| | lalala.
i like to combine work with pleasure. so when my work meant an extended trip to LA, i decided to extend the trip even further and spend the weekend there beforehand. 6 days in LA is more than i had ever spent at one time; i got to know the LA freeways much more than i would ever care to, and it never fails to remind me of why i would never want to live there.
one could argue that i spent as much time eating as i did visiting our retail stores, which translated into a lot of pleasure between business. i spent 3 days with jodan--their condo is in a really convenient part of LA (between K-town and Beverly Hills)--which also meant 3 days with their toddler noah, whom i met for the first time this trip. after spending quality time with noah each day, i can almost believe joanne's assertions that her son is the smartest and strongest 2-year-old in the world (ok she never said that, but one might imply that by the way she talks about him). i spent a blissful 2 meals at shik do rak (a korean restaurant which joanne first introduced to me and chris 5+ years ago), one with the family and then again one day for lunch by myself. joanne was amazed by the amount i could eat--always snacking on ice cream and TJ's awesome white cheddar corn puffs at her place. unfortunately, i set a very bad example for noah during dinner. "ai-yi eat popcorn?" she also took me to kate mantilini one evening, a late night upscale diner in beverly hills where one can bag-watch (i.e. identify nice purses) while eating macncheese; also the site of that infamous conversation between al pacino and robert de niro in one of my all-time favorites, heat.
the first and last days were spent with lee and kathy, who never fail to try to get me drunk (they love wine). lee invited me to celebrate his b-day with his work friends whom i realize assumed that i was still one of them, which was fine by me. lee, otoh, was so intrigued by our product that he had me take him to fashion island for a showing at the local babystyle. i told him that he should hurry up and have a kid so that he can join the numerous mom groups that i see exercising around seal beach with their strollers in the mornings (the ones with bigger butts walk).
they did succeed in getting me drunk the very last night when i had 1.5 glasses of champagne at dinner and then another glass of riesling at home as i was making them chocolate souffles. i dont think i realized how gone i was until i attempted to lean down to check on the souffles as they were baking and couldn't keep my balance. luckily, the souffles came out just fine. at first lee was skeptical when i told him that lance has 2 each time i cook for him, but then had nothing to say after he polished off 2 and proceeded to finish mine.
i spent the very last day in newport beach. that part of OC is almost undescribable...let's just say that it's enough to make a fashion-forward person like me feel insecure. after my last trip to shu uemura, i have a set of eyeshadow that i reserve for evenings out, but i felt like nothing less was appropriate there, not to mention that dressing nice is an unspoken obligation. i much prefer the more muted wealth of the bay area where rich people don't need to act rich (and i can be guaranteed to be one of the best-dressed among an engineering population).
|
| | Posted 5/25/2007 12:26 AM - 283 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
