Some Free Events in LA

Yes, I’m still awake and I understand it’s almost 3:30 AM. Stupid volunteering. Granted, I love the film festival, but damnit it’s serious work.

Anyhow, during my procrastination, I decided to look up cool things to do in LA that are free….here’s a few that I found.

Movies @ Santa Monica Pier every Tuesday in August and September

Music @ Santa Monica Pier July and August every Thursday in August.

Summer @ the Hammer Museum in Westwood
(awesome art and music, saw Indie rock concert last week)

Art & Music @ Getty Center –Summer
(awesome music with kick ass views and art of course)

Hollywood Farmer’s Market every Sunday @ Ivar Avenue and Selma Avenue
Food, arts & crafts, veggies, produce, ya name it!

Venice Abbot Kinney Festival
Sunday, Sept. 24th
Don’t know much, but the website says, “2 stages of live music, dancers and performance artists, a spectacular children's court, 3 food areas, a Spirit Garden, Art Pavilion and over 300 vendors featuring original, handcrafted goods”

Halloween Carnival, West Hollywood, October 31st @ Santa Monica Blvd.
Dress up in costumes!!!

Okay, so back to the grind of work, eff me!!

Annoying Ass People: One of Many in LA

So tonight we went over a friend’s for poker night. We’re friends with the couple, they’re a bit straight-edge but seemed cool enough. Another couple we’ve never met showed up and they were so effing annoying. Mr. Obnox (short for obnoxious) starts by asking, “What do you all do?” I tried to steer away from that conversation by asking how him and his fiancé met; but that wasn’t happening. Next question, “Where do you live?”

I see the game – Mr. Obnox is trying to sum us up. Okay, my good friends know this (AK, P) you’ve seen me do this shit: I don’t play nice if I don’t like you. I can be a complete bitch, bitchy as they come. For business or whatever I’ll put on the show, but for people I don’t know, I have no problem being a bitch if you’re effing annoying. Since this entire night was going towards prove your wealth, I played the yuppy conservative New Englander game. Hubby caught on quickly enough (though I suspect he was annoyed very early on) and he played Mr. Republican Capitalist Money Making Ho Bag.

We were supposed to be playing poker, and it became playing poker about our potential worth. I think Hubby and I wiped the table with our Royal Flush. The real poker game got down to hubby and Mr. Obnox. It’s effing midnight at this point. I want to go home. Mr. Obnox refuses to, he states, “I don’t care about the money, I just want to win.” This is hubby’s first time playing and he’s caught on and hubby just wants the money, he doesn’t give a shit about winning.

I finally turn on the bitch level to a higher degree. I just think it’s rude, hubby has asked the guy to call it a tie and Mr. Obnox refuses. This is NOT his house, it’s effing midnight. I finally say, “This is just so obnoxious of you.” Finally Mr. Obnox caves, he knows I wasn’t playing.

I am so happy to be home!!! Poker game in recap: all about the benjamins. We came out $5 ahead – it wasn’t worth it, to be around such dry asses (although hubby thinks so b/c he actually is a Money Ho).

Highlight of the night: Mr. Obnox makes a horrible joke. I don’t laugh. He comments: “What not even a smirk?” I state: “Sorry, wasn’t funny.”
Peace Out.

Desi-discrimination?

I have like maybe one desi acquaintancee (she’s in my book club). Seriously. I have a very diverse array of friends but not many desis in real life (I heart my desi blogger friends).

Okay so hubby is Punjabi but I never wanted to marry an Indian EVER, to my parents chagrin. The reason being is I grew up in CT and all the desis were Fobby as hell. Not my people in any way shape or form. The others I ran into that weren’t quite as Fobby were not much of independent thinkers (not liberal, ultra conservative, kinda like oh my god is that Indian girl dating an non-Indian), once again not my people. Growing up in CT from the age 0 to 24 I never made a single desi friend.

