the creatures most likely to actually inherit the earth and experience a population boom are plain little house cats. Yes, cats. Meow! They're highly adaptable, scrappy, cunning, breed easily and really have no natural predators. Laugh now, but one day they'll be in charge. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1974 2008-11-20T01:07:54Z 2008-11-20T01:18:32Z

Not having company health insurance or really benefits of any kind (other than getting to rub elbows with the rich and famous) isn't my least favorite part of my job here in LA. My least favorite part of the job...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ Not having company health insurance or really benefits of any kind (other than getting to rub elbows with the rich and famous) isn't my least favorite part of my job here in LA. My least favorite part of the job is having to lie for everyone here in the office. Since I'm the only one who answers the damn phone anymore I get to lie for everyone. I get to lie about my coworker's whereabouts, lie about the progress of the projects to the clients and lie about how much we do or don't know. The really terrible part about it all is that I'm a crappy liar and I worry it damages the company reputation. It's true that what people don't know won't hurt them but when I tell a lie they know. Stupid dishonesty. I don't like it. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1972 2008-11-18T01:06:47Z 2008-11-18T01:24:16Z

Los Angeles is well known for having crappy air. I think it's part of the reason so few people drive with their windows down. Recently there have been huge fires burning both south and west of the city bringing the...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ ]]> tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1971 2008-11-16T22:29:55Z 2008-11-16T23:01:31Z

Koreatown in Los Angeles has its scary moments. A few weeks ago Nicole and I awoke to four gunshots at about 10:30 pm. We ran to the windows but didn't see anything. A week or so later, just as I...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ Koreatown in Los Angeles has its scary moments. A few weeks ago Nicole and I awoke to four gunshots at about 10:30 pm. We ran to the windows but didn't see anything. A week or so later, just as I had hopped on my scooter and rode around the corner there were five more. Luckily, no one was injured in any of these shootings. From what we can gather from the streetside gossip there's a rival gang that keeps coming into our part of the neighborhood that is apparently controlled by another gang. I don't see drug deals or anything going on in the streets or alleys so I'm not exactly sure why the gangs are fighting over a shitty piece of the city. Just to claim it as their own? It's beyond me. I think they fight just to fight. Good thing they've got terrible aim and I'm on the 4th floor. Even though the neighborhood avoided gang war casualties it didn't escape casualty free. A few days ago we came home to see the coroner's van and three police cars parked in front of the building across the street (which is managed by the same company that manages ours and also owns another building on the street). We asked around but no one knew anything and we just assumed the gang violence had taken a life and everyone was too scared to talk. I even asked the property manager Azar and he said he didn't know anything but relayed to me that he had recently been promoted to corporate and he wouldn't be managing these three buildings anymore. Then today, as Nicole was walking Oni, she ran into a very talkative woman who lives in the building across the street who seems to know everything about what's going down in the neighborhood. She told Nicole that the new property manager (Azar's replacement) had gone inside the elevator shaft (without shutting anything down) to see if he could determine why it wasn't working when someone on one of the upper floors hit the button, the elevator turned on and it crushed him. What a terrible tragedy. What's worse is that the management company didn't tell anyone what happened (nor did they shut down the elevator) leaving everyone to find out through word of mouth. Koreatown has more good days than bad but since the bullets started flying Nicole and I have started looking for a new place to live. Hopefully this will all make for some riveting story to tell our children some day and we can get out of here before something really awful happens. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1968 2008-11-13T01:11:06Z 2008-11-14T01:21:48Z

Please excuse my language but OH MY FUCK is West Hollywood crazy on Halloween. Nicole and I were invited to a house party just off of Santa Monica Blvd and Doheny on Halloween night. It was one of Nicole's coworkers...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ ]]> tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1960 2008-10-25T01:13:29Z 2008-10-25T01:36:18Z

I'm not one for shopping but my Dad and sister are in town and my little sister LOVES to spend money. She's crazy about two things: White shoes and purses. She's really into designer handbags and at Santee Alley we...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ ]]> tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1957 2008-10-17T03:50:43Z 2008-10-17T04:21:13Z

