better than prozac.

l.a. is growing on me.

after spending a few days in la, the city has begun to grow on me. the difference may be that this time, i was not staying downtown. the city was not as dirty, not as gritty, not as hazy. although the weather was cooler than normal, it was sunny and clear. no problems breathing, no sore eyes. i was able to sip cocktails outdoors by sunset and could see the ocean as the sun disappeared over the horizon, from my hotel.

and i had better get used to it, as i received the news that one of my best friends, joanie, is moving there. i suppose i'll be back, a lot.

so i'm back in seattle, for a while - at least a couple of weeks - before i visit my beloved san francisco.  maybe i am a california girl after all.

the coolest thing about my trip to l.a....

...was my room at the standard. i had been introduced to the hotel as a hotspot on my last trip, and decided to stay there (what could be better than a night cap at a hotel bar that was actually cool and not filled with 50-year-old salesmen from nebraska?). think of it as a budget w. or the hip hotel for the ikea generation. the accommodations were stylish, but spartan. the food was great, the minibar stocked condoms and hangover remedies (as well as the usual suspects) and the best feature is the see-through shower. very hot. i can't wait to stay again.

the trip: a dramedy in 4 acts

a ten-day trip to the glorious midwest (which is better in the summer than it is during the holiday season) has kept me away from my blog. allow me to recap it in four acts.

act i: day of terror

that damn bush administration is always on to me and my terrorist plots involving my spike heels, and now, my makeup. soon after public support for the 'war on terror' dropped, the terror alert, coincidentally went up, some people were arrested, and we were suddenly not allowed to bring our gels and liquids on board the aircraft. the tsa was quick to pluck me and my handbag from the security line, and confiscate my lip gloss. foiled again! as it was widely reported, the airport was a mess. the security line lasted three hours, and snaked through the security area, up the stairs, through ticketing, across the skybridge, and into the parking garage. luckily, our flight was delayed an hour, which gave us time to get hydrated (with alcohol - christ, it was stressful, although haley held up exceptionally well) and buy a couple of dog books. we arrived in chicago late at night, with all our luggage, and traveled to wisconsin where we stayed with my parents.

act ii: on wisconsin!

the  primary objective for our wisconsin visit was to visit with my grandparents, who are not in great health and cannot travel to us. so we hung out at the lake. we swam. we boated. i was traumatized by my brother, who took me out on a jetski (never again - i required a valium to even stand up without shaking or speak without sounding like a post-parkinsons katherine hepburn). we also celebrated my grandpa's 80th birthday, which was a blast. then the big boat broke.

act iii: to chicago, or not to chicago

the morning we were leaving for some well-deserved grown-up time in chicago sans enfant, we were notified that the ferry we had planned to take from wisconsin to michigan had broken down (no suspects were arrested, terror alert still orange). my mother, who did not want us to go to chicago in the first place (why would we want to do that, with all the entertainment west bend, wisconsin has to offer?)  seized upon the broken boat as a reason for us to scrap the trip altogether. ridiculous! instead, we decided to forge ahead, and cross our fingers that the boat would be up and running to bring my parents and my daughter to our reception in michigan.

so we chicagoed. we shopped. we saw friends. we ate fabulous food (ribs one night, organic italian the next). we drank. we even went to the nokia store so i could get my nerd on. it was short, condensed and a blast.

act iv: michi-gone and perspectives on what it means to be a good parent.

off we went to muskegon, michigan, where jason is from. we came home to a warm welcome, where jason's mom made an amazing dinner. the next day, we hung out with mom, did some shopping (although i was - gasp - shopped out by this time) and went to a lovely party, in our honor, hosted by family friends in their gorgeous lakeside home. i gorged on midwest picnic fare (mmm potato salad, fried chicken, baked beans and, yes, that cool whip-jello-marshmallow-coconut-carrot wonder known as ambrosia). meanwhile, we worried about that damn ferry, which was still not working. jason's dad and i decided to take action. i called my mom and suggested she, her partner and haley sign up to take the motorcoach the ferry was offering as an alternate mode of transportation, to ensure they would make the party. she said, "i am not sitting for 5 hours in a motorcoach." she thought it would have been a better idea for us all (herself included) to spend 5 hours round-trip on saturday, meeting in chicago and swapping the kid for the car. i found that unreasonable (we had a big party to prepare for, and a bunch of friends coming to town to see us that day). so, i arranged to meet my brother and his lovely girlfriend at midway airport and make the swap instead.

mom got mad (not sure why, exactly. i think it somehow goes back to the fact that, damn us, we went to chicago to have a little fun) and even though the ferry would be running, she said she would not be attending our wedding reception. it was at that point that i realized that my mom does not live up to my standard of what a good parent is. my heart was broken, i was humiliated ("where are your parents?" party-goers would ask) and i am still angry. but i am grateful that i have wonderful in-laws, who are excellent parents, kind, generous and selfless.

despite the drama, the reception was wonderful. it was held at my in-laws' country club. they went all out - it was gorgeous and fun. our friends from chicago were there. we ate, we drank (me, a little - ok a lot - too much). thanks to a long walk home (barefoot) and a long prayer to the porceline god, i was by some miracle, not hung over on sunday, which was spent back at the site of the first party, enjoying the most spectacular in-ground pool i have ever swam in (that was at a private residence).

we tie-dyed sunday night with haley and our 11-year-old cousin, taylor and had a little pizza party. monday, it was back to the airport. and we left.