So move out to Cali, marry a desi yet still no desi friends (Hubby I thought you would have hooked it up). I don’t work with any desis. There are no desis in my circle of friends, besides the one gal from my bookclub which I haven’t hung out with. At this point, being in Cali, I have seen that there are many cool, non-Fobby desis. So I am willing to make friends with them. The opportunity just hasn’t really presented itself.

So I’m not desi-discriminating, I’m desi-open. Where are you people?

Good Friends -- FUN FUN FUN

I swear to you I have never had as much fun as I am having in LA. I have seriously met FAB people. I'll admit, I feel very cool and hip (yes I am a dork) getting invited for interesting outings. What I love about my friends in LA, while they're all uber intelligent, educated and professional -- they are just effing fun. Getting emails that say, wanna get together and play games tonight, eat good food and drink a little vino is my kind of fun (that’s my game plan for tonight). Small intimate gathering, snacks, a drinkie and having a good time with friends – what’s better? Love it. I HEART LA.

Also, looking at the post below I have to give a shout out to my friend AK who was instrumental in helping shape me into the best me that I could become. The Universe loves me, what else explains having been sent an amazing friend like AK? If you're reading this, miss you, hope to see you in Cali sooner rather than later.

On a side note, while I'm on the topic of friends. I feel like that's a good way to judge people -- see who they are surrounded with -- who their good friends are. In sum, I think I have to be a fantastic person only b/c my friends are the most unbelievably amazing people out there: intelligent, articulate, compassionate, funny, quirky, interesting... simply people with amazing souls.

Reflections: The Marriage Type?

I’ll have been married for almost 2 years on 9/8/2006. And it’s shocking (in a very good way of course). Last night hubby and I watched a movie and the hubby in the movie was killed and wife was very distraught. After watching the movie I was very emotional. I looked at my hubby and thought, “my God I adore this man, I don’t even know what life was like before him.” Of course I got a little teary eyed b/c I can cry over anything!

It shocks me that someone in this world is so important to me that if something happened to hubby it would turn my life upside down. I simply can’t imagine it. I wouldn’t know what to do. How did I get here?

A quick trip down memory lane…. I have always been surrounded by good friends, I mean amazing friends. The kind you can hang with all day and spill your guts too. There was a period of time where I was anti-love, anti-marriage, and wholly pro-single. Looking back, were my friends really that surprised when I was one of the first if not the first to get married? I don’t think so. I’ve always coveted close, nourishing relationships. I was, or strived to be quirkyalone.

Quirkyalones are people who resist the tyranny of coupledom. Oddly enough, we quirkyalones also tend to be romantics. We resist the tyranny of coupledom because we would prefer to be open to the possibilities that life has to offer than be in an unsatisfying relationship. That is, to date for the sake of dating, or be in a relationship for the sake of being part of a couple.

Quirkyalone is not anti-love. It is pro-love. It is not anti-dating. It is anti-compulsory dating. It's an embrace of all kinds of love. Although we quirkyalones enjoy solitude, and sometimes even need and crave it, we are NOT loners. We typically have a strong network of friends. Most of us place a high premium on friendship. We've even been known to bring our friends on dates!

This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy being single. I loved being with my friends and celebrating our single-dom. If this makes any sense, being single wasn’t worse for me but being married is better.

While I do believe that I essentially am the marriage-type, I don’t consider myself the settling-type. I didn’t settle. I waited until I figured myself out. I wanted to be with someone who’s love made me a better person, someone who inspired me, someone that makes me better than I think I can be. And hubby is all that and so much more. I kid you not when I say, I can’t imagine a better man. He is my Attorney McDreamy. In sum, I got lucky in finding him. Sure I was in the right place in my life to be open to love (something that I worked on – lots of individual growth), but Hubby McDreamy came out of no where.

I simply know too many people that settle. The only advice I have is don’t settle. Life is too short to be with someone that isn’t right for you. A relationship shouldn’t be sooo trying. Of course you work hard at it and of course you compromise, but not to the point where you’re compromising everything. I know there’s so much societal pressure, especially for women, to find a partner have kids, etc, but that’s not a reason to settle for someone that ain’t right for ya. Better to be single and happy then with a significant other that’s wrong for you.