I didn't move to LA to become a celebrity, hang out with them, or even have expectations of seeing one but the job I ended up getting changed that. I've been careful not to say the name of the firm...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ I didn't move to LA to become a celebrity, hang out with them, or even have expectations of seeing one but the job I ended up getting changed that. I've been careful not to say the name of the firm I work for here because I've actually had an experience in the past where I mentioned the firm's name and they found out about it (although it was merely because there was no other mention of the firm anywhere else on the internet). I also told myself that I wouldn't mention any of the names that came through the door just to be safe but the person I met today is so incredibly famous I don't think there's a chance that this blog would ever have an impact on them or the business I work for so I'm going to do it... Today I met Cindy Crawford. All that you would think of her is absolutely true: She's tall and beautiful and looks just like she does in all the pictures. What I was fortunate enough to experience today though is the fact that even though she may be the most well known model of all time she's a completely normal person. Rather than get caught up in her celebrity when we spoke I thought about how a conversation between us is no different than a conversation between me and the mailman. We're all really just people. I'm sure some will read this and think to themselves that of course they wouldn't treat celebrities any differently and of course we're all just people. Well, if you thought that, good for you. Unfortunately, for a lot of my life I was like most of brainwashed America and thought for some weird reason that celebrities stood under a different and better sun and drank different but better water. I'm happy I got to meet Cindy Crawford today and see what a normal person she is. It gives me hope that there are lots of normal people leading happy lives no matter what their position. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1952 2008-10-08T16:49:27Z 2008-10-08T17:11:32Z

The Laurel Canyon Dog Park is totally awesome. It's not only the biggest dog park I've ever seen, it's the nicest dog park I've ever seen. It has benches, tables, grass, trees, shade and a water fountain for you and...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ The Laurel Canyon Dog Park is totally awesome. It's not only the biggest dog park I've ever seen, it's the nicest dog park I've ever seen. It has benches, tables, grass, trees, shade and a water fountain for you and the doggies! Upon releasing Oni from his leash inside the park he gave me the "WTF!" look. Like he couldn't believe I'd let him be free in such a vast doggy wonderland. Then he ran... And ran... And ran. Up in the Hollywood Hills right of Laurel Canyon Blvd it's only 15 minutes from Koreatown. I read some reviews before going and I think they were all written by prissy Hollywood girls with toy dogs who only complained about how small and crappy the section of the park reserved for small dogs was. If you have a big dog or a small dog that likes to run (like mine) they have a great time. I also read in a magazine and saw on Entourage that it's a good place to meet people if you're single (and perhaps spot a celebrity or two). tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1949 2008-09-30T18:07:00Z 2008-10-08T16:41:44Z

LA received its first rain (yesterday) since we arrived in late June. It wasn't a rain really, or even a sprinkle. More like a scanty sputter of drops from a sad little cloud over West Hollywood. Then it went right...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ LA received its first rain (yesterday) since we arrived in late June. It wasn't a rain really, or even a sprinkle. More like a scanty sputter of drops from a sad little cloud over West Hollywood. Then it went right back into the 80s. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1947 2008-09-23T17:03:31Z 2008-09-26T16:11:10Z

Talk about a sweet place to get a drink in Hollywood! Some friends and I discovered this place while en route to get a drink at Bar Marmont (well known for having outrageously priced beverages but a good chance at...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ Talk about a sweet place to get a drink in Hollywood! Some friends and I discovered this place while en route to get a drink at Bar Marmont (well known for having outrageously priced beverages but a good chance at rubbing elbows with the rich and famous). The enticing tabletop signs at the Trocadero easily seen from the sidewalk read, "Happy Hour 6:00 - 8:00pm All drinks half price." ALL drinks half price?!! Half suspecting this to be some kind of scheme to get you in the door I was ready to pay $7 for a $14 beer but it turns out that a domestic beer runs about $6 and a martini runs about $10, so, during happy hour you can easily get loaded for $20 (or at least I can). The bar wasn't crowded so we easily got a seat on their nice patio where we could politely tell all the homeless walking by that we would prefer not to give them any money. On our exit we decided to hit the bathroom before our journey out of Hollywood and discovered on the walls of the bathroom many photos of the biggest celebrities of yesteryear sitting in the very same bar (although the decor was slightly different). To me at least, the present day celebrity hang outs are far too hip and overpriced (like the aforementioned Bar Marmont) and I'd rather get a bit of that Hollywood nostalgia from a picture on a wall (like the Trocadero) or a plaque above the booth (like the Hamburger Hamlet) to let me know that I'm sitting in the very place Frank Sinatra or Humphrey Bogart once sat. I give the Trocadero Lounge two thumbs up. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1945 2008-09-23T16:45:38Z 2008-09-23T17:01:46Z