cannon-ized

we spent a spectacular long weekend in cannon beach. from the second we got into the car, i was immediately relaxed, anticipating the calm charm of the town and the lullabye that is the pacific ocean crashing against the rocky shore. i was not disappointed. the weather was perfect on friday - warm (around 80) and not a cloud in the sky. we had lunch at a newish brewpub we discovered that sold $3.75 microbrew pints, 75 cent pbr and excellent food - a rare trifecta indeed.

the town was sold out, but the beach never feels crowded. i was baptized in the surf, playing in the waves for nearly an hour. i don't know if it's innate or an effect of growing up in wisconsin, but the ocean fascinates me. i can't resist its pull; no matter how cold the water (and the pacific is damn cold in oregon), i have to immerse myself, to absorb the rejeuvenating power of the sea water, to be part of its vastness.

rejeuvenated i was, and the whole family had a blast. of course, haley played in the sand and hunted for sealife on haystack rock. we woke up early to investigate what the surf brought in, went to bed early and i never did my hair all weekend.  when it was time to wake up early to prepare for a series of strategy sessions at work, i was ready.

i'll add some photos here, but meanwhile, check 'em out on flickr.

i still love you new york

my god i love new york.

i love it so much it pains me to be trapped in a very small, noisy, crowded Starbucks near madison square park. thank god for ryan adams (listening to gold- i listened to his nyc record, love is hell, on the way) soothing my ears or I would surely have a headache by now with all the clanking and foaming and double grande blah blah.

connecting to the Internet has been a major pain. i've been wandering the streets of new york like a desperate addict, searching for her connection. my spartan hotel accommodations have zero amenities, which means no high speed access or wifi-- ridiculous in this day in age! it also does not have a desk, making me a vagabond, which is just fine with me.

i received a warm welcome from my long-lost friend. it's been almost 3 years since i've been here, and it feels like it was a lifetime ago - staying at david's place that christmas in harlem...how all has changed.

i spent last night hanging out in the east village, which is my neighborhood of choice. i found a fab local hang that served up divine roasted chicken for ten bucks and their wonderful bartender, angie, kept the drinks bottomless. i also met interesting, fun regulars there and ended up spending the rest of the evening wandering between avenue a and avenue b, checking out the establishments, including one where they had an incredible irish group playing traditional music and the niagara, which is rumored to be jesse malin's bar. my buddy/colleague mark and i finished up the night there, and closed the place. i'll be back later, though, because i left my jacket there (and my luckies - i don't know what it is, but when i am here, i love to smoke!)

tomorrow is the conference i came here for, and it's going to be an early start (7 a.m.). I think i better be on good behavior tonight.

a room with a (san diego) view

san diego is the california of my dreams

i'm in san diego today on a business trip and it's been love at first sight. i'm staying at the manchester grand hyatt, which offers stunning views of the pacific. i walked along the boardwalk last night and through the historic gaslight district (on wedges, of course, ouch!) before retiring to my room for more work and the worst room service meal i have ever ordered.

i slept with the windows open and inhaled the calming ocean air. i could definitely make a habit of this place.

la is gross

la is the most disgusting city i have ever visited. sure, it lacks the wild dogs and abject poverty that is the caribbean, but at least the caribbean has clean air and water. the pollution was so bad that i could not breathe well, and had to resign myself to wearing glasses because my eyes were so so irritated by the oppressive smog. I think death cab for cutie says it best, in why would you want to live here:

"i'm in los angeles today... it smells like an airport runway. jet fuel stenches in the cabin and lights flickering at random.
 
i'm in los angeles today... garbage cans comprise the medians of freeways always creaping even when the population's sleeping.
 
and i can't see why you'd want to live here.
 
i'm in los angeles today... asked a gas station employee if he ever had trouble breathing and he said "it varies from season to season, kid."

it's where our best are on display... motion picture actors' houses maps are never ever current so save your film and $15.
 
and i can't see why you'd want to live here.
billboards reach past the tallest buildings,
"we are not perfect but we sure try."
as UV rays "degradate" our youth with time.

the vessel keeps pumping us through this entropic place in the belly of the beast that is californ-i-a,
i drank from a faucet and i kept my receipts for when they weigh me on my way out (here nothing is free).
the greyhounds keep coming dumping locusts into the street until the gutters overflow and los angeles thinks, "i might explode someday soon."
 
it's a lovely summer's day and i can almost see a skyline through a thickening shroud of egos.
(is this the city of angeles or demons?)
here the names are what remain... stars encapsulate the gold lame and they need constant cleaning for when the tourists begin salivating.
 
you can't swim in a town this shallow - you will most assuredly drown tomorrow.

california dreamin'

i was in a singularly california mode on the flight of my inaugural trip to la, reading about  neil young, who also came to the city of angels from a place more northern, and listening to his opus, on the beach. being here reminds me that i am at my core, a girl from wisconsin. there is still something about seeing streets lined with palm trees that evokes a glamorous dreamscape, and i remember how as a child, i would dream about moving to southern california and embarking upon an ambitious legal career that would propel me into politics. being the first woman president was my modest goal.

although my career has obviously evolved along a different path entirely, i always knew i'd end up out west, and i'd move to san francisco in a heartbeat. but seattle is heavenly enough.

what i was doing in san jose

in san jose, i hung out with a bunch of people that are nerdier than me, if you can believe it.  i was a the game developer's conference, with the objective to get smart to the game developers and their issues (well, at least the ones i can professionally help them solve). there were very few women there (less than 5 percent of the audience, i'm sure), and it was a little weird, but definitely educational. a reuters piece in the washington post summed it up quite well. oh, and, it quotes us.

i just can't stop the pr.

because it was in san jose, and not in san francisco, there was little opportunity for actual fun. i confess to enjoying two quiet evenings of peaceful solidtude.