And I’m not going to lie and say some bullshit like there’s someone for everyone. I think love is sort of like capitalism. There are those who have and those who have not. Hey some of us are more attractive, intelligent, have more money or whatever than others. Life isn’t fair. Life doesn’t go on the time table anyone wants. Accept where you are and find happiness in the moment….which is so effing difficult.

So I consider myself blessed beyond blessed. I have a great apartment, a great job and a to-die-for husband. What did I do to deserve this? God, JC, Allah, any Messiah, the Universe only knows.

Purses

I have one good purse. My parents bought me this amazing Coach purse 2 years ago for my b-day and it’s fantastic. 2 years later and it still looks like brand new. I use it as my everyday purse – lug it to work, the gym, shopping, etc. It’s probably not wise. I’m not the type of gal who is willing to spend oodles of money on purses (maybe one day when hubby is partner). So for now I need to keep my Coach-baby in tip-top shape and perhaps store in in the closet unless I have special parties to go to.

Well, I was ecstatic to go to Target during lunch today and find a nice large black purse (great for files) for $6 on the clearance aisle. How fantastic is that? I love it! I love the price! I HEART good sales. Made a purse switch in my office!

Friday Night Elevator Terror

We’ve all heard about the infamous power outs in Cali. Well I had first hand experience on Friday night. I had just come home from the store with hubby with chicken (to make tandoori chicken) and ice cream b/c hubby is an addict. We’re rushing to the elevator so nothing melts and I want to start cooking. We get into the elevator, press the correct floor number, start moving up and then it just STOPPED. At first I was shocked, was I really stuck in an elevator? Well the power grid went down. It was over 100 degrees in the elevator. I wasn’t panic-ky b/c hubby was with me. We press the emergency button and they tells us an “elevator technician is on the way.” 30 minutes later we’re still trapped, hubby is shirtless lying down and we are sweating and dying of thirst. Starting to get a little panic-ky. We press the emergency button again and we’re told that our technician is stuck in a little good ole LA traffic. We decide we have to call 911 and try to get the fire department to help us b/c who knows when the technician will rescue us. Guess what happened? We were on hold for about 25 minutes with 911 and finally hung up out of frustration. What if we were hurt? Lesson learned, 911 is USELESS in LA. An hour later we were freed from the elevator.

The thing that pissed me off was that the apartment manager was outside the elevator and was telling us to not call 911 b/c she did not want the fire department to break her precious elevator. Stupid b*tch. I’m dying of heat and all she cared about was the cost??? She also was barking orders at us to try to pull some safety lever that opens the elevator door. Well let me tell you something, hubby and I could not pull out this safety lever. I don’t consider myself a genius but I have enough brains to know whether a button can pull out or not. Even though we explained this to her she didn’t stop yelling! When we got out of the elevator she was all attitude with us. What the f*ck?

I was PISSED – I was throwing a party the next day and all the electricity was off and I couldn’t cook. On a side note we lost power several times this weekend.

I woke up at 7:30 AM on Saturday to start cooking. I wasn’t going to let a little power outage ruin my party. The food turned out marvelous and I had a fab time.

We made an ice cream run after the music fest at the Getty to

Diddy Riese Cookies
926 Broxton AveLos Angeles, CA 90024

If you haven’t been there, you must. You can get an ice cream sandwich for $1.25, fresh cookies, you choose which kind of cookie and your ice cream flavor as well. Being gluten-free I opted for the $1.50 2 scoop sundae. YUM YUM.

The weekend ended up being terrific, filled with good food and good friends. Though I am a bit leery of taking the elevator now.

Music and Friends

What a great combination, no? Tomorrow evening, a few friends and I are going to the Getty Center for Global Delights, “The rich melodies of the Indian subcontinent combine with electronica and trip-hop for an evening of cross-cultural grooves.” I’m super excited. Plus it’s free, and free is always good. The Getty is absolutely gorgeous.