I recently purchased a membership to the Crunch Gym on Sunset and Crescent Heights in Hollywood. As far as the facility goes it's a fantastic place. I go around 8:00am for a couple hours and there never seems to be...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ I recently purchased a membership to the Crunch Gym on Sunset and Crescent Heights in Hollywood. As far as the facility goes it's a fantastic place. I go around 8:00am for a couple hours and there never seems to be a crowd or anything but Hollywood being Hollywood has some of the most beautiful people in the country. In my past gym experiences there's a hot girl here, ripped dude there and most of the gym sort of leers at them with most of the people looking like me if not like me but 25 years older. But in Hollywood I'm the turd in the punch bowl. There are more beautiful people working on their beautiful bodies than you can shake a stick at. The good looking don't bother me and I think it's funny to see how uncomfortable they get when working out next to one another. Today I watched a guy running on the treadmill and when a good looking girl started running next to him he increased his pace by a good two points and then it looked as though she was running while trying not to sweat. Good times. I really like Hollywood and all the people in it. If you're planning on getting a gym membership in Hollywood I could recommend Crunch. They've always got clean towels, friendly staff, a steam room, loads of equipment and at $72 a month it's not the most expensive membership in Hollywood. Also, if you can prove to them that you recently graduated from college they'll give you a membership at half the regular price. Pretty sweet. Wish I would have known that before I went to sign up. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1944 2008-09-23T16:40:12Z 2008-09-23T16:45:21Z

Since Nicole and I arrived in June the temperature in Los Angeles hasn't topped 92 and hasn't dropped below 63. 99% of the days with a high of 84 and a low of 65. The only thing I don't like...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ Since Nicole and I arrived in June the temperature in Los Angeles hasn't topped 92 and hasn't dropped below 63. 99% of the days with a high of 84 and a low of 65. The only thing I don't like is that it hasn't rained a drop since we've been here. They tell me it'll rain in January but I wish it would rain just to rinse the city of all the grime. Every tree and bush outside has this gray soot that rubs off on your clothes if you brush it. I guess that's the price you have to pay for near perfect weather. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1937 2008-09-15T16:51:21Z 2008-09-15T16:58:19Z

I used to take pride in taking care of my vehicle but since our move to LA that's become near impossible. It's funny because Los Angeles is a place where people love their cars but don't seem to give a...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ love their cars but don't seem to give a crap about anyone else's. It seems as though every time I go to squeeze the car out of a parking space I notice a new scratch, dent, scrape, scuff or mark of some kind. It didn't help that Nicole backed it into a stucco building across the alley from my office but since then we've already received a nice new scuff on the bumper from someone hitting it while getting into their parking space. Sometimes I miss the days when cars actually had real bumpers to avoid instances just like these.]]> tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1933 2008-09-04T17:20:36Z 2008-09-04T17:35:40Z

Nicole and I had a very nice anniversary dinner at Le Petit Four on Sunset Blvd last night. Not only were the prices modest for Hollywood, they're modest for all of L.A.! And they didn't skimp on the quality or...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ Nicole and I had a very nice anniversary dinner at Le Petit Four on Sunset Blvd last night. Not only were the prices modest for Hollywood, they're modest for all of L.A.! And they didn't skimp on the quality or quantity either. Then, as if the modestly priced food wasn't enough, they have ample free parking right behind the restaurant which is unheard of in Hollywood. Together Nicole and I had a crabcake appetizer, three beers, two glasses of wine, perfectly grilled Filet Mignon, a delicious pasta dish and an apple pie dessert with ice cream and it all totaled $103.00. Fantastic! The service was great and the atmosphere clean and quiet (except for the one instance of a passing truck blowing an airhorn making the whole restaurant jump and feel violated). I'd recommend it as the perfect date place if you wanted to impress without breaking the bank. tag:www.MYMOVETOLA.COM,2008://4.1932 2008-09-04T16:29:16Z 2008-09-04T17:16:42Z

For our anniversary weekend Nicole and I decided to go see what the mountains surrounding Los Angeles had to offer. We decided to hike Gaviota Peak which is about one and a half hours from Los Angeles or 20...

dom http://www.melonandorange.com/ For our anniversary weekend Nicole and I decided to go see what the mountains surrounding Los Angeles had to offer. We decided to hike Gaviota Peak which is about one and a half hours from Los Angeles or 20 minutes from Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez Mountains. It stands at 2,458 feet above sea level which is nothing if you're from Colorado because when you roll out of bed in the morning in Denver you're already at 5,280 feet. It was an easier hike than some I've done in Colorado mostly because of the abundance of oxygen even at the top but it was still a challenging enough hike to make me really sore. We brought the dog who seemed to have a good time and was just as tired as we where when we reached the top. On the way down we decided to see how he'd do without one of us holding his leash and for a while he trotted right behind me but then I guess the ground became too hot for his feet so he'd run ahead to the next patch of shade and wait for us to catch up. We would see a group of hikers every 30 minutes or so and only a few of them had dogs. Even though it was Labor Day I would guess there wasn't more than 20 people on the whole mountain. We reached the summit in about an hour and a half and were surprised to find we were all alone up there. We ate our lunch while taking in the spectacular ocean views in perfect sunny 75 degree weather and in total peace and quiet. It was an amazing experience. I'll post a picture once I get them off the camera.]]>