So Far

Before my readership gets restless and rebel (or stop checking my blog) here's a new post - although not very exciting...There's not much going on right now. I am just relaxing back in sweet home Chicago.

Here's a list of what I've done so far:
*Haircuts: 1 - I was running late because of construction on 90/94 but my fabulous hairstylist managed to squeeze me in and give me an awesome haircut.
*Books read: 1-1/2 - Remember when I was obsessed with Harry Potter? Now not quite as obsessed although am enjoying it slowly
*Movies see: 3 - Grudge 2 (don't ask), Bourne Ultimatum (really good!) and Smokin' Aces (hot cast and lots of blood and guns)
*Crappy tv watched: a million hours. I love premium cable : )

Song currently obsessed with: Dancing with Myself as performed by Nouvelle Vague

Detoxing

With Vegas's All You Can Eat Buffets and all the McDonald's I've consumed while on the road, I feel like I've been stuffed, battered and deep fried. Now since I'm back at home, I need a bit of detox. Someone hand over some bok choy please!

Goodbye L.A.!

I am leaving L.A. I had an amazing time out here. I'll miss this wonderful, annoying, unforgettable city.


Here are a list of things I wish I could bring home with me:

• My Uncle Phil
• My friends and family here
• Pinkberry/Ce Fiore
• Pacific Ocean
• Palm Trees
• the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs
• Malibu
• Pacific Coast Highway
• the Speed limit (or lack thereof)
• the Weather
• the Beachtowns

Things L.A. can keep:

• Rude people
• Horrible traffic
• Crappy drivers
• 405
• the Smog
• Hollywood attitude
• The mandatory minimum of 20 minutes to get anywhere in this city

Good-bye Press Office!

Today is my last day at the press office. It has been a great experience. I've learned a lot. I've laughed a lot. I've cried a lot...And I've also watched a lot of TV.

Highlights of my internship:
*Meeting Team Awesome!
*Meeting the Magic
*The media center

Lowlights of my internship:
*The Los Angeles Mall Food court
*The frigid air conditioning
*Starbucks running out of my favorite muffins my last week here

Thanks guys for all the knowledge you have bestowed upon me and know that I'll be taking it with me when I leave.

I heart Team Awesome!

Alma Balloon

The Alma Balloon was originally a balloon decoration used at Alma's baby shower. (Alma is a pregnant lady in the office.) The balloon was abandoned after the big baby celebration so Frank moved it into my office. There it sat, day in and day out, slowly deflating, slowly dying - and yet, it still puts on a happy face!

Although it is a sad shadow of its former self, it has become almost like family to Frank. I am glad I will not be here when Alma finally goes to balloon heaven. I am sure Ryan (my successor) will take good care of grieving Frank...But I digress....

All summer long Frank has been bugging me to blog about Alma Balloon - "you should write about Alma..." and "Alma needs her story to be told..." and "just look at her. Look at how sad she is...you should put her on your blog..." His nagging was very annoying and I stayed strong, Alma Balloon was not going on my blog. But since I am leaving, here is my going away present to Frank:

An Ode to Alma Balloon

Deflated but not defeated,
Pink but not too perky,
Wet but not drowning,
Alma balloon brought joy.

Dying but not dead,
Floppy but not flipped (out),
Leaking but not bleak,
Alma balloon is still here smiling.

Note to Frank: Please make sure Ryan takes damn good care of Alma Balloon!

*cough*my recommendation letter better be awesome*cough*

I Heart Rocky 2: I Heart Rocky The Sequel

Bad Sequels:
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Matrix 3
Bad Boys 2

Good Sequels:
Godfather 2
Terminator 2
I Heart Rocky 2

Because there was an onslaught of requests for me to write a sequel to I Heart Rocky, here it is:

We are going back in time, circa earlier August of 2007, on Anjali's last day of interning...Frank (if you couldn't tell, is our super cool supervisor), Cindy (who hooks me up with interesting Korean facts) and Jenaro (the best comedic performer in the department and possibly the whole of City Hall East) took Anjali and I out to lunch at an Italian restaurant in Little Tokyo. Hmm an Italian restaurant in Little Tokyo? Yes, I thought so too, but actually the food was good although the service was terrible. The slow waiter was pretty hot but Jenaro says that hotness doesn't excuse dumbness. I say a hot stupid waiter is always better than an ugly stupid waiter.