Before the music, friends are coming over for a luncheon. I love throwing parties where there’s food of course. Last night, in preparation, I made my mom’s kheer which is too die for good. The pudding becomes more of a custard consistency. I used to eat it like a fiend growing up. Of course I stopped by the Indian grocery store to pick up a few items.

This will be the menu:

Pulloa (basmati rice with goodies)
Besan Dosa
Bombay Potato Curry
Dahl
Chana Masala
Tandoori Chicken and Tofu
Kheer & Chai

I’m going straight home after work today and cook like a machine!

Shielding Myself from Tragedy

I hate to see suffering. It makes me feel utterly depressed. From large scale suffering (acts of terrorism) to individual suffering. I saw a woman at Rite Aid yesterday, she was very old and could barely walk. She was dissheveled and didn't look like she had anyone to help take care of her. I could see her struggling to pay for her items and count her bills. She looked helpless. I felt heavy for the remainder of the day at work.

I HATE it. As an adult I see myself trying to avoid suffering as much as possible. I like living in a nice neighborhood to feel safe and also to not see suffering. I don't want to see homeless people, not b/c I think I'm better, but b/c then I can't push it out of my mind as easily. The best way to approach human tragedy is to let it motivate me to make change. But it doesn't. It seems all too overwelhming. It makes me want to hide behind a gigantic gate and pretend like it doesn't exist. It isolates me and motivates me to shield my loved ones. That's just plain sad.

Cops on the Hill

I feel really bad for my attitude today. I have a hybrid and live in the Hollywood Hills. When I get to the near-top of a hill it's really hard for me to come to a full stop and then accelerate (I have no power in my hybrid -- NONE). Well we have cops that stop us to make sure we live where we do b/c there's a lot of traffic for a major tourist attraction nearby. The reason the cops stop and check for ID is b/c residents don't want tourists parking along their streets. Good reasoning. But I was annoyed as the ass of my car is slipping backwards. The young cop saw me sigh and he apologized and explained that he does this at the request of the residents. I felt mad guilty for sighing. It was hot as hell outside and the poor guy was just doing his job. I didn't have to be an attitud-ie beotch to him. Must meditate more!

July’s Book

I’m in a book club and the book that I was supposed to read for tonight is
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle : A Novel by Haruki Murakami.

Let’s bet? I’m an avid reader, but did I read this book? I was so busy I never even picked it up. How horrible is that?

I still have to go to the meeting and shamefully admit that I didn’t read one damn page and I had an entire month. Boy this sucks.

This month I am going to post the damn book of the month on my blog and hopefully that will remind me to read the book!!

Gluten Allergy

I did something idiotic yesterday – ate gluten. I feel horrible today. I was sick to my stomach all yesterday. I woke up feeling sick today. This is the way I felt for years when I didn’t know that I had this horrible allergy.

You just never know where gluten is hiding. I made a fruit and yogurt parfait and didn’t realize that the organic granola I bought had tons of wheat in it. I should have been wiser and checked the label!

Now I feel all icky at work.

Portabello Mushroom Taco

This is delicious and easy. It's my new favorite easy dinner.

Take 2 corn tortillas and pan "fry" in a non-stick pan. Once they crisp up, fold each corn tortilla so it looks like a taco shell.

In non-stick pan cook onions until golden, add as much garlic as you like and one green pepper and cook for a few minutes. Then add 1 portabello mushroom diced up. Cook until mushroom softens and then add few tablespoons of hot salsa and finally a handful of your favorite cheese.

Stuff taco shell with mushroom concotion and enjoy with a side of vegies or nachos.

I swear it takes less than 15 minutes and is tastie as hell.

Bengali Chick in the House

Okay so a friend of mine, clever girl that she is, pointed out to me that people IRL can find me b/c like a dope I've used my hubby's name and my nickname on the blog/posts. CRAP-O-LA. I've tried to contain the problem by editing posts. We live in LA -- the land of weirdos and I don't want someone finding me if I don't want to be found. So from now on I'm "Bengali Chick." Friends who know me, don't be weirded out when you see comments on your blog from Bengali Chick (it's me).