Diana in Town

Whenever Diana comes to town we always manage to find fun things to do.

A little Korean BBQ..

Urban Light at the LACMA

Redondo Beach Annual Kite Festival.  We found parking in a hopeless place!

Check out that wannabe manbun slash ponytail

...and Burmese Food

Life is always better when Diana visits.

Coastal Living

Manhattan Beach

The Strand House at Manhattan Beach pier is spectacular.  This is the view from our lunch table.  Front row seats to a tsunami and I hope that glass is thick enough.  It felt like a quick vacation and something I appreciate much more since I don't live near the coast.  Those are giant glass windows that protect us from the harsh natural atmosphere.  They are obviously cleaned rigorously everyday to provide the best view possible.

Come for the view, not for the food is what I wrote in my Yelp! review.  Though this hamachi is delicious, it's nothing too special especially for the price.  But again what are you really paying for?  I'm paying for this pretty picture.

Malibu

This was the view from The Sunset restaurant in Malibu.  I pictured a beach side wedding reception here.  Someone offered to take a picture of me and a new hire by the beach.  We politely agreed.  The photographer then called out.  "now KISS!!!"  To this we both said... "we just met!"  Which made for a very awkward interaction.  We rushed back to the restaurant to join the others and share the story.

I guess we make a cute couple.

Many bottles of wine in and we're acting silly.  You can kind of see the ocean out the window.

What an attractive looking team.  We enjoyed wine tasting at a place off the PCH.  I pretended to taste the wine, but really I was just pounding it.  And by pounding it I mean sipping it and by sipping it I mean I was asking for the 3rd taste after finishing the 2nd in 4 seconds in front of the bartender.

Marina del Rey

Oh don't mind us!  We're just making our way to our yacht wearing our pastels.

The boat went in circles around the marina while we schmoozed and schmoozed.  People avoid this event because they feel trapped.  But I think it's quite nice to be a on a boat looking out.  There were three levels with food, dancing and whiskey tasting.  I definitely took advantage of that.

Will Rogers (Ginger Rogers)

I took this photo a while back when I noticed how dense this area of the gay beach was.  Everyone.  Rainbow flag.  Bad circuit music.  It's interesting how the gays flock to this secluded area a few miles north from the touristy Santa Monica pier.  No one would ever know.

What I liked about this is that there are a variety of body types.  I wasn't drowning in muscles.  

Men's Breast Cancer Awareness

Now yah know.

Closing January

Downtown

Dorothy chandler Pavillion

It never occurred to me that maintaining a blog was difficult and I'm obviously slipping.  It's always been second nature to allot time to reflect and conclude thoughts.  To me, if I haven't blogged about it, I feel... unfinished.  And that's exactly what it feels like as 2011 started.

I have so many unfinished thoughts so many stories that have gone undocumented and I feel that I start to many things without finishing the previous.  That's the problem with being a multitasker, that's the problem with having as much ADD as a "box of pubes." And it doesn't help that tumblr is so entertaining.  Why create when you can just scroll and observe.  We must snap out of it.

The weekends are jam packed with LA photoshoots and exploration and the only way to catch up is to take time off.  The only way to be productive is to find a coffee shop with free wi-fi and cheap coffee.

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January 15 - Improv at Groundlings

Probably one of the best improv show's I've ever seen thanks to Groupon.  The actors were very good and there was a huge underlining gay theme.  They broke up the show with mini skits and improv in between.  I recognized one of the actors from David Blaine's Street Magic Parody. 

Before the show, they asked the audience to submit some statements for them to use.  We came up with ours by passing around the slip and adding one word per person.  The result:  "We have your oversized brain IN our undersized JAR."  Brilliant. 

Love love love.  Especially the skit about a desperate women trying to sell makeup to one of the audience members.  Hot mess.

January 28 - Manhattan Beach

Ernesto and Erik

 Went on a sort of double date with Ern and his boo.  Basically competing for the cutest couple, but it's sort of obvious.