Anyways, we were all sitting around the table, enjoying the freshly baked bread and olive oil dip when Cindy mentioned that she could hook us up with Rocky. For pictures, that is. Anjali and I were very excited. I've personally met Rocky a handful of times, but with no pictures, how was I able to prove to people that I've met the Magic? After much typing into her Blackberry, Cindy was able to secure us an appointment with Rocky. We all cheered and then went back to eating that delicious bread.

After lunch, I fluffed my hair, put on some lipstick and braced myself for the Man. I thought we would go in, get our pics snapped with him and then be rushed out but Rocky was very gracious and charming, and gave us some of his time. He asked us about ourselves and shared some of his wisdom with us. It was very great. Rocky is awesome and that is why I HEART ROCKY!

Stay in Chicago!

Ed, who's going to be my downtown buddy when I move home? Don't go to Indy.

Me, Poor man's Seinfield (aka Josh) and Ed at Chicago's Bella Lounge

Awesome: Jenaro!

Jenaro Batiz, whom I know as the Face of Spanish Media, is actually two-faced - he's also the Face of Universal Comedy! I was very excited to learn that Jenaro is a student at the Second City improv comedy group. Not only does improv give Jenaro a chance to channel some of his many talents into more creative outlets, but it also provides me with some entertainment at work (there is only so much Price is Right and General Hospital I can take). After some pleading and bargaining, I finally garnered an invite to one of Jenaro's performances and boy, was I blown away!

It was last Saturday that I had the privilege to attend the Second City improv act and after-show jam featuring Jenaro Batiz. I hadn't seen improv comedy since I was in college, so I wasn't sure if I could handle staying until 1 am (that was when the jam ended). The shows were so funny, I actually stayed for both the show and the jam.

Jenaro kept telling me that he isn't very good and that he's just started out so I was very nervous for him when he got up on stage. But he was a pro. Of course, right? He's ONLY the face of Spanish media! Come on! What was I thinking? He hopped up on stage and transformed from serious politico to comedic funny man. He looked very comfortable on stage and was quick with his wit and retorts. He made it look so easy, he actually convinced me to get up on stage as well!

Yes, even Olivia and I participated at the jam. It was really quite exhilarating to get up on stage and try to make people laugh. (Try being the operative word, as I am just an amateur.) I had a lot of fun that night and am very grateful that Jenaro invited us to his show. Thanks Jenaro! : )

Jenaro and Olivia on stage

Welcome to the Parker!

Niki and I stayed at the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs last Friday. The hotel is gorgeous with a hip interior, beautiful grounds and two great restaurants. The best part was that the staff treated us like celebs...and there were already celebs there!

Our room

One of two hunky knights we were greeted with when we entered the hotel.

Fun furniture found in the lobby.

Beautiful interior

Even more beautiful exterior (this is the hammock I fell off of)!

Gays and Hill

On Thursday night, I met up with the Big P and Handsome Stranger at Here to watch a presidential debate on the LOGO channel. Let me tell you, beer + politics = fun.

High points of the debate:
*Hillary
*Hanging out with the Big P
*Listening to Handsome Stranger's running commentary

Low points:
*The guy from Ohio
*Richardson
*Not being able to change out of my work clothes

After the debate we waited outside the Abbey for Hillary to arrive for her after party. That was where I met the "Pint-sized Paparazzi". He had his best friend/sidekick/cameraman and a camera guy from tmz.com with him. The PP tried to come off as some minor celeb but I've never heard of him before and told him so. He wasn't fazed. He gave me his business card and told me he's going to be on the View in September. I didn't tell him that I hate the View (that would be rude) but instead, asked him if he makes good money doing what he does (that is rude too but I really wanted to know). He replied by telling me he just purchased his own car. I was very impressed, I didn't know thirteen year olds could buy cars.

The Pint-Sized Pap (I took this pic before I found out he's the PP because I found it amusing that there was a kid pap floating around LA.)

The Big P got us a table at Bossa Nova across the street so I wished the paps luck and went to get some food. I kept an eye out for Hill but sadly, she went through the back and I didn't get a chance to see her at all. On the bright side, dinner was very yummy and Handsome Stranger showed me some dramatic courtroom gestures in case I decide to become a prosecutor.

Hill's in there partying it up!

Taste Testing Correction

I'd like to make a name correction to the July 26th Taste Testing post. Random Guy is actually Handsome Stranger. Sorry about the mistake Handsome Stranger.

Erica Simpson

This is me if I were a Simpsons Character. How would you look?

I Heart Rocky

At the start of our internship, Frank presented Anjali and I with pictures of our fabulous City Attorney (Rocky) and told us that we have to complete an important project before we leave. He explained to us that previous interns have each worked on this project and that there's a pretty high standard for us to meet. I was a bit nervous. What kind of project would I need to complete? What is expected of me? Do I need to write a paper? Do I need to conduct an interview with Rocky? Do I need to walk on a bed of hot coals? What?!

Then he waved his arm over his head and brought our attention up to the posterboards on display above his desk. "This is what you guys are going to have to do," he said, "and you're going to have to make it look like a sixth grader did it."


Of course Anjali and I took this project very seriously and gave much thought to it the whole summer. Here is a scene of us brainstorming for the project:

"So what are your plans this weekend?" I asked.
"I'm going shopping," Anjali replied. "What are you doing?"
"Going on a road trip somewhere near L.A."
"Sounds good. Ok it's time for me to go! Have a good weekend."
"You too! Oh yeah, we'll have to work on the posterboard before your internship ends," I reminded her.
"Oh yeah, ok! We still have time."
"Yup! Have a good weekend. Bye!"

End Scene.

So like any good interns, on the day before Anjali's last day, we walked the three blocks to a nearby Office Depot and bought our posterboard. It was very hot that day so we made sure to do the responsible thing and stop by a few clothing boutiques on the way back to the office. We needed to cool off for a bit in the air conditioned stores. It would not do to get heat stroke on the way back and not be able to complete our project.

When we returned to the Press Office, we went straight to work. We decided the best way to approach this project is to make a collage. There were so many pictures of Rocky we wanted people to see, we decided to show them all. Anjali and I worked on the posterboard for a better part of an hour, shooing away anyone curious as to see what we were doing.

Here is our finished product:

I am proud to say that our posterboard was very well received and I hope Rocky will love it as much as I loved making it.

On the Bandwagon Addendum

I am so bummed! After buying the first two Harry Potter books, I've found out that there are ADULT book covers available for the Harry Potter books. Not that I don't appreciate the children's book covers but it would've been nice if I knew I had a choice....Hmmm, well, since this is on a BBC website, maybe the adult covers aren't available in the States yet...and now that I've looked at the adult covers a second time, they're not as cool as the kid's covers.

Yeah, I'm a nerd.

On the Bandwagon 2

I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone yesterday so of course I promptly ran off to the bookstore and bought myself the second book in the series: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!

Clapping Guy

We went to a bar/club in Manhattan Beach last Saturday called Beaches. Despite the heat and the crowd, I was having fun, that is until Clapping Guy elbowed me in the head. I guess that is one of the hazards of being short, I am elbow height to clapping giants. I turned around and gave him my look of death but I guess it looked more like my "come dance up on me" look. My friends urged me to dance with Clapping Guy but I was afraid I'd get elbowed in the head again. Thankfully Clapping Guy clapped away after a while.

Me dancing while making sure my head is out of elbow range. (Picture provided by Kelly, who also found Clapping Guy very amusing.)