Though I haven't seen Ern in a while... so busy busy busy busy. =[

January 29: Chinese New Year Festival at Wilson Park

• Hakata Ramen Shinsengumi - I had to literally unbutton my pants because we were sitting traditionally on the floor as if we were eating at a coffee table.  MM not very comfortable
• Thankfully we brought umbrellas because it was raining
• A cute dude asked me if I wanted a balloon animal.  Everyone was laughing awkwardly, I think I was supposed to pay him.
• And watched silky smooth Dawen sing on stage, but left before Joseph Vincent appeared.  Meh.

January 29: Redondo Beach Pier

Jumping Photos

I expected Redondo beach to be like any other south bay beach, but it was actually a pier with a sort of boardwalk.  There you can find seafood, a great view and a classic arcade area.  Lots of photo opportunities that Jimmy took advantage of.

January 29: Dip's Grill

After 10PM is happy hour: dollar sliders, dollar skewers... I sort of died.  Coming back to Dip's Grill for sure.  If only the pork belly buns were a dollar each.  I thought that I would never find the item on the bottom right (Pan-fried Sticky Rice Patties) again after my Vietnam trip.  Mushroom and filler in a deep fried rice patty.  Though these were bite sized in Vietnam, I was so excited that they existed here.  Only in San Gabriel Valley of course.


January 30: Michael''s Birthday

Last year Michael wanted to sleep in his car after drinking too much on his birthday.  I drove his drunk butt home.  What a mess.  He kept the tradition of having KBBQ for his bday, but this year involved more cake less crazy.  Michael told the waitress it was someone else's birthday so she brought out the cake and put it in front of someone else.  Riiidiculous.

I made/framed Michael a collage.  I figured, he'd buy anything he wants but pictures he wouldn't be able to buy.  He loved it.  :]  His other friends had the same idea and also got him pictures. It's hard to buy gifts for someone who's happiness purely involves the happiness of others.  Stop being selfless MICHAEL.


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And that finally concludes January.  (Except a post about my cousin's wedding.)  I should start February before March ends huh?  And everyday I come home to this:

...kinda hard to catch up on blogging when snuggling looks so good.

What is It

October 10: Manhattan Beach

My friends are so literate

We may be retiring the unofficial gay beach of Will Rogers for something a little more stress free.  We wouldn't have to deal with the ridiculous traffic heading west if we head south instead where there is more parking, less people and more quaintinity.  Yes, I said quaintinity.

We found a pokemon:

No idea what it is, but it provide much entertainment until I broke it to the bushes at the edge of the beach using a Frisbee.





Yes that's my ugly voice. I've been told that I sound like Artie from Glee.

Malibu

Can you imagine living in Malibu where your backyard leads to the beach?
You needed a key to enter this beach that's a part of a very rich community.

For the day, we owned this beach.

I learned how to paddle board.  Or rather, I jumped into the water with this over-sized surfboard and balanced with a large paddle and made it up while my coworkers were screaming instructions.  That's not me btw.  I could only get on my knees.  But I managed to pass the breaking waves and then paddle my way back into shore very smoothly

July Beach Day

Please enjoy this predictable beach video to a predictable soundtrack.



I love riding in a Jeep.  Especially on the highway, but remember your sunglasses as bugs and shards of LA glass frequently fly into your face.  Watch my hair animate in the wind at 00:47.  It has a mind of its own apparently.

 

We had sparkling Oolong Tea, AKA beer.

 

Ern described the picture below to be the gayest beach picture he's ever seen.  It screams, "join our Gay Asian Cruise!"

 

Great beach day at Will Rogers.  The waves were pretty intense, but mother nature was no match for our double infinite rainbow.  If you use the above Thai dancing technique, you'll never drown.  Can you spot the elegant Thai hands drifting in the water?

 Alysia is a pimp.

Tired.... went out dancing for a little... and one last cake for Ern.  Happy Birthday again!!! :D